When we think of Civil War medicine, we often think of gore, like amputated limbs and bloody gunshot wounds. But these traumatic injuries did not make up the majority of a Civil War surgeon’s daily work. Instead, it was the camp diseases like dysentery and typhoid, infectious disease like smallpox, and – as we saw in this week’s episode of Mercy Street – venereal diseases.
This week’s episode was full of Civil War slang. We’ve put together a list of some of our favorites. What do you think they mean?
Historian Kathleen Logothetis Thompson explores mental stress, psychological trauma, and suicide among Civil War soldiers.
When Dr. Foster diagnosed Tom with irritable heart, did he essentially diagnose him with the Civil War’s equivalent of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)? Not exactly.
Assistant Director of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, Auni Gelles, explores what Maryland was like during the Civil War.
Incredibly enough, the color-bearer in the first episode of Mercy Street PBS, was a true story.
Ashley Bowen shares the history of irritable heart, a brand new diagnosis in 1862.
Jonathan Letterman changed the course of the Civil War and of American medicine.
