Weighing Risk and Worth in the Civil War

With the Civil War came hundreds of new technology and inventions. In 1860 alone, 240 patents were issued for things like railroad artillery and land mines. Military telegraphs became more common and people started seeing more clearly at further distances using telescopes. The first iron clad warships were created. They became beasts of the ocean, taking down any regular navy that dared face them. Repeating guns (forerunners to machine guns) were utilized by the Union. Musket manufacturers began rifling the barrel of the gun. The inch long bullet would spin as it left the muzzle, causing faster, more accurate shots. Soldiers now had the ability to kill from half a mile away and be accurate for up to 250yards, five times longer than any other one-man weapon before. Canon balls would shatter bone, leaving very little for doctors to work with often calling for amputation. All of these new inventions resulted in even deadlier warfare before. For those living in this time period, it left them wondering: is it worth it to fight for my country and risk such severe injury?

That answer could be found in the surgical developments of the time. Very few people lived long enough, after being hit in the head chest or stomach, to make it back to a field hospital for treatment. However, if there injuries weren't so severe that they died on the battlefield, surgeons had a surprisingly high success rate during the war. Doctors would use chloroform to knock a patient unconscious during the procedure. If the bone was shattered, the only thing that could be done was either an amputation or resection. A resection was more time consuming than an amputation. The doctor had to cut out the section if shattered bone, then, re-stitch the wound. Despite the greater amount of time it took and risk of profuse bleeding or infection, resections had a lower mortality rate than amputations.
So what is this mortality rate? Well, that all depends on the circumstances. It was essential tone treated as quickly as possible. Primary amputations (less than 48 hours after injury) had a mortality rate of 25%. However, secondary amputations (48+ hours after injury) had a much higher mortality rate, slightly over 50%. The higher the wound was on the body, the less likely one was to survive. The mortality rate of amputations for injuries on the upper thigh approached 50% and kept climbing, the higher on body the injury was. Despite these dark statistics, it is estimated that 3 of 4 soldiers survived amputation. Some even recovered well enough to return to war. The surgical process was becoming more and more precise. Very few people overdosed on the chloroform that was used. Doctors pulled out nerves in order to reduce future pain where the injury was, and they gave their patients opium pills or dust and injections to prevent post-operative pain. Some very talented doctors were even able to perform over 20 time consuming resections in 24 hours.

While injuries could be life-altering, painful, and at times fatal, medical procedures were far more advanced in the Civil War than they had ever been before. Some may not have wanted to risk it, but when fighting for your country, way of life and morals as strong as the Union was, taking the risk of being injured was well worth it. Especially when medical treatment was so comparatively reliable.