“THE BITTER, FREEZING HOURS OF NIGHT”: AN INVESTIGATION
OF COLD INJURY SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE POST-CIVIL WAR
SEVENTH CAVALRY
______
A Thesis
Presented
to the Faculty of
California State University, Chico
______
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
in
Anthropology
______
by
Katie Cohan
Spring 2011 “THE BITTER, FREEZING HOURS OF NIGHT”: AN INVESTIGATION
OF COLD INJURY SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE POST-CIVIL WAR
SEVENTH CAVALRY
A Thesis
by
Katie Cohan
Spring 2011
APPROVED BY THE DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND VICE PROVOST FOR RESEARCH:
Katie Milo, Ed.D.
APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
______P. Willey, Ph.D., Chair
______Eric J. Bartelink, Ph.D. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The completion of this study could not have been possible without my thesis committee: Dr. P Willey and Dr. Eric Bartelink. I would like to thank Dr. Willey and Dr.
Bartelink for their advice and encouragement over the past few years. To the rest of the
Department of Anthropology at California State University, Chico, I would like to thank you for challenging me and helping me become a better student and researcher.
Thanks are also due to the following people and agencies for offering their advice, time, and resources to help me complete this project: The Denver Public Library
Western History and Genealogy Department in Colorado, Dr. Patrick Collison, Mr. John
Doerner (Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, MT), Mr. Scott
Larkin (Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation, Mandan, ND), Mr. Billy Markland, Dr.
Colleen Milligan, Dr. Douglas Scott, Mrs. Natalie Umphlett (High Plains Regional
Climate Center, Lincoln, NE), Mrs. Sandra Wiche (National Weather Service, Bismarck,
ND), and Mr. Greg Wysk (State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND).
I would like to thank my family for their unending support during this period of my life. Their encouragement and understanding has meant so much. I must also thank
Patrick Raley, for being my partner in crime from the second I stepped foot into graduate school. I could not have made it through the program without his confidence in me, and I hope we have many more adventures to come. Also, to my friends who were always there to enjoy life with me when I had a free minute, I cannot thank you enough.
iii I must also acknowledge the men and women associated with the Seventh
Cavalry during the 1800s. Researching their lives and experiences has been fascinating, and I could not have completed this project without the use of their personal data and historical accounts.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Acknowledgments ...... iii
List of Tables...... vii
List of Figures...... xi
Abstract...... xiii
CHAPTER
I. Introduction...... 1
Purpose of Study...... 1 Expectations ...... 2 Outline of Thesis ...... 4 Summary...... 5
II. Background...... 7
The Post-Civil War Cavalry ...... 7 Skin Color in the Seventh Cavalry Sample ...... 19 Summary...... 20
III. Literature Review...... 21
Cold Injury Hypothesis...... 21 Additional Variables that Influence Cold Injury Susceptibility... 26 Cold Injuries ...... 32 Summary...... 34
IV. Materials and Methods ...... 35
Data Compilation...... 35 Statistical Analyses...... 38 Seventh Cavalry Methods...... 39
v CHAPTER PAGE
Cold Injury Patient Methods ...... 46 Summary...... 51
V. Results...... 53
Seventh Cavalry Descriptive Statistics...... 53 Cold Injury Patient Extrinsic Factors ...... 65 Cold Injury Patient Intrinsic Factors ...... 88 Summary...... 100
VI. Discussion...... 103
Cold Injury Patient Extrinsic Factors ...... 103 Cold Injury Patient Intrinsic Factors ...... 115 Additional Variables that Influence Cold Injury Susceptibility...... 120 Alternative Hypotheses Regarding Variation in Skin Pigmentation ...... 123 Seventh Cavalry Material Challenges ...... 126 Directions for Future Research...... 131 Summary...... 135
VII. Summary and Conclusion...... 138
Summary...... 138 Conclusion...... 143
References Cited...... 145
vi LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
1. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Variables Hypothesized to Be Related to Cold Injuries ...... 4
2. Postings Where Troopers Experienced Cold Injuries...... 11
3. Seventh Cavalry Nativity Locations by Temperature Groups...... 41
4. Nature of Discharge by Category ...... 42
5. Rank at the Time of Discharge by Category...... 43
6. Complexion Terms and Definitions...... 44
7. Complexion Categories and Terms...... 46
8. Seventh Cavalry Non-Cold Injured and Cold-Injured Patient Frequencies ...... 47
9. Inconsistent Admittance and Release Periods for Seventh Cavalry Cold Injuries...... 48
10. Seventh Cavalry Frequencies of Cold Injury Cases by Enlistment Period ...... 50
11. Single and Multiple Cases of Cold Injury for Individuals in the Seventh Cavalry...... 50
12. Joseph Bates’s Multiple Cold Injury Cases During the Same Enlistment Period...... 51
13. Seventh Cavalry Birthplace Frequencies Contrasting U.S.-born and Foreign-born Troopers ...... 54
14. Seventh Cavalry U.S.-Born Troopers’ Birthplaces and Frequencies ...... 55
vii TABLE PAGE
15. Seventh Cavalry Foreign-Born Troopers’ Birthplaces and Frequencies ...... 56
16. Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Birthplace Frequencies Grouped by Temperature ...... 57
17. Seventh Cavalry U.S.-Born Troopers’ Birthplace Frequencies, Grouped by Temperature ...... 58
18. Seventh Cavalry Foreign-Born Troopers’ Birthplace Frequencies, Grouped by Temperature ...... 60
19. Descriptive Statistics of Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Enlistment Ages in Years...... 61
20. Descriptive Statistics of Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Statures in Inches ...... 61
21. Network Monitor Database Schema ...... 62
22. Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Ranks at the Time of Discharge ...... 63
23. Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Complexions and Frequencies...... 64
24. Categories and Frequencies of Seventh Cavalry Complexions...... 64
25. Frequencies of Cold Injury Patients’ Rank at the Time of Discharge...... 66
26. Frequencies of Cold Injury Patients’ Discharge Ranks Groups ...... 66
27. Distribution of Cold Injury Patients’ Discharge Ranks by Group and Title ...... 67
28. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Discharge Rank Groups...... 68
29. Nature of Cold Injury Patients’ Discharges and Frequencies...... 68
30. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Natures of Discharge ...... 69
viii TABLE PAGE
31. Seventh Cavalry Cold Injury Patients’ Reasons for Disability ...... 70
32. Hospital Admittance Length in Days for Seventh Cavalry Cold Injury Cases...... 71
33. Anatomical Location of Cold Injuries for Seventh Cavalry...... 72
34. Seventh Cavalry Troopers’ Geographical Location When Cold Injury Occurred ...... 73
35. Seventh Cavalry Camp, Fort and Area by Temperature Groups...... 75
36. Geographical Locations of Cold Injuries by Temperature Groups...... 76
37. Season When Cold Injuries Occurred...... 79
38. Month When Cold Injuries Occurred ...... 80
39. Month and Year When Cold Injuries Occurred...... 82
40. Season and Year When Cold Injuries Occurred ...... 84
41. Cold Injuries Per Season As a Percent of Total Enlisted Individuals...... 85
42. Battles During the Period of Study...... 86
43. Cold Injury Frequencies Per Year As a Percent of Cold-Injured Individuals...... 87
44. Cold Injuries Per Year As a Percent of Troop Strength ...... 89
45. Cold Injuries in January from 1867-1883 As a Percent of Troop Strength ...... 91
46. Cold Injury Patients’ Birth Nations ...... 92
47. Cold Injury Patients’ Birthplaces...... 93
48. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Birth Nations...... 94
ix TABLE PAGE
49. Cold Injury Patients’ Birthplace by Average January Low Temperature...... 94
50. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Birthplaces Compared by Average January Low Temperature Groups...... 95
51. Descriptive Statistics of Cold Injury Patients’ Enlistment Ages in Years...... 96
52. Independent Samples T-Test Results for Cold-Injured and Non-cold Injured Troopers’ Enlistment Ages...... 97
53. Descriptive Statistics of Cold Injury Patients’ Statures in Inches ...... 97
54. Independent Samples T-Test Results for Cold-Injured and Non-cold Injured Troopers’ Statures...... 98
55. Cold Injury Patients’ Complexion Frequencies and Percentages...... 99
56. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Complexions...... 99
57. Cold Injuries at Fort Abraham Lincoln by Year and Troop Strength...... 108
58. Chi-Square Results for Cold-Injured and Non-Cold Injured Troopers’ Complexions with Multiple Enlistment Periods Omitted 131
59. Independent Samples T-Test Results for Cold-Injured and Non-cold Injured Troopers’ Statures with Multiple Enlistment Periods Omitted...... 131
60. Frontier Regulars’ Dataset Activities at Time of Death ...... 133
61. Frontier Regulars Complexion Categories ...... 134
62. Chi-Square Results for Frontier Regulars’ Complexions...... 135
x LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1. “Cattle in a Blizzard on the Plains” Shows Cattle Enduring a Severe Storm...... 12
2. Carded Medical Records Showing Frostbite Diagnosis and the Patient’s Subsequent Amputation ...... 36
3. Seventh Cavalry Nature and Frequencies of Discharge ...... 62
4. Frequencies of Cold Injury Patients’ Discharge Ranks...... 67
5. Frequencies of Troopers’ Locations When Cold Injuries Occurred...... 74
6. Postings Where Cold Injuries Occurred on the Northern Plains ...... 77
7. Postings Where Cold Injuries Occurred on the Central Plains...... 78
8. Posting Where Cold Injury Occurred In the South...... 79
9. Distribution of Cold Injuries by Season ...... 80
10. Distribution of Cold Injuries by Month ...... 81
11. Cold Injury Frequencies by Year...... 88
12. Cold Injury Frequencies by Year As a Percent of Annual Troop Strength ...... 90
13. Cold Injury Frequencies January As a Percent of Annual Troop Strength ...... 92
14. Cold Injury Patients’ Birthplace Frequencies by Average January Low Temperature ...... 95
15. Enlistment Ages of Cold Injury Patients ...... 96
xi FIGURE PAGE
16. Statures of Cold Injury Patients...... 98
17. “Fort Abraham Lincoln, General View, Winter” Shows the Missouri River and Buildings (Stables, Barracks, Officer's Houses, Etc.) and Was Noted in the Records As an Image of a “Barren Landscape” ...... 110
18. “Fort Abraham Lincoln, Quarters in Winter” Shows a Child and a Horse-Drawn Wagon Near Officer's Houses and Barracks..... 111
xii ABSTRACT
“THE BITTER, FREEZING HOURS OF NIGHT”: AN INVESTIGATION
OF COLD INJURY SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE POST-CIVIL WAR
SEVENTH CAVALRY
by
Katie Cohan
Master of Arts in Anthropology
California State University, Chico
Spring 2011
The Cold Injury Hypothesis suggests that individuals with dark skin pigmen- tation are more susceptible to cold injuries, such as frostbite and congelatio, than indi- viduals with lighter skin pigmentation. Traditionally, studies have considered the differ- ences in cold injury severity and frequency between African-Americans and other groups. An influential study suggests that there are not only differences in cold injury frequency between racial groups, but even different levels of skin pigmentation (e.g., light, intermediate, and dark) show varied reactions to the cold. Thus, racial groups with the darkest skin pigmentation levels are more vulnerable to cold injuries.
This thesis expands that idea, examining records of men from the post-Civil
War Seventh Cavalry who experienced cold injuries (frostbite, most commonly) from
xiii 1866 through 1883. The Enlistment Records of these troopers are analyzed to determine if the men with darker skin complexions suffer more severe and more frequent cold in- juries than men with lighter complexions. All records are from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. The relationships between additional extrinsic and intrinsic variables and cold injuries are studied, including trooper rank at the time of discharge, nature of discharge, anatomical and geographical locations of cold injury, time of year, climatic events, activity being performed during the time of cold injury, clothing and equipment use, nativity, age at the time of enlistment, and stat- ure.
The relationships between complexion and those variables are calculated us- ing frequency tables, Chi-square tests, and Independent Samples T-Tests. Historical ac- counts and data are also considered. The relationship between skin complexion and cold injury frequency is not significant. However, a relationship is noted between cold inju- ries and geographical location, time of year, and trooper stature. The lowest-ranking men might be more susceptible to injury compared to men in higher ranks. Many cold injuries are recorded on the Northern Plains, most at Fort Abraham Lincoln in present- day North Dakota. The majority of cold injuries occur during the winter months, espe- cially December and January. Cold-injured troopers are significantly taller than non- cold injured men.
xiv
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of Study
Human variation studies are important in anthropology because they elucidate the relationships between complex variables, and human adaptation and biology. This thesis investigates the role of an individual’s skin pigmentation in susceptibility to cold injuries, especially frostbite. Previous anthropological and military research argues for what is termed in this study as the Cold Injury Hypothesis, or the idea that individuals with dark skin complexions are more vulnerable to cold injuries than individuals with light skin complexions. The evolution of light skin pigmentation is considered an adaptive mechanism, offering protection from the cold and cold injuries in cooler climates.
Although most previous research examines the influence of skin pigmentation on cold injuries in different races, this thesis focuses on the influence of different degrees of skin pigmentation (from light to medium to dark) on cold injury susceptibility within one race. Enlistment Records, Medical Records, and Regimental Returns of troopers in the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry (1866 through 1883) provide documents that are studied to investigate this relationship. Complexions of the cavalrymen are recorded in the Enlistment Record, and cold injuries are recorded in the Medical Record. Statistical analyses are conducted to test if the Cold Injury Hypothesis is supported by this sample.
1 2
Previous researchers also argued that additional variables influence cold injury vulnerability. For this reason, these variables are considered as they relate to the Seventh
Cavalry sample. Extrinsic variables (e.g., trooper rank at the time of discharge, nature of discharge, anatomical and geographical locations of cold injury, time of year and climatic events, activity being performed during the time of cold injury, and clothing and equipment use) are examined. Further, intrinsic variables, such as nativity, age at the time of enlistment and stature, are also analyzed using information in the records.
Historical records and documents are consulted to investigate these relationships and give further details about the experiences of these Seventh Cavalrymen. Troopers endured many challenges during their enlistment periods. Not only were equipment and gear often inadequate, but medical attention was often delayed and inadequate.
Environmental hazards were common, and troopers often marched or worked in sub- freezing weather and blizzards. An understanding of the effects of cold exposure and cold-related injuries is essential to this study, and historical research and eyewitness accounts help clarify the experiences of these post-Civil War troopers.
Expectations
Post et al. (1975) reviewed previous cold injury studies and experimented on piebald guinea pig skin to test the effects of skin pigmentation on cold injury vulnerability. Similar to previous research, they found that darkly pigmented skin was more susceptible to cold injury than lightly pigmented skin and lightly pigmented skin was more vulnerable than non-pigmented skin.
3
If the analysis of the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry sample supports Post et al.’s (1975) Cold Injury Hypothesis, then troopers with the darkest complexions will be expected to exhibit a higher frequency of cold injuries than those with the lightest complexions. If the Cold Injury Hypothesis is rejected, then troopers with the darkest complexions will be expected to exhibit a lower or equal frequency of cold injuries compared to those with lightest complexions.
Further, it is hypothesized that men who experienced multiple instances of cold injury and the most severe consequences of cold injury (i.e., extended time out of service) have the darkest complexions because they are biologically more vulnerable to cold injury. If the Cold Injury Hypothesis is rejected, then these individuals will have the lightest complexions, or the complexions of the men will be evenly distributed across all complexion categories.
After reviewing the literature, it is clear that factors other than skin pigmentation may be related to cold injury in humans. An analysis of the relationship between cold injury frequencies and some of these variables is possible using the information available in the Seventh Cavalry Enlistment and Medical Records. It is hypothesized that some variables have relationships with frequencies of cold injuries (see list in Table 1). It should be noted that the severity and anatomical location of troopers’ cold injuries are listed in the extrinsic category because they are variables that are not inherent to each individual.
4
Table 1. Extrinsic and intrinsic variables hypothesized to be related to cold injuries
Variable Type Variable Extrinsic Rank at the time of discharge Nature of discharge Severity of cold injury Anatomical location of injury Geographical location of injury Time of year and climatic events Activity during the time of injury Change over time Intrinsic Nativity Age at the time of enlistment Stature
Outline of Thesis
This thesis investigates the Cold Injury Hypothesis using data derived from the Enlistment Records, Medical Records, and Regimental Returns of the post-Civil War
Seventh Cavalry, from 1866 through 1883. Chapter I highlights the importance and purpose of this study and outlines the theoretical basis behind the project. The chapter presents the expectations to be tested using the Seventh Cavalry dataset. Finally, an outline of this thesis is included.
Chapter II examines the historical background of the Seventh Cavalry. A timeline of the Seventh Cavalry is included, and trooper postings and uniforms are described. The medical treatment of cold injuries during the 19th century is presented.
Chapter III reviews the literature relevant to this thesis. The development of the Cold Injury Hypothesis is discussed. A history of studies related to skin pigmentation and cold injuries is provided, highlighting research from the early 1900s to the present.
5
Additional variables other than complexion that might have an effect on such injuries are examined, and cold injuries are defined.
Chapter IV discusses how the materials used in this study were obtained and transcribed. The methods used are also described. The ways that the data are analyzed in
PASW Statistics 18 and the ways that the cold injury sample are defined are also explained.
Chapter V presents the results of statistical tests related to the Cold Injury
Hypothesis and additional related variables. Connections between cold injuries and extrinsic and intrinsic variables are considered. Finally, the Cold Injury Hypothesis is investigated by studying the relationship between the cold injury sample and individual skin complexions.
Chapter VI offers a discussion of the findings presented in Chapter V.
Alternative hypotheses are examined, and the limitations of the study are presented.
Finally, suggestions for future research are offered.
Chapter VII summarizes the findings of this thesis project. The importance of studies related to human variation and cold injuries is discussed.
Summary
This thesis enhances the understanding of cold injuries and determines whether or not the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry sample supports the Cold Injury
Hypothesis. Similar to earlier cold injury studies, the soldiers’ skin complexions are examined to determine whether or not there is a significant difference in cold injury frequency and severity between troopers with lighter skin and troopers with darker skin.
6
Contrasted with previous cold injury studies, this thesis studies variation in cold injury frequency based on degrees of skin complexion and not based on racial category. It is clear from the literature review that additional variables (e.g., age, rank, nativity, uniforms, climate, etc.) may influence cold injury, and the relationships between these factors and trooper cold injury susceptibility are also considered.
CHAPTER II
BACKGROUND
The sample used in this thesis is from post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry
Enlistment and Medical Records housed at the National Archives and Records
Administration in Washington, D.C. The cold injuries that affected these cavalrymen occurred in a specific time and place in history. This chapter introduces the cavalry and offers insight into the post-Civil War trooper experience.
The Post-Civil War Cavalry
Brief History of the Seventh Cavalry
The period under consideration follows the Civil War in the United States from 1866 through the early 1880s. After the war, the army was reduced greatly, so by summer 1866 it consisted of only 55,000 soldiers serving in one of the 45 infantry, ten cavalry, and five artillery regiments (Leckie 1963:27). Although a peacetime military was established in the country, battles were fought during this time and many frontier regions needed protection. There were many reasons why an individual might choose to join the army then, such as being of-age, escaping trouble at home, acquiring fundamental education, and a desire to serve (Rickey 1963:25). Enlisted men originated from most regions of the United States, and many enlistees had emigrated from other countries, especially England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany and Canada (Rickey 1963:17; Utley
7 8
1973:23). Nativity is documented in the Seventh Cavalry Troop Enlistment Records
(Cohan N.d.; Willey N.d.d).
The cavalry itself consisted of troopers who were trained to fight more exactly, while mounted on horses. Originally used for scouting, during the Civil War, the cavalry was deployed frequently for enemy attacks and raids (McKay 1959:64-66).
Generally, the Seventh Cavalry protected the frontier regions where Native Americans clashed with incoming immigrants, settlers, travelers and hunters. Troopers were often in charge of negotiating with Native American groups, and when reconciliation failed, military action took place (Leckie 1963). They were also responsible for guarding nearby railroads. Occasionally epidemics, such as Asiatic cholera, afflicted the troops
(Garlington 1896:251).
Timeline
The Seventh Cavalry was assigned to the Department of the Missouri during summer 1866 with three other regiments (Garlington 1896; Leckie 1963:29). Beginning in August 1866, the Seventh Cavalry was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. After the Civil
War, a stronger military presence was needed in the South during the Reconstruction
Period. The Ku Klux Klan and illegal distilleries had to be controlled, while fair elections and civil authority had to be enforced. During the rest of 1866, the Seventh Cavalry was dispersed across the Central Plains to assist with Reconstruction and fight with the
Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Arapahoe tribes who were defending their land. The Seventh
Cavalry was stationed on the Central Plains and South for the next four-and-a-half years.
The men were engaged in many battles and expeditions during this time, including the
Battle of the Washita in 1868. The regiment spent most of 1869 negotiating, escorting
9 and scouting in the South and, by 1870, the tribes were largely subdued and life for the regiment was calm (Willey N.d.b).
In 1871 the Seventh Cavalry, with the exception of Company L, moved from the Department of the Missouri to the Department of the South and was engaged in the southern states for the next two years. The regiment moved once again in 1873, this time to the Department of the Dakota. Tribes on the Northern Plains became a rising threat and expeditions in this area needed escorts. Arriving in the Northern Plains in late spring, the men were greeted by a severe blizzard, often called “The Custer storm of 1873” (Wert
1996:297). By May, ice on the Missouri River thawed and the troopers could move from
Yankton to Fort Rice where they were in charge of escorting the Northern Railroad
Survey Expedition. At this time, other members the Seventh Cavalry worked on the
International Northern Boundary Survey. On the Northern Plains, much of the regiment’s work was slowed seasonally by treacherous winter weather conditions. In the summer of
1874, the men conducted the Black Hills Expedition to find a post location that would allow control over the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. By September, six companies of the
Seventh regiment went to the Department of the Gulf while the rest stayed on the
Northern Plains. In December 1875, the Department of the Interior’s Indian Bureau ordered all Indians to return to their reservations or be considered hostile (Willey N.d.b).
The Seventh Cavalry is perhaps best known for its involvement in the Battle at the Little Bighorn in June of 1876, led by Lieutenant Colonel George Custer. During this time, tensions were on the rise between Indians and settlers and prospectors after gold was found in the Black Hills. This tension was augmented by the 1875 order from the Department of the Interior when an 1876 campaign was designed to force Indians
10 back onto reservations. During this time, many Lakota bands allied with the Northern
Cheyenne. During the Battle of the Little Bighorn River, the Sioux and Cheyenne annihilated almost half of the Seventh Cavalry (Scott et al. 1989:12-13). The surviving
Seventh Cavalrymen returned to Fort Lincoln and troop strength rose as “Custer’s
Avengers” joined the ranks (Willey N.d.b).
The cavalry fought the Nez Perce in late 1877 and the men acted as Cheyenne escorts in 1878. The year 1879 was uneventful, and by 1880 the Seventh Cavalry guarded the construction of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The years 1881 and 1882 were spent scouting, but ranks were diminishing as Custer’s Avengers’ enlistment periods expired.
After 1882, troopers performed many of the same duties (e.g., scouting, guarding, patrolling the U.S.-Canada border). In 1882, the Seventh Cavalry moved from Fort
Abraham Lincoln to Fort Meade in the Dakota Territory (personal communication with
Scott Larkin, February 24, 2011). In 1890, the regiment fought in the Battle at Wounded
Knee in present-day South Dakota. On the whole, the post-Civil War army offered few incentives to join and remain on duty. Thus, desertion rates were particularly high and replacement of deserters required many new inexperienced men to enlist each year (Utley
1973:23).
