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Got this from The Military Handbook and Soldiers Manual of Information including the Official Articles of War issued in 1861. I got a repring but do mot have a clue who reprinted it. This is not a direct quote but the essence of the advice.
Health advice from 1860s doctors:
1. Avoid use of ardent spirits (alcoholic beverages).
2. Do not drink very cold water. Cool water is best.
3. Tea, coffee and chocolate are best at meals.
4. Do not overeat and limit between meal eating.
5. Wear flannel in all weather conditions.
6. Wash clothes regularly or hang them in the sun.
7. Have a bed of hay, straw, or other such material for sleeping on. Avoid bare ground.
8. Sleep as much as possible.
9. Make sure there is a fire after rain and damp weather.
10. Wash entire body whenever possible with soap and water.
11. Wear a white flannel around the bowels if disease prevails (the book never said which disease).
12. Keep in open air but not in direct sunlight.
13. Wear shoes with thick soles.
14. Wear a silk handkerchief in your hat in order to prevent sun stroke.
15. Never eat a heavy meal before a march or a battle.
16. Coffee is a great restorative after a march or battle.
17. Never sleep without a cover.
18. If you must drink brandy, do so after a march or battle.
19. Drink as little as possible, even water.
20. If a wound is jetting blood, that means an artery is cut. Tie a handkerchief between the wound and the heart or else the wounded man will die. Use a stick or other thin device to tighten the handkerchief.
21. For a wound in the abdomen, make the wounded man comfortable, for this is fatal.
22. A full beard will give protection against dust and cold. Also will aid perspiration.
23. Avoid fats.
24. Keep your hair cut short and wash the scalp every morning.
25. Wear wool socks and loose shoes.
26. Keep toe and finger nails cut.
27. Wash feet in the evening and the hands and face in the mornings. This will keep the skin soft.
28. When hurt, the best position is on the back with the head elevated.
29. Put a coat on after a march to avoid a cold.
30. Get water to an injured person immediately. If you have no vessel, tie your shirt into a bag and use that.
31. If you are wet, keep moving and you will be all right.
32. If your cooking water comes from a pond or a sluggish stream, boil it, let it cool, and then stir it to get oxygen into it.
33. If you wear garish clothes in battle, you will be more likely to be hit.
34. Envelop a canteen with a wet woolen cloth to chill the water.
35. During a rest stop in the march, lie down. You will get more rest.
36. A tablespoon of cornmeal in a glass of water will aid in “evacuation of the bowels.”
37. Loose bowels is the first step toward cholera and the remedy is a diet of boiled rice. If it’s an advanced case, wrap the abdomen tightly in flannel.
__________________ F. S. Powers
Union Ancersor: Pvt Arnuah Norton, 60th Ohio. (G-G-G Grandfather) Died at Salisbury NC, November 3, 1864
Confederate Ancestors: Captain Thomas A. Morrow, 29th Texas Cavalry (G-G-G- Uncle) and 2LT George W. Morrow, 31st Texas Cavalry (G-G-G Grandfather). Both survived the war
__________________ "Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn them to your advantage." - R. E. Lee
Really interesting list, FS. Thanks for posting it. I have to kind of wonder about the medicinal value of flannel. (nos. 5 and 37). Number 19 seems kind of strange, and I doubt number 21 would be of much comfort to the poor guy who took a round in the abdomen, though more often than not it was probably true. Yeah, Miss Markie, number 33 is kind of a no-brainer. Number 7 would be difficult to adhere to during campaigns and marches, and number 8 for that matter. ???
Terry
__________________ "In this great struggle, this form of Government and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one." Abraham Lincoln - August 18, 1864 Speech to the 164th Ohio Regiment
I am not sure why, william42, but flannel did seem to hold in every housewife's imagination some special curative powers. I don't know if these powers were attributible to the fabric or what, but if you read a Victorian era list of a baby's layette, you find flannel mentioned all the time, and specifically mentioned as a way to ward off disease.
__________________ "Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn them to your advantage." - R. E. Lee
Number 33 would apply as well to driving a red Corvette with Massachusetts plates on a two-laner through a small town in Alabama. (Or anywhere, for that matter.)
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
So, were the casualties among the zouaves higher than other units? I can see officers being shot, the way they draw attention with their actions and bullet magnets (swords) or riding white horses is understandable.
Not only is #21 of no comfort, but this is a soldier's handbook. To me this means that all soldiers received one and have read #21. So if I'm sitting there with a hole in my gut and somebody walks over to me and starts laying it on real thick, then I'm going to tell him to get the h*ll away from me. I get the point. It's fatal.
Bart
__________________ "Thank You....Noooo."
Major Charles Emerson Winchester III M.A.S.H. 4077th
Also, the food, supplies and rest bullets seem like a nice idea. I don't think that supply and the officers in charge of leading the marches complied with those frequently.
Bart
__________________ "Thank You....Noooo."
Major Charles Emerson Winchester III M.A.S.H. 4077th
For those who see this for the first time, please keep in mind that these tips were based on the health attitudes of those living in that period.
__________________ F. S. Powers
Union Ancersor: Pvt Arnuah Norton, 60th Ohio. (G-G-G Grandfather) Died at Salisbury NC, November 3, 1864
Confederate Ancestors: Captain Thomas A. Morrow, 29th Texas Cavalry (G-G-G- Uncle) and 2LT George W. Morrow, 31st Texas Cavalry (G-G-G Grandfather). Both survived the war
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