What Role Does Medicine Play In The Civil War
Civil War Medicine
By: Julia Ljubicich 8-1
Medicine played a very important role in the civil war. Though, some people believe the field hospitals were able to keep themselves clean, this was not always the case. In reality, the hospitals could have been as dangerous to the soldiers as the front lines.
For a Civil War soldier, the field hospital could have been worse, to them, than the battle itself. The temporary hospitals were quickly set up near battlefields and doctors usually had few supplies and barely any clean water. The bare, bloody ground was the only bed for most of the wounded soldiers. 1 Hospitals were designed as a series of pavilions connected by covered or enclosed walkways. Soldiers were separated based on their particular wounds or afflictions.2 Each regiment was assigned a surgeon, to provide medical care after battles. A yellow flag marked field hospitals. …show more content…
A typical battle injury was a bullet wound.3 The most common treatments doctors did were towards diarrhea, disease and amputations.
The doctors and nurses treating the wounded did not know about germs and bacteria so as they kept treating patients after patients, most likely never washing their hands, they didn’t know the deadly germs they were spreading. Bloody sponges and bandages were washed in buckets of dirty water and reused. More soldiers died from diseases then the battle fields.4 In general, for about every man who died from the battle fields, two died from disease. In their camps the soldiers were suffering to overcrowding, inadequate waste disposal, starvation and parasitic infestation. All these things could cause diseases like influenza and cholera to spread almost unchecked. Since there was no sort of antibiotic back then, even a minor wound could cause a major infection leaving the soldier dead within
days.5
One of the biggest medical problems of the Civil War was inadequate training received by most surgeons. The majority of physicians served as apprentices rather than attending medical school, which meant many, were unprepared for what then encountered in the battlefields.6 Medical schools were common during the Civil War, but many of them didn’t provide practical training. A few good medical schools did exist, but they were consisted of mainly classroom instructions and only a few weeks of medical residency. No sort of medical licensing board existed, so not really anything could be done to regulate doctors . No training or medical certification was required for anyone to call themselves and doctor, or surgeon. 7
Medical advances lagged behind weapons advances. For example, a field hospital near Richmond performed 400 amputations and about 250 of those patients died mostly of infection or blood loss. Surgeons wore dirty bloody coats and kept surgical needles dangling from their buttonholes.8 In 1861, the U.S. Army Medical Corps only consisted of about 98 surgeons and assistant surgeons. Equipment consisted of a few dozen thermometers. When painkilling drugs had to be used, they were generally rubbed or dusted into the open wounds, or given in a pill or solution form. Morphine was one of the most common painkillers used, and many soldiers became addicts as a side effect of their widespread usage.9
Medical help had to deal with huge numbers of wounded soldiers, and numerous means of transporting the injured were developed. Ambulances were probably the most common. Two-wheeled varieties provided a very bumpy ride, and many severely wounded soldiers died after being transported in them. Four-wheeled ambulances were also used, and these provided a safer and more comfortable ride. Horses were preferred to mules for ambulances, because they provided a steadier service. Steam boats, train cars and barges were also used as conveyances for the wounded. Converted passenger cars could carry up to three dozen wounded soldiers, the less seriously wounded in stretches hung from seats.
Amputations were very common, the third out of four most operations performed on soldiers by surgeons during the civil war.10 As horrible as Civil War surgery was, it was often amazingly successful in saving those wounded soldiers lives.11Surgery in the field was usually performed in makeshift field hospitals, sometimes on an operating table consisting of a few boards laid across a pair of barrels.12They were usually done with little anesthesia. If anesthesia was used it was most likely a shot of whisky13 or a rag or sponge soaked with chloroform would be held over the face of the person being operated on. But it sometimes resulted in chloroform poisoning. If nothing was available the patients were given bullets to bite on to. In these cases, the risk of a soldier dying shock was much greater. “Amputations started off by the doctor cutting off the bloods flow to the affected limb. Then he would select the place he would have to cut through the limb, he would slice through the surrounding flesh and connective tissue with a scalpel. He would then use a “capital saw,” a saw with replaceable blades that looked much like a hacksaw, to saw through the bone.14” Doctors stood for hours sawing through bones, through this method of amputation the doctors were nicknamed “sawbones”.15 Once the limb was completely off it would be sewed up and the patient would be immediately removed for the next soldier to take his place. The whole process took about 15 minutes. Amputation was most effective if preformed immediately after a wound occurred. As horrible as amputations could be, it did save the lives of many soldiers for who otherwise would have had no hope at all.16
In April 1861 more than 3 thousand New Yorkers turned out to rally to the Union cause and form a huge relief society that would provide bandages, clothing, and other supplies for the soldiers at front. All across the North, hundreds of these organizations become connected in what is known as the Sanitary Commission. These groups help Sanitary Fairs, in which they had auctions and sales to raise money for the Union cause.
