Existing comment:
Civil War Collections:
The years 2011-2015 mark the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, the bloodiest conflict in US history. Deaths on both sides totaled more than 600,000, while another 600,000 suffered from wounds or illnesses that required medical attention.
From today's perspective, Civil War medicine seems rudimentary. Many doctors had only limited formal medical education and both sides saw thousands die from diseases that spread quickly throughout most military encampments. Yet the Civil War led to remarkable advances in military medical care, as documented by the specimens and artifacts gathered by the Army Medical Museum. Amassed from historical, anatomical, and archival collections, these objects provide an incomparable resource for the study of Civil War medicine. |