Civil War and PTSD
Second Look: A paper's history of Northern New York
English - May 29, 2019 15:45 - 22 minutes - 24.1 MB - ★★★★ - 18 ratingsHistory Society & Culture Documentary newyork newspapers dailytimes history localhistory newspaper northcountry watertown watertownnewyork Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
After reading in a historical newspaper entry about a man who disappeared after the Civil War, leaving his family destitute, Christina and Kelly decided to look into the mental trauma that affected soldiers returning home and how our understanding of this has changed.
Military and medical officials in the 1860s had little grasp of how war can scar minds as well as bodies. For them, mental ills were also a source of shame, especially for soldiers bred on Victorian notions of manliness and courage. (From Smithsonian Magazine)
Kelly and Christina talk about the mental trauma of war and how organizations were formed throughout history to help veterans after the war is over, including the Grand Army of the Republic, which helped organize a day set aside to honor veterans, what today is called Memorial Day.
Resources:
American Legion: Made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of local posts
Disabled American Veterans: Created by Congress to help disabled veterans and their families
Veterans of Foreign Wars: The largest and oldest war veteran's service organization, beginning in 1899
Episode was edited by Christina Knott. Music is "Smooth Actor" by Podington Bear.