Life and Limb: The toll of the American Civil War

Visit this traveling exhibit from the National Library of Medicine at the USA Biomedical Library. Over three million soldiers fought in the American Civil War. More than half a million died and almost as many were wounded. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs. These men remained a stark reminder of the costs of the conflict for long after the war. Life and Limb: The Toll of the American Civil War explores experiences of disabled veterans and their role as symbols of the fractured nation.