Fort Locations and Regional Climate
As outlined in the previous section, the Seventh Cavalry occupied three main regions during the period of study: the Central Plains, Northern Plains and South. From
1866 through 1873 the Seventh Cavalry was stationed on the Central Plains and the
South. Here, even in late spring, troopers were exposed to freezing temperatures and harsh weather conditions (Willey N.d.b). However, it was not until the middle of 1873
11 that the regiment moved to the Northern Plains, where winters were particularly long and brutal. From 1873 through the early 1880s, members of the Seventh Cavalry dealt with the harsh, tumultuous conditions on the Northern Plains during the Indian Wars, resulting in many cold injuries.
Table 2 shows army fort, camp and field locations where cold injuries were recorded in the Seventh Cavalry records (Cohan N.d.; Willey N.d.d) from 1866 through
1883.
Table 2. Postings where troopers experienced cold injuries
Region State (Posting) Central Plains Colorado (Fort Lyon) Kansas (Fort Dodge, Fort Harker, Fort Hays, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Riley, Fort Wallace) Nebraska (Camp Sheridan, Fort Kearney) Oklahoma (Camp Supply, Indian Territory) Northern Plains Field (Dakota Territory) Montana (Camp Poplar River) North Dakota (Fort Abercrombie, Fort Buford, Fort Abraham Lincoln, Fort Rice, Fort Seward, Fort Totten, Fort Yates, Standing Rock – Sioux Reservation) South Dakota (Fort Meade) South Kentucky (Taylor Barracks) Other “Field”
At these locations, troopers were exposed to the elements when they were on watch, on march, and on campaign. The Plains were often a harsh place. Figure 1 depicts cattle in a blizzard on the Colorado Plains in the late 1800s. Many cavalrymen endured the same harsh conditions while on campaign, often without proper gear or shelter.
During the period of study, some campaigns were conducted during the winter months to catch tribes by surprise. For instance, the Seventh Cavalry fought the Battle of
12
Figure 1. “Cattle in a Blizzard on the Plains” shows cattle enduring a severe storm.
Source: Image of drawing by Charles Graham from a sketch by H. Worrall, drawn in 1886. © Department of the Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Department, Call No. Z-156. Reprinted with permission.
the Washita, also known as the Washita Massacre, in present-day Oklahoma in
November of 1868 (Hoig 1979). Even during times of relative calm, the weather on the
Plains required caution. Elizabeth B. Custer (1885:104), wife of Lieutenant Colonel
George Custer, described daily life of the Seventh Cavalry on the Northern Plains in the
1870s in her journal.
The weather seemed to grow colder and colder as the winter advanced – from 20˚ to 30˚ below zero was ordinary weather….When the thermometer went down to 45˚ below zero, the utmost vigilance was exercised to prevent the men from being frozen. The general took off all the sentinels but two, and those were encased in buffalo overcoats and shoes, and required to walk their beat but fifteen minutes at a time.
13
From authorities on the Gilded Age in America (Morgan 1970; Clark 1992; Cashman
1993; Calhoun 1996; Laskin 2004), we learn that the post-Civil War years were a time of great confidence. Weather forecasts in the 1800s were often inaccurate and based on unfounded assumptions, which made preparing for storms especially difficult. The temperature could reach such extreme lows that available technology ceased to function.
General Nelson A. Miles included descriptions of the weather and thermometer readings in his notes.
During the winter campaigns of 1876 and ’77 all the mercurial thermometers we had with us were frozen solid. The following winter a spirit thermometer registered between 55 and 60˚ below….Even when the air was perfectly still and all the moisture of the atmosphere was frozen, the air was filled with little frozen jets, or shining crystals….The [men] made woolen masks that covered the entire head…and nearly all had buffalo overcoats. This command of more than four hundred men looked more like a large body of Esquimaux than like…United States soldiers. [Miles 1969:218-19]
Even if the men were carefully dressed, these temperatures easily induced lethargy. Army wife Frances C. Carrington describes the effects of the cold on troopers after a march to
Fort Reno, Wyoming, in 1867 as follows:
I was told that it was not sleepiness, but slow freezing that they felt, they could not be aroused until the Colonel ordered their legs to be lashed with whips, to start the circulation and bring them to their feet. And then it was slow work for frozen hands to put on icy harnesses, for the teamsters as well as half the escort had frozen ears, fingers, and feet… [Carrington 1971:187]
Thus, accounts of cold injuries were frequent in the post-Civil War army on the Plains. Besides normal levels of cold exposure, changes in weather patterns and especially the harsh weather in the Northern Plains affected the health, energy levels and morale of troopers during their enlistment periods. It has been noted that servicemembers in higher ranks often had prior experience operating in harsh military environments.
14
Therefore, many officers and experienced soldiers knew how to cope with these conditions better than new recruits.
The Post-Civil War Trooper Uniform
The military uniform is an excellent example of a cultural adaptation to changing environments. However, from the 1860s through the 1870s, the gear issued to soldiers often failed to provide adequate protection from cold injuries. It was known that many men stationed in the Dakota region suffered from frostbite (McChristian 1995:23).
To better understand the effects of cold exposure, it is necessary to recognize how these uniforms might have (or have not) protected soldiers from cold.
Once the American Civil War came to an end in 1865, the general public was weary of war and this sentiment had an immediate effect on the gear issued to the United
States military. Congress did not appropriate funds for an extensive military and army provisions issued by the Quartermaster Department were tolerable and meager at best. By the 1870s, opinion was divided in regards to what uniforms and equipment the army needed to function. Surplus uniforms from the Civil War were issued to post-war troopers. Flaws in these materials overlooked during wartime were noticeable and frustrating for the peacetime military. In 1867, Corporal Cyrus Reed highlighted the difficulties of going out on march in Wyoming with inadequate footwear:
The ice across the Platte was not strong enough to hold us, so we broke the ice with the butts of our muskets and forded the river up to our arm pits in the icy water. A few days later, we staggered into Fort Laramie, that is what was left of us, our feet wrapped in our torn blankets, as our shoes were gone. [Rickey 1963:256]
15
As a result of these inadequacies, soldiers often altered army gear to combat extreme temperatures on the Plains (McChristian 1995). These uniforms and modifications are discussed below.
Cold Weather Gear Modifications
To protect the body in cold weather, knee-length sky-blue kersey coats were issued. Cavalrymen were also issued capes that ended at the wrist, and body linings of various materials, such as burlap or flannel. Cuffs at the end of this body lining and the overcoats could be extended over the hands as mittens. In the 1870s, members of the
Seventh Cavalry began lining their overcoats with blankets made of wool. In 1871 blanket-lined overcoats began to be issued to posts above 42˚ latitude (McChristian
1995:21-23). Soldiers working in temperatures below zero often donned as much issued clothing as possible while still maintaining mobility. On some occasions, troopers tried to obtain their own personal buffalo- or bear-fur coats, while officers were issued long overcoats called cloak coats. Captain Simon Snyder documented the difficulties of staying warm and still being able to perform cavalry duties in November of 1876.
I am now wearing two flannel and a buckskin shirt, one pair of drawers, trousers of buckskin and a pair of army trousers, two pairs woolen socks, a pair of buffalo overshoes and big boots, a heavy pair of blanket leggings, a thick blouse and heavy overcoat, a heavy woolen cap that completely covers my head, face and neck except nose and eyes and still I am not happy…when I am all fixed out I am a sight to behold and have all I can do to mount my horse. [Rickey 1963:256-7]
In the early 1860s, buffalo hide overshoes began to be provided at posts in the north, but they did not always keep the feet dry. In dry conditions, these overshoes kept the feet warm, but in wet conditions, these overshoes could make things worse because if they became wet, or even damp, they could cause the feet to freeze (McChristian
16
1995:77). Thus, many soldiers bought their own additional shoes, or improvised by covering their feet with materials such as burlap. In the 1860s, adequate winter headgear was not provided and some soldiers bought their own heavy caps. Others added earflaps to their forage caps.
In the late 1870s, some important alterations were made to uniforms that could have minimized cold exposure. By 1876, a sturdier kersey overcoat was issued. It was a more effective garment because it was newly manufactured in army clothing depots (McChristian 2007:151). On May 5, 1876, new arctic overshoes were issued.
Made of vulcanized rubber, these overshoes were waterproof and much easier to dry than buffalo overshoes. Woolen mittens were also issued in May of 1876. In 1877 buffalo overcoats were sent to posts in the north for winter. In 1878, muskrat caps and gauntlet gloves began to be used. This same year some men began to use felt boots, although this style was short-lived because the boots had limitations similar to the buffalo overshoes
(McChristian 1995:174-7; McChristian 2007:170-7).
Due to the sharp decline in buffalo populations, different materials had to be used and new adjustments were made to winter uniforms in the early 1880s. The Miles
Overcoat, named in honor of General Nelson A. Miles, was made of blue canvas with a flannel lining. A hood or cape was included with cords to draw the cape tight to the head and neck. A canvas belt around the waist maintained warmth. The 1883 version was made of brown duck with a canvas belt (McChristian 2007:170-7). Many additional modifications were made to the military uniform after this time, but these changes fall outside the purview of this discussion. The Seventh Cavalry records (Willey N.d.d;
Cohan N.d.) document frostbite cases through 1883.
17
After the Civil War, many of these uniform additions and alterations were only available in limited quantities, and thus not all members of the Seventh Cavalry were issued the same protective clothing at the same time. Some troopers added their own alterations and others found or purchased extra gear when they could. In 1876,
Second Lieutenant Henry H. Bellas, near Fort Reno, Wyoming, described extra gear and modifications made. “Frozen noses, fingers and feet were general. The old buffalo robes which we had taken from the Cheyenne village, were cut up and made into shoes, leggings and caps, to afford protection from this truly Arctic weather” (Greene
1993:184).
Although soldier gear and equipment varied during this period, it is hypothesized in this thesis that cold injury levels generally decreased during the decades from improvements in material efficacy and greater attention to clothing quality.
Nineteenth Century Treatment of Cold Injuries
Cold injuries in the military often occurred while troopers were on march and were sometimes simply a result of being exposed to the elements. In November 1871,
Brigadier General Edward J. McClernand recorded soldiers’ reactions when caught in a snowstorm in Montana:
Many troopers became numb, and a few threw themselves from their horses and had to be lifted back and forced to follow….Some men wept and begged to be permitted to lie down and die; others wandered from the column and were forced to return by those who kept their heads….Cries that feet, hands and parts of the face were freezing were heard on all sides. Our weary horses seemed unable to continue the unequal struggle….To keep moving was our only hope, and the cooler heads fairly drove the others before them. [McClernand 1969:27-8]
18
Treatment of such injuries often had to wait until troopers reached a post, and remedies were not always effective. Some men had to have parts of the body amputated and others died from their injuries.
In 1812 Baron Dominique Larrey, Napoleon’s military surgeon, recorded the treatment of frostbite on those wounded during the retreat from Moscow. The wound was massaged with snow to warm the area (Larrey 1814). This same method was used throughout the 19th century and into the 20th century until 1956. Then, it was discovered that rapid rewarming followed by treatment with aloe vera and painkillers was a more effective method (Murphy et al. 2000).
Post-Civil War treatment followed the earlier technique. Affected areas were often treated with various solutions for days before amputation was deemed a necessary step. For instance, in Wyoming in December 1870 Private Richard Bowen, 13th Infantry, came to the post hospital with frozen feet. Nurses rubbed his feet and ankles with snow and attempted to restore circulation. Subsequently his feet were wrapped in cloth doused in whiskey and he was given morphine. Whiskey and a mixture of quinine and iron chloride were applied to the feet in the days after the injury. Since some of the skin was missing from Bowen’s feet, lime water and olive oil liniment were applied to the feet. He was ordered to drink milk punch and beef tea. After a few days, Bowen died from his injuries (Otis 1871:167).
Sergeant William Earl of the Seventh Cavalry was admitted to the hospital in
December 1870 after being discovered outside the morning after a night of heavy drinking. His feet and left hand were severely affected. These areas were rubbed with snow and soaked in ice water. Olive oil and lime water were later applied to the wounds.
19
Carbolic acid was applied and he was also ordered to drink milk punch and beef tea. He was given opiates so that he could sleep. His legs began swelling and Earl became increasingly melancholic and delirious as the days passed. Doctors believed that an amputation was necessary. However, Earl died on December 31, 1870 (Otis 1871:168).
This specific occurrence of frostbite was documented by the Surgeon General’s Office and corresponds with William Earl’s case listed in the Seventh Cavalry Medical and
Enlistment Records (Willey N.d.d; Cohan N.d.). These records often corroborate historical data. Thus, it is believed that this dataset is a valuable source of information conducive to demographic and anthropological studies.
Skin Color in the Seventh Cavalry Sample
African-American regiments were established in the army as early as 1866.
They served throughout the West, sometimes alongside White soldiers. This integration was often a source of extreme racial tension. In fact, Black troops were often discriminated against and often did not get the same supplies as White troops (Utley
1973:27). The military was not desegregated until the late 1940s under President Harry
Truman. Thus, African-American troopers did not serve in the Seventh Cavalry, but instead served primarily in the Ninth and the Tenth Cavalries during this time (Leckie and Leckie 2003; Little Bighorn Chief Historian John Doerner, letter to author on
September 29, 2010).
As mentioned above, the Seventh Cavalry regiment consisted of many recent emigrants and men from across the United States. In the Seventh Cavalry dataset (Willey
N.d.d; Cohan N.d.), these soldiers are recorded as having a variety of different skin
20 complexions. This thesis examines variation in cold injury frequencies based on differences in skin complexions contrasted with variation between races. The subsequent
Literature Review outlines the theoretical basis behind this analysis.
Summary
The Seventh Cavalry was stationed in three primary regions from 1866 through 1883 – the Central Plains, Northern Plains, and South. Troopers often dealt with harsh weather conditions in unforgiving environments, especially on the Northern Plains.
Although gear improvements were made over time, men did not always have adequate uniforms and equipment to protect them from storms and sub-zero temperatures. Cold injuries were treated as soon as possible, but many individuals suffered from amputations and even death from such wounds.
CHAPTER III
LITERATURE REVIEW
Cold Injury Hypothesis
Increased frequencies of cold injury in populations were discussed in the early
1900s. Since then, numerous anthropological, biological and military studies have examined differences in cold injury susceptibility. The Cold Injury Hypothesis, as it is called in this study, was outlined by Post et al. (1975). The authors suggested that lighter skin functioned as a protective mechanism in severely cold temperatures, while darker pigmentation increased vulnerability to cold injury. A review of the related literature is necessary to better understand this hypothesis and build the foundation of this thesis. To remain consistent with the literature, racial category names (e.g., Negro, White,
Caucasian, Black, African-American) are stated as they appeared in each study. This research is discussed below.
Beginning in 1926, Mignon (Ariev 1943) reported over 1,200 cases of “frozen feet” in Senegalese troops in April 1917 on the western France front. All these cases occurred in just two days, and although Senegalese troops suffered greatly, French troops were barely affected. Later researchers cited this study as one of the first examples of variation in cold injury frequencies between groups (Post et al. 1975; Whayne 1950;
Whayne and DeBakey 1958). Later, in the mid-1900s, Whayne (1950) stated that people of all ethnicities have the ability to acclimatize, so differences in susceptibility to
21 22 cold injuries were difficult to discern. However, he further described how the Eskimos developed a physiological tolerance to cold.
In 1958, Whayne and DeBakey compiled studies on racial and nationality- based susceptibility to cold injuries. At that time, much of the data was fragmentary.
They noted that an all-Negro infantry division of the U.S. Army represented one-third of reported cold injury cases in Italy in 1944 and 1945. They suggested that this injury level could be due to biological differences in susceptibility, or could be because they were relatively new recruits and it was only the division’s second winter fighting in Italy. The authors also stated that Japanese-American soldiers were affected by trench foot at a higher frequency than other United States soldiers in 1944; it was attributed to the
Japanese-Americans’ delicate feet.
In the 1950s, researchers examined cold injury vulnerability using data from the Korean War. In November 1950 over 4,000 servicemembers were sent to Osaka
Army Hospital in Japan to be treated for cold injuries. During that winter, the average temperature consistently fell below freezing and was as low as -30˚ Fahrenheit in some locations. After examining medical data from different units, Orr and Fainer (1951) found that Negro servicemembers had higher levels of frostbite than White servicemembers.
For instance, in one unit where Negroes and Whites lived under the same conditions and had the same training, 82.6 percent of the 167 frostbite cases afflicted Negro patients while only 17.4 percent afflicted white patients. Differences in severity levels omitted.
Schuman (1953) reported frostbite in American Negroes as four to six times greater than
American Whites during the Korean War. Interestingly, the anatomical distribution of cold injuries in both groups was the same, but the injuries were more severe in Negroes.
23
This Korean War study lent support to the importance of skin pigmentation in the Cold
Injury Hypothesis. Schuman (1954) further defended these ideas.
Over time, some researchers found that the physiological reactions African-
Americans had to cold exposure could increase the severity of cold injury. Meehan
(1955) and Daanen (2003) noted that there were differences in cold-induced vasodilatation (CIVD) depending on ethnicity. CIVD is a biological response that protects the extremities in the cold, resulting in vasoconstriction, or blood vessel constriction, followed by vasodilation, or blood vessel widening. In the former studies,
CIVD was uncommon in the African-American servicemembers. African-Americans also displayed a lower metabolic rate increase and had the weakest CIVD responses, meaning that they were more susceptible to injuries in the extremities. Rennie and Adams (1957) studied eight White and eight Negro infantrymen in Fairbanks, Alaska, and found that the fingers of the Negro soldiers cooled significantly more than the White soldiers. This research lent support to the idea that differences in ethnic background yielded varied biological responses to cold conditions. This conclusion was further supported by
Iampietro et al. (1959).
Upon examining the discoloration of patients’ cold injuries, Blair et al. (1957) noticed that in three of the 28 White patients cold injuries were erythrocyanotic, or swollen with a bluish-red discoloration. This change likely resulted from disturbance to the circulatory system. However, in all Negro patients with third and fourth degree injuries, depigmentation occurred. This reaction also suggested that serious cold injuries yielded different physical effects depending on skin pigmentation.
24
In the 1960s, Miller and Bjornson (1962) examined cold injury records from troops in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1950 through 1951 and 1960 through 1961. Ninety-eight men from missile battalion and infantry units were studied and compared to a control group. The temperatures varied from -50˚ to 30˚ Fahrenheit and soldiers were equipped with army regulation cold-weather gear. They concluded that Negroes suffered more cold injuries than Caucasians because of differences in adaptive responses to cold exposure.
In 1975, Post et al. formulated what has been termed in this thesis as the Cold
Injury Hypothesis. They suggested that melanin pigmentation was correlated to an individual’s susceptibility to cold injuries. They hypothesized that skin with less pigmentation evolved in colder areas to mitigate cold temperatures. Those individuals with darkly pigmented skin were more prone to cold injuries than those with less pigmentation. The authors examined many of the studies discussed in this chapter
(Mignon, in Ariev 1943; Miller and Bjornson 1962; Orr and Fainer 1951; Schuman 1953,
1954; Whayne 1950; Whayne and DeBakey1958) to support their hypothesis. Post et al.
(1975) experimented on piebald guinea pigs and found that, when there was a difference in cold injury frequency in non-pigmented versus darkly pigmented skin, the darkly pigmented skin was affected more severely. Lightly pigmented skin showed an intermediate degree of damage. These results indicated that, after being frozen, lightly pigmented skin became flatter with poorer cellular definition when compared to non- pigmented skin, but lightly pigmented skin was not as flat and poorly defined as darkly pigmented skin. The experiments lent support to their hypothesis that differences in skin pigmentation had adaptive value.
25
More recent research appeared to be less concerned with varying degrees of skin pigmentation and more concerned with ethnic differences in susceptibility to cold injury. Taylor (1992) considered cold weather injuries in 22 patients at an evacuation hospital in Wuerzburg, Germany, from January 1987 to April 1991. He surveyed patients and found that 63.8 percent of those affected by frostbite identified themselves as Black.
Eighty-one percent of these patients remembered going through training related to cold weather injuries (CWI) before their injuries. The author emphasized the need to understand who is at-risk for cold weather injuries and believed that these injuries reflect inadequate cold weather training or leadership in the U.S. Army.
Candler and Ivey (1997) collected data on U.S. soldiers in Alaska during the winters of 1990-1991 through 1994-1995. Frost nip, or superficial frostbite, cases were excluded from the sample. Hands, feet, ears and noses were the areas most commonly affected. Using Chi-square tests and relative risk calculations, the authors found that
African-American soldiers had a frequency of cold weather injuries almost four times greater than Caucasian soldiers. This difference in frequency was thought to result from differences in cold-induced vasodilatation in the two groups. The authors suggested that
African-Americans take special precautions in cold environments.
DeGroot et al. (2003) discussed CWI in the United States Army. These injuries included hypothermia, chilblains, immersion foot, and frostbite. To conduct a long-term analysis, the authors used data from the U.S. Army Research Institute of
Environmental Medicine Total Injury and Health Outcomes Database. They studied cases of CWI from the years 1980 through 1999. During this period, African-American men
26 were injured 4 times as often and African-American women 2.2 times as often as
Caucasian soldiers.
Burgess and MacFarlane (2009) studied African-American (presumably actually African-British), Caucasian, Gurkha, mixed nationality and Pacific Islander recruits in the British Army from January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006. The authors used the umbrella term “peripheral cold weather injury” to include both freezing and non-freezing cold injuries. It was impossible to discern the specific relationship between frostbite and skin color in this sample. The authors found that African-British soldiers suffered a much higher relative instance of peripheral cold injuries and more severe injuries compared to the Caucasian group. African-British soldiers were over 30 times more likely to experience an injury. The authors believed that Gurkhas were protected from cold injuries and Pacific Islanders were slightly more susceptible than
Caucasians.
Many studies before and following Post et al.’s (1975) analysis have contributed to our knowledge of the ways that skin pigmentation and ethnic differences relate to cold injury levels. Post et al.’s (1975) study is the theoretical backbone of this thesis because it highlights the ways that different degrees of skin pigmentation influence cold injury severity.
Additional Variables that Influence Cold Injury Susceptibility
For a more complete perspective, studies considering the connection between skin pigmentation, racial background and cold injuries investigate the influence of other
27 factors. This section reviews these variables and their relationship to cold injury vulnerability. Many of these variables are investigated in this thesis.
Whayne (1950) and Whayne and DeBakey (1958) investigated numerous variables and their relationship to trench foot. The variables were divided as follows: host factors (e.g., age, sex, race and geographic origin, previous cold injuries, individual idiosyncrasies), preexisting abnormalities (e.g., fatigue levels, nutrition, previous cold injuries, disease, posture, psychology, individual training, motivation), environmental factors (e.g., weather, temperature, precipitation, thawing, wind velocity, terrain, altitude), and socioeconomic environment (e.g., type of combat action, clothing supply, footwear, shelter, training, rotation schedule, leadership, attitude). In a study of 21 divisions in World War II, Whayne and DeBakey (1958) found that soldiers who were on active offense, who had poor facilities and rotation policies, and who were working in wet foxholes and marshy or flooded areas were at the highest risk for an injury. Soldiers who were at rest, who had regular rotation policies and adequate facilities, and who worked in dry terrain were at a lower risk. The soldiers’ experience level and the temperature range did not appear to have a significant effect on cold injury susceptibility.
