What was the treatment for broken bones pre civil war?

Answer 1

Splinting

Answer 2

Good question, and there are many wonderful sites that provide very interesting answers on this fascinating time in our history.

One of them, a well-researched educational forum based in the United Kingdom, has this to say about medical treatment during and before the American Civil War:

"Medical treatment during the American Civil War was extremely poor. It has been estimated that 64,582 died of their battle wounds. Thousands of men had to have limbs amputated. Where possible chloroform was used but in many cases the patient had to rely on whisky while being operated on."

As to fixing broken bones pre-Civil War, Christine Jeffords wrote a wonderful article on "Doctors, Healers and Health: The State of Medicine in the Old West" (see link below). Here is an excerpt:

"Although the profession was a highly respected one from Colonial days, most American doctors, as late as 1876, had never even seen a medical school, or, at best, had spent a few months of required college study to receive an M.D. degree. Instead they apprenticed to an established doctor in their home town until they had learned all he knew, then put on a bit of polish by finding a school that would award a diploma for just two or three semesters of attendance--or simply got a letter of recommendation from their mentor and went into business for themselves."

Hope this helps!
Newarview

Answer 3

very much the same as now .. set the bone and immobilize it with splints and wrappings.