Disease & Sickness Ravaged Civil War America

By Chris, 3-10-13

During the American Civil War over 620,000 people were casualties (and probably a lot more) with 504 dying every day. For the soldier, two out of every three would die of disease. The average soldier quickly discovered that one of the worst places to be sent were the field hospitals. William C. Haynes of the 11th Kansas wrote in February of 1863 wrote about the toll of war with regard to disease (and sickness) and how it ravaged the soldier and the army:

"no toungue can tell suffering that they have endured the past winter and have had all in their favor Soldiers are Bound to suffer no mater as to the weather For when they get sick there is hard times come these Not more than one out of every ten that is sick and goes to hospital that ever gets out of it alive Our soldiers that was wounded at prierie grove have all died one man had his finger shot off and it killed him two more was shot in Leg and they died the measles . . ."

Letter from Haynes, William C.

Soldier: Haynes, William C.
Allegiance: Union
Unit/Service Branch: 11th Cavalry
Home State: Kansas
Date Written: Sunday, February 15th, 1863
Location: Camp In Field, MO
Correspondence Type: Letter
Subjects: Camp Life, Comrades, Daily Life, Family, Sickness, Suffering, Western Theater

Dearest One I have the pleaser to write a few lines to you which I hope will come safe to hand and find you all well and injoying good health I have wrote a good many letters to you lateley and have received very few from you that is lately I wrote two a week for three weeks I have got three for the Last four weeks I think that all our Leters don't go through the Health of rigement is very good at present time William is well I weigh one hundred and sixty five pounds I am hevier than I have been for some time five pound[s] hevier than I ever was before so you may know [how] fleshey I am We have fine wether here at the present time it has been very raney a while back ... it has been splendid for the poor soldier Boys although no toungue can tell suffering that they have endured the past winter and have had all in their favor Soldiers are Bound to suffer no mater as to the weather For when they get sick there is hard times come these Not more than one out of every ten that is sick and goes to hospital that ever gets out of it alive Our soldiers that was wounded at prierie grove have all died one man had his finger shot off and it killed him two more was shot in Leg and they died the measles is very bad in one company of the rigement at the present time all though I don't mind that as I have had them once so they skipp me this time Tery Fuller has got to be fifth sargent Captain Gibbs sick at hospital Lieutenant Thomas Comands the Company at this time Company D has onley Twenty Nine Men for Duty forty eight in all to gether we was at Camp Lyon with Eighty six Men that is [?] when we was Mustered in 86 Men strong at home and were Detached to the Batery at fourt Leavenworth ... I picked up a Leter that old Miss Dewey wrote to green the other Day it all most made me sick to read it she must have the figets or something worse ... I wish I could yet home this spring to stay if I could onely come home Month I would like it But I can tell nothing about till we get payed off the Colonel told me then that most of the maried men would get to Come home to fin their famlies for the sumer but there is no Chance for young men to come home, but we may not get payed off for a month and he may be ordered not to let any of us go so it is very uncertain about it but I will have time to see about it before spring... I can not tell were we will go to from here we may go to Fort Scott and we may go to Mount Vernon a bout Forty miles North of here Last plase I think there are no prospects of any more fighting soon if Ever again here so if we have any fighting to do it will be Down South... Wish you would write and tell me whether you have heard of Vick James or Nat I [am] very uneasy a bout them I expect that they was killed in Battle of Murfesburough I wrote a Leter to them but have recived No answer from them William is doing Litle better than he was... No more this time I send my best Love Respects to your Mother and Johney

I tell Johney to write me a Leter and write to him

W C Haynes

From: soldierstudies.org

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Diarrhea Treated with Silver Nitrate

Source text: The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion., Part 2, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1879), 49.

Case entered in the book is signed by Assistant Surgeon A. Hartsuff, U. S. A., temporarily acting as surgeon in charge,⃰ by whom it is understood the majority if not all the cases were treated. To the account of each case as recorded in the case-book the subsequent history of the patient, whenever it has been possible to obtain it, is appended. ⃰In the absence of Assistant Surgeon E. J. Marsh, U. S. A.

