This Republic of Sniffling -- and Coughing

"With its large volunteer armies, its longer-range weapons, and its looser military formations, the Civil War thus placed more inexperienced soldiers, with more firepower and with more individual responsibility for the decision to kill, into more intimate, face-to-face battle settings than perhaps any war in history."
-- Drew Gilpin Faust
Hmm... It probably wasn't the best book to read while I struggled with my recent illness.
"THIS REPUBLIC OF SUFFERING: DEATH AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR" by DREW GILPIN FAUST is highly recommended, although, it might be best to read it free of prescription drugs.
While I coughed, wheezed and fretted how I couldn't open my right eye because of all of the "gunk," the book I opened by my bedside detailed the Civil War combat deaths of 620,000 Americans -- approximately equal to the total American fatalities in the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War combined.
Yeah.
Nothing like a little "light" reading when you're sick.
Here are some facts about Civil War fatalities, culled from the book:
1) Confederate men died at a rate three times that of their Yankee counterparts.
2) Twice as many Civil War soldiers died of disease as battle wounds (a disparity fueled in part by the congregation of people originally from isolated rural areas, thus exposing them to new viruses and bacteria).
3) Railroads and emerging industrial capacity helped redeployment of armies and resupply more efficient, thus extending the duration of the war and the killing.
Faust offers a detailed analysis of Civil War death and she liberally uses portions of soldiers' letters home in her narrative.
"This Republic of Suffering" is a great read. But please, don't follow my example. Instead, read it while you are well.