The Terrible, Awful Civil War by Kay Melchisedech Olson

Author:Kay Melchisedech Olson [Olson, Kay Melchisedech]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: 978-1-4296-3960-6; 978-1-4296-6349-6; Civil war; history for kids; disgusting history; lice, diseases; children’s nonfiction
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2019-06-28T00:00:00+00:00

Piles of Waste

Picture yourself living in a camp with hundreds of men and piles of waste all around. Pretty stinky, huh? During the Civil War, human and animal waste piled up around army camps, hospitals, and prisons. Keeping clean was an impossible task.

Union and Confederate soldiers dug trenches to use as latrines. These stinky dirt pits were often dug close to the camp’s water and food supply. If the waste wasn’t covered with a layer of dirt daily, flies became a serious problem. Flies feeding on waste brought germs to the camp food supplies. Rain washed the waste into the ground, where it mixed with the water supply.

Field hospitals were almost as bad as the camps. These temporary hospitals were set up in tobacco storehouses, animal barns, large tents, or even in the open air. Doctors and nurses seldom washed their hands between caring for the wounded men. When they did wash, it was often with water contaminated from nearby latrines.

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