Mental Health in/from the Civil War

rhettbutler1865

Colonel, CSA Cavalry
Honored Fallen Comrade
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Although the Civil War is the most written about and researched war in our history, and perhaps this is an "uncomfortable" topic, we cannot ignore the effects that the "intimate", hand-to-hand combat had on those poor soldiers. Seeing their boyhood friends "blown to bits", having to kill face-to-face--I can only imagine the horror. My only experience with this is a personal one...my father, I'm told( a lieutenant in Patton's 3rd) came back "a very different person." He never recovered from the shock, and ended up...well, a Colt .45 is involved. I apologize if this is troubling for some. There's a good reference to this --RH Bailey, C.Clark, and others...Prentice Hall Press, 1990...Brother against Brother. ......................................... I just realized, this thread is not a good one--I apologize--If I knew how, I would erase it..................Well, I've gotten the green light on this, so I'll leave it be for now.
 
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There have been a few thread on PTSD and the Civil War. I will try to find some for you. I am very sorry about your father., Rhett. So many people come back from war with invisible scars that never heal. They deserve all our compassion, support, and prayers.
Thanks-you are a kind person. But I would like to erase this thread of mine--do you know how I can do that?
 
Thanks-do YOU think I should delete?
No, I think that this is a topic that need a lot of attention. The cost of war is not just in bodies, but in minds. Some people still feel that PTSD is a "cowards" disease or that the soldiers need to just suck it up and go on with their lives. People need to know that trauma to the psyche is every bit as bad a s a physical wound and often much harder to heal. It also makes a huge impact on the families of those who suffer from it, as you probably know. Read the other posts, but don't delete this one unless it is too painful for YOU.
 
Thanks-do YOU think I should delete?
I understand that due to your father's situation, this is a tough subject for you to discuss, but I do think it's a valid Civil War topic. The effects of combat stress on soldiers are not fully understood even today. A lot of people here have read many letters and memoirs - it's well worth asking if any of them discuss or reveal information about the impact the war had on soldiers' mental health.

Off-topic but there was a subplot on Downton Abbey about this recently, with the cook's nephew being excluded from a memorial because he had suffered from shell shock and been shot for cowardice.
 
I understand that due to your father's situation, this is a tough subject for you to discuss, but I do think it's a valid Civil War topic. The effects of combat stress on soldiers are not fully understood even today. A lot of people here have read many letters and memoirs - it's well worth asking if any of them discuss or reveal information about the impact the war had on soldiers' mental health.

Off-topic but there was a subplot on Downton Abbey about this recently, with the cook's nephew being excluded from a memorial because he had suffered from shell shock and been shot for cowardice.
Thanks, Allie--I appreciate that. And yeah, I watched all of Downton Abbey. Just like the infamous "slapping" of the soldier by Patton...
 
Thanks, Allie--I appreciate that. And yeah, I watched all of Downton Abbey. Just like the infamous "slapping" of the soldier by Patton...
Didn't that guy later turn out to have typhoid or something so not only was Patton in the wrong for accusing all shell-shock victims of malingering, the guy was just straight-up ill? Patton, gotta love him.

The memoirs I've read contain, if anything, a surprising lack of evidence of psychological effects. CSO Rice makes it sound like the most fun he ever had. The closest he comes to describing mortal terror is when talking about the shelling of Vicksburg. Of course, it was not an era when talking about your problems was much admired. I think very few people would have written honestly about what were then called nervous difficulties.
 
It is an important topic to discuss, so don't feel ashamed about bringing it up. I remember when I was a child with soldiers coming back from Vietnam and my parents and other adults wispering about how so and so had changed since coming back and even today, the American Sniper guy being killed by some one crazy with PTSD. I just read Living Hell:The Dark Side of the Civil War by Michael CC Adams and he devotes a whole chapter to the topic after the earlier chapters in the book describe in visceral detail how nasty combat was. After reading that, I am susprised that more people didn't go crazy due to warfare.
 
Didn't that guy later turn out to have typhoid or something so not only was Patton in the wrong for accusing all shell-shock victims of malingering, the guy was just straight-up ill? Patton, gotta love him.

The memoirs I've read contain, if anything, a surprising lack of evidence of psychological effects. CSO Rice makes it sound like the most fun he ever had. The closest he comes to describing mortal terror is when talking about the shelling of Vicksburg. Of course, it was not an era when talking about your problems was much admired. I think very few people would have written honestly about what were then called nervous difficulties.
Some people use laughter to cover up their real feelings. Look at Robin Williams, poor man.
 
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