Deadlier Than Bullets

Join us for an enlightening joint presentation with Winchester-Frederick Historical Society as presenter Dr. Dianne Murphy will take us through the impact of infectious disease on the Civil War. Dr. Murphy returns after presenting The Impact of the Civil War on Medicine in the fall of 2023. This presentation will be about the knowledge, or lack thereof, about various diseases that killed more soldiers than the roar of cannons and the whistle of bullets. A background will be given about the commonly held beliefs about contagion diseases, and a brief discussion of the various killer diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, syphilis etc. Dr. Murphy will also give some information about how some battles might have been determined by the diseases of the men and generals.