Volunteer Surgical
After realizing that the kit was probably used by a volunteer surgeon some questions I had in mind were whether the owner of the kit was the only volunteer surgeon during the war and what made the surgeon decide to volunteer. According to an article, by John H. Nelson, from the American’s Civil War Magazine, “Battle of Antietam: Union Surgeons and Civilian Volunteers Help the Wounded," volunteer surgeons were actually really common during the war. However, a statement that Nelson mentions in his article brings up some questions. Nelson mentions that a New York Times reporter observed, “Great complaint is made in regard to the conduct of the volunteer surgeons, who recklessly amputated the limbs of the wounded, and leave them destitute of the
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According to Dr. Michael Echols, an expert on American Civil War Medicine and Surgical Antiques, the inside an of regular kit contains: a large amputation saw, a surgical scalpel, a set of forceps for extracting bullets, scissors, a probe to locate objects in wounds, a Tenaculem that was used to hold body parts during surgery, a Tourinquet which was used to compress arteries above the cut during amputations, a bone brush, a amputating knife, and a catlin, which is a small knife used in amputation (Echols, 1). Since the kit lacked the set of forceps that’s used for extracting bullets, I assumed that the owner of the kit only amputated the limbs of his patients because the forceps were needed to extract the bullets and keep the limb, otherwise the limb was amputated. Also, since the kit is made out of leather, apart from the normally used wooden kits at the time, it meant that the owner belonged to a higher class at the time. The stains on the knives, the saw, and the kit show how often the tools were used and the amount of surgeries that were performed. The knives and the saw both lacked the sharp edges it once may have and have now became dull. This made me think that the kit represented the great contributions of volunteer surgeons during the war, but also the cruel reality that took place during the war. Perhaps, alongside with asking about the importance of the kit it’s necessary to ask what images does the kit show about its
According to Dr. Michael Echols, an expert on American Civil War Medicine and Surgical Antiques, the inside an of regular kit contains: a large amputation saw, a surgical scalpel, a set of forceps for extracting bullets, scissors, a probe to locate objects in wounds, a Tenaculem that was used to hold body parts during surgery, a Tourinquet which was used to compress arteries above the cut during amputations, a bone brush, a amputating knife, and a catlin, which is a small knife used in amputation (Echols, 1). Since the kit lacked the set of forceps that’s used for extracting bullets, I assumed that the owner of the kit only amputated the limbs of his patients because the forceps were needed to extract the bullets and keep the limb, otherwise the limb was amputated. Also, since the kit is made out of leather, apart from the normally used wooden kits at the time, it meant that the owner belonged to a higher class at the time. The stains on the knives, the saw, and the kit show how often the tools were used and the amount of surgeries that were performed. The knives and the saw both lacked the sharp edges it once may have and have now became dull. This made me think that the kit represented the great contributions of volunteer surgeons during the war, but also the cruel reality that took place during the war. Perhaps, alongside with asking about the importance of the kit it’s necessary to ask what images does the kit show about its