Civil War Medicine

The American Civil War is the most read about era in our history, and among its most compelling aspects is the story of Civil War medicine - the staggering challenge of treating wounds and disease on both sides of the conflict. Written for general readers and scholars alike, this first-of-its kind encyclopedia will help all Civil War enthusiasts to better understand this amazing medical saga. Clearly organized, authoritative, and readable, "The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine" covers both traditional historical subjects and medical details. It offers clear explanations of unfamiliar medical terms, diseases, wounds, and treatments. The encyclopedia depicts notable medical personalities, generals with notorious wounds, soldiers' aid societies, medical department structure, and hospital design and function. It highlights the battles with the greatest medical significance, women's medical roles, period sanitation issues, and much more. Presented in A-Z format with more than 200 entries, the encyclopedia treats both Union and Confederate material in a balanced way. Its many user-friendly features include a chronology, a glossary, cross-references, and a bibliography for further study.

Shatters myths about poor medical practices by anaylsis of historical data and first-person accounts.

“An incredible resource for anyone interested in the human experience of the Civil War―as recorded by a medical professional tasked with saving lives.”—David Price, Executive Director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine In this never before published diary, twenty-nine-year-old surgeon James Fulton transports readers into the harsh and deadly conditions of the Civil War as he struggles to save the lives of the patients under his care. Fulton joined a Union army volunteer regiment in 1862, only a year into the Civil War, and immediately began chronicling his experiences in a pocket diary. Despite his capture by the Confederate Army at Gettysburg and the confiscation of his medical tools, Fulton was able to keep his diary with him at all times. He provides a detailed account of the next two years, including his experiences treating the wounded and diseased during some of the most critical campaigns of the war, and his relationships with soldiers, their commanders, civilians, other health-care workers, and the opposing Confederate army. The diary also includes his notes on recipes for medical ailments from sore throats to syphilis. In addition to Fulton’s diary, editor Robert D. Hicks and experts in Civil War medicine provide context and additional information on the practice and development of medicine during the Civil War, including the technology and methods available at the time; the organization of military medicine; doctor-patient interactions; and the role of women as caregivers and relief workers. Civil War Medicine: A Surgeon’s Diary provides a compelling new account of the lives of soldiers during the Civil War and a doctor’s experience of one of the worst health crises ever faced by the United States.

“H. H. Cunningham’s Doctors in Gray, first published more than thirty years ago, remains the definitive work on the medical history of the Confederate army. Drawing on a prodigious array of sources, Cunningham paints as complete a picture as possible of the daunting task facing those charged with caring for the war’s wounded and sick. Of the estimated 600,000 Confederate troops, Cunningham claims the 200,000 died either from battle wounds of from illness—the majority, surprisingly, from illness. Despite these grim statistics, Confederate medical personnel frequently performed heroically under the most primitive of circumstances and made imaginative use of limited resources. Cunningham provides detailed information on the administration of the Confederate Medical Department, the establishment and organization of Confederate hospitals, the experiences of medical officers in the field, the manufacture and procurement of supplies, the causes and treatment of diseases, and the beginning of modern surgical practices.” - Print ed.

Dealing with the civil war, this title takes a close look at the battlefield doctors in whose hands rested the lives of thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers. It also examines the impact on major campaigns - Manassas, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Shiloh, Atlanta - of ignorance, understaffing, inexperience, and overcrowded hospitals.

Dr. C. Keith Wilbur takes you on a detailed and fascinating tour through the medical history of this bloody and devastating war.

Learning from the Wounded: The Civil War and the Rise of American Medical Science

...an excellent panorama of what military and civilian medical and sanitary efforts meant to soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. His chronological presentation shows how lessons were learned--or not--and how the procedures of individuals and groups and the treatment of individual patients developed. Most of the text consists of the words of those involved, which gives a feeling of personal participation; Denney provides brief, necessary introductions to set events in context and in which he describes planning for upcoming battles by surgeons stationed at every level of command, from that of an entire army down to that of the unit....The account of how hospital boats and trains were used--an aspect of the medical effort that is not widely known--is another of the best aspects of an informative and fascinating book.-- Booklist. 422 pages (8 in color), 20 b/w illus., 7 x 10.