The American Civil War, 1861-1865, ws one of the bloodiest and most violent wars in our history. This was largely due to the medical acts and medicines that were available at the time. The weapons were crude and left their victims with devastating wounds. Many soldiers, who survived the war, went home with missing limbs and open wounds. And, many would die shortly afterward from decease and infections as a result of their wounds.

Surgeries were, in most cases, performed in the field. Hospital tents were set up to care for the wounded. These facilities largely ignored sanitation as they had no time or equipment to deal with these situations. A wounded soldier would arrive and within the hour, his arm or leg would be amputated and bandaged and he would be put into recovery. Recovery was a crude bed made of wood and straw and was mostly outdoors. So, as a result, many of the wounded died within hours or a day or two from infections or disease. More soldiers died from disease during the Civil War than they did from wounds.

Medicines of that period were primitive in nature. Most really did not work, but were used mostly as pain killers. Some were meant as antiseptives and some to keep the patient asleep for hours. Surgical tools were not sanitary and were sterilized using water, whiskey or alcohol. And some were simply wiped off after an operation and then used on the next procedure. Time was the important factor. Getting the wounded in, caring for them quickly and getting to the next one. In any one field hospital, there may be 250 wounded soldiers and only one or two doctors and a couple of nurses. And doctors and nurses worked long hours without a break, sometimes 24-hours straight. In many cases, it was a blessing if the wounded soldier died. He would suffer greatly until his end.

On this blog I show my Civil War era medical collection. I collect many things and I enjoy the period of the Civil War. I have guns and many other items associated with the Civil War. The medicines here I bought from local antique shops and other places back in the 1970s. 90% of them still contain their original contents be it pills or liquid. They are all sealed with their original corks and most still have their original labels. Cocaine was used during the war years as a pain killer. Other medicines were used for a variety of reasons. All of these bottles have been sealed for well over 150 years. I wonder where they have been for the last century and a half. I'm just happy that they survived. They give us a hint of what it was like to be treated at that time. And they show us that we should be so very happy that medicine has advanced as it has in the years since.