Hdtotica Na il11lfa His Mf'= huect§ and he Civill WaJf By Gary L .. Milller •

The fact that microbes caused more death than hostile fire is well known to the student of the American Civil War. H oweve1~ much overlooked is the insect role in the trans­ mission ofdis ease-causing organisms. Maladies such as dysentery and malaria have an important or critical insect component and accounted for tremendous suffering during the war. Surrounded by insects such as flies, lice, and fleas, both Union and Confed­ erate soldiers often found themselves battling more than each other. This account re­ veals the influence of insects on soldiering during the Civil Wm:

Soldiers, because of their high Reveille literacy rate, could record their insect-related experiences Around 4:30 A.M., a signal cannon fired a shot during the war. Illustration from from Ft. Johnson, SC. 1 Moments later, Edmond Billings (1887). Ruffin pulled the lanyard on one of the colum­ biads off Morris Island. His target was a fort in Charleston H arbor-Ft. Sumte r. For Ruffin, the Southern firebra nd who was adamant about state's rights, firing on the Federal posi­ tion was the only recourse left. Civil War his­ torians genera ll y credit Ruffin with firing the first shot of the American Civil War (1861- 1865) but often neglect his other contributions. Prior to the Civil War, Ruffin was the edito r of the Fanners' Register. He espoused the then radical idea known as "marling" which was a technique for soil improvement using carbon­ ate lime manure. His writings, howevet; a lso included a study of the li fe history and cultura l control of the "Corn or fly-weevil "2 (the ogists witnessed the surrender of General Rob­ Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella ert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Al­ [OiivierJ ). though a ll hostilities did not end with Lee's Although the dubious distinction of firing surrender, the Confederate a rmy was shattered the first shot of the Civil War may have fa llen as a viable fighting force. F. W. Snow, the noted on an entomologist, other folk with entomo­ teacher in entomo logy, recorded the event at logical interests a lso were involved in the war. Appomattox 3 in his wartime journal (M allis Nearl y four years later, one of those entomol- 1971 ). Snow was an avowed pacifist who served in the U.S. Christian Commission a nd 112 April1861. a ided the wounded (Mallis 1971). The war that 2 Ruffin believed rh:n rhc common name ·•weevil" served 10 co nfuse the insect. He stated correctly that the insect ''in its per­ fect state is a moth" (Ruffin 1847). 19 April 1865.

A~tERICti N ENTOM OLOGI!iT • Wimer 1997 227 sensing the historical importance of the war, preserved many of those personal accounts and reminiscences. In addition, the Civil War was the first war that was photographed extensive­ ly. This photographic legacy provides a won­ derful glimpse of the activities of soldiers and thei r li ves. Other illustrative sources include the various sketches and drawings made by soldiers and reporters. Some of the insect-relat­ ed illustrations are included in John Billings' (1887) excellent na rrative, Hardtack a11d Cof­ fee . Whole treatises a rc devoted to a single day of a pa rticula r Civil War campaign; others a re devoted to tactics, accouterments, soldier life, medicine, regimental histori es, ghosts, and even sex. Bur none is devoted entirely to the role of insects in the C ivil War, despite the ef­ fects of insects on nearly every aspect of a war Soldiers were quick to record the began w ith a fire-eating entomologist saw irs said to define us as Americans. The influence flyblown condition of fallen historic end with a pacifistic entomologist. of insects and disease on the Napoleonic Cam­ comrades and enemies. Here, The C ivil War touched the lives of many paigns and mili tary history has been discussed Union dead lie on the field at Gettysburg (USAMHI; see Americans, including many associated with recently by Peterson (1995). Like Peterson's acknowledgments). the classical era of American entomo logy. The study, the present work represents an investiga­ li st of those who served in the military or were tion into the influence of insects during war­ influenced by the war reads like a Who's Who time conditions. My purpose is to illuminate of earl y entomology. The war even affected the nor only the relationships between insects and language of entomologists who d id nor serve. disease but a lso to include rhe many aspects In Asa Fitch's fi eld observati ons of the Hessian that involved insects and soldiering during the fly [Mayetiola destructor (Say) l on 23 june C ivil War. 1862, he described collecting the adult midges. Using "a slang term which has recently be­ come current in our country," he noted that the Flies by the Scores adult midge "skedaddles" 'vvhen it is ap­ proached with a vial (Fitch 1865). Firch'sjune At the call to arms, communities throughout entries predated the Seven Days4 near Rich­ the orrh and South began assembling troops. mond and the resulting Un ion withdrawal. The It was evident that insects also were amassing commo n soldier's term for milita ry retreat­ with the soldiers. Flies were advance denizens skedaddle-had found its way into the entomo­ in the bivouacs. Early in the war, one Confed­ logical literature. erate described the fl y problem in camp. The wealth of info rmation availa ble to the When we open o ur eyes in the morning we student of the C ivil War, one of the best docu­ find the canvas roofs and wa lls of our cents mented wars in human history, exists for a black with them lflies j .. . . It needs no morn­ number reasons. For the first time, the Ameri­ ing reveille then to rouse the soldier from his can populati on had a high degree of li teracy. sl umbers. The tickling sensations about the This was significant because more soldiers ears, eyes, mouth, nose, etc., caused by the could record their thoughts a nd experiences of microscopic feet and inquisitive suckers of the war. Some parricipanrs were eloquent writ­ an army numerous as the sands of the sea ers, whereas others ba rely were literate. Exam­ shore will awaken a regiment of men from ples of such writings a re included verbatim in innocent sleep to wide-awake profanity more promptly than the near beat of the this arricle. Information concerning daily life, alarming drum (Wiley 1994 ). regimental strengths, and troop movements was described and mailed without restriction, Another Confederate continued, "I get because soldiers' letters were not censored dur­ vexed at them and commence killing them, but ing the Civil Wa r. Sold iers and their families, as I believe forty come to every one's funeral f have given it up as a bad job" (Wiley 1994). Avoiding the enemy proved easier than avoid­ 4 25 June- I July 1862. ing flies.

228 A\tr.RtC.AN E :-.'TO~ t OLOG tsr • Winter I 997 To appreciate the fly problems that con­ from rhe seething latrines and infested rents fronted the soldiers, it is important to under­ produced an olfactory sensation w hich has stand soldiering in the Union and Confederate yer ro be duplicated in rhe Western Hemi­ arm ies. This was an era before the highly sphere. As for water-and seldom was rhere enough-any source would do in the early mechanized armies of the twentieth century. camps. Frcquenrly, ir was so muddy a nd fet­ Excepting river transport, trains, and one's id rhe men held their noses when rhey d rank own feet, much of the transportation depended the sruff. In many instances, rhe heavy rains upon animals-horses, mules, and, occasion­ washed fecal material directly inro rhe sup­ ally, oxen. The number of ani mals required to ply with disastrous consequences. support both armies dwarfs anything by to­ day's standards. In 1864, the Army of the Po­ The extensive untidiness made excell ent tomac was followed by more than 4,000 six­ breeding habitats fo r fil th fli es, especiall y du r­ mule tea m wagons as it entered the W ilderness ing the wa nner months. The flies' presence Campaign.s The total number of horses and represented more than just a nuisance. The mules that began that campaign was 56,499. habit of crawling on refuse and excrement and Armies from the western theater also main­ rhen on humans and their food was a serious rained a large animal entourage. General Sher­ problem, one not full y realized at the time. man's army of 60,000 was accompanied by Fli es are potential vectors of pathogens that 2,500 wagons and 600 ambulances (Bi llings cause cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, and ty­ 1887). It is probable that those wagons also phoid (G reenberg 1973 ). By the end of rhe wa1; were pu ll ed by six-mule reams. diseases would take rhe lives of more soldiers This, roo, was an era before modern M REs than would hostile fire (Brooks 1966). (Meals Ready ro Eat). Meat rations commonly Dysentery and diarrhea were by far the were supplied as fresh beef, although this was most common ailments in borh Union and often a luxury for many Confederate soldiers. Confederate armies. Although fl ies probably To supply meat for the soldiers, large carri e were not in volved in every enteric disease, trai ns had to be moved with the army. When there is li ttle doubt they contributed to the the Union army crossed rhe Rapidan before the prominence of such ailments. \XI hether soldiers Wilderness, it was accompanied by an estimat­ called it the "quickstep" or the "alvine flu x, " ed 8-10,000 head of cattle (Billings 1887). diarrhea and dysentery were the Civil War's This massing of humanity and animals pro­ grea test ca use of misery. Union records li st duced equa ll y large quantities of ga rbage, more than 1.7 million cases of dysentery and refuse, and excrement rhar surrounded the sol­ dia rrhea, maladies that rook the li ves of nearl y Bat11 efields were strewn not only diers from all sides. A Virginia private elabo­ 60,000 soldiers (Wiley 1992). The suffe ring with human wreckage. A fearful rated in hi s diary: "Dec. 3, 1863 .. . On ro ll ing from rhese diseases was especiall y bad in pris­ toll was exacted on military up my bed this morning I fo und l had been lying animals. The dead artillery ons. More rhan 4,500 of nearly 20,000 Uni on horses near the Trostle barn at in-1 wont say what-something though that prisoners confined between 1 March and 31 Gettysburg also would become didn't smell like milk and peaches" (W iley August 1864, died of dysentery and di arrhea ar quickly flyblown in the July heat 1994). Andersonville, GA (B rooks 1966). Confederate (USAMHI). At the beginning of a new campaign, ma rching routes usuall y were strewn with ev­ ery imaginable article of clothing and personal effect dee med unnecessary or too burdensome by the soldier. Bur widespread untidiness prob­ abl y best mani fes ted itself in camp. Brooks' (1966) description of the sold iers' camps was no doubt apt. Few recruits bothered rouse rhe slit-trench latrines (and rhose who did usually forgot ro shovel dirr over the feces) and most uri­ nated just o utside rhe rem-and a fter sun­ down, in the street. Garbage was every­ where, rats abounded, and dead cars and dogs rurned up in rhe srra ngesr places. The emanations of slaughtered carrie and kitch­ en offal together with the noxio us effluvia

'5-6 May 1864.

