Medicine During The Civil War Essay

Almost half the men at Valley Forge were sick, and after a while even more men would get sick. Constantly being surrounded by sick men and living in bad condition, is not a good combination. It would make it extremely easy for someone to get sick, and with no help or means of cure, could lead to death. About 20% of the men at Valley Forge died while enlisted, and while the other had survived, they didn’t live easily. They still had to deal with sickness, bad conditions, and fighting in the war.

The Army went to great lengths to safeguard the health of its prisoners as mandated in the Geneva Convention. Of immediate concern was preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Shortly after arriving at his first POW camp in America, each prisoner received a complete physical exam. It included vaccinations against smallpox, typhoid, paratyphoid, and tetanus. At least once a month thereafter, Army medical corps officers inspected the prisoners for communicable diseases and vermin infestation.67 At Camp Cooke, POWs with minor medical problems were treated at the camp infirmary.

In total, over 600,000 soldiers lost their lives in battle and to disease. While many soldiers anticipated the honorable death of dying on the field, there were twice as many soldiers that died from disease in the camp as that that died in battle. During the 19th century, medicine was relatively primative, and the lack of the germ theory or knowledge of antiseptic resulted in rapid disease spreading. Lack of general resources such as adequate clothes, nutrition, clean water, and santitary stations also contributed to the spread of common diseases like measles, typhoid fever, and malaria. Most commonly, soldiers suffered from diarheia and disentary, which combined with lack of clean water resulted in many cruel deaths.

Robert E Lee once said, “I would rather die a thousand deaths than surrender.” The Civil War was the deadliest war fought in American history. There was the Unionist with 2,100,000 Unionist soldiers. Also, there were the Confederacy with 1,064,000 soldiers. The Confederacy was greatly outnumbered, but would not surrender no matter the circumstance.

H.L. Menken once said, “The American people, North and South, went into the Civil War as citizens of their respective states, they came out as subjects... what they thus lost they have never got back.” The Civil War was a game changer for the United States. There were many problems leading up to this and the Civil War was bound to happen. Texans fought in the Civil War to protect States Rights, to keep slavery, and for the love of Texas.

In recent discussions of Civil War technology, a controversial issue has been whether medicine or telegraph were more critical to winning the war. On one hand some argue that the telegraph was essential to the war effort. On the other hand, however, others argue that medicine was more essential in winning the Civil War. Based on the article Modern Medicine’s Civil War Legacy “During the Civil War, both sides were devastated by battle and disease” (OneNote). Based on this evidence, disease took more lives during the Civil War than conflict did therefore medical advancements were essential to win the Civil War.

Imagine seeing a friend get shot but not being able to do anything to help because if one would help they’d be the next to go. This is what was happening in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. Many soldiers came back and very different, some in good ways but many in bad ways. During the Civil War, soldiers experienced horrific and terrifying things often causing severe psychological trauma; as a result of this trauma, men often suffered mistreatment and went wrongly diagnosed until Jacob DaCosta discovered and researched what we now call Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Works Cited Civil War Times. Curiosities. June 2003. 42,67. Web.

The North camps were poor and were made up of strangers who did not know much about the medical side of war. However, the South was more advanced in medicine, but they had less resources. According to Intisar K. Hamidullah, “with the advancement of medicine, treatment, prevention, and vaccinations the impacts of these diseases are not as harmful today as during the Civil War..” This quote showcases the advancements of medicines in the United States. Some of the common medicines were anesthesia, chloroform, and sulfuric ether. Anesthesia was used for amputations and hurt very badly.

The Civil War war the deadliest in American history, due to poor hospitals, lack of resources, and the fighting between the north and south. Bad hospitality was one of many reason why the Civil War was the deadliest in American history. The medication they needed to help fight off infections and illnesses were running low. With a estimated amount of 150,000 deaths per year which equals to 620,000 deaths in total by the end of the Civil War. It was breathtaking how the lack of resources in the Civil War.

The Civil War The Civil War was the deadliest war in American history with over 600000 American deaths reported. This war was fought to keep the Confederate States from leaving the Union. The Union won because they had a telegraph system and had more resources. The effect of the Union victory has had a large impact on society.

Most of the time the cure was worse than the illness. Diseases like Cholera, Typhus, and Disentary thrived because of animals such as rats and mice. While poor sewage and terrible waste disposal along with stagnant water, ruined food, and uncovered decaying bodies laid host to numerous diseases. While the Western front laid way for diseases and sickness the terrority between enemy lines known as “no man’s land” was a literal nightmare. “Twas like the face of the moon, chaotic, crater-ridden, uninhabitable, awful, the abode of madness”(Wilfred Owen).

During the war, “She made sure that the leaves were replaced by clean linen dressings from out of her wagon.” (LaFantasie 34). Infection and disease was a leading killer of the Civil War. She pushed this level of sanitation before such a concept was anywhere near common practice. The practice of saving lives has been furthered by miles thanks to

Compare and Contrast The American Civil war and War world two might have been separate wars but they were similar in many ways. Though they were separated by many years both wars had new technological advances, new weapons and new stargetys.

Teeth were a crucial factor in whether a man could become a soldier during the Civil War. In a timely and efficient manner of loading and firing a rifle/ musket, a man would need to be able to use his teeth to tear off a cartridge and empty the contents into the barrel of the rifle/ musket. Dental hygiene was not a large focus to most of society during the Civil War, the cost of the majority of dental procedure was only affordable to the upper class. To own a toothbrush was trying, they were handmade and typically crafted with an ivory handle. Dentistry was just beginning to establish a standing because of the establishing colleges who would teach dentistry and their importance.