{"id":41,"date":"2013-01-20T05:20:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-20T05:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/2013\/01\/20\/notes-from-the-classroom-pt-ii-civil-war-casualties\/"},"modified":"2019-04-01T14:39:41","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T18:39:41","slug":"notes-from-the-classroom-pt-ii-civil-war-casualties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/2013\/01\/20\/notes-from-the-classroom-pt-ii-civil-war-casualties\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes From The Classroom, pt. II&#8211;Civil War Casualties"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/icarusanybody.blogspot.com\/2013\/01\/notes-from-classroom-pt-i-slavery.html\">As I mentioned in my last post<\/a>, I spend a lot of time teaching my high school students about the American Civil War. \u00a0Or, to be more accurate, I should say &#8220;the Civil War era&#8221;. \u00a0As I tell them on the first day of the school year, I&#8217;m a pacifist, and I don&#8217;t like war. \u00a0As a result, I spend a lot of time talking about life during wartime, and the effects of wars on American society, but not a lot of time on the &#8220;bang bang, shoot shoot&#8221; part. \u00a0This usually disappoints a few students (mostly boys) but of course I still make time to cover certain major battles as well as key military leaders and their tactics, so even the more &#8220;bloodthirsty&#8221; kids have something to look forward to.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">This past week I taught the kids about the scale of Civil War casualties, as well as the terrible conditions faced by soldiers of that era, especially those who were wounded in battle. When I teach this class, I have several goals in mind; first, to put the event into a global perspective, and second, to try to relate the information to the wars the United States have been fighting for most of their lives.<\/span><\/div>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">I find it helpful to put the Civil War into a global perspective for a couple of reasons. \u00a0Primarily, since I teach students from all over the world (my school draws from over 20 nations) I don&#8217;t want to seem chauvinistic. \u00a0And secondly, if I am successful in driving home the point that the Civil War was the most significant event in our nation&#8217;s history, it stands to reason that civil wars in other countries are equally important. \u00a0I start the class by sharing the following facts with the class:<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">3,000,000 soldiers (USA and CSA) fought in the Civil War, which was about 10% of the total population.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Approximately 620,000 soldiers died in the war (about 2% of the total population). An equivalent today would be \u00a0six million deaths.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">I then share the casualty totals of some significant 20th Century civil wars for comparison:<\/span><\/div>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Russian_Civil_War\">Russian Civil War<\/a><\/b>\u00a0(1917-21): 8.8 million<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Chinese_Civil_War\">Chinese Civil War<\/a> <\/b>(1927-49): approximately 6 million<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><b><a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Korean_War\">Korean War<\/a><\/b> (1950-53): over 3 million<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">These numbers typically elicit a strong response, but someone usually raises the significant differences between 19th and 20th century technology. \u00a0So I mention that contemporary with the US Civil War was t<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Taiping_Rebellion\">he Taiping Rebellion in China. This civil conflict lasted from 1850-1864 and claimed at least 20 million lives<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">After this perspective, I try to make a comparison to something with which they should be familiar, the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. \u00a0At this point I am teaching students who were only four or five years old in 2001, so their recollections are naturally hazy. \u00a0But they are quite aware that 9\/11 changed their world. <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Casualties_of_the_September_11_attacks\">Nearly 3,000 people died that day<\/a> (with many more dying since then, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/2012\/09\/10\/federal-government-to-acknowledge-ground-zero-cancer-link-for-first-time\/\">especially rescue workers at Ground Zero<\/a>). \u00a0 Our country was horrified by the carnage in 2001, but (thank God) nothing similar has happened to America since then. \u00a0But imagine living here 150 years ago. \u00a0In the space of four and a half months in 1863, the following battles took place (among others):\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nps.gov\/frsp\/chist.htm\">Chancellorsville, Virginia<\/a>: May 1-4 1863: 30,099 casualties (17,278 USA \/ 12,821 CSA)<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nps.gov\/gett\/index.htm\">Gettysburg, Pennsylvania<\/a>: July 1-3 1863: 51,112 casualties (23,049 USA \/ 28.063 CSA)<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nps.gov\/chch\/index.htm\">Chickamauga, Georgia<\/a>:Sept. 19-20 1863: 32,624 casualties (16,170 USA \/ 18,464 CSA)<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">and that was after two hard years of war, with another year and a half to go. \u00a0I ask the students to consider what it must have been like to live in the country back then. \u00a0I imagine that people must have been almost in a state of shock. \u00a0Everyone must have known someone connected to the war and the tension of never knowing when a loved one&#8217;s name would show up in the newspaper&#8217;s death rolls must have been terrible.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">And that is a useful point of contrast to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have gone on for most of \u00a0my students&#8217; lives. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/11\/25\/us\/civilian-military-gap-grows-as-fewer-americans-serve.html\">According to <i>The New York Times<\/i>, during the last decade, less than 1% of the total population has been on active military duty, compared to 9% during WWII and 10% in the Civil War<\/a>. This makes it easier for people to have an &#8220;out of sight, out of mind&#8221; approach to war. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">I also spend time discussing medical science and technological advances in the last 150 years. \u00a0We talk about how <a href=\"http:\/\/www.environmentalgraffiti.com\/news-amputees-american-civil-war-or-history-amputations-american-civil-war\">wounds to the extremities were the most common injury in the Civil War, and that most resulted in amputation<\/a>. \u00a0After grossing the students out with discussions of the highly septic conditions of operating rooms 150 years ago, I ask if they know what the most common injuries are for American soldiers today. <a href=\"http:\/\/costsofwar.org\/sites\/default\/files\/articles\/10\/attachments\/Lutz%20US%20and%20Coalition%20Casualties.pdf\">According to Catherine Lutz of Brown University<\/a>, [.pdf] they fall into four categories:<\/span><\/div>\n<p><BR><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 0in;\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Traumatic Brain Injury: \u00a0<span style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Rand report in 2008 found 19 percent of returning service members reported having\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">experienced a possible traumatic brain injury&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">Whatever the true number, TBI cases range from severe,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">penetrating TBI to the more common mild TBI which can display itself in psychosocial\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">dysfunction, seizures, irritability and aggression, depression, confusion and memory loss.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Mental injuries, including PTSD, have also been common. \u00a0The Veterans \u00a0Administration reported 192,114 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had been diagnosed with PTSD through the end of 2010, with these numbers, however, excluding anyone diagnosed and treated outside the VA system&#8230;Several features of these two wars have made emotional and cognitive impairment more common, including multiple and extended deployments with less rest between deployments (39 percent of all soldiers who have been to Iraq and Afghanistan have had two or more deployments, even after wounding, and more exposure to handling body parts and seeing friends killed, surviving with more grievous wounds, and higher rates of \u00a0TBI. \u00a0Other predictors for PTSD include \u201ckilling of innocent bystanders, or having to \u00a0witness such killings without the ability to intercede, [which] is also associated with more intense psychiatric manifestations. This is of significant concern due to the large numbers \u00a0of civilians killed during this current conflict by both coalition forces and the insurgency.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Amputation: \u00a0More soldiers survive their wounds now than ever before in human history.\u00a0<span style=\"text-align: justify;\">The widespread use of body armor protecting the vital organs has also <\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">meant an unusually high number of wounded soldiers with multiple amputations\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">(including limbs and genitals) and complex combinations of injuries, including burns, \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">blindness and deafness, and massive facial injuries. \u00a0According to the Army Office of the <\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">Surgeon-General, there were 1,621 amputations among US troops in Iraq, Afghanistan,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">and \u201cunaffiliated conflicts\u201d through September 1, 2010. Half of these were caused by \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"text-align: justify;\">improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Blast injuries from IEDs often combine penetrating, blunt, and burn injuries. IED shrapnel can include nails, dirt, and clothing and create enough small wounds to exsanguinate the victim. There has also been a high incidence of blinding injuries.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">Spinal Cord Injury: <a href=\"http:\/\/health.usnews.com\/health-news\/news\/articles\/2012\/09\/21\/explosions-are-main-cause-of-spine-injuries-in-us-soldiers\"><i>US News<\/i>\u00a0reports<\/a> that\u00a0 &#8220;e<span style=\"background-color: white;\">xplosions are the main cause of spine injuries among wounded U.S. military personnel&#8230;<\/span><span style=\"background-color: white;\">Researchers analyzed more than eight years of data on back, spinal column and spinal cord injuries suffered by American military personnel serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. Of nearly 11,000 evacuated casualties, about 600 (nearly 5.5 percent) had a total of more than 2,100 spinal injuries.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"background-color: white;\">Explosions accounted for 56 percent of spine injuries, motor vehicle collisions for 29 percent and gunshots for 15 percent, the study found. In 17 percent of spine injuries, the spinal cord also was injured. Fifty-three percent of gunshot wounds to the spine led to a spinal cord injury.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><span style=\"font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;\">One of my students pointed out that it is a shame that since so many injuries are &#8220;invisible&#8221; it will be hard to recognize and thank these veterans for their service to the country. \u00a0I thought that was an excellent example of being able to discuss &#8220;current events&#8221; in the context of a history class. \u00a0Thanks for reading!<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<p>Views: 187<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I mentioned in my last post, I spend a lot of time teaching my high school students about the American Civil War. \u00a0Or, to be more accurate, I should say &#8220;the Civil War era&#8221;. \u00a0As I tell them on the first day of the school year, I&#8217;m a pacifist, and I don&#8217;t like war. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270,268,223,267,215,269],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-11","category-casualties","category-civil-war","category-global-perspective","category-history","category-lesson-plans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":535,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41\/revisions\/535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ethanlewis.org\/icarus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}