A.\IERJCAN Er-.'T0 .\10 1OG IST • \'iiiIll er 1997 229 prisoners also suffered; of the nearly 4 1,000 doses o f salts, calomel, turpentine, castor oil , Rebels held at various prisons in rhe Norrh, chalk, a nd blue pi ll s of mercury-led to disas­ dysentery a nd dia rrhea rook 6,000 lives trous results by aggravating rhe condition. (Brooks 1966). Constipation was indeed a lu xury fo r either Symptoms of dysentery and diarrhea man­ Ya nk o r Reb! ifested themselves as more than an occasional Fly problems were bad enough during peri­ case of loose bowels; one soldier noted that his ods of noncombat, bur they were even worse bowels moved 18 times in three hours while he after barrie and added ro the horrors of wa r. was on as Corporal of the Guard (Wiley l992). Although modern warfare has provided mech­ Rank would not exempt one from ravages of a nized equipment to dig mass graves, pro­ the flu x. At the battle of Gettysburg,6 General duced various residual chemical sprays to in­ Robert E. Lee suffered with severe diarrhea hibit fl y development, and even supplied large (Freeman 1935), prompting some students of quantities of petroleum fuels fo r burning the the Civil War to wonder if his debilitation corpses, such technology was not present or played some role in the Confederates' defeat. used during the C ivil War. Bodies often were With such problems, it is amazin g that either buried hastily or, in many cases, never buried. the Union or Confederate army could carry our The carnage of the battlefield made a prime its duties, especiall y when called ro barrie. O ne breeding a nd feeding ground for fli es, but hu­ Confederate elaborated on a cure for the bowel mans were not the only casualties of these problems that plagued him: battles. Fearfu l to ll s also were exacted on the mi li tary a nimals; at Gettysburg, more than I with a number of ochers were sufferers 1,500 a rtillery horses were killed. Scenes of the from camp diarrhea, as ir was called, and up fallen repeated themselves throughout the con­ co char rime we had found no cure-so, en­ flict. O ne Rebel private described the human tering the barrie, I had qui re a great fear char something disgraceful might happen and it wreckage after the battle of the Anglei at Sport­ was somewhat uppermost in my mind; bur sylva nia, VA: ro my surprise the exciremenr or something Those who were nor very badly mutilated else, had effected a cure. I inquired of some were swollen as long as they could swell. of the ochers and they reponed a cure (Wiley Their faces were nearly black, and their The open air and makeshift 1994). mourhs, nose, eyes, hair, and the mutilated hospital facilities often were set Beca use this "battlefield" cure was not con­ parts were full of maggots! This is a horrible up near the battlefield. Such a picture, bur ... iris nor overdrawn. What an sta ntly avail able or especia lly welcomed, oth­ hospital was photographed by a awful seem! " (Wheeler 1991 ). barnyard at Antietam. Removal er medicaments were sought. Treatments of of wounded could take several opium and belladonna were therapeutic in That much of the active campaigning rook days after some battles. Open checking diarrhea. Yet, other commonly pre­ place during warmer months provided optimal and hastily bandaged wounds of scribed treatments-heavy drafts of whiskey, breed in g temperatures for flies, and the dead admitted soldiers were prime bodies quickl y became maggot infested. One breeding sites for flies (USAM­ 8 HI). • J-3 Jul)' 1863. Pennsylvania private at the ba ttle of Antieram recalled after the war, In rhe burial of the dead on this particular parr of the fi eld, the 130rh Regiment, by rca­ son of having incurred the displeasure of irs brigade commander, was honored in rhe ap­ poinnncnr as undertaker-i n-chief. The weather was phenomenally hoc, and the stench from the hundreds of black bloated, decomposed maggoty bodies, exposed co a torrid hear for three da}'S after the barrie, was a sight truly horrid and beggaring all power of verbal expression" (Scorelmyer 1992). As the bodies o f the dead quickly became infested, the battle wounds of the living also

· 12-13 M3y 1864. ' 17 Scplcmbcr 1862.

230 A.\IERICAN E:-TmiOLOGIST • Wlillfer 1997 became fl yblown. M a imed a nd wounded sol­ diers sometimes remained fo r days on the bat­ tl efi eld before receivin g a ttention or being moved to a hospita l. The exposed and o pen wounds a lso became prime breeding and feed­ ing sires fo r carnivorous species of fli es. Salli e Broadhead (1864), a civilia n who kept a diary during Gettysburg, recorded the fo ll owing in­ cident just a few days after the battle.

I assisted in feeding some of the severely wounded, when I perceived rhar rhey were suffe ring on account of nor having their wounds dressed. I did no r know whether I could render any assistance in rh ar way, bur I rhoughr I wo uld rry. I procured a basin and warer, a nd wenr ro a room where there were seven or eighr, some shor in the arms, orhcrs in the legs, and one in his back, a nd another in the shoulder. I asked if any one would like to have his wounds dressed? Some o ne re­ plied, "There is a man o n the fl oor who can­ not help himself, you would better see ro him. " Stooping over him, I asked for his "FAL L 1:-\ FO R YOUR QUI NINE." wound, a nd he pointed to his leg. Such a horrible sight I had never seen and hope never to see again. His leg was all covered under sterile conditions-a situation that was Quinine was administered to with worms I maggots]. a ra rity during the C ivil War given the lack of Union soldiers to prevent malaria If an exposed wound was nor infested on the understanding of germs. Maggot therapy was and a host of other ills. The Union blockade of the Confederacy field, there was a good chance it would become not novel to the Civil War a nd had been redis­ made accession of the drug so at the hospita l. O ne Union private described covered various times throughout history difficult in the South. Confeder· a hospita l scene: "Near the hospita l was a pile (Brooks 1966). ates relied on mixtures of alcohol of arms, legs, hands, and feet that had been cut Prime breeding sites fo r flies existed around and tree barks, black market from the wounded. T hese had not been buried, the camps, battlefi elds, and hospita ls, but con­ quinine, or perseverance. Illustration from Billings (1887). just thrown in a pil e and worms [maggots! had ditions a lso were ripe in the squalo r of the pris­ begun to work on them" (Strong 1961). Un ion on camps. Probably the most notorious of these surgeons got rid of maggots in wounds with camps was the one at Andersonville, GA. chloroform. Because o f sho rtages in med ical Here, of the 33,000 Union prisoners confined supplies, Confederate doctors did not always on 26 stockaded acres, over 13,000 died; in the have access to such supplies. They discovered summer of 1864 , the death rare was well over accidentall y that the maggots were actua ll y 100 per day (Byrne 1983). A visiting Confeder­ more efficient at digesting necrotic tissue tha n ate physicia n recorded some o f the conditions a sca lpel o r nitric acid (Brooks 1966). J. F. Za­ at the prison. Near one area for cooking was a charias, a surgeon in the Confederate army mound of "corn bread, bones, and filth of a ll wrote: kinds, thirty feet in diameter and several feet in During my service in the hospital at Dan­ height, swarming with myriads of flies" (Futch ville, Virginia , I fi rst used maggors to remove 1968). Whereas adult fl ies filled the air, mag­ rhe deca}red tissue in hospital gangrene and gots were found everywhere else. O ne prisoner wirh eminent satisfaction. In a single day, recorded, they would clean a wo und much better rhan us Boys gor a spade & took o ff rhe rop o f rhe any agents we had at our command. I used ground & ir was alive wirh maggots where rhem a fterwards ar various places. I am sure we La}' & rhe Boys say rhe ground is so all I saved many lives by their usc, escaped sep­ around here Hard bur canr be helped there ticemia, and had rapid recoveries (Green­ isn't a Hog stye in rhe North aney nastier berg 1973). rhan this camp (Furch 1968). Besides their effi ciency, the maggots a lso Prisoners' rations a lso were likely to be fly­ excrete all antoin, which a ids in the digestion of blown. One Union diarist recorded beef rations necrotic tissue and, thus, promotes new tissue as "some of the wormiest types I ever did see" growth. However, m aggot thera py works best (Futch ·1968 ). O thers concurred: "We draw this

