Mosquito Soldiers: Malaria, Yellow Fever, and the Course of the American Civil War

213 Pages·2010·4.2 MB·English

by  Andrew Mcilwaine Bell

Mosquito Soldiers
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Mosquito
SoldierS
Malaria, yellow Fever, and the
CourSe of the aMeriCan Civil war
andrew Mcilwaine Bell
louiSiana State univerSity PreSS
Baton rouge
Published by Louisiana State University Press
Copyright © 2010 by Louisiana State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
first printing
designer: Amanda McDonald Scallan
typeface: text, Whitman; display, Mailart Rubberstamp
printer and binder: Thomson-Shore, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bell, Andrew McIlwaine, 1970–
Mosquito soldiers : malaria, yellow fever, and the course of the American Civil War / Andrew
McIlwaine Bell.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8071-3561-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Health aspects. 2. Malaria—United States—
History—19th century. 3. Yellow fever—United States—History—19th century. 4. Mosquitoes as
carriers of disease—United States—History—19th century. 5. Soldiers—Diseases—United States—
History—19th century. 6. Soldiers—Diseases—Confederate States of America—History—19th
century. I. Title.
E621.B54 2010
973.7'75—dc22
2009027446
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. ∞
For Dr. and Mrs. R. M. Bell, with filial love and gratitude
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And the lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon
Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when
he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.
—exodus 11:1
The subtle malaria of the rebel soil destroys and disables more North-
ern soldiers than all the wounds received from rebel arms.
—edwin C. bidwell, surgeon, Thirty-first Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry
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ContentS
preface xi
Introduction 1
1. Aedes, Anopheles, and the Scourges of the South 9
2. The Glory of Gangrene and “Gallinippers” 21
3. Mosquito Coasts 36
4. “The Land of Flowers, Magnolias, and Chills” 55
5. “The Pestilent Marshes of the Peninsula” 72
6. “The Roughest Times Any Set of Soldiers Ever
Encountered” 88
7. Biological Warfare 103
Epilogue 116
appendix 1. Incidence of Mosquito-Borne Disease,
1861–1865 121
appendix 2. Common Diagnoses among Union
Troops, 1861–1866 129
appendix 3. Civil War Chronology 131
notes 137
selected bibliography 163
index 181
Illustrations follow page 71