Harpers Ferry

 Hello again everyone! Time for another thrilling installment about my time here as an intern as the National Museum of Civil War Medicine! It’s the end of my first week and now I am going to Harpers Ferry with Tom.  Yes, that Harpers Ferry.  The one John Brown led a raid on the arsenal in 1859, yep that one.  Tom offered to let me come along on this because he was going to be part of an educational immersive program that taught 5^th graders about the Battle of Harpers Ferry.  He was going to be teaching them about what battlefield medicine was like back then.  It was a great opportunity for me since I’m training to hopefully give tours on my own someday.

  John Brown as he would have appeared during the raid.

                We left the museum at 7am, Tom dressed as a Union surgeon and me in modern apparel.  I got a snazzy shirt with the museum logo on it though so who knows, maybe next time I’ll be in period wear.  When we left it was pretty overcast so as we drove the valleys and other areas I got to see the fog come sweeping in or hovering over fields.  It was beautiful and definitely picturesque as I imagined what had happened here in the past.  The homes and farms that dotted the route were also very nice.  What surprised me during the drive was that we passed through some parts of the state so quickly.  When we left Maryland we were only in Virginia for a minute before we were in West Virginia! I’m still getting used to the smaller states  sizes here since it would take me hours to leave California.  It might sound a little silly but I thought it was cool to be able to cut through states like that. 

                I was also really excited because Tom was pointing out landmarks to me such as the Potomac River.  I could see big rocks sticking out of the water but Tom told me that it was a little low at the moment but that the rains would make them invisible soon.  That river must be a sight to see when it is swollen with rain water.  It’s already so big and wide.  Soon after the Potomac we crossed the Shenandoah and then we arrived in Harpers Ferry.  Tom drove around, pointed out where Brown made his stand, where old buildings used to lie and other little facts about it.  I thought it might the smallest town I’ve seen.  With the fog, home built into the slope and nearby river it kind of reminded of the Russian River back home except those homes are wooden and there are Redwood trees.

Harpers Ferry.

                At the site we ran into a bunch of Tom’s old friends from National Park Services, helped set up some toy rifles and Tom’s medical knapsack with all of its blades and accoutrements.  The fog was pretty thick while we waited for the kids and the gnats were so thick I was CONSTANTLY batting and waving them away (bug spray didn’t seem to help abate them).  Tom said the motion was called the ‘Harpers Ferry wave.’ I’ve never seen so many gnats in my life and I spent most of the day trying to wave them off.  Soon enough the kids arrived and I watched them go through the different stations of learning commands, firing a rifle and even a cannon before reaching the surrender station.  Yeah, the Confederates had the Union surrounded here.  Right before they got to us though three of them were given cards with injuries.  They ranged from a flesh wound in the head to a shattered bone in the thigh.  It was supposed to be representative of some of the injuries a true Civil War soldier might have gotten and Tom was to explain and show how a surgeon back then would have treated them.  Those children would show Tom their “injuries” and he would “treat” them.

Yep, the Confederates had the Union surrounded.

                The kids would all crowd around our tent and watch what Tom was doing.  For the child with a flesh wound he explained, the surgeon would bandage him up and send him back out to battle because he was going to be okay.  Some kids really hammed it up and would jokingly scream about losing their beautiful faces.  It was pretty amusing to watch.  For the child who had the shattered thigh bone though, this was by far the more interesting procedure to learn about and watch the kids.  Tom would go “tsk tsk, I’m afraid that leg’ll have to go.” He would then loosely apply a tourniquet (it was never tightened so don’t worry) and then explain that there was anesthesia during the war.  Heck, it was discovered about thirty years before the war! In 98% of surgeries performed, either liquid Chloroform or powdered Ether was used so biting the bullet was a complete MYTH. Never happened.  A bullet in a patient’s mouth is either a choking hazard or they spit it out and scream.  Either way a bad idea and false.

WARNING: following paragraph may be disturbing to some readers!

                After anesthesia (usually Chloroform since Ether was potentially explosive in open flame) was used then the surgeon would use a knife to cut the skin and arteries away and pull them back with hooks.  My job was to hold up the Chloroform to show them the metal container it came in as well as the cone with a cloth that went over the patient’s face.  Tom often asked the kids what was the next step in amputation and without fail they would all shout out “Bone saw! Bone saw!” with anticipation. He would shake his head and say “No, before that?” and guide them to the right answer.  Then he would show them that the muscles and tendons are cut to reveal bone.  Tom then asked the kids what tool to use and they would scream “Bone saw! Bone saw!” Then he would take a giant saw off the table and they would gasp! He would pantomime cutting off the leg and filing down the bone smooth with an enormous file.  Then the arteries are pulled down and the skin sleeve he made in the beginning is pulled down over that before being sewn shut with silk or other thread with a needle to leave a stump behind.

A large bone saw in the top compartment with a tourniquet in the bottom left with knives.

Done with the graphic stuff! Onto the regularly scheduled blog…

Then Tom would explain that there was indeed medicine to help ease the pain and make the soldiers more comfortable.  Painkillers like Morphine did exist and soldiers did use it and other medicines for pain management.  The presentation ended there and then the kids would march off the next station about diseases soldiers encountered. 

                It was a lot of fun to see the kids learning about what kind of wounds soldiers could survive at the time and how they were treated.  They always got wide-eyed when they saw the big  wooden case full of knives, hooks and saws.  Most of them were very excited to see how they were used and were full of questions.  Even the chaperones had questions! The weather warmed up a lot in the afternoon so that I was able to see the Potomac from a distance as it wound around the area and even the gnats lessened.  It was a fantastic view with green mountains, trees, clear skies and the river flowing but I didn’t have my camera with me so no pictures I’m afraid.    

                The drive back the museum was nice because now I could see all the valleys and fields even better since the fog burned off.  It was mid-afternoon by then and I think it was equally nice both ways. With and without the fog both have a certain majesty.  I came back the museum very excited that I had been able to help Tom (even in a small way) with teaching medicine to the kids.  We had several people who were interested in coming and visiting the museum so that they could see even more which is great.  It was a fantastic way to spend a Friday.