HAR D TA C K
The Newsletter of the Indianapolis Civil War Round Table
January 2006
Monday, January 6, 2006 7:30 p.m. at the Indiana History Center
Medical
Treatment
in the Civil War
presented by
Fred Schaefer
Litter bearers of the Confederate Ambulance Corps
© Don Troiani. Used by permission.
Civil War medicine was a mixture of science,
experience and experiment. Although
severely ignorant (and often dangerous) by
modern medical standards, many Civil War
physicians were nevertheless intelligent,
hard-working, dedicated men, who did their
best to alleviate the incredible suffering
brought on by wartime conditions in camp
and on the battlefield. With music,
contemporary accounts, slides, and firstperson living history demonstrations, Civil
War Medical Historian Fred Schaefer will
present a brief study of this important part
of the Civil War and the Civil War soldier’s
experience.
About Our Speaker: Fred Schaefer is a longtime member of the Indiana Civil War Medical Society, a living
history group, in which he portrays Dr. William Henry Wishard. A graduate of Ivy Tech, and certified Surgical
Technologist, Fred has been studying and presenting Civil War medical knowledge and techniques to Civil War
Round Tables, re-enactments, conferences, museums, and schools for several years. He has presented at both
the Indiana War Memorial and the Soldiers and Sailors museum. Fred has worked at Methodist Hospital in
Indianapolis, and for past 25 years at ORTHO INDY, where he is Surgical First Assistant Manager. He is
currently Vice President and Legislative Committee Chair for the Indiana State Assembly Surgical Technology
Committee. Fred is a member of the National Society of Civil War surgeons and recently joined the Indianapolis
Civil War Round Table. He lives in Indianapolis.
January 2006
HARDTACK
Page 2
ICWRT Meeting: January 9, 2006 at 7:30 P.M.
at the
Indiana History Center
The Indianapolis
Civil War Round Table
2005-2006 Campaign
Officers:
President: Ray Shortridge
rshortridge@girls-inc.org
450 West Ohio Street
Indianapolis, Indiana
Join Us Before the Meeting at Shapiro’s Deli!
All ICWRT members and guests are invited to join us
at Shapiro’s Delicatessen before the meeting to enjoy dinner
and fellowship.
See you at Shapiro’s beginning at 5:30 P.M.
808 S. Meridian St. (just south of McCarty Street)
Vice President: Steve Hill
dupageflag@insightbb.com
Secretary: Janet Mitchell
DMitc874@aol.com
Treasurer: Peg Bertelli
pbbertelli@insightbb.com
In this issue of HARDTACK:
Page
January 2006 Meeting: Medical Treatment in the Civil War
Committee Chairs:
Programs: Steve Hill
dupageflag@insightbb.com
presented by Fred Schaefer………………………………..……………..1-2
Preservation News: Franklin Battlefield……….…………………...…3-4
Upcoming ICWRT Programs…………………….…………………….…..4
Publicity: Norris Darrall
norrisdarrall@hotmail.com
Preservation: Andy O’Donnell
odar1@aol.com
HARDTACK Newsletter:
Editor: Dave Klinestiver
HardtackEditor@comcast.net
Distribution:
Dave Klinestiver (Email)
Tony Roscetti (U.S. mail)
Calendar of Events…..……………………..………………….…………... 5
National Museum of Civil War Medicine…………………………………5
Trimble’s Trivia …………………………………..………………....…….. 6
From the Bookshelf…………………………………………………………7
Civil War Medical Terminology………………………………………….8-9
Photographs: Ambulance crew & field hospitals…………………10-11
HARDTACK
January 2006
Page 3
Preservation News
…And the Walls Came Tumbling Down:
Franklin Battlefield Pizza Hut is Demolished!!
by Greg Biggs
President, Clarksville (TN) CWRT
W
ednesday, November 30th, 2005, was the 141st Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin, arguably
the most vicious fight of the entire Civil War. In five hours or so some 9,000 Southerners fell in
the greatest Confederate charge of the war against entrenched Federals, many of whom carried
repeating rifles backed by numerous artillery batteries.
