A Sergeant from an Iowa unit reported: “I have seen many men literally wear out their underclothes without a change and when they threw them off they swarm with Vermin like a live Ant hill when disturbed” (Sartin 581). Heavy, layered wool clothing provided the perfect temperature and environment for body lice to thrive. Although surgeons examining recruits were told to not approve soldiers who carried lice (also dubbed “greybacks” and “bluebellies”), they still found their way into camp in great numbers. Such parasites exposed soldiers to diseases such as Typhus, relapsing fevers, malaria, and other infections. Ticks, fleas, mites and lice infested camps at unbelievable rates.
