Military medical and surgical essays : prepared for the United States Sanitary Commission / edited by William A. Hammond.

Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Military medical and surgical essays : prepared for the United States Sanitary Commission / edited by William A. Hammond. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    wounds pursued a favorable course; at a later period the wounds did not do so well. From the facts which have been presented, it is very evident that the lives of military men are much more endangered by disease than by wounds received in battle. It is, then, one of the highest duties of an army surgeon to make himself well acquainted with the correct principles of military hygiene, and to exert his influence to the greatest possible extent in pro- moting the health and physical energy of the soldiers who are intrusted to his care. Your committee pro- poses to consider the subject of military hygiene in some of its most important details. I. The Selection of a Ground for an Encamp- ment. It is a matter of the utmost importance, whenever it is practicable, to avoid encamping in a malarious district. The encamping ground should be dry, moderately elevated, and with a sufficient slope to prevent water from stagnating when it rains. It should be in the vicinity of pure water, drinking and washing, and there should be an abundant supply of fuel for cooking. The want of water in the vicinity of an encampment is a very formidable evil. When the French army, after the battle of Alma, encamped near the village of Mackenzie, they found but two or three wells, which were soon exhausted. The sol-