A common medical kit during the Civil War would include scissors, gauze, and needles. The people injured were classified into slightly wounded, mortally wounded and cases were surgery was required. These cases were taken to nearby hospitals outside the battlefield. The tools used by surgeons usually include surgical scalpels, long forceps for bullet extraction, bone-holding forceps, an amputation saw, curved scissors, tourniquet, and an amputation knife. Also, like anesthetics, on one hand, whiskey and morphine were used to relieve the pain of the injured in the battlefield. On the other hand, chloroform or ether was administered to patients before amputations.
The difficulties faced by caregivers and patients during the Civil War were tremendous. To begin with, the medical practices of the time were not up to cup with the injuries and diseases caused by the war. Diseases such as pneumonia, dysentery, gangrene, and tuberculosis spread through the medical tents placed in the outskirts of the battles. On top of that, the patients and caregivers would have to face degrading sanitary conditions that only worsen the recovery process. Eventually, this would be the cause of death for two-thirds of the approximately 620.000 casualties of the war.
