Civil War Medicine

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., has announced the release of its latest television work in cooperation with NBC, as well as a program about The Pry House at Antietam National Battlefield to air on the National Geographic Channel. "Who Do you think You Are?" airs today at 8 p.m. on NBC, according to a release from the musuem. On the program, museum Executive Director George Wunderlich is a featured historian working with actress Ashley Judd as she searches for her family history.

FREDERICK, Md. A workshop designed to provide all the tools needed by historical interpreters, docents, teachers and living history presenters in the interpretation of Civil War medicine is being offered Saturday, March 18, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 48 E. Patrick St. in Frederick. The topics will include medicine in the Navy, nutrition and food preparation. The workshop is limited to the first 40 applicants. The cost is $50 per person.

FREDERICK, Md. - Join the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Friday, Oct. 12, Saturday, Oct. 13, and Sunday, Oct. 14, as it presents its 15th annual Conference on Civil War Medicine. Highlights of the conference include 10 lectures; a social hour Friday evening, a bus tour Saturday; and a dinner Saturday evening. Conference attire is casual; however period clothing is welcome at the Friday and Saturday evening events. Lodging and lectures will be held at the Holiday Inn Holidome & Conference Center in Frederick.

A common misconception about the Civil War is that wounded soldiers didn't receive proper anesthesia before they underwent surgery, said Dr. Robert Slawson, an associate of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md. Slawson and other Civil War re-enactors gathered Saturday at the Pry House at Antietam National Battlefield as part of this weekend's festivities leading up to Monday's 145th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam....

The No Smoking Youth Club of Hagerstown visited the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., during the holiday season. It gave the local youth group a chance to expand their knowledge of hospital care during the Civil War period as compared to today's advances in medicine. Club members toured museum exhibits, which identified the fact that most of the deaths during the Civil War were due to poor camp sanitary conditions. The youths also learned how important the role of nurses were during the war. While today's military camp conditions are better, the need for nurses is in demand these days, the youths were told.

The carnage that was caused by weapons introduced during the American Civil War forced doctors to make advances in medicine that might have taken another 25 years to develop had the conflict not been fought. "In many ways, the battlefield was the birthplace of modern emergency medicine," said George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., who also oversees the Pry House Field Hospital Museum on Antietam National Battlefield.

katec@herald-mail.com There were 23,110 casualties at the battle of Antietam. The Civil War - skirmishes, battles and disease - took the lives of more than 610,000 Union and Confederate soldiers. Beyond the mind-numbing numbers are the personal stories of families and communities affected by the fighting. What effect did the war have on women - the wives, the mothers, the sisters, the friends of those soldiers? The war's impact on some women of the period is well-known.

The 20th annual conference on Civil War Medicine is scheduled for October. A pre-conference event is a bus tour of the hospital sites of Antietam National Battlefield Thursday, Oct. 4. The conference is Friday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 7, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Hagerstown. Staff at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine is working in partnership with the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda Medical Center, in obtaining Continuing Medical Education credits for conference participation.   For more information, contact Karen Thomassen at 301-695-1864, ext. 12, or email museum@civilwarmed.org.

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum, off Shepherdstown Pike, in Keedysville, will be featured in  “Civil Warriors” at 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, on the National Geographic Channel.  The hospital is one of the locations in the first episode, "Families at War" as National Museum of Civil War Medicine Executive Drrector George Wunderlich explores the challenges and conditions faced by Dr. William Childs. Childs’ great-great-grandson Tim Sawyer discovers with Wunderlich the story of grueling hours and unthinkable conditions his ancestor faced as a Civil War surgeon at the Battle of Antietam.

Theater holds auditions GETTYSBURG, Pa. - Auditions for the Gettysburg Stage production of Abe Polsy's "Devour the Snow," directed by David Deal, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, and 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 17, at Keefauver Center, 157 Lefever St. Auditions are open to everyone. Roles are for seven men, ages mid-20s to mid-40s. One male role is for a large mountain-man type. Three roles are for women, two between 25 and 45, and one early to mid-teens. Bring a resume.

While Clara Barton's care of the wounded and dying during the Civil War is the stuff of legend, it took the hands of just about every area woman and girl over the age of 13 to tend to the thousands of patients from the Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam, according to Susan Rosenvold, superintendent of Clara Barton's Missing Soldiers Office. The efforts, from the Hagerstown-based Ladies Aid Society to local families whose homes were forcibly converted to hospitals, helped save lives and offered compassion and care both to those who would live and to the dying, Rosenvold said.

