G2G: “Camp Fever” U.S. Civil War

Question

Hi Wikitreers,

When researching Civil War Veteran Josiah H Gray (1831 - 1862) it states he “ died of camp fever, October 12, 1862, at New Greek, Va“ I am curious if this was the dreaded Typhoid fever? However, I don’t believe it is as those who died from typhoid fever have this clearly stated in their civil war service record 

So my question is this. What was Camp Fever?

Thank you

Answer 1

It was the term for Typhus. One of my ancestors died from that in Tennessee.

Comments

Maybe Wikitree can uplate the category to include the old term in its category. Just a thought

Thank you I updated his category 

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Thanks for the star! Glad I could help!

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A big help as it seems Co. E had an outbreak of this “Camp Fever”

Another vet succumbs to it see Benson B Marsh (1840 - 1862)

Answer 2

Camp fever was used for various diseases. The most common were thyphoid and thypho-malaria

See this from the National Park Service: 

Camp Fever and Recovery

By the way, Thyphoid and Thyphus are two different diseases. They have similar symptoms but are caused by different bacteria. One contracts the disease in different manners. Typically, one catches Thyphus by being bitten by fleas that have caught the disease from rats. One catches Thyphoid by consuming contaminated food or water.

Comments

Thanks Norman maybe a category can be created for this “Camp Fever” since it is often seen with the Civil War veterans as a cause of death. So technically not Typhus but that was one of the diseases covered under the umbrella term “camp fever”

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Yes, Andrew. I do often see camp fever as the cause of death. I do not see if on the doctor's report. But in other instances, it is commonly used. It's sort of a cat-all for the many diseases that afflicted the troops.