During 1861 when Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as the 16th President, a life-saving amputation was taking place on a battlefield in Virginia, outside of a petite green tent.

All I saw was an amputee lying flat out on a piece of wood atop of two barrels for support. The surgeon wiped his bloody hands on his apron from his last operation and prepared for the next procedure. The patient then climbed aboard. The Doctor then wrapped a tourniquet around the patient’s right forearm and then tightened it until dark, cherry red liquid came pouring out. He then dabbed the wound with a little chloroform which was on a rag and blotted up the other blood that wouldn’t drain into the bucket. After that he took a scalpel and sectioned the outlying tissue and flesh. And then took a hacksaw-like instrument called a capital-saw to incise through the bone. The surgeon would use the same knife and saw through the entire day. Believe it or not most people out here died from infectious diseases rather then in battle!

After everything was off the Doctor then took silk sutures from the North and the cotton sutures from the South and sewed or laced the major veins and arteries together. The appendage would then be tossed into a pile with all the other contaminated body parts that got thrown out after that day had passed. Valuable time was of the essence. So the soldier was then carried off the piece of wood and then got placed onto a platform to restore to health.

We then talked to a few of the surviving soldiers to get there input if amputation was worth it or not. They stated that it was well worth surviving but the pain was excruciating. Still, they were very happy with their recovery. One soldier said it was surprising how unbelievably hard it was to budge when he lost his left leg from the knee down but with some well worked practice he would be better then ever.

The course of action normally lasted approximately fifteen minutes. Amputations had definitely, without a doubt saved more lives then it killed. Seventy-five percent of the people who were amputated on did indeed recover.

Sources:

http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/i?cwar:7:./temp/~ammen_eyqh::displaytype=1::m856sd=cwpb:m856sf=o1887:@@@

http://www.civilwar.com/

http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm

Death and sorrow struck the land of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania this day. Tens of thousands of soldiers under the command of generals Lee and Meade met in Adams County in Gettysburg. Lee who was hoping to make an attack on Union soil was intercepted by Meade’s 83,000 men. Battle began almost immediately, and all eyes turned to view the battlefield of the bloodiest battle of the war. Both sides began to charge the enemy, determined to seize an easy victory. Union and Confederate lines held firm, which would show this battle was far from over.

Using their superior numbers the Union held like a stone wall, beating back wave after wave of Confederates and forcing them to fall back. Lee becoming increasingly desperate began to prepare for his final move against the Union army. It was all or nothing. Lee chose an officer named Pickett to lead an all or nothing charge against the Union force. This would be known as the infamous “Pickett’s charge” and the bravest move of the Confederacy at Gettysburg and the most costly. The charging Confederacy was at a disadvantage because the Union army had taken up a position on top of a hill.

The Union opened fire on the charging Rebels and they dropped like flies one by one. With every shot fired more and more blood stained the battlefield. As brave as Lee’s soldiers were they were by far no match for Union firepower and accuracy, only a few of the charging thousands reached the Union line.

By the morning both sides had suffered heavy losses but Union superiority showed as The Confederacy began to withdraw. By the late afternoon, the Union had finally one a costly victory as Lee slipped back into Southern territory. This will truly be a battle remembered in American History, as brave men lived and died here. Cut and paste your next paragraph here.

Sources:

Civilwar.com

www.history.com

Two days ago July 21, 1861, the Confederate and Union soldiers engaged in battle at Bull Run Creek at Fairfax county and Prince William county in Virginia. There were a total of about 4,700 fatalities.

The picture shown on the left is a shot of Union soldiers preparing for action at Bull Run. The creek is at the rear of them. Brigadier General Irvin McDowell shown on a stallion is trying to get the soldiers energized for battle. What isn’t shown are the Confederate soldiers on the other side of the creek. They are led by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnson and Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard.

The battle was over the next day when Union soldiers fled to Washington D.C. The presumable reason that the Union was whitewashed in the battle was because the Confederates had about 4,000 more militia on hand.

After two straight days of marching slowly through the unbearable heat, the Union did not feel it was worth it to fight the battle as they failed. Subsequent to those two days McDowell chose to take a respite at Centreville. While quiescent, McDowell reduced the size of their forces from 35,000 to 30,000 and sent the other 5,000 to guard their flank. In the interim he strained to uncover a technique to outflank Beauregard. Beauregard had drawn his ranks along Bull Run.

McDowell decided to send a commander by the name of Daniel Tyler with a division of Union soldiers to exceed on the Confederate southeast flank. Tyler and his men were drawn into a scuffle at Blackburn’s Ford and made no progress. McDowell was getting perturbed and resolved to attack the northwest flank as a substitute. He premeditated to assail the Rebels with Daniel Tyler at Stone Bridge on the Warrenton Turnpike and send the divisions of Brigadier Generals David Hunter and Samuel P. Heintzelman to Sudley Springs Ford. Subsequently, they would march to the back of the Confederate lines. Then, once the Confederates gained reinforcements, the battle began.

