Article ID: CBB001421579

Remains of War (2012)

unapi

The National Museum of Health and Medicine holds a collection of anatomical specimens from nearly 2,000 soldiers injured during the American Civil War. Originally collected as part of a study of trauma and disease during war, these specimens have been museum artifacts for over 140 years. During this time, they have been displayed and utilized in an array of interpretative strategies. They have functioned as medical specimens documenting the effects of gunshot wounds and infection to the human body, as mementos mori symbolizing the refuse of a nation divided by war, and as objects of osteological and forensic interest. The museum's curators recently discovered that four of these specimens originate from soldiers who the poet and essayist Walt Whitman nursed in the wartime hospitals of Washington, DC. Uniting these remains with Whitman's words yields a new interpretation that bears witness to individual histories during a time of unprecedented conflict in American history.

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Description On remains from the American Civil War.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001421579/

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Authors & Contributors
P. Willey
Ciliberti, Rosagemma
Scattolin, Giuliano
Fulcheri, Ezio
Petralia, Paolo
Luisa Ferrari
Concepts
Medicine and the military; medicine in war
Museums
Medicine
Disease and diseases
Human remains
Human body
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
United States
Padua (Italy)
Virginia (U.S.)
North America
Italy
Europe
Institutions
University of Padua
United States. Army
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