Surgeons, scalpels and the Civil War
Gettysburg Medical Living History Weekend set for Aug. 20-21
(Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) - 7/29/2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ...
CONTACT:
Carl Whitehill
Media Relations Manager
Gettysburg Convention & Visitors Bureau
(717) 338-1055 or [email protected]
The Society of Civil War Surgeons will hold its seventh annual Gettysburg Medical Living History Weekend on Aug. 20-21 near the Pennsylvania Memorial.
This unique event highlights the tireless efforts of the doctors and nurses during and after the bloodiest battle on American soil. Nearly 51,000 casualties followed three days of fighting in July 1863. Surgeons spent weeks and, in some cases, months treating the wounded in makeshift hospitals in and around Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Medical Living History Weekend will highlight their difficult task and heart-wrenching stories.
“This is an opportunity to see ‘the other side of war,’” said Peter D’Onofrio, President of the Society of Civil War Surgeons. “We present what happens to soldiers who become sick or wounded.”
The event will include a field hospital, educational lectures, displays, simulated leg amputations and an infantry (provost guard) camp.
The Gettysburg Medical Living History Weekend will be open all day Saturday, Aug. 20, and until 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 21. The event is part of Gettysburg National Military Park’s efforts to interpret the Civil War battle through living historians. Programs are held each weekend from April through October.
The Pennsylvania Memorial is located in the center of Gettysburg’s Cemetery Ridge, the Union position along Hancock Avenue near Pleasonton Avenue. The event, as well as parking, is free of charge.
For more information, contact Peter D’Onofrio, President of the Society of Civil War Surgeons, at (740) 927-3088 or [email protected].
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