• Home
  • About
    • The Author
    • The Blog
    • The Regiment
  • By Claimant
    • Invalid
    • Minor
    • Parent
    • Sibling
    • Widow
  • By Company
    • Company A
    • Company B
    • Company C
    • Company D
    • Company E
    • Company F
    • Company G
    • Company H
    • Company I
    • Company K
    • Company L
    • Field & Staff
    • Not 1st USCC
  • By Surname
    • Surname A
    • Surname B
    • Surname C
    • Surname D
    • Surname E
    • Surname F
    • Surname G
    • Surname H
    • Surname J
    • Surname K
    • Surname L
    • Surname M
    • Surname N
    • Surname O
    • Surname P
    • Surname Q
    • Surname R
    • Surname S
    • Surname T
    • Surname V
    • Surname W
    • Surname Y
  • Resources
  • FAQs

1st U.S. Colored Cavalry

Private Lives, Public Records

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« William H. Gray, F&S
Raphael Wright, Company B »

No. 5 Field Surgical Set

March 4, 2019 by leslie1863

No. 5 Field Surgical Set, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History

“Assistant Surgeon was the title given to the entry-level rank of commissioned physicians in the armies of both the North and the South. Men who received this rank normally had a medical degree and had passed an examination except during the early days of the war when the examination system had not yet been instituted for the volunteer regiments. Usually assistant surgeons were younger and had less medical experience than surgeons; some were recent medical school graduates. Physicians with considerable experience often became surgeons without holding the lower rank. But many assistant surgeons eventually were able to take and pass the examination for promotion to surgeon.

“Assistant surgeons served in both the field and the hospitals. Most regiments had a surgeon and an assistant surgeon, the latter in charge of most of the ordinary medical care of the soldiers. The assistant surgeon went into battle with his troops and set up a first aid or triage station just behind the lines. Here he did the initial treatment, such as bandaging wounds, stopping bleeding, splinting broken bones, and administering opiates or whisky as painkillers, so the patient could be moved to a field hospital or a general hospital for more extensive treatment.”

Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein. The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2008, page 296

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • More
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged medicine | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on September 1, 2019 at 8:56 pm William H. Gray, F&S | 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry

    […] “Steam Collier” No. 5 Field Surgical Set […]

    LikeLike



Comments are closed.

  • While researching the lives of my great-great-grandfather Edward R. Pitt and his brother William Thomas Pitt of Norfolk County, Virginia, I found fascinating (and sometimes disturbing) details about the civilian and military experiences of those who served in the 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry.

    The regiment included free men, freedmen, freedom-seekers and white officers from the United States and abroad.  It was organized at Camp Hamilton, Virginia in 1863, attached to Fortress Monroe, Virginia in 1864, and mustered out at Brazos Santiago, Texas in 1866.

    Tell the story. Expand the legacy.

    Leslie Anderson, MSLS

    Copyright © Leslie Anderson. All Rights Reserved.

  • Recent Posts

    • “Sunday Morning in Virginia” June 5, 2023
    • Oliver Williams, Company L June 5, 2023
    • John Mosely, Company A June 5, 2023
    • First Monday, June 5, 2023 June 5, 2023
    • Gates County, North Carolina May 29, 2023
    • Peter Fuller, Company G** May 29, 2023
    • “Full-length portrait of an African American sailor, facing front” May 22, 2023
    • Peter Fuller, Company G* May 22, 2023
    • Black Men in the Union Navy May 15, 2023
    • Benjamin Burr alias Benjamin Nash, Company E** May 15, 2023
  • Archives

  • Follow 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry on WordPress.com
  • Tags

    alias Ambulance Corps announcements Arlington National Cemetery audio Bibles biographies bricklayers brick masons C-SPAN Calvary Cemetery cemeteries Central State Asylum for Colored Insane churches CMSR communities court-martial digital records Dismal Swamp drawings draymen e-records e-resources Ebenezer Baptist Church education Emancipation Proclamation farmers First Baptist Church_Bute Street First Monday Fisher's Hill Cemetery Fort Monroe Fredericksburg National Cemetery freeborn GAR Grove Baptist Church Hampton Institute Hampton National Cemetery historic landmarks Holy Trinity Baptist Church horses hospitals Howard University laundresses magazine articles maps medicine Methodist Episcopal Protestant Church military organization Mt. Calvary Cemetery Mt. Olive Cemetery National Soldiers' Home neighborhoods New Mount Zion Baptist Church news articles Norfolk Naval Hospital officers oystermen Pension Building photographs Portsmouth Naval Hospital postcards Potter's Field prints and paintings properties recreation resources sculptures and memorials shoemakers Spotlight St. John's AME Church Sweden Thornton Cemetery transportation US Navy YouTube

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry
    • Join 78 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • 1st U.S. Colored Cavalry
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: