Medical things

I randomly came across some pictures of French surgeon Baron Larrey's flying ambulance, which was the inspiration for all other ambulances that followed (including the one that Maggie and Cotton rode in after his flogging. It's lucky he was flogged so early in the march so there weren't any other patients who needed his place). I read about ones with canvas walls and window flaps of rolling canvas, but all the pictures of models based on Larrey's own design for the ambulance volante seem to be made of wood with a tarred canvas roof. The windows let beneficial fresh air in, and the walls are also padded next to where the men lie. They were meant for carrying the wounded off the battle field quickly, and were usually pulled by one or two horses. I think I read about canvas ones that the canvas walls could come off and it could be used as a regular wagon most of the time, but I can't remember where I read that now. It might have been the later British adaptation.

There's room for two men (or a rifleman and his woman) lying on leather mattresses filled with horsehair, or more if they're sitting up. I believe they can be slid in and out on rollers.






There's also a four-wheeled ambulance called a voiture (car), made for mountains or very rough terrain. It holds four (or more?) patients lying down and I think it's less common. This one, and I think the 2-wheeled one, had special springs and suspension to jostle the wounded as little as possible.

Baron Larrey, je pense que je vous aime.

For the record, the British army didn't adopt these until later. What were they thinking? But when we were writing about Cotton and Maggie, I decided to be purposefully anachronistic (by just a few years, if I recall correctly) because I was just so in love with them - the ambulances, that is.

On to ships - here's a model of a dispensary from 1860, but not much has changed from what the Terpsichore would have. This would be the surgeon's private office and storage room for his medicines and equipment, the things he would want under lock and key. Things like bandages could probably be stored in the sick bay itself, but this is where he'd keep stuff that he didn't want sailors to get their hands on easily. (And it would be a very tight squeeze for anyone to sleep in here, like poor old Crozier.)

I just love this little model.


And here's a much more modern and bigger one, but you get the idea. Shrink it down and it would still fit right in with the Terpsy.


Here's the sickbay floorplan for a ship that was of our era, the San Domingo. Unlike the Terpsy, this sickbay is obviously above the waterline since there's a cannon in it and a window. The door by the window presumably leads to the roundhouse. (This is a roundhouse, the round compartment next to the head. It's an enclosed toilet - well, the bottom isn't enclosed, obviously. Very convenient for sickbay. But we don't have one on the Terpsy.)


The San Domingo sickbay is similar to that of the Victory. There's a gun below the cots, and the roundhouse would be just a bit further to our left (forward). (Cots, by the way, are like nicer versions of hammocks, more boxy and probably less saggy.) Behind the cots are moveable partitions - not really bulkheads, but light screens for privacy that could be easily moved to clear for action. Again, not an issue on the Terpsy since we're below the waterline. (I'm not sure what partitions the sickbay off from the general sleeping area on the Terpsy - wall or curtain or screens - but we'll just pretend it's a wall, since everyone's been coming and going through a door in the story.)


Cabinets for stores in the Victory sickbay:


And here's an amputation scene in the orlop or cockpit during battle:

That's some great pictures and notes on those Maggie em, sans! Very interesting and informative!

can you imagine being sick, all groan-y like, then some great brutes rush in "Oh, d'yer mind, we're jus' goin' ter be a firing this 'ere canon"
I suspect Stephen would have a lovely long rant on that....

Thanks for the details (and how Robert wants to get himself one of those suspension- laden, four wheeled carts. But it would be all wrong to do so...so he shall have to sit on his hands for a bit, then go and do something useful.)

Um. Personally, I was imagining Terpsy's actual sickbay to be under the fo'c'sle - on the same level as the gundeck, though without any cannon because it's too far forward. Which would permit it to have a roundhouse.

Though the doctor would be based on the berthdeck, (at the waterline) or the orlop (below the waterline) when in action. Most likely the orlop, seeing as there would be a risk of having a cannonball hit when in action.

I may need to check those wonderful plans we have of Surprise and Trincomalee to get my facts right. If I can find decent plans of a 32-gun frigate, I will post them and that's what we should keep in mind in future. It'd help if we all imagined the same thing, after all.

