National Museum of Civil War Medicine

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum examines battlefield medicine as it was reorganized in 1862, and the medical role within the army during the Battle of Antietam. The buildings are artifacts themselves. Two immersion exhibits are displayed inside Philip Pry's lovely Greek Revival farmhouse including an operating theater and the room where Maj. General Israel Richardson succumed to his wounds Nov 3, 1862. 

AREAS OF STUDY:
Medical Education - As the Civil War began, the practice of medicine was emerging from the "heroic era", with its theory of bringing a balance to the humors of the body. Medical practitioners had no knowledge of germ theory or antiseptic practices. Both discoveries were still years away. Over 60 medical schools existed in America before the war, and apprenticeships with established physicians were also common. The usual course of study in a medical school consisted of two terms of six-month lectures, with the second term often being a repeat of the first.

Evacuation of the Wounded - At the beginning of the Civil War, there was no established system to transport wounded soldiers from the front lines to the field hospitals in the rear. In August of 1862, Jonathan Letterman, the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, created a highly organized system of ambulances and trained stretcher bearers designed to evacuate the wounded as quickly as possible. A similar plan was adopted by the Confederate army. The Letterman Plan remains the basis for present military evacuation systems. Horses and mules were essential to the army and veterinary medicine played an important role in the war. Large infirmaries were developed to treat animals too sick or worn down to be of immediate use. An estimated 1 million horses died during the Civil War.

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Field Dressing Station - Located close to the fighting, the first level of care received by a wounded soldier was at a field dressing station. Medical personnel bandaged wounds and administered whiskey for shock and morphine for pain. If the soldier was unable to return to battle, he was transported to a field hospital via ambulance or stretcher.

Field Hospital - At a field hospital, usually located in a barn or tent to the rear of the fighting, wounded soldiers were triaged into three categories: mortally wounded, slightly wounded, and surgical cases. Most surgeries were amputations and took place here.  Of all the operations performed during the Civil War, 95% were done with the patient under some form of anesthesia, chloroform and ether, the most common anesthetics. The large number of amputations performed during the war were the result of the severe nature of the wounds caused by the Minie ball, the number of wounded needing immediate treatment, and the often poor condition of the patients.

* No Flash Photography * No food or drink inside exhibits *
* For your protection, exhibits are alarmed and monitored by cameras *