Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War

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Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War

July 31st – September 9th, 2023

More than three million soldiers fought in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries, or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs.
Soldiers at Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C., 1860s Courtesy National Library of Medicine

Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War explores the experiences of men whose lives were saved by sacrificing limbs during the war and disabled veterans in the post-war period. Over three million soldiers fought in the American Civil War. More than half a million died and almost as many were wounded. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries, or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs. These men remained a stark reminder of the costs of the conflict for long after the war, becoming symbols of the fractured nation.

The National Library of Medicine produced Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War, guest curated by historian and educator Manon Parry, PhD (University of Amsterdam).

Private George W. Lemon was shot in the leg and captured by Confederate soldiers. He received treatment for his injuries only after being freed by the Union force over a week later. He suffered repeated infections in the wound for more than a year until Surgeon Edwin Bently amputated the limb.
“Private George W. Lemon,” Drawings, Photographs and Lithographs Illustrating the Histories of Seven…, George A. Otis, 1867 Courtesy National Library of Medicine
The selflessness of soldiers fostered great respect after the war. Yet as Americans sought to put the memory of the conflict behind, they increasingly ignored the plight of aging, disabled, impoverished veterans. By the 1880s, support for veterans was diminishing, as depicted in this representation of a Union soldier grasping at government funds with many arms.
Puck magazine cover, December 1882 Courtesy National Library of Medicine

The National Library of Medicine produced this exhibition and companion website.