CASE 11.—Private David Watson, company D, 16th Massachusetts volunteers; admitted June 17, 1863. Diarrhœa of ten weeks' standing, with from six to eight discharges per day. Gave astringents, such as tannic acid, acetate of lead, &c., with opium, but effected no change in his condition. June 30th: Ordered the following: ℞. Nitrate of silver ten grains, laudanum twenty-five drops, water one ounce. To be used as an enema. The injection was retained an hour. June 21st: The patient seems much better, and has had but one passage from the bowels since the last note. The fæces are more consistent. July 1st: There has been but one stool per day since the injection. The diarrhœa may be considered cured. The patient is transferred to a northern hospital to recruit his strength. [The register of Lovell hospital, Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island, shows that this man was admitted to that hospital July 3d—diagnosis, diarrhœa—and that he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps March 31, 1864, on account of the loss of his left thumb by amputation.]

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Journalism in Washington: The Value of Hospital Newspapers

By Elizabeth Lorang and Kenneth M. Price

Newspapers published in the District of Columbia during the Civil War provide essential information about the war and life in the city during a time of crisis. In Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, nearly 30 daily and weekly newspapers chronicled the war.(1) These papers included English-language dailies and weeklies and several German-language weeklies. The papers were published out of standard newspaper offices as well as out of impromptu and makeshift offices in hospitals and military camps. Three issues of the Camp Kettle, for example, were published by the field and staff of the Roundhead Regiment of Pennsylvania while members were stationed at Camp Kalorama in DC. (Later issues of the Kettle were published aboard a steamer, as the regiment moved South.) Given the wealth of material in these diverse newspapers, we would like to include all of them within Civil War Washington, offering users both full-text transcriptions and high-quality page images. Yet, a number of factors, including both resources and technology, require that we temper this ambitious goal. (See the Methodology section below for more information.) Therefore, since the most prominent newspapers—the Daily National Intelligencer, Evening Star, National Republican and Daily National Republican, and Washington Chronicle among them—are available as microfilm copies and through online collections, we have prioritized the work of presenting digital images of rare hospital newspapers. We expect our collection of freely available newspapers to grow over time and for our focus to expand beyond the hospital newspapers.

During the war, at least nineteen different newspapers were published in military hospitals throughout the U.S., with five such newspapers published in the District. The DC-area hospital newspapers include the Armory Square Hospital Gazette, the Cripple (U.S. General Hospitals in Alexandria, Virginia), the Finley Hospital Weekly, the Soldiers' Journal (Convalescent Camp/Augur General Hospital at Rendezvous of Distribution, Alexandria, Virginia), and Reveille (Carver General Hospital). Issues of all of these newspapers are rare. In some cases, as with the Reveille, only a few issues are extant. It appears that no complete run of any of the papers now exists. In the best of cases, nearly complete runs are available from a single institution, as with the Wisconsin Historical Society's holdings of the Soldiers' Journal. In the remainder of the cases, all that can be done is to put together the most substantive runs of the newspapers possible by working with multiple individuals and institutions (our work on this front is ongoing). Currently, we provide access to 150 issues of the Armory Square Hospital Gazette, the Soldiers' Journal, and the Cripple.

In its first issue, published January 6, 1864, the Armory Square Hospital Gazette declared that “The hospital is an episode in a soldier’s life—sometimes a painful termination of it, which has many an event worthy of a chronicle.” Writing in Specimen Days, Walt Whitman remarked that “During the [Civil] war, the hospitals at Washington, among other means of amusement, printed a little sheet among themselves, surrounded by wounds and death, the ‘Armory Square Gazette,’ to which I contributed.”(2) Whitman’s succinct description captures the role played by hospital papers in offering diversion in the midst of pain, illness, mutilation, and death. Yet, Whitman also was convinced that the real war would never get into the books, and he made it abundantly clear that the tragedy of the Civil War could only be understood by experiencing the hospitals from within. Given Whitman’s insight, it is surprising that hospital newspapers such as the Armory Square Hospital Gazette and other like it have been so little studied. Oriented away from military accomplishments, each of these papers offers a valuable perspective on Washington and the war, and they all present remarkable opportunities for research and scholarship.

