Above is a watercolor image originally painted by a Scottish surgeon and gifted artist named Charles Bell. During the Battle of Waterloo, Bell witnessed many horrific and gruesome injuries, many of which he was careful to record and then transform into medical artwork.
From the Wellcome Library’s blog:
Leaving for Belgium on 26 June 1815, Bell took with him his surgical instruments and a sketchbook, in which he could document the injuries he witnessed and tended to. In 1836, he turned his sketches into a series of stunning watercolours, which are on deposit at the Wellcome Library from the [Royal] Army Medical Services Museum. Four of these watercolours are to go on loan to the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn for a major exhibition, ‘Napoleon und Europa: Traum und Trauma’ (‘Napoleon and Europe: Dream and Trauma’), which will run from 17 December 2010 to 25 April 2011.
The watercolours provide us with a graphic representation of the dreadful injuries suffered by soldiers fighting at Waterloo. The images of missing arms, protruding intestines and gaping wounds to the chest and neck - together with the pained expressions on the soldiers’ faces - all convey the horror of the scenes witnessed by Bell and other surgeons in the battlefield hospitals.
Bell wrote descriptions to accompany his paintings. For one, of a soldier suffering from a head wound, he noted:
“…On the fifth day after the battle was insensible. A portion of the frontal bone, an inch in diameter, was found driven into the brain, and it stood perpendicularly; not possible to extract it, from its being firmly wedged. Trepanning performed. Quite insensible during the operation and showed no sensibility until on the next day, being bled, he shrank….On the removal of the bone a quantity of blood and brain came out, and coagulum was scooped out from betwixt the skull and dura mater. Three days after the operation he became more sensible, and has been improving.”
All of these medical and surgical procedures were of course performed without any semblance of septic technique, wound preparation, or antibiotics as none yet existed. No surgical gloves were worn, no masks, no nothing. After going through my surgical rotation, I can say that the idea of these types of crude operations being done in the open with men in plain clothes leaves one with a very different image of surgery. The wounds themselves are unfortunately not completely dissimilar from much of what is seen today in wars or even just in trauma cases. The evolution of sterile technique from the time of Waterloo until today often makes me wonder which of today’s medical and surgical practices we will look back on as being archaic and barbaric.
Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for reading my little corner of the web, it’s been a lot of fun writing here and I’m looking forward to doing more of the same in 2011!
All the best!
Image via Wikipedia
I recently completed J.D. Davies’ fiction work, Gentleman Captain, my first foray into the world of naval historical fiction, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am preparing a review of it shortly, but wanted also to ask readers if they had any recommendations on books pertaining to this period in British history? I am mainly referring to the period involving Oliver Cromwell, the Commonwealth, and the eventual Restoration of the monarchy. The books can be naval-related, as is my interest, however, if anyone can suggest a quality work that covers this time period well, I would love to hear it. I am looking to broaden my understanding and knowledge of this period as Davies’ work has really piqued my interest. Davies’ historical knowledge shines through in the book, so anyone with an interest in this time period would likely enjoy it. He explained much of the geo-political flavor of the time, but really left me wanting to learn more (a compliment to his writing in my opinion!)
So, any suggestions?
Turning bombs into...furniture? -
Old Salt Blog just posted an interesting albeit slightly odd story about an Estonian sculptor named Mati Karwin, who is apparently creating furniture with the marine mine husks left behind by the Soviets when they pulled out of Naissaar Island area following the Cold War. Go to his site here. Pictures from the website below.
A bit of the story, and the history, behind Karmin’s creations:
The Naissaar Island is situated in the Gulf of Finland, 15 kilometres away from Tallinn. As a military object, Naissaar has always interested the rulers of Estonia, which is the reason why the inhabitants have often been forced to leave the island. The area of Naissaar is 18,6 km2. Naissaar used to be a favourite spot for pirates and smugglers during the earlier times.
The first military object - a cannon battery - was erected on Naissaar by the Swedish rulers during the Great Northern War in 1705.
After the end of the Great Northern War, when Estonia was included in the Russian Empire, Russia continued militarising the Naissaar Island: a defensive building with five bastions was erected in 1720.
Russia started modernising the military objects of the Gulf of Finland at the beginning of the 20th century. The Naissaar and Mäkiluoto cannon batteries and a minefield connecting them were designed to be the priority in this system. The project was not completed due to the outbreak of WW I. When retreating from the Germans in 1918, the Russians blew up most of the defensive buildings. Naissaar was used as a fortified naval base also by the Republic of Estonia in 1918-1940. Naissaar was classified as a secret military facility during the Soviet times. There was a large factory for assembling marine mines in the centre of the island and a railway taking directly to the harbour. Mining the whole Gulf of Finland would have been a matter of hours.