Women played an important role in the help of civil war medication. Hundreds of women volunteered to become nurses, although prior to the war nursing had been a male job. Dorothea Dix demanded that all volunteers had to be over 30 and “plain in appearance.” With these rules she was given the nickname “Dragon Dix.” But her skilled and efficient nurses helped her reputation throughout the union.17 Before the war Dorothea was fighting to improve the treatment of mentally ill and conditions within the nation’s prisons. One of Dix’s biggest jobs was convincing military officials that women could be great nurses. Dix successfully recruited over 3 thousand women to serve as Union army nurses.18
A nurse, Mary Anne Bickerdyke wore her Quaker bonnet as she wanted to give comfort to the wounded men close to the battle fields. She didn’t wait for men to be transported to hospitals but went off into the field, braving danger so the soldiers wouldn’t die before getting the medical care they needed.
Clara Barton, another nurse who made a big impact on helping the wounded, was living in Washington, D.C., and working in the U.S. Patent Office. She went home to Massachusetts to organize relief efforts to help soldiers. She coordinated donations and enlisted volunteers to form an independent nursing corps, but instead of waiting for the wounded to come to government hospitals, she took supplies to the front. She raised thousands of dollars and nursed thousands of men. During the end of the war, Clara spent time and money trying to reunite families with loved ones. She went on to become the founder of the American Red Cross.19
From the start of the war we really had idea what we were doing based on a medical term , but by the end, surgeons had learned a lot about wounds, diseases and drug addiction, much more than they could have ever learned without the horrors of the war, and medical technology advanced as a result. Hospitals design was one area of improvement. Modern hospitals are based on the way field hospitals were set up. Advances were also made in areas secondary to the treatment of wounds and illness. Improvements in photography allowed for wounds and their treatment to be studied by doctors after the war. Also, because many families wanted their loves ones shipped home, the science of embalming has started. “The role of medical personnel on the battlefield changed, too, and one important concept advanced during the war was the idea that doctors, nurses and orderlies were neutrals who should not be shot or taken prisoner.”20
Bibliography
1.) Olson, Kay Melchisedech. The Terrible, Awful Civil War: The Disgusting Details about Life during America 's Bloodiest War. Mankato, MN: Capstone, 2010.
2.) Varhola, Michael O. Everyday Life during the Civil War. Cincinnati, OH: Writer 's Digest, 1999.
3.) King, David C. "Battlefield Medicine." Smithsonian Children 's Encyclopedia of American History. Ed. Beth Sutinis. New York: DK, 2003. 85.
4.) Clinton, Catherine. The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: Scholastic Non-fiction, 1999.
5.) Vaughan, Donald. The Everything Civil War Book: Everything You Need to Know about the War That Divided the Nation. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 2000.
By: Julia Ljubicich 8-1
Medicine played a very important role in the civil war. Though, some people believe the field hospitals were able to keep themselves clean, this was not always the case. In reality, the hospitals could have been as dangerous to the soldiers as the front lines.
For a Civil War soldier, the field hospital could have been worse, to them, than the battle itself. The temporary hospitals were quickly set up near battlefields and doctors usually had few supplies and barely any clean water. The bare, bloody ground was the only bed for most of the wounded soldiers. 1 Hospitals were designed as a series of pavilions connected by covered or enclosed walkways. Soldiers were separated based on their particular wounds or afflictions.2 Each regiment was assigned a surgeon, to provide medical care after battles. A yellow flag marked field hospitals. …show more content…
A typical battle injury was a bullet wound.3 The most common treatments doctors did were towards diarrhea, disease and amputations.
The doctors and nurses treating the wounded did not know about germs and bacteria so as they kept treating patients after patients, most likely never washing their hands, they didn’t know the deadly germs they were spreading. Bloody sponges and bandages were washed in buckets of dirty water and reused. More soldiers died from diseases then the battle fields.4 In general, for about every man who died from the battle fields, two died from disease. In their camps the soldiers were suffering to overcrowding, inadequate waste disposal, starvation and parasitic infestation. All these things could cause diseases like influenza and cholera to spread almost unchecked. Since there was no sort of antibiotic back then, even a minor wound could cause a major infection leaving the soldier dead within
days.5
One of the biggest medical problems of the Civil War was inadequate training received by most surgeons. The majority of physicians served as apprentices rather than attending medical school, which meant many, were unprepared for what then encountered in the battlefields.6 Medical schools were common during the Civil War, but many of them didn’t provide practical training. A few good medical schools did exist, but they were consisted of mainly classroom instructions and only a few weeks of medical residency. No sort of medical licensing board existed, so not really anything could be done to regulate doctors . No training or medical certification was required for anyone to call themselves and doctor, or surgeon. 7
Medical advances lagged behind weapons advances. For example, a field hospital near Richmond performed 400 amputations and about 250 of those patients died mostly of infection or blood loss. Surgeons wore dirty bloody coats and kept surgical needles dangling from their buttonholes.8 In 1861, the U.S. Army Medical Corps only consisted of about 98 surgeons and assistant surgeons. Equipment consisted of a few dozen thermometers. When painkilling drugs had to be used, they were generally rubbed or dusted into the open wounds, or given in a pill or solution form. Morphine was one of the most common painkillers used, and many soldiers became addicts as a side effect of their widespread usage.9
Medical help had to deal with huge numbers of wounded soldiers, and numerous means of transporting the injured were developed. Ambulances were probably the most common. Two-wheeled varieties provided a very bumpy ride, and many severely wounded soldiers died after being transported in them. Four-wheeled ambulances were also used, and these provided a safer and more comfortable ride. Horses were preferred to mules for ambulances, because they provided a steadier service. Steam boats, train cars and barges were also used as conveyances for the wounded. Converted passenger cars could carry up to three dozen wounded soldiers, the less seriously wounded in stretches hung from seats.