Orr and Fainer (1951) considered many variables besides race and noted that sub-freezing temperatures were necessary to induce frostbite. Being engaged in combat in cold temperatures significantly increased levels of cold injury, possibly due to long periods of immobility in cold temperatures while servicemembers were confronting or avoiding detection by the enemy. Further, men who had previously suffered from frostbite were more likely to be injured again. Rank also appeared to affect cold injury susceptibility; 99.8 percent of those afflicted were privates and only 0.2 percent were
28 officers. Age, time in combat, geographic origin, and smoking were not significantly related to cold injury frequency. Data regarding uniform usage were scarce, although lack of protective gear or wet gear could often lead to cold injury. Nutrition, illness and fatigue were also cited as possible contributing factors.
Schuman (1953) considered variables related to cold injury susceptibility in
Negro and White United States troops during the Korean War. Some of the variables that correlated with cold injury vulnerability were age, rank, and the native climate. Tobacco use and average change of socks also had an effect on injury levels.
Miller and Bjornson (1962) considered the influence of racial background, sweating, tobacco intake, previous cold injuries and anatomical part injured. The authors suggested that servicemembers who suffered previous cold injuries were more likely to be affected as a consequence of previous tissue damage. The anatomical part injured changed with time due to improvements in military gear, specifically enhancements in arctic footwear.
Diet may be related to cold injury susceptibility. Laursen (1983) noted the importance of seal blubber and fish in the diet of Alaskan Eskimos and suggested that, without these foods, they were less able to endure freezing conditions. It has been argued that diets high in linolenic acids result in more effective blood circulation in cold temperatures (Craig 1984; Laursen 1983; Sinclair 1953, 1980).
Craig (1984) studied British soldiers who served in the Falklands Islands in
1982 to investigate whether or not abnormal constituents in the blood increased the likelihood of cold injury. He argued that blood abnormalities can inhibit the flow of blood, especially in cold conditions. Craig found that the soldiers did not have evidence
29 of abnormal blood constituents, therefore rejecting his hypothesis in this particular sample. However, he argued that diet and its effects on the blood system should be studied as they relate to cold injury susceptibility.
Urschel (1990) investigated 79 patients who were admitted to a hospital for frostbite in Northern Canada between 1977 and 1986. The author found that 90 percent of the cases occurred between November and February and the majority of patients were wearing inappropriate clothing for the weather conditions. Interestingly, 53 percent of the individuals were intoxicated by alcohol at the time of the injury while 16 percent of the individuals had been previously diagnosed as having psychiatric conditions. These data corresponded with Dalton and Robertson’s (1982) study suggesting that those with mental illnesses may suffer an increased frequency of cold injury due to impaired circulation and neglect. The influential role of alcohol consumption and psychiatric illnesses were also highlighted by Valnicek et al. (1993).
Taylor (1992) examined racial differences in cold weather injuries and collected data on additional variables, such as age, gender, rank, unit, history of an injury, whether or not the patient remembered CWI training, smoking history and activity being performed when the injury was sustained. Some of these activities, or general field duties, included pitching tents, working outside on equipment, marches and shoveling snow.
Taylor also considered whether or not the individual was wet or inside a vehicle without heat. The majority of patients were performing general field duty or were in a vehicle without heat during the time of injury. Interestingly, women were considered to be at no elevated risk for cold injury and rank did not appear to be a significant factor.
30
Candler and Ivey (1997) noted a decline in cold injury cases over time from improvements in training and an increase in milder weather. Alcohol use did not appear to have a significant effect, but the authors noted that individuals who never learned how to adjust properly to the cold environment in Alaska would likely be at risk. Therefore, cold weather injury prevention training was important in military settings. Dehydration was also cited as a possible reason for cold injury because water in canteens often froze.
Wind chill was a contributing factor. Other associated factors included time spent in
Alaska, uniform inefficiency, having a previous injury, touching metal, fatigue, wet gear and defective boots.
Hashmi et al. (1998) considered 1,500 frostbite cases that occurred in the
Karakoram mountain range in Pakistan from December of 1984 through December of
1994. All individuals were males from the ages of 17 to 43 years. Injuries were most frequent during January, followed by December, November, and October. The most common area of injury was the feet, most likely from inadequate footwear. The majority
(80%) of the injured males smoked from 20 to 30 cigarettes per day, lending support to the idea that heavy tobacco intake increased susceptibility to cold injuries. The authors also discovered that 85 percent of frostbite cases in the sample occurred between 17,000 and 21,000 feet.
In addition to African-Americans, DeGroot et al. (2003) stated that CWI were also more common among infantry regiments, low-ranking soldiers and during field duty.
Improvements in military gear and hospital methods were cited as being reasons why rates of CWI have decreased over time. Soldiers from 17 to 21 years of age were injured more often and 80 percent of injured soldiers had served in the military for less than five
31 years. Eighty-six percent of all CWI cases occurred from December through March, the most prevalent injury being frostbite. The mean hospitalization time for injured soldiers was six days, the median 2.8 days. The authors note that previous experience in cold weather, nativity, gear use and hospital worker biases were all important variables.
Further, Giesbrecht and Wilkerson (2006) note that multiple factors, such as muscle mass, blood type, heat loss and altitude, might affect an individual’s vulnerability to cold injuries. In addition to these variables, numerous researchers suggested that acclimation and acclimatization can have a significant effect on responses to cold.
Members of Arctic populations, divers, fisherman, fish filleters and ice chamber workers were more acclimatized to cold conditions compared to groups with less experience in the cold (Bridgman 1991; Elsner et al. 1960; Krog et al. 1960; Meehan 1955; Nelms and
Soper 1962; Purkayastha et al. 1992; Tanaka 1971).
In sum, many variables have been suggested as having a significant influence on cold injury susceptibility in humans. Intrinsic factors include age, sex, race, ethnicity, previous cold injuries, blood type, diseases, psychology and acclimatization. Extrinsic factors include weather, time of year, clothing and footwear, diet, shelter, action at the time of injury, rank, alcohol intoxication, tobacco use, and cold injury training. Post et al.
(1975) understood the possible influence of these variables and highlighted the role of skin pigmentation in cold injury vulnerability. This thesis tests relationship between skin complexion on cold injury levels using the Seventh Cavalry sample. It also determines if any additional factors correlate with injury susceptibility.
32
Cold Injuries
Before analyzing the Seventh Cavalry sample, it is necessary to understand what cold injury is and how it affects the body. The phrase cold injury implies that an individual has sustained a bodily injury due to exposure to cold temperatures. The most common form of cold injury found in the Seventh Cavalry sample was frostbite, occasionally recorded as congelatio. Frostbite is best defined as a cold injury caused by freezing. This localized injury primarily affects the extremities and parts of the face, such as nose or ears. Frostbite only occurs at temperatures below freezing, although exposure time and the exact temperature vary from person to person (Giesbrecht and Wilkerson
2006:74). The term congelatio, or Dermatitis congelationis, is essentially equivalent to frostbite. It is defined as skin inflammation due to exposure to intense cold. This inflammation may penetrate below the skin. It usually affects the extremities of the body, and less commonly the nose and the ears (Kirch 2008:466; Robinson 1885:352-354).
It should be noted that immersion foot, also known as trench foot, is not the focus of this thesis. Immersion foot occurs after prolonged exposure of the feet and legs to wet conditions and can even occur in warm and tropical climates (Paton 2001).
Immersion foot is distinguished from frostbite because it occurs as a result of tissues chilling over time, while frostbite results in tissue freezing and developing ice crystals between cells (Greene 1943; Paton 2001; Ungley et al. 1945). Also sometimes classified as a cold weather injury, chilblains is not identical to frostbite. Chilblains results from the body’s irregular reaction to cold (but non-freezing) temperatures combined with humidity. This cold exposure causes swollen and inflamed lesions on the affected skin
(Lehmuskallio et al. 2000). All cases of cold injury included in this thesis sample are
33 recorded in the Medical Records as either frostbite or congelatio. One case of chilblains is recorded in the Medical Records, but it was excluded from analysis because this reaction occurs under different conditions than frostbite.
In some of the military literature, cold injuries are occasionally placed into two separate categories – ground type and high altitude. A ground type cold injury generally occurs while soldiers are on the ground and the temperatures are below freezing. High altitude cold injuries are more specific to aviators operating in temperatures that can reach as low as -60˚ Fahrenheit and in high winds (Orr and Fainer
1951; Whayne and DeBakey 1958). Paton (2001:324) further considers the ground type injury to be distinguishable as “true frostbite.”
Blair et al. (1957) studied 100 enlisted army patients who were evacuated from Korea in 1950 and 1951 after sustaining cold injuries. The authors identified each cold injury based on severity, from first degree (least severe) to fourth degree (most severe). They found that cold injury patients usually exhibited symptoms such as cold feet, extreme sweating, abnormal coloring, pain and numbness, discoloration and joint problems. Even long after the initial cold injury, some symptoms persisted and were often felt more severely during the winter months. Depending on severity of the injury,
“residual pathologies” may be identified in cold injury patients (Blair et al. 1957:1205).
Although cold injuries can affect the skeleton, they are difficult to diagnose solely by examining human skeletal material. Upon examining a pre-Columbian mummy,
Post and Donner (1973) found that the individual’s toes were amputated in a manner consistent with frostbite and gangrene cases. Joint changes, periosteal reactions and osteoporosis in the affected area were also documented (Blair et al. 1957). However,
34 other conditions, such as leprosy and congenital irregularities, can produce similar skeletal effects (Post and Donner 1973). Connor (1994) noted a possible case of frostbite as indicated by a hand phalanx from the Little Bighorn Valley. A Native American woman’s phalanx displayed distal remodeling and a mushroom pattern consistent with amputation following a cold injury. The problematic nature of distinguishing cold injuries from other skeletal abnormalities was outlined in this study because the injury could have also been an indication of customary self-mutilation in some Northern Plains Native
American groups.
Summary
The idea that cold injuries affected individuals with dark skin pigmentation more frequently than individuals with light pigmentation was recognized as early as
1917. Many prior studies suggested that African-Americans were more susceptible to cold injuries than other groups. In 1975, Post et al. formulated the Cold Injury
Hypothesis, suggesting that individuals with light skin pigmentation are less susceptible to cold injuries then those with dark pigmentation as a result of human adaptation to cold.
Previous studies also noted that other variables (e.g., rank, time of year, etc.) were also related to cold injury frequencies. In this thesis, a cold injury was defined as an injury resulting from exposure to extreme cold. Frostbite was the most frequent cold injury associated with the Seventh Cavalrymen.
CHAPTER IV
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data Compilation
As documented by Willey (N.d.a), the data used for this analysis was first transcribed in 2001 and 2002 from Carded Medical Records, Enlistment Forms and
Regimental Returns that provided information related to troopers in the Seventh Cavalry from 1866 through the early 1880s. These materials were collected at the United States
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, D.C., or were obtained from microfilm available from the NARA. A Seventh Cavalry database and a
Cold Injury Patient Record were then compiled using these records. The resulting data were converted into the PASW Statistics 18 so the Cold Injury Hypothesis and related variables could be evaluated.
Carded Medical Records
Carded Medical Records were transcribed into a spreadsheet of medical diagnoses in the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry. Information found in this spreadsheet was taken from late 19th and early 20th century Hospital Ledgers, Prescription Books,
Abstracts of the Quarterly Report of Wounded in the Field, and Operation Forms. The data were then compiled on the 3 ½-inch-by-8-inch paper Medical Record forms (Figure
2).
35 36
Figure 2. Carded Medical Records showing frostbite diagnosis and the patient’s subsequent amputation.
Source: Copied from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA 2011; Record Group 94: Access and Use Unrestricted).
37
The forms were located in Record Group 94 Adjunct General’s Office, Carded
Medical Records, Regular Army, 1821-84, Boxes 396 through 427. Data transcribed from the Carded Medical Records were the basis of this analysis. The Medical Records listed each admitted trooper’s first and last name, age, date of admittance, geographical location admitted, patient’s diagnosis, and important procedures and comments related to the patient. Cold injuries were recorded in these records, and the anatomical location of the injury and relevant comments were often listed.
Enlistment Register
The Register of Enlistment in the United States Army (NARA’s Microfilm
M233, Rolls 31-43) provided records of enlistments and re-enlistments. The Enlistment
Register was essential to this thesis because it documented each trooper’s first and last name, nativity, age at enlistment, occupation, biological and physical features (most importantly, complexion), and discharge information. This record was used to match trooper information with patient Medical Records and test the variables discussed in this thesis.
Regimental Returns
Regimental Returns were compiled from the Returns from Regular Army
Cavalry Regiments 1833-1916 available on microfilm (Microfilm 744, Rolls 71-73) from
NARA. These Returns were used to extract many sets of data, including a list of trooper names and a count of enlisted men. They recorded the regiment’s gains and losses of men. Gains represented troopers brought to a post as new enlistments or transfers, while losses represented discharged troopers and those who deserted or died. Most dates were written in the civilian month-day-year format although military-style dates (day-month-
38 year) were used intermittently (Willey N.d.a). This thesis employed the information to establish the total number of enlisted men that were exposed to illness or injury on a month-to-month, season-by-season, and year-by-year basis by dividing the number of cold injuries per month, season, and year into the total number of enlisted men in each time unit.
Cold Injury Patient Record
Willey (N.d.a) transcribed the Enlistment and Medical Record data into
Microsoft Access. I transferred the data and recoded many of the variables in Excel 2007.
The cases of cold injury listed in the Carded Medical Records were extracted and trooper identification numbers were matched with Enlistment Register data. The Enlistment
Register documented complexion, stature, nativity and other biographical information.
This step resulted in a combined record of patient cold injuries and enlistment information for 8,119 individuals (Cohan N.d.). Of these men, 227 individuals were recorded in the Medical Record as experiencing a cold injury and were coded as a subsample labeled “Cold Injury Patients.” Then, the data could be examined in PASW
Statistics 18. Many troopers experienced multiple instances of cold injury and some had multiple enlistment periods. To approximate the individuals’ status at the time, the
Enlistment Register information used for these troopers was the enlistment period when the individual experienced the cold injury.
Statistical Analyses
Statistical analyses compared complexions of the men with cold injury frequencies in the Seventh Cavalry sample. The data included intrinsic factors that could
39 have had been related to cold injury frequencies. The relationship between cold injury and birthplace, age at the time of enlistment and stature were examined. The data also provided extrinsic factors. The relationships between cold injuries and trooper rank, geographic location, time of year, weather patterns, activity being performed, and military gear improvements were considered.
Once the Enlistment and Medical Records were combined in Excel, the resulting dataset was converted to the PASW Statistics 18 program to examine descriptive statistics and calculate inferential statistical tests (e.g., Independent Sample T-
Test, Pearson’s Chi-square). Independent Sample T-Tests assessed normally-distributed interval- and ratio-level data (Field 2009:326). This test was applied when comparing the mean ages and statures of the men who experienced cold injuries and the men who did not experience cold injuries. Pearson’s Chi-square tests were suitable when analyzing categorical (nominal or ordinal) data (Field 2009:688). This test was applied to determine if there was a significant relationship between men who had cold injuries and their complexions, injury severity, birthplaces, natures of discharge, and ranks.
Seventh Cavalry Methods
The remainder of this chapter reviews the methods used to combine data into categories and interpret the results. It also outlines the steps taken to identify the subsample of cold injured men. The Results Chapter analyzes these methods and presents descriptive statistics and statistical analyses of the Seventh Cavalry data, the subsample of individuals who had cold injuries, and comparisons between these men and those who had no recorded cold injury.
40
Nativity
Nativity was determined by the birthplace of each man. These men could be classified as either U.S.-born or foreign-born. Following the methods of Orr and Fainer
(1951), each of the United States was placed into one of four main temperature groups based on the average minimum temperature for January. The U.S. states section of Table
3 was partially compiled from Orr and Fainer’s categories. I included a “Not Applicable”
(N/A) category for birthplace regions where an average minimum temperature could not be identified (i.e., “At Sea”). Some areas required additional research to discern their location within the present-day United States. Dakota Territory constituted both present- day North and South Dakota, and Indian Territory is now Oklahoma (Gibson 1981;
Kingsbury 1915). Because Orr and Fainer only studied servicemembers from the United
States, international average minimum temperatures for the month of January were compiled using Weatherbase weather records and averages (2010). These steps created a manageable number of birthplace categories that could be examined accurately using
Chi-square tests. Locations by temperature group are listed in Table 3. International averages were listed in Table 3 in this format: Country (Capital/Capital Region, January average minimum temperature in degrees Fahrenheit).
Age at Time of Enlistment
Troopers’ age at the time of enlistment allowed comparison between younger recruits and older, perhaps more experienced troopers. The ages, recorded as numerical age in years, were examined using descriptive statistics and Independent Samples T-
Tests. Independent Samples T-Tests were appropriate for these ratio-level data.
41
Table 3. Seventh Cavalry nativity locations by temperature groups (Average low temperatures in January)
Temperature U.S. States Included International Locations Included Group (Orr and Fainer 1951:192) (Weatherbase 2010) 9.9° F or Dakota Terr. (ND/SD) New Hampshire Canada (Ottawa, Ontario, 6°) less Maine Vermont Minnesota Wisconsin Montana Wyoming 10.0 – 19.9° Colorado Massachusetts Finland (Helsinki, 16°) F Connecticut Michigan Russia (Moscow, 11°) Idaho Nebraska Illinois Nevada Iowa New York Kansas Utah 20.0 – 34.9° Arkansas Tennessee Austria (Vienna, 27°) F Delaware Virginia Belgium (Brussels, 34°) Indiana Washington Czech Republic [Bohemia] (Prague, Indian Territory (OK) Wash., DC 24°) Kentucky West Virginia Denmark (Copenhagen, 30°) Maryland England (London, 34°) Missouri France (Paris, 34°) New Jersey Germany (Berlin, 26°) New Mexico Holland (Amsterdam, 34°) North Carolina Hungary (Budapest, 25°) Ohio Norway (Oslo, 20°) Oklahoma Poland (Warsaw, 24°) Oregon Scotland (Edinburg, 33°) Pennsylvania Spain (Madrid, 32°) Rhode Island Sweden (Stockholm, 22°) Switzerland (Bern, 27°) 35° F or Alabama Africa (Rabat, Morocco, 46°) greater Arizona Argentina (Buenos Aires, 64°) California Australia (Canberra, 55°) Florida Barbados (Bridgetown, 74°) Georgia Cuba (Havana, 63°) Louisiana Great Britain [Isle of Man] (Douglas, Mississippi 39°) South Carolina Greece (Athens, 44°) Texas Ireland (Dublin, 37°) Italy (Rome, 39°) Mexico (Mexico City, 45°) Wales (Cardiff, 37°) N/A -- At Sea
Source: “U.S. States included” were partially compiled from “Geographical Origin” in Orr and Fainer 1951 Cold Injuries in Korea During Winter of 1950-51. Medicine 31(2):177-220.
42
Stature
Stature was analyzed to determine the relationship between size and cold injury susceptibility. This variable, recorded as height in inches, was investigated using descriptive statistics and Independent Samples T-Tests. Independent Samples T-Tests were appropriate in this case for the ratio-level data.
Nature of Discharge
Men enlisted in the Seventh Cavalry were discharged for a variety of reasons.
For the purpose of this study, discharge nature was divided into four main categories for
Chi-square tests (Table 4). These categories allowed a determination of how many
Table 4. Nature of discharge by category
Nature of Discharge Category Discharge Types Included Deserted Deserted Died Died Left Due to Disability Disability Other Act of Congress, Apprehended, Cancelled/Enlistment Cancelled, Civil Authority, Discharged/Discharged Early, Dishonorable Discharge, Dropped, Drowned, Expiration of Service, General’s Order, General Court Marshall Order, Insanity, Killed in Action, Surgeon/Special Order, Suicide, Surrendered, Transferred, Writ Habeas Corpus
troopers might have left service due to disability or died from cold injuries contrasted with those who deserted or left for other reasons. Individuals who drowned, were killed in action, and who committed suicide were excluded from the “Died” category to distinguish those deaths from deaths related to cold injury. Deaths related specifically to cold injuries are further examined in the Results chapter.
43
Rank at the Time of Discharge
Rank was used to determine if men in lower ranks suffered more frostbite than those in higher ranks. Each man’s rank was recorded at the end of their service. A
Seventh Cavalry soldier could leave service holding a variety of titles. Military ranks were divided into categories as listed in Table 5 so a Chi-square test could be calculated.
Table 5. Rank at the time of discharge by category
Rank Category Ranks Included Commissioned Officers Lieutenants, Captains, Colonels, Majors Senior Noncommissioned Sergeant Majors, 1st Sergeants, Sergeants, Chief Officers Musicians, Chief Trumpeters, Hospital Stewards, Commissary Sergeants, Quartermaster Sergeants Junior Noncommissioned Corporals, Blacksmiths, Buglers, Trumpeters, Officers Farriers, Saddlers, Musicians Rankers Privates, Wagoners, Recruits Other Civilians, Surgeons, Interpreters, Guides, Scouts, Teamsters, Packers
Source: Rank categories adapted from Douglas D. Scott (letter to Willey, April 16, 2009).
These rank categories followed battlefield archaeologist and military history specialist
Scott (letter to Willey, April 16, 2009). Importantly, Willey believed (personal communication with author, 2010) that Commissioned Officers were largely excluded from the Medical Records. These officers had a different procedure for receiving medical care than lower-ranking officers that was not often recorded. Therefore, Commissioned
Officers were excluded from this analysis.
44
Complexion
In earlier studies (e.g., Post et al. 1975), skin color was divided into non- pigmented, lightly pigmented, and darkly pigmented skin. In the Seventh Cavalry
Enlistment Records, the complexion, or color and appearance of the skin, of each trooper was written by a clerk at their time of enlistment. Table 6 shows the terms used to described the complexions of the men. The color definitions are mine, compiled after
Table 6. Complexion terms and definitions
Complexion Definition Term Black* Very dark in color Brown* Not excessively dark or light in color, dusky or intermediate in hue Dark* Brown or close to black in color Fair* Light in color Florid Reddish or rosy in color Freckled Having a noticeable amount of freckles on the skin Fresh Appearing healthy or youthful in complexion Fush Possibly a misspelling of fuchsia, meaning purplish-red in color Also possibly a misspelling of Fresh (Seventh Cavalry Codebook) Light* Of a light hue in color Medium* Not excessively dark or light in color, intermediate in hue Olive Dull greenish-yellow Pale* Light in color, lacking color Pockmarked Having small scars or pits on the skin Red Reddish in color Robust Appearing healthy or strong Ruddy Healthy or reddish in color, possibly feverish Sallow Sickly yellowish in color Sandy* Light yellow to brown in color Sulley Possibly a misspelling of sully, meaning soiled or dirty Also possibly a misspelling of Sallow (Seventh Cavalry Codebook) White* Very light in color, lacking color
reviewing definitions of the terms in Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
(Gove 2002) and the Seventh Cavalry dataset codebook (Willey N.d.d). The troops listed
45 as having complexions marked with an asterisk were chosen as the most accurate for this study. The other terms (Florid, Freckled, Fresh, Fush, Olive, Pockmarked, Red, Robust,
Ruddy, Sulley, and Sallow) could not be identified reliably as lightly pigmented, medium pigmented or darkly pigmented. For instance, although the terms “Olive” or “Sallow” indicated a certain skin color, these colors could not be placed along a pigmentation scale ranging from light to dark. However, it was reasonable to assume that troopers with Fair,
Light, Pale or White complexions had lightly pigmented skin, while those with Black,
Brown, Dark, Medium or Sandy had more pigmentation. Sandy and Medium were best described as intermediate complexions.