A .\·IEIUCAN E NTO:VIOLOGIST • \'ili11ter / 997 231 evening spoilt beef a nd maggorly mush ali ve The countless musquiroes in the vicinity of wi th worms" and Fort Pillow, during the month of April, 1862, must have had strong Secession sym­ Rather Dul fourth I tell you shet up in A hog pathies; they certainly were birrer enemies of pen Drew fresh Beef or said to be fresh But I the Nationalists and phlebotomized them called ir rather Oald all Magorrs and stunk without mercy. They never were so numer­ enough ro knock a man over" (Futch ous and venomous before ar rhar season of 1968). the year, in that latitude, and they bled sol­ Maggots even were fo und in the water sup­ diers and sailors as perseveringly as did ever ply. The small stream that served for dri nking Dr. Sangrado his system-murdered patients. water and a latrine was described as a "semi­ Those annoying insects were always vigi­ liquid mass of filth" that contained" innumer­ lam, and had the honor of extracting the earliest sanguinary flu id during the bom­ a ble long-tailed la rge white maggots Irattai led bardment. maggots?]" along with "fermenting excre­ They had no fear of gunboats or mortars, ment, and fragments of bread and meat" (Fu­ artillery or bayonets. They recognized no dis­ tch 1968). This is an interesting comment for a tinction in ra nk, attacking Commodores and couple of reasons. First, because rattailed Captains, Bohemians and Brigadiers a like. maggots (Sy rphidae) li ve in highl y polluted One hundred did I slay, even wh ile writing water, it reflects the contaminated condition of half a dozen lines; and yer there were thou­ tha t stream. Second, because rartailed mag­ sands to suppl)' their places. They seemed as gots sometimes are responsible for human in ­ anxious to die as rhe Rebels pretend to be. testinal pseudomyiasis, one wonders if some of The difference between them was, rhey did die, and the Rebels did nor- when they the soldiers may have suffered from this condi­ ' 'TUH:-.'1:\t; 111M U\'EH." could help ir. Mortifying reflection ro vain­ tion. Speculation aside, there is little doubt that glorious Man! Musquiroes are braver than fli es added to the li ving hell of Andersonville. From general to lowly private, rhe three hundred Lacedaemonians who lice were a constant companion fought and fe ll beneath the shade of Xerxes' to all soldiers. Illustration from arrows. Billings (1887). Sleep was often an impossibility, on rhe Gallinippers Galore Fleer or in camp; and a number of the Bohe­ mians rose one morning with their optics so nearly closed, from the attack of the mus­ Although nonbiting fli es abounded, biting quitoes, that the poor fellows would have fl ies proliferated as well , and presented their been entirely excusable if they had taken own set of problems. No story about the in­ what, in bar-room parlance, is classically volvement of insects with the Civ il War would called, an eye-opener. be complete w itho ut referring to biting flies, Confound the musquitoes! I used to ex­ especiall y mosquitoes. Called "gall inippers" claim every minute. They were the pests of by the soldiers, they were considered by some the South, and of summer, and, like the Confederates to be a greater nuisance than Thane of Cawdor, did murder sleep! Ya nkee bullets. O ne imaginati ve Confederate, Every thing was very dull about Pillow the first rwo or three weeks, with the exception commenting on mosquitoes during the Civil of the constant battles between the Bohemi­ War, said they were a "preponderous size­ ans and rhe musquiroes; the latter having almost able to shoulder a musket" (Wil ey declared unreleming and ceaseless war 1994). The low-lying wet areas of the Missis­ against the knights of the pen. sippi River provided an excellent breeding T he stri fe wcm on without intermission, habitat for mosquitoes. A Rebel compared the day and night; the musquitoes relieving each mosquitoes of his native Tennessee to those of other punctually, and mounting guard every his current billet in the Mississippi lowla nds. five seconds. " The Mississippi ri ver fellow is far larger, has We had no bars [mosquito bars or neningJ a longer and sharper bi ll , and though he sings on rhe fle er (and none in the Mississippi, for the same tune, he sings it with far greater feroc­ the matter of rhar), and we were therefore victims to the remorseless cruelty of the ven­ ity"; although the Tennessee mosqui toes could omous insects at all rimes and in all places. only muster squads, the M ississippi mosqui­ T he Correspondents, as I have said, often toes moved in regiments (Wiley 1994 ). arose in rhe morning with their visuals so J. H. Browne, a correspondent for the New swelled, from the bi tes of the winged pesrs, York Tribune, confirmed the mosquito prob­ that they looked as if they had been raking a lem along the Mississippi. He not only elabo­ few first lessons in the " noble and manly art rated on his disdain for the pests but even ac­ of self-defense," from the Tipton Slasher or cused them of having Confederate sy mpathies. the Benicia Boy.

232 A.\IE.RICA:-; EN"ro.\IOLOGI>r • \'ilinter /997 I pitied the poor fellows, bur the fac t that "the shakes." M a laria was so prevalent in my own suffering were even greater than some camps that a sta nda rd greeting was theirs, prevented that complete exercise of " H ave you had the sha kes?" (Wiley 1992 ). commi seration which an intact epidermis T here were o ver 1.3 mi ll io n cases and J 0,000 would have insured. d eaths fro m ma laria in the Unio n Army (S tein­ The musquiroes in that vicinity must have er 1968). Fully one qua rter of all illness repo rt­ been of the true Secession order, being o p­ ed in the Un ion Arm y was ma la ria l in cha rac­ posed- as the Richmond papers used ro be-to reading and writi ng; believing it con­ ter (W iley 1992). Confed erate soldiers a lso ducive to error and disobedience. suffered, a lthough fatali ties fro m the disease We never rook up a book or commenced were co mparatively lower. In 1861 a nd 1862, any manuscript bur the musquiros attacked o ne seventh o f a ll cases o f sickness reported by us in force, and showed the most desperate Rebel arm ies east of the M ississippi was ma lar­ determin ation to drive us from our labor or ial (W il ey 1994). Malar ia g reatl y affected a t our lore. least o ne campaign. The prevalence of the d is­ The reason o f this was, I conjecture, that ease among Union tro ops contrib uted in the musquiroes hated writi ng because they thwa rting the first Federa l attempt to capture themselves could nor write, and they there­ Vicksburg, MS, in 1862 (Steiner 1968); the city fore made their mark-most effectuall y, roo, did no t fall until the fo llowing year. as my crimson-spotted hands and face full y and convincingly and painfully attested Altho ug h ma laria vvas com mon in both the (Browne 1865). N o rth and So uth, an effective d rug- q uini ne­ was availa ble for prevention a nd cu re o f the The a nno yance of mosquitoes a lso punctu­ d isease. Union armies used o ver 19 tons o f q ui­ ated the eastern theater. Two d ays before the nine sul fa te d uring the war (Smith 1976). How­ battle of M echa nicsville/ a Pen nsylvanian re­ ever, the Northern blockade o f the Confed era­ cord ed in his dia ry simp ly, " Went o n picket at cy made this drug d iffi cult to o btain in the five o'clock in the evening. Got no sleep at a ll South, w hich led to q uinine sm uggling and a that night on acco unt o f the mosquitoes being black market. Imaginative ways were devised so bad. N o other new s" (Tritt 19 93). Presu m­ for smuggling quinine. Federal g ua rds de­ a bl y, the sold ier go t no sleep a fter he came off ta ined o ne woman after it was fo u nd that she picket duty. A New York Volunteer sta tio ned had sew n the med icine into her skirts. She was near C ha rleston, SC, described the hazards o f later released w hen it wa s discovered that she picket duty in mosq uito-infested a reas. was the niece o f the U.S. Postmaster Genera l (Davis 1982 ). Ano ther individ ual d id manage Our worst picker dury is on the borders of the swamp. The myriads of stout ringta iled to sm uggle $ 10,000 worth of q uinine inside a mosquitoes rush upon the derail the mo­ d ead mule (Davis 1982 ). In 1862, a n o u nce o f ment it arrives and jab their bi lls in chuck up to the head. Even overcoats are no protec­ tion from the tOrturing rascals, who pierce thro ugh everything. Sleep is of course im­ possible with such a ravenous hoard of bloodsuckers singing and biting and buzz­ ing . . . getting up your sleeves and trouser legs, crawling slyly down your neck or dash­ ing into your ears and throat, wearing a fe l­ low's life our with coughing, slapping, pinching and scratching (Whightman 1863).

Enduring the mosquitoes was bad eno ug h, b ut it was the ensuing malaria that equi d pro ve wo rse fo r man y so ldiers. Folk o f the 1860s d id not co nnect the d isease w ith mosq uitoes. O ne Union so ldier reflected that " We are m o re afra id o f ague her e tha n the enem y" (Wiley (ii):>ITTI:"G W OilK. 1992 ). Mala ria was termed " simple intermit­ Delousing techniques varied tent feve r" by the med ical professionals, b ut among soldiers but a common the soldiers referred to the ma lad y as ague o r technique was crushing the vermin and eggs with fingers ([k]nitting). Illustration from 926 June 1862. Billings (1887).

