Thursday, November 6, 2014
6:30 p.m.
Old San Francisco Steak House, 10223 Sahara Street off San Pedro
“Fighting the Third Army: Combating the Ailments and Injuries of the American Civil War”
Michael A. Flannery will be the guest speaker at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library. There is probably no aspect of American history more thoroughly examined than the Civil War (1861-1865). Literally tens of thousands of books and articles have treated various aspects of the Union and Confederate armies. But there was a “third army” during that conflict, one that both sides had to contend with: the traumas and illnesses incident to battlefield injuries and camp diseases. Flannery’s lecture will address the composition of that “army,” its power in directing the course of the conflict, and those who sought to combat, and at the same time, learn from it. Behind this story of “Life and Limb” lies the struggle and suffering unleashed by this third army. It was a harsh and unforgiving teacher. As Virginia surgeon Benjamin W. Allen (1824-1886) recalled, “No one could imagine fully the labor required, unless they had gone through with it – the constant, unremitting drudgery, the ‘wear and tear’ of both mental and physical energies, both by day and by night; the tainted atmosphere in spite of ventilation and disinfectants; the want of proper medicines, the lack of necessaries and comforts for the sick and wounded – the moans of the dying – all, were calculated to break down the strongest surgeons, and arouse the sympathies of the most callous.” In confronting that formidable foe, Union and Confederate became one.
Flannery is the Associate Director for Historical Collections, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, and a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he also holds adjunct appointments with the departments of history and sociology. The author of seven books, his John Uri Lloyd: The Great American Eclectic (Southern Illinois University Press, 1998) received the Kremers Award in 2001 from the American Institute for the History of Pharmacy for outstanding scholarship by an American. He has written on a wide range of historical topics in science and medicine, including the history of medical ethics. His most recent book Alfred Russel Wallace’s Theory of Intelligent Evolution explores Wallace as an early intelligent design theorist. He also is the author of Pharmaceutical Education in the Queen City: 150 Years of Service, 1850-2000 and Civil War Pharmacy: A History of Drugs, Drug Supply and Provision, and Therapeutics for the Union and Confederacy.
All who are interested in the history of medicine are invited to an intriguing presentation and an enjoyable evening of good food and conversation.
To Register
The Friends of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library invite students in all of the schools to attend the dinner and become members of the Friends’ group. The cost to students for the dinner and annual membership is $30. Students are encouraged to apply for sponsorships which cover the cost of registration and membership for one year.
For all others, the cost of the dinner is $55.
Advance registration is required. Please RSVP, including requests for student sponsorship assistance, by October 30, 2014. Send the completed registration form below to Anne Comeaux, Assistant Director for Special Collections, at comeaux@uthscsa.edu.
Dinner reservation form
