American Civil War

The American Civil War appears in the book as a turning point in the history of opiate addiction, especially in accounts of veterans who became dependent after the war. Rather than recounting military campaigns, the narrative uses the postwar record to show that addiction had a long history in the United States—and that the extent of that history remains contested.

The Postwar Addiction Record

The book connects the war’s aftermath with opiate addiction among veterans, a phenomenon later described as Soldier’s disease. The historical account characterizes the addiction as particularly severe, while also making clear that estimates depend on the sources and methods historians use. The war matters here not as a battle narrative but as the context for a lasting public-health problem.

Estimates and Uncertainty

One cited estimate, published by Gerald Starkey in 1971, put the number of addicted veterans at 400,000. The book notes that some modern historians consider that figure too high. They are more likely to cite Horace Day’s 1868 account, which estimated that between 80,000 and 100,000 Americans were addicted. These figures do not measure precisely the same population: Starkey’s estimate concerns veterans, while Day’s is an estimate for Americans generally.

David F. Musto’s estimate of 250,000 addicted Americans in 1900 adds a later point of comparison, not a direct count of Civil War veterans. Taken together, the figures indicate the scale attributed to opiate addiction across the postwar period, but their different dates, populations, and evidentiary bases make them unsuitable as a simple, continuous tally.

Historical Significance

The term Soldier’s disease gives the postwar problem a name, but the disputed estimates caution against treating that label as a settled measure of its reach. By bringing the Civil War-era record into an account of addiction, the book places modern opioid problems within a much longer history. The episode is significant less for a single definitive number than for what the historical record establishes: opiate addiction among veterans was recognized as a serious problem, even as its full extent remained difficult to determine.