A.\ I ERICA~ ENTO~ I OLOGIST • Winter 1997 233 Other soldiers sought quicker delousing techniques such as J. H. Browne ( 1865) had his share of biting boiling garments. The company's fly problems. While maying near the ba nks o f cook kettle often doubled as the the M ississippi, he soon felt the full wrath of rhe receptacle for boiling clothes. Arkansas sand flies and gnats. Illustration from Billings (1 887). Nor a minute had we reclined our fa­ tigued forms before rhe sand-fl ies and gnars assailed us in fo rce; and before we could ef­ fect our escape, we looked as if we had jusr recovered fro m an arrack of rhe small-pox. O ne of my optics was closed, and my companion's lips had assumed rhe propor­ tions of a full-blooded African's. The wi nged pesrs covered us in swarms, and for five minutes our moti ons resembled the wild movements of dancing Dervises. In­ deed, I doubt if rhe Dervises ever danced as we did. With our swinging limbs and ceaseless g)'rarions, we must have seemed like human wi ndmills, tu rning ro every point of rhe compass ar rhe sa me rime. lJOI I.I:\C T ilE)!. We leaped ourselves our of our boors and hars and coats; and, in rhe midst of his bewilderment, I found my associate endeav­ quinine cost $5.00 in New York while the same oring ro pur on a cotton-wood tree, and qua ntity sold for $60 in South Carolina. To­ myself try ing ro draw a large swamp over ward the end of the wa r, an ounce of quinine my burning feet, and cover my head with a mud-bank. was selling for $400 to $600 a n ounce in the After a whi le, we began ro grow used ro Confederacy (Garrison "1995). When one con­ it; bur, ar rhe sa me rime, seriously arrived ar siders that a Confederate private made only rhe conclusion, rhar, however interesting $16 a month by the war's end, buying the drug such excursions might be ro the natives, rhey would have been prohi bitively expensive but were nor alrogerher fa scinating ro civilized sell ing the drug coul d be quite lucrative. Be­ beings. cause of the scarcity of quinine in the Confed ­ So we went off prec ipitately through eracy, the Confedera te Surgeon General had to marshes and morasses, breath ing gnats and improvise an antimalarial potion that con­ sand-flies as if rhey had all our li ves com­ tained a mixture of will ow, poplar, dogwood posed our natura l atmosphere; trying ro ba rk, and whiskey (Wiley 1994). This may wipe off rhe blood rhar had starred from our fa ces with our boors, and ro cover our pedal seem like a n ineffective fo lk remedy, bur inclu­ extremities with our handkerchiefs. sion of salicaceous plants such as willow and While we were struggling along like men po plar (from which aspirin was originall y de­ under rhe pressure of forty cocktails, we ri ved) may have provided some fever relief. heard a sharp rarrle, and looking before us O ther biting fli es also earned the respect with what eyes rh e gnats had left us, we saw (and da mnation) o f the soldiers. Because parr two huge snakes coiled, and ready to spring. o f the life cycle of some these insects are spent Rattlesnakes had no terrors fo r us then. in a n aquatic habitat, soldiers who were sta­ We were desperate. tioned near those ha bitats soon became aware Ar that moment I believe I would have of the insects' presence. No-see-ums were one walked in rhe roaring mouths of a battery, of the biting fli es contributing to the discomfort or even up ro rhe ma trimonial alta r, without shrin king. of some soldiers. We rega rded rattlesnakes as symbols of Almost roo small robe seen rhey in fli ct a bire Secession, and we knew rhe sandflies and which appeared larger than themselves-a gnats were of the Rebel tri be. So we attacked positive wound, more rorruring rhan rhar of the venomous serpents with our boors; rhe mosquito. These tormentors eleva ted bearing ro rhe right and left, quire indiffe rent dress parade ro rhe dignity of a mil itary en­ whether we srruck rhem, or they struck us. gagement. I had ro srand motionless whi le We had leather P>'rorechnics, boor rears rolled down my face ... Had I stirred a Ca therine whee ls, fo r a short rime, when rhe finger rhe whole battalion would have been hateful rarrl ing ceased, and we saw the slapping irs cheeks (Higginson 1865 ). snakes were dead.

234 A .\11-1\ ICAN E N"I 0 .\IOLOGIST • WIin ter /997 We thought we had killed them; bur I er temperature a nd humid ity for body lice know now the fl ies a nd gnats had swarmed (Ebeling 1978), and the continua l wearing of down their th roats and strangled them. unifo rms typified soldiering during the C ivil Little inclinatio n had we to investigate the War. Crab lice (Pthirus pubis [L.]) a lso a re matter, but rushed on thro ugh the swamps, acquired th rough close contact but more readi­ and at last reached a skiff- whether o urs or ly through sexua l contact. The Civil War sol­ not was a quest ion of indifference-and, dier may have suffe red fro m any or all of the leaping into it, rowed over the ri ver again. When we had reached the Tennessee lice known to attack ma n, but m ost references shore, we fe ll in the back water, and ulti­ mention body li ce. Victorian mo rality may mately got on board the Flotilla, with one have precl uded many soldiers from referring boor between us, no hats, ph)rsiognomies roo o ften to crab lice. that would have set Lavarer mad to comem­ Soldiers in the Civil War gave the body plate, and bearing a close resemblance to the louse numerous na mes: bluebell ies, rebels, ti­ horribly tattooed faces so greatly in favor gers, Bragg's body-guard, zouaves, gray­ with rhe New Zealanders. backs, and verm in. T hey were so common that I looked into the glass- a thing I ra rely it woul d have been unusual for a soldier not to do, for I hate repulsive spectacles- and, as harbor verm in. Lice had no a llegiance to any far as my defective eyesight could determine, flag, nor did they discri m inate on the basis of I thought I discovered a striking resem­ bla nce between myself and the Egyptian ra nk. It was recorded that a n orderly of a com­ Sphynx, and that I appear as if I might be a pany officer picked 52 gray backs from the shirr brother of the grotesque figu re wi th four of hi s chi ef a t one sitting (Billings 1887). Al­ heads, by which rhe Bra hmins sometime though soldiers felt disgraced when they first represent their chief deity . . . To be afflicted became infested, this fee ling soon diminished wi th boil s is bad enough; burro be besieged as their situation became universal among by Arkansas gnats is absolutely beyond en­ their comrades. M a ny soldiers came to "a state durance. of pleasant unconcern," one even declaring he M ules and horses of both Union and Confed­ could not sleep soundly unless he " had a few erate armies a lso suffered greatl y in the M issis­ graybacks gnawing on him" (Wiley 1994). sippi Valley (Webster 1904 ). During the spring Diffe rent techniques were employed for de­ of 1862, Genera l Furgerson (proba bl y Fergu­ lousing, or "skirmishing," as the soldiers son) noted that gnats were exceedingly trouble­ call ed it. Soldiers o ften could be fo und picking through their clothing or doing their some to horses and mules of a Confederate The 132"" Pennsylvania had to a rtillery battery in Greenville, MS (Osborn "(k)nitting work." Some used faster delousing contend with Confederates and 1896). Artillery and cavalry officers reported methods such as boiling clothes in salt water or angry bees on the Roulette farm. that many ho rses and mules were destroyed in sin geing clothes over fires. The latter tech­ This photograph, taken shortly after the battle of Antietam, the vicinity of Pointe Coupee, LA from1862 to nique reminded one Confe derate, whose shows a group of white clothes were "well stocked w ith big fat fel ­ 1864 (Webster 1889). With the outbrea k of the structures that some historians war, levees were neglected and, in many cases, lows," of po pping corn (Wiley 1992). O ne in­ believe were farmer Roulette's had washed away or caved into the river (Web­ dividua l recall ed his best lo use fighting reme- bee yard (USAMHI). ster 1904 ). The influx of water from the Missis­ sippi river into the adjacent a lluvia l streams provided optimal breeding habitats fo r the gnats. Insects were a dding to the ravages o f war.

