Excerpt:
It is the most sickening sight of the war, this tide of wounded flowing back. One has a shattered arm, and the sling in which he carries it is the same bloody rag the surgeon gave him the day of battle; another has his head seamed and bandaged so you can scarcely see it, and he weaves like a drunken man as he drags along through the hot sun; another has his shoe cut off, and a great roll of rags around his foot, and he leans heavily on a rough cane broken from a pine tree; another breathes painfully and holds his hand to his side, where you see a ragged rent in his blouse; another sits by a puddle, dipping water on a wounded leg, which , for want of dressing since the battle, had become inflamed; another lies on a plot of grass by the roadside, with his browned face turned full to the sun, and he sleeps. - Dr. William Morton
Welcome. This is a small web site dedicated to the medical side of the American Civil War.
Annotation:
This is a site dedicated to the medical history of the civil war. The site contains introductory information on a range of topics including general information, Civil War dentistry and surgery, and Hunter McGuire, a Confederate surgeon. The site carries a warning to viewers that the pages contain graphic images, and although most of the images are mild, visitors should be advised that there are one or two that could be inappropriate for sensitive viewers. With this said, the site offers a good introduction to state of medicine during the war, and occasional stats throughout the text help to give an accurate picture of medical practice. Another of the site's strengths are the quotes from observers that show how people were affected by the casualties and the poor health conditions. The site also contains a helpful bibliography for further research.