Few men who marched away to war in 1861 could imagine the deprivations, dangers, and dreadfulness that awaited them. The battles were chaotic, cacophonous, and terrifying. Wounds were often massive and horrible. Medical care, when it was available at all, was excruciating and barely effective. Prisoners suffered through disease and disgusting conditions. There were some lights in this darkness — Red Cross founder Clara Barton prominent among them — but the general suffering was immense.