Amputations in the Civil War
On June 18, 1864, a cannon shot took both of Alfred Stratton’s arms. He was just 19 at the time. It is said that one in 13 soldiers became amputees during the Civil War. Battles weren’t the only reason soldiers lost limbs. Military advances during the Civil War meant more powerful and destructive weapons, which led to more devastating injuries. Most of the doctors in America at that time were unprepared to treat such horrific wounds. Furthermore, because they weren’t aware of bacteria and germs, they didn’t recognize the need for sanitation- bandages were used again and again on different people. So, even wounds that could be treated easily today became very common.
A common operation was an amputation, where a person’s limb was removed by cutting it off quickly—in a circular sawing motion to keep the patient from dying from the pain or shock. Surprisingly, most patients survived this procedure.
"The Boys’ War"
It's estimated that anywhere from 250,000 to 420,000 young boys (17 and under) fought in the American Civil War on both sides. Approximately 100,000 Union soldiers were even younger than 15 years old.
Because of the large number of young soldiers compared to the number of older ones in the Civil War, an author once wrote it “might have been called The Boys’ War.” In this photo, you can see black and white teenage soldiers of the Union army
The U.S. Civil War Soldier
H.H. Robin Junior represents the Civil War common soldier who was described as a "white, native-born, farmer, protestant, single, between 18 and 29." He stood at about 5.8 feet tall and weighed about 143 pounds.
Yanks referred to Union soldiers from the North, while Rebs were the Southern Confederate soldiers.
Francis E. Brownell
Union soldier and Medal of Honor recipient Francis E. Brownell, also known as "Ellsworth's Avenger," in a Zouave uniform, a rifle, and a bayoneted musket. He has a black cloth tied to his left arm in mourning for Col. E. E. Ellsworth, the first Union officer to die in the American Civil War.
In the Union army, 6 percent of the soldiers were in artillery, 14 percent in the cavalry, and 80 percent the infantry. Opposite to them, in the Confederate army, 5 percent were in artillery, 20 percent in the cavalry, and 75 percent of the soldiers served in the infantry.
Harriet Tubman
Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made at least thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved people, including some of her family and friends, using the network coined the Underground Railroad.
During the Civil War, she served as an armed scout and spy for the Union Army. In her later years, Tubman served as an activist in the struggle for women's rights.