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Hospitals and Medicine During the Revolutionary War

How it Got Started

Hysop

Baum

Butternut

Mallows

Wormwood

“GENERAL HOSPITAL

New-York, July 29, 1776 Wanted immediately in the General Hospital, a number of women who can be recommended for their honesty, to act in the capacity of nurses: and a number of faithful men for the same purpose…

King’s College, New York”

"a large quantity of dry herbs for baths, fomentations, etc., etc. …particularly baum, hysop, wormwood and mallows for which a good price will be given"

"The extract of butternut is made by boiling down the inner bark of the tree, this discovery of this article is highly important, and it may be considered as a valuable acquisition to our materia medica"

On April 19,1775 the preparations for the Revolutionary War began. They new the soliders would be wounded or hurt so the colony of New York started preparing for this ordeal. A man named Thomas Carnes, he was the master of the General Hospital in King's College, New York. He new he would need more staff, because of the war. He sent a request for volunteers, and supplies.

Surgerys, Amputations, and Gangrene, Oh My!!

Not only were the hospitals in charge of the wounded, but also the diseased, the sick and the overall health of the Army. This is a list of things they treated:

Inflammation

Abscess

Gangrene

Incised wounds in need of sutures

Puncture wounds in need of opening or enlargement for drainage

Lacerations in need of reconstruction and preservation

Severe contusions

Cut tendons

Chest and abdomen wounds

Abdominal excision or organ-omentum display

Bayoent and Sabre

Simple and Compound Fractures

Limb or part in need of amputation

Gunshot wounds

Knife, hatchet or club wounds

Info on the Field Hosptials

New York Captured

One of the most famous surgeons, and the first, was Cornelius Osborn. He was recruited in the Spring of 1776 and had little training even as a physician. The Continental Congress was even concerned about the well being of the troops and the miltia. They passed several ordinances and helped establish the order for the several field Hospitals during the War. The hospitals served about 20,000 men in the fight. Each hospital was required for each surgery to have at least one physician or surgeon, and one assitant, which was usually and apprentice of some sort. Each hospitals staff numbers varied on how many wounded it served and the severity of the wounds. Surgeon James Jackson wrote the following:

After he sent the request New York, he soon had the one of the first Local Hospitals. Soon after this New York was forced under the influence of the British Army. After this happened Field Hospitals were developed, the most important one in Fishkill, New York (very corner of the New York Valley).

"there should be 6 medical officers and 48 hired assistants. The 6 officers consisted of a physician and two assistants, a surgeon and one assistant, and an apothecary. The 48 hired assistants included 1 steward, 3 wardmasters, 2 dispensers, 1 “surgery man” with “attendants as needed”, 1 sempstress, 5 laundresses, 3 barbers, 3 cooks with “laborers as needed”, 7 servants, 1 keeper of the packs, 2 bathers, and “1 man for Itch ward"

A team of this size would typically serve 400 men.

Sources

A lot of the medical pracitices used in the Revolutionary War were used and somewhat perfected in the Civil War, but the Revolutionary War completed its purpose to free America from Britian.

brainaltonenmph.com

healthblog.dallasnew.com

aprilgrevolutionarymedicine.weebly.com

google.com

google.images.com

Thank You!

It Really Wasn't as Good as it Sounded

Most of the deaths in the Revolutionary War were from infection and illness rather than actual combat. The common practice if a limb was badly infected of fractured was amputate it. Where most amputees died of gangrene a result of not properly cleaning instruments after surgeries. Only 35% of amputees actually survived surgery. There was no pain killers quite developed back then. So at most the patient were given alchol and a stick to bite down on while the surgeon worked. Two assitant would hold him down, a good surgeon could perform the entire process in a mere 45 seconds, after which the patient usually went into shock and fainted. This allowed the surgeon to stich up the wound, and prepare for the next amputation. Another way they decided to clean wounds, disease, or infection was by applying mecury directily to the cut of injured space, and letting it run through the blood stream which usually resulted in death.

ECG

62

bpm

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