National Museum of Civil War Medicine - National Museum of Civil War Medicine

2024 Conference on Civil War Medicine

The 29th Conference on Civil War Medicine held May 3-5, 2024 has SOLD OUT. Please contact the Museum to go on a waiting list.

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The One Vast Hospital Walking tours have started for the season. Buy your tickets now!

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Interrupted Sentiments: The Dead Letter Office During the Civil War

Join us on Saturday, May 4 at 2:00 PM as Melissa Winn from the American Battlefield Trust discusses the Dead Letter Office during the Civil War.

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Divided by Conflict.

Three sites, thousands of stories.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

Pry House Field Hospital Museum

Upcoming Programs

Interrupted Sentiments: The Dead Letter Office During the Civil War

May 4 @ 2:00 pm

Learn the poignant story of “Dead Letter” Civil War soldier photos.

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Greet Greg the Gardener

May 7 @ 10:00 am

Meet Greg Susla, the man behind the medicinal herb garden at the Pry House on Tuesdays from 10-2.

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Greet Greg the Gardener

May 14 @ 10:00 am

Meet Greg Susla, the man behind the medicinal herb garden at the Pry House on Tuesdays from 10-2.

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Discover History Firsthand

Take a closer look at artifacts that reveal how history was made.

From Our Blog

“She Ranks Me”—The Story of Mother Bickerdyke

April 8, 2024

Of the many women who provided medical service during the Civil War, Mary Ann “Mother” Bickerdyke was one of the most beloved by the soldiers.

Clara Barton and Women’s Rights

March 4, 2024

Celebrate Women’s History Month and learn how Clara Barton fought her own battle for women’s rights.

The Napa Wine Valley and the Civil War: Part 3

February 19, 2024

The conclusion of our series on the unusual connection between wine and the Civil War

The Napa Wine Valley and the Civil War: Part 2

February 12, 2024

Learn more about the unusual connection between wine and the Civil War

civilwarmed

A scene at a US Army field hospital during the Bat

A scene at a US Army field hospital during the Battle of Chancellorsville

This sketch by Alfred R. Waud shows the operation of a II Corps hospital during the May 1863 battle. In it, we see a surgical procedure in process, a surgeon rinsing his hands, stretcher-bearers carrying wounded soldiers to the makeshift hospital, and patients awaiting their turn on the operating table.

(Illustration: Library of Congress)

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May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, and National Nurses Month.

Both of these commemorations intersect in the stories of the Civil War.

Private John Tomney of the 70th New York Volunteer Infantry was wrongly identified at the time as "the only representative of the Empire of China in the finest army on the planet." After a brief stint as a prisoner of war, Tomney "came to New York City, where he employed his time in attending upon his sick and wounded comrades. He was the kindest of nurses and spent his little means in providing delicacies for a sick fellow-soldiers." He was later killed at Gettysburg.

Private Christopher Wren Bunker, son of a famous immigrant from Siam (modern day Thailand) to North Carolina, was known for "nursing the wounded" before entering active service for the Confederacy in September of 1863 with the Virginia cavalry.

Others were less formal in their medical work. Corporal Joseph Pierce (shown here) was born in Canton, China and enlisted in the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He was injured at Antietam and while in hospital served as a cook to his fellow patients. Corporal Pierce later rejoined his regiment and fought from Gettysburg through Appomattox.

Sources:
"China at Gettysburg," The New York Times, July 12, 1863, page 2.

McCunn, Ruthann Lum, "Chinese in the Civil War: Ten Who Served," in "Chinese America: History & Perspectives," 1996, pages 151, 169.

Image credit:
Joseph Pierce, via Wikimedia Commons.

Confederate Private J.W. Gibson was ordered to ass

Confederate Private J.W. Gibson was ordered to assist three surgeons as they made their rounds at a field hospital following the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry in 1864:

"The first man I saw them work upon was a Union soldier. All three said his leg must come off. They began administering chloroform, but he was a very hard subject and fought it bitterly. They asked me to hold his head, and I did so.

"As soon as he was quiet they went to work on him. When I saw how they cut and slashed I let his head loose. I thought if he wanted to wake up and fight them he should have a fair chance. I told the doctors that I did not go to war to hold men while they butchered them; that I had done all to that man that my contract called for and that I thought he was well paid for his trip. I was in real earnest about it, but the doctors laughed at me and said they would soon teach me to be a surgeon."

Source:
Gibson, J.W., Recollections of a Pioneer, St. Joseph, Missouri: Nelson-Hanne Printing Co., 1912, page 156, via Project Gutenberg, accessed July 24, 2020, <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/49089/49089-h/49089-h.htm>.

Image credit:
Fig 10, Maurice S. Albin, "The Use of Anesthetics during the Civil War, 1861-1865," Pharmacy in History, Vol 42, No 3_4, 2000, 105.

We are pleased that other museums are taking advan

We are pleased that other museums are taking advantage of our traveling exhibits. The Newberry Museum in Newberry, SC has our "Toll of War" exhibit on display now. In addition, they will be featuring many Civil War medicine-related talks, and a medicinal garden. You can check them out at www.thenewberrymuseum.com.

A concise description of "miasma theory" from a Mi

A concise description of "miasma theory" from a Mississippi newspaper in 1863.

This April 28, 1863 editorial from the "The Daily Mississippian" encouraged residents to clean up their backyards in a bid to ward off disease. In doing so, they explain well the predominant medical thought at the time of the Civil War:

"Cleanse the Back Yards.

"The warm season is upon us. The time for malarious exhalations is approaching.

"The most malignant types of ever are often produced from the foul and noxious effluvia arising from offensive localities near a dwelling. Just reason a moment.

"Our every moment’s life depends upon the inspiration of atmospheric air. If that air is poisoned by the admixture of stench from decaying animal and vegetable matter, we are, slowly, it may be, but surely, breathing death.

"While we eat – while we work – we are breathing – breathing – breathing the elements of corruption and dissolution!

"Let us remove the hurtful cause. A little labor, a little time, a little attention and care will clear away the plague miasma, and we shall inhale pure air, and escape the pain – the anxiety – of the sick room, and maybe the mournful incidents of the death bed!"

Image credit:
The Bowman House in Jackson, Mississippi, Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The next time you stop by the Museum gift shop, ke

The next time you stop by the Museum gift shop, keep your eyes peeled for our new brightly colored, authentic Civil War handkerchiefs. These 100% cotton and silk printed handkerchiefs feature original mid-19th century designs that are exact reproductions of those owned by soldiers and surgeons during the conflict. They are the perfect addition to a reenactor's wardrobe, or just a fun souvenir to remember your visit to the Museum.