As the first major engagement fought west of the Mississippi River, the 1861 Battle of Wilson’s Creek (fought August 10, 1861) was known for being a particularly desperate, hard-fought battle that resulted in nearly 20% casualties on both sides. For the Federal Army of the West, who ultimately withdrew from the field of battle just southwest of Springfield, Missouri, losses were at a staggering 25%. This number included their martyred commander Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon.
While the Federal Army of the West withdrew from the battlefield to its base at Springfield and on to St. Louis, several of its surgeons remained behind to care for the wounded. One of the surgeons was Assistant Surgeon Samuel Melcher of the Fifth Missouri Infantry. His experiences were documented in the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion after the war and give a detailed account of treating the wounded in the field in the wake of the battle.
“The flies were exceedingly troublesome after the battle, maggots forming in the wounds in less than an hour after dressing them, and also upon any clothing or bedding soiled by blood or pus. The wounded left on the field in the enemy’s hands were swarming with maggots when brought in. After several ineffectual attempts to extirpate these pests, I succeeded perfectly by sprinkling calomel freely over the wounded surfaces. When the sloughs separated, clean granulating surfaces were presented, and by using balsam of copaiba as a dressing, smearing the bandages with this oleoresin, I could keep the wounds free from maggots. For this purpose it is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable agents supplied by the medical department.”
Melcher’s descriptive account here reflects many soldiers’ descriptions of the environment during the battle on a hot, humid August day. The wounded suffered horrifically in these conditions – the beating sunshine, swarming insects, gruesome maggots, and pounding heat. The night before the battle, rain storms hit the Springfield area, wetting the ground and making a perfect environment for annoying insects, like mosquitoes and flies. Surgeons, like Melcher, who were first dealing with mass casualties, had to work on wounded patients in these conditions.
On top of the conditions on the ground, most of the ambulances had been left at Springfield per Lyon’s order to minimize the risk of the enemy spoiling their surprise attack at dawn on August 10. This greatly hurt the Federals’ ability to evacuate the wounded quickly and almost all the severely wounded Federal troops remained on the battlefield. 
As said above in his account, the surgeon had to get creative to eliminate the frustrating “pests” who were feasting upon his patients’ necrotic tissue. Calomel, or mercury chloride, was used frequently by Victorian-era physicians as a purgative and, in larger doses, as a sedative.  Its dangerous side effects and abuse led to the mercury-based drug being banned by the Surgeon General in 1863. However, Melcher found use for it to shoo away maggots from “slough,” or necrotic tissue.
Before bandaging the wound, Melcher removed the maggot-free slough and exposed “clean granulating surfaces.” On the dressing itself, he smeared “balsam of copaiba,” an oleoresin made of resin and essential and fatty oils. Remarkably, this oil-resin had been used in South America for two centuries before to ward off bad spirits and illness – and, most importantly for this article, as an insect repellent. No wonder Melcher called balsam of copaiba, “one of the most valuable agents supplied by the medical department.”
While treating the wounded, it was Melcher who first found out that Lyon’s body had accidentally been left behind on the field during the Federal withdrawal. At the Ray House on the eastern side of Wilson Creek, Melcher examined the corpse and escorted the fallen general back to the Federal headquarters at Springfield. From there, Lyon’s body made the trek to the railhead at Rolla and all the way back to his home state of Connecticut.
For the Southern and Federal surgeons alike who had remained on the battlefield and continued to care for the wounded in Springfield, their work continued for three months – all the way into November. At St. Louis, which was headquarters of the Department of the West, there was “so little preparation had then been made for such an event.”  Yet, in the coming months, St. Louis would become one of the largest hospital centers in the entire county.
The high casualty rate, horrific conditions for medical care, and the lack of mass casualty experience among surgeons made the Battle of Wilson’s Creek notorious in their eyes. Like Shiloh, which occurred that coming April, Wilson’s Creek foreshadowed the devastation and incredible sacrifice it would take to end the war. It was because of these costly early battles that both sides learned invaluable lessons of medical care for the wounded.
