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Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine
Correcting the pervading myths of Civil War medicine perpetuated by Hollywood dramatizations, this exploration covers how the sick and wounded were treated on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line. Through detailed research, these essays show there were actually too few amputations, contrary to popular belief; there were many advances made in the understanding and treatment of diseases and wounds to the nervous system, and new surgical techniques were used to treat battlefield injuries once thought to be certainly fatal. These topics and more are treated by experts in their respective fields, including medical education, science, invention, neuroscience, and mental health.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2009
83 people want to read
About the author
Guy R. Hasegawa
9 books5 followersI am a hospital pharmacist by training and recently retired as an editor for a pharmacy journal. As a student of Civil War medicine, I have written books, book chapters, and scholarly articles on the topic and lecture frequently at conferences of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Society of Civil War Surgeons. I served on the board of directors of both organizations.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 8, 2011
Excellent essays on Civil War medicine! Lots of great references for further reading/study. Highly recommended!!
November 3, 2014
Years of Change and Suffering is a collection of essays concerning views of Civil War Medicine.
Three of the eight essays were my favorites, “A Multiplicity of Ingenious Articles" by James M. Schmidt, "The Firm" by D. J. Canale.M.D., F.A.C.S. and "Haunted Minds" by Judith Anderson, Ph.D. I thought that the illustrations and photos in the book, including the ones on the back and cover were an excellent addition.
As I read the book, I learned more about the true situation of the medical care in the Civil War as compared to the common myths in novels and movies.
Also, since the Viet Nam war was the war of my generation, I did a lot of comparing of the different wars. The book also brought back memories of when my father took a month and drove our family around to see the many of battlefields of the war. Some chapters brought back my own feelings and memories of visiting Gettysburg and Antietam, particularly the enormous depth of the costs of battle.
In the first article that I referred to "A Multiplicity of Ingenious Articles", James M. Schmidt explored issues of the Scientific American and recounted the advice for the soldiers on how to stay healthy and to their officers as to what the soldiers needed health wise. Also, the magazine spread the news of improvements to firearms but also to medical instruments and prosthetics. Included in the essay was an engraving of the different prosthetics at that time. The latter was practically intriguing since I had recently watched a program on the latest advances on prosthetics on the Pentagon channel. I had seen a man who had been outfitted with a simple hook on the show. The engraving in the book shows a gloved hand prosthetic. I wondered if the fingers of the hand in the engraving were jointed so that they could be moved or if the hand was all one piece. In the Pentagon show, the man who had a simple hook for a hand was later equipped with a computerized hand that enable him to drink from a cup. Thus the engraving in the book demonstrates the stage that prosthetics were developed during the Civil War.
In the "Firm", by D. J. Canal, M.D., F.AC.S wrote of Weir Mitchell, M.D. Through strange twists and turns in his life, he became the father of American Neurology. He and his colleagues studied and detailed the neurological effects of gunshot wounds, amputations and partial injuries to nerves. This is a fascinating recounting of how a man's wish did not come true but something much greater and significant instead.
"Haunted Minds" painfully details of how Frank Lang, an infantry soldier and battlefield nurse, exhibited what we today call PTSD. Not surprisingly, there were many soldiers experiencing this, especially the youngest of the soldiers and those who endured the longest times in battle and most exposure to the corpse and those severely injured. This essay brings up the signs and situations of PTSD that were to haunt many Civil War soldiers and those of other wars.
Besides learning the truth behind the development of medicine during the Civil War, this book makes you think about the costs of the war along with the improvements that sprang up during the war. I would highly recommend this book to all who are interested in Civil War, medicine or both.
Three of the eight essays were my favorites, “A Multiplicity of Ingenious Articles" by James M. Schmidt, "The Firm" by D. J. Canale.M.D., F.A.C.S. and "Haunted Minds" by Judith Anderson, Ph.D. I thought that the illustrations and photos in the book, including the ones on the back and cover were an excellent addition.
As I read the book, I learned more about the true situation of the medical care in the Civil War as compared to the common myths in novels and movies.
Also, since the Viet Nam war was the war of my generation, I did a lot of comparing of the different wars. The book also brought back memories of when my father took a month and drove our family around to see the many of battlefields of the war. Some chapters brought back my own feelings and memories of visiting Gettysburg and Antietam, particularly the enormous depth of the costs of battle.
In the first article that I referred to "A Multiplicity of Ingenious Articles", James M. Schmidt explored issues of the Scientific American and recounted the advice for the soldiers on how to stay healthy and to their officers as to what the soldiers needed health wise. Also, the magazine spread the news of improvements to firearms but also to medical instruments and prosthetics. Included in the essay was an engraving of the different prosthetics at that time. The latter was practically intriguing since I had recently watched a program on the latest advances on prosthetics on the Pentagon channel. I had seen a man who had been outfitted with a simple hook on the show. The engraving in the book shows a gloved hand prosthetic. I wondered if the fingers of the hand in the engraving were jointed so that they could be moved or if the hand was all one piece. In the Pentagon show, the man who had a simple hook for a hand was later equipped with a computerized hand that enable him to drink from a cup. Thus the engraving in the book demonstrates the stage that prosthetics were developed during the Civil War.
In the "Firm", by D. J. Canal, M.D., F.AC.S wrote of Weir Mitchell, M.D. Through strange twists and turns in his life, he became the father of American Neurology. He and his colleagues studied and detailed the neurological effects of gunshot wounds, amputations and partial injuries to nerves. This is a fascinating recounting of how a man's wish did not come true but something much greater and significant instead.
"Haunted Minds" painfully details of how Frank Lang, an infantry soldier and battlefield nurse, exhibited what we today call PTSD. Not surprisingly, there were many soldiers experiencing this, especially the youngest of the soldiers and those who endured the longest times in battle and most exposure to the corpse and those severely injured. This essay brings up the signs and situations of PTSD that were to haunt many Civil War soldiers and those of other wars.
Besides learning the truth behind the development of medicine during the Civil War, this book makes you think about the costs of the war along with the improvements that sprang up during the war. I would highly recommend this book to all who are interested in Civil War, medicine or both.
November 3, 2014
A pretty remarkable story about medicine during a war where over 50% of the soldiers died from disease and amputations were the standard procedure for any Minie ball wound to the limbs. Note the Minie bal was a soft lead ball which upon impact acted exactly as the modern hollowpoint bulet ; an immediate mushroom which destroyed the limb. Although much maligned by historians and personal accounts, battlefield medicine took some big strides in the war.
For example, battlefield ambulances, artificial limbs, thoracic surgery , urological surgery ( because of the kneeling shooting position , very common )and the first documentation of PTSD.
Very clinical and fascinating.
For example, battlefield ambulances, artificial limbs, thoracic surgery , urological surgery ( because of the kneeling shooting position , very common )and the first documentation of PTSD.
Very clinical and fascinating.
November 3, 2014
pretty good, mostly stuff i've read before, but i enjoyed "the privates were shot" (not only because that's one hell of a pun) the most. skip what you don't like and it's a great book.
November 1, 2014
A terrific collection of essays about medical advancements and challenges in Civil War medicine.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews