Nature's Civil War by Kathryn Shively Meier

Author:Kathryn Shively Meier [Meier, Kathryn Shively]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Civil War Period (1850-1877), Nature, Ecology, Medical, General
ISBN: 9781469610771
Google: IbEJAgAAQBAJ
Publisher: UNC Press Books
Published: 2013-11-11T03:09:03+00:00

“Building Huts for the Army of the Potomac” (Harper’s Weekly, January 18, 1862)

Not only did soldiers attempt to protect their bodies from the elements, but they also carefully observed the environs of camp, harnessing resources and intervening to improve their circumstances. For instance, a soldier near Yorktown expressed gratitude for his fine location. “We still remain in camp, and are comfortable, that is for soldiers, as circumstances will admit. Our tents are of good material and keep out the rain, and the camp is situation on rather high ground, therefore the water runs off.” What was even better about this camp was the water: “a small stream . . . supplied by pure springs, from which we get plenty of water for drinking and cooking purposes,” and “a thick wood of pine, with their ever-green foliage; elm-trees, which were soon robbed of their bark to satisfy the chewing propensities of the men; sassafras bushes, the roots of which are pleasant to eat, and are therefore pulled up without regard to quantity.” While the camp was pleasant for this regiment, for the next troops there would be little left—” The wood is now getting thinner every day, falling a sacrifice to our axes, and used by the cooks to keep up their fires, and by us as a means to warm ourselves when it is necessary.”37 Twelfth Massachusetts infantryman Cpl. Joseph E. Blake noted that his was “a most butifull place,” a “good Camp Ground,” owing to fresh water, berries, shade, and a lack of malarial winds.38 Many soldiers agreed with the popular medical opinion that changing one’s locale to higher and more salubrious ground would improve faltering health and plummeting spirits. For example, Lieutenant Haydon noted, “We are moving our camp. . . . A clear puddle here will turn black & be covered with green scum within 10 hours after it falls.”39 Thus, men analyzed the health of the camp assigned them and efficiently extracted resources.

But when soldiers found themselves in insalubrious camps that they could not evacuate, some men directly intervened to alter their environments. Pvt. David Watson from Virginia explained to his mother, “During some of the few good days we have had I have had our camp tolerably drained and hauled up a good deal of sand from the beach and spread it in front of the quarters so that walking about is not quite so bad as it was at first when you stepped out of doors into a mud hole whenever you went out.” If the private could not relocate, he would bring the higher ground to him. Watson and others like him did not realize it, but draining a camp was one of the most effective ways to reduce malaria-carrying mosquitoes. He did note, “I think we have all kept remarkably well for people wading in water and necessarily a great deal exposed as most of the men are.”40 Private Fletcher from Texas similarly remembered that his unit laid cordwood down, as outdoor flooring, to prevent the moisture of the Chickahominy swamps from seeping into camp.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.