When departing in the beginning of 1990s, the Soviet army burned the explosives out of the mines that were stored and in working order, leaving a multitude of cases scattered around. Lots of them were taken to the mainland as scrap-iron during the cleaning of the island. There is still an existing field of mines in Mädasadam as a sight for tourists to see.
He has created some very imaginative works with these former bombs (I might be worried that the Soviets did not diffuse them as carefully as one would hope) and the works have an undeniably steampunk/industrial look and (I imagine) feel to them. Though, as a future physician, the idea of having a baby rolling around in a metal, and possibly rusty, tube is not the first thing that jumps to my mind when considering the proprieties of parenting…but hey, to each his/her own.
On another note, and speaking of being a physician, this year (my third of four) has been (and likely will be) quite the workload…and of course posting my hit a sparse stretch here and there. I try to post anything interesting and relevant to my fields of interest that I come across in my web browsing and reading, so any feedback or thoughts are welcome. I hope to continue the book review of Six Frigates I began a couple months ago…it is an excellent book for anyone who has not yet read it! I recently picked up a naval historical fiction work (the first one Ive yet to read) and plan on starting that soon…updates to come.
John Wesley Powell's Water-based States: How the Western U.S. Could Have Looked -
A very interesting article that gives us a “what if” scenario where the layout of the states in the American West would have been based on irrigation systems and watershed areas. The map is the product of John Wesley Powell’s, a mogul in the history of the exploration and management of the western states, proposed borders for states based upon said water sources. The face of America would have looked very different indeed.
Click on the above title to take a look at the article from Big Think.
Image via Wikipedia
To give a little background to the picture I put up the other day from the Naval History Blog, I figured I would give some more details on just what the battle between the USS Wasp and the HMS Frolic was.
The Frolic had left the Gulf of Honduras on September 12, 1812 to convoy fourteen merchantmen to Britain. A strong gale soon scattered the convoy and forced the Frolic to jury-rig a new main yard. The Wasp had left the Delaware River on September 13, 1812, and cruised to the south in order to prey on British shipping to and from the West Indies. Despite losing its jib boom in the same gale that scattered the Frolic’s convoy, crew spotted several unknown sail to leeward on September 17. At dawn on September 18, the captain of the USS Wasp, Jacob Jones, gave chase to the brig identified amongst the merchantmen.
Though the gale had passed, there were still heavy seas forcing the crews to shorten sail. Both vessels cleared for action. The main weaponry on each vessel were short-range carronades, forcing the ships to come within 60 yards of each other before opening fire. Because the Wasp was positioned to windward, it fired low into the hull of its adversary, whereas the Frolic was forced to fire into the opposing ship’s rigging because of its position to leeward. This was a very uncommon tactic for a British ship as firing cannon into the hull of an opposing ship was a central tenet of the British strategy in naval encounters. The ships got so close together at one point that the American gunners could supposedly strike the Frolic with their rammers as they reloaded.
After less than 30 minutes, both vessels were heavily damaged, however, the Frolic was much more so. The British ship had suffered 90 casualties to the American ship’s 10. The two ships collided, and a final broadside from the Wasp sealed the Frolic’s fate. American gunnery had proved superior in this naval battle.
After the battle, both of the Frolic’s masts came down and the Wasp sent a prize crew to man the tattered vessel. However, as fate would have it, a British ship-of-the-line, the HMS Poictiers, happened upon the scene and claimed both vessels. Captain Jacob Jones of the USS Wasp was held captive for a short time but went on to command the USS Macedonian, captured from the British on October 25. The Frolic was too badly damaged to be salvaged and was broken up in November of 1813, whereas the Wasp served for one year in the Royal Navy as HMS Peacock but was wrecked in 1814.
Wasp vs. Frolic in the War of 1812 via www.navalhistory.org
Image via Wikipedia
I have collected some very interesting and worthwhile maritime history and naval history-related links over the past month or so, and figured I would collect and share them here. Enjoy and comments welcome, as always.
