Civil War Hospitals Civil War Hospitals could often be found in farm houses and barns close to battlefields. As the war progressed, or at places where large battle occurred – in this case Gettysburg – organized tent hospitals were created. These hospitals would be located near good sources of water and railroad and roads for transportation of wounded. Click to return to picture

Civil War Doctors Most doctors at the start of the Civil War had very little medical training. To become a doctor, students went to 6months of lectures, then repeated those lectures. Most of what the doctors will learn will be through trail and error. This doctor is performing the most common Civil War surgery – amputation (removal) of a limb. The bullet wounds of the Civil War, most often caused broken bones – and there was nothing that could be done besides amputation. Civil War doctors did have anesthesia to give to the wounded - in the form of chloroform or ether Most experienced doctors could perform an amputation in 10 minutes or so. Unfortunately, many wounds would become infected as the knowledge of keeping instruments clean did not exist. It is estimated that doctors performed around 60,000 amputations during the war. Click to return to picture

Tools of a Civil War Doctor This large amputation knife was used To cut through muscle and tissue This bone saw would be used to cut bone This tool called a tenaculum,would be used to draw out veins from the stump after amputations To tie them off and stop blood flow. Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine Click to return to picture

Medical Staff This man is probably the assistant surgeon. At the start of the war, each regiment had a surgeon and an assistant surgeon. The assistant probably had less formal training then the surgeon himself. Assistants would often be assigned to the aid station where wounded were brought initially and determined what kind of treatment they would receive. Other members of the medical team were ambulance drivers and stretcher bearers. At the start of the war these men were totally untrained and did not provide adequate attention to the wounded. On the Northern side, this will change as an Ambulance Corps will be created. Their will be special ambulance wagons created along with trained ambulance drivers and stretcher bearers. Click to return to picture