Combat and Medical Technology in the Civil War

1. Combat and Medical Technology in the Civil War Mr. White’s US History 1

2. Big Questions • How did new weapons technologies affect how people fought and what they experienced on the battlefield? • How did Civil War doctors care for the wounded?

3. Tactics Before the Civil War - Weapons • Weapon used before the Civil War was the smoothbore musket • Barrel (the part the bullet travels through) was smooth on the inside • Ball was a sphere (not a bullet shape) • Bullet would leave the barrel with a spin on it – changed direction • Was accurate to about 50 yards

4. Tactics Before the Civil War - Formations • Men were placed in line two or three deep to maximize firepower • Men would fire in volleys – everyone shoots at once • Battle • Close to within range • Fire one or two volleys • Charge with the bayonet – pointed weapon on the end of the rifle

5. Linear Tactics

6. New Weapons – Rifled Musket • Minie ball was used – typical bullet shape • Barrel of the weapon was rifled – spiral grooves to give the bullet spin • Ball left barrel spinning on axis – much more accurate

7. Changes in Combat • Weapons are now accurate over 200 yards • Firing rate is increased – three aimed shots per minute • Bayonet charge became obsolete – why? • Advantage shifted in favor of the defender • Higher casualty rates

8. Effects of the Minie Ball • Slow muzzle velocity – would change direction on impact (tumble, ricochet) • Soft lead – tended to flatten and distort on impact • Would pull pieces of clothing and dirt into the wound • Would shatter bones

9. Artillery – The Big Guns • Solid shot – typical cannon ball, used against infantry • Case shot – explosive, filled with small balls, fired high to explode overhead of troops • Grape shot – cluster of metal balls held together by twine, balls would spray out as they left the cannon • Canister shot – canister filled with shrapnel, sawdust, pieces of metal; short-range shotgun effect

10. Edged Weapons • Bayonets – fixed onto the end of muskets for hand-to-hand combat • Swords – carried by officers or cavalry, rarely used • Casualties from edged weapons were rare in the Civil War – more often happened by accident

11. Hospitals in the Civil War - Wounds • Those wounded in the chest, head, or abdomen were usually left to die on the battlefield as their survival was unlikely. • Those wounded in the extremities had a chance of survival

12. Extremity Wounds • Amputation of the wound was usually the only course of action, especially if the wound had hit bone, or the bullet (or parts of it) stayed in the wound • The closer the amputation was to the trunk of the body, the more likely amputation would result in death • Infection was usually quite likely, and the person would have to be able to fight it off

13. Medical Technology - Amputations • Painkillers and anesthetics were available, but were usually addictive drugs – morphine, opium, or when those weren’t available, hard liquor • Often done outside, during the day – why? • Tourniquet would be used to stop the blood flow. • Stiff, serrated bone-saw would be used to saw through flesh and bone • Amputated limbs simply thrown in a pile

15. New Technology • Even though the Civil War seems backwards when it comes to medical technology, they did have some advances • Hypodermic syringe – first used in the Civil War • Advanced ideas of field hospitals, mobile surgery unites, advancement of the roles of nurses • No concept of blood- or fluid-based germs – idea was that a clean surgical space had fewer problems • No concept of antiseptic practices