Civil War Medicine

At the beginning……..

• At the beginning of the Civil

War, the U.S. Army had a
medical corps consisting of all
of 98 surgeons and assistant
surgeons
 Equipment:

• The Corps had about 20 clinical

thermometers, and didn't have a
"modern" microscope until 1863.
 What really killed them?

• Gangrene, blood poison, was

the number one killer during the
Civil War
• A soldier’s chance of survival
was only one in four
 What killed people?
• Of the 618,000 fatalities of the Civil War,
some 2/3 (approximately 414,000) were the
result of disease. Typhoid, dysentery or
diarrhea, malaria, measles, sexually-
transmitted diseases, pnuemonia, scurvy
and other ailments killed more soldiers,
North and South, then musket, cannon or
saber.
• Everyone was
called a
surgeon,
nobody was
consider to be
a physician
 Great Idea!

• Medical personnel could not be

taken prisoner, fired upon, and
were considered neutrals during
the war
 This scares me…….

• Doctors only attended 3

semesters or 13 weeks of
medical school. Medical
schools were all over during the
Civil War period.
 The Mini Ball
• Bacteria was usually carried into
the wound, making it worse. After
an operation, they thought it good
if pus formed. They called it
"laudable pus," when really the pus
was a sign of massive bacterial
infection.
Minnie Ball and Muskets
 Embalming

• Embalming became a science

during the Civil War, as many
families wanted their dead
relatives' body brought back
from the war.
 Amputations

• Most common surgery, 3 of 4

surgeries were amputations
• Amputations, cutting off a limb
• Only option if injured on a limb
 The process…

• Performed on an old door

• Rag with chloroform to sedate
the patient
• Myth that most surgeries were
performed without anesthesia
 Steps:
• Blood supply cut off with a tourniquet
• Hacksaw like took called a capital saw,
bonesaw “Sawbones”
• Curved needles and silk sutures in the
North
• Cotton sutures in the South
 15 minutes…..
• Limbs were piled up and emptied at the end
of the day
• Entire process took no more than 15
minutes
• Term “Bite the Bullet” coined during the
Civil War
 Pain Killers

• Morphine was the most widely

used pain killer
• Very addictive, many soldiers
returned home addicted to
opium
 Three categories of wounds…

• Mortally wounded
• Slightly wounded
• Surgical cases
 Different Bullet Wounds
accompanied by Flies and Maggots
 Everyone wasn’t treated….

• Soldiers wounded through the

head, belly, or chest were left to
one side because they would
most likely die.
Ambulance

• Patients were
transported to
nearby
hospitals if
possible
Jonathan Letterman
• Developer of the
ambulance that was
primarily a covered
wagon
Medical Facilities

• Usually in a
barn or tent
• Close to the
fighting
Red Cross
• Founder was Clara
Barton
• Concerned about the
welfare of all soldiers
Elizabeth Blackwell

• First woman
doctor in this
country
Medical Kit
• Very basic, Only had a
few instruments and
tools