![]() ![]() Tripler created plans to enlist regimental surgeons to travel with armies in the field, and the creation of general hospitals for the badly wounded to be taken to for recovery and further treatment. McClellan appointed the first medical director of the army, surgeon Charles S. McClellan and the organization of the Army of the Potomac. ![]() This view changed after the appointment of General George B. Union commanders believed the war would be short and there would be no need to create a long-standing source of care for the army's medical needs. After the Battle of Bull Run, the United States government took possession of several private hospitals in Washington, D.C., Alexandria, Virginia, and surrounding towns. When the war began, there were no plans in place to treat wounded or sick Union soldiers. ![]() This was a common scenario in wars from time immemorial, and conditions faced by the Confederate army were even worse. Harsh weather, bad water, inadequate shelter in winter quarters, poor policing of camps and dirty camp hospitals took their toll. There were no antibiotics, so the surgeons prescribed coffee, whiskey, and quinine. Operations in the South meant a dangerous and new disease environment, bringing diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid fever, and malaria. First came epidemics of the childhood diseases of chicken pox, mumps, whooping cough, and, especially, measles. The hygiene of the camps was poor, especially at the beginning of the war when men who had seldom been far from home were brought together for training with thousands of strangers. Main article: Union (American Civil War) ยง Medical conditions ![]()
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