Rather than describing troops in racial terms or ancestral groups, as the majority of previous studies related to the Cold Injury Hypothesis, the terms used in this thesis indicated the complexion of the skin. For example, some studies referred to darker skinned individuals as Negroes, blacks or African-Americans, but this category did not describe the actual hue of the skin. Individuals of African-American descent might have displayed a wide range of skin colors. Therefore, a comparison involving skin tone instead of racial category allowed for a more accurate study of the relationship between skin pigmentation and cold injury susceptibility in the sample. Post et al. (1975) suggested the importance of this type of research. The Seventh Cavalry data (Willey
N.d.d; Cohan N.d.) allowed such a comparison. It should be noted that these skin complexions were recorded before the invention and widespread use of the von
Luschan’s chromatic scale and subsequent refined methods of reflectance spectrophotometry, such as the Evans Electric Limited, that are now used to record skin
46 color (Byard 1981; Bjerring and Anderson 1987; Hughes et al. 2004; Pershing et al.
2008).
To assess the Cold Injury Hypothesis, pigmentation categories were chosen using the recorded Complexion information. Complexions were divided into four groups:
Lightly Pigmented, Medium Pigmented, Heavily Pigmented and Pigmentation Level
Unclear. Terms coded as Pigmentation Level Unclear were those that did not indicate a scaled pigmentation level. For instance, on a scale from light to dark, Pale was classified as one of the lighter terms and Dark described a more heavily pigmented individual.
However, as mentioned in relation to Table 6, complexion terms such as Red or Olive could not be classified on a scale from light to dark, and these terms were thus excluded from the analysis. Table 7 presents these categories of complexions. By defining and categorizing these complexions, Chi-square tests could be calculated using data.
Table 7. Complexion categories and terms
Complexion Category Complexions Included Lightly Pigmented White, Pale, Fair, Light Medium Pigmented Sandy, Medium, Brown Heavily Pigmented Dark, Black Pigmentation Level Unclear Olive, Ruddy, Red, Florid, Fuchsia, Sallow, Robust, Fresh, Sulley, Freckled, Pockmarked
Cold Injury Patient Methods
Diagnoses
Of individuals having a cold injury, all but one were recorded under the diagnosis
“Frostbite.” Only one man, trooper Wehrmann, was admitted for “Congelatio.” Although
Wehrmann did not have any enlistment data recorded, he was listed in the Medical
47
Record as having died on the same day that he experienced congelatio – January 16,
1882. Because Wehrmann had no enlistment information that could be used in statistical comparisons, all other individuals with cold injuries suffered from frostbite and not congelatio. However, to maintain consistency, “cold injury” is used throughout this thesis when describing these frostbite injuries.
Sample Size: Number of Individuals That Experienced Cold Injury
Table 8 shows that 96.7 percent of individuals in the Seventh Cavalry did not experience cold injury. In contrast, 227 individual troopers were diagnosed in the
Table 8. Seventh Cavalry non-cold injured and cold-injured patient frequencies
Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Non-cold injured 7853 96.7 96.7 Cold-injured 227 2.8 99.5 Cold-injured, no enlistment data 31 0.4 99.9 Cold-injured, enlistment discrepancy 8 0.1 100.0 Total 8119 100.0
Medical Record as having a cold injury, representing 2.8 percent of the Seventh Cavalry.
Thirty-one additional men (0.4%) were recorded as having frostbite, but had no corresponding enlistment data. Eight more men (0.1%) were recorded in the Medical
Record as having a cold injury, but there was a discrepancy between their cold injury date and their enlistment period. As a result of these missing data and inconsistencies, those
39 individuals were excluded from the analysis when being compared to the Cavalry
48 enlistment information. This step resulted in a total of 8,080 Enlistment Records (8,119-
39=8,080) when conducting T-Tests and Chi-square tests.
Importantly, some individuals recorded with a cold injury enlisted in the
Cavalry multiple times. The enlistment data used for these men are the data of the enlistment period when the men experienced the cold injury. For instance, if a soldier suffered from a cold injury in January 1876, the Enlistment Record information used for this individual would be from his enlistment period that included January 1876. His earlier or later enlistment information were excluded from the cold injury sample, considered to be non-cold injured.
Inconsistencies in hospital admittance and release dates were noted in five cases (Table 9). The dates in the following table show contradictory admittance and release period dates from the Medical Record. These discrepancies could be recording errors where a number was mis-recorded or the admittance and release dates could have accidentally been reversed.
Table 9. Inconsistent admittance and release periods for Seventh Cavalry cold injuries
Name Admittance and Release Period Asthalter, John 12/25/1866 – 12/21/1866 Bombach, Conrad 12/26/1876 – 5/2/1876 Lonnon, Marion 12/31/1866 – 12/27/1866 Spangler, Henry 12/28/1866 – 12/24/1866 Stark, Emery 12/16/1882 – 12/8/1882
Further, one trooper (George Walters) was listed primarily as an ulcer patient, although the comments on his Medical Record stated that frostbite was the “original
49 diagnosis corrected in subsequent letter.” Another trooper (John Carroll) was listed in the
Medical Record as having Catarrh, with a Remark noting “and Frostbite.” Carroll was removed from the sample because there was a discrepancy between his Medical Record dates and his enlistment data. George Walters, John Asthalter, Conrad Bombach, Marion
Lonnon, Henry Spangler, and Emery Stark were retained in the sample because their diagnoses included frostbite and the dates when they were admitted for frostbite fell within their recorded enlistment period.
Sample Size: Number of Cold Injury Cases
Although 227 individuals were recorded as having experienced cold injuries, there were 261 separate cold injury cases listed in the Medical Record (out of 20,511 total Seventh Cavalry Medical Records). This discrepancy in numbers occurred because when an individual experienced two or more cases in different enlistment periods, they were counted separately. But when an individual was admitted for two or more cases during the same enlistment period, they were counted only once. This step was taken to control for the fact that some men might have been readmitted multiple times for the same cold injury. It was also done to prevent over-representing the number of individuals who were recorded as cold injured. As shown in Table 10, the majority (83.7%) of men who had a cold injury were admitted only once. Further, 12.3 percent of those affected were admitted for two or more cases within the same enlistment period, and 4.0 percent were admitted for two or more cases during different enlistment periods.
Table 11 shows 199 individuals had one case of cold injury each (count = 199 cases), while 22 individuals were admitted for two cases of cold injury each (count = 44
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Table 10. Seventh Cavalry frequencies of cold injury cases by enlistment period
Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 1 case of cold injury 190 83.7 83.7 2+ cases, in same enlistment period 28 12.3 96.0 2+ cases, in different enlistment 9 4.0 100.0 periods Total 227 100.0
Table 11. Single and multiple cases of cold injury for individuals in the Seventh Cavalry
Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 1 199 87.7 87.7 2 22 9.7 97.4 3 6 2.6 100.0 Total 227 100.0 Number of Cases 227 Minimum 1 Maximum 3 Sum 261
cases). Finally, six individuals were admitted for three cases of cold injury each (count =
18 cases). The total of all cold injury cases (199 + 44 + 18) is 261.
Cold Injury Patient Statistics: Individuals with Multiple Cases
When appropriate, the additional cases experienced by individuals who suffered multiple cases of cold injury during the same enlistment period were included in descriptive statistics. For instance, all 261 cold injury cases were considered when
51 determining the anatomical and geographical locations of cold injuries, because these counts would not skew interpretations. However, those individuals who experienced two or three cold injuries during the same enlistment period were not double- or triple- counted in statistical tests (e.g., Chi squares, t-tests) to avoid skewing data and to control for possible duplicate entries. For instance, trooper Joseph Bates was admitted for three separate cases of cold injury in the same enlistment period (Table 12).
Table 12. Joseph Bates’s multiple cold injury cases during the same enlistment period
Name First First Second Second Third Third Admit. Release Admit. Release Admit. Release Bates, J. 11/24/74 11/28/74 12/5/74 12/20/74 1/2/75 1/6/75
Although trooper Bates was admitted for three separate cases, they were all for frostbite to his fingers. Further, each admittance occurred within a few days of the last. A similar pattern occurred with most of the other individuals who were admitted more than once for cold injuries. Once these men were injured, it was possible that they were admitted to the hospital numerous times for that injury, or the first event made them more susceptible to being injured further.
Summary
The Cold Injury Hypothesis and additional variables were investigated using data collected from Regimental Returns, Enlistment Records and Carded Medical
Records of soldiers in the Seventh Cavalry from 1866 through 1883. The data in these records were transcribed, grouped and coded to allow the information to be examined in
52 the most accurate and effective manner possible. Incomplete or conflicting data were removed from the sample to avoid skewing the study, and measures were taken to ensure that data were not overrepresented. Descriptive statistics, frequency tables, Independent
Sample T-Tests and Pearson’s Chi-square tests were the most appropriate ways to analyze the data using the PASW Statistics 18 program. The results of these analyses are presented in the following chapter.
CHAPTER V
RESULTS
This chapter presents three sections of statistical results. First, descriptive statistics of the entire Seventh Cavalry dataset are reported to highlight the composition of the Seventh Cavalry from 1866 through the early 1880s. Then, the cold injury patient sample is investigated using descriptive statistics and statistical analyses. The relationships between extrinsic factors and cold injuries are examined first, followed by the relationships between intrinsic factors and cold injuries. Finally, the Cold Injury
Hypothesis is tested.
Seventh Cavalry Descriptive Statistics
The men who experienced cold injury is best understood when considered as a subset of the cavalry as a whole. Therefore, before focusing on the cold-injured men, this section reports descriptive statistics of the data for all 8,119 of the Seventh Cavalry
Enlistment Records. Nativity, age, stature, discharge nature, rank, and complexion distributions of the entire Seventh Cavalry are presented.
Nativity
As shown in Table 13, of the men whose birthplaces were known, the majority (59.7%) were U.S.-born and 40.3 percent were foreign-born.
53 54
Table 13. Seventh Cavalry birthplace frequencies contrasting U.S.-born and foreign-born troopers
Frequency Percent U.S.-Born 4028 59.7 Foreign-Born 2715 40.3 Total 6743 100.0
Of the U.S.-born, half (50.7%) were born in New York, Pennsylvania or Ohio.
Eight percent or less of enlisted men were born in each of the other states represented
(Table 14). States or territories that were not birth places included Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,
Washington, and Wyoming.
Of foreign-born men, the majority (68.3%) came from Ireland and Germany.
England (10.5%) and Canada (6.6%) were also well-represented (Table 15). A few individuals came from less-represented locations, such as Africa, Argentina and Mexico.
Table 16 shows that, of the men with recorded birthplaces, 6.5 percent were from locations where the average low temperature in January was 9.9° F or below. An additional 23.5 percent came from locations where the average low temperature in
January was between 10 and 19.9° F. Over half (54.2%) came from locations where the average low temperature in January was between 20 and 34.9° F, and the remaining 15.8 percent came from locations where the average low temperature in January was 35° F or above.
Tables 17 and 18 display geographical regions of birth, grouped by temperature category. The majority of men born in locations where the average low temperature in January was 9.9° F or below came from Maine (35.1%) or Wisconsin
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Table 14. Seventh Cavalry U.S.-born troopers’ birthplaces and frequencies
Frequency Percent Alabama 4 0.1 Arkansas 4 0.1 California 5 0.1 Connecticut 58 1.4 Dakota Territory 1 0.0 Delaware 16 0.4 Georgia 11 0.3 Illinois 188 4.7 Indiana 178 4.4 Indian Territory 2 0.0 Iowa 47 1.2 Kansas 5 0.1 Kentucky 149 3.7 Louisiana 29 0.7 Maine 91 2.3 Maryland 171 4.2 Massachusetts 313 7.8 Michigan 111 2.8 Minnesota 6 0.1 Mississippi 6 0.1 Missouri 85 2.1 Nebraska 3 0.1 New Hampshire 43 1.1 New Jersey 96 2.4 New York 847 21.0 North Carolina 30 0.7 Ohio 519 12.9 Pennsylvania 676 16.8 Rhode Island 36 0.9 South Carolina 3 0.1 Tennessee 45 1.1 Texas 9 0.2 Vermont 46 1.1 Virginia 67 1.7 Washington D.C. 31 0.8 West Virginia 25 0.6 Wisconsin 72 1.8 Total 4028 100.0
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Table 15. Seventh Cavalry foreign-born troopers’ birthplaces and frequencies
Frequency Percent Africa 2 0.1 Argentina 1 0.0 At Sea 4 0.1 Australia 1 0.0 Austria 20 0.7 Barbados 1 0.0 Belgium 9 0.3 Canada 178 6.6 Cuba 2 0.1 Czech Republic 4 0.1 (Bohemia) Denmark 30 1.1 England 284 10.5 Finland 1 0.0 France 69 2.5 Germany 890 32.8 Isle of Man (British 1 0.0 Crown Dependency) Greece 1 0.0 Holland 17 0.6 Hungary 12 0.4 Ireland 965 35.5 Italy 11 0.4 Mexico 1 0.0 Norway 17 0.6 Poland 10 0.4 Russia 8 0.3 Scotland 84 3.1 Spain 3 0.1 Sweden 19 0.7 Switzerland 57 2.1 Wales 13 0.5 Total 2715 100
(27.8%). Most men born in locations where the average low temperature in January was between 10 and 19.9° F, came from New York (53.9%) and Massachusetts (19.9%). Most
57
Table 16. Seventh Cavalry troopers’ birthplace frequencies grouped by temperature
Valid Cumulative Temperature Group Frequency Percent Percent Percent Avg. 9.9 F or below 437 5.4 6.5 6.5 Avg. 10-19.9 F 1581 19.5 23.5 29.9 Avg. 20-34.9 F 3655 45.0 54.2 84.2 Avg. 35 F or above 1067 13.1 15.8 100.0 Total 6740 83.0 100.0 Data N/A 1379 17.0 Total 8119 100.0
individuals born in locations where the average low temperature in January was between
20 and 34.9° F were from Ohio (24.4%) and Pennsylvania (31.7%). Of the men born in locations where the average low temperature in January was 35° F or above, most were from Louisiana (43.3%) and Georgia (16.4%).
Table 18 reports the distribution of birthplace locations of foreign-born men grouped by temperature group. Of soldiers born internationally, four were born at sea. All of the men who were born in a location where the average low temperature in January is
9.9° F or below came from Canada. Almost all of the men born in locations where the average low temperature in January is between 10 and 19.9° F came from Russia
(88.9%), the rest born in Finland (11.1%). Most individuals born in locations where the average low temperature in January is between 20 and 34.9° F were from Germany
(58.4%) and England (18.6%). Of the men born in locations where the average low temperature in January is 35° F or above, over 95% (96.6%) were from Ireland.
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Table 17. Seventh Cavalry U.S.-born troopers’ birthplace frequencies, grouped by temperature
Temperature Cumulative Groups Frequency Percent Percent Avg. 9.9 F or Dakota Territory 1 0.4 0.4 below Maine 91 35.1 35.5 Minnesota 6 2.3 37.8 New Hampshire 43 16.6 54.4 Vermont 46 17.8 72.2 Wisconsin 72 27.8 100.0 Total 259 100.0 Avg. 10-19.9 F Connecticut 58 3.7 3.7 Illinois 188 12.0 15.7 Iowa 47 3.0 18.7 Kansas 5 0.3 19.0 Massachusetts 313 19.9 38.9 Michigan 111 7.1 45.9 Nebraska 3 0.2 46.1 New York 847 53.9 100.0 Total 1572 100.0 Avg. 20-34.9 F Arkansas 4 0.2 0.2 D.C. 31 1.5 1.6 Delaware 16 0.8 2.4 Indiana 178 8.4 10.8 Indian Territory 2 0.1 10.8 Kentucky 149 7.0 17.8 Maryland 171 8.0 25.9 Missouri 85 4.0 29.9 North Carolina 30 1.4 31.3 New Jersey 96 4.5 35.8 Ohio 519 24.4 60.1 Pennsylvania 676 31.7 91.9 Rhode Island 36 1.7 93.6 Tennessee 45 2.1 95.7 Virginia 67 3.1 98.8 West Virginia 25 1.2 100.0 Total 2130 100.0
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Table 17 (Continued)
Temperature Cumulative Groups Frequency Percent Percent Avg. 35 F or Alabama 4 6.0 6.0 above California 5 7.5 13.4 Georgia 11 16.4 29.9 Louisiana 29 43.3 73.1 Mississippi 6 9.0 82.1 South Carolina 3 4.5 86.6 Texas 9 13.4 100.0 Total 67 100.0
Age at Time of Enlistment
Considering the entire Seventh Cavalry enlistments, a soldier’s average age at the time of enlistment was 24.52 ± 4.43 (1 SD) years old (Table 19). The youngest age was 15 years (Winfield Reidfort), and oldest 50 years (John McGinnis). The median age was 23 years old and the mode was 21 years old. Overall, 95 percent of soldiers enlisted between 16 and 33 years old.
Stature
The average soldier’s stature at the time of enlistment was 67.20 ± 2.018 (1
SD) inches. The minimum stature was a short 53 inches (Table 20). This stature was recorded for both Winfield Reidfort, age 15 and John Cornell, age 22. The tallest stature was 77 inches. This stature was recorded for James Mullins, age 22. Both the median and modal statures were 67 inches.
Nature of Discharge
Table 21 presents reasons for discharges from the Seventh Cavalry. Almost half (46.3%) of men with discharge information left service under one of the “Other”
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Table 18. Seventh Cavalry foreign-born troopers’ birthplace frequencies, grouped by temperature
Temperature Groups Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Data N/A At Sea 4 100.0 100.0 Avg. 9.9 F Canada 178 100.0 100.0 or below Avg. 10- Finland 1 11.1 11.1 19.9 F Russia 8 88.9 100.0 Total 9 100.0 Avg. 20- Austria 20 1.3 1.3 34.9 F Belgium 9 0.6 1.9 Czech Republic 4 0.3 2.2 (Bohemia) Denmark 30 2.0 4.1 England 284 18.6 22.8 France 69 4.5 27.3 Germany 890 58.4 85.6 Holland 17 1.1 86.8 Hungary 12 0.8 87.5 Norway 17 1.1 88.7 Poland 10 0.7 89.3 Scotland 84 5.5 94.8 Spain 3 0.2 95.0 Sweden 19 1.2 96.3 Switzerland 57 3.7 100.0 Total 1525 100.0 Avg. 35 F Africa 2 0.2 .2 or above Argentina 1 0.1 .3 Australia 1 0.1 .4 Barbados 1 0.1 .5 Cuba 2 0.2 .7 Isle of Man (British 1 0.1 .8 Crown Dependency) Greece 1 0.1 .9 Ireland 965 96.6 97.5 Italy 11 1.1 98.6 Mexico 1 0.1 98.7 Wales 13 1.3 100.0 Total 999 100.0
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Table 19. Descriptive statistics of Seventh Cavalry troopers’ enlistment ages in years
Value N (Valid) 6742 N (Missing) 1377 Mean 24.52 Median 23.00 Mode 21 Standard Deviation 4.430 Range 35 Minimum 15 Maximum 50
Table 20. Descriptive statistics of Seventh Cavalry troopers’ statures in inches
Value N (Valid) 6740 N (Missing) 1379 Mean 67.20 Median 67.00 Mode 67 Standard Deviation 2.018 Range 24 Minimum 53 Maximum 77
categories. A large percentage of men (41.7%) deserted during this time. An additional
8.7 percent of soldiers left due to disability, and 3.2 percent died in service. Compared to the men who deserted or left due to other factors, individuals who died or were disabled represented a small group (Figure 3).
62
Table 21. Nature and frequency of Seventh Cavalry troopers’ discharge
Nature of Discharge Frequency Percent Deserted 2486 41.7 Died 193 3.2 Disability 519 8.7 Other 2758 46.3 Total 5956 100.0
Figure 3. Seventh Cavalry nature and frequencies of discharge.
Discharge Rank
When divided into categories, over half of the sample (58.0%) lacked a recorded
Discharge Rank (Table 22). This omission often occurred because men frequently
63
Table 22. Seventh Cavalry troopers’ ranks at the time of discharge
Cumulative Discharge Rank Group Frequency Percent Percent Senior Noncomissioned Officer 544 6.7 6.7 Junior Noncomissioned Officer 375 4.6 11.4 Ranker 2452 30.4 41.8 Other 20 0.2 42.0 Data N/A 4674 58.0 100.0 Total 8065 100.0
deserted the army and their rank was not recorded on the Enlistment Record. Most men
(30.4%) left as Rankers, followed by Senior Noncommissioned Officers (6.7%) and
Junior Noncommissioned Officers (4.6%). The remaining men (0.2%) fell into the category of Other (e.g., Civilians, Surgeons, Interpreters and Guides, Scouts, Teamsters and Packers).
Complexion
Trooper complexions were analyzed to examine the relationship between skin pigmentation and cold injury. Table 23 shows that some complexion terms were recorded more frequently than others. Almost half (43.9%) of men were recorded with Fair complexions while 23.5 percent had Dark complexions. The majority of enlisted men
(67.4%) had one or the other of these complexions. The complexions from White through
Black (Table 23) were those deemed appropriate to use for analyses.
Most individuals with recorded pigmentations were Lightly Pigmented
(56.9%), while 23.6 percent were heavily pigmented (Table 24). A small percentage
(1.1%) had medium pigmentation and 18.4 percent had complexions for which pigmentation levels could not be discerned more exactly. For the purposes of this study,
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Table 23. Seventh Cavalry troopers’ complexions and frequencies
Complexion Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent White 5 0.1 0.1 0.1 Pale 1 0.0 0.0 0.1 Fair 2960 36.5 43.9 44.0 Light 874 10.8 13.0 56.9 Sandy 45 0.6 0.7 57.6 Medium 22 0.3 0.3 57.9 Brown 9 0.1 0.1 58.0 Dark 1588 19.6 23.5 81.6 Black 4 0.0 0.1 81.6 Olive 2 0.0 0.0 81.7 Ruddy 901 11.1 13.4 95.0 Red 1 0.0 0.0 95.0 Florid 189 2.3 2.8 97.9 Fuchsia 12 0.1 0.2 98.0 Sallow 111 1.4 1.6 99.7 Robust 2 0.0 0.0 99.7 Fresh 13 0.2 0.2 99.9 Sulley 5 0.1 0.1 100.0 Freckled 1 0.0 0.0 100.0 Pockmarked 1 0.0 0.0 100.0 Total 6746 83.1 100.0 Missing 1373 16.9 Total 8119 100.0
individuals with uncertain pigmentation levels were excluded when testing the Cold
Injury Hypothesis.
Table 24. Categories and frequencies of Seventh Cavalry complexions
Complexion Category Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent Lightly Pigmented 3840 47.3 56.9 56.9 Medium Pigmented 76 0.9 1.1 58.0 Heavily Pigmented 1592 19.6 23.6 81.6 Pigmentation Level Unclear 1238 15.2 18.4 100.0 Total 6746 83.1 100.0 Data N/A 1373 16.9 Total 8119 100.0
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Cold Injury Patient Extrinsic Factors
The following sections present descriptive statistics and the results of statistical tests that address the study of cold injury patients in the Seventh Cavalry regiment. An examination of both extrinsic and intrinsic variables was necessary to clarify the distribution of cold injuries in the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry. The relationship between cold injury patients and complexion was analyzed, along with the potential influence of additional variables (Table 1). This section begins with the analysis of extrinsic factors.
