Diary of Orrin Brown—Dec 29, 1864

Diary of Orrin Brown, Savannah, Georgia

Brought to you by The Civil War Trust

Thursday–Dec. 29th

We received orders to go on Picket at 8 AM we packed up and reported at Brig. Head Quarters and were then marched to the picket line about 2 1/2 miles from camp, we had a pretty cold night and there is a high N.W. wind blowing today and quite cool but clear. Meekor is not fit for duty he has been quite unwell for severall days. Read 16 Chapt. in Testament.

Sickness killed more men than battle in the Civil War, at a ratio of 5:3.  Casualties included any of the ways the army lost service of a soldier, including death, sickness, injury, or capture.  Sometimes the records were kept well, other times not so much.

Read More:

• Marrow of Tragedy: The Health Crisis of the American Civil War by Margaret Humphreys (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013)
• The March to the Sea and Beyond: Sherman’s Troops in the Savannah and Carolinas Campaigns by Joseph T. Glatthaar (New York University Press, 1985)
• Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman by Robert L. O’Connell (Random House, 2014)
• The Memoirs Of General William T. Sherman by W.T. Sherman (Library of America, 1990)

(As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. Check your local library or bookshop, too.)

.