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    Some receipts from this era attempted to give medicinal advice. Many dangerous, and in some cases, deadly, "cures" were given, reflecting the primitive knowledge of that time period. Don't assume everything you read here is safe to try! Recipes and Receipts posted here are for Historic Research Purposes, enjoy them, learn from them, discuss them!

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Useful To Purify: River or Muddy Water

to purify river or muddy water
(from Confederate Receipt Book. A Compilation of over One Hundred Receipts, Adapted to the Times, 1863.)

Ingredients:

1/2 oz. alum​
pint of warm water​
a puncheon of water to be purified​

Instructions:

Dissolve half an ounce of alum in a pint of warm water, and stirring it about in a puncheon of water from the river, all impurities will soon settle to the bottom, and in a day or two it will become quite clear.​



12px-2008-09-20_Dirty_water_spilling_from_a_bottle.jpg

Photo by Ildar Sagdejev [CC BY-SA 4.0]

In the "Confederate Receipt Book" from 1863, the cook book has receipt (recipe) about importance of clean drinking water.

Unfortunately, soldiers did not always drink clear water or try to clean it.

An example is the One Hundred and Fourth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry when they were camped at Snow's Pond in Northern Kentucky in Sept. 1862. They were camped near a sinkhole with water. They all drank this water.

"Close by our camp was one of those sinkholes peculiar to limestone regions; quite a large one, with plenty of water; stagnant and covered three inches thick with the pecular thin scum called frog spittle. Here we camped for three long, hot, dusty, weeks - men and horses and mules alike drinking of the fility stuff, till the water became so low as to show what lay hid in the bottom. Imagine our surprise and disgust at discovering carcasses of thirteen dead mules, thrown in there by the Rebels on their retreat. This was the famous camp at Snow's Pond."

Another report from "Reminiscences and Experiences", by the One Hundred and Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry discusses the same sinkhole and says " in a few days nearly half the men were sick from the effects of the same (meaning the water), and one poor boy of company A died at this camp."

These soldiers did not take heed of cleaning their water and became sick with one dying. Bad water or the effects of bad water was one of things that killed soldiers during the Civil War.

From: "Snow's Pond The Forgotten Civil War Skirmish in Boone County, Kentucky's Past" by Daniel D. Dixon, 1999.
 
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Bad water probably had impacts that were more subtle than a dramatic debilitating illness or death. Many times contaminated water will produce flu-like symptoms or diarrhea that contributed to sick calls and just poor performance in camp, on the march, or in battle.

Remember that line in the movie The Horse Soldiers where William Holden's character argues with a Union political colonel about where do dig the latrines. Holden turns to John Wayne and asks, "How do you like your coffee colonel?"
 
There was dairy of a soldier named Bell from Adairsville, Georgia I read that said they could not drink water with wiggletail in it. I believe they were referring to polly wogs, baby frogs. I am searching for that diary now.
 
Even if the existence of germs had yet to be widely known, professional soldiers had long known that safe drinking water prevented the spread of cholera and all sorts of other diseases which could decimate an army. Units of an army which was camped together for weeks at a time (such as along the Rappahonick) would frequently rotate camp sites to get away from the latrines and bad water. It took some effort to make sure that men drew their water and bathed upstream of where the numberous horses and mules were led to drink at least daily.

Unfortunatley, many a volunteer officer came into his position without such knowledge, and it took a while for him to learn it - resulting in the suffering and death of some of his men as he underwent his on-the-job training.
 
Alum actually does not remove bacteria, viruses, or protozoa. It just precipitates out the silt/mud in the water and makes it look clean. For modern backpackers it's useful to keep the silt from plugging up the filter. Drinking too much silt can cause intestinal irrigation, but, as we all know now, that isn't what kills you!
 
Alum actually does not remove bacteria, viruses, or protozoa. It just precipitates out the silt/mud in the water and makes it look clean. For modern backpackers it's useful to keep the silt from plugging up the filter. Drinking too much silt can cause intestinal irrigation, but, as we all know now, that isn't what kills you!
assuming you mean intestinal irritation?
 
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