Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis

In the wake of the Civil War, many veterans struggled with lingering pain, disabling illnesses, and trauma. Old soldiers often turned to opioids to cope, and thousands became addicted to opium and Morph*ne.

Jonathan S. Jones, Assistant Professor of History at James Madison University, will discuss his new book Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis. It investigates how the Civil War sparked an opioid epidemic among veterans, how addiction affected their lives, and what this crisis can teach us about the war’s unexpected aftershocks in the postwar decades.

You may also like the following events from National Museum of Civil War Medicine:

• Next month, 6th September, 03:00 pm, Disguised and Determined: Women Who Fought in the Civil War in Frederick
• Next month, 6th September, 03:00 pm, The Crimean Connection: The 1850s Delafield Commission Significantly Impacted Civil War Medical Care in Frederick
• Next month, 7th September, 02:00 pm, Frederick in the Civil War - A Bus Tour of the Historic City in Frederick