a saw of course! amputations....
They had limbs amputated They died of infection
no, this is false
There were many illneses that affected troops of both sides in the Civil War. Many soldiers died from cholera and other diseases caused by poor sanitation. Pneumonia, influenza, measles, small pox also took a serious toll. Most northern units lost as many killed from disease as from fighting. Among wounded men, gangrene was a serious problem that cost many lives and many limbs.
dirty, young boys, loss of limbs and hell on earth
The treatment that injured soldiers received in the Civil War depended on the type of injury. Some gunshot wounds required removal of the bullet by a surgeon. However, severe wounds to limbs often required amputation with crude instruments. Many wounded soldiers died of infection either from wound or an amputation.
It's estimated that about 300,000 plus US servicemen were wounded in the war. That not counting the 58,000 dead. One source indicated approximately 75,000 men lost limbs in the war.
Elizabeth Kenny
There were definitely prosthetic limbs used in and after the Civil War. They were made of wood with leather and metal components, and some were even painted with flesh-colored paint. Some were designed by the amputees themselves.
To cut off limbs that had been too damaged to repair or limbs that had gangrene, in order to save the persons life.
Civil war field hospitals were gruesome, awful places. Most were makeshift hospitals in a person's home or community building. There was often only one or two doctors to attend to hundreds of wounded soldiers. Medical techniques were extremely primitive compared to today, and if a soldier had a wounded arm or leg, that limb was usually sawed off and thrown into a pile of limbs. The soldiers were kept in close, cramped quarters and unclean conditions. Many died from infection.
MRSA is a serious bacterial infection. In extreme cases it can cause loss of limbs or even death.
{| |- | Gangrene and infection where major problems during the Civil War. Because of them, the typical treatment for a shattered limb was amputation. Tens of thousands of soldiers lost legs and arms in order to prevent gangrene, or to remove limbs already infected with it. |}