|
Medicine and surgery in the 1860s was a bit different than what
we have now, but it's still all about saving lives.
Les Buell brought that message to the Walker House in Kincardine
Wednesday night (Sept. 23), as he delivered a humorous and lively
presentation about three Canadian physicians who served in the
American Civil War, including Kincardine's own Dr. Solomon Secord.
An educator and re-enactor from East Williamson, New York, Buell
captivated the packed room of about 50 people, with his engaging
manner and ancient instruments of the medical profession.
Dressed in period garb, and drawing on historical documents and
records, Buell outlined the lives of Dr. Anderson Abbott, a black
physician who served on the Union side (North) in the Civil War; Dr.
William Bruce Almon of Halifax who served on the Confederate side
(South); and Secord who also served with the Confederates.
Born May 12, 1834, in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Secord graduated from
Victoria Medical Hospital (now Toronto's University Hospital) in
1854. He went to Hamilton in 1856 and then to Kincardine in 1859
where he stayed a year before travelling to the Confederates States
of America.
"Because of health concerns, he was given a farewell and a gold
watch and he left Kincardine," said Buell. Secord ended up in
Columbia, South Carolina, where he joined the 20th Georgia. "We have
no idea why he joined the Confederate army; he was an abolitionist."
July 1, 1862, Secord was listed as an assistant surgeon in the ranks
and by 1867, he was a colonel.
"When the South retreated, the North didn't advance right away,"
said Buell. "The South left behind 10,000-12,000 seriously-wounded
soldiers, and 100-110 surgeons, assistant surgeons and stewards to
care for them. Dr. Secord was one of those left behind. I'm guessing
he was assigned. It was four months before all those wounded were
moved out. President Abraham Lincoln arrived just after that to
deliver the Gettysburg Address."
Buell said those 110 surgeons were taken to Fort McHenry in
Baltimore, and held there until an incident between the North and
South was resolved. "They weren't treated like prisoners of war,"
said Buell. "They were allowed day passes. And when they didn't
return, their colleagues would holler out their name at roll call
the next day. Two months later, all the doctors were paroled, but
they had lost 15 of them and weren't sure where they went. Dr.
Secord had flown the coop. We heard he went to New York City or
Baltimore."
Buell said this was Secord's chance to get out of the army if he had
been forced to enlist. But Secord joined the 20th again and headed
for the battlefield where he served until Dec. 13, 1864, when he
resigned his commission. "Two weeks later, he became an assistant
surgeon at a Wayside Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, and then
at a Wayside Hospital in Wilmington, North Carolina. After the war,
he came back to Kincardine to reopen his medical practice. He was an
extremely honourable man. He gave his promise to the Confederate
government that he would serve as a doctor and he did so to the end
of the war."
Buell said Secord did not do a lot of bragging about what he did in
the Civil War. "We're still scratching and digging around for his
medical record. And somewhere there's a picture of Dr. Secord when
he was a Confederate soldier. If anyone has such a photograph or any
other documents about Dr. Secord, bring them to the museum (Paddy
Walker Heritage Centre)."
By the way, he said, medicine and gun powder don't mix. There's a
story about Dr. Secord's guns (cannons) in Victoria Park. He packed
them half full of gun powder and clods of dirt and set them off.
They blew out most of the windows in the homes along Victoria Park
and around the corner.
Secord lived on Durham Street, across from the post office, and his
home has been beautifully restored by the Grohs family. Buell said
that a man by the last name of Williamson lived next door and he was
a Union soldier in the war. "I can well imagine what some of their
conversations were like," he said.
Secord died April 24, 1910, and his friends put up the headstone
that honours his gravesite in the Kincardine Cemetery. "He was
opposed to all forms of insincerity, cant and hypocrisy," said
Buell. "He loved children and animals."
The Town of Kincardine had a memorial erected which now sits in
front of the Kincardine Library. "That's extremely rare," said
Buell. "It's the only memorial to a Confederate soldier in all of
Canada."
After a short break, Buell, dressed in a blood-spattered apron,
described the medicine and instruments available to doctors and
surgeons in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. He also
indicated the weapons used and the various wounds they would
inflict. Up to the Civil War, soldiers had to suffer through the
pain of having an arm or leg amputated, said Buell. By the 1860s,
doctors had two new chemicals: chloroform and ether, to use as an
anaesthetic during surgery. However, many patients died of
infections because doctors were unaware of what bacteria was and how
germs were spread.
During a question period, Buell said he became an educator and
re-enactor because he wants young people to realize that war is a
terrible thing. "It's interesting that in the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars, doctors are treating similar wounds as during the Civil War,
mainly the extremities - the arms, legs, fingers and toes."
As for his talk about Secord, Buell said it ties together two of his
great loves: Canada and the American Civil War.
(next column)
25/09/2009 05:55 PM
|
Les Buell captivates his audience with tales
about Canadian doctors in the Civil War
Les Buell (L) is intrigued by an extremely
rare military badge owned by Guy Anderson of Kincardine. The badge says
"Andersonville Guard, Confederate States of America," and is made of
coin silver. Anderson's grandfather was in the Civil War.
Les Buell (R) gets help from Daniel McCool of
Kincardine to show how soldiers acted as nurses during surgery on the
battlefield
Upcoming events at Governor's Inn
 |
for
world news,
books, sports, movies ...
