UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WASHINGTON, D. C. OPO 16—67244-1 DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING THE HEALTH OF SOLDIERS, VDDRESSED TO THE OFFICERS OF THE ARMY QF THE UNITED STATES BY BENJAMIN RUSH, M. D l'hen Physician general to the Military Hospitals of the United States Published by order of the Board of War. At a Board of War, September 5th, 1777, Ordered, that Dr. B. Rush be requested to republish, in u small pamphlet, certain Directions for preserving the Health of Soldiers; published in the Pennsylvania Packet, No. 284, -.nth such additions and alterations as he shall think proper. Extract from the minutes, RICHARD PETERS, Secretary. DIRECTIONS, &c. t ATAL experience has taught the people of America that a greater proportion of men have perished with sickness in our armies than have fallen by the sword. The two last campaigns pro- duced melancholy proofs of this assertion. But we ought to consider upon this occasion, not only the mere loss of those worthy citizens who perished in this manner. The complicated distress, which accompanied their sickness and death, should never be forgotten. The gallant youth who had torn him- self from the arms of his parents, or the partner of his joys, who had plighted his life to his country in the field, and who perhaps, in the enthusiasm of his military ardor, has courted death from a musket or a cannon ball, was often forced from the scene of action and glory by the attack of a fever, and obliged to languish for days or weeks in a hospital; and, at last, to close his eyes, deprived of the sweet con- solation of a dying soldier, the thoughts of ending his life in the arms of victory, or in an act of just resentment against the enemies of the liberties of his .country. The munificence of the congress has made the . "ST-most ample provision for lessening the calamities 4 of war from sickness in their armies, and, if possi ble, to prevent it altogether; for I maintain that the mortality from sickness in camps is not necessarily connected with a soldier's life: It was unknown to the armies of ancient Greece and Rome. Their armies had no diseases peculiar to themselves; nor were the diseases, to whictw their soldiers were^—*"**' subject, attended with any peculiar symptoms. But the munificence of the congress, and the skill of physicians and surgeons, will avail but little in preventing mortality from sickness among our soldiers, without the concurrence of the officers of the army. Your authority, gentlemen, is absolutely necessary to enforce the most salutary plan, and precepts for preserving the health of the soldiers. Your own personal safety is concerned in concur- ring in the plan adopted by the congress. But if this were not the case, I am persuaded humanity and patriotism would not plead in vain in favour of those brave men, whose lives are committed to your care by the suffrages of your country. % The art of preserving the health of a soldier con- sists in attending to the following particulars: 1 Dress. 2 Diet. 3 Cleanliness. 4 Encamp- ments. And, 5 Exercise. ^ 1. The Dress of a soldier has a great influence . ^ upon his health. It is to be lamented, that the pe- culiar situation of our country, frbm the infancy of our foreign trade and domestic manufactures, -has obliged us to clothe our soldiers chiefly in linen. It is a well known fact, that the perspiration of thcr-r^ . 5 body, by attaching itself to linen, and afterwards, by mixing with rain, is disposed to form miasmata, which p-oduce fevers. Upon this account I could wish the rifle shirt was banished from our army. Besides accumulating putrid miasmata, it conceals filth, and prevents a due regard being paid to cleanliness. The Reman soldiers wore flannel shirts next to their skins. This* was one among other causes of the healthiness of the Roman armies. During the last war in America, general (then colo nel) Gage obliged the soldiers of his regiment to wear flannel shirts, from an accidental want of linen; and it was remarkable, during a sickly cam- paign on the lakes, not a single soldier, belonging to that regiment was ever seen in any of the mili- tary hospitals. I have known several instances where the yearly visits of the intermitting fever have been checked in the state of Pennsylvania, in places most subject to that disease, by nothing else but the use of flannel shirts. The hair, by being long uncombed, is apt to ac cumulate the perspiration of the head, which by- becoming putrid sometimes produces diseases. There are two methods of guarding against this evil: the first is by combing and dressing the hair every day; the second is by wearing it thin and short in the neck. The former is attended with de lays often incompatible with the duty of a soldier; and therefore the,latter is to be preferred to it. This easy mode of wearing the hair is strongly recom- mended by count Saxe, and