Download Civil War Medical Care - James E. Walker Library

Teaching with Primary Sources — MTSU
PRIMARY SOURCE SET:
CIVIL WAR MEDICAL CARE
Historical Background
When most people think of Civil War medical care, they think of
soldiers who have been wounded on the battlefield. However, disease was the number-one killer of soldiers during the war; while
about 200,000 men died from battle wounds, more than 400,000
perished from disease. When the war broke out, scientists were still
developing the germ theory of disease, so poor sanitation was the rule
in army camps and hospitals, although improvements were made over
the course of the war. Crowded camps included many soldiers from
rural areas who had not been exposed to common childhood diseases.
North and South, soldiers suffered from a range of illnesses, including
dysentery (a form of diarrhea), typhoid, malaria, pneumonia, mumps,
measles, and whooping cough.
Civil War battlefield wounds, whether from cannon balls or the recently developed minie ball, were horrific. Surgeons had very little
experience with gunshot wounds and had to learn on the spot. Doctors did not know how to do blood transfusions, and, of course, antibiotics had not yet been developed to treat infections. However, the
idea that Civil War surgeons were butchers who operated on patients
without giving them any anesthesia is largely a myth. Surgeons used
ether or chloroform and could complete amputations quickly before
these drugs’ effects wore off. Surgeons learned that if they amputated
wounded limbs promptly, they could save lives. Wounds to the chest
and abdomen were highly likely to be fatal.
A major challenge during the war was to get sick and wounded men
the care they needed as quickly as possible. After the first major battles of the war, both armies were overwhelmed by the number of sick
and wounded; neither had a system in place to care for so many injured and ill men. Civilians stepped in to assist through such organizations as the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Women gradually received
acceptance as nurses; among the most famous are Clara Barton and
“Mother” Mary Ann Bickerdyke. Over the course of the war, military doctors, especially Union surgeon Jonathan Letterman and Confederate doctor Samuel Stout, made major strides in developing systems to evacuate the wounded, treat them on site, and transport
them as painlessly as possible to general military hospitals.
Metropolitan fair, for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers ... 1864 [Pg. 1; detail]
Wounded escaping from the burning woods of the
Wilderness [1864 May 5-7; detail]
From the Library of Congress:

Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves
of Grass: Wound Dresser (Exhibition)

Civil War Photographs (search on “medical,”
“hospital”). See also Exterior and interior
views of hospitals, ambulance trains and medical corps.

Washington During the Civil War: The Diary
of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865 (search on
“hospital”)

Voices of the Civil War Blog (search on
“medical,” “hospital”)
Also See:

Help is on the Way: Civil War Women and
Relief Work (Lesson Plan from TPS-MTSU)

Medical Mix-Up (Activity from the TN Civil
War National Heritage Area (TCWNHA))

Occupied Home Front; Witnesses to Battle:
Part I (Lesson Idea from TCWNHA)

Soldiers Life: Medical Care

To Bind Up the Nation’s Wounds (Exhibition,
National Museum of Health and Medicine)

Walt Whitman and the Civil War (Lesson Plan
from TPS-MTSU)
Suggestions for Teachers
 It’s not difficult to get kids interested in Civil
War medical care, which has a definite “gross”
factor. Ask students what they know about
the topic and try to separate myth from reality
(this Web page will help).

Review with students all of the sources related to people who took care of sick and injured
soldiers. List the different types of caregivers,
both military and civilian. Have students
choose the source that most surprises them.
Compose an exchange of letters between a
soldier and a caregiver.

Ask students to choose an image of a field
hospital and an image of a general hospital.
What were the benefits of each? What were
the drawbacks?

Disease was the primary killer of Civil War
soldiers. Examine the sources. Are there
more sources related to disease or to battlefield wounds? Why?

Improvements in sanitation and medical care
took place during and after the war. Ask students to do some research to determine at
least three medical advances that occurred.
Sick and Wounded Soldiers
Seeking for
the wounded,
by torch-light,
after the battle [1862
March 8]
The hospital at Fredericksburg, Va., May 1864.
[Stereograph]
Joseph J. Dimock, 82nd N.Y. Inf.
Died of disease, June 22, 1862
[Keedysville, Md.,
vicinity. Confederate wounded at
Smith’s Barn, with
Dr. Anson Hurd,
14th Indiana Volunteers, in attendance] [1862 September]
Texts
 Robert King Stone, Notes for a lecture, 1865. [Report on Lincoln’s Death and
Autopsy.]

