Civil War medical techniques shown at CHiPS

Robert Urban, a nationally recognized re-enactor of Civil War medical techniques, presented a lecture and demonstration at the Columbia Historic Preservation Society recently.

Urban, in full uniform, demonstrated such techniques as wound preparation and amputation at his makeshift field hospital during the two-hour event.  Considered one of the best medical re-enactors in the country, he is often called upon as an expert in the historical medical field for film and television.

Urban has a large library of Civil War era books as well as a collection of instruments he uses to demonstrate techniques on medical mannequins.

Human skull replica

Attending to wounds

Removing a bullet

Archaic medical instruments

More tools of the trade

A disturbingly life-like victim

Another patient at the field hospital

More era surgical instruments

A manual of surgical techniques

Urban discusses amputation

How to prepare a head wound