Over time, the town of Franklin grew and grew, and in the midst of some of the worst fighting of the War,
developers placed homes and businesses. The very symbol of that development, a Pizza Hut, became well
known to preservationists and Civil War buffs alike as what NOT to do with Civil War battlefields. A
recent issue of National Geographic even featured this blighted site.
Today that changed.
After opening remarks by the Mayor of Franklin,
Thomas Miller, a parade of dignitaries
including U.S. Congressman Lincoln Davis,
Thomas Cartwright (Carter House Executive
Director), Ed Bearss (former Chief Historian,
National Park Service) and Jim Lighthizer of the
Civil War Preservation Trust, gave speeches about
how this event came to pass in a partnership of
preservationists, Civil War buffs, local and even
Federal government.
Thomas Cartwright, executive director of The Carter
House in Franklin, takes a swing at the former Pizza
Hut building on Columbia Avenue as demolition
begins.
Cartwright was in fine form as he told of the
bloody charge of that fateful day standing almost
where Gen. Patrick Cleburne fell. He is a national
treasure. The other great national treasure, Ed Bearss, spoke not as a historian but as a World War 2 veteran
and asked the large crowd what would we think if a Pizza Hut was built on Mt. Suribachi at Iwo Jima; on
Tarawa; on Omaha Beach; or at that place south of Bastogne where Creighton Abrams' tanks linked up with
the 101st Airborne during the Battle of the Bulge. This is why it is so important to save these hallowed
fields today!
Then, one by one, they donned white hard hats and each took several swings with a sledge hammer against
the brick walls of the infamous Pizza Hut. Cartwright, perhaps the most dedicated of them all, drew the
biggest cheers as he attacked the walls as hard as Cleburne's men attacked the Union lines in 1864. The
mayor then got into a large steam shovel and proceeded to smash in a portion of the roof to great applause!
There is some discussion about selling these bricks when the building is completely torn down as a fund-
January 2006
HARDTACK
Page 4
raiser for Save The Franklin Battlefield or a related group. Limited commemorative coins were handed out
to those who attended.
Wednesday night's ceremony, which I could not
attend, saw the deed to the Franklin Country
Club, next to the Carnton Mansion, turned over
for development into a Franklin Battlefield
park. This closes a long fund-raising campaign
involving the city, country music stars and
private citizens, along with the CWPT, to take
back the land for history and the future. This
portion will be one of the largest, if not the
largest, piece of core battlefield property to be
reclaimed for preservation.
The weather was perfect, a beautiful sunny day
in the high 40's, and very similar to what it was
when 20,000 Confederates stepped off into
history in late 1864. I am sure the spirits of the
men, North and South, who fell that day as the
sun sank into the west, were smiling that now
they would truly be remembered for all time.
What a great day -- and it proves that such land
can be saved if we all try hard enough.
Upcoming ICWRT Programs
Unless otherwise noted, the ICWRT meets on the second Monday of the month at the Indiana History Center
January 9, 2006
Medical Treatment in the Civil War
Fred Schaefer
February 13, 2006
“Following Stonewall”
Sadie Ritchie
March 13, 2006
Topic to be announced
Mark Jaeger
April 10, 2006
The Last Five Years of Robert E. Lee’s Life
James Orr
May 8, 2006
The Red River Campaign
Gary Joiner
June 12, 2006
Annual Banquet / Collectors’ Showcase
Dick Listenberger
HARDTACK
January 2006
Page 5
Calendar of Events
January 27-29
Fri.-Sun.
Fifth Annual Midwest Civil War Civilians Conference
Holiday Inn, Crystal Lake, IL (30 miles from Chicago O'Hare Airport)
For more information contact: Marta Vincent (847-683-0071, www.midwestcwcivilian.com
March 24-26
Fri.-Sun.
