Homeopathic and Allopathic Physicians During
the Civil War
(The following are the personal edited research notes of
Michael Echols, the source of which may or may not be
completely documented)
During the Civil War, there were
two competing camps of medical education: homeopathic and allopathic.
The homeopaths believe they could cure disease by administration of
varying doses of naturally occurring chemicals or drugs. Their
education was significantly different from the alternative and more
popular allopathic medicine.
Allopathics were more closely
aligned to what we expect from physicians today. They did surgery
and were more or less science based than the homeopaths. During
the Civil War, the Union Medical Department, which was dominated by
allopathic physicians and surgeons had to create evaluation boards to
weed out incompentent doctors. Since homeopathic physicians
didn't believe in or do surgery, they were religated to rear area care
of the injured or eliminated completely from working on injured
soldiers.
Medical education before and
during the Civil War was not what we expect today. The medical
colleges were only two years in length, and knowledge of major surgery
was very limited when the doctors graduated. Any doctor with
surgical experience was immediately used to perform amputations or any
complicated surgery.
Homeopathic medicine still exists
today, but only as a fringe element more closely aligned with
alternative medicine or health food 'cures'.
Medical education
during and before the Civil War
Medical colleges
during and before the Civil War
