Journey of a Civil War Surgeon

Presentation by Mark Eifler. At the beginning of the Civil War, William Peck surprised his family by enlisting in the Union Army as a surgeon. His unpublished letters are an invitation to investigate the life and times of doctors and medical practice during a critical period in American history. We look at a world that, in many ways, sought to move into a modern era, but was still firmly rooted in a somewhat confused and contentious past. Mark Eifler received his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley. He teaches at the University of Portland.