United States History Student Edition

Doctors in the Civil War did not have many modern medicines. To prevent deadly infections, they often amputated wounded limbs with tools such as these.

Volunteers distributed bread and soup to the wounded. In the prisons, though, there usually was little or nothing to eat. Andersonville prison opened in Georgia in early 1864. It was built to hold 10,000 prisoners. By August, 33,000 Union prisoners of war crammed its grounds. The men slept in shallow holes dug in the ground. All they received to eat each day was a teaspoon of salt, three tablespoons of beans, and eight ounces of cornmeal. They drank and cooked with water from a stream that also served as a sewer. Almost 13,000 Union prisoners died there, mostly from disease. The Union prison in Elmira, New York, was no better. Captured soldiers from the South suffered through the winter months without blankets and warm clothes. The prison hospital was located in a flooded basement. A pond within the compound served as both toilet and garbage dump. Almost one-quarter of all Confederate prisoners at Elmira died. Caring for the Wounded Surgeons set up makeshift hospitals near battlefields. There, with bullets and cannonballs flying by, they bandaged wounds and amputated limbs. Unsanitary conditions and the lack of proper medical equipment made conditions difficult. Infected wounds were common.

Disease was another medical threat. Crowded together in camps and drinking unclean water, with little fresh food available, many soldiers got sick. Disease spread quickly—and could be deadly. Over the course of the war, thousands of soldiers died from pneumonia, typhoid, dysentery, and malaria. Some regiments lost half their men to illness before they ever went into battle. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Describing Why were prison camps set up? 2. Summarizing What challenges and threats did prisoners and wounded soldiers face? LESSON ACTIVITIES 1. Argumentative Writing Both President Lincoln and Confederate President Davis suspended habeas corpus to deal with opponents of the war. Do you think suspending civil liberties is justified in some situations? Write a short essay in which you state and defend your position. 2. Collaborating Discuss with a partner the women identified in the lesson. Who do you think is the most interesting? Who do you think is the most admirable? Share your answers and your reasons with another pair of students.

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