National Civil
War Medicine Museum
Unique
Attraction in Frederick, MD
The National Museum of
Civil War Medicine (NMCWM) is a unique attraction. It is the only museum
in the world devoted exclusively to the subject of Civil War medicine.
Museum tours are designed to educate the public about the state of
medicine for the years before and during the Civil War as well as about
the legacy that remains.
The traditional image of
the Civil War is all brutality and ignorance. In spite of the horror, the
war provoked change that ended the medical middle ages and set medicine on
a path toward the modern era. The Civil War generation had not yet
discovered germs, but their reforms in organization and administration to
meet the emergency brought extraordinary change to the medical community.
Along with the advances in the use of anesthesia, evacuation of the
wounded, hospitals, nursing, surgery and sanitation, there was the example
of tens of thousands of men and women who risked lives and fortunes to aid
the sick and wounded. Their experience is an inspiration to all subsequent
generations.
The Museum offers a unique
selection of educationally-related Civil War medical items including books
and reproductions of Civil War instruments. Also available are Museum logo
items, t-shirts, mugs, children's items, and much more.
Tour and outreach programs
offered by the NMCWM deal with the evolution of medical practices which
occurred as a result of the War Between the States. All aspects of Civil
War medicine will be studied from its unorganized beginnings to the final
organizations of general hospitals. Visitors will see the development of
modern medicine through the dramatic stories of individual physicians,
nurses, the courage and compassion of caregivers, and the sick and wounded
soldiers.
The Museum is currently
located at temporary headquarters due to renovation of its historic
downtown Frederick building. The street address is 100 Adventist Drive,
Frederick, Maryland, roughly a mile from its downtown site. It is 37 miles
from Gettysburg, PA; 23 miles from Antietam, MD; 20 miles from Harpers
Ferry, WV; and 55 miles from Washington, DC.
All fees collected support
the programs and exhibits of the museum.
