Common Causes of Death in the Civil War Prison

From: thomaslegion.net Abscess - Swollen, inflamed area in body tissues with localized collection of pus. Anasarca - Abnormal accumulation of fluid in tissues and cavities of the body, resulting in swelling. Also known as dropsy. Ascites - Accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Asphyxia - Loss of consciousness due to suffocation; inadequate oxygen, and too much carbon dioxide. Catarrh - Inflammation of mucus membranes of nose and throat causing increased flow of mucus. (Common cold). Constipation - Condition in which feces are hard and elimination is infrequent and difficult. Diarrhea - Frequent, loose bowel movements. Symptoms...

Read More

Civil War Prisons

From: thomaslegion.net Introduction to Civil War Prisons The exigencies of Civil War (1861-1865) applied to the soldier, the grunt on the battlefield, but it also extended to the infantryman who became the prisoner of war. Union and Confederate prisons were unimaginable horror chambers employing slow agonizing deaths to its guests. Early in the war prisoner exchanges were common, but many on both sides believed that the war would only last 90 days. As months became years, it was obvious to Union and Confederate commanders that the continued battlefield gridlock and stalemate had to cease. The once honored prisoner exchanges were now viewed...

Read More

New York Hospital and the Civil War: Regimental Surgeons

By Elizabeth M. Shepard on May 31, 2013 When the war broke out, each state began forming volunteer regiments. Most of the New York Hospital doctors who served in the war began their service as volunteer surgeons in the regiments from New York State. Often doctors who were recruited for these regiments were small town physicians who had no training in military medicine and were ill prepared to treat wounded soldiers or perform amputations. Surgeons had to pass an exam and be approved by the war department. Their first task was to conduct the exams for the enlisted men and officers. These surgeons were responsible for treating the soldiers in...

Read More

Gettysburg and the Christian Commission

Edited with an introduction by Daniel J. Hoisington Following the battle of Gettysburg, the United States Christian Commission provided spiritual and physical care to thousands of wounded and dying soldiers of both armies. More than three hundred volunteers came to the battlefield, leaving a legacy of “a thousand little nameless acts.” In his introductory essay, Daniel Hoisington explains the pivotal role that the Christian Commission played at Gettysburg and its lasting effect on evangelical Christianity. Delegates included J. B. Stillson—Dwight Moody’s mentor, George Junkin—Stonewall Jackson’s father-in-law and staunch Unionist, Rowland...

Read More

The First Female Medical College: "Will you accept or reject them?"

From: doctordoctress.org How were the first women physicians of the 19th century perceived? The 19th century was a period of rapid social change and experimentation. The reform movements that swept through American society after 1820 were built on a new vision for the young nation and were reactions to a range of factors: slavery; the abuse of alcohol; the transformation of the American economy through industrialization; urbanization; and lingering goals of the American revolutionary period. These reform movements included: the Public Schools Movement to ensure public education for all; better care and treatment for the mentally ill; the...

Read More

A Female Civil War Surgeon: "How Dr. Mary is Remarkable”

From: doctordoctress.org Explore the story of a controversial woman doctor who served in the Civil War and fought for women's rights Mary Edwards Walker was born in 1832 in Oswego, New York. In 1855, she received her M.D. from Syracuse Medical College. In March 1864, late in the Civil War, she was appointed as a contract surgeon for the Union's 52nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In April 1864, Dr. Mary Walker was captured by Confederate soldiers and held prisoner for four months in Richmond, Virginia. She was released in August in exchange for a Confederate officer. In recognition of her services to the Union Army, President Andrew Johnson awarded...

Read More

Lucy Seaman Bainbridge: Sister Ohio

From: edinborough.com A VISIT TO WASHINGTON with my mother, in 1864, brought about an immediate change in my life. We were guests at a public dinner where one of the speakers told of the need of nurses at the war front--a vital need, for which there was no adequate supply. At that time our country had no trained nurses; the women who took upon themselves that duty had only their home-experience and common-sense on which to rely. I went into service with hardly that much knowledge, I was so very young. Through the courtesy of The Outlook I am able to include here an account of my work as printed in the issue of May 28, 1919, bearing the title:...

Read More

Military Medicine at Wilson's Creek

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield An examination of field medical practices at the Battle of Wilson's Creek (and elsewhere in the CiviL War) gives a sense of the horrors inflicted on the common soldier during the war, as well as an understanding of the period medical techniques, procedures and equipment used by surgeons operating with the armies. Medical science at the time treated wounds and sickness with the best knowledge of the day. Most surgeons took great care to ensure the well being and survival of their patients. We should not be too quick to judge them based on modern medical practices, just as we would not expect future historians...

Read More

Deadly Diseases: A Fate Worse than Dying on the Battlefield

by Elise Stevens Wilson Cannons blasted and bayonets tore through flesh in America’s worst war, the American Civil War. This war was gruesome for many different reasons. It tore the country apart and created divides that exist to this day. One of the more ghastly aspects of the war concerned medical practices. Being wounded and sent to the hospital was as much a death sentence as being sent to the front lines. Medical equipment was bulky and hard to move. It was a lower priority than ammunition and food, so the doctors rarely had what they needed. At the time, people had little to no understanding of how bacteria spread so surgeon’s tools...

Read More

Taking Care of Those in Need

Antietam National Battlefield, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park In 1862, a stately brick mansion overlooking the picturesque water gap at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, was converted into "Clayton General Hospital." Long tents were pitched in the yard, and by the third week of July, this former armory paymaster's quarters housed 285 patients. "I noticed a heap of amputated feet, legs, arms, hands, etc. -- about a load for a one-horse cart. Several dead bodies lie near, each covered with its brown woolen blanket" Walt Whitman Mrs. Abba A. Goddard traveled over 600 miles from Portland, Maine to care for the soldiers of her hometown's 10th...

Read More