Publications American Civil War Surgery and Medicine (also found under Surgery)

The American Civil War Surgery Series:
12 Works in 11 Volumes Ira M. Rutkow, MD, DrPH, Editor

This series reprints the first editions of the surgical manuals that Union and Confederate soldiers studied and took with them to the battlefields. For each work in these series, Ira M. Rutkow, M.D., Dr.P.H., has written a new biographical essay about the author. Each volume in the series is limited to 750 copies.

Volume 1: A Manual of Military Surgery (Philadelphia, 1861). S. D. Gross
Out of Print

186pp. 3¾" × 6". ISBN 0-930405-04-8. NP13207.

“…essentially a book for emergencies; portable, easy of reference, always at hand” (from the preface).

 

Volume 2: A Manual of Military Surgery, Prepared for the Use of the Confederate States Army (Richmond, 1863). Surgeon General
Out of Print

297pp. 30 plates. 4-7/16" × 6-15/16". ISBN 0-930405-14-5. NP13208.

“…confined to those affections most intimately connected with gun-shot wounds and operations, as Shock, Tetanus, Hospital Gangrene, Pyaemia, &c.” (from the preface). This is the only extensively illustrated Confederate surgical manual.

 

Volume 3: Gunshot Wounds and Other Injuries of Nerves (Philadelphia, 1864). S. W. Mitchell, G. R. Morehouse, W. W. Keen
Out of Print

164pp. 4-1/16" × 7-3/8". ISBN 0-930405-13-7. NP13209.

Based on research done at the Battle of Gettysburg, this acknowledged medical classic contains the first detailed study of traumatic neuroses and introduced the concept of causalgia.

 

Volume 4: A Manual of Military Surgery (Richmond, 1861). J. J. Chisolm
Out of Print

447pp. 4-3/4" × 7-3/16". ISBN 0-930405-03-X. NP13210.

“…I have incorporated chapters upon the food, clothing and hygiene of troops; with directions on how the health of an army is to be preserved, and how an effective strength is to be sustained; also, the duties of military surgeons, both in the camp and in the field” (from the preface).

 

Volume 5: A Practical Treatise on Military Surgery (New York, 1861). F. H. Hamilton
Out of Print

232pp. 30 illus. 5-3/4" × 8-13/16". ISBN 0-930405-05-6. NP13211.

Chapters discuss “examination of recruits,” “hygienic management of troops upon the march,” and “conveyance of the sick and wounded.” The appendix details camp cooking (with recipes) for a large group of soldiers.

 

Volume 6: An Epitome of Practical Surgery for Field and Hospital (Richmond, 1863). E. Warren
Out of Print

401pp. 4-1/2" × 7-3/8". ISBN 0-930405-09-9. NP13212.

Surgeon-General of North Carolina, Warren wrote this book to counter the severe mismanagement of the wounded.

 

Volume 7: Handbook for the Military Surgeon (Cincinnati, 1861). C. S. Tripler and G. C. Blackman
Out of Print

121pp. 5" × 7-5/8". ISBN 0-930405-06-4. NP13213.

Chapters cover organization of field hospitals; gunshot wounds; amputation; wounds of the chest, abdomen, arteries and head; and the use of chloroform. The appendix includes forms for requisitions, accounts of purchases, surgeons’ reports and hospital payrolls.

 

Volume 8: Hand-book of Surgical Operations (New York, 1862). S. Smith
Out of Print

279pp. 257 illus. 4-3/8" × 6-5/8". ISBN 0-930405-07-2. NP13214.

Smith’s Hand-book went through five editions within two years and was the most widely used surgical manual among the Union forces.

 

Volume 9: Notes and Observations on Army Surgery (New Orleans, 1863). F. Formento and M. Schuppert
Out of Print

62pp. BOUND WITH: A Treatise on Gunshot Wounds: Written for and Dedicated to the Surgeons of the Confederate States Army (New Orleans, 1861). 47pp. 5-7/8" × 9-1/8". ISBN 0-930405-18-8. NP13215.

The Louisiana Hospital, established by Formento in 1861, had a much lower mortality rate than regular army hospitals; this was attributed to his insistence on small wards, extreme cleanliness, good food, and ample fresh air. Both Formento’s work and Schuppert’s treatise on gun-shot wounds, bound with it, are little known and virtually impossible to find in their original editions.

 

Volume 10: A Manual of Minor Surgery (Philadelphia, 1863). J. H. Packard
Out of Print

288pp. 4-5/8" × 7-1/4". ISBN 0-930405-08-0. NP13216.

The thirteen chapters include discussions of such items as pocket-case materials used in dressings, surgical depletion, bandages, disinfectants, and catheterization-injections.

 

Volume 11: List of Battles and Roster of Regimental Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons During the War of the Rebellion (with a new index to names) (Washington, D.C., 1883). Adjutant General and Surgeon General
Out of Print

386pp. 5½" × 8½". ISBN 0-930405-10-2. NP13217.

With a new index to names created for our series, this volume will enable you to determine exactly which surgeons were attached to each regiment, and to identify the specific battles in which each surgeon served.

 

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