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by Barbara Franco.
Hardback (6.2×9.3 inches). 341 pages. 2025.
Subtitle: Facing a Common Enemy in the Civil War’s Deadliest Battle
During the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, 664 Union and 444 Confederate surgeons (p xvi) treated the wounded at aid stations and hospitals set up in tents and buildings near the front line. Indeed, figuring out how the battle would go and picking a location close enough to the front line to minimize ambulance transport time and yet far enough back not to suffer from fire or capture was one of the primary jobs of commanding surgeons (p72).
But first, the book takes you through 19th century surgeon training, such as it was in an era with limited medical facilities and research. As most states didn’t have any licensing requirements, a certificate from a medical college served as confirmation that a surgeon had at least some formal education and testing.
ACW surgeons had to provide their own horse and equipment (p39) as well as their own food on campaign (p44). They soon learned to pool resources and hire a cook/servant to attend to that.
The bulk of the book covers individual surgeons in varying levels of detail, from mentions of their unit and posting to mini-biographies in an appendix. Of course, all did as best they could under primitive conditions. For the Union, that was made worse when Gen. Meade ordered most medical baggage left behind in order to race to Gettysburg. Only one Corps surgeon defied his order and that Corps had full tent and medical equipment to the betterment of treating the wounded.
The book contains 45 black and white photos, three black and white illustrations, and five black and white maps.
Both sides’ medical staff treated a total of about 30,000 casualties during and after the battle. The last patients left in November. Surgeons were captured, either directly or because they stayed behind to care for the wounded as their units retreated. Usually, captured surgeons were considered non-combatants and released soon after the battle. Around this time, that started to change and after Gettysburg, surgeons were sometimes not exchanged or released.
For a campaign game, medical treatment deserves some attention. Here’s a book that helps you do so.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
