Fourth Grade
Worksheets
Injuries and Illness
Medical treatment during the Civil War was not the same as it is today. Today, many soldiers survive battles, even with wounds that are very bad. During the days of the Civil War, something as simple as a scratch could kill.
There were doctors during the Civil War. But they didn't have as much to work with as doctors have today. Infections and germs were not understood. Penicillin had not been invented yet. Many medical students got two years of training or less.
If an injured soldier could not get up and walk during the Civil War, he had to wait for someone to come get him on a stretcher. The injured soldier was taken to a battlefield hospital. This hospital was near where the battle was taking place.
In a battlefield hospital, things were very bad. Ether and chloroform were two drugs that were available during the Civil War. They could be used to put a patient to sleep. They usually weren't available in a battlefield hospital. Sometimes whiskey was the only available aid for pain. Some men were given a bullet and told to bite down on it. This was true even during amputations.
