Yesteryear's War Profiteering

"Of the more than 274,000 officers and men who served in the army during the Spanish-American War and the period of demobilization, 5,462 died in the various theaters of operations and in camps in the U.S. Only 379 of the deaths were battle casualties, the remainder being attributed to disease and other causes."
- Richard Morris, Encyclopedia of American History

Among other causes of death was the "embalmed beef" sold to the army by war profiteers, which used boric acid (used in insecticides and flame retardants) as a preservative.