The Killer Angels Essay

He had been shot in his left arm like it says in the book, “He had been hit once in the left arm and the bleeding had stopped but the genuine pain was just beginning ( Shaara 146).” In situations like these, amputation was necessary. If any bones were shattered the limb and/or body part was removed. There was only a cutting saw on the battlefield so it was used on every soldier in need. There was no sanitation or anesthesia so, bacteria and infections were being spread.

The battle of Shiloh was a bloody battle that caused roughly 23,746 soldiers deaths. Almost 14,000 of them died of diseases caused by untreated infections. Anesthesia was used as much as 90% of the time during surgeries such as amputations of the leg, arm, hand or foot. Hospitals were either set up in a barn or in homes nearby the battlefield. One of the biggest concerns for the wounded was infection, due to the poor sanitary conditions of the hospitals and the doctors supplies. Majority of the doctors who served during the battle had very little training and they were unaware of the different diseases and how they were spread.

The medical practices used during the civil war were unsanitary and rushed. Surgeons re-used tools without cleaning, and lack of soap meant that they did not wash their hands frequently. Surgeons moved from patient to patient with bloodstained hands and clothes, and no thought that they might be harming their patient. In Document B, a surgeon is described as moving from patient to patient ; “As fast as possible he attended to their hurts, and in a short time had been compelled to perform a number of capital operations.” (Doc B). The many wounded men coming in from the battlefield made it difficult for surgeons to take their time, so they moved at

Honor played a major role in novel, Killer Angels. Throughout the book, Honor was a concept that remained important to members of the armies, regardless of whether they were supporting the Union or the Confederacy. Every action and decision was made with the intention of being heroic and as honorable as possible.

The old battlefield technique of trying to save limbs with doses of TLC and wound-cleaning rats and maggots quickly fell out of favor during the Civil War. There were too many soldiers getting wounded, and war surgeons quickly discovered that the most efficient way to stop deadly infections was amputate them. Amputation saved more lives than any other wartime medical procedure. War surgeons lost only about 25 percent of their patients—compared to a 75 percent mortality rate among similarly injured civilians at the time.

1. Were soldiers religious? What did they think about God? What sorts of religious viewpoints do we see in this book?

Wars have been fought for many different reasons through the years, and that holds true for the American Civil War (1861-1865). In Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Killer Angels, the reasons for fighting the war are brought about through the officers and soldiers at a famous battle site of the Civil War, Gettysburg. Gettysburg was one of the most documented battles of the whole war. It took place over a span of three days and can be viewed as a turning point from Confederate prominence to Confederate demise. As in any conflict, there are two sides to the story. The Union and the Confederacy each had their own views as to why they were fighting the war. Victors write the history so too often only the Union side is

There was also little knowledge into how infections and viruses were spread, causing to high contamination among the injured, and lack of sterility when dealing with patients. This caused injured soldiers to have to wait for a day or longer for the ability to be seen due to the lack of physicians. It also caused for multiple surgeries to remove infections from improper sterilization. (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/lifeandlimb/maimedmen.html) In the film, Cold Mountain, the main character Inman is shot in the neck. During his time in the hospital, he over hears a conversation of one of the heads of the hospital not to take too long on those that were dying, because there were more soldiers waiting outside. This is also seen in history due to the lack of trained physicians and the lack of hospitals to treat all the wounded soldiers. Also on his travel back home he encounters a woman who treats him with a salve and medicine to treat the infection that was growing in his neck, probably due to the poor conditions of the hospital setting. The lack of knowledge in the medical field, led to the inability to treat some of the common injuries. Gunshot wounds to the torso almost always meant a death sentence during the Civil War. “The huge carnage that resulted from these frontal attacks, combined with a relatively few number of poorly equipped surgeons led to

The Battle of Gettysburg brought the dueling North and South together to the small town of Gettysburg and on the threshold of splitting the Union. Gettysburg was as close as the United States got to Armageddon and The Killer Angels gives the full day-to-day account of the battle that shaped America’s future. Michael Shaara tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of the generals and men involved in the action of the battle. The historical account of the Battle of Gettysburg gives the reader a chance to experience the battle personally and not the history book manner taught in schools. A historical novel gives the facts straightforward and provides no commentary by the people involved in history. The

During the Civil War, they had to have many medicines, operations, and surgeries done to themselves or others in order to survive (Jenny Goellnitz, Paragraph 1). Some of these medicines we still use today. Medical technology and scientific knowledge have changed dramatically since the Civil War, but the basic principles of military health care remain the same. The deadliest thing that faced the Civil War soldier was disease. For every soldier who died in battle, two died from disease.

The progression of medical practices from before the Civil War and after are astonishing. Before the Civil War doctors practiced purging, bloodletting, and blistering. These various practices allowed blood to leave your body. Doctors believed infections were in your blood, so when they let your blood out, your infection would leave as well.

The novel Killer Angels by Micheal Shaara is a novel about the Civil War, more specifically about the 1863 battle in Gettysburg. The novel goes into a lot of detail about war and describes the range of emotions of many of the characters who fought in the war and how war affected them. The war was between the Confederate (South) and the Union (North) armies. The emotions, reactions and sentiment of the main characters is what I will focus on.

There would’ve been many more deaths in the Civil War if it wasn’t for the medicine. Many people’s arms or legs were shot or injured in war. If soldiers didn’t take care of the wound, it would most likely get infected, which happened to most people who were shot. Doctors in the war used amputation, which is when you cut off an arm or a leg. It was an extremely painful, quick, and easy process, but it saved many lives. Awhile after the Civil War started, doctors discovered a new way to make amputation hurt less; the Anesthesia inhaler. The Anesthesia inhaler was an inhaler that used chloroform to knock patients out. While the patient was passed out, the doctors and nurses would amputate the person’s arm or leg. After that, doctors usually put a prosthetic arm or leg on the patient. Prosthetic arms and legs were great, but they were usually hard to deal with. During the Civil War, people discovered that if you added different joints, ball bearings, and other tools to replace ligaments and tendons, it was easier to deal

The Regimental Medical Officer and his assistants cleaned the wounds applied dressings, and gave injections. The injured man was then taken to the Advanced Dressing Station. Wounds were again treated and sometimes emergency amputations took place. The wounded soldier was now moved to the Casualty Clearing Station where surgery if needed was carried out.

Los Angeles is known as the city of angels but also it has been known that it contains a lot of immigrants and homeless. The city is located in the southern part of California so it’s no surprise that most people who live there are illegal immigrants. In some areas, it’s full of homeless like in downtown where most homeless life is at. Los Angeles is also known where most movies and shows are filmed. Things like the walk of fame, Hollywood sign, and the Universal city is where most celebrities are more likely to appear. Although Los Angeles has it’s ups and down it’s still a pretty good place to live.