During the Civil War, Vaccination Was Not Easily Achieved, so Many Soldiers Took a DIY Approach slate.com

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world’s hidden wonders. Strange as it may sound, this was the reality for many Union and Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War. In the 1860s, before germ theory had taken hold in the field of medicine, medical facilities often lacked the necessary hygiene to prevent infections.