That Lousy War

The relationship between lice a nd soldiers was undoubtedly one of the closest entomolog­ ical associa tions that occurred during the war. Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis DeGeer) and body lice (Pediculus humanus humanus L. ) are most prevalent in crowded conditions where persona l hygiene a nd sanita tion a re lacking, but lice can be fo und even on the most fastidious person. The use of layered wool clothing worn continuously provides the prop-

A.\ I ERICA :>~ £1\-rO.\IOLOGIST • Winter / 997 235 d y "during the '60's cl own in 'Old Virginny'" After the Seven Days campa ign, lice were was ru bbing the seams of his cl othes with blue particula rl y rampa nt in the Army of the Poto­ ointment until he coul d find time to boil them mac. Years after the war, some soldiers appa r­ (Anonymous 1904). M ilitary terms were ap­ ently looked back on that louse-infested time plied to the va ri ous delousing techniques. Kill­ with a certain esprit de corps. T he historian of ing lice was call ed "fighting under the black the 3 rd P.R.V.C., part of the Army of the Poto­ flag," throwing away infested clothing was mac, elaborated, " ... a soldier of the Army of "givin g the vermin a parole," and wearing the Potomac who declares he never had any clothing inside-out was "executing a flank [lice], did not belong to the [Pennsylvania] movement" (Wiley 1992). Reserves." H e expla ined, Delousing was not witho ut hazards. Some As we had destroyed a ll our clothing except members of the 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves (P.R. V.C.) decided they would venture to a d if­ what we stood in, and as soap was a n a rticle that could neither be bought nor 'appropri­ fe rent a rea for the purposes of louse removal. ated,' and as clothing was issued by piece­ Ea rly one morning, some of the boys deter­ meal, it !delousing! was a task more easil y mined to go up the creek so far that no ver­ undertaken than accomplished (Woodward min would be found floating on the water. 18 83). T hey had carefully kept their clothes up the Conditions must have improved for the trees until they got full suits. Afraid to tr ust the p recio us bundles in their hands, they P.R.V.C. swung them over their shoulders on sticks. By dint of washing, scrubbing, scouring and Up the levee they ma rched, and finding a constant vigilance, the triumph was nice place, were soon enjoying a glo rious achieved; and the boys came out in thei r new splash. Soon the well-known whistle of the uniforms as clean and bright as new doll ars buller was hea rd, and they discovered the (Woodward 1865, "1883). insurgent pickets on the other side. W ith the creek before them, a swamp behind, a lo ng It was probably safe to say respite from the embankment their o nly means of retreat, graybacks was only short-li ved. and their clothes o m of reach, they found Some soldiers fancifu ll y attested to the themselves in a pretty predicament. Lying learning abilities of the ubiquitOus louse. "So behind the embankment stripped, wi th the universal were they [the lice] at that time, that scorching rays of rhe sun pouring down Hornets and yellowjackets were none thought of being ashamed of them, and upo n them, soon became uninteresting; and a problem for some at Second we have even heard the boys decla re that they to save themselves from broiling, they rolled Bull Run. Along Sudley Road, knew a ll the bugle calls a nd had become so in the mud and tried baking. This operation, angry hornets were able to expert in drill as to go through the battalion unseat a company of U.S. renewed as soon as the mud commenced movement quite accurately, and to have their Regulars. Early postwar cracking o n them, formed the principal fea­ photograph of Sudley Road ture of t hei r amusement until darkness cov­ regular guard mountings a nd dress parades" (USAMHI). ered their retreat; but it ki lled the vermin (Woodward 1865). (Woodward :1883). Although lice were problematic in Union and Confederate armies, prisoners of war suffered far worse. An Andersonville prisoner recorded a day of "lively skirmishing," noting that he "caught and killed 17 or 20 lice, all fa t a nd in good condition" (Futch 1968). At the Anderson­ ville hospital, a n investigating Confederate sur­ geon stated that the patients seemed indifferent to their squa lor and added that their clothing was extremely filthy and "scaly with vermi n" (Futch 1968). A quart or more offi ce was report­ edly removed from the clothing of a dead com­ rade at the prison. That howeve1; was probably an exaggeration because 400 lice would be an unusually large infestation even under the most squalid conditions (Snetsinger 1982). Li ce were not tota lly without redeeming va lue. They actuall y provided a source of en ­ terta inment and income for some soldiers. Wa­ gers were placed on " louse races" where the

236 A .\IEJUCAN Et'lfOMOLOGJST • \Vinter 7997 arena was often a mess plate. One soldier, ·. Honey was a favorite target for flaunting a champion louse, demanded that the -. foraging soldiers. For some, lice be raced from individual plates. After the honey bees were even a source for practical joking. Foraging soldier profited substantially from the events, soldiers placed a hive on their it was discovered that he had heated his plate captain and made "business prior to the different speed trials (Wiley 1994). quite lively in that neighborhood." In addition, lice fights were held in which bets Illustration from Billings (1887). were placed and the lice were pitted against each other. One veteran claimed that it was not unusual to see a dozen groups of men involved in these fights (Wiley 1994 ). Even the inhu­ mane conditions of Andersonville did not pre­ clude prisoners from participating in the fights (Futch 1968). Lice were also the source of some great yarns and waggery. Before retiring for bed, one NO JOKE.

Virginia private recited his version of the com­ Si;. mon bedtime prayer: Now I lay me down to sleep, you know they never did trouble me." He then While gray-backs oe'r my body creep; added," May I have thought of you often while If I should die before I wake, mashing fleas; if you were here you could have I pray the Lord their jaws to break (Wiley your own sport" (Wiley 1994). Another Rebel 1994). said, "they [fleas] collect in companies at Several Confederates claimed they caught knight fall for the purpos of carrying us off ... lice embellished with the letters C.S. (Confed­ though like the Yankeys they are repulsed by erate States) and I.W. (In for the War) (Wiley desperate efforts & great patience" (Wiley 1994). One rebel related, "I pulled off a Shirt 1994). last night and threw it down; this morning I An even more imaginative comrade con- saw it moving first one way and then another; tended, I thought at first that there was a rat under it, A great alarm was heard in the upper part of but upon inspection found it was the lice racing the regiment; hastening to the spot I enquired about hunting for a Soldier" (Wiley 1994). what was the matter. A man was asleep in his Andersonville inmates also commented on the tent and a couple of fleas had taken holt on size and strength of lice with admirable good him and carried him half way to the river in­ humor; they spoke of" gray-back raising" and tending drown ding [him] while asleep for he had sworn vengeance against them (Wiley boasted of the feats of the lice they pretended to 1994). be training for exhibition at the next "vermin fair" (Futch 1968). One Unionist took even greater pains to describe his involvement with fleas. Although the following story borders on the ridiculous, it "Fleaing" The War does exemplify both the abundance and nui­ sance of fleas. Overcrowding and poor sanitation during the war provided excellent conditions for ro­ Until I began to follow the camp, I had nev­ dent populations and their fleas. In addition, er known, save by auricular evidence, of camp mascots (e.g., dogs and cats) and hu­ those unpoetical insects known as fleas; but mans could harbor their own infestations. one night in Syracuse, Mo., "our mess" ex­ Some soldiers were besieged by fleas. In 1862, perienced the cruelty and savageness of the a Mississippian returning from furlough com­ diminutive foes of man, to our bodies' ex­ plained of being preferred for flea attack. tremist dissatisfaction. "They hav most Eate me up since I came Back We were all lounging in the tent, reading, undreaming of enemies of any kind, when her," he related. "I was fresh to them so they we all became restless, and the interest of our pitched in" (Wiley 1994). books began seriously to diminish. The abundance of fleas in some camps re­ There were various manual applications to sulted in some amazing stories, and one Con­ various parts of the body, multifarious shift­ federate believed fleas could provide addition­ ings of position, accompanied with emphatic al entertainment. ''I think there are 50 on my expletives that sounded marvelously like oaths. person at this time," he wrote to his wife," but "What is the matter?" was asked by one of

AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST • Winter 1997 237 us of another. "What renders you so un­ No one yet appeared aware of the cause of easy?" his suffering. If we were not all in Tophet, no "Heaven knows!" was the answer;" but I one could deny we had gone to the old itch like Satan.'' Scratch. We seemed to be laboring under an "My body seems on fire," observed one. uncontrollable nervous complaint. We " I wonder," said another, "if I have con­ threw our hands about wildly. We seized our tracted a loathsome disease!" flesh rudely, and rubbed our clothes until "Confound it! what ails me?" they nearly ignited from friction. "And me-and me-and me?" was ech­ One of the quartette could stand it no oed from my companions. longer. He threw off his coat and vest spas­ One had became insufficient to allay their­ modically, and even his under garments, and ritation of our corporeality. Both hands be­ solemnly exclaimed-"Flee from the wrath came requisite to the task, and our volumes to come!'' were necessarily laid aside. The mystery was explained-the enigma

Table 1. Events of the Civil War touched the lives of many Americans including many famous period entomologists

Entomologista

J. H. Comstock Attempted to enlist in Union army at age of 14 but was turned down.

E. T. Cresson Escaped the Civil War because employer (Thomas Wilson, patron of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Academy of Science) paid for substitute. Seems Wilson had strong Southern sympathies.

C. H. Fernald Joined the Union navy where he became an ensign. While in navy, took courses required by Bowdoin College and eventually received degree.

S. A. Forbes Enlisted as private in Co. B. of the 7th Illinois Cavalry. Captured by Confederate forces after Shiloh, was interro­ gated briefly by Confederate General P.T.G. Beauregard. Contracted scurvy and malaria as prisoner.

W. F. Holland Left South Carolina in 1863 as boy via the "underground route."

G. H. Horn Received M.D. in medicine from University of Pennsylvania. Served as surgeon with California Volunteers from 1862-1866.