- “Extracts from a Report of his Services at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. By Assistant
Surgeon S. H. Melcher, 5th Missouri Volunteers,” in The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870-1888), ebook.
- William G. Piston & Richard Hatcher, Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002), 289.
- “Clara Barton and Quicksilver,” August 22, 2014, Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers Office, accessed March 23, 2021, https://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/clara-barton-and-quicksilver/
- J. G. Forman, The Western Sanitary Commission, A Sketch (St. Louis, MO: R.P. Studley & Co., 1864), 5.
Mapigano ya kwanza ya vita ya kwanza ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita ya vita. Jeshi la Marekani la Magharibi liliondoka kwenye uwanja wa vita kusini magharibi mwa Springfield, Missouri, na kupoteza asilimia 25. Idadi hiyo ilitia ndani kamanda wao aliyekufa kwa sababu ya imani yake, Jenerali Nathaniel Lyon. Wakati jeshi la Marekani lilipokuwa likiondoka kwenye uwanja wa vita na kwenda kwenye kituo chake huko Springfield na St. Louis, madaktari kadhaa wa upasuaji walibaki nyuma ili kuwatunza waliojeruhiwa. Mmoja wa madaktari-mpasuaji alikuwa Msaidizi wa Daktari-mpasuaji Samuel Melcher wa Kikosi cha Tano cha Missouri cha Wanajeshi. "Mambo hayo yaliripotiwa katika kitabu cha ""Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion"" baada ya vita na kutoa maelezo ya kina kuhusu jinsi alivyotunza waliojeruhiwa katika vita." <unk>Nzi walikuwa wenye kusumbua sana baada ya vita, minyoo ikijenga katika majeraha kwa muda usiozidi saa moja baada ya kuvalia, na pia juu ya nguo yoyote au vitambaa vilivyotiwa damu au umajimaji. Waliojeruhiwa waliobaki shambani mikononi mwa adui walikuwa wakijaa minyoo walipoletwa. Baada ya majaribio kadhaa yasiyofaa ya kuondoa wadudu hao, nilifaulu kabisa kwa kunyunyizia calomel kwa uhuru juu ya nyuso zilizojeruhiwa. Wakati wa kupasuka, vipande vya ngozi vilitengenezwa kwa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko wa mchanganyiko. Kwa kusudi hili, kwa maoni yangu, ni moja ya mawakala wenye thamani zaidi waliotolewa na idara ya matibabu. <unk> Melcher's maelezo ya maelezo hapa yanaonyesha maelezo ya askari wengi wa mazingira wakati wa vita katika siku ya joto, unyevu wa Agosti. Waliojeruhiwa walipata mateso makali katika hali hizo - jua lenye kung'aa, wadudu wengi, minyoo wenye kuogopesha, na joto kali. Usiku kabla ya vita, dhoruba za mvua zilipiga eneo la Springfield, zikinyunyiza ardhi na kutengeneza mazingira bora kwa wadudu wenye kusumbua, kama mbu na nzi. Madaktari wa upasuaji, kama vile Melcher, ambao walikuwa wakishughulika kwa mara ya kwanza na majeruhi wengi, walilazimika kufanya kazi juu ya wagonjwa waliojeruhiwa katika hali hizi. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa za polisi, magari ya wagonjwa yaliachwa katika uwanja wa Springfield kwa amri ya Lyon ili kupunguza hatari ya adui kuharibu shambulio lao la ghafla asubuhi ya Agosti 10. Hii ilidhuru sana uwezo wa Wafederal wa kuondoa waliojeruhiwa haraka na karibu askari wote wa Shirikisho waliojeruhiwa vibaya walibaki kwenye uwanja wa vita. Kama ilivyotajwa hapo juu katika simulizi lake, daktari-mpasuaji alilazimika kuwa mbunifu ili kuondoa "madudu" yenye kukatisha tamaa ambayo yalikuwa yakila tishu za wagonjwa wake zilizokuwa zimekufa. Calomel, au kloridi ya zebaki, ilitumiwa mara nyingi na madaktari wa enzi ya Victoria kama dawa ya kuondoa na, kwa kiasi kikubwa, kama dawa ya kutuliza. Matokeo mabaya ya dawa hiyo na matumizi mabaya ya dawa hiyo yalisababisha dawa hiyo ya zebaki ipigwa marufuku na Daktari Mkuu wa Afya mwaka 1863. Hata hivyo, Melcher alipata matumizi yake ya kuondoa minyoo kutoka kwa "slough", au tishu ya necrotic. Kabla ya kufunika jeraha hilo, Melcher aliondoa maji yasiyo na minyoo na kufunua "vioo vilivyo safi vya kuyeyusha". Juu ya kitambaa hicho, alitia "balsamu ya copaiba", oleoresini iliyotengenezwa kwa utomvu na mafuta muhimu na mafuta. Jambo la kushangaza ni kwamba mafuta hayo yalikuwa yametumiwa katika Amerika Kusini kwa karne mbili kabla ya hapo ili kuondoa roho mbaya na magonjwa - na, jambo muhimu zaidi kwa ajili ya makala hii, kama dawa ya kuua wadudu. "Hakuna ajabu kwamba Melcher alimwita ""balsamu ya copaiba"" ""moja ya mawakala wenye thamani zaidi waliotolewa na idara ya matibabu"" Wakati wa kutibu waliojeruhiwa, ilikuwa Melcher ambaye kwanza aligundua kwamba mwili wa Lyon ulikuwa umebaki nyuma kwenye uwanja wakati wa kujiondoa kwa Shirikisho." Katika jumba la Ray, upande wa mashariki wa Wilson Creek, Melcher alichunguza maiti na kumpeleka jenerali aliyekufa kwenye makao makuu ya serikali ya Springfield. Kutoka hapo, mwili wa Lyon ulisafiri hadi kwenye kituo cha reli huko Rolla na kurudi hadi jimbo lake la Connecticut. Kwa madaktari wa upasuaji wa Kusini na wa Shirikisho ambao walikuwa wamebaki kwenye uwanja wa vita na waliendelea kuwatunza waliojeruhiwa huko Springfield, kazi yao iliendelea kwa miezi mitatu - hadi Novemba. St. Louis, ambayo ilikuwa makao makuu ya Idara ya Magharibi, ilikuwa na maandalizi machache sana kwa tukio kama hilo. Kiwango cha juu cha majeruhi, hali mbaya ya huduma za matibabu, na ukosefu wa uzoefu wa majeruhi wa wingi miongoni mwa madaktari wa upasuaji ulifanya Vita vya Wilson's Creek kuwa maarufu machoni pao. Kama vile Shilo, ambayo ilitokea Aprili iliyofuata, Wilson's Creek ilionyesha uharibifu na dhabihu kubwa ambayo ingehitajiwa kumaliza vita. Ni kwa sababu ya mapigano hayo ya mapema yenye gharama kubwa kwamba pande zote mbili zilijifunza masomo yenye thamani ya utunzaji wa kitiba kwa waliojeruhiwa. - <unk>Vichapo kutoka Ripoti ya Huduma zake katika Vita vya Wilson's Creek. "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka wa 1870, Daktari wa upasuaji wa Marekani S. H. Melcher, aliyekuwa mshiriki wa Kikosi cha Tano cha Wajitoleaji cha Missouri, aliandika kitabu ""The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion"" (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1870-1888), ambacho kilikuwa na kichwa ""The History of the Rebellion.""" William G. Piston na Richard Hatcher, Wilson's Creek: Vita vya Pili vya Vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe (Chapel Hill, NC: Chuo Kikuu cha North Carolina Press, 2002), 289. "Clara Barton na Quicksilver, ""Ofisi ya Askari Waliopotea ya Clara Barton,"" Machi 23, 2021 (https: www.clarabartonmuseum.org) - J. G. Foreman, Tume ya Sanitary ya Magharibi, Sketch (St. Louis, MO: RP)." Studley & Co, 1864,