Amputations: The Civil War in Four Minutes 

I feel sorry for that 5% that didn't get anesthesia.

As a seasoned WC re-enactor (22 years) I never understood how this procedure really progressed so, I learned a lot from this great video. Thank you!

I read somewhere that a good doctor was a fast doctor and he always carried a sharp knife, a saw and wire cutters and all this was done in unsanitary conditions I guess if infection didn't kill them the shock of getting a limb amputated did and surgery was still in its infancy at that time I guess doctors didn't know the long range outcome of risky surgeries but the surgeries had to be done to save the soldier's life 😔😢

please dont stop posting this awesome videos.... your work is amazing!

Two of my great-great-great Grandpappys lost their legs. One at Fredericksburg, lost his leg to a rifle, he lived. The other just outside of Petersburg, had to have his leg amputated due to a cannon ball, he died.

Extremely Informative.

Wonderful informative video thank you so much

Surgeons today even say that if they were faced with the overwhelming number of wounded from Civil War battles, amputation would be the primary procedure they'd perform as they'd simply not have time to perform complete reconstructions of shattered bone. The soldiers and surgeons back then knew full well the magical 24 hours after being wounded when infection began to set in.

20,000 amputees in the war on Iraq and Afghanistan, most since the Civil War

I’d like a presentation on facial and head wound reconstruction

The first knife discussed is actually a Liston knife. The catlin was double-edged.

They would cut the skin higher than the amputation so they could sew it up at the end of the stump, making a pocket around the leftover bone (Like a soft Taco or hot pocket). They did use anesthesia, morphine & opioids for the pain during the Civil War. But just imagine the shock of every saw stroke going through your body without it. Those meds did run out at some point & many soldiers didn't receive it other than whiskey (raw dogged it). Imagine cutting wood with a saw but then it gets stuck and you have to pry it out or muscle it out. That pain would shoot through your entire body & be unbearable. Even if the saw just got stuck for a second It has to come out with force & the pain vibrates through your body. There were many soldiers that could not get the anesthesia but most did. Plus this was happening many hours after the injury, like 24-48hrs after. Imagine the gangrene setting in. Live without a leg or with one that does not work, sometimes they would remove the bone splinters if not that bad but still the limb was not functional. Pick your poison I guess if you wanted to keep the mangled limb without dying from infection, if you're lucky. Just think how much a hang nail hurts LOL! With pain medication & being awake I can only compare from visuals not experience of being like cesareanchild birth, being pulled around like a rag doll while surgeons slice your belly open & pull a child out Braveheart style (You are still awake, medicated but still know your body is being opened & stuff is moving about). God Bless Moms. I've had limb surgery but never awake like child birth, that's unbelievable & impressive.

GREAT VIDEO

Well that dispelled a few myths...

Great video

Tears!!!!

how strong was the anesthesia? How much did soldiers feel while their limbs were being amputated?

It's a relief to hear they had way to knock them out for these awful types of surgeries. I wonder with all the procedures they did, was it common to run out of ether etc. I imagine with the opium and morphine that were used to aid with pain, a generation of ex soldiers with addictions sprang up. Everything old is new again!

The video doesn't say WHY amputations were performed though. Modern ammunition also damages bone and tissue, yet we don't need to hack limbs off to save the patient's life. Is it because of infections that Civil War era physicians weren't able to stop? That they were unable to prevent infections from spreading? I feel like the why part is missing here...

thanks mercy on us.

I really feel so sorry about all of the soldiers in the Civil War who had to get a amputation done on their arms or legs and all of the instruments where dirty because they had been used from patient to patient and when they had finished the operation they would simpally wash down the table with a bucket of filthy Warter and then it was ready to be used for another patient and probably the same operation as well it's just really horrible back in those days and the soldiers would end up with hospital infections and gas gangrene because of the poor sanitation of the instruments they had to use on each of the patients it's just horrible what they all went through all those years ago. Thanks everybody and I hope that you like my comment OK cheers.

The prosthetic industry grows where limbs cannot

There was no Gary Sinise accommodated adapted home available to those veterans either.

I'd rather die back then than having to deal with the excruciating pain that these soldiers had to endure with amputating a limb

No war no wound

Minnesota in the civil war

From what I understand anytime you broke a bone at the time it was always amputated because they didnt know how to fix broken bones then. So a broken leg would be taken off I guess

Minie Ball Not mini ball

I’m not so confident with that whole 95% statistic. Surely, it would be safe to understand that not every surgeon during the American Civil War would’ve had enough anesthesia stocked up for all those patients. What about shortages in the Confederacy? I’m not saying anesthesia and cloraform weren’t being widely used, but history has shown us time and time again that armies weren’t always supplied efficiently. How can we be so confident with such a statistic when there were also shortages of food, ammunition, and some cases, even weapons?? That statistic is giving me a little “too good to be true” vibes.

Amputation then was not as sophisticated as you seem to think, at least not compared with modern surgery. Even by the time of WW I, amputation was much better. Unfortunately while the Union Army usually had sufficient anesthetic, the Confederates sometimes didn't. Speed was of the essence and MANY physicians of the time were very poorly trained.

My God , that’s a horrific job to do day in day out

If one happened to be shot the soldiers where killed the surgeons could do nothing for them since they didn't have the technology a gut shot is always fatal

jah

Just gotta hope the bullet goes through

It was not 4 minutes, it was only 3:44 seconds, I am disappointed for not staying true to your word.

That's f***** up man

Isn't war Great! You get shot by a big lead ball..your arms shattered..but no worries ..I got some elixir and a bone saw..you didn't need that arm anyway..💀💀

I am definitely against amputations.

iF YOU WERE A wAR hERO THE STORY WILL BE TOLD WITH NO ANESTETIA FOR EFFECT.

And how do the Liberals thank these Brave Confederate soldiers by taking down Confederate statues and monuments and the Confederate flag. These men basically died for nothing is what you're saying?

At 0:17 Why would you minimize the importance of the American Civil War by calling it a "conflict"? You're disgraceful for saying such a thing and you should be ashamed. It was a full blown war, not just a conflict.