Here is the Surprise plan again, which is how I was picturing it - another deck down from where you were picturing it, no roundhouse, no guns, no sunlight (for plants to grow)... I WANTED a roundhouse, but... *shrug*. Tell you what, why don't you gimme a two story sickbay! Then we're all winners!

Edit: "Me" meaning, um, Crozier. And, ok, I'll be honest, sans nom herself.

Bah.

Terpsy's going to end up being a seventy-four by the time I figure what's where!

I've been wondering where you have the captain's cabin, actually...

At the back of the boat. Ship. Thing.

I though about putting it up the top of the mast, but thought that might be a bit windy...

Dork. I meant sometimes it seems as if it's on the same level as the main deck (like Capt. Sawyer's in Hornblower, where he's able to look out the window and see what's going on). Sentries outside the door are able to see everyone who's taking fresh air on the sunny deck. But, um, the plans of the Surprise, at least, show the great cabin on the same level as the galley stove and the lower gundeck.

But that's right. Captain comes out of his door where there's a sentry then moves to the quarterdeck stairs to go up to the quarterdeck.

Otherwise he might fall all the way to the deck and hurt himself. Badly. And we don't want that.

Oh ok, just wanted to make sure.

Of course our Captain lives in a tent - when he's got one.

You two are utterly silly! XD

Philip M'Clure wrote:can you imagine being sick, all groan-y like, then some great brutes rush in "Oh, d'yer mind, we're jus' goin' ter be a firing this 'ere canon"
I suspect Stephen would have a lovely long rant on that....

I thought of that too, at first, but then remembered that during a battle the surgeon and his assistants - and presumably any other patients - would all be down in the orlop/cockpit.

And if it was only a practice gun drill and there were sick patients, maybe they would skip firing the sickbay gun. It would be nice of them.

It would be very nice of them. But it might not happen....if they were timing themselves, f'rinstance.

I keep forgetting the surgeon is playing musical chairs (cabins? sickbays?) during battle.

I updated the broken links to the pictures. Also, there's a huge version of the San Domingo sickbay image here.

(This one)

Re Initial post: True Napoleon instituted a medical service superior to other armies..though it was heavily slanted to providing medical cover for the Guard, whose men were the only soldiers they could be bothered to take the expense and time to innoculate.

Interesting re-enactment of a limb amputation narrated by Mick Crumplin, the acknowledged expert and writer on Napoleonic military surgery on the 33rd Foot website video section
http://www.33rdfoot.co.uk

Prosthetic is from same studio who produce them for Ridley Scott movies.

Nice video. His book sounds good too! Guthrie's War

I gather at least one Lady has fainted looking at the video !
Mick is the acknowledged expert on the subject of military surgery of the Napoleonic wars and a wonderful chap.
He has another book due to come out that will give a lot of information on surgery in the Waterloo Campaign. sadly he's hanging up his apron as a re-enactor at Waterloo..the good news is that a worthy successor (Ass Lieut Armstrong who works in the medical service in real life) will be continuing the medical displays done by the 33rd.

You are looking in the wrong place, if you want to see ladies faint. And it is a rather unfair stereotype saying they would, anyway. Unless it was their leg this was done to, and even then they would faint no sooner than a man. Or I have seen a man faint seeing just a needle too .

Is this man only not doing it any more for the Waterloo or has he decided to stop the work altogether?

I was just relating what I was told by another re-enactment group who chose to screen it at a Regimental diner. We have several qualified medical personnel in our unit, half of them women.... who are certainly not squeamish !

Sure, nobody in the medical field can really afford to be squeamish.

You must be joking. The women of that group had fainted or did they solely present themselves in such way as if suggesting they might?

Speaking of the medical and of surgeons. Just a moment ago a similar 'field hospital' was shown on tv, with men armless and being operated on the table, without much of a pain deterrent.

Of course not, Keiju. What terrible thing it would be, if you were supposed to be helped to loose a leg.. but the one supposed to do so,.. decided to faint!