Watched a presentation on Civil War medicine and surgery and the most interesting aspect was how they did all kinds of things not knowing why they worked. They

Watched a presentation on Civil War medicine and surgery and the most interesting aspect was how they did all kinds of things not knowing why they worked. They did use chemicals to sterilize, but had no idea about germs. They had various powders to put in wounds that did actually aid clotting or accelerate healing, but they didn't know why at the time. The survival rate was surprisingly high. You were dead for sure if you caught one in the guts, but otherwise they could do a lot. They could even do some basic brain surgery and fix your skull with a plate.