Throughout the exhibits are special blue panels that highlight the military career of Union Private Peleg Bradford. In his own words, Bradford tells us his thoughts on the war, the condition of his regiment and the effect his enlistment had on the family he left behind.

As the Civil War began, the practice of medicine was emerging from the "heroic era", with its theory of bringing a balance to the humors of the body. Medical practitioners had no knowledge of germ theory or antiseptic practices. Both discoveries were still years away. Over 40 medical schools existed in America before the war, and apprenticeships with established physicians were also common. The usual course of study in a medical school consisted of two terms of six-month lectures, with the second term often being a repeat of the first. Featured objects in this gallery include medical school documents, teaching models, and mid-nineteenth century medical instruments.

Recruiting and Enlisting

All new recruits were supposed to receive a physical exam. Occasionallythe exam was very superficial, allowing recruits to enter the army with chronic diseases and physical defects that would affect their performance as a soldier. With the number of men willing to enlist dwindling, both the North and South resorted to instituting a draft to secure the large number of soldiers needed to fight. The Recruiting & Enlisting scene depicts a regimental surgeon performing physical exams on potential recruits. Featured objects in this gallery include a bass drum from a regimental band and a handbook designed for regimental surgeons.

Camp Life

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Evacuation of the Wounded

At the beginning of the Civil War, there was no established system to transport wounded soldiers from the front lines to the field hospitals in the rear. In August of 1862, Jonathan Letterman, the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, created a highly organized system of ambulances and trained stretcher bearers designed to evacuate the wounded as quickly as possible. A similar plan was adopted by the Confederate army. The Letterman plan remains the basis for present military evacuation systems. Horses and mules were essential to the army and veterinary medicine played an important role in the war. Large infirmaries were developed to treat animals too sick or worn down to be of immediate use. An estimated 1 million horses died during the Civil War. The Evacuation scene depicts members of the ambulance corps loading the wounded into four-wheeled ambulances. Featured objects in this gallery include Union and Confederate stretchers and items pertaining to veterinary medicine.

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The first level of care received by a wounded soldier was at a field dressing station, located close to the fighting. Medical personnel bandaged wounds and administered whiskey for shock and morphine for pain. If the soldier was unable to return to battle, he was transported to a field hospital via ambulance or stretcher. The Field Dressing Station scene depicts Union medical personnel attending to a wounded Confederate soldier. The location is modeled after the field dressing station of the 32^nd Massachusetts Infantry near the Wheat Field at Gettysburg. It was common for medical personnel from both the North and South to treat the wounded from the other side. Letterman said: "humanity teaches us that a wounded and prostrate foe is not then our enemy." Featured objects in this gallery include various field medical cases and their contents.

Field Hospital

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At a field hospital, usually located in a barn or tent to the rear of the fighting, wounded soldiers were triaged into three categories: mortally wounded, slightly wounded, and surgical cases. Most surgeries were amputations and took place at the field hospitals. Of all the operations performed during the Civil War, 95% were done with the patient under some form of anesthesia. Chloroform and ether were the most common anesthetics. The large number of amputations performed during the war were the result of the severe nature of the wounds caused by the Minié ball, the number of wounded needing immediate treatment, and the often poor condition of the patients. The Field Hospital scene depicts an amputation taking place in a barn being used as a Confederate field hospital. Featured objects in this gallery include an amputation kit and a Squibb medicine chest.

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Prior to the Civil War, any system of hospitalization was virtually unknown. With the large number of wounded and sick needing long-term care, a network of general hospitals was created in cities in both the North and the South. At first existing buildings were used for hospitals, but soon both armies constructed large pavilion-style hospitals that were clean, well ventilated, and highly efficient. Surgeons, hospital stewards, male nurses, female nurses, matrons, laundresses, and volunteers from civilian associations all contributed to the care of the sick and wounded. The quality of care that the patients received improved dramatically after the opening months of the war, and the general hospitals had an 8% mortality rate for all patients. The Pavilion Hospital scene depicts the Hammond Hospital (Union) in Point Lookout, St. Mary's County, Maryland. Featured objects in this gallery include a Union hospital garrison flag, a hospital drug chest, and prosthetic limbs.

This exhibit also includes informational panels on Nursing in the Civil War, including female nurses, male nurses, the Sisters of religious orders who offered their services, excerpts from nurses’ letters and diaries, and re-creations of a Civil War nurse’s schedule.  Seven Union and seven Confederate nurses are highlighted on a flip-door panel, complete with photographs and information on each nurse.  A habit, identical to the type worn by the Daughters of Charity during the Civil War, is on display in a custom exhibit case.  The habit is on loan from the Daughters of Charity, Emmitsburg, MD.  In addition, various items used by the nurses in the hospitals are on display throughout the gallery.

The last exhibit area depicts a variety of subjects relating to Civil War medicine, including dental care during the Civil War, Naval medicine, an apothecary wagon, the issues of death and embalming, the hospitals in Frederick after the battle of Antietam, and a look at military medicine in the past, present and future. Periodically, temporary exhibits will be displayed in this area.

Featured objects in this gallery include a nineteenth century dental chair, a mortar and pestle from the hospital ship "Red Rover", and embalming equipment.

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Embalming Exhibit
(Opened April 2003)

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is home to a new permanent exhibit entitled, The Art of Embalming the Dead During the American Civil War. This exhibit was made possible, in part, with funds from the Maryland Humanities Council, through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Other businesses and individuals contributing to the exhibit include Mr. and Mrs. Richard C. C. Basford, Frederick, Maryland, and New Windsor Bank of Carroll County, Maryland, in honor of the Honorable Charles H. Smelser. The exhibit was designed and fabricated by Dennis Kund, Kund & Associates, Lusby, Maryland.

Mortuary science was in its infancy in the United States when the Civil War broke out. However, because of the desire of the family members of the soldiers killed in battle or dying of disease to have their loved ones’ bodies returned home for burial, the art of embalming flourished during the Civil War. Just prior to the start of the Civil War, most embalming was related to the study of pathology and of specimen preservation. Therefore, those possessing the knowledge and skill to preserve a dead body were typically surgeons, physicians, and pharmacists with knowledge of chemical compounds and anatomy. As such, mortuary science of this period is an important component of the Museum’s interpretation of Civil War medicine. Additionally, the building that houses the Museum was used as an embalming station during the Civil War and this aspect of the building’s history is discussed in the exhibit.

The exhibit consists of a partial reconstruction of an embalming tent, with a museum-quality mannequin depicting an embalming surgeon standing behind a table made of barrels and a door. A mannequin depicting a deceased soldier, being embalmed using techniques used during the Civil War, is on the table. A partial ground form was assembled to create an immersion experience similar to the other exhibits throughout the Museum. Custom exhibit cases were constructed to house the corresponding artifacts. Interpretative panels include: The Embalming Process; Embalming Surgeons; Coffins, Cases and Transportation; and historical facts about the building with emphasis on its use as an embalming station after the battles of South Mountain and Antietam in September 1862.