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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > General Civil War Talk > Disease and its effect on performance |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > General Civil War Talk > Disease and its effect on performance |
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| Disease and its effect on performance | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Thu May 24th, 2007 02:13 am |
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1st Post |
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Doc C Member 
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Disease not only was the major cause of mortality during the civil war but what affect on the the performance of the the commanders and their troops did it have? Probably profound. For example, Lee's heart symptoms from Gettysburg to the Appomatox, Ewell's leg ailments, Hill's numerous bouts of prostatis, the lingering effects of Hancocks Gettysburg wound, etc. Not to forget the common diseases of pneumonia, diarrhea, etc. Also, the common soldiers were not immune to these also. A reporter at Antietam stated that he could tell where the lines of confederates were by the lines of human feces - related to the confederates consumion of green apples and unripe corn. Doc C
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| Posted: Thu May 24th, 2007 10:26 pm |
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2nd Post |
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CleburneFan Member 
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One serious impact disease had was the number of troops who actually died from disease. Wasn't that number even higher than the number who were killed? The many who succumbed to disease would have had tremendous impact on troop manpower numbers. This would have been most heavily felt in the Confederacy. As an aside, Lee not only suffered at Gettysburg from the after effects of a possible, maybe even probable, heart attack, but it is said he had debilitating diarrhea there as well. I don't know about Lee, but that double whammy would put me out of commission. Just imagine all the responsibility he had on top of being weakened by two different medical conditions! Another general whose physical condition certainly impacted his performance was John Bell Hood, especially at Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. President Jefferson Davis also had debilitating conditions that seriously impacted his performance from time to time during the war. There is a book about the physcial condition of Civil War generals, both Union and Confederate. I'll scrounge around and see if I can find the name. It is one I thought might make some interesting reading. Last edited on Thu May 24th, 2007 10:39 pm by CleburneFan |
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| Posted: Thu May 24th, 2007 10:50 pm |
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3rd Post |
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CleburneFan Member
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Turns out that the same author has written two books on the topic of the health of Civil War generals. The books are: Medical Conditions of Confederate Generals Medical Conditions of Union Generals Both books are by Jack D. Welsh who heavily researched the available medical records of hundreds of generals. Last edited on Fri May 25th, 2007 04:52 pm by CleburneFan |
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| Posted: Fri May 25th, 2007 02:15 pm |
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4th Post |
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David White Member 
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There are a host of scenarios and conterfactuals that could orbit around this topic, for example take the other Jefferson Davis, had he not gotten sick he probably performs better in the defense of Louisville, doesn't get chewed out by "Bull" Nelson and doesn't murder him. Maybe not a huge effect on the war but certainly for "Bull" and family.
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| Posted: Thu May 31st, 2007 12:26 am |
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5th Post |
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JoanieReb Member
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One serious impact disease had was the number of troops who actually died from disease. Wasn't that number even higher than the number who were killed? Cleborne Fan, All my TWBTS medical references are packed up right now, but I am certain that the loss to disease is almost always given as twice the loss to battle deaths. I do have one book left out that will indicate that: Burke Davis' "The Civil War, Strange and Fascinating Facts", pg 215. I am really glad this thread was posted. Personally, I find it one of the most fascinating aspects of The War of Sucession.
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| Posted: Thu May 31st, 2007 12:29 am |
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6th Post |
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JoanieReb Member
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Turns out that the same author has written two books on the topic of the health of Civil War generals. Thanks for this info, Cleborne Fan! I'm going down to the local university library to check these out tomorrow. An endlessly fascinating subject to me.
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