Civil War medicine was in the time before doctors knew about bacteriology and were ignorant of what caused disease.  To give an example, the Harvard Medical School didn't even own a stethoscope or microscope to train its doctors.   Most civil war surgeons had never treated a gun shot wound, many had never performed surgery.  Some 10,000 surgeons served in the Union army and about 4,000 served the Southern Confederacy.   Each year, medicine advanced a little more.  However, it was the tragedy of the era that medical knowledge of the 1860s had not yet encompassed the use of sterile dressings, antiseptics, and antiseptic surgery, and the recognition of sanitation and hygiene was still inadequate and many died as a result from diseases such as typhoid or dysentery. 

Unlike any war prior, women played an enormous part in the lives of soldier's family home life.  Women were left behind to the duties of men.  Many saw the opportunity to to be leaders in the fight for abolition. 

Women also went as far to be spies and soldiers for both sides. By law, women were not allowed to enlist as soldiers, some disguised themselves and served both in the Union and Confederate armies.  Some others, served as spies, and there were dozens of Southern female spies in Washington D.C., as well as one Northerner being in the Confederate capital house.

Probably the most significant role of women was nursing.  thousands of women at the outset left their homes to take care of dying soldiers.   Some women organized the Unites States Sanitary Commission.  this organization ran kitchens, distributed medical supplies and inspected army camps to insure a standard of medical help was clear.  Over 3,000 women worked as unpaid nurses during the conflict.  Dorothea Dix was appointed head of the nursing corps. 

The First Regiment, Arkansas Volunteers, was established at Little Rock on May 6, 1861, but was actually organized at Lynchburg, Virginia, on May 19th, 1861, where ten component companies enlisted for twelve months. A company represents 100 men and a regiment comprises 1000 men.  In the first years of the war, the 1st Arkansas was mainly assigned stationary guard duty and picket posts in the Department of Fredericksburg.  In February   of 1862 the regiment was assigned to the General Bragg's Second corps,  and fought in the Battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862.  The 1st Arkansas went into the fight with about 800 men, and sustained 364 killed, wounded and missing in action-an astounding 45 percent casualty rate. 

After reorganizing, the First Arkansas was assigned to Pat Cleburne's division, and spent the remainder of the war in the Army of Tennessee., fighting in all major battles of that army, including Murfreesboro, Tullahoma, Chickamauga, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin, Nashville, and Bentonville.  On April 9, 1865, the remnants of the First Arkansas were consolidated with the remnants of nine other depleted Arkansas regiments to form the First Arkansas Consolidated Infantry.  This consolidated regiment was included in the surrender of the Army of Tennessee later that month on April 26, 1865 at Greensboro North Carolina.

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