The man of medicine who served in the Civil War was, whether he liked it or not, first and foremost a surgeon and always referred to as such. Though his first knife may well have been government issued, he learned the tricks of the trade in due course and sometimes became quite an expert. "Do your best" was the general idea, and most surgeons did, or at least tried.

Nearly all the older doctors had received their education on an apprenticeship basis but the younger men, those who made up the bulk of the army surgeons, usually held a medical school

diploma along with an office internship. Little attention was paid to clinical instruction, and in most cases the laboratory was all but forgotten. Further, stethoscopes, thermometers, syringes, and the like were widely used in Europe while many doctors here at home had never seen them let alone used them.

Once the knife and the saw had done its duty, the question was would microbes attack, and moreover would they win? In general, it was the patient's toughest battle, an engagement of toxins, pus, hemorrhage, fever, and terrifying convulsions pitted against Mother Nature. But nature could be aided, sometimes with telling success. Good food and tender care, if available, and the will to live could and would help. There were indications that victory helped too, for some surgeons noted better results when their side had won the battle.

In regard to ability and competence, there is no reason to believe the doctors in the North and the South differed in any significant way. While the North was home to more prestigious medical institutions, the South was learning to become less dependent on the North in this area at the outbreak of the war. A number of schools became established. Whether good, bad, or indifferent, the doctors were needed and just about every device was tried to keep up supply, a task compounded by frequent absenteeism.

In the surgery of Civil War vintage, the only important ally of the operator and his patient was nature herself, for the great work of the medicine men of ancient Greece and Rome had not only

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