title: Rheumatic disease in wartime: gouty generals in battles lost or won.
abstract: Leadership by a commander is an important determinant of military outcomes. This report describes 2 19th-century wars in which the commanding general was afflicted with severe, disabling gout. In the First Afghan War (1839-1942), the result was disastrous, but in the Spanish-American War (1898), subordinates ignored the general's orders and saved the day.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Pinals
mesh_terms: D000346:Afghanistan; D004739:England; D006073:Gout / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D047832:Spanish-American War, 1898; D014857:Warfare