Unhappy Camper's: Dundalk And After Summary

In the Article “Unhappy Camper’s: Dundalk And After” written by Lenihan, the author attempts to explore the reason why forty-four percent of the soldiers at Dundalk camp died of disease. Schomberg chooses not to lead his troops towards Dublin and set up a camp in Dundalk. The article explains camp conditions were poorly monitored. Camps were set to close together, and men would huddle in their huts to keep warm from the wet weather. There are many theories as to why so many men died but poor hygiene practice, weather, and cramped camp space is some of the more likely reasons. There was likely a number of diseases that could explain the reason for many of the men dying. De Morsier confirms that soldiers feel sick from what he believes is dysentery or “Bloody Flux”. The symptoms of dysentery were similar to typhoid which is “an intestinal infection spread by ingesting food or water contaminated by bacteria called …show more content…
The poor weather conditions and cramped spaces that the troops stayed in allowed them to be vulnerable to catching disease. In Fann’s article ‘Peacetime attriction in the Army of Frederick William I’, the author explains that the death rate due to disease was significantly low. The conditions in which the troops lived in was maintained, and troops were kept clean and put together. The affection of disease didn’t travel throughout the camp. The two articles take similar statistical evidence when present their data. The uses of statistics give us an understanding of the truth of the conditions in which soldiers lived. The two articles also explore the working conditions under two different leaders. Troops lead by William faced the likelihood of discharged, while Schombergs troops had poor camp conditions. The two articles present important information in relationship to the life of a early century