What Effect Did Medicine Have On Hospital's In The Civil War

Medicine, one of the most influential and important assets in the Civil War, one of the most valuable services, and one of the most crucial practices helped decide the fate of the war at such a critical and tense time. Not only did medicine save the lives of many, it made this nation more advanced and more innovative than it ever has before. Dorothea Dix, influential leader and nurse, said that she, “Came as the advocate of helpless, forgotten, insane men and women; of beings sunk to a condition from which the unconcerned world would start with real horror” (Dorothea Dix). Dorothea Dix is saying that without the practice of medicine or the act of healing oneself, the world would have turn into a place of fright that we could not of even began
Picture this, people being shot left and right, soldiers, friends, family, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent this. Nowhere to treat the bodies, no way to help and no way to bring them back, just a great deal of bodies and body parts that had to be amputated, cluttered in a giant pile. It is sad, but true. In fact, Private Strong, soldier in the civil war, observed that, “Near the hospital was a pile of arms, legs, hands, and feet that had been cut from the wounded. These had not been buried, just thrown in a pile, and worms had begun to work on them” (Savage 55). Well, that is what it was like without the practice of medicine or the advancements with medical care. Our nation would have not of progressed or developed, let alone win the war without hospitals put in place. There is a fine line between early war and late war that one must comprehend before indulging into the broad and confusing topic of medicine. Early war and late war, are good examples to show the differences and evolutions throughout the
Early on in the war the surgery tactics were very underdeveloped and often resulted in death. It was very painful due to the fact that it involved cutting, slicing of the skin, or draining of liquids. It was very bloody and fatal diseases or infections were not out of the ordinary for such prehistoric means of surgery. Surgeons did not know any better so they used the same, unclean, unsterilized, tools on their patients without thinking twice about it. Another mean of survival that was common in the Civil War was amputations. When amputation of injured limbs was indicated, every hour delay deminishd the patients recovery chance (Schuppert). The most common injury was the gunshot wound since it caused bones to shatter and splinter due to the weight and speed of the conical bullet (Schuppert). Most soldiers who suffered gunshot wounds endured multiple rounds, not just a single bullet (Schuppert). This made it even harder to locate the point of impact because there was so many bullet wounds and usually multiple body parts had to be cut off to preserve the lives of the patients. Anesthesia was considered state-of-the art during the Civil War but for many doctors, they advised against the use of this drug. They believed that it retracted from the healing process and thought pain was necessary to fully recover from the wound that they had just gotten. This drug rendered