by all modern writers n the military art. 6 2. The Diet of soldiers should consist chiefly of vegetables. The nature of their duty, as well as their former habits of life, require it. If etfery tree on the continent of America produced Jesuit's bark, it would not be sufficient to preserve or to restore the health of soldiers who eat one or two pounds of flesh in a day. Their vegetables should be well r cooked. It is of the last consequence that damaged flour should not be used in the camp. It is the seed of many diseases. It is of equal consequence that good flour should not be rendered unwholesome by an error in making it into bread. Perhaps it was the danger to which flour was always exposed of being damaged in a camp, or being rendered un- wholesome from the manner of baking it, that led the Roman generals to use wheat instead of flour, for the daily food of their soldiers. Caesar fed his troops with wheat only, in his expedition into Gaul. It was prepared by bein^ husked and well boiled; and was eaten with spoons in the room of bread. If a little sugar or molasses is added to wheat prepared in this manner, it forms not only a wholesome food, but a most agreeable repast. What shall I say to the custom of drinking spirituous liquors, which prevails so generally in our army? I am aware of the prejudices in favour of it. It requires an arm more powerful than mine; the arm of a Hercules to encounter it. The com-* mon apology for the use of rum.in our army-is,. that it is necessary to guard against the effect^of heat and cold. But I maintain, that in no case 7 whatever, does rum abate the effects of either of them upon the constitution. On the contrary I believe it always increases them. The temporary elevation of spirits in summer, and the temporary generation of warmth in winter, produced by rum, always leave the body languid, and more liable to be affected with he#t and cold afterwards. Happy would it be for our soldiers, if the evil ended here! The use of rum, by gradually wearing away the powers of the system, lays the foundation of fevers, fluxes, jaundices, and the most of diseases which occur in military hospitals. It is a vulgar error to suppose that the fatigue arising from violent exer- cise or hard labour is relieved by the use of spiritu- ous liquors. The principles of animal life are the same in a horse as in a man; and horses, we find undergo the severest labour with no other liquor than cool water. There are many instances where even reapers have been forced to acknowledge that plentiful draughts of milk and water have enabled them to go through the fatigues of harvest with more pleasure and fewer inconveniences to their health, then ever they experienced from the use of a mix- ture of rum and water. Spirituous liquors were unknown to the armies of ancient Rome. The canteen of every soldier was filled with nothing but vinegar; and it was by fre- * quently drinking a small quantity of this whole- ^ son\e liquor mjxed with water, that the Roman " sodiers were enabled to sustain tedious marches ""through scorching sands, without being subject 8 to sickness of any kind. The vinegar effectually resists that tendency to putrefaction, to which heat and labour dispose the fluids. It moreovtw calms the inordinate action of the solids, which is created by hard duty. It would be foreign to my purpose, or I might show that the abstraction of rum from our soldiers, would contribute,,greatly to promote discipline and a faithful discharge of duty among them. General Wolfe, who was a philosopher as well as a general, never suffered a drop of spirits to be drunk by his soldiers, except when they served as sentries or upon fatigue duty in rainy weather. Perhaps these are the only cases in which a small quantity of rum may be useful. It will be of the most essential service if it be mixed with three or four times its quantity of water. 3. Too much cannot be said in favour of Clean- liness. If soldiers grew as speedily and spontane- ously as blades of grass on the continent of Ame- rica, the want of cleanliness would reduce them in two or three campaigns to a handful of men. It should extend, 1. To the body of a soldier. He should be obliged to wash his hands and face at least once every day, and his whole body two or three i times a week, especially in summer. The cold bath was part of the military discipline of the Roman soldiers, and contributed much to preserve their health. 2. It should extend to the clothes of a sol- ' dier. Frequent changes of linen ar%e indispensably necessary; and unless a strict regard is paid to ibis ' articles, all our pains to preserve the health of our^ 9 soldiers, will be to no purpose, 3. It should extend to the food of a soldier. Great care should be taken that the ^vessels in which he cooks his victuals should be carefully washed after each time of their being used. Too many soldiers should not be allowed on any