Crowded conditions. Poor hygiene. No specific disease treatment. These were only a few of the components that made up the disastrous formula, in which plagued Americans in the Civil War. Together, these conditions burdened the many American soldiers, without failing to discriminate between the Union and Confederacy sides. Contrary to common belief, deadlier dilemmas were more frequently presented to these soldiers off the battlefield, than on. Diseases such as typhoid, measles, and tuberculosis, were constantly being spread between individuals in the camps, for there was no knowledge of sanitation. Unfortunately, this lack of hygiene in Civil War medicine was not advanced enough to connect that their lack of hygiene was resulting in the Civil War pandemic. Inexperienced surgeons frequently used the same tools on multiple patients and failed to at least clean them between operations. A quick wipe on their apron was as much cleaning as any instrument received in the Civil War, for cross contamination was not yet identified as a caution in the medical sciences (“Diseases”). Although a significant amount of soldiers died by fatal wounds on the battlefield, poor sanitation and lack of regard to health was ultimately the greatest cause of deaths in the American Civil War.
Before war in the twentieth century, disease was the leading killer of American soldiers. Of the 620,000 estimated military deaths in the Civil War, about two-thirds of them died from disease-related issues (Burns). To start off, pneumonia was responsible for the death of 20,000 Union and 17,000 Confederate troops. 1 in 6 individuals who got this disease, died as a result of it. For example, Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate general under Robert E. Lee in the American Civil War, died from pneumonia after being shot during the battle of Chancellorsville by his own men (“Disease”). In addition, measles killed many of those involved in the Civil War, rounding to about 11,000 soldiers in total. With large masses of people gathered in such small areas, this disease was able to spread rapidly, for about 1 in 20 people diagnosed with it, passed away. On top of that, tuberculosis killed about 14,000 soldiers during the war, for there was no known cure for it during the war. Malaria, a life-threatening mosquito-borne blood disease, was also prevalent during the war, killing roughly 30,000 soldiers (“Diseases”). These deadly diseases worked in conjunction to kill off more individuals than the bloody war itself did. Most of the casualties and deaths in the American Civil War, resulted from non combat-related disease. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died of disease, which perfectly illustrates the deathly effect of the diseases on the soldiers at war (“Casualties”). Contributing factors to the most infamous diseases of this time, included poor sanitation and overcrowded camps, the ignorance by line officers, inadequate pre-enlistment screening of recruits, and few specific treatments for disease (Reilly). Those from rural areas were exposed for the first time to deadly childhood and other diseases for which they had no immunity. Crowding together in large numbers meant exposure to smallpox, measles, chicken pox, diphtheria and mumps (Burns). Based on these statistics, the diseases spread extinguished much of the American Civil War soldiers, causing a negative impact on those who were risking their lives to protect their side in the altercation.
At the beginning of the war, soldiers routinely constructed latrines close to streams, which caused water contamination for others downstream. This contaminated water system then expedited the spread of dysentery and other diseases. Joseph Jones, M.D., a Confederate surgeon who scrutinized the conditions of the Andersonville stockade in Sumter County, GA, wrote that one stream was filled with “‘the filth and excrement of twenty thousand men, the stench was disgusting and overpowering; and if it was surpassed in unpleasantness by anything, it was only in the disgusting appearance of the filthy, almost stagnant, waters moving slowly between the stumps and roots and fallen trunks of trees and thick branches of reeds, with innumerable long-tailed, large white maggots, swollen peas, and fermenting excrement, and fragments of bread and meat,’” (Dorwart). This description of the river by a primary source is alarming and nauseating, for the soldiers of the Civil War drank their water from these such bodies of water, located near their battlefields. For those associated with poor hygiene, malaria was infamous for causing dangerous fevers and liver disease whenever stagnant water abounded. Individuals were well-aware of the fact that their water was not clean, however it was not clear to them that their drinking water caused them to fall ill. As a result of this, the United States Sanitary Commission was founded in 1861, as the American Civil War began. The purpose of this organization was “to promote clean and healthy conditions in the Union Army camps” (Lewis). The Sanitary Commission raised money, provided supplies, and worked tirelessly to educate both the military and government on the poor sanitation of their camps and water supplies. The lack of sanitary and purified water during this time period, ultimately caused many diseases to spread throughout the camp, which then made many soldiers perish, leading it to be the greatest killing factor of the American Civil War.
Malnutrition and lack of medical knowledge were prevalent issues amongst those fighting in the copious amount of battles in the American Civil War. During this time, coffee and hardtack, a large, long lasting biscuit that was often dipped in coffee, were staples of the diet. Fresh fruits and vegetables were often substituted for desiccated vegetables, which ultimately led to the loss of vitamin C and numerous preventable cases of scurvy. Scurvy was known to happen as a result of lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, which caused malnutrition and dietary deficiencies (Reilly). The poor sanitation restricted accessibility to fresh fruits and vegetables, therefore causing desiccated vegetables to become its substitute. In addition to malnutrition, lack of medical knowledge led to the fall of many of America’s soldiers. The Civil War was fought a few years prior to when Scottish Surgeon Joseph Lister, presented his antiseptic principles of surgery and wound care in 1867. That being said, doctors during the war expected that all wounds were to get infected and then discharge “laudable pus”, which was considered to be a sign of normal healing (Burns). The insufficient knowledge of healing wounds and infection was a preventable, yet prevalent issue during the Civil War. The lives of many were lost as a result of this malnutrition and lack of knowledge in this time period.
Poor sanitation and lack of regard to health was ultimately the greatest cause of deaths in the American Civil War. For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died of disease. The fatal combination of diseases, contaminated water, malnutrition, and lack of knowledge in the medical field, completed the deadly formula of the Civil War. Brave men fighting in these battles faced more struggles off the battlefield, than on, which was not how it was supposed to be. All in all, poor sanitation is the leading cause of deaths in the American Civil War and slowly worked to kill off many soldiers in the Civil War.