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- Jan 25, 2014
I think that researchers here may be interested in this from my FaceBook page:
One of the lesser-known but very valuable resources for Civil War researchers is "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861–65." It was published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in the period from 1870 to 1888.
In addition to many charts and tables about medical conditions and treatments during the war, it includes more than 40,000 detailed case studies of specific named soldiers from the Union and Confederate armies. These case studies range from a single paragraph to several pages in length and include details of the soldiers' wound or disease, admission and transfers between hospitals, treatments, results, and the name of attending physician(s).
Here is a short sample of a case study:
"Corporal William Roth, Co. E, 119th New York Volunteers, aged 28 years, received, at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3d, 1863, a scalp wound in the left parietal region, and also a wound through the left latissimus dorsi muscle. He was conveyed to Philadelphia, and, on July 5th, was admitted to the Satterlee Hospital. Both wounds were gangrenous. Charcoal poultices were applied, after cauterization by nitric acid. On July 26th, the wounds looked healthy; but, on July 29th, excessive diarrhea supervened, followed by chills and headache, and death occurred on August 2d, 1863. The case is reported by Acting Assistant Surgeon N. Hickman."
Many of these case studies are accompanied by depictions (etchings, engravings, photographs or color plates) of the wounds that are being described.
The images shown here are of Captain Robert Stolpe of Co. A, 29th New York Infantry, the ancestor of one of our lucky clients.
Best of all, this 6-volume set has been digitized and can be searched or downloaded as PDFs for free from the National Library of Medicine Digital Collection HERE.
One of the lesser-known but very valuable resources for Civil War researchers is "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, 1861–65." It was published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in the period from 1870 to 1888.
In addition to many charts and tables about medical conditions and treatments during the war, it includes more than 40,000 detailed case studies of specific named soldiers from the Union and Confederate armies. These case studies range from a single paragraph to several pages in length and include details of the soldiers' wound or disease, admission and transfers between hospitals, treatments, results, and the name of attending physician(s).
Here is a short sample of a case study:
"Corporal William Roth, Co. E, 119th New York Volunteers, aged 28 years, received, at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3d, 1863, a scalp wound in the left parietal region, and also a wound through the left latissimus dorsi muscle. He was conveyed to Philadelphia, and, on July 5th, was admitted to the Satterlee Hospital. Both wounds were gangrenous. Charcoal poultices were applied, after cauterization by nitric acid. On July 26th, the wounds looked healthy; but, on July 29th, excessive diarrhea supervened, followed by chills and headache, and death occurred on August 2d, 1863. The case is reported by Acting Assistant Surgeon N. Hickman."
Many of these case studies are accompanied by depictions (etchings, engravings, photographs or color plates) of the wounds that are being described.
The images shown here are of Captain Robert Stolpe of Co. A, 29th New York Infantry, the ancestor of one of our lucky clients.
Best of all, this 6-volume set has been digitized and can be searched or downloaded as PDFs for free from the National Library of Medicine Digital Collection HERE.
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