First United Bank & Trust Scott Hostetler recently returned to First United Bank & Trust as a mortgage loan originator. He will be providing service to the consumers in Washington and Frederick counties. Hostetler comes back to First United with 18 years of banking experience. He has held the positions of branch manager, equipment leasing representative, mortgage originator, city executive and commercial lender. He is a graduate of Frostburg State University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration, with a concentration in finance and a minor in accounting.

The 20th annual conference on Civil War Medicine is scheduled for October. A pre-conference event is a bus tour of the hospital sites of Antietam National Battlefield Thursday, Oct. 4. The conference is Friday, Oct. 5, through Sunday, Oct. 7, at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Hagerstown. Staff at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine is working in partnership with the Uniformed Services University, Bethesda Medical Center, in obtaining Continuing Medical Education credits for conference participation.   For more information, contact Karen Thomassen at 301-695-1864, ext. 12, or email museum@civilwarmed.org.

 For many 21st-century Americans, mention the banjo and the image that often comes to mind is a white man in overalls playing bluegrass or a similar style of music. But George Wunderlich, executive director at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, said that image isn't an accurate depiction of the original instrument. Wunderlich, who is also a banjo aficionado, said the style of banjo music from the Civil-War era will ring through the grounds of the Pry House Field Hospital on Antietam National Battlefield, from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, June 23, during a banjo concert.

History is not only the record of what happened, but also what did not, and in the case of the Battle of Antietam, the Army of Northern Virginia did not invade Pennsylvania. The sesquicentennial of the Sept. 17, 1862, battle is approaching, and Dennis Frye, chief historian at Harpers Ferry (W.Va.) National Historical Park, explained the significance of the days before the battle during a lecture Saturday at City Park. It was one of many events for First Call Weekend, which runs through today.

Audrey Scanlan-Teller teared up as she pointed out the Civil War-era document. For about six years, she had been researching her relative, Israel Parshall Keeney, a Union soldier who was mortally wounded at the Battle of South Mountain. As a knowledgeable volunteer at Antietam National Battlefield and at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Teller, of Middletown, Md., had been asked to serve on the planning committee for an exhibit commemorating the war's 150th anniversary at Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.

1. Pretty posies Antietam Garden Club will present a standard flower show with six arrangement categories and horticulture specimens from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at Western Maryland Hospital Center, second floor auditorium, 1500 Pennsylvania Ave., north of Hagerstown. Free. Call 301-991-9201 or email colleen47@hotmail.com . 2. Hip to be square Artwork by Doug Kinnett will be on display at South Jefferson Public Library, 49 Church St., Summit Point, W.Va.  Reception, 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 26. Exhibit continues through June.

The American Bus Association recently announced that the Civil War 150th commemoration of the Maryland Campaign, being held Sept. 8 to 22, 2012, has been designated as one of the top 100 events in North America for 2012 by a tourism industry selection committee. Inclusion in the top 100 list, published as a supplement to the September/October issue of Destinations magazine, indicates that the 150th commemoration of the Maryland Campaign offers value to tour groups and individual travelers from around the world, according to the ABA. “The 150th commemoration of the Maryland Campaign explores the impact of Gen. Robert E. Lee's first advance of the Confederate army into the north, crossing the Potomac into Maryland,” said Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Director Liz Shatto.

Kids Bash Veggie Tales' Bob and Larry will appear. Thirty "Veggie Tales" DVD giveaways, free backpacks, family photos, hay rides, slide, crafts, games, barrel train rides, petting zoo, miniature horses, food and more. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today. The Good Shepherd Ministries, 19763 Longmeadow Road, Hagerstown. $1. Call 301-665-3767 to register in advance. 'Somethin' to Do' Free activities include carnival-type games, face-painting, snacks, a sand craft, train ride.

The American Civil War might have reached a swifter conclusion had the federal government not armed its soldiers with inexpensive weapons to save money, said George Wunderlich, executive director of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md. The .58-caliber rifle that was the workhorse of the Union army was mass produced because it cost only $13 to manufacture, Wunderlich said. But the drawback was that the soldier had to reload the weapon through the muzzle after he fired each shot.