This study delivers its message a hundred times: the American Civil War involved suffering. The degree of suffering overwhelmed all military glory. The exhilaration of battle dissipated under the load of fever, diarrhea, maggots, blood, dysentery, pain, pus, and putrefaction. It is the story of imperfect human beings, struggling to save lives and support their armies, fighting the enemy, fighting their superiors, and fighting against strange afflictions that defied their understanding.

The book offers the hypothesis that Northern medicine was superior to Southern, that medical care made a difference in the outcome of some battles and campaigns, and that the Northern military medical system played a role in the ultimate Northern victory. If this book fulfills its mission, the reader will see the same gore and smell the same putrefaction as did the doctors in blue and gray.