The Letter Of A Confederate Surgeon - 1440 Words

Through examining the letters of a Confederate surgeon, the main motivation for Southerners to both fight and continue fighting in the American Civil War was hope. From the inception of the war, the South had major disadvantages compared to the North in almost every aspect of war; however, Confederates had remarkable confidence in the face of such weaknesses. The Union did have similar sureness in themselves, but the Confederacy displayed noteworthy hope throughout the entire war that was not expected under their circumstances. The Confederacy was outnumbered in men, weapons, food production, transportation, and so on, yet they had hope until the end. Each Southerner had faith that compelled them to fight in the war, but each Southerner had faith in different places. Confederates held onto different sources of hope – hope that the Union would quit, hope that the Confederacy would prevail, hope that they would return to their homes – but hope nonetheless was what drove Southerners in the war. One man who demonstrated such hope was Spencer Glasgow Welch, a surgeon in the Confederacy army under the Thirteenth South Carolina Volunteers in McGowan’s Brigade . As a surgeon in the army instead of a solider, Welch had certain privileges that the combatants did not have, including going home for the holidays and not fighting Unionists on the frontlines. However, Welch was disposed to the excruciating hardships of treating footmen during a time when there were limited medicalShow MoreRelatedMedicine During The Civil War1548 Words   |  7 Pagesduring the war. I will also include information from letters and documents that the nurse and doctors wrote while the Civil War was going one and what kind of establishments were created and the kind of equipment they used in the hospital. Since the period of the Civil War was and is consider to be the start and growth of the medical industry it is important for me to find out why. Advances included amputation and the anesthesia inhaler. The surgeon noticed the best way to save deadly infections wasRead MoreBlack Soldiers in the Civil War964 Words   |  4 PagesThe Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War Historical Background Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship. Ââ€"Frederick Douglass The issues of emancipation and military service were intertwined from the onset of the Civil War. News from Fort Sumter set off a rush by free blackRead MoreWomen and Their Role in the Civil War2492 Words   |  10 Pagescherished since childhood. Women as Soldiers While Civil War- era women were not allowed to be soldiers, many were present as combatants in numerous battles and skirmishes from the first encounter at Blackburn’s Ford to the final surrender of the Confederate army. Of these, two women on each side of the cause rose to great notoriety with the end of the war. Sarah Emma Edmonds (fig.1 Blanton 134), alias Pvt. Franklin Thompson (fig.2 Blanton 135), served with the 2nd Michigan Infantry first as a regimentalRead MoreThe Battle Of The American Civil War1425 Words   |  6 Pagesthe 14th Tennessee Cavalry, a Federal regiment, lead by Major William F. Bradford.The fort became engulfed by Confederate personal resulting into a tactical stalemate. However, when giving chance to surrender, the Union refused to even when they were surrounded by Confederate forces. A fatal decision that lead to the death of about 81% of the garrison s men, according to Confederate surgeons.1 Determining whether or not the battle was an intentional massacre or rather an unfortunate act of war is stillRead MoreShattered: The Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)1738 Words   |  7 PagesHowever, these feelings of resentment soon turned to animosity as conditions went from mildly inconvenient to hellish nightmares. This will become apparent when given the history of the prison camps and examples of two of the worst offenders - Confederate led Andersonville in the South and Union run Elmira to the North. These fiendish prisons and their practices would leave a wound as catastrophic to the soul as the Minie ball was to the body. This invisible wound is known as post-traumatic stressRead MoreEssay on Nursing and Medicine of the Civil War2527 Words   |  11 PagesNursing and Medicine Of the American Civil War Kristy Michelle Pickard-4756 History 2111 – Fall 2009 On April 12, 1861 in Fort Sumter, SC Confederate troops fired the first shots of the Four Year American Civil War. After the first few battles were fought, both sides faced the realization of how they desperately needed doctors and nurses to care for the injured soldiers. (1) The first nurses were recuperating soldiers (rebel) however; their own illnesses prevented them from providing properRead MoreAbraham Lincolns War Aims Compared to William Sherman and Walt Whitman739 Words   |  3 PagesHis views were very much different than those of Abraham Lincoln and though not evident, were still noticeable in his writings. Last, none other than William T. Sherman himself, a Federal Army General, disclosed letters sent between him and the Confederate General, J. B. Hood and also letters sent between him and the mayor of Atlanta, James M. Calhoun. In them, he expresses his opinions about the war which, not-so-surprisingly, is very similar to Lincolns. Lincoln above all solely wanted to saveRead MoreThe Role Of Women During The Civil War1418 Words   |  6 PagesIn these societies they gave soldiers socks, shirts, and blankets, scarves, under clothes, shoes, bandages, and food. Majority of the women worked as individuals to send out materials to the soldiers. These aid societies were developed to assist Confederate and Union. Women also volunteered to be seamstresses, laundresses, and cooks. Individuals who did help with the Union cause materialize to fit into all-purpose pattern, with hardly any exceptions. Women had many roles in the war, one of them wasRead MoreWomen During The Revolutionary War1197 Words   |  5 Pagesonly woman in her class in 1855. Mary first tried to join the Union Army but was denied entry, so instead she undertaken a position as a volunteer assistant surgeon for the Army. She worked as a field surgeon near the Union front lines, she also would cross enemy lines to treat wounded civilians. Mary was taken prisoner and held by Confederates Infantry for four months. In 1865, President Johnson signed a bill to present Dr. Mary Edwards Walker with the Congressional Medal of Honor. She today isRead MoreThe Civil War : The Second Great Awakening And The Swept Across The Floor1393 Words   |  6 Pageshas broke out. About 250 female civil war soldier have been recognized through historical and there were probably more. They took every major battle, at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, for example, there were about six women fought including confederate Loreta Ve lazquez, who had also been at fort Donelson. Most female jointed because their female relative and family jointed. In addition to the desire for adventure and to accompany their loved ones, when served out of dedication to cause and out