Civil War Trench Foot?

That's why trench foot didn't get them; the 'gators did! Seriously, war was very much a seasonal sport in the 1860s. With only rare exceptions, warfare was conducted during the generally dry months so that you could move wagons and guns on the roads. Civil War soldiers were not exposed to the round-the-clock pressure of modern warfare. Many men were quite used to going barefoot during the summer, or wearing their shoes without socks, even when doing hard walking or outside labor. They just didn't, as a whole, experience the 4-5 days without being able to take your boots off.
@ Hussar Yeomanry: The rotation for troops at Petersburg war shorter than the 4 day tour of duty troops did in the trenches. It was literally march out to the position, relieve the troops, stand duty, be relieved all in the same day. Infantry didn't occupy the same continuous offensive posture in a Civil War siege that they did in the Great War.
 
I'd imagine it was there.... it even happened at Download Festival(a hard rock/heavy metal music festival) in England this year. It rained and was muddy all over the grounds. I believe 25 instances of "trench foot" were documented. It's been reported at Glastonberry as well. If it's happening at modern music festivals, in which anybody rarely stands in the same spot for more than an hour or two, then I'd imagine Petersburg, Spotsylvania, The Mud March, Jackson's march on Romney.... all probably had some trench foot.
 
I knew a WWII veteran who still suffered from trench foot; even after all those years he couldn't stand still for any length of time without discomfort.
 
If I remember the story my granddad told about great uncle John, it was something about being up all day and all night, in wet, cold conditions for two days. When they took his boots and socks off, his feet were dark and cold. John lived with the family the last six years of his life, from the time my granddad was 12 to 18. My granddad was in awe of Uncle John, and always spoke of him with fond feelings, as he was the only man in the house during those years.
 
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