Rank at the Time of Discharge
Of the individuals affected by cold injuries, the majority were privates
(76.8%) and sergeants (14.6%) (Table 25). When grouped by rank, 52 percent discharged as Rankers, 10.7 percent discharged as Senior Noncommissioned Officers, and 3.6 percent discharged as Junior Noncommissioned Officers (Table 26; Figure 4). As noted previously, commissioned officers were excluded from the analysis due to an inadequate representation of data for those individuals. Importantly, just over 33 percent of cold- injured soldiers were missing discharge data. Table 27 presents the distribution of specific rank titles by rank group.
A Chi-square test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the discharge ranks of men who had cold injuries and those who did not (Table
28). The results approached statistical significance, but did not achieve significance (χ2 =
5.390, df = 2, p = .068).
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Table 25. Frequencies of cold injury patients’ rank at the time of discharge
Rank Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent 1st Sergeant 2 0.9 1.3 1.3 Captain 2 0.9 1.3 2.6 Corporal 3 1.3 2.0 4.6 Farrier 3 1.3 2.0 6.6 Private 116 51.1 76.8 83.4 Saddler 2 0.9 1.3 84.8 Sergeant 22 9.7 14.6 99.3 Wagoner 1 0.4 0.7 100.0 Total 151 66.5 100.0 Data N/A 76 33.5 Total 227 100.0
Table 26. Frequencies of cold injury patients’ discharge ranks groups.
Cumulative Discharge Rank Group Frequency Percent Percent Senior Noncomissioned Officer 24 10.7 10.7 Junior Noncomissioned Officer 8 3.6 14.2 Ranker 117 52.0 66.2 Data N/A 76 33.8 100.0 Total 225 100.0
Nature of Discharge
Of the individuals affected by cold injuries, most (64.4%) discharged for reasons other than desertion, disability or death (Table 29). However, 10.9 percent of men left service from a disability and 2.0 percent died. Many men (22.8%) who had cold injuries later deserted.
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Figure 4. Frequencies of cold injury patients’ discharge ranks.
Table 27. Distribution of cold injury patients’ discharge ranks by group and title
Discharge Rank Group Rank Frequency Percent Senior Noncomissioned Officer 1st Sergeant 2 8.3 Sergeant 22 91.7 Total 24 100.0 Junior Noncomissioned Officer Corporal 3 37.5 Farrier 3 37.5 Saddler 2 25.0 Total 8 100.0 Ranker Private 116 99.1 Wagoner 1 0.9 Total 117 100.0 Data N/A 76 100.0
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Table 28. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ discharge rank groups
Value df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 5.390* 2 .068 N of Valid Cases 3366
Table 29. Nature of cold injury patients’ discharges and frequencies
Rank Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent Deserted 46 57.3 22.8 22.8 Died 4 1.8 2.0 24.8 Disability 22 9.7 10.9 35.7 Other 130 57.3 64.4 100.0 Total 202 89.0 100.0 Data N/A 25 11.0 Total 227 100.0
A Chi-square test was used to determine whether or not there was a significant difference between the discharge of men who had cold injuries and men who did not have cold injuries (Table 30). The results were significant (χ2 = 11.295, df = 2, p = .004). After analyzing standardized residuals, it appeared that more cold injury patients left service as a result of disability than would be expected, although some men did desert. Further, significantly fewer cold injury patients deserted than would be expected. Individuals who left service for “Other” reasons were excluded from this test.
To study further the relationship between disability discharge and cold injury, the 22 men who left service due to disability and also experienced cold injuries were
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Table 30. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ natures of discharge
Value df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 11.295* 2 .004 N of Valid Cases 3192
examined. Discharge nature and comments in each individual’s Enlistment Record were compared with his cold injury dates and comments in the Medical Record. For nine of these 22 cases, frostbite was the cause of the individual’s disability discharge (Table 31).
However, the majority of men who left service due to disability left for reasons other than cold injury (e.g., bronchitis, gunshot wound, tuberculosis, tumor, etc.). This step highlighted the importance of examining the Enlistment and Medical Records closely. In this case, just because a cold-injured soldier was dismissed for disability did not necessarily mean his discharge was for frostbite.
Severity
Descriptive statistics were calculated to estimate the length of time cold injury patients spent out of service (Table 32). The number of days each man was relieved from service was calculated by counting the number of days from the admittance date to the release date. As shown below, the average number of days spent in care was 16.69 ±
26.994 (1 SD) days. However, the median number of days spent in care was six-and-a- half and the mode was four. Thus, the mean is skewed positively by some individuals who stayed in care for longer periods. One individual, for instance, Curtis Hall, was in the hospital for 152 days from December 30, 1879 through May 31, 1880 from frostbite of the toes on both feet. According to the Medical Record, Hall suffered previously from
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Table 31. Seventh Cavalry cold injury patients’ reasons for disability discharge.
ID # Last Dis. Dis. Dis. Reason for Disability Med. Rec. Mo. Day Yr. Discharge Match? 5917 Griggs 7 1 1879 Bone Inflammation N/A 3335 Winkel 11 2 1867 Bronchitis/Pulmonary N/A Phthsis 2318 Dyer 3 26 1875 Chronic Alcoholism N/A 2381 Entz/Enz 2 5 1883 Corneal Ulcer N/A 3133 Keifr/Keip 8 21 1867 Frostbite/Amputation Yes (Foot) 2151 Dessauer 5 10 1876 Frostbite/Amputation Yes (Hands and Feet) 2914 Hargrove 5 6 1874 Frostbite Yes 3433 Seiger 7 2 1868 Frostbite (Feet) Unclear 5677 Pickering 5 12 1876 Frostbite (Hands and Yes Feet) 6349 Peterson 4 25 1879 Frostbite (Hands) Yes 5298 Riley 6 21 1875 Frostbite (Hands) Yes 1155 Barry 6 22 1868 Frostbite (Left Foot) Yes 5549 McFeeters 4 17 1879 Frostbite Yes 1963 Cross 8 10 1867 Frostbite Yes 7080 Goodwin 5 5 1869 GSW to Shoulder N/A 4668 McNair 5 18 1878 Knee Contusion N/A 942 Adams 7 1 1881 Lung Inflammation/ N/A Chronic Pneumonia 5942 Halpin 7 28 1879 N/A N/A 2043 Dallman 6 30 1882 N/A N/A 2271 Duffy 5 15 1869 Tuberculosis (Spinal N/A Deformity) 2082 Davis 11 5 1882 Tumor N/A 1790 Collins 9 15 1879 Valvular Heart Disease N/A
acute diarrhea in August 1879 and later suffered an abscess in September 1880. However, no other recorded injuries or illnesses overlapped his time admitted for frostbite. As another example, George McMorgan was in the hospital from January 6, 1874 through
June 19, 1874, a total of 164 days, for frostbite to both ears. The shortest stays in the hospital were overnight stays, counted as one day each.
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Table 32. Hospital admittance length in days for Seventh Cavalry cold injury cases
Value N (Valid) 238 N (Missing) 23 Mean 16.69 Median 6.50 Mode 4 Standard Deviation 26.994 Range 163 Minimum 1 Maximum 164
The relationship between injury severity (assessed by length of hospital stay) and skin complexion will be investigated later in the Complexion section.
Anatomical Location of Injury
Table 33 reports anatomical locations of cold injuries. Each case of cold injury was considered separately to identify the most commonly injured areas of the body. The majority (91.2%) of all cold injuries affected the feet and toes, hands and fingers, or the ears. An additional 8.1 percent of injuries affected the nose or face. One individual suffered from frostbite on his penis. Almost half (44.6%) of the records regarding anatomical location omitted the location, likely as a result of incomplete recording on the Medical Record forms. Importantly, it should be noted that five men experienced cold injuries on both their hands and feet at the same time, and one man experienced a cold injury on his hands and face at the same time. These injuries were counted as separate anatomical locations in Table 33, totaling 267 instances instead of
261. For example, when a man injured his hands and face at the same time his injuries
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Table 33. Anatomical location of cold injuries for Seventh Cavalry
Anatomical Location Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent Ears 21 7.9 14.2 14.2 Foot, Feet, or Toes 60 22.5 40.5 54.7 Hand, Hands, or Fingers 54 20.2 36.5 91.2 Nose or Face 12 4.5 8.1 99.3 Penis 1 0.4 0.7 100 Total 148 55.4 100 Data N/A 119 44.6 Total 267 100
were counted once in the “Nose or Face” category and once in the “Hand, Hands, or
Fingers” category.
Geographical Location at Time of Cold Injury
The geographical location where cold injuries occurred was considered (Table
34). The highest percentage of all cold injury cases (29.1%) occurred at Fort Abraham
Lincoln on the Northern Plains (Figure 5). The next highest percent (11.5%) occurred at
Fort Totten, also on the Northern Plains. An additional 8.4 percent of cases were recorded at Fort Lyon in Colorado and 6.9 percent were at Fort Yates, Dakota Territory. Seven men were in Indian Territory, and four men were recorded as being in the field when the injury happened. Only one man was admitted for frostbite in the South.
To get a better idea of the distribution of cold injuries, each camp, fort and area where a cold injury was recorded was placed into one of the four temperature groups previously used to group birthplaces (see Nativity section of the Materials and Methods chapter; Table 35). Included in the “Not Applicable” category are those described as
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Table 34. Seventh Cavalry troopers’ geographical location when cold injury occurred
Geographical Location Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Camp Poplar River 1 0.4 0.4 Camp Sheridan 1 0.4 0.8 Field 4 1.5 2.3 Field – Indian Territory 7 2.7 5.0 Fort Abercrombie 6 2.3 7.3 Fort Buford 11 4.2 11.5 Fort Dodge 6 2.3 13.8 Fort Harker 12 4.6 18.4 Fort Hays 7 2.7 21.1 Fort Kearney 1 0.4 21.5 Fort Leavenworth 16 6.1 27.6 Fort Lincoln 76 29.1 56.7 Fort Lyon 22 8.4 65.1 Fort Meade 16 6.1 71.3 Fort Rice 10 3.8 75.1 Fort Riley 7 2.7 77.8 Fort Seward 1 0.4 78.2 Fort Totten 30 11.5 89.7 Fort Wallace 6 2.3 92.0 Fort Yates 18 6.9 98.9 Standing Rock 2 0.8 99.6 Taylor Barracks 1 0.4 100.0 Total 261 100.0
“Field” since this description inadequately describes a region or location in the United
States.
As shown in Table 36, more than half of the cold injuries (66.5%) occurred in locations where the average January low temperature is 9.9° F or lower and 30.4 percent occurred in areas where the average low temperature in January is 10 to 19.9° F. Only eight cold injuries occurred in areas where the average January low temperature is 20 to
34.9° F (Kentucky and Indian Territory). As might be expected, no cold injures occurred in locations where the average low temperature in January is 35° F or greater.
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Figure 5. Frequencies of troopers’ locations when cold injuries occurred.
Geographical distributions of cold injuries are illustrated in Figure 6 (Northern Plains),
Figure 7 (Central Plains), and Figure 8 (Southern Plains). The size of the circles represents the general frequency of cold injury at each location.
Time of Year and Climatic Events
Considering all cold injury cases, 75.1 percent occurred during the winter months (December, January, and February) and 13.8 percent occurred during spring
(March, April, and May) (Table 37; Figure 9). An additional 10.7 percent of injuries occurred during fall (September, October, and November) and only one cold injury
(0.4%) occurred during summer (June, July, or August). This summer injury affected the toes of trooper Conrad Bombach at Fort Abraham Lincoln in June 1877.
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Table 35. Seventh Cavalry camp, fort and area by temperature groups (Average low temperatures in January)
Temperature U.S. States Included Seventh Cavalry Camps, Group (Orr and Fainer 1951:192) Forts and Areas Included 9.9° F or less Dakota Territory Camp Poplar River, MT Maine Fort Abercrombie, ND Minnesota Fort A. Lincoln, ND Montana Fort Buford, ND New Hampshire Fort Meade, SD Vermont Fort Rice, ND Wisconsin Fort Seward, ND Wyoming Fort Totten, ND Fort Yates, ND Standing Rock, ND 10.0 – 19.9° F Colorado Nevada Camp Sheridan, NE Connecticut New York Fort Dodge, KS Idaho Utah Fort Harker, KS Illinois Fort Hays, KS Iowa Fort Kearney, NE Kansas Fort Leavenworth, KS Massachusetts Fort Lyon, CO Michigan Fort Riley, KS Nebraska Fort Wallace, KS 20.0 – 34.9° F Arkansas Oklahoma Indian Territory, OK Delaware Oregon Taylor Barracks, KY Indiana Pennsylvania Indian Territory Rhode Island Kentucky Tennessee Maryland Virginia Missouri Washington New Jersey Wash., DC New Mexico West Virginia North Carolina Ohio 35° F or greater Alabama Louisiana None Arizona Mississippi California South Carolina Florida Texas Georgia N/A -- Field
Source: “U.S. States included” were partially compiled from “Geographical Origin” in Orr and Fainer 1951 Cold Injuries in Korea During Winter of 1950-51. Medicine 31(2): 177-220.
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Table 36. Geographical locations of cold injuries by temperature groups
Temperature Cumulative Group Location Frequency Percent Percent Data N/A Field 4 100.0 100.0 Avg. 9.9 F or Camp Poplar River 1 0.6 0.6 below Fort Abercrombie 6 3.5 4.1 Fort Buford 11 6.4 10.5 Fort Lincoln 76 44.4 55.0 Fort Meade 16 9.4 64.3 Fort Rice 10 5.8 70.2 Fort Seward 1 0.6 70.8 Fort Totten 30 17.5 88.3 Fort Yates 18 10.5 98.8 Standing Rock 2 1.2 100.0 Total 171 100.0 Percent of Total 66.5 Number of Cold Injuries Avg. 10-19.9 F Camp Sheridan 1 1.3 1.3 Fort Dodge 6 7.7 9.0 Fort Harker 12 15.4 24.4 Fort Hays 7 9.0 33.3 Fort Kearney 1 1.3 34.6 Fort Leavenworth 16 20.5 55.1 Fort Lyon 22 28.2 83.3 Fort Riley 7 9.0 92.3 Fort Wallace 6 7.7 100.0 Total 78 100.0 Percent of Total 30.4 Number of Cold Injuries
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Table 36 (Continued)
Temperature Cumulative Group Location Frequency Percent Percent Avg. 20-34.9 F Field-Indian Territory 7 87.5 87.5 Taylor Barracks 1 12.5 100.0 Total 8 100.0 Percent of Total 3.1 Number of Cold Injuries
Of all cold injury cases, well over half (60.9%) occurred in January (33.7%) and December (27.2%). February and March yielded the next highest percentages of cold injuries, with 14.2 percent occurring in February and 11.1 percent occurring in March.
Figure 6. Postings where cold injuries occurred on the Northern Plains. The highest frequency of cold injuries in this region occurred at Fort Abraham Lincoln and Fort Totten. Fort locations are approximate, and present-day state names are used. Map created by the author of this thesis in Microsoft Publisher 2007.
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Figure 7. Postings where cold injuries occurred on the Central Plains. The highest frequency of cold injuries in this region occurred at Fort Lyon and Fort Leavenworth. Fort locations are approximate, and present-day state names are used. Map created by the author of this thesis in Microsoft Publisher 2007.
Twenty-six cold injuries (10.0%) were recorded in November. Seven cold injuries (2.7%) occurred in April and only two injuries (0.8%) occurred in October. In the summer months, only one cold injury (0.4%) occurred in June with no cold injuries recorded in
July, August or September (Table 38; Figure 10).
Of all cold injury cases, the months when cold injuries were most frequent were January 1881 and December 1868 (Table 39). January of 1879 (5%) and March of
1867 (4.6%) were also brutal months. As shown in Table 39, only one cold injury was reported during some months (e.g., December 1869, December 1877, etc.).
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Figure 8. Posting where cold injury occurred in the South. Only one injury occurred in this region, at Taylor Barracks. Fort locations are approximate, and state names are used. Map created by the author of this thesis in Microsoft Publisher 2007.
Table 37. Season when cold injuries occurred
Season Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Spring 36 13.8 13.8 Summer 1 0.4 14.2 Fall 28 10.7 24.9 Winter 196 75.1 100.0 Total 261 100.0
Just as some months showed more cold injuries than others, some seasons showed higher frequencies of cold injuries than others (Table 40). The Winter of 1880-
1881 produced 9.6 percent of cold injury cases and the Winter of 1867-1868 had 8.8 percent of injuries. As the months, only one cold injury was recorded in some entire seasons (e.g., Fall 1867, Fall 1869, etc.).
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Figure 9. Distribution of cold injuries by season.
Table 38. Month when cold injuries occurred
Month Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent January 88 33.7 33.7 February 37 14.2 47.9 March 29 11.1 59.0 April 7 2.7 61.7 June 1 0.4 62.1 October 2 0.8 62.8 November 26 10.0 72.8 December 71 27.2 100.0 Total 261 100.0
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Figure 10. Distribution of cold injuries by month.
In spring of 1873, the Seventh Cavalry endured the Custer Storm as they moved from the South to the Northern Plains. No cold injuries were recorded in the
Medical Record the previous winter, and only one cold injury was recorded in spring of
1873 – and that one in Kentucky.
Cold injury frequencies must also be considered as they relate to the number of men in service (Table 41). As shown below, the highest proportion of men affected by cold injury was in the Winter of 1880-1881, when 0.9 percent of all men enlisted during that season were affected. This season represented the highest proportion of men affected of all seasons, suggesting that this winter must have been especially brutal. In December
1880, 1.0 percent of enlisted men (n = 8) suffered from cold injuries, 1.7 percent were
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Table 39. Month and year when cold injuries occurred
Month and Year Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent January 1881 15 5.7 5.7 December 1868 14 5.4 11.1 January 1879 13 5.0 16.1 March 1867 12 4.6 20.7 December 1876 11 4.2 24.9 January 1867 11 4.2 29.1 December 1879 10 3.8 33.0 December 1870 9 3.4 36.4 December 1880 9 3.4 39.8 January 1871 8 3.1 42.9 January 1877 8 3.1 46.0 March 1876 8 3.1 49.0 November 1876 8 3.1 52.1 January 1874 7 2.7 54.8 January 1883 7 2.7 57.5 November 1874 7 2.7 60.2 December 1873 6 2.3 62.5 February 1868 6 2.3 64.8 November 1880 6 2.3 67.0 December 1866 5 1.9 69.0 February 1875 5 1.9 70.9 February 1883 5 1.9 72.8 January 1875 5 1.9 74.7 February 1867 4 1.5 76.2 February 1876 4 1.5 77.8 January 1868 4 1.5 79.3 January 1876 4 1.5 80.8 March 1879 4 1.5 82.4 April 1867 3 1.1 83.5 February 1877 3 1.1 84.7 February 1879 3 1.1 85.8 November 1875 3 1.1 87.0 April 1876 2 0.8 87.7 April 1877 2 0.8 88.5 December 1874 2 0.8 89.3 December 1875 2 0.8 90.0 February 1874 2 0.8 90.8 February 1881 2 0.8 91.6 January 1880 2 0.8 92.3
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Table 39 (Continued)
Month and Year Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent January 1882 2 0.8 93.1 March 1868 2 0.8 93.9 December 1869 1 0.4 94.3 December 1877 1 0.4 94.6 December 1882 1 0.4 95.0 February 1870 1 0.4 95.4 February 1880 1 0.4 95.8 February 1882 1 0.4 96.2 January 1870 1 0.4 96.6 January 1878 1 0.4 96.9 June 1877 1 0.4 97.3 March 1873 1 0.4 97.7 March 1874 1 0.4 98.1 November 1867 1 0.4 98.5 November 1869 1 0.4 98.9 October 1877 1 0.4 99.2 October 1878 1 0.4 99.6 March 1880 1 0.4 100.0 Total 261 100.0
affected in January 1881 (n = 13), and an additional 0.1 percent of enlisted men were affected in February 1881.
Contrasted with using the total number of cold injury cases (n = 261), the total number of cold injury patients (n = 227) was employed in Table 41 to generate conservative percentages. This step was taken to avoid double counting men who might have been admitted to the hospital twice during the same season for the same injury.
Activity at Time of Cold Injury
Although the Medical Record included the individual’s activity during the time of his cold injury, only rarely was this information was available. Five individuals experienced a cold injury while on duty or in the field, and four men suffered from cold
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Table 40. Season and year when cold injuries occurred
Season and Year Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent Winter 1880-81 25 9.6 9.6 Winter 1876-7 23 8.8 18.4 Winter 1866-7 19 7.3 25.7 Winter 1870-71 17 6.5 32.2 Winter 1878-9 16 6.1 38.3 Spring 1867 15 5.7 44.1 Winter 1873-4 15 5.7 49.8 Winter 1868-9 14 5.4 55.2 Winter 1879-80 13 5.0 60.2 Winter 1882-3 13 5.0 65.1 Winter 1874-5 12 4.6 69.7 Winter 1867-8 11 4.2 73.9 Spring 1876 10 3.8 77.8 Winter 1875-6 9 3.4 81.2 Fall 1876 8 3.1 84.3 Fall 1874 7 2.7 87.0 Fall 1880 6 2.3 89.3 Spring 1879 4 1.5 90.8 Winter 1881-2 4 1.5 92.3 Fall 1875 3 1.1 93.5 Winter 1869-70 3 1.1 94.6 Spring 1868 2 0.8 95.4 Spring 1877 2 0.8 96.2 Winter 1877-8 2 0.8 96.9 Fall 1867 1 0.4 97.3 Fall 1869 1 0.4 97.7 Fall 1878 1 0.4 98.1 Spring 1873 1 0.4 98.5 Spring 1874 1 0.4 98.9 Summer 1877 1 0.4 99.2 Fall 1877 1 0.4 99.6 Spring 1880 1 0.4 100.0 Total 261 100.0
injuries while they were prisoners. Other activities that men performed during the time of their cold injury included chopping wood, working with a chisel, hunting, exposing the
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Table 41. Cold injuries per season as a percent of total enlisted individuals
Aggregate # of Cold % of Men Total (Troop Injury Enlisted that Season Strength) Patients Winter Winter 1866-7 2957 18 0.6% Winter 1867-8 3168 10 0.3% Winter 1868-9 2798 9 0.3% Winter 1869-70 2389 3 0.1% Winter 1870-1 2949 12 0.4% Winter 1873-4 2831 14 0.5% Winter 1874-5 2270 10 0.4% Winter 1875-6 2377 8 0.3% Winter 1876-7 3493 20 0.6% Winter 1877-8 2419 2 0.1% Winter 1878-9 2345 15 0.6% Winter 1879-80 2124 10 0.5% Winter 1880-1 2350 22 0.9% Winter 1881-2 1988 3 0.2% Winter 1882-3 2069 13 0.6% Total 38,527 169 0.4% of Enlisted Men Affected in All Listed Winters Spring 1867 3022 13 0.4% Spring 1868 2826 2 0.1% Spring 1873 2540 1 0.0% Spring 1874 2707 1 0.0% Spring 1876 2335 9 0.4% Spring 1877 3134 2 0.1% Spring 1879 2284 4 0.2% Total 18,848 32 0.2% of Enlisted Men Affected in All Listed Springs Summer 1877 2816 1 0.0% Total 2,816 1 0.0% of Enlisted Men Affected in this Summer Fall 1867 3016 1 0.0% Fall 1869 2006 1 0.1% Fall 1874 2354 6 0.3% Fall 1875 2241 3 0.1% Fall 1876 3699 7 0.2% Fall 1878 2152 1 0.1% Fall 1880 2220 6 0.3% Total 17,688 25 0.1% of Enlisted Men Affected in All Listed Falls Total 77,879 227 0.3% of Enlisted Men Enlisted Men CI Patients Affected in All Listed Seasons
86 middle finger, being intoxicated, and scouting. One man might have suffered a cold injury after taking a fall.
