Friday, November 09, 2012

Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War

Currently on Display at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Library
October 10 - December 1, 2012

Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War home
Decorative dividing line

The perspectives of surgeons, physicians, and nurses are richly documented in the history of Civil War medicine, which highlights the heroism and brutality of battlefield operations and the challenges of caring for the wounded during wartime. Yet the experiences of injured soldiers during the conflict and in the years afterwards are less well-known.

Black and white photograph of five men, each with an amputated leg, dressed in Civil War-era military uniform and holding wooden crutches.
Soldiers at Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C., 1860s

More than three million soldiers fought in the war from 1861-1865.  More than half a million died, and almost as many were wounded but survived. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs.  Life and Limb: The Toll of the Civil War explores the experiences of disabled Civil War veterans who served as a symbol of the fractured nation and a stark reminder of the costs of the conflict.  

To read more, please click on the above title.
To access the CDR Library catalog, please click on this link.

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