From: civilwardc.org

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Civil War Cigars and Medicinal Tobacco

By Kyle Wichtendahl, 2-19-13

     [Since 2012 I have been responsible for the garden at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum on Antietam National Battlefield. The Pry House garden began as a 19th century style medicinal and kitchen garden, including medicinal plants, herbs, and vegetables. As close as possible, these plants mirrored those available to the Pry Family in the 1860s, meaning heirloom varieties. Since then, the garden has transformed to focus exclusively on medicinal plants, becoming an exhibit of the flora that was employed by military and civilian caregivers in the Civil War Era.
      I am strictly an amateur, with no real experience in growing a garden. The purpose of this blog is to document my experiences as I learn by doing. It is anything but authoritative and I welcome any comments and advice for a greenhorn. Please be kind!]

Most people that know me personally are aware that while I am not a habitual smoker, I do very much enjoy smoking my pipes or a good cigar. Especially when Civil War reenacting, I might be seen with a cigar or pipe in hand.

Soon, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine will be coming out with its own line of 1860s-style cigars. The museum also hosts a special Cigar and Whiskey Night, and the museum's new cigars will be incorporated into that event. These cigars will be made for us by F. X. Smith's Sons Co., a small family-owned and operated business that has been producing cigars in southern Pennsylvania since 1863. Many of the cigars they offer are very similar to those which smoked by soldiers and civilians during the Civil War. They are made with 100% American tobacco, mostly from Pennsylvania.

As someone who appreciates a good cigar, I have been tapped as our official taster as the museum chooses which cigars to carry. It's been a tough and demanding assignment, but someone had to do it.

Tobacco growing in southern Pennsylvania
Trying these different vintage-style cigars for the medicine museum had me thinking about the diverse and pervasive usage of tobacco as a medicine through history. I thought that might make a good post on the blog for the medicinal herb garden.

Today, most of us rightfully associate tobacco usage with significant health risks. The dangers of smoking have now been so deeply ingrained into our current social consciousness that it seems counter-intuitive to remember that throughout most of history tobacco was venerated a "holy herb" with great medical properties. Early English colonies prospered in America because of an insatiable demand for tobacco in medicine just as much as recreational smoking.

Prior to the arrival of European settlers, native peoples in North and South America made extensive use of tobacco and its related plants. They believed that green and dried tobacco leaves and smoke promoted health both in and outside of the body. It was used to prevent and treat diseases, to cleanse both body and environment, and as an anesthetic, all with some spiritual connection.

Spanish and Portuguese settlers were quick to discover and appropriate tobacco for their own recreational and medicinal uses. It quickly became a miracle cure, a panacea that could treat virtually every ailment known to mankind. Tobacco is all forms was applied to ailing bodies both internally and topically to combat cold and flu, wounds, burns and other skin conditions, bodily pain, constipation and diarrhea, sexually transmitted diseases, and ironically enough, respiratory complaints, heart conditions, and cancers. Even earaches could supposedly be treated by blowing smoke into the ear. In the 16th, 17th, and early 18th century, there were very few ailments that might not be improved by the proper application of the "holy herb."

An 18th century illustration of a tobacco enema device

In the Civil War era, tobacco was no longer the cure-all it had once been in Western medicine. However, it still had a real place in the pharmacopeia. By the mid-19th century, chemists had isolated the nicotine as the active ingredient in tobacco and pure nicotine often become the base of medicine rather than raw tobacco. Nicotine mixtures remained a popular treatment for a variety of skin afflictions and complaints. As retched as it may sound, tobacco-smoke enemas continued to be used in some medical circles through the Civil War period as a treatment for severe constipation, hernias, and other intestinal complaints. Nevertheless, tobacco usage was in decline following the revelation that high doses of nicotine act as a cardiac poison.

Folk medicine would continue to make ready use of tobacco. It was frequently used to treat insect bites and other skin irritations as well as an ingredient in poultices for swelling and injuries. Such uses continued well into the 20th century as tobacco was included in salves for superficial wounds and ulcers, ringworm, athlete's foot, and other itching skin conditions.

Not surprisingly, tobacco as a medical treatment is not currently endorsed by the American Medical Association or the Food and Drug Administration.

I am hoping to add tobacco to the Pry House Garden. I first want to be sure that the variety I obtain and plant will be correct to Civil War era use and cultivation.

