The war often was referred to as 'The American War'. (Roland, 1980) This work takes a look at what happened to these soldiers after amputation. This work states that soldiers following amputation "looked forward to an uncertain future...pain, misery and a depressingly high likelihood that he would not survive." (Roland, 1980) it is related in this study that the consequences due to amputation of a limb was greatly different "depending on one's station in life. In both the militia and the regular army, the soldier from the ranks was, with extremely rare exceptions, at the end of his army life. A man with one arm could not fire a musket, a man with a wooden leg could not march over rough terrain, to say nothing of charging with the bayonet." (Roland, 1980) Therefore, it was only the officers who could with any practicality continue their 'rank' following some type of injury requiring amputation. (Roland, 1980) III. MENTAL DISABILITIES of VETERANS POST-WAR

The work of James Alan Marten entitled: "Exempt from the Ordinary Rules of Life: Researching Postwar Adjustment Problems of Union Veterans" relates that the "generation that carried the Civil War...has been set apart by its experience." (2001) Holmes relates that his fellow veterans had a post-war existence and that many were sufferers of "both physical and mental disabilities that can be traced back to their own traumatic wartime experiences. A number of the veterans whose physical, psychological, or emotional handicaps raised obstacles to adapting again to the civilian world, found havens in the asylums established for them by the federal government." (Marten, 2001) the work of G. Kurt Piehler entitled: "Revolutionary War Bibliography" (2003) relates that following the American Revolution "a number of veterans experience poverty in the postwar period and in the aftermath of the War of 1812, the federal government created a pension to alleviate their distress." (2003)

SUMMARY and CONCLUSION

In the beginning of America as a country and in the first wars fought by American soldiers, medical science and the government...

Many problems were experienced by war veterans prior to 1877 and as illustrated by the literature reviewed in this study some of those problems included opium addiction due to the requirement of opiate pain medication in dealing with war wounds and which turned into an addiction due to being used as an escape from emotional and psychological issues relating to having served in the armed forces during war. Other problems experienced by war veterans prior to 1877 include the over-use of amputation and the limited knowledge at the time amputation was performed in assisting these individuals in living a productive life following amputation and with many of them returning to very poor beginnings and lacking in basic necessities and with no resources to overcome the injuries of war. In more recent post-war years, the government has learned better, what to anticipate following a period of war and are better prepared to cope with the diverse needs of veterans of war following their return to civilian society.
Bibliography

G. Kurt Piehler (2003) Revolutionary War Bibliography. Center for the Study of War and Society, Department of History, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. 12 Sept 2003.

Mandel, Jerry (2008) the Mythical Roots of U.S. Drug Policy: Soldier's Disease and Addicts in the Civil War. Schaffer Library of Drug Policy. Online available at http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/soldis.htm

Marten, James Alan (2001) Exempt from the Ordinary Rules of Life: Researching Postwar Adjustment Problems of Union Veterans. Civil War History - Volume 47, Number 1, March 2001. Abstract online available at http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/civil_war_history/v047/47.1marten.html

Roland, Charles G. (nd) War Amputations in Upper Canada. Archaivia Journal. Online available at http://journals.sfu.ca/archivar/index.php/archivaria/article/viewFile/10811/11712

Treatment of American Soldiers Post-War Prior to 1877