A Good Boatswain is Hard to Find - Naval History Blog
Eyewitness to Trafalgar 205 Years Ago Today - Old Salt Blog
Ships Ahoy! They don’t make ships like this anymore. - Readex Blog
Conservation of Nelson’s Trafalgar Uniform - NMM Collections Blog
The Battle of Valcour Island 11 October 1776 - Naval History Blog
The Birth of the Continental Navy - Naval History Blog
On Quarantine - Of Ships and Surgeons
Gull Scavengers and the Lobsterman’s Shack - The Scuttlefish
The US Navy and Inventor Robert Fulton - Naval History Blog
Elderly woman, daughter find incredible ocean treasure - Old Salt Blog
Thanks to Naval History Blog, Old Salt Blog, The Scuttlefish, Of Ships and Surgeons, and NMM Collections Blog for posting the excellent historical articles above.
I added a “Tag Cloud” link to the navigation at the top of my blog. I figured this would make it easier for people to navigate my posts based on which topic they were interested in. Just click the link and it should generate a list of all the tags from my posts in alphabetical order with the most-used tags being a larger size than those used less often.
Next year is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and in recognition of that fact the NOAA has crafted and released a package of Civil War era maps, nautical charts, and documents called “Charting a More Perfect Union”. These documents were actually prepared during the Civil War (1861-65) by the U.S. Coast Survey.
From the statement by the NOAA:
Coast Survey’s collection includes 394 Civil War-era maps, including nautical charts used for naval campaigns, and maps of troop movements and battlefields. Rarely seen publications include Notes on the Coast, prepared by Coast Survey to help Union forces plan naval blockades against the Confederacy, and the annual report summaries by Superintendent Bache as he detailed the trials and tribulations of producing the maps and charts needed to meet growing military demands.
In the nation’s early years, the United States lost more ships to accidents than to war. In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson established the Survey of the Coast to produce the nautical charts necessary for maritime safety, defense and the establishment of national boundaries. By 1861, Coast Survey was the government’s leading scientific agency, charting coastlines and determining land elevations for the nation. Today, the Office of Coast Survey still meets its maritime responsibilities as a part of NOAA, surveying America’s coasts and producing the nation’s nautical charts.
This collection provides researchers and those interested with the opportunity to view historic documents related to the Civil War naval and riverine operations all in one place. How convenient! I look forward to perusing it. If anyone finds anything interesting please let me know.
“Charting a More Perfect Union” can be found at the Office of Coast Survey’s website.
Murder and "True Crime" Pamphlets at the National Library of Medicine -
Morbid Anatomy posted on a research collection that any historian would die for (cheese — but how could I resist?) This collection over the NLM seems to be a very unique composite source for those interested in the history of medicine, the history of forensics and homicide, or even a view into the human mind’s perpetual (and seemingly timeless) fascination with “true crime.” Violence sells, particularly when it’s true, and that was the case in the 19th century as much as it is today.
From the press release:
A new website, “Most Horrible & Shocking Murders: Murder pamphlets in the collection of the National Library of Medicine,” has been launched by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world’s largest medical library. The site features a selection of murder pamphlets from the late 1600s to the late 1800s-from a treasure trove of several hundred owned by the Library. Ever since the invention of movable type in the mid-1400s, public appetite for tales of shocking murders-“true crime”-has been one of the most durable facts of the market for printed material. For more than five centuries, murder pamphlets have been hawked on street corners, town squares, taverns, coffeehouses, news stands, and bookshops. These pamphlets have been a rich source for historians of medicine, crime novelists, and cultural historians, who mine them for evidence to illuminate the history of class, gender, race, the law, the city, crime, religion and other topics. The murder pamphlets in the NLM’s collection address cases connected to forensic medicine, especially cases in which doctors were accused of committing-or were the victims of-murder.
The detailed anatomical drawings look great from the pictures, and would likely be a much more interesting read than my anatomy textbooks given the context.
Enjoy!
10 Fascinating (and strange) Maps -
“From the USSR’s Be On Guard! map in 1921 to Google Earth, a new exhibition at the British Library charts the extraordinary documents that transformed the way we view the globe forever”
This collection of maps (click title) from the exhibition at the British Library has some very unique entries. Right now my favorite is a toss up between the Chinese globe and the Waldseemuller world map (which depicts the North American continent as an oddly shaped sliver of land), although I can’t discount the pro-Bolshevik propaganda map.
I do find Google Earth to be a bit out of place though. Believe me, I’ve used it countless times and can testify to its usefulness, but it isn’t exactly in keeping with the historical theme here. But maybe it’s just me…
If you have any other examples of interesting maps, let me know!
