Apr 12, 2011 · On the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, here's a look at battlefield medicine, including amputations, shell wounds, cracked skulls and other injuries on the battlefield.

Oct 19, 2020 · Many amputations over the Civil War occurred at the fingers, wrist, thigh, lower leg, or upper arm. The closer the amputation was to the chest and torso, the lower the chances were of survival as the result of blood loss or other complications.

Aug 1, 2011 · When a soldier is injured on the battlefield today he can expect the most sophisticated first aid. But medical treatment for troops has not always been so advanced, as these incredible pictures...

It is important to examine the nature and effects of wounds since one-third of Civil War deaths resulted directly from these wounds, and many more soldiers suffered non-fatal but permanently damaging injuries. The chief sources of battlefield wounds were artillery ammunition and bullets.

These are the “after” photos, taken after the men had left their homes to fight for the Union or the Confederacy, and after they were wounded, carrying the scars of the American Civil War for the rest of their lives.

Soldiers faced wounds or death from three distinct classes of weapons: small arms (pistols, shotguns, rifles, muskets, and carbines), artillery, and edged weapons (swords, sabers, and bayonets).

Mar 11, 2016 · John Bowers was 19 when he was injured in the Battle of Fredericksburgh. Ludwig Kohn was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. He returned to the hospital with intense rib pain two years later....

Nov 9, 2007 · The vast majority of wounds documented during the Civil War were caused by the Minié ball, while the rest were from grapeshot, canister or other exploding shells. Few men were treated for saber or bayonet wounds and even fewer for cannon ball wounds.

He was captured by Confederate soldiers and did not receive treatment for his injuries until he was freed by Union forces over a week later. For more than a year he suffered repeated infections in the wound and poor health, until Surgeon Edwin Bentley amputated the limb.

Apr 3, 2017 · These photographs of injured American Civil War soldiers were created by Reed B. Bontecou, a New York surgeon who played a key role in documenting the very many casualties of the Civil War battlefields.