Benjamin Howard's Surgery During The Civil War

Until the Flexner Report of 1910, requirements for admission to medical schools were rudimentary at best. Even the two prestigious schools in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania and Jefferson Medical College, required only “one year of college work, in which, however, conditions have been very freely allowed.” and “a high school education or its equivalent,” respectively. Students at the University of Pennsylvania in the 1840s and 1850s were taught that science is based on experience and making a “judgment” as to the correct answer to a question or a problem. Civil War Surgeons’ medical education was severely limited by the concept that disease was caused by “bad air” (Dorwart, Bonnie Brice).

The lack of space required many places to be converted into temporary triage locations. Triage is a quick way to streamline examination and get serious cases handled first. Another issue was moving bedridden patients after their surgeries because of the narrow hatchways and doorways. The amount of patients required another ship to be dispatched to accommodate the patients. The lack of supplies and the variations of injuries caused continuous problems for surgeons, especially those who were becoming extremely fatigued. A common issue was that the extent of injuries could not have been determined completely until the patient was on the operating table. For example patients who were referred to as D and B in the report took the constant attention and the former succumbed to his injuries after two hours. the latter survived after given saline, but still needed constant attention. Another example is an unnamed patient who was not examined for over forty hours, had developed large maggots in his wounds. Unlike modern operating rooms, supplies could not be set up according to procedure. Because of the time required to properly sanitize blankets, many soldiers were without one. (Darby)

Even though there was not any sanitation the chance of survival for stretched then pervious wars. Doctors had medical kits, which included different tool for cutting such as knives, scalpels, bone saws, chain saw, suture and bandages. Thermometers were rarely used. Doctors did have some painkillers, but they were not always given to all soldiers. The most effective were morphine and opium. What happened after the surgery? Soldiers were transported to a hospital by ambulance. Soldiers were normally in horrible pain making the trip almost unbearable to deal with. The greatest risks for soldiers were now infection.

John Burford, a Brigadier General, had received a bullet to the knee during the Second Battle of Manassas. Luckily Buford’s bullet wound wasn’t too serious. If the wound had been serious, it would have been treated with amputations and since there were no anesthetics back then, the person getting amputated on would feel all the pain. Surgeries during the Civil War were performed unsanitary. Surgeons would not wash their hands before operating and would wear blood splattered clothing. The instruments used for operating were never disinfected properly. Instead, they would dip their instruments in cold water, often bloody from the prior operation. Buford had died in December 1863 of

The Civil War had a tremendous death toll. In fact, it had more deaths than any of the previous wars combined. At the time, it was thought that the soldiers in battle died from the wounds or amputations they received. The true cause of death came from disease. These harsh conditions were contributed by unqualified doctors and non-sterile equipment. During the Civil War, the true issue was not only the wounds received in battle but the infectious diseases that ultimately led to the soldier’s death. When this was discovered, doctors knew some action needed to take place. Hospitals and sanitation standards were improved. The Civil War contributed to an evolution of medicine and how to combat victims plagued with disease.

The medicines and medical techniques used during the Civil War were very primitive for their time. Extremely little was known about germs and the dangers of infections. In Recovery, it is stated that, “Treating wounds and illnesses with medication had become common—opiates, stimulants, sedatives, diuretics, purgatives, and more were widely available and used. The first pills had been made in the early 1800s. The stethoscope and the

During the Civil War, they had to have many medicines, operations, and surgeries done to themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, Paragraph 1). Some of these medicines we still use today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the basic principles of military health care remain the same. The deadliest thing that faced the Civil War soldier was disease. For every soldier who died in battle, two died from disease.