Amputations were very common, the third out of four most operations performed on soldiers by surgeons during the civil war.10 As horrible as Civil War surgery was, it was often amazingly successful in saving those wounded soldiers lives.11Surgery in the field was usually performed in makeshift field hospitals, sometimes on an operating table consisting of a few boards laid across a pair of barrels.12They were usually done with little anesthesia. If anesthesia was used it was most likely a shot of whisky13 or a rag or sponge soaked with chloroform would be held over the face of the person being operated on. But it sometimes resulted in chloroform poisoning. If nothing was available the patients were given bullets to bite on to. In these cases, the risk of a soldier dying shock was much greater. “Amputations started off by the doctor cutting off the bloods flow to the affected limb. Then he would select the place he would have to cut through the limb, he would slice through the surrounding flesh and connective tissue with a scalpel. He would then use a “capital saw,” a saw with replaceable blades that looked much like a hacksaw, to saw through the bone.14” Doctors stood for hours sawing through bones, through this method of amputation the doctors were nicknamed “sawbones”.15 Once the limb was completely off it would be sewed up and the patient would be immediately removed for the next soldier to take his place. The whole process took about 15 minutes. Amputation was most effective if preformed immediately after a wound occurred. As horrible as amputations could be, it did save the lives of many soldiers for who otherwise would have had no hope at all.16
In April 1861 more than 3 thousand New Yorkers turned out to rally to the Union cause and form a huge relief society that would provide bandages, clothing, and other supplies for the soldiers at front. All across the North, hundreds of these organizations become connected in what is known as the Sanitary Commission. These groups help Sanitary Fairs, in which they had auctions and sales to raise money for the Union cause.
Women played an important role in the help of civil war medication. Hundreds of women volunteered to become nurses, although prior to the war nursing had been a male job. Dorothea Dix demanded that all volunteers had to be over 30 and “plain in appearance.” With these rules she was given the nickname “Dragon Dix.” But her skilled and efficient nurses helped her reputation throughout the union.17 Before the war Dorothea was fighting to improve the treatment of mentally ill and conditions within the nation’s prisons. One of Dix’s biggest jobs was convincing military officials that women could be great nurses. Dix successfully recruited over 3 thousand women to serve as Union army nurses.18
A nurse, Mary Anne Bickerdyke wore her Quaker bonnet as she wanted to give comfort to the wounded men close to the battle fields. She didn’t wait for men to be transported to hospitals but went off into the field, braving danger so the soldiers wouldn’t die before getting the medical care they needed.
Clara Barton, another nurse who made a big impact on helping the wounded, was living in Washington, D.C., and working in the U.S. Patent Office. She went home to Massachusetts to organize relief efforts to help soldiers. She coordinated donations and enlisted volunteers to form an independent nursing corps, but instead of waiting for the wounded to come to government hospitals, she took supplies to the front. She raised thousands of dollars and nursed thousands of men. During the end of the war, Clara spent time and money trying to reunite families with loved ones. She went on to become the founder of the American Red Cross.19
From the start of the war we really had idea what we were doing based on a medical term , but by the end, surgeons had learned a lot about wounds, diseases and drug addiction, much more than they could have ever learned without the horrors of the war, and medical technology advanced as a result. Hospitals design was one area of improvement. Modern hospitals are based on the way field hospitals were set up. Advances were also made in areas secondary to the treatment of wounds and illness. Improvements in photography allowed for wounds and their treatment to be studied by doctors after the war. Also, because many families wanted their loves ones shipped home, the science of embalming has started. “The role of medical personnel on the battlefield changed, too, and one important concept advanced during the war was the idea that doctors, nurses and orderlies were neutrals who should not be shot or taken prisoner.”20
Bibliography
1.) Olson, Kay Melchisedech. The Terrible, Awful Civil War: The Disgusting Details about Life during America 's Bloodiest War. Mankato, MN: Capstone, 2010.
2.) Varhola, Michael O. Everyday Life during the Civil War. Cincinnati, OH: Writer 's Digest, 1999.
3.) King, David C. "Battlefield Medicine." Smithsonian Children 's Encyclopedia of American History. Ed. Beth Sutinis. New York: DK, 2003. 85.
4.) Clinton, Catherine. The Civil War: An Illustrated History. New York: Scholastic Non-fiction, 1999.
5.) Vaughan, Donald. The Everything Civil War Book: Everything You Need to Know about the War That Divided the Nation. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media, 2000.