As noted in Willey’s (N.d.c) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder study, the
Seventh Cavalry fought in several major battles over the course of time (Table 42). No cold injuries are recorded in the Medical Records during these seasons. However, four cases of cold injury are recorded in “Indian Territory” at the beginning of December
1868, which could be associated with the Battle of the Washita that occurred in present- day Oklahoma.
Table 42. Battles during the period of study
Battle Name Date of Battle Number of Cold Injuries in / around Battle Battle of the Nov. 28, 1868 0, but 14 cases in December 1868 (4 cases Washita from December 1 through December 9 in “Indian Territory”) Battle of the June 25-27, 0 Little Bighorn 1876 Nez Perce Sept. 13, 1877; 1, but not until October 26, 1877 Campaign Sept. 30-Oct. 5, 1877
Change Over Time
Changes in cold injury frequency were examined number of individuals affected by cold injury (Table 43). To make the most conservative estimations, the number of individuals affected by cold injuries was considered as opposed to the number of cold injury cases. (Recall that some individuals were affected more than once.) Rather than a decrease or increase in cold injury frequencies from 1866 through 1883, the number of cold injuries displayed highs and lows during the period (Figure 11). The same
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Table 43. Cold injury frequencies per year as a percent of cold-injured individuals
Year Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent 1866 4 1.8 1.8 1867 28 12.3 14.1 1868 21 9.3 23.3 1869 2 0.9 24.2 1870 10 4.4 28.6 1871 4 1.8 30.4 1873 7 3.1 33.5 1874 16 7.0 40.5 1875 14 6.2 46.7 1876 32 14.1 60.8 1877 14 6.2 67.0 1878 2 0.9 67.8 1879 26 11.5 79.3 1880 17 7.5 86.8 1881 14 6.2 93.0 1882 4 1.8 94.7 1883 12 5.3 100.0 Total 227 100.0
patterns emerged when the number of individuals affected by cold injuries each year were presented as a percentage of total troop strength (Table 44, Figure 12), with peaks in injuries occurring in 1867, 1876 and 1879 and lows occurring in 1869 and 1878.
To determine whether or not there was a decrease in cold injury frequency over time as a result of improvements in cold weather military gear and equipment, cold injuries were considered on a month-by-month and year-by-year basis. Because January had the highest frequencies of cold injuries, this month was investigated further to determine whether or not there was a change in injuries over time. As shown in Table 45 and Figure 13, there did not appear to be a significant decrease in cold injury from 1867 through 1883. The highest frequency of cold injuries occurred in January 1881.
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Figure 11. Cold injury frequencies by year.
Cold Injury Patient Intrinsic Factors
Now that extrinsic variables have been considered, intrinsic factors are examined. This section analyzes nativity, age and stature. Finally, the Cold Injury
Hypothesis is tested through statistical analyses of trooper complexions and injury severity.
Nativity
The following frequency tables show the birthplace distributions of the cold injury patients (Tables 46). Just over half (55.1%) were born in the United States, and
44.9 percent were born in foreign locations.
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Table 44. Cold injuries per year as a percent of troop strength
Troop Strength Percent of Year Frequency that Year Troopers Affected 1866 4 3424 0.1% 1867 28 11502 0.2% 1868 21 11253 0.2% 1869 2 9323 0.0% 1870 10 11395 0.1% 1871 4 10952 0.0% 1873 7 10462 0.1% 1874 16 10218 0.2% 1875 14 8842 0.2% 1876 32 10628 0.3% 1877 14 11707 0.1% 1878 2 8675 0.0% 1879 26 8902 0.3% 1880 17 8950 0.2% 1881 14 7900 0.2% 1882 4 7777 0.1% 1883 12 8227 0.2%
Of the men born in the United States, many of the cold-injured were born in
Pennsylvania (19.2%), Ohio (13.6%) and New York (12.8%). States where only one cold-injured individual was born included Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana,
Missouri and Wisconsin. Of men born internationally, most cold-injured were from
Germany (35.3%), Ireland (33.3%), or England (11.8%). One man was born in Austria and one was born in Switzerland (Table 47).
A Chi-square test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the birthplaces of men who had cold injuries and men who had none (Table 48).
The results were not significant (χ2 = 2.155, df = 1, p = .142) and the null was accepted.
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Figure 12. Cold injury frequencies by year as a percent of annual troop strength.
Table 49 and Figure 14 show cold injury patients’ nativity when birthplace was sorted by temperature group based on the average January low temperature. The majority (60.4%) were born in locations where the average low temperature in January was 20 to 39°. Men from locations where the average low temperature in January was 10 to 19.9° represented 17.6 percent of the sample, and men from locations where the average low temperature in January was 35° or greater constituted 16.3 percent.
Interestingly, the lowest percentage of men came from locations where the average low temperature in January was 9.9° or less.
A Chi-square test was calculated to determine if there was a significant difference between the birthplace locations (based on average low temperatures in
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Table 45. Cold injuries in January from 1867-1883 as a percent of troop strength
Percent of Troop Strength Troopers Month, Year Frequency that Month Affected January 1867 11 1001 1.1% January 1868 4 1101 0.4% January 1870 1 759 0.1% January 1871 8 981 0.8% January 1874 7 938 0.8% January 1875 5 737 0.7% January 1876 4 796 0.5% January 1877 8 1162 0.7% January 1878 1 798 0.1% January 1879 13 786 1.7% January 1880 2 702 0.3% January 1881 15 784 1.9% January 1882 2 687 0.3% January 1883 7 691 1.0%
January) of men who had cold injuries and men who did not have cold injuries (Table
50). Once again, the results were not significant (χ2 = 5.300, df = 3, p = .151) and the null was accepted.
Age at Time of Enlistment
Descriptive statistics were calculated to determine the distribution of ages of the cold injury patients (Table 51; Figure 15). The mean enlistment age was 24.51 ±
4.310 (1 SD) years old and most individuals enlisted at 21 years of age. The minimum age at enlistment was 18 years old and the maximum age at enlistment was 43 years old.
Only five cold-injured individuals enlisted when older than 35 years.
An Independent Samples T-test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the enlistment ages of men who had cold injuries and non-
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Figure 13. Cold injury frequencies January as a percent of annual troop strength.
Table 46. Cold injury patients’ birth nations
Birthplace Region Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent U.S.-Born 125 55.1 55.1 Foreign-Born 102 44.9 100.0 Total 227 100.0
cold injured men (Table 52). The results were not significant (t = .029, df = 6732, p =
.977) and the null was accepted.
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Table 47. Cold injury patients’ birthplaces
Birthplace Specific Birthplace Frequency Percent Cumulative Region Percent U.S.-Born Alabama 1 0.8 0.8 Connecticut 2 1.6 2.4 Delaware 1 0.8 3.2 Georgia 1 0.8 4.0 Illinois 11 8.8 12.8 Indiana 9 7.2 20 Kentucky 4 3.2 23.2 Louisiana 1 0.8 24 Maine 3 2.4 26.4 Maryland 7 5.6 32 Massachusetts 8 6.4 38.4 Michigan 3 2.4 40.8 Missouri 1 0.8 41.6 New Hampshire 2 1.6 43.2 New Jersey 8 6.4 49.6 New York 16 12.8 62.4 North Carolina 2 1.6 64 Ohio 17 13.6 77.6 Pennsylvania 24 19.2 96.8 Rhode Island 3 2.4 99.2 Wisconsin 1 0.8 100 Total 125 100.0 Foreign-Born Austria 1 1.0 1.0 Canada 7 6.9 7.8 Denmark 2 2.0 9.8 England 12 11.8 21.6 France 2 2.0 23.5 Germany 36 35.3 58.8 Holland 2 2.0 60.8 Ireland 34 33.3 94.1 Scotland 5 4.9 99.0 Switzerland 1 1.0 100.0 Total 102 100.0
Stature
Descriptive statistics were calculated to determine the distribution of statures in the cold injury patient sample (Table 53; Figure 16). The mean cold-injured patient
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Table 48. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ birth nations
Value Df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 2.155* 1 .142 Fisher’s Exact Test .148 N of valid cases 6735 Result Not significant at the .05 level *0 cells (.0%) have expected count less than 5. The minimum expected count is 91.34.
Table 49. Cold injury patients’ birthplace by average January low temperature
Birthplace Temperature Frequency Percent Cumulative Group Percent Avg. 9.9 F or below 13 5.7 5.7 Avg. 10-19.9 F 40 17.6 23.3 Avg. 20-34.9 F 137 60.4 83.7 Avg. 35 F or above 37 16.3 100.0 Total 227 100.0
stature was 67.55 ± 2.049 (1 SD) inches tall and the mode was 69 inches. The minimum stature was 62 inches tall and the maximum stature was 73 inches tall.
An Independent Samples T-test was used to determine whether or not there was a significant difference between the statures of men who had cold injuries and non- cold injured men (Table 54). The results were significant (t = -2.667, df = 6730, p = .008) and the null was rejected. Individuals who had cold injuries averaged 0.37 inches taller than men who had none.
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Figure 14. Cold injury patients’ birthplace frequencies by average January low temperature.
Table 50. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ birthplaces compared by average January low temperature groups
Value Df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 5.300* 3 .151 N of Valid Cases 6732
Complexion
Most cold injury patients (57.0%) had Fair complexions. Table 55 also shows that 15.1 percent of cold-injured men had Light complexions and 27.4 percent had Dark
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Table 51. Descriptive statistics of cold injury patients’ enlistment ages in years
Value N (Valid) 227 N (Missing) 0 Mean 24.51 Median 23.00 Mode 21 Standard Deviation 4.310 Range 25 Minimum 18 Maximum 43
Figure 15. Enlistment ages of cold injury patients.
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Table 52. Independent Samples t-test results for cold-injured and non- cold injured troopers’ enlistment ages
N t-Value Degrees of P-Value Freedom Total 6734 .029 6732 .977 Non-cold injured 6507 Cold-injured 227
Table 53. Descriptive statistics of cold injury patients’ statures in inches
Value N (Valid) 227 N (Missing) 0 Mean 67.55 Median 67.50 Mode 69 Standard Deviation 2.049 Range 11 Minimum 62 Maximum 73
complexions. Only one individual (0.6%) had an intermediate complexion – Sandy.
Because some skin complexions did not describe accurately a level of skin pigmentation,
48 individuals (21.1%) in the sample were excluded from the analysis.
A Chi-square test was calculated to determine if there was a significant difference between the complexions of men who had cold injuries and men who did not have cold injuries. The results were not significant (χ2 = 2.084, df = 8, p = .978) and the
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Figure 16. Statures of cold injury patients.
Table 54. Independent Samples t-test results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ statures
N t-Value Degrees of P-Value Freedom Total 6732 -2.667 6730 .008 Non-cold injured 6505 Cold-injured 227
null was accepted. However, this test violated the assumptions of a Chi-square test (i.e., no more than 20 percent of cells had an expected count less than 5). Therefore, an
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Table 55. Cold injury patients’ complexion frequencies and percentages
Complexion Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative Percent Percent Complexions Fair 102 44.9 57.0 57.0 Included In Light 27 11.9 15.1 72.1 Analysis Sandy 1 0.4 0.6 72.6 Dark 49 21.6 27.4 100.0 Total 179 78.9 100.0 Complexions Ruddy 39 17.2 Excluded from Florid 4 1.8 Analysis Fuchsia 1 0.4 Sallow 4 1.8 Total 48 21.1 Total 227 100.0
additional Chi-square test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the complexions of men who had cold injuries and non-cold injured men based on complexion category (Table 56). The results were not significant (χ2 = 1.194, df = 2, p
= .550) and the null was accepted again.
Table 56. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ complexions
Value Df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 1.194* 2 .550 N of Valid Cases 5500
Complexion and Cold Injury Severity
As determined by the mean and standard deviation (Table 32), 68 percent of all hospital length stays for cold injuries were between 0 and 43.684 days. To measure relative severity, hospital stays beyond two standard deviations from the mean (e.g., hospital stays beyond 43 days) were considered the most severe cases in the sample. Chi-
100 square tests were completed on Complexion and Severity (with hospital stays under 43 days counted as “less severe” and stays over 43 days considered “more severe”) to test whether or not men with dark complexions suffered more severe cold injuries than those with light complexions. Neither test was significant, but both tests violated the assumptions of a Chi-square test (i.e., no more than 20 percent of cells will have an expected count less than 5), so these results may be misleading.
Summary
The composition of the Seventh Cavalry was reported using descriptive statistics. When looking at the Seventh Cavalry as a whole from 1866 through the early
1880s, the majority of men were born in the United States, although many were also foreign-born. Many were born in locations where the average temperature in January fell between 20 and 34.9° Fahrenheit. The average age of a Seventh Cavalryman was 24.52 ±
4.43 years old, and the average stature was 67.20 ± 2.018 inches. Many troopers deserted the army during this period, and those who remained were usually discharged as Rankers.
Most men had Fair or Dark complexions, although the majority were classified as Lightly
Pigmented.
The cold injury patients’ characteristics were investigated using descriptive statistics and by comparing these men to the non-cold injured men using Independent
Samples T-Tests and Pearson’s Chi-square tests. The majority of men who experienced cold injuries were discharged as Rankers, most completing their enlistments as Privates.
There was no significant difference between the ranks of cold-injured men and non-cold injured men at the .05 level. More cold-injured men left the cavalry as a result of
101 disability than did non-cold injured men, but these individuals did not always leave as a direct result of their cold injury. Often they were discharged due to disability resulting from other illnesses or ailments. The average number of days a cold injury patient spent out of service was 16.69 ± 26.994 days, although the median was less than a week (six- and-a-half days). The majority of cold injuries affected the feet and toes, hands and fingers, and ears. Most cold injuries occurred at Fort Abraham Lincoln and Fort Totten on the Northern Plains. The majority of these injuries occurred during the Winter and Fall seasons, with the months of January and December being the most brutal. Cold injuries often occurred while men were on duty or in the field, or when they were prisoners. Four cases of cold injury might be related to a specific engagement – the Battle of the Washita.
Cold injury numbers varied from year to year, but no general change in frequency occurred during the study period. Just over half of cold-injury patients were U.S.-born, and most of these men were born in locations where the average low temperature in
January was 20 to 39° Fahrenheit. There was no significant relationship between nativity location average low temperatures in January and cold-injuries. The average age of a cold-injury patient at enlistment was 24.51 ± 4.310 years, and the average stature was
67.55 ± 2.049 inches. There was not a significant difference in age between cold-injured men and non-cold injured men, but cold-injured men were taller than non-cold injured men.
When investigating the Cold Injury Hypothesis, most cold-injury patients had
Fair or Dark complexions. The hypothesis was not supported by the data, because there was no significant relationship between skin complexion and cold injury frequency.
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Further, men with Dark complexions did not suffer from more severe cold injuries compared to those with Light complexions.
By investigating different variables in the Seventh Cavalry dataset, the relationship between cold injuries and extrinsic and intrinsic factors could be better understood. The next chapter discusses what these findings indicate about cold injury susceptibility and the Cold Injury Hypothesis. The following sections also describe alternative hypotheses, limitations to the study, and suggestions for future research using historical datasets to investigate human variation.
CHAPTER VI
DISCUSSION
Chapter V presented descriptive statistics of the Seventh Cavalry and the results of statistical tests that defined the relationship between cold injury frequency and many variables, most importantly complexion. This chapter discusses the implications of those results, beginning with extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are then examined, along with a discussion of skin complexion and cold injuries. The limitations of using historical information to examine these relationships are investigated. Alternative skin color hypotheses are considered and suggestions for future research are offered.
Cold Injury Patient Extrinsic Factors
Rank at the Time of Discharge
Comparable to the observations of Orr and Fainer (1951), Schuman (1953), and DeGroot et al. (2003), most men in the Seventh Cavalry who experienced cold injuries were lower-ranking individuals: Rankers (all Privates and one Wagoner).
However, the Chi-Square test that assessed the relationship between rank and cold injury only approached significance (χ2 = 5.390, df = 2, p = .068). The largest standardized residual was -2.1, for Junior Noncommissioned Officers who had cold injuries. This means that fewer Junior Noncommissioned Officers had cold injuries than expected.
However, the next largest standardized residual was 0.8, for Rankers who had cold in
103 104 juries. In this case, more Rankers than expected experienced cold injuries. Thus, it is possible that these lower-ranking men were injured more frequently because they often had less experience operating in the cold and were less prepared for military activity than the higher-ranking officers. Perhaps, as suggested by DeGroot et al. (2003), if improved cold weather training truly helps decrease cold injuries, then Seventh Cavalrymen with the most service time were better prepared to handle the conditions. Although the relationship between rank and cold injuries was not statistically significant at the .05 level, it was approaching significance and therefore worthy of mention.
Nature of Discharge
Although more men who experienced cold injuries left due to disability than would be expected (χ2 = 11.295, df = 2, p = .004), only nine of the 22 disability discharges occurred as a direct result of a cold injury. However, it is clear that some cases of frostbite were severe enough to merit disability discharge. This information highlights the fact that cold injuries were a debilitating force in the post-Civil War military. Other reasons cold injury patients received disability discharges were bone inflammation, bronchitis, chronic alcoholism, corneal ulcers, gunshot wounds, heart disease, knee contusions, lung inflammation and chronic pneumonia, tuberculosis, and tumor. With the exception of gunshot wounds and knee contusions, it is possible that these other diseases and afflictions had affected these men before their enlistment in the military or before their cold injuries. Previous studies (e.g., Dalton and Robertson 1982; Orr and Fainer
1951; Urschel 1990; Valnicek et al. 1993; Whayne 1950; Whayne and DeBakey 1958) highlighted the importance of preexisting illnesses and the influence of alcohol in cold injury cases. It is possible that preexisting conditions and alcohol use contributed to an
105 individual’s susceptibility to frostbite and ability to heal after a cold injury. Future studies regarding the connection between different diseases and frostbite may clarify these relationships.
Some men deserted the army immediately following cold injury. Albert Baker experienced frostbite on January 19, 1883 and was released from the hospital on February
5, 1883. Baker deserted the army that same day – February 5, 1883. Similarly, Thomas
Richardson was admitted to the hospital for frostbite on January 28, 1867 and was released on February 10, 1867. He deserted the next day – February 11, 1867. A few similar cases appeared in the record (e.g., William Earl, John White and George
Zimmerman). It is possible that some men who had frostbite were either exhausted or traumatized by the experience and chose to desert rather than stay and risk being injured again. Further evidence for desertions related to this harsh environment come from accounts of the Yankton blizzard, or the “Custer Storm,” in April 1873. Many men reportedly deserted the cavalry during the blizzard because they no longer wished to serve in such an unforgiving climate (Darling 1989:86).
Severity
The average length of hospital stays for a cold injury in this sample was 16.69 days, but the median was only six-and-a-half days. Most individuals were hospitalized for four days. According to DeGroot et al. (2003), the average time for an individual to be hospitalized in their sample of late 20th century United States soldiers was six days, the median being almost three days. Because the DeGroot et al. sample was from 1980 through 1999, it is possible that this decrease in hospitalization time from the 1800s to the
1980s demonstrates improvements in treatment and hospital methods over time. Recall
106 that cold injury treatment changed from the wound being massaged with snow to the rapid rewarming method in 1953 (Murphy et al. 2000). However, both sets of results appear to be skewed positively, likely reflecting outliers (i.e., the most severe cases in each sample). Most individuals in both samples were hospitalized for cold injuries less than a week.
Anatomical Location of Injury
As noted by Giesbrecht and Wilkerson (2006:74) and in historical accounts, frostbite primarily affects the extremities and parts of the face. The distribution of cold injuries in Seventh Cavalry patients reflected this pattern. Over 99 percent of cold injuries in the sample affected the feet, toes, hands, fingers, ears, nose, or face of the patient. This result corresponded well with Candler and Ivey’s (1997) study where the majority of injuries affected the servicemembers’ hands, feet, ears and noses. Six men in the Seventh
Cavalry sample were affected in more than one anatomical locations (e.g., fingers and toes, hands and feet, or face and hands). One man, trooper Charles Kavanaugh, suffered from frostbite to his penis. It is possible that this particular injury could have occurred as a result of Kavanaugh attempting to urinate outdoors during cold weather. Although the results showed a distribution of cold injuries that cold be expected given the known physiological effects of such wounds, it is also possible that cold injuries on these anatomical locations reflected the inadequacies in gear discussed in Chapter II.
Generally, the injury patterns reflected normal physiological reactions to extreme cold, with the extremities losing heat first.
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Geographical Location at the Time of Cold Injury
It was hypothesized that geographical location at the time of injury would have a relationship with cold injury frequencies in the Seventh Cavalry. Of all the variables examined in this study, the relationship between geographical location and cold injury frequencies was the most unmistakable. Three of the four forts with the highest percentages of cold injuries (Fort Abraham Lincoln, Fort Totten, and Fort Yates) were located in areas where the average low temperature in January averaged 9.9° Fahrenheit or less. The exception was Fort Lyon, where the average low averaged 10 to 19.9°
Fahrenheit. Only one man was admitted for frostbite in the South, at Taylor Barracks in
Kentucky. Recall Figures 6, 7, and 8 representing the geographical distributions of cold injuries. There was a clear relationship between fort locations with the lowest temperatures in January and increased levels of frostbite, resulting from severe temperatures and weather patterns in these areas.
But why were so many cases of frostbite recorded at Fort Abraham Lincoln specifically? Perhaps the most obvious answer is: time. According to Scott Larkin, the interpretive director of the Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation (personal communication,
February 24, 2011), the Seventh Cavalry did not leave Fort Lincoln until 1882. The
Seventh Cavalry was then headquartered at Fort Meade. Therefore, the Seventh Cavalry spent approximately nine years (from 1873 to 1882) stationed primarily at Fort Abraham
Lincoln. This information means that, of the 17 years in the period of study, the Seventh
Cavalry spent nearly half of it headquartered at Fort Abraham Lincoln. This fact could account for the high frequency of injuries recorded at this specific location. These
108 troopers also arrived at Fort Lincoln after serving in southern locations, so there was a chance that men were unprepared for the harsh Dakota winters and suffered increased injuries as a result. To clarify this issue, Table 57 shows the distribution of cold injuries at Fort Abraham Lincoln by year.
