History of Military Medicine

The author of this polemical account of the Red Cross movement argues that the militaristic tendency has taken advantage of the Red Cross and that a spin off of this is the promotion of war by Red Cross itself!

Information concerning the medical histories of most Union generals is hard to find and poorly documented. Jack D. Welsh, professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Oklahoma, has examined the medical events that occurred not only during the Civil War but throughout the lives of 583 Union generals. Previously unpublished material from letters, diaries, West Point cadet records, and applications for retirement or a pension provided new additional data and clarification of many medical events, as well as information on their outcome. A number of men had suffered from medical events before the war and three joined the army missing an arm and one missing a leg. During the Civil War, the majority of these Union generals were afflicted by disease, injured by accidents, or suffered wounds. Following the war, they frequently continued to be afflicted by disease and the effects of unhealed wounds. Medical Histories of Union Generals includes a glossary of medical terms as well as a sequence of medical events,during the Civil War listing wounds, accidents, and deaths.

From official records, personal letters, and postwar memoirs, Jack D. Welsh, M.D., has compiled the medical histories of 425 Confederate generals.

Welsh does not attempt to analyze the effects of an individual's medical problems on a battle or the war, but whenever possible provides information about factors that may have contributed to the wound, injury, or illness, and the outcome. He also details the immediate care, logistics of transportation, timing of operations, and the remedies used or recommended by the physicians, when such data is available.

This insight into the lives of men who often paid a high price for the Confederacy will prove fascinating for physicians, historians of medicine, and students of the Civil War.

A topical presentation of firsthand accounts from some of the thousands of army and navy nurses who served both stateside and overseas during World War II, this book tells the stories of the brave women who used any and all resources to save as many lives as possible. Although military nurses could have made more money as civilians, thousands chose to leave the warmth and security of home to care for the young men who went off to war. They were not saints but vibrant women whose performance changed the face of both military and civilian nursing. Jackson's account follows both army and navy nurses from the time they joined the military, through their active service, to their lives today.

Analysis of the medical aspects of the Gallipoli campaign, with emphasis on the day-to-day reality of war for soldiers who suffered and died in appalling conditions directly attributable to medical maladministration. Includes maps, diagrams, tables, appendices, and chapter notes. The extensive bibliography cites numerous unpublished sources in addition to published references. Indexed.

This in-depth work demonstrates that ancient battles rivaled those of the modern period in size, complexity, and lethality. The organization of armies of the ancient world, their performance, their military operations, and their ability to raise the art of warfare to towering heights are the focus of this carefully documented volume. An examination is made of all the major military establishments of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Corroborative evidence is drawn from modern analysis when accepting or rejecting the claims of ancient writers. Where that was lacking, the authors conducted their own empirical studies of ancient weapons which led to better understanding of how ancient battles were really fought.