"Beat the Heat" Lecture at Fort Fisher July 14: Yellow Fever

JULY 14

"AT THE MERCY OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH: THE 1862 WILMINGTON YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC"

During the Civil War, the mosquito carried a dark and deadly secret.  Learn how this little bug and its pathological comrades waged their own biological warfare upon unsuspecting soldiers and citizens.

Shannon Walker, interpreter at Brunswick Town Fort Anderson State Historic Site will discuss this insect and the deadly Civil War medical issues it brought.

Not to mention the blockade runners carrying the disease into Wilmington.

--Old B-Runner

Back Then, Impending Attack on Fort Fisher-- Part 3: Mosquitoes and Deer Flies

Another cause of discomfort were the mosquitoes.    Even back to the War of 1812, attacks by these varmints almost led one group of American militia to mutiny against authorities.

And, also there were the ever present gnats, no-see-ums and seasonal deer flies.  Scott Nunn said that the latter are still there at Fort Fisher.  Once he was exploring the fort one humid late-summer day and got on an off-the-beaten path and was run out of the grove by a swarm of deer flies.

I can relate to that as one May day near Savannah at my sister's house, i was out in her backyard to collect Southern soil for use on the graves of Confederates buried in the North when she warned me about the deer flies.  I've often encountered flies so figured perhaps they were like the big old horse flies, fairly easily avoided.

I went out to the back and stooped to get the dirt when suddenly a huge cloud of deer flies descended upon me.  They were so thick I almost couldn't see and landing everywhere on me.  My sister and family were watching from the house and were greatly amused to see me running full tilt out of the trees, waving my hands and yelling (well, probably screaming).  It was indeed my "Great Skedaddle!"

I tell you, I hope to never have an encounter with them again.

Still Having Nightmares 'Bout 'Em.  --Old Secesh

Wilmington, NC-- October 1863-- Part 15: Mosquitoes and getting Stuff Through the Blockade

Continuing with a lengthy letter written by Benjamin Lewis Blackford who was stationed very unhappily in Wilmington, NC, back in October 1863. Continued from November.

"Charles & Lancelot were both in Wilmington but I got here five minutes too late to see them. Have you heard from them? What of Eugene? What of William?

I was very much obliged to Pa for his letter, it came when I was camped in the mosquito wilderness, and was especially welcome for I was miserable enough.

Tell Mary Isabella with my love, not to make herself uneasy on the subject of shoes & gloves any more. I have received enough from England to last you and her for the rest of this war if it should last for 20 years.

The boxes are safe in Richmond, but I don't exactly [know] yet what they contain. I will receive the invoice to-morrow. The things are of the very best make and quality.

Still Not Happy in Mosquito Infested NC. I'm Sure They Had No Mosquitoes in Virginia. --Old B-Runner

The State of Affairs At Wilmington, NC-- Part 4: Battling the Mosquitoes

"Awhile before dark we had to make a fire in the middle of the floor of rotten wood and old rags; after an hours dense fumigation we closed all the doors and windows, and as far as it was possible, in the fierce heat and suffocating atmosphere, we slept. Those mosquitoes could sting through a double blanket without the least trouble.

The great ocean which stretched on before us, and the magnificent surf bathing were the only bright spots in the Camp. The 'Point' was not over four miles broad, entirely destitute of cultivated land ...."

Dealing With the "Disloyal" Pilots. --Old B-R'er

The State of Affairs At Wilmington, NC-- Part 3

"The only redeeming point in the first two weeks operations in N.C. was that the officials both in Wilmington & at Fort Fisher, were as thoughtful as possible, and did with the greatest Energy and promptness Every thing, I asked of them. I was furnished with guards, horses and boats, and had it not been for musquitoes and starvation would have gotten on well enough.

We were camped in a swamp 6 miles above Fort Fisher, and I believe the king of the mosquitoes had selected the same locality for his dinner court. I had never had the faintest idea of the meaning of the word before. To sleep with door or window open (I was camped in a small house) was impossible."

A Real Skeeter Hater. --Old B-Runner