Battlefield Dead

[Blockaderunner]

Earlier today I was trawling through a civil war trivia site. I came across this most unusual statement. I would be grateful if anyone with medical knowledge can confirm this is accurate.
Union dead were usually black and bloated, while confederates were pale and thin. This was due to the different diets of the two armies, the Union diet having a higher fat content.
Is this technically correct?

[johan_steele]

The first impulse is to say no (my medical knowledge is strictly related to some Red Cross & Military 1st aid classes). Simply because the knowledge of medicine and science of the day was abysmal and primitive at best. Such a study would require analyzing the bodies or pictures thereof. We know all about bloating and decomp today: how it works and why including the variances created by the weather how long they had been exposed to the elements etc.

[blue_zouave]

Originally Posted by johan_steele

Simply because the knowledge of medicine and science of the day was abysmal and primitive at best.

Ah, they'll say the same about us in 150 years... after all, we poison people and burn them with radiation in an attempt to cure them of cancer.

Blockaderunner, did the website give a primary source for that claim? (I'm thinking not, from my own experience with the WWW.)

Zou

[ole]

Blockade:

Heard the same sort of "information" myself. 'Spect that at this battle or that, there might be a hint of truth in it. But, generally, there was no difference between the Yank and the Reb. Kinda like I heard somewhere that wild animals would prefer to not eat humans because our meat tastes so bad. Might be a vegan conspiracy.

ole

[Blockaderunner]

No source was given. The site was just a random list of trivia. Would be interesting to know if there is any truth in the statement though.

[larry_cockerham]

I tend to agree with Gary. Federals would have been pulled from the field much quicker than Confederates, due to greater numbers of assistants and better organization in general. None of these folks were left for an inordinate amount of time. Even the Confederate dead were often quickly interred in mass graves.

[ole]

I'd chalk that one off as a bit of nonsense, Blockade. The idea that one would rot differently on a better diet is a bit ludicrous.

ole

[Blockaderunner]

Could be nonsense, but there is often an element of truth in these stories. To be honest I don't fancy going through websites reading about how bodies decompose. I think I will just leave it and see if anyone comes up with the answer.

[gary]

Anyone's dead, given enough time, turns color - starting with purple as the uncirculated blood coagulates. It also depends on how much exposure the body has to the weather (heat and sunlight).

BTW, I've read the same thing written by both sides of the family feud.

[M E Wolf]

Dear Blockaderunner and List Members;

Although I am not a 'medical' expert -- In my former job, I was exposed to the dead in different stages of decomposing.

Conditions, such as weather have a great deal of influence on a body, as well as the type of ground and or water that touches the body.

It is something a Medical Examiner would be happy to explain all the stages of the body's rate of decomposition.

Just some thoughts.

Sincerely,
M. E. Wolf