Amputations on the Battlefield

On this week’s Historic Food for Thought, I felt like it would be a good time to talk about what Robert Walbridge went through after that fatal injury he received at Cold Harbor.

More specifically, the operation that would account for nearly 3/4ths of all medical operations in the Civil War… amputations!

Why were amputations conducted?

During the Civil War, when a soldier received a wound, the doctors were usually worried about the spread of a disease called gangrene, which we now know is caused by a loss of blood that causes tissue to die off and become severely infected. Amputations were a very serious operation and would cause many soldiers to die as a result of various conditions, including equipment not being sterilized.

What was it like during the actual amputation?

During a battle, there would usually be a large number of amputations needed and not enough surgeons. As a result, these serious operations were often done quickly to help as many soldiers as possible.

While many of these surgeons and doctors had gone to the best medical schools of their time, there was just such a demand for amputations and these procedures would feel rushed; equipment would often simply be carried from one soldier to the next without a thought.

The rooms would often be packed with soldiers in pain begging for help; at the Battle of Franklin, there was hardly a spot in the Carnton House, or makeshift hospital, for soldiers and many would be left without medical help. Occasionally, anesthesia would not be used.

Amputations were highly feared by soldiers during this time. If a soldier did happen to survive, the lasting effects of an amputation would follow a person into their civilian life as the world was less understanding and required a lot more manual labor to make a living and provide.