American Civil War and PTSD by Zina Abbott

I received much of initial understanding of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from my husband, a veteran of the Vietnam War. We met while we were both in our mid-forties, and he had been discharged from duty almost twenty-two years prior. Yet, he still suffered some of the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD – as a result of his service in the U.S. Army. The issues he personally dealt with were nightmares, flashbacks, and temper flare-ups prompted by reminders and old prejudices. Although his nightmares had become few and far between, he warmed me never to wake him if I thought he was having one. Instead, I should leave the bed, turn on the light, and call to him from across the room. (Fortunately, I never had to do that.)

First, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was not correctly identified as a legitimate, psychological disease until 1980. 

Yes, you read it right: 

1980. 

That was years after the Vietnam War ended.

Yet, the condition has afflicted humans ever since we started walking the face of the earth. It was known by different names throughout time including “soldier's heart,” “shell shock,” and “war neurosis.” It has been around for forever, but was thought to be fright, cowardice, malingering, and/or insanity. Many military officers, unwilling to release soldiers from the battlefield, refused to accept PTSD as an affliction and tried to either force or shame a soldier into returning to the fight, whether the soldier was psychologically capable or not. Then, as now, PTSD that did not receive adequate treatment often led to alcoholism, drug dependency, or suicide.

There is much detailed information available on the internet, which I am not going to get into. The simplistic explanation of the method currently in use involves a combination of medication and psychological therapy. The therapy is considered the most beneficial in the long term.

My husband said he never sought medical treatment for his symptoms. However, he did follow advice he was given to “talk it out.” He spoke about what happened and what he saw as much as he could. He claims by doing so, he has been able to rid himself of most of the nightmares and flashbacks. On the other hand, he knows veterans who claim they cannot talk about it and refuse to do so, even with him. He knows they had more difficulty dealing with their PTSD. I know he told me of many of his experiences in Vietnam more than once during the first several years of our marriage. I also know, over the course of our marriage, his symptoms seemed to stop.

In 2014, I added some research to this insight and used it in one of my first published books, Family Secrets (no longer in print). In 2014, I also began writing my Gamble on Judgment series, set in 1871 with backstory to the final year of the Civil War. Back then, I wrote my first book, Abilene Gamble, and the first part of my second book, Indianapolis Justice. Neither were published at the time. (Thank goodness! My writing skills have developed in the years since then, and the two books published this year ended up being much better stories than if I had published them in 2014 or 2015.) However, I did include the element of PTSD, which plagued my hero, Harry, throughout his and Stella's story.

Civil War collage

Unlike my first book that dealt with a Vietnam War veteran, these latest two books deal with a Civil War veteran. How does PTSD compare then to what it is in modern times?

 

Battle of Gettysburg - Currier & Ives

By the 1800s, PTSD was characterized as “battle exhaustion,” soldier’s fatigue,” or the “thousand-yard stare,” the last which referred to the blank look and dissociated behavior of traumatized soldiers. Civil War conditions that added to the likelihood of soldiers suffering PTSD were the following:

 Battle of Cold Harbor - a very bloody battle for the Union

  * Seeing themselves or fellow soldiers blown apart (Horses, too.), both by cannonball fire and bullets.

  * Waiting and listening to the explosions, whine of bullets, and screams of death while anticipating receiving orders it was time to enter the battle.

  * Unlike prior bullets used, the Minié ball was designed so it did not break a bone when struck, but it shattered and tore up the surrounding flesh, almost always resulting in amputation.

Dead soldiers on battlefield waiting for burial

  * Primitive and unsanitary surgical practices, often without anesthesia, which led to pain and infection.

  * Mud, long marches, freezing cold with improper clothing, and inadequate and often unhealthful food.

  * The horrors of life in a prison camp where starvation, exposure to the elements, poor health, and brutality by both the guards and fellow prisoners were common.

  * Most soldiers came from occupations that were physical in nature. If they were injured so they could no longer perform their former occupations, their inability to adapt contributed to their symptoms.

By the late 1800s and early 1900s, Sigmund Freud had made the “talking cure” popular. Increasingly it began to be used as a method to treat symptoms. These early therapeutic interventions were the first step toward helping people who had survived traumatic events. However, for many Civil War veterans, there was no help for them. They were discharged and sent home for their families to deal with the consequences. Many ended up in insane asylums, old soldiers’ homes, poorhouses, or on the streets.

 From Harper's Magazine, Civil War Nurses

Much good information about PTSD past and present can be read in the articles I put under my sources. For the most informative one that relates to the American Civil War – including the example of how PTSD led to the downfall and early death of a very capable U.S. Army officer, Randal S. MacKenzie, who served in both the Civil War and the Indian Wars that followed, you might wish to read “The Shock of War” from the History Net website. Please CLICK HERE.

PTSD was also observed in those who either witnessed or experienced horrific accidents, such as railroad derailments. The explosion of the S.S, Sultana, an event that occurred toward the end of the Civil War and referenced in my book, Abilene Gamble, would have fallen in this category. To read my earlier post about this catastrophic event, please CLICK HERE.

My first two books in the Gamble on Judgment series are now available. These two books are about the same characters. I strongly suggest you read the first book first.

 

For the book description and purchase links for Abilene Gamble, the first book in this series, please CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

For the book description and purchase links for IndianapolisJustice, the second book in this series, please CLICK HERE.

 

 

 

 

Sources:

https://blackbearrehab.com/mental-health/ptsd/history-of-ptsd/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181586/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-traumatic_stress_disorder

https://www.historynet.com/the-shock-of-war/