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War Conditions
More Michigan soldiers died from disease
than from battle
wounds during the Civil War.
 Of the 90,000 Michigan men who fought in the
Civil War, almost 15,000 died in battle or from
disease. Look at the chart to see which was a greater threat—battle or disease. Ignorance
about the cause of disease as well as poor diet and sanitation were responsible for the
large number of deaths from disease. Water from streams, lakes and rivers was used for
drinking and bathing. Transportation of food was slow. There was no refrigeration to keep
food from spoiling on hot summer days. Casualties from accidents were also high.
The Civil War was a struggle among Americans, thus making it the most costly war in
American history in terms of casualties. Diseases included cholera, dysentery, lung fever,
malaria, scarlet fever, small pox, typhoid fever and yellow fever. Medical personnel did
not know about germs and how infections started.
During the
Civil War, many soldiers wrote letters and kept diaries about long marches, poor food, illness,
boredom, loneliness and the fear and excitement of fighting. While caring for the sick on the battlefields,
Dr. Cyrus Bacon, a surgeon with the U.S. Army from Edwardsburg (Cass County),
Michigan, kept a diary. You can read an excerpt from Dr. Bacon's Civil War diary, which is in the collections of the Archives
of Michigan.
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