Harper's Ferry, West Virginia

 

It’s t

Field Hospital during Civil War

ime to start towards home. Our first stop was the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. This is a small, old museum, but still worthwhile. It emphasized the innovations made in medicine during the civil war. The first was the use of field hospitals which would be near the battlefield, where first aid was applied to control the damage from wounds or disease. The second was the use of ambulances, horse-drawn carriages to move the wounded, primarily from the field to a hospital. Third, was the use of chloroform or ether to reduce the pain of surgery – over 90% of operations used some form of anesthesia. There were quite a few stories about the doctors and nurses of the time, including Clara Barton founder of the American Red Cross. They also emphasized that 2/3^rd of the deaths during the civil war were not from battle, but from disease, especially dysentery. Another form of medicine I hadn’t considered was veterinary medicine because of all the horses and mules used to carry supplies and cannons. We spent about an hour here.

Surgical Kit

On to Harper’s Ferry, which is situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers where Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia join. George Washington established a munitions factory here because of the availability of water power. The National Park Service maintains the Lower Town as a historical park. 

Lower Town Harper's Ferry

This was also the site form John Brown’s Raid in October 1859. He led a group to take over the town with the goal of freeing the slaves here. He had raised money across the country over the preceding months from abolitionists and purchased rifles and pikes. He and his men took over the armory and took hostages, but the slaves in the area did not join his rebellion. The marines eventually take over the armory, leaving John Brown and his men in the fire house. The marines take over the fire house without any hostages being injured, but 16 people died, including 10 of Brown’s men. By the end of the month, Brown and his remaining men are tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on December 2^nd. While he may have lost the battle, a newspaper account read: “The Harpers Ferry invasion has advanced the cause of disunion more than any other event since the formation of the Government.” Harper’s Ferry would change hands eight times during the Civil War.

John Brown's Raid