Image: An 18th century illustration of a tobacco enema device

From: gardenofantietam.blogspot.com

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Civil War Herbs at the Pharmacy

By Kyle Wichtendahl, 2-12-13

 [Since 2012 I have been responsible for the garden at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum on Antietam National Battlefield. The Pry House garden began as a 19th century style medicinal and kitchen garden, including medicinal plants, herbs, and vegetables. As close as possible, these plants mirrored those available to the Pry Family in the 1860s, meaning heirloom varieties. Since then, the garden has transformed to focus exclusively on medicinal plants, becoming an exhibit of the flora that was employed by military and civilian caregivers in the Civil War Era.
     I am strictly an amateur, with no real experience in growing a garden. The purpose of this blog is to document my experiences as I learn by doing. It is anything but authoritative and I welcome any comments and advice for a greenhorn. Please be kind!]

Over the weekend I was at the pharmacy getting a prescription filled, and I killed some time by perusing the vitamins and supplements aisle. This may come as no surprise to some readers, but I was truly taken aback by how many popular herbal medicines from the Civil War era are still being sold as medicines at the pharmacy. I have written in earlier posts that Echinacea and Yarrow are still common herbal remedies for cold and flu and that horehound is a common treatment for sore throats. Clearly though, the modern usage of traditional herbal medicine extends far beyond those few examples. I will try to add a few more with this post.

Valerian is an herb native to Europe and the Near East, but has been introduced to the United States. Since ancient times, it has been used to promote relaxation, reduce anxiety, and treat insomnia. Valerian has continued in that through the 19th century up to today.

You can go to your local pharmacy or supplements store and buy Valerian root capsules, which are still used for stress, anxiety, and sleeplessness.

Black Cohosh was another very popular herbal medicine during the 19th century. Like most medicinal plants, it was used for a wide variety of complaints including menopausal symptoms, bronchitis, fevers, and even snakebites.

I was very surprised to learn that Black Cohosh is still sold as a popular treatment for menopause symptoms, especially hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings.

Saw Palmetto, which is native to the American South, was used during the 19th century to treat prostate inflammations, as well as head colds and migraines.

Saw Palmetto is still available at the pharmacy today because many believe that it can promote prostate health as well as kidney and urinary tract function.

Evening Primrose was often a popular in the 19th century as a decorative plant as well as a medicine. Different practitioners applied primrose both internally and externally to combat a host of unrelated ailments including heart problems, skin conditions, respiratory issues, blood disorders, communicable diseases, stomach cramps, and menstrual complaints.

Primrose is still promoted today as a natural supplement to help alleviate the common discomforts of the menstrual cycle, particularly cramping and pain.

None of these supplements are tested or endorsed by the FDA, so they are not called medicines. They cannot legally be sold as a diagnosing, treating, curing, or preventing any disease without the rigorous examination and testing of the FDA. While none of these supplements will do you any harm, there's no guarantee they actually will do you any good either.

I am not currently growing any of these plants in the Pry Garden, but I hope to introduce all of them this year, except the saw palmetto, which won't likely prosper in the cold weather this far north.

These are just four more examples, but many more are still out there. Perhaps I will do a followup post soon to show some more examples of 19th century herbal medicine still in current practice.

From: gardenofantietam.blogspot.com

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A Historical Glimpse of Suturing

From: theapprenticedoctor.com

Suturing is commonly used today as a means by which wounds are closed in order to prevent infection and hasten healing. Stitches are used by surgeons, doctors, nurses, podiatrists, dentists, first aid workers, veterinarians and survivalists. However, where did the concept for suturing wounds begin?

Archeologists have discovered primitive needles of bone and later metal that were thought to be used for surgical suturing thousands of years ago. It is suggested that the original versions of suture threads were coarse and made from plant fibers before progressing to animal parts much later in history. The first obvious proof of using sutures surgically comes from the Egyptians who used the technique extensively for burial preparation of their mummies. It is assumed that they also used their suturing skills on living people as well. The Greek physician Hippocrates recorded his use of sutures and plant-based materials, but the crude methods and materials most assuredly led to infections and severe scarring during that time of use.

Although the exact date of the transition from plant fibers to animal suturing materials is unknown, the first recorded use of catgut as a suturing material is attributed to Galen of Pergamon in the second century AD. Catgut was and still is made from cattle and sheep intestines, although synthetic catgut is more commonly used today, but like its predecessor, does not require removal because it dissolves in the body.

One of the main problems with suturing surgical incisions and wounds early on was that sterile instruments were not used which often led to skin irritations and infections. In 1860, Joseph Lister addressed the problem by creating a method of for sterilizing suture material by using carbolic acid. Chromic acid was later used to achieve sterilization and then iodine was introduced to sterilize catgut in 1902. These substances greatly decreased the incidents of infection in sutured wounds.