Barton, Clara. War Lecture. [Ca. 1866].

Burton, Margaret Davis. The woman who battled for the boys in blue. Mother
Bickerdyke; Her life and labors for the relief of our soldiers. Sketches of battle
scenes and incidents of the sanitary service. San Francisco, CA: A.T. Dewey,
1886.
Sick and Wounded Soldiers
Walt Whitman,
Hospital notebook “At Antietam” [See partial
transcription].
[Savage Station, Va. Field hospital after
the battle of June 27] [30 June 1862]
Gen. S.P.
Heintzelman and
group,
convalescent camp,
near Alexandria, Va.
[Between
1861 and
1865]
Hospital ship, Nashville [Between 1861 & 1865]
Print #18,
Smuggling
medicines
into the
south
[Etching]
[1863; detail]
A Ward in Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C. [Between 1861 & 1865]
Caregivers
I have no one to
send. [Pictorial
envelope]
[Undated; detail]
[Unidentified soldier in Union assistant
surgeon uniform with Ames medical
sword] [Between 1861 and 1865]
Hospital Slippers for the Sick
and Wounded
Soldiers of the
Union. [1861]
[Washington, D.C.
Field relief
wagons and
workers of
U.S. Sanitary Commission]
[1865 April]
Mary E. Walker [Civil War surgeon; between 1860 and 1870]
Caregivers
The Diary of
Horatio Nelson
Taft, 18611865. Volume
3, January 1,
1864-May 30,
1865.
May 24, 1865
[description of
Clara Barton;
see final paragraph of May 24
entry]
Clara Barton. [Ca. 1862]
[Unidentified
officer in
the Confederate
Medical
Corps]
[between
1861 and
1865]
Major General Rosecrans on contributions for the sick and wounded. Headquarters Department of
the Cumberland. Murfreesboro,
February 2, 1863.
[Fredericksburg,
Va. Nurses and
officers of the
U.S. Sanitary
Commission]
[1864 May [20]]
Caregivers
George W.
Demers to
Abraham Lincoln, Friday,
August 14,
1863 (Requests
permission for
his father to visit
his wounded
brother) [Pg. 2;
transcription]
Our lady of the hospital [Sheet music] [1864; detail]
Death and Mourning
Fredericksburg,
Virginia.
Burial of
Federal
dead
[1864
May [19
or 20];
detail]
Lincoln’s
last hour.
[c. 1865]
The soldiers funeral. By John Ross Dix. [1864]
Citations
Teachers: Providing these primary source replicas without source clues may enhance the inquiry experience for students. This list of citations
(Chicago Manual of Style) is supplied for reference purposes to you and your students.
Waud, Alfred R. “Wounded escaping from the burning woods of the Wilderness.” Drawing. [1964 May 5-7]. From Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660365/
Metropolitan fair, for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers---I present to you the claims of the Metropolitan fair for the benefit of the U.S. Sanitary commission…New York, Feb. 25, 1864.” Form. 1864. From Library of Congress, An American Time
Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
rbpebib:@field(NUMBER+@band(rbpe+1250040d))
“Seeking for the wounded, by torch-light, after the battle.” Wood engraving. 1862 March 8. From Library of Congress, Prints
and Photographs Division. http://loc.gov/pictures/item/2004669212/
“The hospital at Fredericksburg, Va., May, 1864. [Stereograph].” Stereograph. May, 1864. From Library of Congress, Civil
War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwnyhs:@field
(DOCID+@lit(ad38007))
Gardner, Alexander. “[Keedysbille, Md., vicinity. Confederate wounded at Smith’s Barn, with Dr. Anson Hurd, 14th Indiana
Volunteers, in attendance].” Photograph. 1862 September. From Library of Congress, Selected Civil War Photographs, 18611865, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003000135/PP/
“Joseph J. Dimock, 82nd N.Y. Inf. Died of disease, June 22, 1862.” Photograph. [Between 1860 and 1870]. From Library of
Congress, Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/cwp/item/
cwp2003001796/PP/
Stone, Robert King. Notes for a lecture, 1865. Maunscript. 1865. On loan from the Benjamin Shapell Family Manuscript Foundation. From Library of Congress, With Malice Toward None: The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibition “Now He Belongs
to the Ages.” http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/lincoln/now-he-belongs-to-the-ages.html#obj4
Barton, Clara. War Lecture. Manuscript. Ca. 1866. From Library of Congress, American Women: A Gateway to Library of
Congress Resources for the Study of Women’s History and Culture in the United States. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/r?ammem/awhbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(awh0016))
Burton, Margaret Davis. The woman who battled for the boys in blue. Mother Bickerdyke; her life and labors for the relief of
our soldiers. Sketches of battle scenes and incidents of the sanitary service. Book. San Francisco, CA: A.T. Dewey, 1886. From
Library of Congress. http://lccn.loc.gov/07008628