J. L. LeConte Served with Union Army Medical Corps as volunteer surgeon and soon became medical inspector with rank of lieutenant-colonel.

0. Luggar Served as Army Engineer during war.

H. C. McCook Assisted in raising 41 51 Illinois Volunteers and served as lieutenant and chaplin for two years.

A. S. Packard, Jr. Commissioned as assistant surgeon in 1sr Maine Veteran Volunteers. Received from General Hyde the commen­ dation that "he was a dare devil and knew no fear."

G. W. Peckham Joined Union army in 1863. Received field promotion to lieutenant at 19 while in charge of battery.

T. Pergande Shortly after immigration to United States, enlisted in one of early Union 3-month regiments then re-enlisted for duration of war.

E. Ruffin Provided early life history account on Angoumois grain moth. Had dubious distinction of firing one of the first shots at Ft. Sumter and last shots at First Bull Run. Committed suicide at end of the war rather than live with "vile" Yankee race.

C. V. Riley Served for six-month stint in 134th Illinois Volunteers.

F. H. Snow Service during Civil War was associated with U.S. Christian Commission. Was at Appomattox when Lee surrendered to Grant.

H.Ulke Known as the "painter of presidents"; was personal friend of Lincoln and Grant. Painted both presidents and operated studio where he photographed hundreds of soldiers during their stay in Washington, DC.

"Information on Civil War era entomologists (except for Ruffin) was summarized from Mallis (1971).

238 A\tERICAN ENrOMOLOGISf • Winter 1997 solved. rhe rent, rolled so closely in a blanket that no The martyr's person was covered wirh new arrack of the fl eas could reach me. small black spots, that disappeared a nd re­ My compani o ns, overcome with their ex­ appeared in the same instant. ertio ns, sufferings, and potat ions, had lain To be practically expressive, he was cov­ down; bur rhe fl eas were still u pon them, ered with fleas. and they rolled a nd tossed more than a rural The rest of us followed his example, a nd tragedian in rhe rent scene o f ·'Richa rd rhe converted ourselves into model artists. Third." We were all covered with fl eas. T hey were asleep, and yet they moaned pit­ Fleas were everywhere. Tent, straw, books, eously, a nd scratched wi th demoniac vio ­ blankets, valises, saddles, swarmed with lence. them. In spite of my pity fo r the poor fe llows, I The air scintill ated with their blackness. could nor refrain from laughing. We rushed our of the rent. W ith the earliest dawn I awoke, and the They were there in myriads. rent was vacant. The moonlight fell in checkered beams Ho rrid thought! through their innumerable s kippings. Had the fleas carried them off? They made a terrible charge, as of a forlorn I wenr our to search fo r them; and, afrer a hope, and drove us back. diligent quest, found them still in nawre's We reared with anger and with pain, and garb, distributed miscell aneously about the loud curses made the atmosphere assume a enca mpmen r. violet hue. In their physical torture they had uncon­ T hree of the fl ea-besieged caught up can­ scio usly rolled o ur of rhe tent. teens of whisky and brandy, and poured the O ne lay in an adjacent ditch; a second un­ contents over their persons and do wn their der an artillery wagon; and the third was th roat; scratching meanw hile li ke a tho u­ convul sively grasping the earth, as if he were sand cats of the Thomas persuasion, and endeavoring to dig his own grave; believing, leaping about like dancing dervises. no do ubt, that, in the tomb, neither Fortune The mo re the fleas bit, the more the victims nor fl eas could ever harm him mo re. T he un­ drank; and I, having no taste for liquor, be­ fortunate two were covered with crimson gan to envy them, as, in their increasing in­ spots, and looked as if recovering from the toxication, they seemed to enjoy themselves small-pox. after a sardonic fashion. I pulled them, still stupid from rhei r spiri­ Mess fo r Union soldiers The fleas redoubled their fe rocity on me, tual excess, into the tent again, and covered frequently included a plain flour and ! surrendered a t discretio n; and a r last them with blankets, though they swore in­ and water biscuit called became resigned to thei r attacks, until, a few coherently as I did so, evidently believing hardtack. Crackers often were minutes a fter, a storm that had been gather­ rha r some giant fl ea was dragging them to issued complete with insects. The officer on the right holds one ing burst with fierce lightning, heavy thun­ perdition. of the hard crackers. Note the der, and torrents of rain . When they were ful ly aroused, they fell to cook kettle directly in front of the A happy idea seized me. scratching again most violently, bur knew table. It is s imilar to the one I caught up my saddle and bridle, a nd not what had occurred until they had re­ illustrated on p. 234 for boiling placed them on my sable steed " Festus," call ed the events o f the previous night. garments (USAMHI). which stood neighing to the tempest, a few feet from the camp. I mounted the fleet-footed horse, and, nude as the Apollo Belvidere, cried "go" to the restive animal; and off we sped, to the amazement of the sentinels, thro ugh the darkness and the storm. Every few moments the lightning blazed around us wit h a lurid sheen, as we went like the wind through the tempestuous night. "Festus" enjoyed it, as d id his rider; and six swift-speeding miles were passed ere I drew the rein upon the neck of the panting beast, covered with white flecks o f foam. r paused, and fel t that the fl eas had been le ft behind. The pelting rain and rushing blast had been roo much for them; w hile the exercise had made my artireless bod y glow into a pleasant warmth. " Festus" galloped back, and soon I was in

A\IERICA~ El\'TO.\·IOLOG I ~T • Winter 1997 239 T hey then blasphemed afresh, and unani­ ma that faced him at Spotsylvania,JO mously consigned the enti re race of fl eas to the Bottomless Pit. ro advance was impossible, to retreat was T he fl eas still tried to bite, bur could find death, for in the great struggle that raged no new places, and my companions had there, there were few merely wounded . . . grown accustomed ro them. The bullets sang like swarming bees, and They felt no uneasiness for rhe coming their sting was death (Garrison 1994). night; they were aware that the new fleas The ferocity of some ba ttlefields was even woul d retire from a fi eld so completely occu­ compared w ith that of bees. At Shiloh,11 the pied, and that the domesticated creatures savagery a nd sound of musketry a nd cannon­ were in sufficient force ro ro ut a ll invaders. ading in one area of the battlefield resulted in So ended that memorable Noche Triste, an exemplification of the Scri ptural declara­ its being dubbed "The H o rnets' Nest." Here, tion, "The wicked fl ee when no man pur­ the sting of bullets was foll owed by a Confed­ sueth" (Browne 1865). erate bayonet charge. Angry bees could complicate matters when As with lice, fleas also became integrated coupled w ith the confusion of battle and one into soldiering activities. The lowly fl ea even such incident occurred at the battle of Anti­ found its way into a stanza of A. Pender's etam. The 132nd Pennsylvania Volunteers Goober Peas: were mustered into service only about a month I think my song has lasted almost long before they found themselves in the Maryland enough, fa rm community of Sharpsburg. Because the The subject's inreresting, bur rhe rhymes regiment was previously untested in battle, An­ are mighty rough, tietam would soon become its baptism of fire. I wish this war was over, when free from As the 132nd was advancing on the Roulette rags and fl eas, fa rm, a shot from a Confederate battery \Ve'd kiss our wives and sweethearts and slammed inro the Roulette bee yard. The result gobble goober peas! must have verged on the macabre. Some men dropped their muskets and ran into nearby Buzz of the Battle fields, while others sla pped their clothes and batted a t the angry honey bees, A pis mellifera Soldiers often li kened the sound of bullets to L. In the meantime, more Confederate artillery the buzz of a bee. Lt. Robertson of the 93rd shells and bullets were finding their marks New York Regiment elaborated on the dilem- among the Union troops. "Soldiers were roll ­ ing in the grass, running, jumping, and duck­ ing" (B rown 1986). Brigade comma nders were quickly concerned that the hysteria that gripped the 132nd could rapidly spread to w holesale panic among the other troops. An order of"double quick" allowed the Pennsyl­ vanians to advance past the Roulette farm and eventuall y outdistance the bees. As the regi­ ment advanced across open fields toward the Sunken Road, the Confederates opened with a terrific voll ey of musketry that brought down many of the Union line. With no cover from the fire, the 132nd was ordered to li e down and crawl toward the Rebel lines. Exposed to mus­ ketry, artillery fire, and the choking smoke Part of the reason for from black powder, some of the 132nd also spoilage and contamination of "suffered from welts left by W illiam Roulettes' hardtack was due to bees" (Brown 1986). The 132nd Pennsylvania exposure of the ration to the felt the full fury of two enemies that September elements. A Union officer is day in 1862. seated amidst a supply of "Army Bread" or hardtack. Soldiers were exposed to other hymenopter- Moldy hardtack was replaced at the next drawing of rations; however, soldiers had to ••May 8- 20 1864 accept the insect-infested 11 6-7 April 1862. and hard varieties (USAMH I).

