Civil War: A Brief Analysis

Plato said that only the dead have seen the end of war (n.d.). The trauma and devastation of war that plagues soldiers will forever live inside them. There are ways in which to lessen the effects of what he/she has gone through, but it will never die. The effects of war have been documented as early as ancient times, yet had not been researched by doctors until the “American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War” (Friedman, 2013) when Civil war soldiers were diagnosed with ‘Nostalgia’ a feeling of homesickness, sleep problems, anxiety, and a feeling of sadness (Friedman, 2013). Nostalgia, which was previously thought to be only homesickness, was broadened during the Civil War to explain the symptoms that soldiers were experiencing.
Soldiers diagnosed with a ‘Soldiers Heart’ or an ‘Irritable Heart’ had physical ailments and were usually put on medication and returned to duty. The most severe cases were sent home by
The war had depleted them of who they were, changed the soldier into a war-torn veteran. Some veterans travelled west for the peace and tranquility of the open land and space. Others went home to find that what they had left, was no longer there and needed to start new. These transformations in themselves and in the world around them made it difficult for building a future. Several veterans wound up in jail for various infractions, ranging from theft to murder. This continued on into the First World War as many Civil War soldiers fought in World War I. World War I was significantly different war in that the weapons were technologically more advanced than in the Civil War. Tanks and machine guns were being used as opposed to mussel-load rifles. During the Civil War there were clear front lines, soldiers knew where the fight was. World War I saw a different type of fighting style in which there were no clear lines, and cities and towns were greatly