until the war, most american doctors had never seen wounds like these. most only had experience in lancing boils or pulling teeth. doctors knew very little about germs and bacteria. bandages were used over and over again on different men without washing or disinfecting them first. by modern standards the operations were crude, even brutal. soldiers called medics "butchers" and they feared amputations more than anything else. to avoid losing a limb and the painful operation, some soldiers and officers went so far as to try to treat their wounds themselves.