Essay On Why So Many Soldiers Died In Civil War Due To Diseases

History

Why so many soldiers died in the Civil War due to diseases?
During 1864, many causalities of soldiers have been observed due to diseases. History shows that, twice the same number of men suffered death from disease as were killed during battles. Such a variety of men spending their life in the close quarters or houses, under extraordinary stress and frequently with poor nourishment, suffered from epidemics. Sicknesses and diseases, for example, measles, whooping cough and mumps spread throughout the camps. Closely to swamps, deadly mosquitoes brought the disease of malaria. Furthermore, already debilitated army troops who contracted a typical cold frequently suffered pneumonia.
However, the greatest reason for this widespread of diseases was an absence of sanitation system. Open restrooms and toilettes, decaying sustenance, and manure pulled in infection carrying bugs and insects along with contamination of the drinking water. According to the reports of Union Army, almost 99% of the soldiers contracted perpetual diarrhea as well as dysentery amid the battles. Typhoid infection, brought on by salmonella microbes in water and food, was the vital reason behind same number of all the non-combat fatalities in the Army. Diseases and infections were, unfortunately, a normal routine part of the battle that took place in the nineteenth century.
Not just were the reasons for diseases still ineffectively seen in the 1860s, yet by present standards, armed force surgeons and doctors were all known as "surgeons" were in fact not very much skilled in treating wounds, infections or diseases. At that time, they used to operate the soldiers in poor treatment conditions, having no painkillers, no antibiotics and even no sanitized tools of surgery. Nevertheless, it was not entirely their fault in carrying it out this way as the theory of Germs (spreading through micro-organisms) was not discovered until the 18th century.
Despite of the fact that, the surgeons were not highly educated or skilled, had no knowledge of how to deal with emergency situations and operate successfully in the presence of poor treatment facilities, they still tried their level best to save as many lives as they could.

Endnotes

Walbert, David. 'Civil war casualties - North Carolina digital history.' Learnnc.org. Last modified 2015. Accessed February 3, 2015. Http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-civilwar/4601.
Bollet, Alfred J. Civil War Medicine. Tucson, Ariz.: Galen Press, 2002.
Dammann, Gordon, and Alfred J Ballet. Images Of Civil War Medicine. New York: Demos, 2008.