Sterilized catgut has been successfully used for decades and is still in use today. Eventually, however, doctors began to seek other suture options because catgut dissolved unpredictably in different patients which sometimes led to wounds reopening. Scarring was also a major problem with catgut sutures. Synthetic suture materials were produced in the 1920’s and the 1930s saw the creation of two types of surgical sutures, absorbable and non-absorbable which offered doctors a broader choice in suturing materials.

Today, most suture kits contain suture thread made from polymer fiber materials which work well for a variety of surgical suturing procedures. Polymer fiber suture thread comes in a wide selection of styles, designs and types which can be utilized for various wounds and under numerous conditions. Due to its flexible nature, polymer fiber is the preferred choice of physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians and first responders and is the best selection for survivalists, adventurers, sports teams and high-risk job workers. Suturing has come a long way since its conception and suture kits offered today contain top sterile equipment and materials to perform wound stitching properly which significantly reduces both infection and scarring.

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Suture Pins

By Dr. Michael Echols, 2-4-12

Pins used to approximate the sides of a soft tissue incision, from an 1864 Tiemann surgery set.  The pins are round with a round, not a flat head.  These needles were found in the paper holder and would have been supplied this way.

In the diagram, the pins are shown with suture material wrapped  in a criss-cross on either side of the incision and tied to close the incision, rather than being passed through the tissue.

An image of a Buck's suture pin director is shown, which would have been used to guide the placement of a pin.

From: medicalantiques.com

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“Captain Sally”

By Reed Alvord of Hamilton, New York, October 1998

NAME: Sally Louisa Tompkins
DATES: 1833 to 1916
ALLEGIANCE: Confederate
HIGHEST RANK: Captain
UNIT: N/A
SERVICE RECORD: Opened Robertson Hospital in Richmond, Virginia, on August 1, 1861. Commissioned captain of cavalry on September 9, 1861. Ceased operating the hospital on June 13, 1865.

Born into a wealthy and altruistic family in coastal Mathews County, Virginia, in 1833, Sally Louisa Tompkins was destined for a life of philanthropy. After moving to Richmond, Tompkins spent much of her time and a considerable portion of her fortune assisting causes she considered worthy. With the onset of civil war, she labored tirelessly on the behalf of the South’s wounded soldiers, and for this she became the first and only woman to receive an officer’s commission in the Confederate army.

After the First Battle of Manassas in July 1861 left northern Virginia littered with wounded, the fledgling Confederate government pleaded with its citizens to open their homes to the wounded. Tompkins was among the first to respond. She sought help from her friend, Judge Robertson of the Circuit Court of Richmond and Henrico County, and he offered her his home at the corner of Third and Main Streets in Richmond. At her own expense, Tompkins transformed the house into a hospital, naming it in honor of the generous judge. Tompkins’s keen eye for detail and her obsession with cleanliness made Robertson Hospital, which opened on August 1, one of the South’s most vital institutions, and Confederate authorities hurried their most desperate cases to her.

Tompkins’s reputation grew, and soon wounded Rebel soldiers, calling her “the little lady with the milk-white hands,” begged to be sent to her hospital. Soldiers of all ranks proposed marriage to her. She turned them all down, saying, “Poor fellows, they are not yet well of their fevers.” She never married.

Only a few weeks after the hospital opened, President Jefferson Davis placed all Southern hospitals under the control of the Confederate Medical Department. In recognition of Tompkins’s service, Davis commissioned her a captain of cavalry on September 9. Flattered, Tompkins refused all pay but accepted the rank because it enabled her to obtain supplies far more easily than she would have as a civilian. Her patients soon gave her the affectionate nickname “Captain Sally.”

Tompkins worked exhaustively until the hospital closed on June 13, 1865, two months after Union soldiers had occupied the Confederate capital. In four years as chief, Tompkins had admitted 1,333 patients, losing just 73 of them, a remarkable 94.5 percent survival rate. After the war, Tompkins’s continued philanthropy wiped out her fortune and compelled her to enter Richmond’s Home for Confederate Women. She died in 1916 and was buried with full military honors at Kingston Church in Mathews County. Years later, two chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy were named for her, the Confederacy’s only woman officer.

From: historynet.com

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