Honors Theses
Date of Award
2005
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
History
First Advisor
John Neff
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis uses a variety of sources to look at the medical profession during the Civil War era. Both primary sources and secondary sources provide information on the perspectives of the key players during the period as well as an understanding of the knowledge present at that time and the methods and practices employed. Most of the research has been done using the J. D. Williams Library on the University of Mississippi main campus though it has been supplemented by books in my own personal collection, items loaned from Dr. Neff’s collection, online resources such as the Library of Congress and the Centers for Disease Control website, and information in the Archives of the State of Mississippi. Information gathered includes personal experiences from Civil War medicine recorded, as well as information regarding the history of medicine. Also included is information regarding the techniques and equipment used by the medical professionals. The picture painted by all of the information gathered is a scene of crisis because of the overwhelming numbers of soldiers needing treatments for battlefield wounds and diseases. Diseases ravished the army camps. Horrifying descriptions of amputations depict the state of surgery at a time when antisepsis was only beginning to be employed and when there were very limited drugs to help alleviate suffering and infections. However, through the crisis came a form of heroism among the doctors and other medical professionals in their ability to treat as many people as possible with the knowledge they had. Through the crisis and heroism, came advancements in medicine that led to the medical revolution to come in the decades following the war. This study of medicine concludes that medical practice during the Civil War period is an important aspect of the time and plays a key role in future developments in the world of medicine.
Recommended Citation
Semmes, Diana Frances, "Civil War Medicine: Crisis and Heroism in the Medical Profession, 1861 - 1865" (2005). Honors Theses. 2258.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2258
Accessibility Status
Searchable text