Bandage Rollin

[ginny74]

Hello all! Because I am experiencing reenacting withdrawal, I have decided to think about some new activities I would like to try when it all starts back up. I was thinking that maybe I would see if some of my young lady companions would be interested in rolling some bandages for our lads in grey. Problem is, I don't know anything about Civil War era bandages. I have always imagined something that resembled an Ace bandage. That is, a roll of cloth, maybe something like muslin ( ) But again, I have no clue whatsoever. Maybe somebody could help me out and give me an idea about how to roll bandages. Thank you in advance!

[mmartin4600]

Hello all! Because I am experiencing reenacting withdrawal, I have decided to think about some new activities I would like to try when it all starts back up. I was thinking that maybe I would see if some of my young lady companions would be interested in rolling some bandages for our lads in grey. Problem is, I don't know anything about Civil War era bandages. I have always imagined something that resembled an Ace bandage. That is, a roll of cloth, maybe something like muslin ( ) But again, I have no clue whatsoever. Maybe somebody could help me out and give me an idea about how to roll bandages. Thank you in advance!

Pg. 304 of the Hospital Steward's Manual discusses this very topic. A ready supply of rolled bandages would be much appreciated, I'm sure.

[NoahBriggs]

Three to Five yards times the width.

Widths:
1 inch for those finger/toe wrappings
2 inch is pretty standard
3 inch
4 inch
6 inch wide for those large wounds.


Include a roll of dark red felt in your bandage packet.


A Confederate "Committee For Our Wounded" label. There should be a Star of David on either side of the phrase. My reproduction does not have it. Labels should be printed on off-whit paper.

The Steward's Manual also shows how to roll bandages manually and how to build a bandage roller (preferred).

Don't forget stump bandages, too. If people are going to obssess over the amputations then they should see the consequences. Cut your cloth into an equilateral T-shape and fold up.

Surgical sponges are useful too. Cut a four inch by four inch square of your average cheesecloth from the grocery store. Pile four cottonballs in the middle in a pyramid style. Draw up the four corners of the cheesecloth and secure with a black string. Trim excess cheesecloth. Repeat eleven more times. Keep a list of handy expletives nearby in case you are doing this at the last minute.



Wrap your dozen sponges in a piece of regular newsprint (minus the print). Hand write with a dip pen "1doz. sponges" and your organization's name (optional).

Try to have fun. Pop Gettysburg in the DVD player and have it for background noise and turn it into a bandage-rolling party with your friends.

[ginny74]

Thank you very much Mr. Briggs. I have about a thousand yards of muslin, so I think this will work. Plus, I just got Ken Burns's "The Civil War," which will keep us going for many, many hours!

[chatrbug]

Ive been rolling bandages... it takes awhile! You need to make sure you get them good and tight or else they are too bulky. The key is the when you start... bad start then you need to start over. To start I fold over about half an inch, then fold that in half, then fold that in half, until its small enough to start good tight roll. Then you need to pull the loose part with one hand and tightly roll with the other hand. Did I tell you that your hand will be tired after you do a few rolls?

[mmartin4600]

Include a roll of dark red felt in your bandage packet.

I've never seen this before Noah. What was the purpose? Also thanks for the info on the stump bandage. Always learning new things here.

Michael

[NoahBriggs]

To snip into custom pieces. The felt was then placed over a wound and held in place with the roller bandage. It absorbed the expected discharge from the wound. It's also easier to change when you make the rounds at the hospital in the morning, in order to put clean dressings on wounds.

I should poke around on Google for a book I remember seeing that was devoted exclusively to bandaging. It provided several examples of bandaging material cut into unorthodox shapes to bind to wounds in hard-to-reach areas. In the meantime the last chapter of the Steward's Manual has (I think) several pages devoted towards basic bandaging other than the usual "mummy wrap method". (That's my expression, not a period one.)

Edited to add: the red backgrounds in my instrument/item photos are the red felt to which I refer. Needless to say the flash makes it look brighter than usual. The red felt also makes a good background when you display instruments. For some reason they look better than on a white table cloth.

I can rummage around my data this evening and post a couple of newspaper articles transcribed by Vicki Betts. The articles are from Texas newspapers. They list various items the Confederate hospitals need, and that's where I got the measurements for the bandages. They also list medicines needed as well. So a good hospital aid box could contain roller bandages, the felt, packaged sponges, suture materials and several bottles/boxes/packets of medicine, all warpped and/or padded with hospital gowns, bedsheets, pillowcases, empty bed tick mattresses, and maybe some munchies for the patients depending on your source and the time of year.

[chatrbug]

The red felt would be wool, right? Not cotton. What are the dimensions on it?

[NoahBriggs]

I think what I have is cotton, but I think wool would work better.

I don't know the dimensions of a typical roll. Whatever size packs conveniently into a box. I have a roll onhand, and small squares already cut.

[Pvt Peck]

I realize from your intial post that you are making bandages for a primarly CS impression but thought you might find this interesting. The following link is to a book that gathered some of the US Sanitary Commissions bulletins into one book. If you use the seaarch function youwill find some neat info on bandages, pattersn for "hospital clothing" such as shirts, underdrawers, arm slings, even slippers! There is a lot of neat stuff in this book, hope it helps in your bandage quest or helps with other ideas of things you could get up to.

http://books.google.com/books?id=4Lo...13&lr=#PPP1,M1

Edward Parrott