Existing comment:
Bullet and Shrapnel:
More than 200,000 soldiers died in action during the Civil War and ninety percent of those were victims of small arms fire. Although the large, soft lead Minie balls used during the war traveled more slowly than modern projectiles, they shattered bones and caused massive wounds. Shrapnel from exploding shells also inflicted terrible damage. This extensive collection of bullets and shrapnel collected by Civil War surgeons documents the injuries of nearly 500 soldiers.
"The effects are truly terrible; bones are ground almost to powder, muscles, ligaments, and tendons torn away... loss of life, certainly of limb, is almost an inevitable consequence."
-- William Tod Helmuth, 1873 |