Like Washington?s cherry tree and the Tecumseh curse, the barbaric reputation of Civil War doctors is little more than an American legend, says Ryan Rokicki, curator of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick.
“A lot myths have been perpetrated over the years ? Civil War surgeons being butchers rather than doctors and patients undergoing very harsh operations, kicking, screaming, and biting the bullet,” Rokicki said. “None of this is true.”
Rokicki should know. The collection of Civil War medical supplies, uniforms, and documents that he has overseen for the past six years is considered among the largest of its kind.
Each year, nearly 30,000 visitors pass through the gallery to learn about the daring and sophistication of medicine during a war that saw nearly a million casualties.
The museum, which opened to the public in 2000, is housed in a downtown Frederick building that once served as an embalming station after the Battle of Antietam. Its exhibits draw heavily on the personal collection of Gordon Dammann, founder and chairman of the museum?s board.
Visitors are treated to a wide range of exhibits at the museum. All manner of medical supplies ? from pills and bandages to stretchers and splints ? line the walls and showcases. They are joined by an armada of uniforms, medals, photos and documents collected from the era.
“The museum has a very wide audience,” Rokicki said. “We have school groups, we have thecasual visitor ? all the way up to the dedicated history buff or Civil War buff.” Many doctors, nurses, and medical students make the trip, as well.
In one room, the museum recreates a life-size version of a Civil War medical ward, modeled off of Hammond Hospital in Maryland?s Point Lookout. At the end of the exhibit, a display case donated by nearby Fort Dietrich shows that while many advances have been made, other aspects of medicine remain unchanged since the 1860s.
Some of the exhibits aren?t for the squeamish. Dioramas depict such graphic scenes as the amputation of a wounded soldier?s leg and the embalming process of a dead infantryman. In the largest of these displays, soldiers on a mock audio recording rattle off a list of unsavory ailments as their plastic physician listens attentively.
But a little fake blood doesn?t distract from the museum?s message: that Civil War medicine was remarkably advanced for its day. Wartime surgeries were almost always performed with the aid of anesthesia. Both armies boasted advanced systems of horse-drawn ambulances, and medical advances made it possible to save thousands of Civil War soldiers ? more of whom died from disease that from wounds incurred in battle.
Moreover, the era?s impact on modern medicine is still quite visible.
“One of the things our visitors take away? [is] the influence of military medicine on our modern day medical practices,” said Karen Thomassen, the museum?s deputy director.
In 1862, Civil War physicians pioneered the use of triage, the practice of prioritizing patients based on the severity of injuries. The system is still in use today.
The gallery also maintains the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, a recreation of a Civil War infirmary situated on the Antietam National Battlefield. It is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June to October and weekends only in May and November; admission is free. The Pry House is situated at 18906 Shepherdstown Pike between Sharpsburg and Keedysville.
IF YOU GO
The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is located at 48 East Patrick St. in Frederick. The gallery is open year-round, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $4.50 to $6.50; children under 10 get in free. From Baltimore, take Route 70 to exit 56 (Route 144 West). The museum is on the left after 1.6 miles. Parking is available in the garage behind the museum.
Watch a video interview with the museum’s curator, Ryan Rokicki, and deputy director, Karen Thomassen.
For more photos from inside the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, click here.