Sources:

http://www.civilwar.com/content/view/1905/39/

http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm

On May 25, 1863, the summer in Virginia, the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek had been erupting the state. But, this battle wasn’t the only thing erupting. Some terrible news spread throughout the battlefield and through the people of Virginia. W.A Elliot was found lying dead on a gravel dirt road just beside a forest. Local sheriffs believe that this man has been murdered by a Civil War Johnny (Confederate Soldier) officer, Robert E. Lee Wells. This deprived soldier died approximately three days ago because he ran away from the battle, trying to make it back to his home town in Lexington, Kentucky. The battle was too powerful for him.

Unfortunately, Elliot had a bullet removed from his neck that was lodged very deep inside, breaking one of his neck bones in the process. Just beyond the forest where sheriff’s found W.A. Elliot’s corpse, a secret program called, “The Helpful Hearts,” was found to be a place that Elliot, along with many other soldiers, went to when they tried to escape a combat. This place would give the soldiers clean clothes to put on their backs, food to consume, medication or medical practices needed, and a place to snooze until they got back on their feet. He was not found here by the officer. He was found where his body was laying dead out of the forest, and not inside the forest where the hidden operation was. This would be the reason this program was not found a few days earlier.

Surprisingly, many officers were stunned to find this program had been in service for over ten years! Still, they were forced to close their “business” because it was considered illegal. This left many people out-of-jobs. All the remaining soldiers were returned to their battle grounds as soon as possible. Some men were very lucky if they weren’t killed by their officer’s, or leaders for trying to run away like a coward from the battles going on. Now, how did W.A. Elliot survive before finding “The Helpful Hearts?” Well, he would knock on the doors of people’s homes and ask if he could stay the night with them. Many kind people offered their basement or their attic to him, while others didn’t want anything to do with him.

The main reason, for why people turned this man down is very clear. When a soldier escapes from a battle, their general usually will try to follow them and kill them. So, the soldier will try to hide any where. A nearby house, or farm, was common. And, all he could do was hope that he wouldn’t be found. Though, as soon as the house owner saw a man wearing a soldiers uniform, the owner of the home didn’t want to mess with him because they knew that their general would be trying to find him and if he was found in their house, then both the soldier and the owner of the home’s life will not be spared.

As a result, that’s how W.A. Elliot ended up dead just outside of the thick Virginia forest’s. And it just shows how dreadful life was back then to actually make people frightened and want to run away from the battles going on for years or so. “War is sorrowful, but there is one thing infinitely more horrible than the worst horrors of war, and that is feeling that nothing is worth fighting for.”- December 31, 1864.

Sources:

www.sherpaguides.com/georgia/civil_war/midwest/andersonville_and_americas_area.html

www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html

A couple of days ago on September 17th, our country had one of its bloodiest battles so far, the battle of Antietam. We saw General Robert E. Lee (Confederate) and his troops waiting in Antietam. General McClellan (Union) and his army unexpectedly showed up and started opening fire on the Confederate troops. The battle of Antietam is the first battle on Northern soil.

The battle of Antietam, also called Sharpsburg, is located in Maryland. After what seemed liked 6 hours of fighting there is already more than 12,000 casualties on both sides of the battle. Sources say most of the fighting took place on Bloody Lane. We watched Lee back up into the Shenandoah Valley just outside of Antietam. We heard him order his troops to withdraw and head across the Potomac River.

This picture was taken by Alexander Gardner, yesterday. In Berlin, 16 miles away from the battlefield, is where the union soldiers base camp is currently located. Last we saw the exhausted Union soldiers were headed back to their base camp. Waiting for the union soldiers are field hospital tents for the wounded and sick. While at the base camp the soldiers replenish, restore their energy, and restock their ammunition. During their relaxing period the wagons are bringing the soldiers new weapons, new food, and new supplies.

The picture shows us more than just a base camp. Towards the left side there is a small abandoned town. Behind it is where the Potomac River, (further down from where Lee withdrew his troops) where lies ruins of a stone bridge. Behind the base camp, on the same river as the damaged stone bridge is the Pontoon Bridge. Civilians from the opposite side of the river use the bridge to check on their farm lands (not shown in the picture).

While the Union soldiers are refueling their bodies, they are waiting for the next call from General McClellan for the next battle.

Sources:

http://aotw.org/faces.php

www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/timeline.htm

Last night as the battle of Antietam was coming to a close on September 17, 1862, over 23,000 casualties had occurred, making Antietam the bloodiest one day battle. The Union army (led by General George B.) was fighting the Confederates (led by General Robert E. Lee.) The battle took place near Sharpsburg Maryland by Antietam Creek.

As you can see in picture taken by Matthew Brady, 15 men are standing together. These 15 men are part of the Union army. Even thought they did not fight in the war they still had a very important job.

They were to come in the end of a battle and clean up any or all of the dead bodies and bury them. This may not have been the most gruesome job, but it was definitely one of the toughest. Sometimes legs, arms and even heads would be missing from the rotting corpses. It was like a puzzle to put them back together. But most occasionally soldiers died of diseases.

. In the beginning many of the soldiers were forced to burry the bodies because of age and strengths. But most other times soldiers just volunteers so that they were guaranteed to stay alive until the end of the war. Then when the war ended they could walk away unharmed.

