USA HISTORY

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR(1861 1865)

THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN

[SOURCES]
Most common cause of death in the Civil War?

(A) ** Disease/infection

(B) Minnie Ball

(C) Cannon ball in face

(D) Massive diarrhea

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -Pneumonia, typhoid, diarrhea/dysentery, and malaria were the predominant illnesses. Altogether, two-thirds of the approximately 660, 000 deaths of soldiers were caused by uncontrolled infectious diseases, and epidemics played a major role in halting several major campaigns.

Concept note-2: -Twice as many Civil War soldiers died from disease as from battle wounds, the result in considerable measure of poor sanitation in an era that created mass armies that did not yet understand the transmission of infectious diseases like typhoid, typhus, and dysentery.

Concept note-3: -Diarrhea and dysentery were the number one killers. (Dysentery is considered diarrhea with blood in the stool.) 57, 000 deaths were directly recorded to these most disabling maladies. The total recorded Union cases was 1, 528, 098.

Concept note-4: -In the American civil war, two-thirds of the estimated 660 000 deaths of soldiers were caused by pneumonia, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria, and this death toll led to a 2-year extension of the war.

Concept note-5: -There were four deadly wound infections recognized in the war-tetanus, erysipelas, hospital gangrene and pyemia (blood poisoning). These infections were particularly painful and deadly.