What Did Gettysburg Smell Like?

[Barrycdog]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...did_it_taste_like_a_sensory.html?wpsrc=fol_fb

 

[favedave]

When I was there last Autumn, it smelled like Fall.

 

[David Knight]

High summer, followed by gunpowder and death. Not a great mix.

 

[DanF]

Like death, if you have ever been to an autopsy it's an odor you will never forget.

 

[BillO]

All battlefields smell like "sugared sh**".

 

[Pvt.Shattuck]

It must have smelled really bad in Gettysburg after the battle with all those horse and soldier corpses rotting in the sun.
Gee, I think there's a book in that.
In the early 90s I worked in Eastern Europe as a consultant. I was shocked by the different cultural standards of personal hygiene. My co-workers often reeked of, what was, in my opinion, overpowering B.O. I frequently had to mouth breathe or stick my head out the car window to fight off rising nausea. It was not unusual for men to wear the same clothes every day for a week. There was no such thing as a dry cleaners. They also all chain smoked. Nobody seemed to notice! They were used to it. It was normal to them.
I imagine this experience was something approaching what Civil War soldiers smelled like. Only the soldiers would have been degrees of magnitude worse. Unless people eventually reach some saturation point of stink where it just can't get any worse.
Residents of Frederick, MD, remarked that Lee's men smelled so bad when they marched through town that the foul odor lingered for days. Remember, this recollection was from folks who already smelled bad themselves!
Reason # 123 why, no, if I had the chance I would not want to go back in time to the Civil War.

 

[mikekj]

My freezer went out last week and had a lot of deer meat in it. I didn't know for a couple of days.

So I imagine the dead, warm flesh might be similar.

 

[huskerblitz]

I can only imagine it was similar to the 'dead trucks' I remember being around. For those not familiar with 'dead trucks' they are trucks that pick up dead livestock to dispose of them. Seems most of the time I was around them it was always in summer and the smell was really bad.

 

[JerseyBart]

170,000ish men and animals...no toilet facilities...death.

 

[DanF]

There is no worse smell than a decomposing human body. You quickly learn in LE to carry vicks vapor rub in your patrol car. Putting some under your nose helps some but that odor stays with you for hours afterwards.

 

[W. Richardson]

1 word comes to mind = sickening !

Respectfully,

William

 

[Stony]

Not very good. I can't imagine.

 

[drezac]

another smell to add to the list is horse manure one time I did the calculation of how many union artillery horses there would have been at Gettysburg to figure out how much feed would be needed. I came up with 7,800 horses just for union artillery - that's a lot of horse manure - had to be some really large piles when cleaning out where the horses were picketed
( my appologies - the first term I used began with "C" and the word filters removed it - did not think it would trip as offesive, did not mean to post anything offensive- edited and change to manure)

 

[drezac]

My freezer went out last week and had a lot of deer meat in it. I didn't know for a couple of days.

So I imagine the dead, warm flesh might be similar.

reminds me of my oldest son. he is an archeology major and it's common for them to have a personal bone collection for reference. He picked up a roadkill fox and did not have time to work on it, so he fired up our unused freezer in the garage to keep it in until he could work on it. we have a trash can in the garage that is for non-food trash only. walked out and smelled something, thought someone had placed food in the can, and then realized it was not coming from the can. the freezer had quit, and there was one ripe fox inside. he was really gagging cleaning up that mess.

 

[MRB1863]

Must have been a horrific stench! Many unpleasant odors combined to make one big stink. Imagine the intensity in Gettysburg when the aroma was noticeable in New Jersey. In this area it is typical to have weather originate and winds/breezes prevail from the west, thereby carrying airborne particulates like aromas to the east. That's still a long way for a smell to travel. Here is a quote from accuweather:
Ben Neely, Executive Director at the Adams County Historical Society, emphasized that the most damaging aspect of the weather for this event actually occurred on July 4, the day after the battle had ended. Rain fell across the area for most of the day; Rev. Dr. Jacobs put the total at 1.39 inches. While wounded still lay on the field, some may have felt welcomed by the break in action. Some wounded soldiers had still not been moved from low-lying areas by the Plum Run Creek, however, which overflowed its banks. Those stranded near the flood waters, reportedly all Confederates, drowned.
Not sure if this heavy rain would have diluted the odors or helped whisk them away to be sniffed by others.

 

[12th Missouri Yankee]

I cannot really imagine. I have been around some foul animal tissue decomposing and the scent stays in your mind for a long time. Manure does not bother me but I really cannot stand formaldehyde!!!

 

[wilber6150]

Must have been a horrific stench! Many unpleasant odors combined to make one big stink. Imagine the intensity in Gettysburg when the aroma was noticeable in New Jersey. In this area it is typical to have weather originate and winds/breezes prevail from the west, thereby carrying airborne particulates like aromas to the east. That's still a long way for a smell to travel. Here is a quote from accuweather:
Ben Neely, Executive Director at the Adams County Historical Society, emphasized that the most damaging aspect of the weather for this event actually occurred on July 4, the day after the battle had ended. Rain fell across the area for most of the day; Rev. Dr. Jacobs put the total at 1.39 inches. While wounded still lay on the field, some may have felt welcomed by the break in action. Some wounded soldiers had still not been moved from low-lying areas by the Plum Run Creek, however, which overflowed its banks. Those stranded near the flood waters, reportedly all Confederates, drowned.
Not sure if this heavy rain would have diluted the odors or helped whisk them away to be sniffed by others.

They noticed the smell in New Jersey? Never heard that before...

 

[MRB1863]

They noticed the smell in New Jersey? Never heard that before...

OOPS! Thank you for bringing this out!!! I misread the story in the link. After rereading it, realized she came from New Jersey to Gettysburg and experienced the smell there. Sorry 'bout my error. Sign of what only half a cup of coffee does when working nearly 29 days without a day off!

I stand corrected thanks to wilbur6150.

It did rain, though.

 

[wilber6150]

OOPS! Thank you for bringing this out!!! I misread the story in the link. After rereading it, realized she came from New Jersey to Gettysburg and experienced the smell there. Sorry 'bout my error. Sign of what only half a cup of coffee does when working nearly 29 days without a day off!

I stand corrected thanks to wilbur6150.

It did rain, though.

No problem, I was thinking that maybe she was just smelling some "good fellows" that found a new home in the soil of Jersey lol

 

[MRB1863]

No problem, I was thinking that maybe she was just smelling some "good fellows" that found a new home in the soil of Jersey lol

I remain, sir, humbly embarrassed but hopefully a good fellow. (Chuckle with a red face)