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The Killer Angels Essay

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Angels on the Battlefield
In the Battle of Gettysburg that took place on July 1, 1863, and ended on July 3, many casualties and injuries resulted from the fighting between those few days, leading to the victory of the Union Army. As mentioned in the Killer Angels, the hospitals were tents where soldiers were treated for their wounds on the battlefield, in the view of anyone and everyone. Amputations were almost every physician’s immediate response to bullet wounds shattering bones, amongst other types of injuries. Medicine was not as advanced back then as it is now, especially in the battlefield. Often, physicians and other medical professionals did not use proper hygienic techniques, which led to further complications due to bacteria and …show more content…

Immediately after hearing the news about Kilrain’s death due to his injuries, the Confederates began to open fire. Chamberlain hid behind the stone wall, where he goes in and out of consciousness due to blood loss from his foot. Had Chamberlain properly got his wound treated, according to ehistory.osu.edu, the treatment would have been at least a day or two, at the most. The surgeon would then clean/wash out the wound with a cloth and then prod the wound with his finger, searching for any remnants of the cloth, tissue, or bone. Furthermore, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov explains that the regimental surgeon would then dress the wound, and would later be carried out in an ambulance driven by the Marine Corps to be taken to a division level field hospital for surgical treatment, if needed. Consequently of Chamberlain not getting required treatment, as also stated by ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, this consequence would eventually lead to “...gross tissue destruction that was an excellent medium for infection.” Also mentioned by muttermuseum.org, gunshot wounds to the ankle would often do very well, but would require long treatment. Although Chamberlain’s wounds were not to the ankle, but to the foot, his mortality rate would be low, because amputation would always be another probable answer if treatment did not work.
Secondly, Private Kilrain is friend of

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