Medicine in the American Revolution (Virtual)
Disease was a big part of everyday life in the American Colonies, and the conditions of the American Revolutionary War made things even worse. For every soldier dying of wounds in the war, three died of infections including smallpox, malaria, dysentery and typhus. The prevailing medical thinking of the day hadn’t really changed much since ancient times, and with the best of intentions, doctors treated these diseases with bleedings, leeches, and purges. Wounds of the head, chest and abdomen were almost always fatal, and those of the arms or legs often led to amputation. This operation was carried out without any anesthesia and without hygiene. The result was a gruesome and often a fatal ordeal. We’ll also hear about the doctors and the hospitals caring for the Revolutionary War soldiers with special emphasis about the 1777 campaign in Pennsylvania.
About the Speaker: Ronald S. Gibbs, MD grew up in Philadelphia and developed a life-long passion for the American Revolution, cartography, and medical history. During medical school, he researched 18th century medicine in London and won the History of Medicine Prize at graduation from the University of Pennsylvania. He is Clinical Professor and Knowles Distinguished Scholar at Stanford University and was formerly Professor and Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at The University of Colorado. A nationally known expert on infections in pregnancy, he has written 300 medical articles and chapters and several on history. Dr. Gibbs has lectured nationally on medicine and on history. Dr. Gibbs is currently working on a medical history of the American Revolution, entitled "1776: Medicine and the Revolution." His website is: http://ronaldsgibbs.com
Admission is Pay as You Wish! Your donation is greatly appreciated. All proceeds benefit the development of future programming and the preservation of the History Center and its collections. The History Center is home to over 750,000 manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and 70,000 artifacts. Your donation helps us to preserve and share those resources.
Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the program, and email a link to the recording within 24 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live Zoom; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.
This program is made possible with the support of the Chester County Community Foundation and the Chester County History Center Special Fund in honor of 18th century botanist Humphry Marshall.