Browse Items (66 total)

Southern Cross of Honor Medal. This medal was created by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to be given postwar to Confederate veterans who showed valor in battle. The medals were created in 1898 and distributed beginning in 1900.

The back…

This piece of wood features a .58 caliber minie ball deeply embedded in a piece of wood. Invented by the French army officer Claude-Etienne Minié in 1849, minie balls revolutionized battle. They were smaller than the diameter of the rifle and thus,…

Amputation Saw. This serrated bone saw is approximately 16 inches long with a metal blade and wooden handle.
Compared to modern medicine, medical knowledge during the Civil War was limited. Many lost limbs due to battle wounds or subsequent…

Scalpel. This metal scalpel has a wooden handle engraved with "The PS CO". The metal blade is engraved with E R J. Rodgers & Sons, 6 Norfolk St., Sheffield, England.

Scalpels were used in the course of surgeries during the war. Those suffering…

Confederate D-Guard Bowie Knife. This Civil War-era Bowie knife was hand made. The blade is approximately 10 inches long. The handle is hand carved wood. Named after the D-shaped nature of the guard, this large knife was popular during the war…

Brass Three-Size Fleam for Bloodletting. This tool, called a fleam, is used to facilitate bloodletting. The smallest size is engraved with the brand, "Corwick".
Bloodletting was a practice implemented during the Civil War to attempt to heal soldiers…

Gutta Percha Lavage Syringe. This syringe is made of gutta percha, a sturdy rubber material, derived from the tree of the same name. Lavage syringes were used to rinse wounds and irrigate the ear canal.

Mill and Store at Gabriel Mills. This early photograph features a mill and store at Gabriel Mills in Taylor. The operator, Mr. Beckman is standing in the doorway. This building was built in 1860 and withstood the Civil War. It stood until its…

The Alex Harris Store. This is a black and white photograph of a store where traders could barter for goods, trading items such as hides and farm produce. This photograph also features a covered wagon with mules and horses harnessed to it. There is a…

Canister Shot, 5 pieces. Of these individual pieces of canister shot, four have become slightly rusted.

Canister shot consisted of a metal can filled with as many as 48 iron balls. When shot from a cannon, these iron balls exit the barrel and…