US History

U.S. History Study Guide

After the victory at Gettysburg, General George G. Meade failed to pursue a badly beaten Confederate army, and Lincoln would make his final change. He appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to command of all of the Union armies. The final selections would ensure a Union victory. 13.11 Civil War Hospitals The innovation of the mini bullet created more accuracy expanding into the rifling of the gun, but the grooves on the bullet made it easier for infection when hit. Amputation was a common practice in very unsanitary places, open latrines, decomposing food, and unclean water surrounded the hospital tents. Diarrheal diseases affected nearly every soldier and killed hundreds of thousands of men. Surgery was performed with unwashed hands and dirty medical instruments, resulting in infections. In some cases, doctors would remove bandages from the dead and use them on new patients. Nearly four hundred thousand soldiers were killed as a result of infection. Nurses in the Civil War Before the Civil War, most nurses in the United States were male. At the beginning of the war, Union leadership realized that they needed more medical staff and decided to accept women nurses to fill the need and women ran to their country’s aide. Dorothea Dix was chosen as the first superintendent of U.S. Army nurses in June 1861. Dix insisted that her nurses be between thirty-five to fifty-five years old, in good health, of high moral standards, not too attractive, and willing to dress plainly. Over three thousand nurses served the Union. Clara Barton, who is best known for having founded the Red Cross, was important during the Civil War. She was perhaps the best known nurse in this conflict. She was nicknamed the “Angel of the Battlefield” for her work. Female nurses helped to create better sanitary conditions and tirelessly helped their men on both sides. These women succeeded in opening the nursing profession to future women. 13.12 Naming the Battles During the war, the North named battles for the nearest body of water, and the South used the name of the nearest town. 13.13 Civil War 1861 The Battle of Manassas/ Bull Run The first real battle took place July 21, 1861, on the lands around Bull Run creek outside Manassas, Virginia, a railroad junction some thirty miles south of Washington, D.C. and about ninety miles north of the Confederate capital at Richmond on July. It is known as the First Battle of Bull Run (the Northern name) or the First Battle of Manassas (the Southern name).

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