Facing a Common Enemy

The idea for this book and project began with a list of names and a modest project to identify the surgeons who cared for the wounded at the Lutheran Seminary Hospital in Gettysburg in 1863. However, it soon became clear that the Seminary Hospital did not stand alone, but was part of a complex system of doctors and caretakers both during and after the battle

The 1200 surgeons who worked in some capacity during and after the Battle of  Gettysburg represent a significant sampling of all Civil War physicians estimated at 17,000.  Because 1863 is midway through the war, Gettysburg represents a period when both medical corps were better organized and fully staffed with doctors who had been examined and tested by medical examining boards.

Although many of the characters are the same, the story of care at Gettysburg is different than First Bull Run in 1861, the Peninsular Campaigns of 1862, or even Antietam in September 1862. By looking at this particular group of surgeons at this particular moment in time, the study includes not only a few well-documented and prominent physicians or those who left written accounts of diaries and letters, but also includes information about lesser-known surgeons whose stories have not been told.