240 A.\IERJCAN ENTmtoLOGIST • \Vi11ter 1997 an headaches. During the late summer cam­ Although angry bees added to the anguish of paigns, nests of yellowjackets and hornets battle, honey bees-or rather the honey they were reaching maximum size. One incidence produce-were actually sought out by soldiers reflected some of the hazards of foraging: when not faced with the battlefield. Supple­ menting rations with honey was a favorite en­ ... a plump Pennsylv~nian inadvertently knocked a hornet's nest from an over bur­ deavor with Rebs and Yanks. Foraging (often dened apple tree by jerking an apple from a euphemism for stealing) soldiers were quick one of its branches. The hornets nearly to locate bee yards during campair:ning and killed him before he could clear the fence and "tramped many a mile by night in quest of spring into the road. They stung him over these depositories of sweets" (Billings 1887). the eye, in the nose, and several times in his Some went to great lengths to procure the hon­ scalp before he out ran them (Priest 1992). ey supplement. In one such incident, Union Some unfortunate souls did not have the means soldiers forged an evening pass, booby­ to extricate themselves from some of these trapped the beekeeper's footbridge, and pro­ nests. In the evening of the first day of Second vided a diversion to secure the "secesh's" bee­ Bull Run, 12 both sides tried to remove wounded hive (Williams 1862). Beeswax also may have as best they could under cover of darkness. The been used. Early in the war, the Prairie Farmer following dialogue recorded some of the suffer­ suggested that soldiers could make a soothing ing near the Confederate line. salve for sore feet by mixing "equal parts of gum camphor, olive oil, and pure beeswax" Captain Blackford of [General j.E.B.] Stu­ (Anonymous 1861). an's staff heard the shrill voice of a young Bees were the source of at least one practical boy, sobbing. He rose to help the suffering joke. youth when the boy's father, apparently the captain of his company, called, "Charley, my I recall an incident occurring in the Tenth boy, is that you?" Vermont Regiment-once brigaded with my "Oh yes," the young soldier replied, trying company-when some of the foragers, who so hard to act like a man. "Father, my leg is had been out on a tramp, brought a hive of broken, but I don't want you to think that is bees into camp, after the men had wrapped Some soldiers heated hardtack what I am crying for; I fell in a yellow-jack­ themselves in their blankets, and, by way of to remove insects, but others ets' nest and they have been stinging me ever a joke, set it down stealthily on the stomach preferred crumbling hardtack in since. That is what makes me cry-please of the captain of one of the companies, mak­ coffee and skimming off the pull me out." ing business quite lively in that neighbor­ insects. The haversack that His father did pull him out. He cradled him hood shortly afterwards (Billings 1887). served to hold the meat and in his arms, where the warrior-youth soon bread ration is drawn to the died (Hennessy 1993). One could only hope the company captain soldier's right. Illustration from had a sense of humor and no allergic reactions. Billings (1887). Stinging insects were problematic on other parts of the Second Bull Run battlefield. Along Sudley Road during the second day of the bat­ tle, a company of the 11th U.S. Regulars broke open a hornet's nest. Confederate bullets had not been able to unseat the Yankees from their position, but a few dozen riled bees did. "In an instant the men were put to flight by the furious in­ sects," one Regular wrote. The panic was contagious; "in a twinkling the position was abandoned and every man was fleeing from an unknown danger." It took several min­ utes for the officers to restore the line (Hen­ nessy 1993). Eventually, the pressure of the Confederates (and possibly hornets) caused the Union line to yield in that part of the road.

-- t'.HY IX

AMERICAN ENToMOLOGIST • Winter 1997 241 Infested Fare War was a plain flour and water biscuit or cracker. Issued to Union soldiers, this was com­ The old adage attributed to Napoleon that an monly called "hardtack." Hardtack was dis­ army marches on its stomach did not exclude tributed in two other forms besides the insect­ either the Confederate or Union army. Supply­ infested variety. One variety was moldy or ing food was imperative for maintaining a via­ wet, a condition that probably resulted from ble fighting force. The various food supplies, exposure to the weather prior to distribution or though, also represented excellent feeding and from being packaged too soon after baking. A breeding sites for insects. The daily Union second variety was the hard form, which was marching ration for fresh beef was 1% pounds, aptly named. These crackers, also called although there were occasions when soldiers "teeth dullers" or "sheet-iron crackers," were drew two or more days' rations. A soldier usu­ so hard that one soldier claimed to have carved ally kept meat and food rations in the haversack a durable violin bridge from one of them that he slung on his side. If his meat ration was (Wiley 1992). Other soldiers, apparently un­ not infested when he received it, it likely was to able to break the crackers with their hands, had become so soon. One Yank related, "Fresh­ to beat the crackers with the butts of their mus­ killed beef ... had to be eaten with the odor and kets (Wiley 1992). One camp dialogue attested warmth of blood still in under penalty of finding to the hardness of this variety of hardtack. it flyblown before the next meal" (Wiley 1992). Sergeant: Boys I was eating a piece of Another soldier mused, hard tack this morning, and I bit on some­ Yesterday morning was the first time we had thing soft; what do you think it was? to carry our meal for the maggots always Private: A worm? carried it till then. We had to have an extra Sergeant: No by G-d, it was a ten penny gard to keep them from packing it clear off nail (Wiley 1992). (Wiley 1992). The third type of hardtack, already men­ The commissaries and quartermasters were tioned and alluded to, was the insect-infested keeping more than soldiers fed. variety. Yanks referred to this kind as "worm If fresh beef was not supplied, then soldiers castles" (Wiley 1992) and some went to great received a meat ration as ham or bacon, salt lengths in describing its inhabitants. Billings beef (called salt horse), or salt pork (called ( 1887) elaborated on the "maggots and wee­ sow-belly). Pickling was done to preserve the vils" that he encountered in hardtack. meat and reduce spoilage and contamination. These weevils were, in my experience, more But, the pickling process almost made the meat abundant than the maggots. They were a lit­ inedible anyway. Salt horse "was thoroughly tle, slim brown bug an eighth of an inch in penetrated with saltpetre, was often yellow­ length, and were great bores on a small scale, green with rust from having lain out of brine, having the ability to completely riddle the and, when boiled, was four times out of five if hardtack. I believe they never interfered with not nine times out of ten a stench in the nostrils, the hardest variety (Billings 1887). which no delicate palate cared to encounter at Moldy and wet hardtack was usually made shorter range" (Billings 1887). The bacon or good at the next drawing of rations, but soldiers ham issue "was usually black, rusty and routinely had to accept the infested crackers. strong, and decidedly unpopular" (Billings This hardtack "had to be pretty thoroughly 1887). Often the only recourse was soaking the alive, and well covered with the webs which pickled meats in water overnight before any these creatures left, to insure condemnation" attempt was made to eat them. (Billings 1887). Billings' comment is interesting Meat was not the only insect-infested ra­ because he is actually describing multiple infes­ tion-other victuals also came with insects. tations of the hardtack. The"maggots and wee­ One disgruntled Yank complained, vils" he mentions are probably the immatures We live so mean here the hard bread is all and adults of some of the stored product weevils worms and the meat stinks like hell ... and [e.g., granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.) rice to or three times a week & worms as or rice weevil, S. oryzae [L.]). Howevet; the long as your finger. I liked rice once but god "webbing" that he mentions is probably the damn the stuff now" (Wiley 1992). work of stored product Lepidoptera [e.g., Indi­ An Andersonville prisoner recorded that his anmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hubner) beans were "well seasoned with sand and or one of the flour moths]. Entomological tax­ bugs" (Futch 1968). Probably one of the best onomy was not the forte of most soldiers. recorded havens for insects during the Civil Some "worm castles" were infested thor-

