The following is a narrative
written from the perspective of an 18 year old man working as a clerk at a dry
goods store in Reading, MA. The young
man must decide whether to join all of his friends who are leaving to join the
war effort and serve their country or to stay behind for self preservation.
It has taken a lot of thinking and
the choice has not been easy, but I have decided that it is more important to
serve my country than stay for my own self preservation. I
learned that if I choose to fight in the navy we will be using these new
ironclad ships. They will help us survive
and win because cannonballs bounce off the sides of the iron! For the other ships to defeat us, they would
have to shoot inside the ship! This
means that our two ships would need to be in very close range during battle. We also have new and improved artillery for
battles. Instead of guns with bayonets, we
will be using rifled muskets which are much more accurate at long range which
will help us win and survive the battles.
The bullets we will be using in the guns are improved, too and are
called lead minié. They are an inch long and made of lead, and
they spin as they leave the gun and are accurate for up to half a mile. We even have a few of the new repeating guns. Besides just regular guns we have railroad artillery,
landmines, telescopic sights, and military telegraphs. I am not sure exactly what tactics we will be
using since we have new kinds of weapons, but I assume it will be similar to
how men used to fight by charging at each other out in the open. I feel that these technologies will help us
win and will help me live through many of the dangers of war.
I have also heard about how the
doctors and surgeons take care of any soldiers who get wounded which somewhat reassures
me about living through the war. If we
are wounded with broken bones, they most often perform amputations. They believe that about three out of four
people who have an amputation live which I feel is a very high rate. They also use chloroform as an anesthetic to
help one not feel as much pain (though I have heard stories where people moan
when they saw through their bones!).
They also can use opium pills, opium dust, and injections to prevent
pain. I also heard that infections can
spread from wounds, but if they amputate right away the probability of getting
an infection decreases. Some people are
even lucky enough to be given artificial legs and other prosthetic limbs made
from cork wood, metal or rubber. Most
often they amputate I believe, but they also sometimes perform resections where
they cut open the limb, saw out the damaged bone, and then close the
incision. I know this could lead to profuse
bleeding but most often they try to amputate anyways. If it’s just a simple fracture they can use
wooden or plaster splints. Besides, I
want to serve my country and feel that there are many ways to be treated if
anything were to happen.
I understand that there are many
risks in going to war but I believe with the new technology and skills of the
surgeons helping the wounded that the risk of going to war is worth it. The risk is not so great that I feel I have
no chance to survive the war. I am
hoping for the best!
To
learn more about the technologies and tactics of the Civil War:
Jones L., Terry, “Under
the Knife”, The New York Times Opinionator,
November 17, 2012 http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/17/under-the-knife/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_php=true&_type=blogs&pagewanted=print&_r=1.
Civil War Ironclads, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ABzaEHQ4Hg
Burns, Ken, “The Civil War, A Very
Bloody Affair, 1862”, Part 2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PdEJsX4eA
Image: Burns, Ken, “The Civil War, A Very Bloody Affair, 1862”, Part 2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PdEJsX4eA
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