Civil War Hygiene and Disease

Civil War soldiers feared bullets… but disease killed twice as many. Latrines were placed

far from camp to avoid “bad air.” So far… some soldiers used them to desert. Others just relieved

themselves near tents. Food and water got contaminated. Hospitals reeked

of carbolic acid and rotting wounds. Walt Whitman called the smell “terrific” —

not from corpses… but from the disinfectants. Doctors believed fresh air cured disease.

So they threw open windows… and hoped the wind would save them. CIVIL WAR HYGIENE

— THE SMELL OF DEATH War Stories & Shadows