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At the start of the Civil War, the Union had ninety-eight medical officers
and the Confederacy had twenty-four. By the end of the war in 1865
the Union acquired 13,000 officers and the Confederacy 4,000. This
is not including the unknown number of volunteers that gave their assistance
during the war. Despite the immense numbers, hospitals were still
understaffed and with low supplies. This though was the least of
their problems. The doctors were under trained and somewhat uneducated.
They knew nothing of bacteria or disease. Or how to prevent it, or
stop it from spreading. They would often go days without washing
their hands or instruments. So, anything could be passed from one
individual to the next. If something was dropped on the floor, it
was dipped in water and used as if it were clean. Physicians wore
coats stained with blood and pus. During this time doctors thought
it good when pus formed. They called it "laudable pus". In
reality this "laudable pus" was a sign of massive infection which usually
later killed the soldier.
The ignorance of the physicians might have something to do with the schooling they received. Most people only attended two years of medical school or less and had no clinicals. At this time doctors were in great demand and students were graduated and put to work whether they were qualified or not. Not even Harvard University owned one stethoscope or much of any other medical instrument until after the Civil War. Nurses were another key piece in Civil War medicine and were just as important as any doctor. Thousands of women served as nurses in the war. Their job was to feed and tend to the patient in any way possible. Nurses like Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale helped better the condition of hospitals. In order to be a nurse little medical training was needed. The Union was more concerned with a woman's personal appearance than her medical background. Nurses were expected to appear homely, matronly and organized. All personnel in the field were thought of as neutrals. They were not taken as prisoners or fired upon like soldiers. In spite of all the efforts given by countless numbers of physicians, nurses and volunteers, 620,000 men died during the four years of the Civil War . |
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