Gibson, James F. “[Savage Station, Va. Field hospital after the battle of June 27].” Photograph. 1862 June 30. From Library of
Congress, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
item/cwp2003000090/PP/
Walt Whitman, “At Antietam.” Hospital notebook. [1862]. From Library of Congress, Exhibitions, American Treasures,
“Revising Himself: Walt Whitman and Leaves of Grass.” http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitmanwounddresser.html
“Hospital ship, Nashville.” Photograph. Between 1861 and 1865. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013645504/
“Gen. S.P. Heintzelman and group, convalescent camp, near Alexandria, Va.” Photograph. Between 1861 and 1865. From
Library of Congress, Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/
pictures/item/2013647703/
“A Ward in Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C.” Photograph. Between 1861 and 1865. From Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2013645505/
Blada, V. “Print # 18, Smuggling medicines into the south [Etching].” Etching. Baltimore, 1863. From Library of Congress,
Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit(ab01020))
“[Unidentified soldier in Union assistant surgeon uniform with Ames medical sword].” Photograph. Between 1861 and 1865.
From Library of Congress, Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/item/2012649100/
“I have no one to send. [Pictorial envelope].” Pictorial Envelope. Undated. From Library of Congress, Civil War Treasures
from the New-York Historical Society. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit
(aj88004))
Hospital Slippers for the Sick and Wounded Soldiers of the Union. Printed Broadside. 1861. From Library of Congress, American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Memory Gallery B. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tr11b.html#obj41
Holyland, J. “Mary E. Walker.” Photograph. Between 1860 and 1870. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2009632140/
Gardner, James. “[Washington, D.C. Field relief wagons and workers of the U.S. Sanitary Commission].” Photograph. 1865
April. From Library of Congress, Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865, Prints and Photographs Division. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003000991/PP/
“Clara Barton, Carte-de-visite album, Tintype, Ca., 1862.” Photograph. Ca. 1862. From Library of Congress, American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Memory. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm072.html
“The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865. Volume 3, January 1, 1864-May 30, 1865. May 24, 1865.” Diary entry. May
24, 1865. From Library of Congress, Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865.
http://www.loc.gov/item/mtaft000003/
“[Unidentified officer in the Confederate Medical Corps].” Photograph. Between 1861 and 1865. From Library of Congress,
Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
collection/lilj/item/2012648270/
United States Sanitary Commission. “Major General Rosecrans on contributions for the sick and wounded. Headquarters Department of the Cumberland. Murfreesboro, February 2, 1863.” Broadside. Murfreesboro, 1863. From Library of Congress:
An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/r?ammem/rbpebib:@field(NUMBER+@band(rbpe+17502500))
Gardner, James. “[Fredericksburg, Va. Nurses and officers of the U.S. Sanitary Commission].” Photograph. 1864 May [20].
From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003000469/PP/
“George W. Demers to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, August 14, 1863 (Requests permission for his father to visit his wounded
brother).” Letter. August 14, 1863. From Library of Congress, The Abraham Lincoln Papers. http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/256/2560300/malpage.db&recNum=0
Millard, H. (composer), Miles O’Reilly (lyricist), and Wm. Hall & Son (publisher). “Our lady of the hospital [sheet music].”
Sheet Music. 1864. From Library of Congress, Performing Arts Encyclopedia. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/
loc.natlib.ihas.200001684/default.html
“Fredericksburg, Virginia. Burial of Federal dead.” Photograph. 1864 May [19 or 20]. From Library of Congress, Civil War
Glass Negatives and Related Prints, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003004858/
PP/
Dix, John Ross (lyricist), and Charles Magnus (publisher). “The soldiers funeral. By John Ross Dix.” Song sheet. New York,
1864. From Library of Congress, America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/
r?ammem/amss:@field(DOCID+@lit(hc00013b))
“Lincoln’s last hour.” Broadside. C. 1865. From Library of Congress, The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana.
http://www.loc.gov/item/scsm000355/