Essay On Civil War Battlefield Medicine

Civil War Battlefield Medicine
In what a few may consider the first modern war, the Civil War was home to thousands of injuries and deaths. The Civil War was a devastating war where the Confederates, the South, fought for the idea that slavery should stay and should not be abolished and the Union, the North, fought for the abolishment of slavery. The typical soldier that fought during the Civil War were untrained farmers who either volunteered or were forced into battle. The Confederates started the war with approximately 750,000 troops and the Union with nearly 2 million. The war took the lives of thousands of soldiers, civilians, and important figures. Towards the end, the confederates suffered 260,000 casualties and the Union suffered 360,000 casualties. In total, almost 620,000 soldiers lost their lives fighting for what they believed in. This war occurred between the years 1861 and 1865. The biggest battle during this war was the Battle of Gettysburg, a true dog fight that lasted for 3 whole days, where 51,112 troops were killed. However, battlefield medicine was performed that saved many lives including many

Here, two important generals are talking about the ongoing issue of the “Old Soldier illness” going around. It is believed that this was caused by all the soldiers consuming too many raw cherries. The “Old Soldier illness” has two conflicting definitions. The first one is when a person has stomach problems or diarrhea. The other definition is an addiction to painkillers due to many injuries throughout years of warfare. During the time the Civil War took place, the cure to stomach aches was to drink black tea. Black tea is known for having a positive effect on intestinal disorder because it contains tannins, a water-soluble polyphenols. Drug addiction, however, has no cure and is solely based on the will of the