Table 57. Cold injuries at Fort Abraham Lincoln by year and troop strength
Troop Strength Percentage of Year Frequency that Year Troopers Affected 1873 2 10462 0.0% 1874 11 10218 0.1% 1875 8 8842 0.1% 1876 22 10628 0.2% 1877 10 11707 0.1% 1878 1 8675 0.0% 1879 16 8902 0.2% 1880 2 8950 0.0% 1881 4 7900 0.1% Total 76 86284 0.1%
It appears that, rather than the most cold injury cases occurring at the beginning of the
Seventh Cavalry’s stay at Fort Abraham Lincoln, the peak number of injuries occurred later in 1876 and 1879. The greatest number of injuries recorded at Fort Abraham
Lincoln during the course of a single month were eight injuries reported in December
1876. Six of these injuries occurred from the 15th through the 30th of that December. It was difficult to discern exactly what the Seventh Cavalry was doing in December 1876, but one explanation for the increase in injuries would be that many new recruits had joined the group after the Battle of the Little Bighorn during the summer of 1876. It was
109 hypothesized that some of these new troopers had not adjusted to operating in the extreme cold of the Northern Plains. Interestingly, three of these injuries in December
1876 affected recruits that had enlisted earlier that year (James Callan in March, Joel
Whitcomb in April, and Gustave Mayer in September), so it is possible that these men had not adjusted to the military lifestyle, or to the Northern Plains climate, at the time of their injuries.
The climate on the Northern Plains was particularly unforgiving. Upon her arrival in Yankton in present-day South Dakota, Elizabeth Custer (1885:8) recalled that the ground was “perfectly bare of every earthly comfort,” and she would soon learn why many people said the region had eight months of winter each year. Figures 17 and 18 illustrate the desolate environment troopers experienced when they lived at Fort Abraham
Lincoln.
The view of Fort Abraham Lincoln (Figure 17) was an image of a “barren landscape” for good reason. Recall that the only cold injury in a summer month occurred at Fort Abraham Lincoln in June 1877, when Conrad Bombach suffered from frostbite to both of his feet. Blizzards, wind, and cold weather were common in this region, exposing troopers to cold injuries even in spring and summer months. In fact, while the Seventh
Cavalry was moving towards the Little Bighorn region on the Northern Plains in 1876, troopers experienced cold winds and heavy snowfall from May 31 through June 2, 1876
(Wiche 2006).
Time of Year and Climatic Events
Not surprisingly, the majority of cold injuries (75.1%) occurred during the winter months, from December through February, and 86.2 percent of all cold injuries
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Figure 17. “Fort Abraham Lincoln, General View, Winter” shows the Missouri River and buildings (stables, barracks, officer's houses, etc.) and was noted in the records as an image of a “barren landscape.”
Source: Barry, D. F. (David Frances), taken between 1874 and 1879. © Department of the Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Department, Call No. B-838. Reprinted with permission.
happened between December and March. Well over half of cold injury cases (60.9%) occurred during the months of January and December. These data corresponded with the observations of DeGroot et al. (2003), who found that 86 percent of cold weather injuries of all cold weather injury cases occurred during the months of December through March.
This distribution of injuries was expected in the Seventh Cavalry sample because temperatures are lower during these months.
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Figure 18. “Fort Abraham Lincoln, Quarters in Winter” shows a child and a horse-drawn wagon near officer's houses and barracks.
Source: Barry, D. F. (David Frances), taken between 1874 and 1879. © Department of the Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy Department, Call No. B-251. Reprinted with permission.
The two months when the most cold injury cases occurred were January 1881
(15 recorded cases) and December of 1868 (14 recorded cases). In January 1881, six injuries were recorded at Fort Buford, four injuries at Fort Yates, three injuries at Fort
Abraham Lincoln, and two injuries at Fort Meade. All three forts are located in present- day North Dakota or South Dakota – states known for their harsh winters. In December
1868, seven injuries were recorded in Indian Territory, and seven injuries at Fort Lyon.
Interestingly, of the seven cold injuries recorded in Indian Territory during December
1868, four of these injuries were recorded between December 1 and December 9. Not only did these injuries occur in a cold winter month in present-day Oklahoma, but it was
112 possible that they corresponded with the Seventh Cavalry’s involvement in the Battle of the Washita (discussed below).
Activity at the Time of Cold Injury
After examining the Medical Records, it was clear that troopers were participating in a variety of activities during the time of their cold injury. For instance, some men were in the field or on duty, others were hunting, chopping wood, or doing work with a chisel. Severe cold injuries are known to be caused by direct contact with metal objects because metal conducts heat quickly and freezes skin at a rapid rate
(Giesbrecht and Wilkerson 2006:74). Candler and Ivey (1997) noted that touching metal led to cold injuries in their Alaskan sample. Thus, contact with metal was an influence in the cold injury cases where Seventh Cavalrymen were working with tools (e.g., axe or chisel). Some men were prisoners when they sustained cold injuries, and another individual was scouting. Both of these activities left troopers exposed to the elements. A man was exposed to frostbite on his right middle finger after “imprudent exposure of his hand,” and yet another was AWOL and intoxicated at the time of his injury (Willey
N.d.d; Cohan N.d.).
As early as the 1950s it was observed that being in the field or engaged in battle increased vulnerability to cold injuries from exposure to the elements and the need to stay in one place or position for long times (DeGroot et al. 2003; Orr and Fainer 1951;
Taylor 1992; Whayne 1950; Whayne and DeBakey 1958). The title of this thesis refers to
General George Armstrong Custer’s (1874: 153) description of men donning additional clothing when they realized they would be heading into the field during the winter of
1868 campaign without appropriate shelter or fire during the “bitter, freezing hours of
113 night.” This troop movement took place just before the Battle of the Washita at the end of
November. Men frequently had to leave for the field hastily or in undesirable conditions to overtake native groups. Troopers were often exposed to extreme cold and wind during these times. This vulnerability was reflected in the Seventh Cavalry cold injuries, because eleven men were recorded as being in the field during the time of their cold injuries.
During the study period, the Seventh Cavalry was engaged in three major battles or campaigns: the Battle of the Washita, the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the
Nez Perce Campaign (recall Table 42). No cases of cold injury were recorded in the
Medical Record that could be associated with the Battle of the Little Bighorn or the Nez
Perce Campaign. However, four cases of frostbite occurred in Indian Territory from
December 1 through December 9, 1868. It is possible that these cases reflected cold exposure associated with the Battle of the Washita in present-day Oklahoma on
November 28, 1868. During these months, the surrounding landscape was frozen, snowy, and with temperatures falling below zero (Custer 1874; Hoig 1979). Interestingly, Custer
(1874: 184, 189) reported that the cavalry returned to Camp Supply in Indian Territory by
November 30 and was back out on campaign by December 7, 1868. Therefore, it is likely that the four cold injuries recorded from December 1 through December 9, 1868 were either associated with the Battle of the Washita or the subsequent move back into the field in Indian Territory.
Change Through Time
Although the number of cold injuries varied from 1866 through 1883, no overall decrease in injuries happened during the period. This finding differed from what might have been expected. Miller and Bjornson (1962) noted a decrease in cold injuries
114 resulting from improved equipment, especially Arctic footwear enhancements. Recall from Table 44 that, during the first year of study (1866), 0.1 percent of all enlisted troopers experienced a cold injury. During the final year of study (1883), 0.2 percent of all enlisted men were affected. Therefore, enhancements in equipment, gear and military methods were not shown in this sample to have a significant mitigating effect on cold injury frequencies, especially considering that a smaller percentage of troopers experienced cold injuries in the earliest year when compared to the latest year.
Uniforms and Equipment
Recall the accounts of soldiers in Chapter II who wore layers upon layers of clothing and still had a difficult time performing even the simplest military tasks.
Because uniforms and equipment were modified to provide increased cold protection, it was hypothesized that cold injury levels would show an overall decrease from 1866 to
1883. A statistical test could not be performed to assess the relationship of these enhancements in uniforms and footwear with cold injury frequencies. However, a change in overall injury frequency was calculated. Rather than a decrease in cold injuries, the distribution of injuries increased and decreased from 1866 through 1883. Therefore, it did not appear that uniform or equipment improvements (e.g., gloves or boots) lessened cold injuries.
To better illustrate this concept, May 1876 was an important month to consider. That month, troopers were issued new waterproof overshoes and woolen mittens. If these uniform adaptations affected cold injury levels, then a decreased frequency of cold injuries would be expected when comparing the previous winter (the winter of 1875 – 1876) to the winter of 1876 – 1877, when men had access to these
115 mittens and overshoes. From Table 41, this improvement was not reflected by the data. In fact, a greater percentage of enlisted troopers experienced cold injuries in the winter of
1876 – 1877 than in the previous winter.
Cold Injury Patient Intrinsic Factors
Nativity
Many researchers (DeGroot et al. 2003; Orr and Fainer 1951; Whayne and
DeBakey 1958; Whayne 1950; Schuman 1953) investigated the relationship between nativity and cold injuries to determine whether or not individuals were acclimated to their birthplace climates enough to affect their vulnerability to injuries or diseases. In this thesis, it was hypothesized that individuals born in the coldest climates were more accustomed to low temperatures and, thus, would suffer less frequently from cold injuries than men who were born in warmer climates. The results of the Chi-square test were not significant (χ2 = 5.300, df = 3, p = .151) and therefore, this hypothesis was not supported by this dataset. However, the lowest percentage of cold-injured men were born in locations where the average January low temperature was 9.9° or less. These men might have been more accustomed to colder weather from being born and presumably raised in colder climates. However, variables other than nativity (e.g., geographical location, time of year, stature) had more influence on cold injury levels.
Age at Time of Enlistment
Previous authors (DeGroot et al. 2003; Orr and Fainer 1951; Schuman 1953;
Taylor 1992; Whayne 1950; Whayne and DeBakey 1958) studied the relationship between servicemember age and cold injury level. DeGroot et al. (2003) discovered that
116 soldiers from 17 to 21 years of age were injured more frequently and the majority of injured troopers had served in the military for less than five years. Based on this information, it was hypothesized that younger Seventh Cavalry troopers would be more likely to sustain injuries because they had less military and field experience, and older individuals were more vulnerable from overall weakening of their bodies. However, no relationship between cold injury and age was reflected in the statistical analysis (t = .029, df = 6732, p = .977). The results of this test suggested that trooper age did not influence cold injury. Once again, other variables besides age appeared to have more impact on cold injuries.
Stature
A relationship between cold injury patients and stature was found (t = -2.667, df = 6730, p = .008), with cold injury patients being 0.37 inches taller than non-cold injured men. Although this relationship is interesting, a more effective way of determining the influence of human size on cold injury susceptibility would have been possible if the weights of the troopers had been recorded in their Enlistment Records.
Using this information, the body mass index of each individual could have been calculated by dividing the height of the individual in inches squared by the weight of the individual in pounds and multiplying by 703 (Ayers and Sariscsany 2011: 133).
Bergmann's Rule could have then been investigated more directly and the influence of stature on cold injury levels could have been defined better. Bergmann’s Rule states that larger animals are found in cold environments because their low surface area-to-volume ratio minimizes heat loss (Blackburn et al. 1999). Unfortunately, weight data were not available for the Seventh Cavalrymen. It can only be stated that the cold injury patients
117 were slightly taller than the non-cold injured patients, possibly because increased height was associated with increased energy loss. It must be noted that if cold-injured men were actually taller and heavier than non-cold injured men, these data would demonstrate the reverse of Bergmann’s Rule.
It must also be acknowledged that the minor mean differences could have occurred as a result of Type I error. In statistics, a Type I error occurs when the statistical results present a false positive, or that the results call for the rejection of the null hypothesis when, in reality, the null hypothesis should be accepted. Because of the minor mean differences in heights between the non-cold injured patients and the cold-injured patients, there is a chance that this small difference in heights was detected because of the large sample size (over 8,000 men).
Complexion
The main objective of this thesis was to test the relationship between cold injury and skin pigmentation to determine whether or not these post-Civil War Seventh
Cavalry data supported or rejected the Cold Injury Hypothesis. As discussed in the
Literature Review, many researchers noted an association between skin pigmentation and cold injury severity, especially in military groups. After analyzing the Seventh Cavalry information in several ways, the Cold Injury Hypothesis was rejected by the complexion data.
There was no relationship between complexion category and cold injury frequency (χ2 = 1.194, df = 2, p = .550). Therefore, despite the suggestion by Post et al.
(1975) that variation in skin pigmentation levels was related to cold injuries, the Seventh
118
Cavalry dataset did not support this finding. Instead, men with medium and darkly pigmented skin were as vulnerable to cold injury as men with light skin.
Previous researchers (Blair et al. 1957; Daanen 2003; Iampietro et al. 1959;
Meehan 1955; Rennie and Adams 1957) suggested that African-Americans actually showed different biological responses to cold than other servicemembers. Based on this research, the pigmentation in the skin could have some influence on cold injury vulnerability. It was hypothesized that men with the darkest skin pigmentation in the
Seventh Cavalry sample could have experienced not only more cold injuries, but also the most severe cold injuries. However, men with darker complexions did not appear to suffer from more severe cold injuries than men with lighter complexions.
The Cold Injury Hypothesis was not supported by the Seventh Cavalry data, but it was important to consider why this result might be the case. The nature of the data itself must be taken into consideration. As discussed in the Limitations section of this chapter, although the complexion categories were identified with care, the complexions themselves were not intended for a human variation study. It is possible that these skin complexions were unable to be translated accurately into levels of skin pigmentation.
Perhaps increased skin pigmentation truly had no effect on cold injury frequency or severity in this sample. More in-depth research on the topic of cold injury susceptibility based on differences in skin pigmentation (contrasted with racial categories) would clarify this issue. Suggestions for future research are discussed in a later section.
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Additional Effects of Cold
Frostbite and congelatio were not the only afflictions caused by exposure to cold temperatures in the Seventh Cavalry. Medical Records showed numerous lacerations that occurred as a result of falling on ice or being cut by ice. For instance, in December
1878 trooper Joseph Halpin experienced a contusion to his chest after falling on the ice.
In December 1882, trooper George Rice suffered from a laceration to his eyeball from a piece of ice. Also documented are ice-related sprains and fractures. For example, in
December 1880 James Fesmire fractured a left rib from falling off his horse onto the ice.
In January 1882, trooper Robert Daly sprained his right hand while lifting pieces of ice.
As discussed in a later section employing Markland’s Frontier Regulars’ data, heavy snowfall often caused men to get lost while moving from one location to another or while returning to their post after hunting, leading to exposure and eventual death. Recall the quotation in Chapter II by Second Cavalry Brigadier General Edward J. McClernand
(1969:27-8) in the winter of 1871 in Montana. Exposure to extreme cold could cause men to become disoriented and sometimes lose their way while on march. The cold could be so bitter that men did not even want to continue to the next post. Also recall that residual pathologies can occur after frostbite injuries, resulting in pain long after the initial cold injury (Blair et al. 1957). When considering the Seventh Cavalry troopers’ experiences, it is important to remember that many likely suffered from similar symptoms and possibly still felt the effects of their injury years later. Therefore, cold injuries were of great concern in the post-Civil War Seventh Cavalry, and men also had to be mindful of the ice and remain oriented during powerful storms.
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Additional Variables that Influence Cold Injury Susceptibility
Many additional variables that could have influenced cold injury frequencies in the Seventh Cavalry could not be studied from lack of information. As mentioned in relation to stature, body mass index (BMI) could not be calculated because trooper weights were not measured and recorded on enlistment forms. Therefore, the connection between BMI and cold injury could not be investigated. Further, advancements in scientific knowledge since the late 1800s have given scientists new variables to consider.
For instance, blood types for enlisted men in the post-Civil War cavalry were not known because differences in blood types were not identified until the early 1900s, when Karl
Landsteiner first divided blood into the A, B, and O types (Yount 2003: 161). Although the influence of blood constituents and blood type on cold injury vulnerability has been suggested in recent studies (Craig 1984; Giesbrecht and Wilkerson 2006), the effect of this variable on cold injury could not be examined.
The activity each individual performed at the time of their cold injury was not recorded in the Medical Record the majority of the time. Only 18 out of 261 (6.9%) of cold injury cases listed the activity that the men were performing at the time of the injury.
Although it is clear that field duty and being held prisoner left men more vulnerable to cold injuries, it is unknown to what degree being in the field or prison actually affected trooper injury frequencies. Recall that many authors (Dalton and Robertson 1982;
Hashmi et al. 1998; Miller and Bjornson 1962; Orr and Fainer 1951; Schuman 1953;
Urschel 1990; Valnicek et al. 1993; Whayne 1950; Whayne and DeBakey 1958) noted connections between illness, intoxication, and heavy tobacco use on injury vulnerability.
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It is impossible to know how often being intoxicated led to cold exposure and subsequent cold injury, although one individual was reported AWOL and intoxicated at the time of his hospital admittance. The effects of pre-diagnosed diseases and psychological illnesses on cold injury levels could not be discerned because the Medical Records start with the troopers’ service period. Future research on the connection between patients who experienced alcohol intoxication, smoking-related diseases, and cold injuries would be valuable. Some of this information could be collected from the Seventh Cavalry Records.
Although many researchers (Craig 1984; Laursen 1983; Orr and Fainer 1951;
Schuman 1953; Sinclair 1953, 1980; Whayne 1950) have argued for the importance of diet and nutrition in cold injury susceptibility, the effect of these variables on injury frequencies was difficult to determine because this information was not detailed in the record. During the Indian Wars, soldier diet commonly consisted of bacon, hardtack, and coffee (Fisher and Fisher 2011: 91). These items were supplemented by nearby fish and game, or pemmican. This diet could have left soldiers without proper nutrition and, thus, had an effect on their susceptibility to illness and disease. It is possible that men exposed to extreme cold had a harder time eating and drinking, if only because their food and water were frozen, especially while on march. Indian Wars Correspondent Robert
Strahorn, then known as “Alter Ego”, recorded the effects of the severe cold on military supplies on April 4, 1876 in Montana:
men could only use their bacon by slowly splintering off pieces with axes; the few loaves of soft bread yet to be found in the command were frozen solid as so many rocks; arms and knives adhered to fingers as though each had been freshly coated with adhesive plaster; and ice on the river was from eighteen inches to three feet thick. [Cozzens 2004:214]
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If their food was frozen, then it was likely even harder for these men to be gain proper nutrition. Further, if Seventh Cavalrymen’s water canteens were frozen as the canteens of soldiers in Alaska studied by Candler and Ivey (1997), this problem could lead to dehydration because adequate water intake was difficult. The effects of dehydration and nutritional deprivation on cold injuries could not be examined due to a lack of such information.
The influence of wind chill and altitude at the time of injury was also hard to determine. The importance of these variables was noted previously by Candler and Ivey
(1997) and Hashmi et al. (1998). Although post locations of the Cavalry from 1866 through 1883 were known, the effect of altitude on cold injuries was believed to be minimal because none of the posts were at high altitudes like Hashmi et al.’s (1998) sample in the Karakoram Mountains. Determining wind chill was problematic because these data were not included in the record.
As previous authors suggested (Bridgman 1991; Elsner et al. 1960; Krog et al.
1960; Meehan 1955; Nelms and Soper 1962; Purkayastha et al. 1992; Tanaka 1971), men who worked in occupations that helped them acclimatize to the cold (e.g., divers, fish filleters, fishermen, etc.) might have fewer instances of cold injury. Although the occupations of the Seventh Cavalrymen were often recorded, details of jobs they performed did not indicate if these positions resulted in acclimation to cold conditions.
For instance, the civilian occupations of the majority of the cold-injured men in the post-
Civil War Seventh Cavalry were recorded in the Enlistment Record as being laborers, soldiers, farmers, or clerks. It is difficult to interpret and assign a specific level of cold exposure associated with those activities, and occupation was excluded from the analysis.
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Alternative Hypotheses Regarding Variation in Skin Pigmentation
Although the Cold Injury Hypothesis was not supported by this thesis, prior studies have upheld the hypothesis. However, a variety of hypotheses have been formulated and tested regarding the adaptive and evolutionary nature of skin color variation. The Cold Injury Hypothesis formulated by Post et al. (1975) was only one of these explanations. Because this hypothesis was not supported by the Seventh Cavalry data, it is possible that an alternative hypothesis better accounts for differences in skin pigmentation. Murray (1934) was one of the first researchers to consider the connection between skin color, exposure to sunlight and metabolic disease (especially rickets). He suggested that light and dark skin colors represented progressive adaptations to varying levels of ultraviolet radiation.
Some researchers posited that skin with greater melanin was directly related to being camouflaged in differing environments (Cowles 1959; Morison 1985). Cowles
(1959) suggested that darker skin allowed individuals to be better camouflaged in tropical jungles, but, as Byard (1981) notes, this concept did not expand to those populations with dark skin who live in savannahs or deserts.
Blum (1961) challenged the idea that melanin levels were an adaptive mechanism because pigmentation has been shown to be maladaptive in some cases. He suggested that even if darker skin protects against sunburn and cancer, it suffers greater solar heat load. He believed that light skin managed solar heat load more effectively, but offers less protection against sunburn and cancer. Using a “balance sheet,” Blum posited
124 both adaptive and maladaptive elements of skin color. Therefore, the idea that dark skin acted as a protective mechanism near the equator was unsupported.
Blum’s analysis aside, other hypotheses suggested alternative adaptive reasons for skin pigmentation besides protection from cold injury. Perhaps the best- known skin color hypotheses is the Vitamin D Hypothesis, an idea first investigated by
Murray (1934) and later developed by Loomis (1967). This hypothesis stated that humans far from the equator needed less pigmentation to synthesize Vitamin D, while those closer to the equator needed more pigmentation for protection from oversynthesizing
Vitamin D. Darker pigmentation near the equator also offered protection from other harmful effects of ultraviolet light.
Some researchers posited that skin color represented an adaptation to diseases in the surrounding environment. Thus, skin pigmentation might be connected to responses of the immune system. Wassermann (1965) suggested that skin pigmentation was a secondary phenomenon that was tied to biological disease resistance and prevention. Mackintosh (2001) further investigated this idea and explained how melanocytes, melanosomes and melanin could thwart parasitic skin infections.
Jablonski (2004) provided a synthesis of the theories regarding the evolution of human skin color. She argued that cultural behaviors (e.g., wearing clothes, inhabiting buildings and using shelters) minimized the evolution of skin pigmentation in some regions. These adaptations have changed exposure to ultraviolet radiation. She argued for continued research on skin pigmentation because additional studies could help prevent skin-related disorders. Although cultural adaptations helped prevent some diseases, they
125 have not been able to prevent all related conditions (e.g., skin cancer, Vitamin D deficiency).
Other authors suggested that high humidity caused an increase in skin pigmentation as a protective mechanism. This increase caused dark-pigmented organisms to evolve closer to the equator in more humid environments. Gloger (1833) first promoted this idea and it has been used to investigate variation in animals. Subsequent studies (Burtt and Ichida 2004; Daniels et al. 1972) expanded Gloger’s Rule. Burtt and
Ichida (2004) studied variation in song sparrows. They suggested that many factors work in conjunction with one another to support Gloger’s Rule. Dark skin coloration in humid climates helps organisms stay camouflaged, resist bacterial influences, and thermoregulate.
Parra (2007) favored the Vitamin D hypothesis and took the argument a few steps further. He provided an in-depth discussion of genes that have been linked to skin, hair and iris pigmentation, and showed how some genes were being selected at specific loci, or in specific populations. For instance, Makova and Norton (2005) suggested that natural selection was acting on sub-Saharan African populations by removing MC1R mutations that spur pheomelanin synthesis. This conclusion supported earlier studies
(Harding et al. 2000; Rana et al. 1999) that the MC1R gene showed little variation in sub-
Saharan African groups. This result differed from populations in other areas of the world
(e.g., Europe and Asia) where the MC1R gene was variable. Parra (2007) emphasized the fact that the relationship between genetic links to iris, hair and skin pigmentation was highly complex. Geneticists have only begun to scratch the surface of these relationships and it is important that this research is supported to explain human variation. Parra
126 suggested using pigment in unexposed areas of the body to understand genetic relationships and variation in skin pigmentation.
