Causes of death in the Crimean War. Chart produced by the British Nurse Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) showing the causes of army mortality during the Crimean War (1854-1856). It shows that far more soldiers died from preventable epidemic diseases (blue) than from wounds inflicted on the battlefield (red) or other causes (black). To reduce the deaths from preventable diseases Nightingale advocated light and airy hospitals with clean staff and good sanitary engineering.