most soldiers died from disease not bullet,what u do think life was like during the civil war.?

Question

most soidiers died from disease not bullets,what do you think life was like during the civil war without modern medicine and modern convencies.Also you can include prison life in your explanation.

Answer 1

I know you will not believe this but there has been a holocaust in this country (I mean other then what we did to the native Americans) take a look at Johnson s Island (northern Ohio); Camp Douglas (Chicago); and Elmira (New York).

The official U.S. position on the treatment of Confederate prisoners of war during The War for Southern Independence would shock many modern Americans. The data, facts and statistics have been thoroughly eliminated from American history books. One must research the original documents to discover the horrible truth.

During the Civil War (1861-1865), the U.S. House of Representatives passed the following resolution: "Rebel prisoners in our hands are to be subjected to a treatment finding its parallels only in the conduct of savage tribes and resulting in the death of multitudes by the slow but designed process of starvation and by mortal diseases occasioned by insufficient and unhealthy food and wanton exposure of their persons."

One Yankee prison commander boasted that he had killed more Confederate soldiers than any Union officer on the front battle lines.

The story of Confederate prison camps, especially Andersonville, has been misrepresented. There was no deliberate attempt to mistreat northern POWs. The South asked the North to send doctors and medicine, and they tried to exchange the prisoners.

The North refused and finally the Confederacy offered the North cotton and gold as payment to take the men without exchange. Again, the North refused to do so. They knew the Confederate States of America would be honor bound to try to feed and house the Union POWs and to do so would hamper the Confederate war effort. Yankee prisioners got the same rations as our boys, and one of the responders was correct Wirtz was the only person hung for war crimes and that was for Andersonville.

The yankees sold our blankets and uniforms as souvenirs, charged civilians a nickel to view a “Confederate” at Camp Douglas they stood us outside until we froze to death, we would raise vegetables only to have the yankees take and sell them.

Until the German Death Camps in the 1940s nothing would remotely compare, something else, yankees should be proud.

Medicine was not as we know today but it was not lie pictured in the movies. They knew little about germs but practiced reasonable sanitation in fact, there were groups dedicated it just that. The biggest problems were infection and medicines they used mercury for many cures, which of course kills you. For instance once a soldier got to the actually hospital they had over a 90% survival rate. If you look at picture of casualties, their pockets are inside out and many erroneously think people were stealing from them and left their pockets inside out. Most had nothing or very little to steal what it was the wounded were searching to find where they were wounded. Look at a Minnie ball and imagine that hitting you. It is so heavy it does a lot of damage you would off your feet in unimaginable pain and you looked to see where you were hit in the arm, stomach, etc.

Ancient Egyptians were doing brain surgery thousands of years ago, most people feel their era is superior and these who came before were dumb. You can surprise your classmates by telling them there are still sons and daughters of Civil War veterans (especially Confederate) who are still alive.

Life in general was harsh compared to the way we live but at the same time they had time for leisure things, enjoyed art, music, fashion, riding and everything just about that we do. Yankees had it better than we did when it comes to disease; like visitors to remote tribes in South America and Africa they have carries diseases in that have killed the whole population, Yankees usually lives in populated areas and had been exposed and developed immunity to some of the diseases while we dies. Make no mistakes mumps, Smallpox, bad water and dysentery killed more boys on both sides then all the bullets put together.

God Bless You and The Southern People.

Answer 2

We were still in the medical dark ages. At the start of the war there was nothing resembling an ambulance or a real army hospital There was no concept of preventing infection, and sterile conditions. Sanitation was mediocre at best. As a matter of fact some of the best generals were not the bravest or the most cunning, it was the general who enforced sanitation via clean water, clean food and a good latrine system. Also they had the problem, especially in the winter, of all these men cooped up together. Farm boys suffered especially, their immune system not being quite as good as many of the city boys who were used to tenement life
One of the worst things tho is that soldiers in units,company's and regiments would all come from the same town or local area and then one of these units would get into a tough spot or violent battle and suddenly there were no more young men left from that town.
Make no mistake tho these were some tough guys it was not unusual to march 10 or 20 miles in a day then go into a fight directly after this long march
As harsh as all this may have been tho prison camps were 10 times worse check out some info on the prison In Andersonville Ga. The Confederate Comandant I believe was the only man in the civil war charged with war crimes and was hung for it. Men in that camp died by the thousands. it was made worse towards the end of the war when the north and the south stopped their prisoner exchange program and this filled all the camps up and overtaxed their already slim resources

Answer 3

Try a search for Andersonville, probably the worst Civil War prison camp. Also remember we did not have antibiotics or good anesthesia then. Amputations were done with a cloth soaked in ether. Families fought against each other and we were all Americans, which is why the Civil War remains the war with the greatest number of US causalities.

Answer 4

Yes. A revolution in attitude towards want and greed. With the need to look after yourself and community. The collapse of the US Empire under the weight of its debt will leave people sitting around waiting in vain for the nanny state to rescue them. (or fox / ccn news tell them what to do) Be prepared for change.

Answer 5

All war is hell. Crowds of people bleeding in trenches,rotting bodies,the trenches used as latrines, and no real medicine. We can see why more died of disease. In those days if you lived to fifty, you were seen as really old.

Answer 6

It is hard to imagine living back then without the luxuries we take for granted. To live in tents with no screening to protect them from bugs or the cold and snow without insulated clothing. Then there was the lack of communication from their families. In 150 years from now our great great grand children will look back at our veterans and wonder how they coped with such primitive tools. I hope.

Answer 7

War produces many unwanted chemicals, viruses, garbage and unsanitary areas. Thus, soldiers usually die from diseases and infections because only few die from bullets.

Answer 8

Harsh!