The Hospital on Seminary Ridge at the Battle of Gettysburg

When the overwhelmed Union forces were forced to retreat from the Seminary through the town and up Cemetery Ridge, the Seminary, now behind Confederate lines, contained hundreds of wounded soldiers from both armies. Michael Dreese describes the plight of the wounded in terms of human horror and trag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBulletin of the History of Medicine Vol. 77; no. 3; pp. 723 - 724
Main Author Provost, Thomas T.
Format Book Review Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Baltimore The Johns Hopkins University Press 01.10.2003
Johns Hopkins University Press
Subjects
Armed forces
Hospitals
Medical personnel
Physicians
United States > US
Pennsylvania
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Summary:When the overwhelmed Union forces were forced to retreat from the Seminary through the town and up Cemetery Ridge, the Seminary, now behind Confederate lines, contained hundreds of wounded soldiers from both armies. Michael Dreese describes the plight of the wounded in terms of human horror and tragedy, the result of rifles with deadly ranges in excess of several hundred yards, the mime ball that produced massive tissue and bone destruction, exploding artillery shells, and the obsolete Napoleonic tactics employed by both armies to mass men in battle lines to achieve fire power. The book records the heroics of the volunteer physicians, contract physicians (probably less qualified than military surgeons), nurses, and civilians, including the Sisters of Charity, the patriotic daughters of Lancaster (Pa.), the United States Sanitary Commission, and the Women's Central Association of Relief.
ISSN:0007-5140
1086-3176
1086-3176
1896-3176
DOI:10.1353/bhm.2003.0136