Medical Histories of Confederate Generals - 9780873386494

Medical Histories of Confederate GeneralsAuthor(s): The Kent State University Press\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Kent State University Press, United States\nImprint: Kent State University Press\nISBN-13: 9780873386494, 978-0873386494\nSynopsis\nFrom official records, personal letters, and postwar memoirs, Jack D. Welsh, [url] has compiled the medical histories of 425 Confederate generals. The generals' early military experience, at West Point and in Florida, Mexico, or on the western frontier, meant that hundreds of them were exposed to and immunized against the diseases that killed so many soldiers in the Civil War, while many also were wounded or lost limbs. In addition, several survived street fights, duels, and shooting accidents-all before the war. Throughout the Civil War, most officers fought in spite' of illness or wounds and spent little time in hospitals. Welsh mentions this fact not to point out bravery, but rather to illustrate the prevailing attitudes toward disease .