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New NC WBTS Sesquicentennial Webpage Added! “Healing the Sick and Wounded”
Saturday, October 11, 2014 15:31
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North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial
“Unsurpassed Valor, Courage, and Devotion to Liberty
“Healing the Sick and Wounded: The Confederate Medical Profession During the War.”
Little discussed is the work of the physicians in tending to the wounded and doing this without benefit of critically-needed medicines that could only be had through blockade running or capturing enemy supplies. Confederate surgeons had to recall old botanic practices of medicine which were surprisingly successful.
“Most army physicians were so swamped with soldier patients that they could only perform some kind of treatment as expeditiously as possible. Insufficient training, fear of infection, and impossible conditions forced many surgeons to resort to the speedier and more reliable option of amputation.
The majority of amputations were performed at so-called “field hospitals” a mile or two behind enemy lines – often on the front porch of abandoned farmhouses – operating tables ranged from the tailgate of a wagon or a door atop two barrels.
Under these “tables” were placed tubs to catch blood; water was always scarce and heat and flies were overwhelming. Amid the groans and screams of mangled soldiers awaiting their turn, surgeons worked hour after hour with scalpel and saw, with the only anesthesia often being a drink of whiskey.
The shortage of linen and cotton material resulted in old bandages being used again and again after being rinsed in bloody water. Pieces of shirts, filthy handkerchiefs, [and] discarded socks were all used as tourniquets to control the bleeding.
Infections such as osteomyelitis, erysipelas, gangrene and pyemia were widespread. By the time most wounded men made it to the hospital, various infections had already taken hold.”
Read more at: http://www.ncwbts150.com/
Source: http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2014/10/new-nc-wbts-sesquicentennial-webpage.html
