Further considerations on suicides among union forces during the U.S. Civil War

摘要: In their thoughtful commentary McCutcheon et al. (2013) remind us that caution is warranted in interpreting military suicide data, part due to the possible political, leadership, and morale pressures disguise suicides may have existed during U.S. Civil War. While we agree generally, offer further considerations on among Union forces war. We discuss integrity of data source, ratio homicides suicides, contemporaneous journalistic accounts regarding cultural acceptance suicide, seasonal variations Dyer's Compendium. All these points suggest support for our initial argument rates War were much lower than modern rates. with geography history there good reasons be optimistic psychological consequences war are not inevitably devastating all those who serve.