Letterman System
John Letterman was born on December 11th, 1824 in Pennsylvanian. He carried on a family tradition by graduating from medical college in 1849, and later joined the army as an assistant surgeon. He was named medical director for the entire Union Army in 1862. He was given free reign to help improve the medical standard after it took over a week to remove wounded soldiers from the battlefield at the Second Battle of Manassas. Before he implemented his system wounded soldiers were left to fend for themselves or hope a fellow comrade or stretcher bearer would remove them from the battlefield to be treated. Letterman implemented a system that had three stations.
John Letterman was born on December 11th, 1824 in Pennsylvanian. He carried on a family tradition by graduating from medical college in 1849, and later joined the army as an assistant surgeon. He was named medical director for the entire Union Army in 1862. He was given free reign to help improve the medical standard after it took over a week to remove wounded soldiers from the battlefield at the Second Battle of Manassas. Before he implemented his system wounded soldiers were left to fend for themselves or hope a fellow comrade or stretcher bearer would remove them from the battlefield to be treated. Letterman implemented a system that had three stations.
- Field dressing Station. This station was usually located on or next to a battle where initial treatment such as dressing wounds occurred.
- Field Hospital. Homes, barns, and any building available were usually converted into makeshift surgical rooms and usually were located near the battlefield
- Large Hospitals. These facilities provided long term treatment for the ailing and were located far away from the battlefield.
- Letterman also helped improve the efficiency of medical supplies distribution throughout the union army. Letterman also helped develop the new Ambulance Corps, who's job was to reach and transport wounded soldiers. By adopting the Letterman system, the Ambulance Corps was hugely successful throughout the war, saving countless lives, and played a vital role in the Union Victory. The Letterman system has stood the test of time and is still implemented in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Medical Training
- Up until and during The Civil War the standard for medicine in the United States was lack luster at best. This was due to the insufficient training many of the doctors received Union and Confederacy alike. Many doctors never attended medical college but received their training through apprenticeships. The problem with apprenticing was that poor medical knowledge and techniques were passed down to the newer doctors. However medical school proved to be slightly better if at all. School could be finished in under 2 years with little to no lab or clinical experience. Many Doctors admitted to not even knowing what the inside of the human abdomen looked like and almost all of them had no surgical experience. This was not a universal issue however; in Europe medical school was attended for 4+ years, lab and clinical experince was nessecary, and the use of microscopes as well as study of microorganisms was unique to the European schools. After the war and the lack of success but army doctors, it become evident improvements in schooling were necessary. Students attended school for longer periods of time. Schools, starting with Harvard, bought stethoscopes, microscopes and other medical equipment. More emphasis was put on the idea of germ theory and new standards of hygiene became required for doctors and surgeons.
Prosthetics
- Roughly around 70,000 soldiers during the civil war survived their amputations and were left as amputees in need of prosthetics. This led to the creation of the prosthetics industry, by confederate amputee Edward Hanger. Unhappy with his prosthetic Hanger designed a new hinged leg prosthetic which was avast improvement from the peg leg. The introduction of rubber also allowed for the production of a more flattering prosthetic hand. Finally Hanger helped created Hanger Inc, who still plays a major role in the production and development of prosthetics to date.