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Teaching with Primary Sources: Civil War Surgical Saw

Brief Overview

Medicine and surgery played a critical role during the four years of the American Civil War. Over 600,000 soldiers were killed between 1861 and 1865 and tens of thousands returned home with an amputated limb, resulting from battlefield surgeries.

In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to analyze a Civil War era surgical saw toolkit that was once owned by a surgeon from North Carolina.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Analyze the role of medicine and surgery during the Civil War
  • Examine primary source materials related to Civil War surgery
  • Practice textual and visual analysis using multiple types of primary sources

Primary Source Example

Title: Ft. Sumter, 1863

Description: Appearance of Ft. Sumter on Sunday Afternoon, August 23rd, 1863.