During the Civil War, both sides were overwhelmed with the death and disease. In the Killer Angels three significant characters were in need of medical help. Colonel Joshua L.Chamberlain his fellow friend Private Buster Kilrain and General John Hood all had some unlucky things happen to them. Chamberlain was for the Union, he was thirty-four years old man who left his home in Maine and a professorship at Bowdoin College to come to war. He is the colonel of the Twentieth Maine Infantry regiment. Kilrain also for the Union was a former sergeant who was demoted to private for

Between the years of 1812-1885, Martin R. Delaney was an African-American abolitionist, physician, journalist, and soldier. Delaney was one of the first three black men that attended to the Harvard Medical School as well as the first African-Americans to be a field officer for the Union Army during, the Civil War. After the war he worked in the "Freedmen's Bureau" in 1865 and wrote his model contract for landowners and Sharecroppers

They didn’t know about germs or anything like that. All they knew was that people were getting sick and dying, about 2/3 of people died from disease (civilwar.org). They didn’t even keep hospital reports until later in the war. Probably the most important nurse in this time was Clara Barton, she was also known as an angel. For instance she was the founder of the American Red Cross in 1881. She was the one who also wanted to clean up the horrible, terrible mess of the hospital (civilwar.org). Example they started to clean themselves and their equipment more often. Also they cleaned up the limb pile, and they started to keep records of their patients’ and what they did to them. Lastly they started to give their patients’ clean bandages and they gave them more water. Giving them more water just helped them stay more hydrated thus making them heal faster. There were three categories of wounded soldiers. There was mortally wounded, slightly wounded, and surgical case (civilwar.org). For instance if they got hurt on the battlefield they wound be given whiskey to help sooth the pain. Well at least until they got to a hospital. The Union army could get to the hospital by horseback or train, while the Confederate army only had horseback. For the Union army there was about 10,000 doctors, while for the Confederate army there was about 4,000. They treated about 10,000,000 people during the civil war (pacivilwar150.com). Their assistants were the ones who gave them their equipment, and they were the ones who had the chloroform. One of the military hospitals were called Fairfax Seminary and it housed over 1,700 sick and wounded soldiers right when it opened

James Gillespie Birney was born on february 4, 1792 and was an abolitionist. He was born and raised in Danville, Kentucky along with his siblings. As he was growing up, he had no father figure and he lost his mother when he was barely growing. He and his two sisters had to live with their aunt. He started studying at age eleven and was sent to Transylvania University. After 2 years, he returned and continued his studies back in Danville.

Do soldiers really know how to treat an injury during a war? Well in the book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara’s 1974 novel, we are exposed to historical figures that could have treated their injuries and made them minor if they knew how to. With the medical training we have today the figures could have saved their limbs and taking care of themselves. There were three figures that were most important and had the worst injuries. Such as, Kilrain buster,chamberlain, and Robert E. Lee.

If I had a time machine, and was able to visit any moment in history, there is one place I would most certainly visit: the day that General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army, surrendered Ulysses S, Grant, commander to the Union Army. This day signified the end to the Civil War, and it opened up the path to reconciliation between brothers and sisters who were separated because of these 4 years of bloodshed. The Union had won; and that has formed our country into the way it is today.

A. Plan of Investigation This investigation will assess the impact of amputations on the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The practice of amputations during the Civil War is perceived as a failure due to the high amount of casualties, uneducated practitioners, and attitudes towards medicine, but there were also limited successes in the practice of amputations. Primary documents and individuals directly involved in the conflict will be investigated to determine the impact of amputations during the conflict to analyze the arguments. Also, statistics and historians’ interpretations will be examined to analyze impact of amputations and different perspectives.

August 28th, 1919 is when the man who would impact the lives of millions of people for years and years to come. His name was Godfrey Hounsfield, born in Newark, United Kingdom and he was the engineer, along with a few others responsible for coming up with the CAT scan machine. Mr. Hounsfield wasn’t actually a doctor or physician or anything, he was an English electrical engineer he physically made the machine, but even with him not being a doctor he was still able to make an impact in the medical field because he was able to make the machine physically so the doctors could use it to diagnose people. He started off as studying electronics and radars as someone in the Royal Air Force in World War II. Later, he went to study at an electrical