Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine

by Carole Adrienne

"An exceptional look at the growth of health care spurred by the Civil War?"—David J Kent, award-winning scientist and author of The Fire of How Abraham Lincoln's Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America

At the start of the Civil War, the medical field in America was rudimentary, unsanitary, and woefully underprepared to address what would become the bloodiest conflict on U.S. soil. However, in this historic moment of pivotal social and political change, medicine was also fast evolving to meet the needs of the time. Unprecedented strides were made in the science of medicine, and as women and African Americans were admitted into the field for the first time.

The Civil War marked a revolution in healthcare as a whole, laying the foundations for the system we know today. In Healing a Divided Nation , Carole Adrienne will track this remarkable and bloody transformation in its cultural and historical context, illustrating how the advancements made in these four years reverberated throughout the western world for years to come.

Analyzing the changes in education, society, humanitarianism, and technology in addition to the scientific strides of the period lends Healing a Divided Nation a uniquely wide lens to the topic, expanding the legacy of the developments made. The echoes of Civil War medicine are in every ambulance, every vaccination, every woman who holds a paying job, and in every Black university graduate. Those echoes are in every response of the International and American Red Cross and they are in the recommended international protocol for the treatment of prisoners of war and wounded soldiers.

Beginning with the state of medicine at the outset of the war, when doctors did not even know about sterilizing their tools, Adrienne illuminates the transformation in American healthcare through primary source texts that document the lives and achievements of the individuals who pioneered these changes in medicine and society. The story that ensues is one of American innovation and resilience in the face of unparalleled violence, adding a new dimension to the legacy of the Civil War.

Genres: History, Science, Civil War, Nonfiction

364 pages, Hardcover

Published August 9, 2022

Reviews

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent research and writing on an intense subject.
The author does not use shock value as she approaches current medical practices and practitioners of the mid-19th century. Background information is noted as to source and is used to present how the field of medicine was evolving.

[David Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author and filmmaker Carole Adrienne has provided a much needed comprehensive and authoritative look at the advances in medicine brought on by the Civil War. Prior to the war, medical knowledge was limited and largely ad hoc. The vast quantity of casualties and the horrific injuries caused by more and more advanced weaponry created ample opportunity and critical need for medicine to better care for wounded soldiers. The magnitude of the crisis led to significant changes in thinking, in systems to handle casualties, and the necessity of woman and African Americans to fill the void in health care left by the very men whose lives they would be helping to save. Adrienne digs deep into the individuals - doctors, nurses, administrators, assistants, and researchers - who offered their skills and their energy to heal those who had been injured. She discusses the evolution of hospitals, personal care, and even the growth of humanitarian organizations like the Sanitary Commission and the American Red Cross. If you're interested in the Civil War and/or medicine, this book is not to be missed.

David J. Kent
Lincoln: The Fire of Genius: How Abraham Lincoln's Commitment to Science and Technology Helped Modernize America

[Brian Storm · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author clearly did her researched! It’s a must read for not only civil war buffs, but for anyone who is interested in learning how medicine developed into what it is today. Although war is a terrible thing, the Civil War was a good thing in a way, as it brought about many advances in medicine. It dives deep into WHY this war called for those advances at a rapid pace - the technology of weapons at the time caused more serious injuries that demanded techniques to keep up with the care needed.

Another fascinating thing about this book is how it focused on the vital roles that woman and African Americans played in the medical field at the time. And if you look at the how the world was at that time, it’s almost unheard of that woman and African Americans would be able to fill such important positions. So, in a sense, this book not only explains advances in the medical field but also shows how society advanced and opened the doors for those who would have never had an opportunity before the war.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout history warfare has been known to have profound changes on society and things in general; however, the American Civil War had more changes in medicine than any period in world history. With "Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine", Carole Adrienne takes a look at the evolution of the medical field across all aspects of society during the period of the war. What is slightly amazing at times is to realize just how much of what we take for granted in the 21st century didn't exist from a hospital standpoint let alone a battlefield standpoint things that didn't really come into major play until after Gettysburg albeit with trial runs at times on stuff after Antietam and Shiloh. What does make this book a bit hard to read though is the fact that Adrienne brings in various biographies through the chapters that almost feel like this book is an adaptation of something one would find on PBS or the History Channel. It still doesn't diminish the importance of what she's trying to get across.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has clearly done a ton of research — as evidenced by the 12-page bibliography which includes both contemporary scholarly and historical primary sources, which I admire. And the book is certainly informative, even fascinating at times. It includes a wide range of topics, from innovations in artificial limbs for amputees to the development of modern hospitals to the origins of the International Red Cross.

I particularly liked the chapter on women’s role in medical care during the Civil War; this time period was a turning point in the field of nursing, when professionalization and more rigorous training transformed the previously irregular job into a respectable occupation — and what’s more, an occupation that was acceptable for women outside of homemaking.

Full Review at Lone Star on a Lark

[jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed history of Civil War era medicine.

[Katelyn Golemon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Excellent information provided but poorly organized, overly flowery, and redundant in some areas with unfinished thoughts in others. A valuable read but frustrating to sort through.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

DNF