Crimea. Two thousand Piedmontese soldiers are stationed in three military hospitals due to the rampant cholera epidemic. Sanitary conditions and medical support are poor and at times ridiculous: Genova di Revel writes of seeing nurses passing among the wounded lying on the bare ground, with a bucket of water and a brush to moisten the patients’ lips. The few real doctors present have no effective remedies, and sometimes they even distribute coffee every morning as a prophylaxis and brandy as a cure.
