Tag Archives: wounded

“Swarming with maggots” – Assistant Surgeon Samuel Melcher and the Care of the Wounded at Wilson’s Creek

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Kristen Pawlak

As the first major engagement fought west of the Mississippi River, the 1861 Battle of Wilson’s Creek (fought August 10, 1861) was known for being a particularly desperate, hard-fought battle that resulted in nearly 20% casualties on both sides. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Emerging Civil War, Medical, Personalities, Primary Sources, Trans-Mississippi | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

“The Foot That Is Gone Pains Me The Most”

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Sarah Kay Bierle

May 8, 1862 My leg has given me a good deal of pain since yesterday, owing to its being too tightly bandaged. The last ligature is away, and it ought to heal rapidly now. The foot that is gone pains … Continue reading →

Posted in Medical | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Down Fame’s Ladder”: Brigadier General Thomas W. Egan’s Unending War

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Frank Jastrzembski

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock gave glowing praise of the Third Division’s 1st Brigade and its commander, 29-year-old Colonel Thomas W. Egan, in his report following the Battle of North Anna on May 23, 1864. “Egan’s brigade, led gallantly by … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership--Federal, Medical | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Words of the Wounded: The Gettysburg Campaign

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Paige Gibbons Backus

By the end of the Gettysburg Campaign into Pennsylvania there were an estimated 64,000 killed, wounded and missing between both the Union and Confederate armies. The struggles and the implications on the medical field from the military campaign will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Campaigns, Common Soldier, Medical, Primary Sources | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stapleton Crutchfield: Stonewall’s Wounded Comrade

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Sarah Kay Bierle

The ambulance lurched ever forward with a jerky, swaying motion. Pain dazed comprehension. General Jackson wounded? Lying just inches from him? How badly was the commander hurt? Exacerbated by the movements over the rough road, the dizzying, unrelenting agony radiated from … Continue reading →

Posted in Leadership--Confederate, Medical | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A Sharpshooter’s Postscript to Gettysburg, Part 5: Imboden’s Train of Misery Transports the Confederate Wounded South

Posted on August 2, 2016 by ECW Guest Post

Part five in a series. We welcome back guest author Robert M. Wilson. Of the varied and often extreme challenges faced by the Army of Northern Virginia in its retreat from Gettysburg, the ordeals suffered on the wagon caravan carrying wounded … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Medical, Personalities | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A Doctor’s Duty

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Chris Kolakowski

The photo to the right is the Union field hospital at Savage Station, Virginia, the day after the Battle of Gaines’s Mill on June 27, 1862. Hours after this photograph was taken, most of these men ended up as Confederate … Continue reading →

Posted in Armies, Battles, Leadership--Confederate, Leadership--Federal, Medical, Ties to the War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment