The National Museum of Civil War Medicine houses a world-renowned collection of over 1,500 original artifacts relating to medical care in the American Civil War. Most of these historic objects have either been donated to the Museum or are on long-term loan from private collectors and other museums. Among the many artifacts currently on display are: surgical instruments used by Union and Confederate medical staff, various pharmaceutical bottles and containers, medical knapsacks and panniers, stretchers and litters, prosthetic devices, dental tools, a recruiting drum, Union and Confederate surgeons’ frock coats, a hospital steward’s uniform, a table used for amputations at a field hospital during the battle of Cedar Creek, a Union Army hospital flag that flew over the hospital at City Point, Virginia, and the only known surviving surgeon’s tent from the Civil War.
Well over half of the Museum’s collection is attributed to the generosity of NMCWM founder and chairman, Gordon E. Dammann, D.D.S. Dr. Dammann has collected Civil War medical artifacts for over thirty years and has amassed one of the finest collections in the world. He has authored the Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War Medical Instruments and Equipment, Volumes I, II, and III, and is widely recognized as an expert on medical care in the Civil War.
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Artifacts Under Exam
Union Hospital Steward's Frock Coat
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Surgeon Louis Daniel Radzinsky’s Frock Coat and Boots
This frock coat and pair of boots belonged to Union Surgeon Louis Daniel Radzinsky. Radzinsky served with the 36th New York Infantry as a surgeon’s mate, and as a contract surgeon in hospitals in Pennsylvania and South Carolina. In 1864, Radzinsky became an Assistant Surgeon with the 54th Massachusetts Infantry, the famous African-American regiment featured in the film Glory. He was promoted to Surgeon in 1865 and was transferred to the 104th United States Colored Troops, serving with this regiment until 1866.
The 54th Massachusetts was organized in March of 1863. It was primarily composed of free men and was one of the first African-American units raised in the northern Union states. The principle battles in which this regiment participated were Olustee, Florida, and Honey Hill, Boykin’s Mill, James Island, and Fort Wagner, South Carolina. At Fort Wagner, they sustained a casualty rate of 25 per cent. During the course of the war, over 179,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army, with over 40,000 casualties.
The coat is a single-breasted, mid-thigh length frock coat, constructed of dark blue wool with a brown fabric lining and an off-white fabric in the sleeves. The collar is a stand-up style about 1 ½ inches in height, lined with green velvet, while the style of the bodice is a princess cut with nine 1-inch buttons down the middle. A pocket is located in the lining of the left bodice.
The coat is seamed at the waist, while the back has a split tail to the waistline seam with a pleat on each side. There are four 1-inch eagle buttons on the back, two at the center waistline and one on each pleat in the tail. In addition, the coat contains two pockets in each tail opening between the back waistline and the tail pleat buttons.
Wooden Stretcher Bed
Unless a wounded Civil War soldier was capable of making his own way to the surgeon for medical treatment, he would have to stay on the battlefield until removed by means of a hand litter (stretcher) manned by designated stretcher bearers. Records of the Property Division of the U.S. Surgeon General's Office show that during the war 52,489 litters of various manufactures were purchased and issued to the troops. Many businessmen rushed to develop innovative devices to profit from the needs of the War Department. Therefore, a wide variety of litters were designed and manufactured.
Two of the most widely used styles were the Satterlee and the Halstead. In the beginning of the War, the Satterlee (U.S. regulation litter) was supplied to the regiments. It weighed 24 1/2 pounds, was 27 inches wide, and consisted of two pieces of canvas 5 feet 10 inches long, sewn in the center with a flat seam, with a hem on either side 7 1/2 inches wide through which the poles of the litter were passed. On one end were three tarred rope loops to put over the pins on the crossbar. The poles and bars were made of seasoned ash with bands made of wrought iron. It also had legs that made its temporary use as a cot readily possible. One objection to the Satterlee was its bulk.
The Halstead litter, a stretcher slightly lighter and more compact, soon superseded the Satterlee. It weighed 23 3/4 pounds and was 23 1/2 inches wide. The length of the canvas was 5 feet 11 inches and was fastened on the outer side with six ounce tacks; it also had legs. A hair pillow covered with canvas accompanied this stretcher (see full description below).
The Confederate Army developed a very serviceable litter as well. Their mode of securing the duck cloth or sacking to the frame was as follows: "A groove 3/4 inches wide and 5/8 of an inch deep is cut out in the length of the frame. The cloth is tacked in this and secured by a lath which fits accurately the groove and which is nailed in, covering the cloth. The tension upon the cloth is born by the tacks, but is uniformly supported by the entire lath, and therefore never rips off."
Of course, many wounded men were also removed by their comrades on improvised litters. These were made by passing poles or muskets through the sleeves of coats that were buttoned over them. They would also roll these supports in blankets and form a litter. Gates, window shutters and ladders, sometimes with brush or hay thrown over them, were also used, as well as poles interlaced with wire. Swinging the wounded man in a blanket with ends lashed to a single pole made "hammock" litters.
This stretcher bed in the Museum’s collection is a unique device because it could be used as a hospital bed as well as a stretcher. This type of patented stretcher bed actually saw service in the field as evidenced by a surviving photograph of the 57th New York medical staff employing it while removing the wounded from Marye's Heights, Virginia, on May 2, 1864. The Museum’s stretcher bed is in good condition. It carries the stencil of the 4th New Jersey Infantry and is on display in the Medical Evacuation gallery at the Museum.
The Halstead Litter
Many types of litters were used during the Civil War to remove wounded soldiers from the battlefields. The following is a detailed description of the Halstead litter used by the Union Medical Department. The description is from The Medical & Surgical History of the Civil War, Volume XII.
"The Halstead litter, a stretcher of lighter and more compact pattern, soon superseded the Satterlee (litter). It weighed twenty-three and three-fourths pounds and was twenty-three and one-half inches wide; the length of the canvas (unbleached) was five feet eleven inches, being fastened on the outer side of the rave with six-ounce tacks. The poles were made of seasoned white ash, eight feet long and one and five-sixth inches square, with thirteen inches at one end and twelve inches at the other, extending beyond the canvas and rounded off for handles. The legs, which were also made of seasoned white ash, were fourteen and one-half inches long, one inch thick, one and seven-eighths inches wide at the top, and tapering to one and three-eighths inches at the bottom. They were fastened to the poles with screw bolts, washers under the heads of the bolts, and rivets through the upper end of the legs to prevent them from splitting. The braces to hold the stretcher open, one (on the under side) at either end, consisted of two pieces of wrought-iron one inch wide by three-eighths of an inch thick; one piece was fifteen inches and the other twelve inches in length, hinged in the centre of the stretcher, the longer one overlapping the shorter three and one-half inches, and, when open, shutting on a bolt or pin, forming a stiff shoulder for the hinge and preventing the stretcher from accidentally closing. The braces were fastened on with heavy screws, with pieces of common hoop iron underneath the braces to prevent them from wearing the wood. The shoulder straps weighed eight ounces, and were made of striped cotton webbing two and one-half inches wide by fifty inches long, with a five-inch loop at one end and a leather strap twenty-two and one-half inches long by one and one-sixth inches wide, with buckle, at the other end to loop around the handles of the stretcher at any length desired. A hair pillow covered with canvas accompanied this stretcher, which gave great satisfaction, and out of the litters (16,807) issued by the New York Purveying Depot twelve thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven (12,867) were of this pattern."
Union Army Hospital Department Bottles
At the beginning of the Civil War, medicines for the Union Army were packaged in a variety of ways. The drugs were often sealed in paper wrappers and paperboard boxes. However, this type of packaging proved too fragile for hospital and battlefield use. Surgeons and hospital stewards favored medicines that had been packaged in glass and tin. Tin containers were the most widely used containers during the Civil War, but glass bottles were also prevalent for the duration of the conflict.
The manufacture of Hospital Department bottles began in 1862 and these bottles were a common sight in Union hospitals by 1863. Bottles, along with tin containers, were popular among the medical staff because of their durability in the field. In addition to Hospital Department bottles the Union Army also used plain civilian bottles.
The Union Army contracted with at least two firms, one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and another in Baltimore, Maryland, for the production of bottles for its medical service. Evidence suggests that a third manufacturer may have existed in St. Louis, Missouri. Each bottle had some variant of "U.S.A. Hospital Department" embossed on its side. The words "hospital" and "department" were usually abbreviated, but sometimes appeared in a single line. A few bottles were embossed with "U.S.A. Med'l Dept.," but they were not as common. This quart-sized Hospital Department bottle was produced by the Pittsburgh Glassworks and is part of the Museum’s collection. The lettering on Pittsburgh Hospital Department bottles was more pronounced than those from the Baltimore Glassworks.
Hospital Department bottles were manufactured in various colors with clear being the most common. Aqua colored bottles were also frequently produced. Cobalt, apricot, purple, and emerald green bottles were produced in much smaller numbers. Historians and collectors have not yet been able to ascertain whether or not any correlation existed between the color of a bottle and its contents. The bottles came in several different sizes to accommodate various pill, powder, and liquid medicines in military use. After the bottles were manufactured, they were filled with medicines from a government or private laboratory.
When compared to bottles of the twenty-first century, Hospital Department bottles look quite primitive. Due to nineteenth century techniques in glass making, each bottle had many imperfections. Some existing bottles display small bubbles and sand in the glass, and others have a slightly pitted, carved look to them.
Production of Hospital Department bottles ceased in 1865; however, they were in use by the Army until the 1870's. They were gradually replaced with brown or amber colored bottles embossed with variations of "U.S. Army Medical Department." These newer bottles were of better quality than Hospital Department bottles and were used until World War II.
Since Hospital Department bottles were manufactured during a short period of time and continued to be used for years after the Civil War, they had a low survival rate. Cobalt bottles are a rare find. For living historians and reenactors, the Museum Store carries replica Hospital Department bottles.
The Squibb Pannier
During the first several months of the Civil War, the Union Army used large, heavy chests to carry medical supplies and drugs while on campaign. These cumbersome chests were transported in wagons of the Army's supply trains and often inaccessible to surgeons and stewards during an engagement. To remedy this problem, the Army began issuing medicine chests of more compact designs to aid the medical staff on the front lines. One such chest was the Squibb pannier, designed by pharmaceutical manufacturer Edward R. Squibb of Brooklyn, New York. Squibb's panniers were constructed of wood and reinforced with an iron frame making them sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of march and battle. Panniers were intended to be carried by pack animals, but were more often placed in ambulance wagons where they could be easily reached when required.
A complete Squibb pannier measured 21 inches long, 11 1/2 inches wide, 11 3/8 inches deep, and weighed 88 pounds. The pannier was divided into two tiers. Bandages, surgical instruments, and other supplies were stored in the removable upper tier while the lower tier was divided into compartments to accommodate medicines. To make locating a medicine in the pannier easier, each drug container was given a number that corresponded to a numbered compartment in the lower level. A diagram showing the location of each numbered container was glued to the inside of the lid for quick reference.
Medicinal Contents of the Squibb Pannier (from the original broadside that accompanied the pannier; names were given in Latin):
1. CERATUM CANTHARIDIS. (Spanish flies) Three ounces
2. ARGENTI NITRAS. (silver nitrate) One ounce
3. ARGENTI NITRAS FUSUS. (crystalline silver nitrate) One ounce
4. IODINIUM. (iodine) One ounce
5. ANTIMONII ET POTASSAE TARTRAS. (tartar emetic) One ounce
6. HYDRARGYRI CHLORIDUM MITE. (mild chloride of mercury; calomel) One ounce
7. EXTRACT OF BEEF. One pound
8. EXTRACT OF COFFEE. One pound
9. CONDENSED MILK. One pound
10. BLACK TEA. Four ounces
11. SPIRITUS FRUMENTI. (spirits of nitric ether) Twenty-four fluid ounces
12. SPIRITUS AETHERIS NITRICI. (sweet spirit of nitre) Eight fluid ounces
13. ALCOHOL FORTIUS. (strong alcohol) Twelve fluid ounces
14. COUGH MIXTURE. Twelve fluid ounces
15. WHITE SUGAR. Ten ounces
16. CHLOROFORMUM PURIFICATUM. (chloroform) Twelve fluid ounces
17. LINIMENT. Twelve fluid ounces
18. SYRUPUS SCILLAE. (syrup of squill) Eight fluid ounces
19. AQUA AMMONIAE. (ammonia water) Eight fluid ounces
20. SPIRITUS AETHERIS COMPOSITUS. (compound spirits of ether) Four fluid ounces
21. TINCTURA OPII. (tincture of opium; laudanum) Six fluid ounces
22. EXTRACTUM CINCHONAE FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of cinchona; Peruvian bark) With aromatics, four fluid ounces
23. EXTRACTUM VALERIANAE FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of valerian) Six fluid ounces
24. EXTRACTUM ZINGIBERIS FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of ginger) Six fluid ounces
25. OLEUM OLIVAE. (olive oil) Six fluid ounces
26. OLEUM TEREBINTHINAE. (oil of turpentine) Six fluid ounces
27. GLYCERINA. (glycerine) Six fluid ounces
28. TINCTURA OPII CAMPHORATA. (camphorated tincture of opium) Six fluid ounces
29. LIQUOR FERRI PERSULPHATUS. (liquid iron persulphate) Four fluid ounces
30. SPIRITUS AMMONIAE AROMATICUS. (aromatic spirits of ammonia) Four fluid ounces
31. PILULAE CATHARTICAE COMPOSITAE. (compound cathartic pills) Fifty dozen
32. PILLS OF COLCYNTII AND IPECAC. (colocynth and ipecac) Fifty dozen
33. PULVIS IPECAC: ET OPII. (powder of ipecac and opium) In five gram pills, thirty dozen
34. PILULAE QUINIAE SULPHATIS. (quinine sulphate pills) Three grams, forty dozen
35. POTASSAE CHLORAS. (potassium chlorate) Four ounces
36. POTASSAE BICARBONAS. (bicarbonate of potassium) Four ounces
37. POTASSII IODIDUM. (iodide of potassium) Four ounces
38. SODAE ET POTASSEA TARTRAS. (tartrate of potassium and soda; Rochelle salt) Four ounces
39. LIQUOR MORPHIAE SULPHATIS. (morphine sulphate solution) Sixteen grains to the fluid ounce, four fluid ounces
40. PILLS OF CAMPHOR AND OPIUM. Twenty dozen
41. PILULAE HYDRARGYRI. (mercury pills; blue pills) Forty dozen
42. PILULAE OPII. (opium pills) Sixty dozen
43. ACIDUM TANNICUM. (tannic acid) Half an ounce
44. ALUMEN. (alum) Three ounces
45. COLLODIUM. (etheral solution of gun cotton) Three fluid ounces
46. CREASOTUM. (creosote) Two fluid ounces
47. EXTRACTUM ACONITI RADICIS FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of aconite root) Three fluid ounces
48. EXTRACTUM COLCHICI SEMINIS FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of colchicum seed) Three fluid ounces
49. EXTRACTUM IPECACUANHAE FLUIDUM. (fluid extract of ipecac) Three fluid ounces
50. TINCTURA FERRI CHLORIDI. (ferric chloride; tincture of muriate of iron) Two fluid ounces
51. PLUMBI ACETAS. (acetate of lead) Three ounces
52. ZINCI SULPHAS. (zinc sulphate; white vitriol) Three ounces
Surgeon’s Letter
Civil War soldiers had a strong sense of duty to the cause for which they fought. A surgeon's duty, however, was not just to cause and country, but also to the soldiers whose health he was to maintain. Occasionally a death in the regiment would transfer a surgeon's duty and responsibility to the grieving family at home.
Such was the case for Assistant Surgeon O.S. Belden in the Autumn of 1862. He wrote the following letter to the widow of Captain Edward A. Acton who fell at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Slight changes have been made in punctuation to facilitate reading.
Camp Fifth Reg. N.J. Vol.
October 28th 1862
Mrs. E. A. Acton,
For some time past I have thought it my duty to drop you a few lines concerning the death of your husband but the pressure of business has prevented me from doing as I wished.
August 29th, the day that the first battle occurred at Bull Run and the day Edward was killed was quite an eventful day in experience of many. That morning the regiment commenced to march at two o'clock, anticipating a fight with the enemy. The regiment marched slowly for four hours or until day dawned, coming to a halt on top of a very high hill overlooking the hills surrounding Bull Run Battlefield. At that time we were distant from Battlefield about four miles, and here we rested several hours. At eleven o'clock the word came for us to march to the Battlefield. For two hours we marched slowly and then came to a halt in a large open field, just in rear of the woods where the enemy were concealed. Here the regiment rested for an hour enabling it to obtain a meal and be prepared for a fight. At two o'clock the command came for the regiment to move straight forward and drive the enemy out of the woods. The regiment advanced into the woods about fifty yards and came to a halt. Then Brigadier General Carr gave orders for four companies of the regiment to advance as skirmishers and fight with the enemy till relieved by four other companies of the regiment. Company K was included in the second group of companies. Whilst fighting, some of his company being severely wounded by two sharpshooters that were partially concealed behind a tree. Edward became irritated, took up a musket and attempted to shoot them. The first load that he shot killed one of the sharpshooters and whilst loading his musket to kill the other, a slug struck him and passed through his bowels. He immediately fell and was carried by off the field by four of his own men to the hospital which we had temporarily established at the edge of the woods. We then dressed his wounds and told him immediately that there was no possible hope for his living any length of time. He said he was conscious that he could not live and requested some powerful anodyne to relieve his pain because he was in great agony. We gave him an opiate which made him comparatively comfortable. As soon as we told him he could not live he specially requested me to send his love to his Father, Mother, Wife, and children. He also added, "what will my dear children do without me?" A request was made by him that when dead his body be embalmed and sent home. Being no embalmers short of Alexandria, I could not do it unless I took the body there. I would have taken it even that distance of thirty miles, but Lieutenant Colonel refused to let me do it and ordered it to be interred under a small tree on the Battlefield.
Edward lived three quarters of an hour after he received his wound and was perfectly conscious till he died. Will you inform his father that our pickets are advanced up to the Battlefield and if he wishes, he can obtain the body?
Lieutenant Large of Company K told me a day or two ago that his trunk is now in his tent and was very much damaged by retreat from Peninsula. I t will be necessary to enclose it in a box. He says that he will send it home by express as soon as he receives the money necessary to send it. He would send it without advancing any money if he had money enough but he feels completely bankrupt since Paymaster has not been here for four months.
Hoping these lines may be of some service to you, I close.
O.S. Belden
Assistant Surgeon, 5th Reg. N.J.V.
Adhesive Plaster: The Sticky Bandage
Adhesive plaster was common among the contents of hospital knapsacks, panniers, and medicine wagons during the Civil War. It had a myriad of uses and was nearly always present at the field dressing stations and hospitals.
To produce adhesive plaster, resin was added to lead plaster (olive oil and lard saponified with lead monoxide) and then spread on one side of thin muslin. The result was a bandage that became adhesive when heated.
Surgeons found adhesive plaster suitable in many applications from the dressing of wounds to the extension and counter-extension of certain fractures. It was frequently used to hold a piece of lint or other bandage material in place or to close the lips of a wound.
Adhesive plaster was produced in rolls and was cut into strips for use. Once cut, the strips were heated to render the plaster adhesive. The necessary heat could come from a variety of sources. Dr. John Hooker Packard wrote, "A very good plan is to have a can of hot water, to the outside of which the back of each strip is applied before it is put on." Warming the strips over a flame from a spirit-lamp was another method. Friction from rubbing the strips between one’s thumb and forefinger often generated enough warmth for the purpose when other heat sources were unavailable. The strips were then applied as needed.
Adhesive plaster was often found to be irritating to the patient. This drawback, coupled with time-consuming heating prior to use, caused a few surgeons to find alternatives. Assistant Surgeon J. S. Billings, U.S.A., wrote in 1864, "The common adhesive plaster has been less frequently used than in former campaigns, partly because means of heat are necessary to apply it properly, and partly because it is thought to be somewhat irritating to the skin, and liable to produce erythematous inflammation. Gelatine plaster has been more largely used…"
For those wanting to learn more, The Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War has numerous references to adhesive plaster among its case studies and surgeons’ reports. Dr. John Hooker Packard’s A Manual of Minor Surgery, written in 1864, and A Hand-Book of Military Operations by Stephen Smith, M.D., written in 1862, explain the uses of adhesive plaster and contain many illustrations of its application.
(Artifacts from the collection of the NMCWM and the collection of G.E. Dammann, D.D.S.)
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