Abstract of Sickness and Mortality

I have struck the mother lode. I have just discovered that we have a copy of the Medical and Surgical History of the War of Rebellion right here at work. It was printed in 1870 and consists of six volumes, each topping a thousand pages, of statistical and written reports filed by army medical personnel during the civil war. It is a massive repository of amazing stuff. A brief consultation with Table XXVIII (Abstract of the Sickness and Mortality of the Army of the Potomac) reveals that in the year long period from July 1 1862 to June 30 1863, the Army of the Potomac suffered 2,302 reported cases of Syphilis, and 2,980 reported cases of Gonorrhea, with October, November and December being the heaviest months for these "relics of old decency." Hmmm. There is a drop off in January which I would expect as the holidays might slow down the cavorting with prostitutes. That champion of paranoid procrastination George McClellan was in charge until November when Lincoln finally removed him, and of course Gettysburg was right around the corner. The numbers drop considerably in the spring and summer which were fighting season. All these numbers clearly require some interpretation. Other statistics of note from the same table: 5 serpent bites, 480 deaths from diarrhoea, 343 cases of tape-worms and other intestinal worms, 199 cases of reported insanity resulting in 4 deaths, 456 cases of night blindness, 9,139 cases of constipation, 4 drownings, 26,053 gunshot wounds, 2 homicides and 20 suicides. This is so much fun I almost forgot my hangover for a few minutes.