Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1914-11-12
METHODS Of RED
CROSS WORKERS
DURING WARFARE
How the Wounded Soldiers Are
Cared for Promptly on the
Field of Battle.
GOOD BANDAGING IMPORTANT
Every Man Carries First Aid Quilt
Surgeons and Nurses Attend tho
Sufferers on Firing Line and
Then Send Them to tho
Hospitals.

There was a time when wounded
men were left unattended and exposed
on the battlefield until the fighting
was over. Often it was the day after
an engagement, or later, before surg
;cal assistance reached the scene. and
soldiers were for the most part lg'
norant of the first principles OF caring
for themselves
The ambulance organization now
prevailing in all civilized armies (lf,
indeed, one can apply the word civi.
lized to anything connected with war
fare) dates only from the end OF the
eighteenth century. Gradually it has
been enlarged and improved until to-
day every army has moving with It's
men on the field complete hospital es-
Observation-Disclosures modified in de-
tails-for the collection, treatment and
care of the wounded until they can be
removed to hospitals of a more per-
manent character.
In 1892 a system Of so-called flying
field hospitals was introduced into the
French army by Baron Dominique
Jean Larrey. 1t provided for giving
the necessary first surgical treatment
and removing the wounded quickly
from the field. Napoleon supported
this system enthusiastically Some
what later another Frenchman, Baron
Pierre Percy, organized a corps or
stretcher bearers-men trained and
equipped for collecting the wounded
while battle was in progress, rem
dering aid Immediately necessary and
carrying them to place of safety
where they may be further attended.
The American Civil war marked the
beginning of the modern ambulance
system.
One of the greatest steps toward the
amelioration of the condition OF the
wounded was the outcome of the con-
vention held in Geneva in 1854
treaty by the terms of which the
wounded themselves, as we'll as the
official staff of ambulances and their
equipment, should be under the pro-
lection of a neutral fiag-the flag OF
the Red Cross,
But not only has this ambulance sys'
tenn reached a high state of perfec'
ton The modern soldier is carefully
trained in first-aid work, a part of this
education being a thorough under
standing of human anatomy. The value
of this knowledge is at once apparent
particularly in great battles, such as
are now being fought in Europe, where
thousands are wounded In single en-.
gagement; for no matter how efficient
may be the relief service it is i'm.
possible for the Red Cross workers to
care for these men as rapidly as they
fall. Many soldier, however, is able
to save his own life or that of a COM
rade by stopping the flow of blood un'
til help comes.
Soldiers First Aids.
Each man has with him when he en-.
ters the battle a package of first-aid
supplies-a sterilized bandage, an an
tiseptic pad, a bottle of water acidu'
lated with the best quality of wine
vinegar Ito assuage the terrible thirst
that comes to wounded soldier), and
concentrated nourishment enough for
sc hours in a tin the size of an ordi'
nary cigar case. These supplies vary
slightly in different armies.
An ordinary shot wound Is frequent.
ly not felt by fighting man, the sight
of trickling blood usually being his
first intimaton that he has been
wounded. If he Is able at once to
apply the antiseptic pad (thus pre-
venting the entrance of germs and
helping to stop the flow of blood and
further to bandage the injured part
temporarily, he has taken long step
toward recovery.
Proper bandaging plays so import
ant a part in war surgery that the ut.
most efficiency in it Is required OF Red
Cross workers. In the German army
the bandage most used on the field
and in emergency work Is one that
bears the name Of its inventor, Dr.
Johannes Won Esmarch. Every sol
dier carries one of these with him into
battle. 1t is three-cornered piece
of linen and cotton, of which the
base measures four feet and the sides
two feet ten inches 1t can be used
folded or open and applied in 30 diff
ferent ways, as shown clearly by illus
trations which accompany it. The
officially manufactured Esmarch band
age has these illustrations stamped
clearly on one side, but 1t Is pos
sible to make such bandage out
of old linen, sheets or similar materi-
ais at hand Doctor Esmarch, who
died in 1908, served as junior surgeon
in the Schleswig- Holstein war of 1S4S,
was director Of the surgical clinic at
Kiel and later head of its general hos
pital and professor at the university
there. After the Schleswig- -Holstein
war of 1864, during which he rendered
splendid service in field hospitals, he
was called to Berlin to take charge OF