1. Why is the Civil War considered the first modern war? How did modern firearms and the horrendous injuries
    they caused help advance modern medicine and medical treatment?
    The estimates of soldiers killed during the American Civil war War approach 700,000. In today’s numbers, that
    would be the equivalent of nearly 7 million killed (current population is approximately 10 ten times what it was
    in 1865). Most of those deaths did not occur directly on impact of gun or cannon fire. They were the result of
    infection and disease that took days and weeks to develop and claim their victims. One can imagine the strains
    placed on medical caregivers in the nation at the time. Some historians of medicine note the explosive
    advances in surgical technique, technology, and medical knowledge that occur as a result of wartime
    experience. But the Civil War also brought about a revolution regarding the administration of patient care
    during the war. That revolution is women.
    The participation of women as nurses and medical aides and experts during the war was unprecedented and
    shocking to many, who believed that women, especially model Christian women, were too sensitive and
    delicate to handle such scenes of gore and suffering. Many, many American women were involved in nursing,
    which pushed against commonly held biases against women’s strength and fortitude. For example, Harriet

American Red Cross, implemented efficient regimens for quality control in hospitals, as well as standards of
patient care that remain a model today. ), This Primary Source Exercise is designed to introduce students to
the world of battlefield medicine in wartime hospitals.
DOCUMENTS
Document 1 is a collection of Civil War photographs showcasing the horrors and realities of wartime injuries
and treatment. Women’s brave entry into bloody battlefield hospitals and surgical theaters is but one of the
many stories of the American Civil War. The war’s scope of destruction and despair remains difficult to
comprehend even 150 years after the fact.
Document 2 contains excerpts from the diary of Amanda Akin, a Civil War nurse. Ms. Akin exemplifies a typical
nurse volunteer in many respects. She came from a middle-class, educated, and Protestant Christian
background.
Document 3 The is a poem from the poet Walt Whitman, who became famous in the mid- 1800s for his
eloquence in describing democratic spirit of the American dream. That eloquence, that gift of capturing difficultto-describe scenes and emotions, was put to the test as he tried to convey his experience during the war. His
poem “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” is included in this assignment, because
Whitman also served as a surgical aide during the war. His view is that of both direct experience and artistic
expression, which is one way some people attempt to make sense of such an incomprehensible event.
INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Read Chapter 14 of the textbook.
  2. Observe closely the images that make up Document 1, a collection of Civil War medicine-related
    photographs. Write down your initial reaction, details, and overall impressions of what you see. Remember that
    the Civil War took place before antibiotics to fight infection had been discovered, and that the causes of many
    contagious diseases were still unknown.
  3. Read Document 2, excerpts from the diary of Amanda Akin, a Civil War nurse.
  4. Read and “take in” the poem in Document 3, “A March in the Ranks Hard-Prest, and the Road Unknown” by
    Walt Whitman, a famous American poet of the nineteenth century

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