Killer Angels Essay Topics
Chop ‘Em Boys
Have you ever gotten one of your limbs sawed off by some lady with a rusty saw? Probably not. If you have, sorry about that, but you’re not alone. A while ago, in 1861, the Civil War in the United States began. The deadliest war in American history, and it’s not because a bunch of boys were shooting each other with minié balls. It’s because medical hygiene didn’t exist until a few hundred thousand soldiers died of infections. Fortunately, someone figured it was a bad idea chopping off limbs and cleaning soldiers with dirty medical equipment. In the novel, Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, we get an insight of what unhygienic conditions soldier’s had to face during the war.
A grand total of about 414,000 soldiers died during the …show more content…
A sickness nicknamed the “Old Soldier’s Disease” was most likely a case of a disease like dysentery. It wasn’t lethal, but it was a large inconvenience and caused problems and discomfort for soldiers. More lethal wounds came from the bullets. Major General Reynolds died instantly from a bullet to the head, however, others don’t face a quick death like that. Private Kilrain was shot mortally and later died in the hospital because his heart couldn’t take it. His friend Chamberlain, however, was fine, however, he got a bad wound on his foot. Chamberlain used dirty rags to bind his wounds, which goes to show you that they lacked clean supplies and didn’t know dirty supplies equated to disease. General Hood also faced and injury like Kilrain but less lethal and didn’t need to be amputated, however, his arm became unusable and useless. Most amputations occurred because of the type of bullets used in the war. The round bullets caused bones to shatter rather than pierce through the body, which caused more problems for the victims. To continue more problems, the amputations that did occur called for a high risk of disease. Additionally, there were smaller problems compared to amputations, like rations of food and water. Soldier’s had to deal with lack of food and rest, becoming more susceptible to sickness and
Have you ever gotten one of your limbs sawed off by some lady with a rusty saw? Probably not. If you have, sorry about that, but you’re not alone. A while ago, in 1861, the Civil War in the United States began. The deadliest war in American history, and it’s not because a bunch of boys were shooting each other with minié balls. It’s because medical hygiene didn’t exist until a few hundred thousand soldiers died of infections. Fortunately, someone figured it was a bad idea chopping off limbs and cleaning soldiers with dirty medical equipment. In the novel, Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, we get an insight of what unhygienic conditions soldier’s had to face during the war.
A grand total of about 414,000 soldiers died during the …show more content…
A sickness nicknamed the “Old Soldier’s Disease” was most likely a case of a disease like dysentery. It wasn’t lethal, but it was a large inconvenience and caused problems and discomfort for soldiers. More lethal wounds came from the bullets. Major General Reynolds died instantly from a bullet to the head, however, others don’t face a quick death like that. Private Kilrain was shot mortally and later died in the hospital because his heart couldn’t take it. His friend Chamberlain, however, was fine, however, he got a bad wound on his foot. Chamberlain used dirty rags to bind his wounds, which goes to show you that they lacked clean supplies and didn’t know dirty supplies equated to disease. General Hood also faced and injury like Kilrain but less lethal and didn’t need to be amputated, however, his arm became unusable and useless. Most amputations occurred because of the type of bullets used in the war. The round bullets caused bones to shatter rather than pierce through the body, which caused more problems for the victims. To continue more problems, the amputations that did occur called for a high risk of disease. Additionally, there were smaller problems compared to amputations, like rations of food and water. Soldier’s had to deal with lack of food and rest, becoming more susceptible to sickness and