The smell of feces and blood fills the air. A few soldiers rush into the woods to relieve themselves five feet from their only water supply. The wounded and dying groan in tents as medics work diligently to save as many soldiers as possible. A group of four soldiers are sitting around the campfire, collecting lice and fleas and throwing them into the fire. A soldier dies of typhoid fever and is dragged from his bed. Throughout the Civil War, camp scenes like this occurred on both sides of the fight as soldiers faced death from camp-related illnesses. In fact, 221,791 Union soldiers died of disease, compared to 62,916 killed in combat. Confederate Army medical records do not provide such a precise figure, nor the number of men who died from a particular disease, but it is estimated. that 160,000 men died from disease or wound infections. Soldiers suffered most from diarrhea or dysentery, but typhoid, malaria, typhus, sexually transmitted diseases, and scurvy were also rampant in the overcrowded camps. Although at first glance these diseases seemed to kill everyone infected, certain medical treatments might spare a life or two. Civil War doctors lacked scientific information about the cause and spread of diseases that could have saved thousands of men. Ultimately, the men were more likely to die from biological causes than from the bullets themselves. The first year of a soldier turned out to be the most difficult. Soldiers were crowded into overcrowded camps in a highly contagious environment.3 Men from rural areas in particular did not benefit from the same immunity as urban soldiers and therefore fell ill very early. Even if a soldier recovered, he would still have to deal with a supply of dirty water contaminated by humans...... middle of paper ...... asked the Union Army, led by General Henry Halleck, to take control of Mississippi at Corinth, even with a force of 100,000 men.10 Dysentery and malaria delayed the Union march to Vicksburg, delaying the inevitable capture until July 1863.10 Although these diseases have not always been fatal, they are powerful enough to stop armies in their tracks. Diseases themselves can be seen as a hidden, unforeseen army fighting against both sides of the war. “Indeed, twice as many Civil War soldiers died of disease as were killed or mortally wounded in combat. It can be argued that some victories or losses could only have occurred earlier if all soldiers were healthy. If the medical knowledge available in later years had been available, more soldiers would have survived the civil war and perhaps the conflict would have ended much sooner, saving even more lives..