Existing comment:
The Civil War Ambulance:
During the American Civil War, horse-drawn ambulances were important to both Union and Confederate armies. Ambulance wagons were the primary means of transporting wounded and sick soldiers on battlefields and between hospitals. The Civil War was innovative in many ways, including the first usage of maritime vessels and railroads to transport casualties. Most Civil War armies, however, operated in the countryside and traveled long distances on rural roads. Army surgeons needed a vehicle that would efficiently carry many patients over difficult terrain.
The U.S. Government purchased its first experimental ambulances in 1858. When the war began in 1861, many ambulances were light, two-wheeled wagons. THey were designed to be fast and efficient, but in the field they easily broke down and were excruciatingly uncomfortable; soldiers dubbed them "avalanches" or "gut-busters." The four-wheeled ambulance, pulled by a team of two horses, quickly became standard in field service. Large springs in the undercarriage acted as shock-absorbers to give ailing passengers a more comfortable ride. The bed of the wagon could comfortably carry two to four patients lying down, or could be converted into benches for twelve or more seated patients. The four-wheeled ambulances could carry more patients, broke down less often, and were more easily repaired.
The Confederate ambulance service was at a considerable disadvantage compared to its Union counterpart. Supplies and manpower were a constant crisis in every aspect of the Confederate war effort, including the medical service. While the North had several major centers of industry, the South generally lacked the labor, facilities, and materials required to fabricate elaborate ambulances. A few Southern-built ambulances did see field service during the Civil War, most Confederate ambulances were either converted from army and farm wagons or captured from Union armies. The basic ambulance design introduced during the Civil War continued as the basis for all ambulance wagons, military and civilian, for decades thereafter. The American ambulance also became a model for European armies; in 1867 the American Ambulance was awarded a Grand Prize at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, as part of a larger display of American field hospitals. Not until the introduction of mechanized vehicles to the battlefield in the early 20th century was the Civil War-era ambulance finally phased out of military use. |