Yep, there were two collumns: one for "white" and one for "colored" troops. It would be interesting to see if there was a higher death to injuries ration in the right collumn than in the left (probably).
But you're absolutely right about medical practices. For all that we think of them as barbaric, they did have reasons for doing everything they did (well, most of the things they did). As you say, future generations will look at what we've done to our sick and injuried and go "what were they thinking?" Anyone who thinks that our medical practices (or much of our scientific thought) is based on anything but well-reasoned theories is deluding themselves.
For instance, one of the things that I ran across in my readings of this book was the fact that they appeared to have discovered the cause of tetanus! Rejoice! For it is caused by... exposure to cold air!
No, wait, follow their reasoning. This was the pre-germ theory days, and so many of these medical professionals would have believed in the "miasma" theory of disease. And what they saw was: wounded who had been left on the field overnight, or had to wait out in the cold for a day or longer for treatment would get tetanus. Tetanus wasn't often present in people who were wounded seriously (but they often received more prompt treatment and weren't often left on the field... or if they were, they were left for dead and so it didn't matter). Tetanus only appeared in those who had been out in the cold all night (and, incidentally, had the bullets in them for longer, but whatever). Everyone who got shot up didn't have it - the deciding factor was if they'd been out in the cold and damp or not.
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Date: 2009-11-12 08:38 pm (UTC)But you're absolutely right about medical practices. For all that we think of them as barbaric, they did have reasons for doing everything they did (well, most of the things they did). As you say, future generations will look at what we've done to our sick and injuried and go "what were they thinking?" Anyone who thinks that our medical practices (or much of our scientific thought) is based on anything but well-reasoned theories is deluding themselves.
For instance, one of the things that I ran across in my readings of this book was the fact that they appeared to have discovered the cause of tetanus! Rejoice! For it is caused by... exposure to cold air!
No, wait, follow their reasoning. This was the pre-germ theory days, and so many of these medical professionals would have believed in the "miasma" theory of disease. And what they saw was: wounded who had been left on the field overnight, or had to wait out in the cold for a day or longer for treatment would get tetanus. Tetanus wasn't often present in people who were wounded seriously (but they often received more prompt treatment and weren't often left on the field... or if they were, they were left for dead and so it didn't matter). Tetanus only appeared in those who had been out in the cold all night (and, incidentally, had the bullets in them for longer, but whatever). Everyone who got shot up didn't have it - the deciding factor was if they'd been out in the cold and damp or not.
It makes perfect sense! Clearly!