By the end of this war the Union army had lost 7,540 men. Most were dead on the battle field or in field hospitals due to injuries, or being shot. But sometimes they died due to disease’s that were spreading throughout the camps. The confederates had lost 12,460 men in the battle.

In the end the Confederates were defeated, even thought it was mainly a draw, making yesterday the bloodiest one day battle.

Sources:

www.wikepedia.com

www.civilwarhome.com

Last week the Union was looking forward to a quick and easy victory, but the Confederates had another thing in mind. On May 5, 1864 the Battle of The Wilderness had started. The Union, led by G. George Meade, was upset for their loss at The Battle of Spotsylvania Church, 10 miles to the southwest. With the Confederate army full of confidence, the Union plans to bring them down a few notches.

Shown here is a picture of a line of Yankee soldiers walking from the previous Battle of Spotsylvania Church, carrying their heavy loads on their backs and a cannonball each. As the soldiers moved along, G. George Meade sent many of his best scouts to check out the road ahead to make sure that there weren’t any "Johnnies" to ambush them. But, the Confederate scouts were a tad bit more skilled than the Union ever expected, so the Confederates had the upper hand before the battle had even started. As the Union scouts were investigating, the Confederates were secretively sneaking up on them ready to attack. In a few quick moments the Union scouts were killed and the army was walking blind.

When the Union Finally arrived at the Confederate lines, they had a total of 101,895 soldiers armed and ready for battle. And, the Confederate had a total of 61,025 people starving and not well equipped for any fighting at all.

After the "Johnnys" had ambushed them, the Union was baffled that they couldn’t use their cannons in the thick wilderness. So, they used what small arms they had to fight off the Confederacy.

Finally after all the dust had settled, the Confederacy stood victorious; the Union lost. A total of 18,400 soldiers and the rest were taken as prisoners. Even though the Confederacy claimed victory it was known as a tactical victory for the Union

Sources:

Wikipedia.org

Civilwar.com

With the nickname of Barbourville, this battle was the first encounter of the blood-spattered, ghastly war in Kentucky. This clash took place in Knox County, Kentucky on September 19, 1861. Yesterday, there was a totality of 1,100 men fighting hard and violently on one of the years’ coldest days. The Union States with just 300 men were outnumbered immensely by the Confederate States who had a whopping 800 men.

The picture shown was taken by the famed Matthew Brady right after the battle of Barbourville. In the picture, you can glance at the site of the battle and clearly see a cannon in the bottom left corner. It was that same cannon that shot three of the Confederates’ best soldiers. There is also an immense pile of rubble which the soldiers used as a guard for troops getting more ammunition. Off in the distance, you can see a gathering of Confederate troops alongside their commander, Colonel Joel A. Battle, celebrating their victory over the Union states.

Two days before the picture was taken, Union troops trained at Camp Andrew Johnson. Meanwhile, General Felix Zollicoffer dispatched 800 men to upset the training sessions at Camp Andrew Johnson. The Confederates destroyed the training camp and apprehended all arms found there. At the time, people were fighting over the invasion of Camp Andrew Johnson. Across the country, war was dividing the nation. In the end, Confederate States defeated the Union States in a victory that shook the nation.

Sources:

http://www.civilwar.com/

http://www.mycivilwar.com/battles/610919.htm

Last week on December 13, the battle of Fredericksburg took place. The battle was between General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army and Major General Ambrose E. Burnside’s Union Army. Major General Burnside and his army attacked Fredericksburg, Virginia from the North; General Lee and his army were waiting for the Union army there.

Before the battle took place on November 15, the Union Army began their month long, grueling march towards Fredericksburg, Virginia. Lee anticipated that he would fight Burnside Northwest of Fredericksburg and might have to drop back behind North Anna River. He didn’t know that Burnside had a different idea of how this battle would happen. Lee had pickets blocking all the bridges crossing to Fredericksburg. He assumed Burnside would try to cross so that he could be informed of any Union movement. When word came back to Lee on how slow the Union Army was moving, he ordered all of his troops to march toward Fredericksburg to meet the Union there.

However, Burnside had a different plan. He made the decision to cross right at Fredericksburg, at the main bridge. Burnside told Halleck, “I think now the enemy will be more surprised by crossing immediately in front than any other part of the river. “ Nevertheless, Lee had great assurance in his army even though he was somewhat in doubt of the plans of the opposing commander. After the month had passed the Union met the Confederates a little south of Fredericksburg. .

. The battle opened to the south of Fredericksburg at 8:30 A.M. on December 13. It was an extensive two day battle. When the battle was over the Confederates had another win under their belt since the Union fled back to the North. The Confederates lost 5,377 soldiers in those two days of battle compared to the 12,653 the Union suffered. 1,284 of the Union soldiers were killed, 9,600 were wounded, and 1,769 were either captured or reported missing. The Confederates had a small amount of deaths totaling 608, a larger amount of 4,116 were wounded, and a varied amount of 653 either captured or reported missing. The long two day battle of Fredericksburg was on of the most one sided battles of the Civil War.

Sources:

Wikipedia.org

Civilwar.com