The Society of Civil War Surgeons 13th National Conference
Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, Chattanooga, TN
For more information: www.civilwarsurgeons.org
We recommend confirming all dates, times and locations for events not sponsored by the ICWRT
If you know of a Civil War-related event that may be of interest to ICWRT members, please send your information to
Norris Darrall (norrisdarrall@hotmail.com) and HARDTACK (HardtackEditor@comcast.net).
The National Museum of Civil War Medicine
is located in Frederick, Maryland.
In addition to
conducting tours, the museum staff provides research
services on medical-related topics. If you have a specific
question regarding a surgeon you may be researching or
perhaps a surgical procedure, contact the National Museum
of Civil War Medicine. They accept research requests for
an initial fee of $10, which covers up to one hour of
research. If more time is necessary, an additional fee will
be charged.
For more information, visit the website of the NMCWM at:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/medtour/civwarmed.html.
HARDTACK
January 2006
Page 6
Trimble’s Trivia
by Quizmeister Tony Trimble
1. What is “cupping”?
2. What was the generic name for any inflammation of the nose or throat?
3. Describe the “hospital flag”.
4. What is “noxious effluvia”?
5. Name the drug, available as a fluid extract, in crystalline form and as a
hydrochloride salt that could be used as an anesthetic or for relief of asthma.
ANSWERS WILL BE PUBLISHED IN NEXT MONTH’S HARDTACK
Answers to December’s Nickname Quiz:
1. “The Fighting Parson” Granville Moody, U.S.V.
2. “King of Spades” Robert E. Lee
3. “Old Club” Raleigh E. Colston, C.S.A.
4. “Old Swet” Winfield Scott Featherston, C.S.A.
5. “The Brains of the Confederacy” Judah P. Benjamin, Sec. of State, C.S.A.
HARDTACK
January 2006
Page 7
From the Bookshelf
he treatment of diseases and wounds experienced by soldiers during the Civil War
has been a frequent subject of books dating from the time of the conflict itself.
Wartime publications such as Outlines of the Chief Camp Diseases of the
United States Armies by Joseph Janvier Woodward, M.D. (published by the
U.S. Army Medical Department in 1863) were primarily instructional texts used to
aid medical practitioners of the day, many of whom were poorly trained to deal
with a myriad of illnesses and traumatic injuries inflicted on a massive scale.
T
For the serious medical historian in search of a comprehensive survey of published
works, see Microbes and Minie Balls: An Annotated Bibliography of Civil War
Medicine by Frank R. Freemon (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press 1993) 253 pp.
Recent books on Civil War medicine that may be of interest to general readers as well as specialists
include the following:
Civil War Medicine: An Illustrated History
by Mark, J. Schaadt, M.D. (Cedarwood Publishing 1998) 126 pp.
Doctors in Blue: The Medical History of the Union Army in the Civil War
by George Worthington Adams (1952; reprint LSU Press 1996) 253 pp.
Doctors in Gray: The Confederate Medical Service
by H. H. Cunningham (1958; reprint LSU Press 1993) 339 pp.
In Hospital and Camp: The Civil War Through the Eyes of Its
Doctors and Nurses
edited by Harold E. Straubing (Stackpole Books 1993) 176 pp.
Gangrene and Glory: Medical Care During the American Civil
War
by Frank R. Freemon (reprint Univ. of Ill. Press 2001) 254 pp.
Civil War Medicine: Challenges and Triumphs
by Alfred Jay Bollet, M.D. (Galen Press 2002) 475 pp.
Bleeding Blue And Gray : Civil War Surgery
And The Evolution Of American Medicine
by Ira M. Rutkow (Random House 2005) 416 pp.
Civil War Pharmacy: A History of Drugs, Drug Supply and Provision,
and Therapeutics for the Union and Confederacy
by Michael A. Flannery (Pharmaceutical Products Press 2004) 358 pp.
There are also many fine biographies, memoirs, diaries, and collections of letters
of surgeons and nurses that have been published over the years, some of which are
numbered among the classics of Civil War literature.
