"No Place for the Sick": Nature's War on Civil War Soldier Health in 1862 Virginia.
详细信息
- 作者：Meier ; Kathryn Shively.
- 学历：Doctor
- 年：2010
- 导师：Gallagher, Gary W.,eadvisor
- 毕业院校：University of Virginia
- ISBN：9781124570952
- CBH：3451465
- Country：USA
- 语种：English
- FileSize：3532228
- Pages：396
文摘
Civil War common soldiers most deadly enemy was the environment. Over two-thirds of soldier mortalities were from microorganisms rather than gun shots. Though the men were not aware of these invisible enemies, they perceived environmental attacks on their health from severe weather, the southern climate, foul water, miasmas, and insects. They lamented the resulting mental effects of melancholy, homesickness, and loneliness, and the physical effects of diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, malaria, and pain. At times in 1862 Virginia, 20-30% of a given army---tens of thousands of men---proved unfit for duty, and these numbers did not begin to touch upon the walking sick. Though Confederate and Union soldiers filled their letters and diaries with descriptions of battling their environmental adversaries, Civil War scholarship has not analyzed environmental health from the soldiers perspectives. Instead, medical histories of the war have favored military and medical leaders views and failed to consider the importance of morale outside of combat. Relying mainly upon soldier diaries, letters, and memoirs, this dissertation examines the case studies of the 1862 Peninsula and Shenandoah Valley campaigns to show how Civil War soldiers understood the wartime health crisis better than medical professionals and learned to adapt to the harsh environment of war with self-care techniques. Their practices included eradicating pests through boiling or burning, protecting oneself from the elements with garments and elaborate tent constructions, supplementing the poor army fare with forage, boiling water or digging wells, and obtaining regular exercise. Even more important were those practices conveyed by and to soldiers through human cooperation: they taught each other these techniques, formed communal messes to share food, cared for each other when illness did strike, and reached out to loved ones at home for advice, supplies, and comfort. Soldier self care had two major implications for the war: it enabled commanders to wage successful battles with fit troops, and it improved the daily experience of soldiers. Common soldiers ultimately served as their own best doctors in the realms of disease and mental health. Union soldiers, however, also found a useful ally in the U.S. Sanitary Commission.