Bones of Civil War dead found on a battlefield tell their horror stories

Stars and Stripes ^ | June 20, 2018 | MICHAEL E. RUANE

[robowombat]

The bullet probably hit the Union soldier as he was fleeing. It may have struck his cartridge box first, which sent it tumbling through the muscle of his right buttock, broke his right leg and buried itself sideways in his thigh bone just below the hip.

[Pelham]

There was a strong demand for patent medicines containing drugs in the latter years of the 19th century.

And much of that was from veterans of the Civil War who had suffered serious wounds but survived.

The dangers of and dependencies created by some of these patent medicines led to the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. The first of the consumer protection acts passed during Teddy Roosevelt’s progressive Republican administration.

[GOPJ]

Of course, 100 years from now, we'll say the same about our present medical procedures.

I'll bet you're right...

[Bellflower]

Is this known or did you figure this out on your own. If you did, maybe others would be interested in what it looks like you may have found.

[Bellflower]

Also, many Civil War amputees and injured ended up addicted to opioids. That was pretty sad, too.

[Bellflower]

The only good thing is they got to die in the company of their loved ones, not on some “God forsaken” battle field far from home.

[jalisco555]

The novel Unto This Hour by Tom Wicker is a superb fictional account of Second Manassas. Highly recommended.

[stockpirate]

One of the reasons for all the Civil War memorials in the south is they were built in tribute to the dead who never returned to their loved ones.

[SkyDancer]

Visited Andersonville, GA and the cemetery there.

[robowombat]

It appears to me the US is now in a ‘cold war’ phase similar to the period 1849 to 1860, It does not mean a general conflict is inevitable anymore than the Cold War of 1947 to 1989 meant a war was inevitable. The interaction of personalities and events drives the action. In the case of the late US-Soviet duel we are fortunate that Stalin wasn't ten years younger. Then, I believe, there would have been another real world war beginning in 1953-56 Stalin knew the US would soon have an overwhelming advantage in nuclear weapons so starting a war to control western Europe and the Middle East would seem a good idea while the conventional forces of the USSR really did massively outnumber the US and the still weak NATO. Soviet military people told their US counterparts that the USSR had endured the equivalent of a nuclear war in 1941-45, US retaliatory strength could not. circa early 1950’s even begin to inflict the destruction the war with Hitler produced. So the Soviet military establishment was not much impressed with a nuclear war. Now thermonuclear would be something else altogether.

[rlmorel]

I agree with much of what you say, but the calculus of a nuclear war is very different than a calculus of a conventional war, or even a political system in which you murder tens of millions of your own people, and enslave even more.

I disagree that was their mindset. In a conventional war, or a political action where you are going to kill others, you likely hold out the mindset you will not be a casualty, it will be everyone else BUT you.

But there is no escaping that except for a select few (and even then) in a nuclear exchange, nearly everyone is going to be a casualty.

That said, I do agree that if Stalin had been healthier and held power another ten years, there might well have been another world war, or at least a large one.

[Secret Agent Man]

Doubtful, if we do it will be warped to torture people over and over.

[Secret Agent Man]

Nope i talk aboutmit and fully recognize the horror it will be.

Doesnt mean we dont need one. Personally i dont expect to survive it one way or another.

[Secret Agent Man]

Less, probably 30 years.

Look at the past 50 years improvement.

The downside is mst people will not get them because their insurance wil not cover or allow them, the caste system of health insurance will screw over a lot of people who paid a lot in premiums and deductibles but the system viewed them as sources of revenues not receivers of treatment.

[GOPJ]

You're right Secret - there's been massive changes in medical care in the last 50 years. The next 30 should be interesting.

Young people don't even know what ‘exploratory surgery’ means... Before MRI’s and ct scans surgeons would ‘open you up’ to see if there was a problem. Then schedule surgery for another day if they found something. Yikes!You're right about insurance problems too - - the whole system's rife with perverse incentives.