Seventh Cavalry Material Challenges
Data Collection Difficulties
As documented by Willey (N.d.c), there were challenges when transcribing the Seventh Cavalry data. First, identifying individuals through the records was often difficult. Many men had the same last names, and those men with the same last names often had similar first initials. An effort was made to match individuals’ Enlistment and
Medical Record data, but when no match could be made, the identity was left blank. It was possible that some entries were duplicated or combined from a lack of data that would distinguish whether or not multiple records represented the same individual or multiple individuals.
Handwriting in the 19th century, though elegant, was often noticeably different from contemporary handwriting. Therefore, handwriting on records required interpretation. Occasionally, the handwriting was illegible and those records were excluded. Some numbers (e.g., 1 and 7, 4 and 9, and 5 and 6) often looked similar. It is possible that these similarities could account for occasional discrepancies in numbers throughout the database. Further, most records were handwritten in black ink. Sometimes this ink faded with time or the writing was faint, so information could not be read. As a result of age and being folded, some records were ripped, further complicating data collection.
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Abbreviations made record interpretation challenging. When creating the Cold
Injury Patient database, I often had to look for abbreviations or similar names when attempting to match up Enlistment and Medical Records. For instance, George was abbreviated as “Geo,” and Thomas was abbreviated as “Thos.”
Under-Representation of Medical Problems and Missing Data
While conducting this study, it became apparent that medical problems, especially cold injuries, might be under-represented in the Seventh Cavalry records. Brief descriptions of medical problems were sometimes recorded by physicians in small
Prescription Books when the cavalry was on march or in the field. Prescription Book notes were often transcribed and included in the Medical Record. However, it is likely that these books were used when it was convenient, but not all medical problems in the field were recorded when they occurred. If a medical issue was recorded in the
Prescription Books, it often was an incomplete entry. Therefore, it was necessary to assume that some medical issues were omitted from the record and some data might be incomplete or inaccurate.
An example for this possible under-representation was found in accounts of the terrible blizzard in Yankton in April 1873. This blizzard struck the troops from April
13 through April 18, 1873. Elizabeth Custer remembered this storm and the effects of the blizzard on troopers. After taking in six men who had been caught in the blizzard on the evening of April 14, she recalled:
The frozen men were in so exhausted a condition that they required immediate attention….I saw symptoms of that deadly stupor which is the sure precursor of freezing….Poor fellows! They afterwards lost their feet, and some of their fingers also had to be amputated. [Custer 1885:13]
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One of the men who found shelter in the Custer house was John Burkman, Lieutenant
Colonel George Armstrong Custer’s military servant. Burkman got lost in the snowstorm and, after being out in the cold for a long period of time, realized that he was freezing to death. Luckily, he saw Elizabeth Custer’s light in the window and found his way to the front door. He recalled: “the cabin was full o’men with frozen hands and feet that’d lost their way goin’ to Yankton….That was a terrible blizzard. Some o' the men had to have toes and fingers amputized but I got through. We lost a lot o' horses and mules, froze to death” (Wagner 1973: 81). Further, it was known that Lieutenant Colonel Custer ordered soldiers to march the animals from the camp to Yankton to find adequate shelter (Darling
1989:72). Troopers were exposed to the elements during that mission. Despite these accounts, no cold injuries were found in the Medical Record during the spring of 1873 that could be associated with this blizzard. If John Burkman and Elizabeth Custer remember correctly, then this lack of cold injuries indicates an under-reported number of cold injuries and related amputations. There is a chance that historical accounts are inaccurate, and the absences of cold injuries in the Medical Records were correct.
However, it is likely that the storm prevented medical information from being recorded.
There was also no hospital in Yankton, so adequate records were likely unable to be kept during the storm (Darling 1989:85).
Also contributing to the low frequency of cold injuries in the record is the fact that many cavalrymen found adequate shelter in Yankton during this blizzard. Troopers found refuge with the Custers and in Yankton hotels, such as the St. Charles Hotel,
Central Hotel, and Merchants Hotel. Some Yankton townspeople opened their homes to stranded soldiers. For instance, James M. Stone housed the Seventh Cavalry band and
129 five companies in his reception room and ballroom (Custer 1885:13; Darling 1989:73). It is likely that many men who might otherwise have been injured found shelter.
If cold injuries were under-reported in the Medical Records, then many of the relationships between different variables and cold injuries or changes in cold injury frequencies might be reflected poorly in the statistical analyses in this thesis. This problem is a limitation of historical records that cannot be resolved. When combining statistical analyses with background research and the study of personal accounts, experiences of these individuals may be documented with greater accuracy. Personal accounts must be considered cautiously because many individuals recorded their experiences long after the events occurred.
Limitations to Enlistment Record Categories
It is important to note that the Seventh Cavalry Enlistment Records were not written for future anthropological analyses. Thus, complications can occur when attempting to understand and code these variables. To illustrate this challenge, a discussion of the use of complexion as a variable is necessary.
The terms that best reflected skin pigmentation were chosen by the author with care. This process was not easy or straightforward. The Enlistment Records from
1866 through 1883 were recorded with the initial intent of documenting individuals enlisted in the military. Complexions were not being recorded specifically for a future human variation study. Therefore, it was often difficult, if not impossible, to determine the temporary effects of factors such as sunburns, suntans, windburns, fevers and dirt on the complexions recorded for each individual. It was my hope that men who were reddish
130 in color as a result of burns or fevers or men who were admitted with dirty faces were consistently recorded as such. The effects of these variables on the data would have then been minimal because those complexion terms were excluded from the analysis earlier.
(Recall that terms such as Red and Ruddy were excluded because they did not represent a level of skin pigmentation.)
Duplicate Records and Multiple Entries
When calculating statistical tests, a concern was how to analyze cases when men enlisted multiple times and had multiple Enlistment Records. The Enlistment Record when each individual experienced a cold injury was coded as such in PASW. These records were contrasted with Enlistment Records of non-cold injured men. The
Enlistment Record information used for men who enlisted more than once and also experienced frostbite was the record when the injury occurred. The other enlistment period records of these men when they did not experience frostbite were included when calculating statistical tests. To test this step, I omitted the enlistment periods when these men did not have cold injuries and re-calculated the Chi-square test on complexion. Thus, the cold-injured sample was compared to the non-cold injured sample and all additional
Enlistment Records of cold-injured men were removed. Both the Chi-square results from the Results chapter (χ2 = 1.194, df = 2, p = .550) and the Chi-square with the re- enlistment records removed (χ2 = 1.166, df = 2, p = .558) were not significant (Table 58).
The results of the Chi-square test demonstrated that leaving the additional records in the sample had a minimal effect on statistical results.
The Results chapter showed that there was a significant difference in stature between men who had cold injuries and men who did not have cold injuries (t = -2.667,
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Table 58. Chi-square results for cold-injured and non-cold injured troopers’ complexions with multiple enlistment periods omitted
Value df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square 1.166* 2 .558 N of Valid Cases 5463
df = 6730, p = .008). As with the Chi-square test, even with the re-enlistment records removed, the t-test for stature remained significant (t = -2.681, df = 6685, p = .007; Table
59).
Table 59. Independent Samples t-test results for cold- injured and non-cold injured troopers’ statures with multiple enlistment periods omitted
t-Value Degrees of P-Value Freedom -2.681 6685 .007
Including the cold-injured men’s multiple Enlistment Records in the analysis (i.e., the records of cold-injured men when their cold injuries did not occur) did not affect the statistical analyses.
Directions for Future Research
Seventh Cavalry Data Investigation
In addition to using the Seventh Cavalry data to study the connection between different diseases (e.g., alcoholism, pre-diagnosed illnesses, etc.) and cold injuries, the data could be further investigated to check for transcription process accuracy. Recall that there were inconsistencies in some troopers’ admittance and return dates in the Medical
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Record (see Table 9). These inconsistencies could be investigated by examining the records at the National Archives and Records Administration to determine if the conflicting dates were as listed on the Medical Record, or if they were minor transcription errors made during the data collection process.
Northern Plains Climate Data
An attempt was made to obtain climate and temperature data for Fort
Abraham Lincoln to investigate the role of low temperatures and cold weather patterns on the Seventh Cavalrymen starting in 1873. Ms. Natalie Umphlett at the High Plains
Regional Climate Center, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Ms. Sandra Wiche at the National
Weather Service, Bismark, North Dakota, assisted determining the location and condition of the records (personal communications, February and March 2010). Unfortunately, the
Fort Abraham Lincoln climate records were being quality controlled at the time of my inquiry, so they were unavailable at the moment. I hope to obtain these records and include a climate and cold injury analysis in future versions of this study.
Markland’s Frontier Regulars Dataset: Cold-Related Deaths
Future studies investigating historical military records could explain relationships between cold injuries and intrinsic and extrinsic variables. The unique nature of military records provides researchers with biographical data and information regarding the nature of servicemember injuries and deaths. There are many sets of records that could be applied to such studies, and one example is discussed below.
Mr. Billy Markland (N.d.) compiled Frontier Regulars’ enlistment information and records of military deaths in the West from the 1840s through the early 1890s. With
133 his permission, I calculated statistics on these data to demonstrate a direction for future collaborative research. In these, 124 individuals (1.1 percent of the entire sample) suffered cold-related deaths. A cold-related death is defined as being from exposure, frostbite, or being frozen. Half (50.0%) of these deaths occurred in the Dakota or
Wyoming territories, many others occurring in Montana, Nebraska or Colorado. These individuals were performing many different activities at the time of their deaths (Table
60). Some men (68/124) did not have a specific activity or reason for death recorded.
Most soldiers who did have an activity recorded were found frozen far from their post, became lost in a snowstorm, or froze after being exposed to the cold while intoxicated.
Table 60. Frontier Regulars’ dataset activities at time of death
Cause of Death N Alcohol intoxication/drunkenness and cold exposure 7 Buried in the snow 1 Found frozen away from post 21 Got lost and froze away from post 2 Lost in a snow storm 11 While absent without leave 2 While hunting 3 While on detached service 5 While scouting 1 While trying to escape from Indians 3 Total 56
The mean age of a soldier who died a cold-related death in the Frontier Regulars sample was 27.28 ± 6.02 (1 SD) years old, the median age was 27 years old and the modal age was 21. The mode in the Seventh Cavalry cold injury patient sample was also 21 years
134 old, but the average age was slightly younger (24.51 ± 4.310 years). The mean height of a soldier who died a cold-related death in the Frontier Regulars sample was 66.86 ± 2.0 (1
SD) inches, the median height was 66.63 inches and the mode was 67 inches. The average height of a Seventh Cavalry cold injury patient was slightly taller (67.55 ± 2.049 inches).
To investigate skin pigmentation, the complexions of the soldiers in Billy
Markland’s dataset were examined. As the methods used with the Seventh Cavalry data, the complexions were divided into Lightly Pigmented, Medium Pigmented, Darkly
Pigmented and Pigmentation Level Unclear (Table 61). Of note are the additional complexion categories when compared to the Seventh Cavalry records. They include “¼
White,” “Colored,” “Negro,” and “Mulatto” categories.
Table 61. Frontier Regulars complexion categories
Complexion Category Complexions Included Lightly Pigmented Fair, Light, White, White/Fair Medium Pigmented Brown, Brownish, Light Brown, Medium, Sandy Darkly Pigmented Colored, Black, Dark Brown, Dark, Negro, Negro (Black), Swarthy Pigmentation Level Unclear ¼ White, Blond, Bright, Clear, Copper, Florid, Flushed, Freckled, Fresh, Middle, Mulatto, Red, Ruddy, Sallow, Yellow
A Chi-square test was calculated to determine whether or not individuals who died cold- related deaths had darker complexions than individuals who died other deaths (Table 62).
The results were not significant (χ2 = .137, df = 2, p = .934). However, further relationships between complexion and cold-related deaths should be examined.
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Table 62. Chi-square results for Frontier Regulars’ complexions
Value df Asymp. Significance (2-sided) Pearson’s Chi-Square .137* 2 .934 N of Valid Cases 8490
Researching the definitions of different complexion terms in these data could allow for a more accurate statistical comparison.
Ninth and Tenth Cavalry Data
An additional direction for future research is to investigate the post-Civil War
Ninth and Tenth Cavalries. In 1866, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries were established in the United States Army. The Ninth and Tenth Cavalries consisted of African-American soldiers with White officers, some of whom endured cold injuries during the winter months (Leckie and Leckie 2003). From records at the National Archives and Records
Administration, a study on cold injuries in these all-African American cavalries would be useful to better understand the influence of racial category and skin complexion on injury frequency and severity. Comparisons between those data and the Seventh Cavalry data would be intriguing.
Summary
The results of statistical tests on trooper complexion and cold injury frequencies did not support the Cold Injury Hypothesis. The variables that had the most effects on cold injury levels were geographical location, time of year, activity during the time of injury, and trooper stature. Rank might have also been an influential factor. Most injuries occurred on the Northern Plains, with many occurring at Fort Abraham Lincoln
136 in present-day North Dakota. Cold injuries occurred most frequently in the cold winter months. Field duty left men vulnerable to cold injury, and the cold temperatures during the Battle of the Washita and associated campaigns left troopers particularly susceptible to injuries. Cold-injured men were slightly taller than non-cold injured men. The relationship between trooper size and Bergmann’s Rule could have been clarified if trooper weights had been recorded. Further, it is possible that lower-ranking individuals were vulnerable to cold injuries because they were newer to service and not as accustomed to working in harsh conditions.
Most cold injuries affected the extremities and the ears and face. Most injured troopers were hospitalized for less than a week, although the average was just over two weeks and some injuries were more severe. Uniform and equipment improvement did not appear to decrease cold injuries during the period of study. Cavalrymen had to be particularly careful in cold temperatures. In addition to cold injuries, ice and blizzards were dangerous and at times, deadly.
There were several limitations to this study. Challenges of using historical documents included conflicting records and unclear penmanship. When compared to personal accounts, cold injury frequencies in the Medical Record were under-represented.
Complexion, although a useful and intriguing variable, was complex and difficult to categorize. Many of these challenges were mitigated by using proper methods and analyses, and considering associated historical documents.
Future research should consider the relationships between factors that could not be investigated using the Seventh Cavalry sample (e.g., blood type, body mass index, acclimatization) and their relationships with cold injuries. Additional datasets, such as
137 climate data, Markland’s Frontier Regulars data, and information from the Ninth and
Tenth Cavalries, should be considered. Additional studies such as those suggested could clarify some of the relationships uncovered in the Seventh Cavalry sample.
CHAPTER VII
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Summary
The purpose of this study was to test the Cold Injury Hypothesis using post-
Civil War Seventh Cavalry data by examining the relationship between trooper complexion and cold injury (primarily frostbite) frequencies. Additional variables were also considered as they related to cold injuries. Historical documents and records were consulted to clarify the Seventh Cavalrymen’s experiences. Relationships and insights were discovered using these methods. A summary of the study and final conclusion are included below.
This thesis began with an outline of the background of the post-Civil War
Seventh Cavalry, including a timeline of the regiment’s moves across the United States from 1866 through 1883. The regiment was stationed in three regions during the period of study – the Central Plains, the Northern Plains, and the South. During this period, the cavalry’s primary duties were to establish civil rule, control illegal distilleries and the Ku
Klux Klan, protect railroads, guard frontier regions, and negotiate with Native American groups. The Seventh Cavalry engaged in many battles with native groups when these negotiations failed. The Seventh Cavalry is historically known for their involvement in the Battle of the Washita in 1868 and the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876. African-
American military regiments were established in the United States as early as 1866, but
138 139 these troops were segregated until the mid-1900s. Therefore, the Seventh Cavalry consisted of White troopers from United States and foreign birthplaces during the period of study.
Historical accounts and research were examined to understand the experiences of these men and the ways that factors, such as harsh weather and inadequate equipment, affected their lives. Many individuals recalled terrible, disorienting blizzards that resulted in cold injuries and regimental losses. Others remembered limitations of equipment, noting that buffalo overshoes froze and they had to fashion their own winter gear. Surplus
Civil War uniforms and equipment were issued to post-Civil War troopers, and much of this gear was made poorly and did not fit properly. Although improvements were made, this gear did not always prevent cold injuries. Nineteenth Century treatment of frostbite usually involved rubbing the wounds in snow and whiskey, and men were often given morphine to alleviate the pain. However, this treatment was not always effective or applied in time, and amputations and death were common.
A literature review provided an understanding of research before and following the formation of the Cold Injury Hypothesis by Post et al. in 1975. This hypothesis proposes the adaptive value of skin pigmentation levels, suggesting that individuals with darker skin pigmentation are more susceptible to cold injuries than those with lighter skin pigmentation. The relationship between racial groups and cold injuries was noted first in the early 1900s, when Senegalese troops suffered from a higher frequency of cold injuries than French troops on the western France front in April 1917
(Ariev 1943). In the 1950s, researchers studied these relationships and found that
African-American servicemembers were more susceptible to cold injuries than White
140 servicemembers (Orr and Fainer 1951; Schuman 1953, 1954; Whayne and DeBakey
1958). Racial differences in biological response to injuries were also noted (Blair et al.
1957; Meehan 1955; Rennie and Adams 1957). This research provided foundation to the study by Post et al. (1975), who experimented on piebald guinea pig skin and determined that darkly pigmented skin showed a higher frequency of cold injury than lightly pigmented skin, and darkly pigmented skin was affected more severely. This conclusion led to the Cold Injury Hypothesis, which was assessed in many related analyses after the
1970s. The primary goal of this thesis was to test the Cold Injury Hypothesis using trooper complexion data. Following the conclusions of Post et al. (1975), vulnerability to cold injury could be examined based on differences in degree of skin pigmentation in the
Seventh Cavalry sample.
Previous research noted variables other than skin pigmentation that were related to cold injuries. Many factors, such as soldier rank and time of year, influenced these injuries. For this reason, the Seventh Cavalry data was also used to test some of these additional variables (Table 1). Extrinsic variables included rank at the time of discharge, nature of discharge, injury severity, anatomical location of the injury, geographical location at the time of the injury, time of year and climatic events, activity during the time of the injury, and change over time. Intrinsic variables (other than skin complexion) that were examined included nativity, age at the time of enlistment, and stature.
In this thesis, the data used to examine the Cold Injury Hypothesis and identify additional factors influencing cold injuries were collected from post-Civil War
Seventh Cavalry Enlistment Records, Medical Records, and Regimental Returns from
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1866 through 1883. These materials were housed in the National Archives and Records
Administration and analyzed in Excel 2007 and PASW Statistics 18. The Cold Injury
Hypothesis was investigated using Seventh Cavalry trooper complexion information. The hypothesis was not supported by these data. However, other variables (e.g., geographical location, time of year, activity during the time of injury, trooper stature, and perhaps rank) did have relationships with cold injury frequencies. Geographical location was associated with cold injury frequencies; the majority of injuries occurred in the coldest regions. The greatest frequency of cold injuries occurred at Fort Abraham Lincoln, located in a notoriously harsh environment of present-day North Dakota. The brutal winters and the many years the Seventh Cavalrymen spent stationed at Fort Lincoln resulted in men being vulnerable to injury for many months.
Time of year also had a relationship with cold injury frequencies. As expected, the majority of cold injuries occurred in the winter and fall months, with most injuries in December and January. Because these were the coldest months of the year, troopers were more susceptible to cold injuries during low temperatures and freezing weather.
The activities men performed often left them susceptible to cold injuries.
Duties such as hunting and chopping wood exposed troopers to freezing environments and resulted in some cold injuries. While on march or campaign, troopers were often exposed to the elements, and shelter and supplies were frequently unavailable. Some injuries included in the Medical Record reflected this pattern, such as those in Indian
Territory (present-day Oklahoma) during the Battle of the Washita and associated winter campaigns. Historical accounts support this conclusion, because Indian Territory was
142 snowy and frozen during this period. Men had to march and wait in the cold before battle after leaving their tents and extra blankets behind, exposing them to the cold and wind.
A significant relationship occurred between trooper stature and cold injury frequencies. This result could support Bergmann’s Rule, because cold-injured men were slightly taller than non-cold injured men. Bergmann’s Rule states that members of a species with smaller surface area-to-volume ratios are often found in cold climates because they lose less heat. If the cold-injured men had high surface area-to-volume ratios, then perhaps they were losing more heat and suffering from cold injuries as a result. However, this result could contradict Bergmann’s Rule. Bergmann’s Rule would not have been supported if cold-injured men were taller and heavier than non-cold injured men. Unfortunately, without trooper weights, body mass index could not be calculated.
Finally, the relationship between cold injuries and trooper rank at the time of discharge approached significance. Although not significant at the .05 level, it did appear that Rankers were injured more commonly than was expected. This result could represent the fact that new recruits were less prepared for military duty than men who had been in service for longer periods.
As expected, almost all cold injuries affected troopers’ feet, toes, hands, fingers, ears, noses, or faces. The average length of a hospital visit for a cold injury patient was almost 17 days, although the median was 6.5 days. Cold temperatures caused cold injuries, and also brought about ice-related accidents like contusions and broken bones. Blizzards disoriented troopers and could cause men to become lost. Generally, low temperatures and harsh weather afflicted the military in many ways during this period.
143
Alternatives to the Cold Injury Hypothesis were presented. One of the best- known alternative hypotheses regarding the adaptive nature of skin pigmentation is the
Vitamin-D Hypothesis, formulated in the 1930s (Murray 1934; Loomis 1967). Current pigmentation studies focus on genetic selection as it relates to skin pigmentation in different populations.
The challenges of using historical datasets were discussed. For instance, because historical military data was not intended for present-day anthropological research, handwriting and abbreviations had to be deciphered, and some variables were difficult to categorize. It was believed that cold injuries were under-represented, because historical accounts of frostbite injuries did not always appear in the Medical Record.
Although cold injury data might be under-represented, these historical accounts clarified the experiences of the Seventh Cavalrymen and other military personnel during the
1800s. These troopers faced many difficulties during their enlistment periods, many of these challenges relating to cold weather, blizzards, ice, and inadequate equipment.
Conclusion
Studies related to variation within and between different groups of people can help researchers understand why some humans physiologically look and react differently than others. These studies also provide insight into peoples’ historical experiences and hardships. Suggestions for future research include analyses of other military records (i.e.,
Markland’s Frontier Regulars data) and an examination of samples other than the Seventh
Cavalry regiment (i.e., the African-American Ninth and Tenth Cavalries) during the
1800s. Climate data for Fort Abraham Lincoln will be obtained in the future to study the
144 connection between historical climatic events and temperature drops and levels of cold injury during this period.
Besides allowing researchers to understand and appreciate the experiences of troopers throughout history, information gained by analyzing historical datasets is of importance to contemporary populations. Although cold injury levels have decreased in the military, present-day cases of frostbite are becoming common in homeless individuals as well as in those who participate in outdoor sports (Murphy et al. 2000). Therefore, studies related to biological susceptibility to frostbite are not outdated and can offer valuable insights into prevention and treatment. If the influence of skin pigmentation, race, and other variables on cold injury vulnerability could be better defined, either through additional historical dataset analyses or contemporary population analyses, then individuals could take the proper precautions to avoid these injuries in the future.
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