Civil War: The Middle Ages Of Medicine

I believe that the Civil War could be considered the “Middle Ages” of medicine. The lack of knowledge of germ spreading and cleanliness, the weapons used, and the training of the Physicians led me to think that is true. Compared to today's medicinal treatments, the treatments of the Civil War seem like a way of torture instead of a way to save lives. The lack of knowledge of germs and cleanliness are signs of a medical middle age. Today, it is standard for doctors and surgeons to have sterilized equipment. In the civil war, a wounded soldier would be lucky if the doctor had washed his equipment in the past few months. As The American Vision says, “They used the same the same unsterilized instruments patient after patient. Few bothered to wash their hands between patients, not that it would have helped a great deal given the shortage of soap.” Most deaths of soldiers were caused by disease, not from the bullet because of these conditions. “In most cases, regiments lost half their men to illness before ever going to battle.” (The American Vision). It is a horrible thought to think about how the soldiers went through this torture called medical services. …show more content…
Instead of the regular smoothbore muskets, the Springfield 1861 was invented using the new minie ball. These bullets were shaped like a cone with a hollow inside, and on the outside were three grooves packed with grease. The groves would give it a spin while coming out of the barrel which made it more accurate. When the bullet hit, “It didn't just clip the bone the way the modern steel-jacketed bullet does; you didn't have any bone left up there.” (Foote) The bone-crushing bullets caused many amputations, and one Ohio soldier wrote, “…thinking that I had better die by rebel bullets than Union Quackery.” (The American