Jamie's Civil War Project

Little was known about what caused diseases, how to stop it from spreading, or how to cure it. Surgical techniques ranged from barbaric to barely competent. A Civil War soldier’s chances of not surviving the was about one in four. These fallen men were cared for by underqualified, understaffed, and undersupplied medical corps. Working against incredible odds, however, the medical corps increased in size, improved its techniques, and gained a greater understanding of medicine and disease every year the war was fought.

Jonathan Letterman, developed the Letterman Ambulance Plan. In this system the ambulances of a division moved together, under a mounted line sergeant, with two stretcher-bearers and one driver per ambulance, to collect the wounded from the field, bring them to the dressing stations, and then take them to the field hospital. It was a great improvement over the earlier system, where bandsmen in the Union command, and men randomly specified in the Confederacy, were simply appointed to drive the ambulances and carry the litters.

1.) The ambulance corps will be organized on the basis of a captain to each army corps as the commandant of the ambulance corps, a first lieutenant for a division, second lieutenant for a brigade, and a sergeant for each regiment

2.) The allowance of ambulances and transport carts will be 1 transport cart, 1 four-horse and 2 two-horse ambulances for a regiment.

3.) The privates of the ambulance corps will consist of two men and a driver to each ambulance and one driver to each transport cart.

4.) The captain is the commander of all the ambulance and transport carts in the army corps, under the direction of the medical director. He will pay special attention to the condition of the ambulances, horses, harness etc., whether they have been used for any other purpose than the transportation of the sick and wounded and medical supplies.

5.) The first lieutenant assigned to the ambulance corps of a division will have complete control of all the ambulances, transport carts, ambulance horses, etc., in the division.

6.) The second lieutenant in command of the ambulances of a brigade will be under the immediate orders of the commander of the ambulance corps for the division and have superintendence of the ambulance corps for the brigade.

7.) The sergeant in charge of the ambulance corps for a regiment will conduct the drills, inspection, etc., under the orders of the commander of the brigade ambulance corps, and will be particular in enforcing rigidly all orders he may receive from his superior officers.

8.) The detail for this corps be made with care by commanders of army corps, and no officer or man will be selected for this duty except those known to be active and efficient, and no man will be relieved except by orders from the headquarters.

9.) Two medical officers from the reserve corps of surgeon of each division, and a hospital steward, who will be with the medicine wagon, will be detailed by the medical director of the army corps to accompany the ambulance train when on the march and will see that the sick and wounded are properly attended to. A medicine wagon will accompany each train.

10.) The officers connected with the corps must be with the trains on a march, observing that non one rides in the ambulances without the authority of the medical officers.

11.) When in camp, the ambulances, transport carts, and ambulance corps will be parked with the brigade, under the supervision of the commander of the corps for the brigade.

12.) The officer in charge of a train will at once remove anything not legitimate, and if there is not room for it in the baggage wagons of the regiment will leave it on the road.

13.) Good servical horses will be used for the ambulances and transport carts, and will not be taken for any other purpose except by orders from the headquarters.

14.) The uniform for this corps is: For privates, a green band around the cap, a green half chevron on each arm above the elbow, and be armed with revolvers; non-commissioned officers to wear the same band around the cap as a private, chevrons green, with the point toward the shoulder, on each arm above the elbow.

15.) No person will be allowed to carry from the field any wounded or sick except this corps.

16.) The commanders of the ambulance corps on being detailed will report without delay to the medical director at the headquarters for instructions.

Sources: http://www.powerweb.net/bbock/war/