Early Practice of Dietetics during the Civil War

Abstract

LEARNING OUTGONE: To identify at least two ways in which early practitioners of dietetics dealt with malnutrition and disease among soldiers during the American Civil War.Over half of the 600,000 casualties in the American Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, were due to disease; despite these grim figures, the fact that others nevertheless did recover from illness and/or wounds is testimony to the combined efforts of many men and women in establishing procedures to provide nourishment and medical care to Union and Confederate soldiers. This investigator has researched diaries, letters, reports, and biographies of surgeons, nurses, commissions, civilians, and soldiers themselves; many of these reveal heroic efforts of individuals both in the north and south to nourish sick and wounded soldiers on the battlefield and in hospitals - often without regard to color of uniform, and at great risk to their own health and safety in unsanitary and dangerous surroundings. Highlights of this history are presented as a special program for dietetics students enrolled in a Foundations of Dietetic Practice course, and includes discussion of 19th century hospital diet kitchen rules, recipes, and procedures. Outside reading is assigned, and examination questions are used to assess learning of dietetics history in the course. Students searching the beginnings of their profession in Civil War hospitals and camps will discover resourceful individuals and groups who paid considerable attention to special dietary needs of soldiers who fought in the bloodiest war of our nation's history.