US Civil War

Researchers from Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals, (a company founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly veteran of the US Civil War), undertook further intensive phytochemical studies and characterized 60 alkaloids, of which a group of 20 binary indole alkaloids—including vincristine and vinblastine. Vinblastine sulphate (Velbe ) inhibits the polymerization of tubulin and is used to treat generalized Hodgkin s disease and chorionepithelioma, whereas vincristine sulphate (Oncovin ) is used to treat leukemia in children. 

Arsenic was used in embalming fluids in Europe from about AD 650 until the early twentieth century (Spongberg and Becks, 2000), 314. During the US Civil War (1861-1865), arsenic became a popular embalming chemical. Bodies needed to be preserved for medical schools or until they could be delivered to relatives and buried. In some cases, as much as 1.4 kg (three US pounds) of arsenic were added to every corpse (Fetter, 1993), 275. By 1910, the US federal government banned arsenic in embalming fluids... 

McCauley et al., 2002). Later studies using better exposure estimate models failed to find any suspicious pattern of hospitalization in those possibly exposed with the exception of a small increase in hospital episodes for cardiac dysrhythmias (Smith et al., 2003), which provides a tantalizing link with the rich historical literature on cardiac dysfunction in service personnel, going back via effort syndrome as far as Soldier s Heart in the US Civil War. 

Hyams KC, Wignall S, Roswell R. War syndromes and their evaluation From the US Civil War to the Persian Gulf War. Ann Intern Med. 1996 125 398-405. 

Notably, despite the growing convergence of the laws of international armed conflict and those of non-intemational armed conflict, the distinction persists with respect to the law of occupation, which has not been extended to situations of internal conflict." This is particularly interesting in view of the fact that much of the early law of occupation originated in the US Civil War, which, notwithstanding... 

Keeping water potable is a battlefield challenge. Maity illnesses can be cansed by virases or bacteria from contaminated water. These diseases can cripple an Army s readiness as mnch as combat injnries. Approximately half of the deaths from disease dnring the US Civil War were from intestinal disorders snch as typhoid fever and dysentery caused by contaminated water. Abont one-quarter of non-combat deaths in the Confederacy were the resnlt of typhoid fever cansed by the consumption of food or water contaminated by Salmonella bacteria. Waterborne health threats remain today in modem warfare, but fortunately technology has decreased the impact of this combat risk. 

The Carl Schurz Association had been founded in 1927 by democratic circles in southern Germany. Carl Schurz was the most significant German who fled to the United States in 1848. He became a general in the Civil War. He was a friend of Abe Lincoln and he was famous for his laws for the protection of Negroes after the abolition of slavery in the United States.. . . Lee told us "Try to prevent any propaganda in the United States, but see to it that the American public is better informed by fair publicity."... 

The Civil War interfered with further work by Rodman, and after the war he was ordered to a post where it was impossible for him to continue his expts. However, a Russian military commission which visited the US during the Civil War was so impressed by Rodman s accomplishments that, on their recommendations, the manuf of Rodman s powder was undertaken in Russia on an extensive scale and from there it soon spread to other countries... 

Other US sponsored activities in this region that also defied UN sanctions, was the use by the CIA of Pakistan s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) as a go-between to channel Chinese and North Korean made weapons and Mujahideen mercenaries to the Bosnian Muslim Army in the civil war in Yugoslavia. 41 In 1994, with US knowledge and connivance, thousands of Mujahideen fighters from across the Muslim world flooded into Bosnia. 

Cotton is the single most important crop traded in the world with over 80% of cotton being grown in the southern USAf The American Civil War triggers the globalization of cotton production as US distribution networks are disrupted, prompting other countries to initiate cultivation. 

Most of us are aware of the big Codeine cough-syrup scare of the early 60 s. All of a sudden, with a history going back to the Civil War, we "discover" a few milder Codeine addicts are still around, and set out to stomp them out via the media. As a result, some heavy anti-cough syrup legislation was created, and millions of people became aware that Codeine existed. Abuse rate shot way up, and to this date we still have... 

Hyams K, Wignall F and Roswell R (1996). War syndromes and their evaluation from the US Civil... 

Destructive deaths have long been the curse of the human race. More than 50 million people have been killed over the past century. From 1915 to 1923 Ottoman Turks slaughtered up to 1.5 million Armenians. In mid-century, the Nazis liquidated six million Jews, three million Soviet POW s, two million Poles and 40,000 undesirables. Four percent of the world s population was killed during World War II. US News and World Report (Jan/ Feb, 2006) summarized the number of casualties in American wars War of 1812 - 6,765 deaths Mexican War - 17,435 deaths Civil War - Union 646,392 deaths. Confederate 335,524 deaths Spanish-American War - 4,108 deaths World War I - 320,518 deaths World War II - 1,077,245 deaths Korean War - 139,858 deaths and Vietnam War -211,512 deaths. The total number of deaths was 2,759,357. 

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