The medical personnel of 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Medical Battalion know how to save more lives on the battlefield in part because of lessons learned in battles such as Bentonville in 1865. During that time military medicine and technology was harsh for injured and mortally wounded Soldiers.

On the 143rd anniversary of the historic battle, Marines and Sailors of 2nd Med. Bn. revealed just how far military medicine has come when they participated in the commemoration of the Battle of Bentonville. The battalion took part in the annual two-day event to show an estimated 3,000 Civil War enthusiasts the progression of life-saving techniques on the battlefield and to train incoming medical personnel how to deal with battlefield casualties.

"The purpose of our (medical personnel) existence is to save lives," Navy Lt. Sonny McGowan the Bravo Surgical Company Commander said. "With the medical technology and 'know-how' that we have today, we save many more lives than what was accomplished during the Civil War and particularly the Battle of Bentonville."

During that deadly conflict between Gen. William T. Sherman's Union troops and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederate troops, nearly 5,000 Soldiers became casualties. The majority of those Soldiers were victims of amputated limbs, a common operation throughout the 19th century in the absence of prosthetic alternatives. Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Whaley, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., saw firsthand the difference adequate equipment and advanced medical technology can make when trying to save lives in a combat environment; he served with Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom as a surgical technologist and helped save numerous lives alongside some of the Navy's finest surgeons.

"If they had the equipment and capability that we possess today during the Battle of Bentonville set up outside of the Harper House, there would have been a sharp decline in the number of lives and limbs lost." Whaley explained.

Soldiers who endured the brutal medical treatment during amputation were said to have done so because of their strong religious faith. Charlie Mallory, a Civil War re-enactor and Civil War history aficionado, says his two great-great-grandfathers and great-great-uncles whom served with the 46th Virginia Army during the Civil War attributed their survival to their spirituality and faith in God.

"People's faith back then allowed them to endure loss and pain better than the way we today are able to," Mallory stated. "That is what has been passed down from generation to generation in my family and why I feel it's so important to keep the history alive."

Commemoration of the anniversary every year will ensure that the history of such a bloody battle will probably never be forgotten. Instead it provides a glimpse into the past of lives lost for such a controversial basis and lessons learned for today's military medical field.

"This event gives people a chance to see where we have come with regards to anesthesia, pain control and life-saving techniques," Lt. McGowan notes. "It's like a walk in time to see where medical technology has come from and hopefully a continued appreciation for where we are today."