Health & Fitness
So, How Was It? Civil War Medicine - Seymour Historical Society
Kayleigh reviews each event she attends in the Valley. Learn more about what goes on in the area and what you might be interested in attending.
On Sunday, March 24th, the Seymour Historical Society held an event they titled Civil War Medicine presented by Carolyn Ivanoff.
About the Topic
Either the Civil War is a popular topic in this area, or Carolyn Ivanoff is a very popular speaker. Either way, the Seymour Historical Society was packed before the talk began.
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In fact, there were so many people in attendance, that a secondary room had to be opened up off to the side! I have never seen that happen at one of these events before.
Did you know that mercury and lead were considered useful medicines during the Civil War? Or that the most common surgery was amputation? I learned both of those facts, along with quite a few more during the presentation.
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The Civil War was a brutal time for our ancestors. The soldiers on both sides had to deal with disease, filth, and all sorts of environments.
Carolyn dressed up in a typical medic uniform from the Civil War. She used a PowerPoint presentation to supplement the talk along with some actual Civil War medical devices and medicines she brought with her from her collection.
The audience was taken back in time to a period before modern medicine and hygiene. It was difficult to understand how anyone could believe that mercury could cure a variety of diseases and that it was perfectly fine to move from one injured person to the next with the same medical instruments and not even clean them first.
It is amazing how our country has survived at all!
About the Speaker
Carolyn Ivanoff is very involved with the Seymour Historical Society. She serves on the board and has presented a number of times on various Civil War topics.
Besides her work with the Historical Society, Carolyn Ivanoff is an assistant principle at Shelton Intermediate School and is very involved with a variety of Civil War organizations.
To learn more about Carolyn, visit her website.
About the Society
The Seymour Historical Society is dedicated to bringing great programs like this one to the community and to preserving history. Most of these events are held at the society, which is also the Katharine Matthies House Museum.
I look forward to attending these events. You can find out about upcoming events and learn more about the Society by checking out their newly updated website: SeymourHistoricalSociety.org
