The Civil War Medicine Museum in Frederick, MD

              The National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Dr. Jonathan Letterman (from Wikipedia) devised a evacuation plan for wounded soldiers which is still used today.

 A former embalmer's shop now houses the museum (white building)

 It's just about a 45 minute drive up I-270 to Frederick to see the National Museum of Civil War Medicine located in a building formerly used by an embalmer who treated  the bodies of Civil War soldiers.

Actual shattered bones and stories of injured soldiers are exhibited in a respectful, professional manner.  

For Civil War die-hards the museum is a must.  It exceeded expectations.

It's arranged thematically and flows easily (more or less if you follow the arrows) from one section to another:  from medical education to recruitment to camp life, evacuation of the wounded, upstairs to field dressing, hospitals, embalming, and modern military medicine.

"Back then" between five and seven teachers made up most medical school faculties, and they were paid, according to a label, by tickets sold to students who attended classes from October through March.  Medical school lasted two years, generally, and the second year was a repeat of the first.

Diarrhea, as a result of poor diet and unsanitary conditions, was the number one killer of soldiers.  About two-thirds of the soldiers in the war died from disease; the remainder, from wounds.  Many of the soldiers came from farms which were far different from crowded camps.  Medics from each side treated the others. 

To meet needs Dr. Jonathan Letterman devised a plan during the war to evacuate the wounded which the military still follows today.

Audio of "conversations" and recorded gunfire shots supplant the exhibits, artifacts, and mannequins which are of realistic height  and are dressed in (what appeared to me, and I am sure they were accurate given the nature of enthusiasts) "authentic" Civil War uniforms.  The surgeons and nurses are dressed in clothing of the day.  As plastic representations with clothes and facial expressions, they are better-than-average models. 

The "field" stations look as lifelike as possible:  dirt, campfires, brush, vegetation, and trees  add "feel" to the environment.  Part of one of the exhibits includes a tent made of "army duck" material which was used by John Wiley, a surgeon from New Jersey, during the "War of Northern Aggression" (preferred name by one Southern history student).

A feeling of enclosure (like a big tomb?) partly due to overhanging "vines" and art on practically every surface permeates the museum, however, the many murals covering walls and walkways extend the military tales and life in the field and provide as much of an outside environment as possible.   Some parts of the museum were dark, making it difficult to read all labels.

What a nice surprise downtown Frederick was, with quaint shops and more plentiful and varied restaurants than a city Frederick's size has a right to have. 

The Sunday afternoon I arrived only a handful of other visitors joined me in the museum, but many more were on the sidewalks later, on their way to dinner.

 Hours at the museum located at 48 East Patrick Street are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday.  Admission is $6.50 (adults), $6.00 (seniors, military, college students), $4.50 (children from 11 through 16), and no admission for children under age 10.  Ph. 301-695-1864.  Allow about 1.5 hours.

P.S.  The shape and size of tongue depressors have not changed.