January 2006
HARDTACK
Page 8
Civil War Era Medical Terminology
Term
Meaning
Ague
recurring fever and chills of malaria
Apoplexy
stroke or cerebral hemorrhage
Bad Blood
syphilis
Bloody Flux
dysentery
Camp Fever
term used for all of the continuing fevers experienced in army
camps, including typhoid fever, malarial remittent fever and
(most often) typho-malarial fever, a combination of the first two,
characterized by a pronounced chill followed by an intermittent
fever, abdominal tenderness and nausea, general debility,
diarrhea, retention of urine, and furring of the tongue
Catarrh
inflammation of the mucous membranes accompanied by an
increased flow of mucous secretions
Cephalalgia
headache
Congestive Fever
malaria
Conjunctivitis
inflammation of the eye or eyelid
Consumption
tuberculosis (also called phthisis)
Cramp Colic
appendicitis
Croup
laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat
Delirium Tremens
hallucinations & seizures due to alcohol withdrawal
Diphtheria
acute bacterial illness characterized by sore throat and fever
Dresser
surgeon's assistant in a hospital
Dropsy
edema, i.e., an abnormal accumulation of fluid in cells, tissues,
or cavities of the body
Dropsy of the Brain
encephalitis
Dysentery
inflammation of intestinal membrane
Dyspepsia
acid indigestion
Enteritis
inflammation of the bowels
Febris
fever
Flux
discharge of fluid from the body
Glandular Fever
mononucleosis
January 2006
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Green Sickness
anemia
Gripe
influenza
Hemophthis
spitting of blood
Jail Fever
typhus
Jaundice
yellowing of the skin due to liver dysfunction
Lock Jaw
tetanus
Lung Fever
pneumonia
Lung Sickness
tuberculosis
Mania
insanity
Miasma
poisonous vapors thought to infect the air
Morsal
gangrene
Necrosis
mortification of bones or tissue, usually skin (i.e., gangrene)
Neuralgia
pain in nerves; generalized pain
Otalgia
earache
Palsy
paralysis or loss of muscle control
Parotitis
mumps
Paroxysm
convulsion
Pleurisy
inflammation of the lung
Podagra
gout
Pox
syphilis
Putrid Fever
diphtheria or typhus
Rheumatic Fever
a/k/a Rheumatism
infectious disease causing fever, pain, swelling of the joints, and
inflammation of the valves of the heart
Rubeola
measles
Scorbutus
scurvy
Screws
rheumatism
Ship's Fever
typhus
Sleeping Sickness
encephalitis
Softening of the Brain
apoplexy (stroke or cerebral hemorrhage)
Spotted Fever
typhus, cerebrospinal meningitis fever
St. Vitus’ Dance
nervous twitches, chorea
Variola
smallpox
Vulnus Sclopeticum
relating to a wound caused by a gunshot wound
Winter Fever
pneumonia
Yellow Jacket (or Jack)
yellow fever
January 2006
HARDTACK
The Rucker ambulance could carry men
in both the sitting and lying position.
Zouave ambulance crew demonstrating removal of the wounded
Page 10
January 2006
HARDTACK
Dr. Anson Hurd, 14th Indiana Volunteers, at Keedysville, Maryland, overseeing
wounded Confederates captured at Sharpsburg, September 1862
Wounded Federal soldiers at a makeshift field hospital
Page 11
January 2006
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Page 12
Civil War art prints by Don Troiani are available at: www.historicalartprints.com
HARDTACK, the newsletter of The Indianapolis Civil War Round Table, is published monthly, September through
June, each year. In addition to information about upcoming programs, HARDTACK features articles, news, reviews
and a calendar of Civil War-related events. HARDTACK is distributed free via email to all ICWRT members and is
posted on the ICWRT website; print copies are available by mail subscription (2005-2006 subscription fee: $12.00).
If you have a short article, book review or some other item that may be of interest to our members, we invite you
to submit it for consideration. Please send your material via email to the editor at: HardtackEditor@comcast.net.
Please include a telephone number and email address where we may contact you. Submissions are due by the tenth
day following the preceding month’s meeting.
Visit the website of The Indianapolis Civil War Round Table: http://indianapoliscwrt.org/