Surgeon Research

[Redbeard]

Hey Pards.

It seems many of us have a personal connection to our impressions. Maybe an ancestor fought, etc. I have a suspicion that an ancestor fought but do to my family being strange, our actual history is sort of muddy.

What I do know is that my grandfather was an army surgeon. This was WWII, but still, I feel compelled to honor his method of service in my impression, and have decided to pursue a surgeon impression.

So, can anyone suggest a good place to start with my researching tools, gear, methods, etc? Any first hand accounts of army surgeons that you all know of? Anyone know of any good sources for the actual tools?

Thanks in advance.

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: surgeon research

Welcome to the chaos! :-)

The very first place to start for a Federal Surgeon is The Regs, beginning page 309.

A Manual of Military Surgery: Or, Hints on the Emergencies of Camp, Field, and Hospital Practice by S. D. Gross, MD, 1862

The Hospital Steward's Manual by J. J. Woodward, 1862 & 1863

Like all aspects of military life, the position of Surgeon is a rank to be aspired to and earned over time. While the Surgeon has the glamour of being the Head-Honcho, the Hospital Steward is the beating heart of any military hospital and often misrepresented (thank you Mercy Street), under-represented, or unskilled enough to be functionally useless at immersion events. If you are truly serious and willing to put in the brain-sweat, chat up Noah Briggs or Andre Wagoner. ...and when, in your time in hospital steward limbo, your personna will be obliged to supervise women, I'd be happy to step back in and help you get the right balance of historical misogyny and reliable assistance in the discharge of your duties.

Secondary Overviews include:

Gangrene and Glory: Medical Care During the American Civil War by Frank R. Freemon

Civil War Medicine: Challenges and Triumphs by Alfred J. Bollet

In Hospital and Camp by Harold Elk Straubing

Civil War Pharmacy by Michael A. Flannery

Repairing the March Of Mars: The Civil War Diaries of John Samuel Apperson by John Samuel Apperson

[KeystoneGuard]

Re: Surgeon Research

Thank you Elaine for your kind words. As Elaine mentioned, I will be happy to assist anyone interested in portraying a Steward, Asst. Surgeon, or Surgeon. I concur with her that it is in one's best interest to start out small and build upon your persona as your knowledge grows.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Surgeon Research

You'll want this, too: https://archive.org/details/medicalr...ttuoft/page/n3

Under Letterman's organization of the Medical Corps of the AoP, you mostly don't have to worry about tools because the three dozen or so medical professionals have only three principal cutters, the rest either supporting them in the operations, doing pre- or post-op care, overseeing food and shelter, or doing paperwork.

There are also a few hundred attached enlisted personnel as nurses, cooks, laborers, and ambulance corpsmen.

There are, in short, a variety of impressions to explore. The one you might want to avoid is the lone guy with a set of expensive tools and a bucket of rubber limbs -- that one's overdone... ;)