his article is reprinted and adapted in part from Miller, G. L. 1997. Historical Natural History: Insects and the Civil War. American Entomologist 43:227-245.

Portions of this article are copyrighted by the Entomological Society of America and are reprinted with permission. Other reproduction of this material is prohibited.

Section 8: Taps

Throughout history, insect-borne diseases have decimated armies and ended campaigns. The Civil War was no exception. The War claimed the lives of nearly 620,000 soldiers (Brooks 1966). Of the dead, approximately three out of five Union soldiers, and possibly two out of three Confederates, succumbed to disease (Brooks 1966). Many of these disease-related fatalities involved insects. Considering the prevalence of filth, lack of understanding disease etiology, and the state of medicine, it is surprising that more soldiers did not perish. But, these wartime statistics also raise some interesting questions.

There is little doubt that fly problems were important factors in the prevalence of dysentery and diarrhea in both Union and Confederate armies. However, the absence or low incidence of other insect-borne diseases, such as louse-borne and flea-borne typhus, plague, or yellow fever, is interesting. Under epidemic conditions, louse-borne typhus may reach fatality rates of nearly 100%. During severe epidemics in World War I, Russia lost 2--3 million of its people (Harwood and James 1979). However, during the American Civil War, Official Records list only 850 Union deaths to "typhus" (Brooks 1966). Evidently, the pathogen was not present in the American population to reach epidemic proportions, although conditions seemed ideal for the disease. This also may have been true for plague. Rats and fleas occurred at various times throughout the war. This was especially true during the siege of Vicksburg, MS, and in the trenches around Petersburg, VA. However, ranks were not decimated by plague. Perhaps the bacterium Yersinia pestis (Lehman & Newmann) van Loghen was not present in the rodent populations. Yellow fever reached serious levels only three times during the Civil War (Wiley 1992). In 1864, the worst outbreak occurred in New Bern, NC, where 763 cases resulted in 303 deaths (Wiley 1992). Was it possible that these diseases were present in greater numbers but were misdiagnosed? Possibly, especially for typhus, where it may have been diagnosed in one of the "continued" or "typho-malarial" fever categories recognized at the time. However, the medical community was well aware of symptoms of plague and yellow fever during this period. Large outbreaks of yellow fever were within recent memory for many at the time of the Civil War. As with plague and typhus, a large yellow fever epidemic never materialized during the war. Had any of these diseases reached epidemic proportions, history may have recorded a different outcome.

Events of the Civil War, like any war, should not be reduced to battlefield victories or losses. War is far more complicated than that. The role of insects during the Civil War adds a different dimension to our understanding about soldiering and warfare during this period. It is a topic that historians previously have overlooked. This subject not only underscores the hardships and misery that Americans on both sides had to endure, but it stands as a tribute to the human spirit. It also emphasizes man's constant interaction with the insects--wartime or not.

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