242 AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST • Winter 1997 oughly. One soldier quantified the inhabitants The Civil War was no exception. The War in his hardtack, claimed the lives of nearly 620,000 soldiers (Brooks 1966). Of the dead, approximately We found 32 worms, maggots, &c in one cracker day before yesterday. We do not find three out of five Union soldiers, and possibly much fault, however, but eat them without two out of three Confederates, succumbed to looking as a good way to prevent trouble­ disease (Brooks 1966). Many of these disease­ some ideas (Wiley 1992). related fatalities involved insects. Considering the prevalence of filth, lack of understanding This is actually a lot of insects when one con­ disease etiology, and the state of medicine, it is siders that the dimensions of this cracker were surprising that more soldiers did not perish. x 7 x 0 only 31fa" 2 /a" %".Another Yank took an But, these wartime statistics also raise some optimistic view on his hard bread ration," All interesting questions. the fresh meat we had came in the hard bread There is little doubt that fly problems were r ••• and I preferring my game cooked, used to important factors in the prevalence of dysen­ toast my biscuits" (Wiley 1992). John Billings' tery and diarrhea in both Union and Confeder­ ( 1887) reflection on hardtack reveals both the ate armies. However, the absence or low inci­ hardtack epicurean and the seasoned veteran. dence of other insect-borne diseases, such as But hardtack was not so bad an article of louse-borne and flea-borne typhus, plague, or food, even when traversed by insects, as may yellow fever, is interesting. Under epidemic be supposed. Eaten in the dark, no one conditions, louse-borne typhus may reach fa­ could tell the difference between it and hard­ tality rates of nearly 100%. During severe tack that was untenanted. It was no uncom­ epidemics in World War I, Russia lost 2-3 mon occurrence for a man to find the sur­ million of its people (Harwood and James face of his pot of coffee swimming with weevils after breaking up hardtack in it, 1979). However, during the American Civil which had come out of the fragments only War, Official Records list only 850 Union to drown; but they were easily skimmed off deaths to "typhus" (Brooks 1966). Evidently, and left no distinctive flavor behind. If a sol­ the pathogen was not present in the American dier cared to do so, he could expel the wee­ population to reach epidemic proportions, al­ vils by heating the bread at the fire. The mag­ though conditions seemed ideal for the disease. gotsdid not budge in that way (Billings 1887). This also may have been true for plague. Rats Insect-infested hardtack was even sung about. and fleas occurred at various times throughout Soldiers parodied john Brown's Body with: the war. This was especially true during the siege of Vicksburg, MS, 13 and in the trenches Worms eat hearty in the commissary stores around Petersburg, VA. 14 However, ranks were While we go starving on (Wiley 1992). not decimated by plague. Perhaps the bacteri­ In the western theater, soldiers parodied the um Yersinia pestis(Lehman & Newmann) van Stephen Foster song,Hard Times, to lament the Loghen was not present in the rodent popula­ condition of their hardtack. When Union Gen­ tions. Yellow fever reached serious levels only eral Nathaniel Lyon overheard the stanzas, he three times during the Civil War (Wiley 1992). ordered the cooks to serve up corn-meal mush as In 1864, the worst outbreak occurred in New a substitute for the bad bread. The soldiers re­ Bern, NC, where 763 cases resulted in 303 sponded by again altering the song's chorus: deaths (Wiley 1992). Was it possible that these diseases were present in greater numbers but You were old and very wormy, but we pass were misdiagnosed? Possibly, especially for your failings o'er 0 hard crackers, come again once more! typhus, where it may have been diagnosed in (Billings 1887). one of the "continued" or "typho-malarial" fever categories recognized at the time. How­ Despite the growling and derision, most ever, the medical community was well aware soldiers were grateful for the sustenance hard­ of symptoms of plague and yellow fever during tack provided, insects or not. As one historian this period. Large outbreaks of yellow fever noted, "Hunger compelled soldiers to eat them were within recent memory for many at the and taste was acquired with use" (Wiley 1992). time of the Civil War. As with plague and ty­ phus, a large yellow fever epidemic never ma­ Taps terialized during the war. Had any of these

Throughout history, insect-borne diseases ll18 May-4 July 1863. have decimated armies and ended campaigns. 1410 June 1864-2 April1865.

AMERJCANENroMOLOGIST • Winter 1997 243 diseases reached epide1;1ic proportions, history teer Infantry at Antietam. Virginia Country's may have recorded a different outcome. Civil War 4: 30-33. Events of the Civil War, like any war, should Browne,J. H. 1865. Four years in Secessia. 0. D. not be reduced to battlefield victories or losses. Case, Hartford. War is far more complicated than that. The role Byrne, F. L. 1983. Prison pens of suffering. In W. C. Davis and B. I. Wiley [eds. ], Fighting for time. of insects during the Civil War adds a different The image of war, 1861-1865, vol. 4. Double­ dimension to our understanding about soldiering day, Garden City. and warfare during this period. It is a topic that Davis, B. 1982. The Civil War, strange & fascinat­ many historians previously have overlooked. ing facts. Fairfax, New York. This subject not only underscores the hardships Ebeling, W. 1978. Urban entomology. University and misery that Americans on both sides had to of California, Berkeley. endure, it stands as a tribute to the human spirit. Fitch, A. 1865. Sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth re­ It also emphasizes man's constant interaction ports of the noxious, beneficial and other in­ with the insects-wartime or not. sects, of the state of New York. Van - Benthuysen 's Steam, Albany. Freeman, D. S. 1935. Robert E. Lee: a biography, Acknowledgments vol. 4. Scribner's, New York. Futch, 0. L. 1968. History of Andersonville Pris­ on. University of Florida Press, Gainesville. I am particularly indebted to my wife and Garrison, W. 1994. Civil War curiosities: strange fellow entomologist, M. K. Miller (U.S. Army, stories, oddities, events, and coincidence. Rut­ Center for Health Promotion and Preventative ledge Hill, Nashville. Medicine, Ft. Meade, MD) for her patience and Greenberg, B. 1973. Flies and disease, volume 2. constant encouragement throughout this re­ Biology and disease transmission. Princeton search. Special thanks is extended to A. G. University Press, Princeton. Wheeler, Jr. (Clemson University, SC) for his Harwood, R. F., and M. T.James. 1979. Entomol­ support in first pursuing this endeavor and his ogy in human and animal health. Macmillan, advice and manuscript review. I also am grate­ New York. ful for the helpful suggestions and critiques from Higginson, T. W. 1865. Quote from files at Fort Sumter National Monument, Sullivan's Island, K. E. Hostetter (Licensed Battlefield Guide, Get­ sc. tysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Hennessy,j.j. 1993. Return to Bull Run. Simon & PA), L.J. Hribar (Indian River Mosquito Con­ Schuster, New York. trol District, Vera Beach, FL), and S. Nakahara Osborn, H. 1896. Insects affecting domestic ani­ (USDA, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, mals: an account of the species of importance in Beltsville, MD) on early drafts of the manu­ North America, with mention of related forms script. I thank R. W. Hatcher, III (Ft. Sumter Na­ occurring on other animals. U.S.D.A. Div. En­ tional Monument, Sullivan's Island, SC) for tarnal. Bull. (New Series) 5: 1-302. providing me with soldiers' quotes on mosqui­ Mallis, A. 1971. American entomologists. Rutgers toes and no-see-urns. I also thank R. Hacken­ University Press, New Brunswick. burg for assistance in the Civil War photograph­ Peterson, R.K.D. 1995. Insects, disease, and mili­ ic archives of the Massachusetts Commandery tary history. Am. Entomol. 41: 147-160. Priest, j. M. 1992. Before Antietam: the battle for Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the U. South Mountain. White Mane, Shippensburg. S. Army Military History Institute (USAMHI), Ruffin, E. 1847. The corn or fly-weevil, no. 1. Am. Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA. Agric. 6(2): 52-53. Smith, D. C. 1976. Quinine and fever: the develop­ ment of the effective dosage. J. Hi st. Med. Allied References Cited Sci. 31(3): 343-367. .. Snetsinger, R. J. 1982. Lice. In A. Mallis [ed.J, Anonymous. 1861. Untitled. Prairie Farmer 8(5): Handbook of pest control. Franzak & Foster, 75. Cleveland. _.. Anonymous. 1904. Untitled. Entomol. News 15: Steiner, P. E. 1968. Disease in the Civil War. Tho­ 253. mas. Springfield. Billings, J.D. 1887. Hardtack and coffee. George Stotelmyer, S. R. 1992. The bivouacs of the dead. M. Smith, Boston. Toomy, Baltimore. Broadhead, S.M. 1864. The diary of a lady of Get­ Strong, R. H. 1961. A yankee private's Civil War. tysburg, Pennsylvania. 1992 transcription, Rcgnery, Chicago. Gary T. Hawbaker, Hershey. Tritt, R. L. 1993. Harry Leih's diary. Boiling Brooks, S. 1966. Civil War medicine. Thomas, Springs Civic Association, PA. Springfield. Webster, F. M. 1889. Buffalo gnats. In Fourth and Brown, K. M. 1986. 132nd Pennsylvania Volun- fifth annual reports of the Bureau of Animal

244 AMERICAN ENTOMOJ.OGI~T • Winter 1997 Industry for the years 1887 and 1888. Wash­ ington, Government Printing Office. 1904. The suppression and control of the plague of buffalo gnats in the valley of the lower Mis­ sissippi river, and the relations thereto of the present levee system, irrigation in the arid west and tile drainage in the middle west. Proc. Ann Mtg. Soc. Prom. Agric. Sci. 25: 53-72. Wheeler, R. 1991. On fields of fury: from the Wil­ derness to the Crater, an eyewitness history. Harper Collins, New York. Whightman, E. K. 1863. Quote from files at Fort Sumter National Monument, Sullivan's Island, SC. Wiley, B. I. 1992. The life of Billy Yank. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge. 1994. The life of Johnny Reb. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge. Williams, J. 1862. Cumulating a bee hive. Prairie Farmer 9(16): 251-252. Woodward, E. M. 1865. Our campaigns. J. E. Pot­ ter, Philadelphia. 1883. History of the Third Pennsylvania Re­ serves. MacCrellish and Quigney, Trenton. +

Gary L. Miller received his Ph.D. in entomolo­ gy from Auburn University and is currently em­ ployed as an entomologist in the Washington, DC area. His current home address is: 338 Lau­ rel Ave., Laurel, MD 20707.

A~tERICAN El\rrmtoLOGIST • Winter 1997 245