Miracles of Healing During the Civil War

Illustration of the Battle of Shiloh in the American Civil War, by L. Prang & Co., where some soldiers were healed by a mysterious blue light. Public Domain

Civil War medics were shocked when they rushed to the battlefield after the Battle of Shiloh (1862). There they saw some soldiers’ wounds were glowing in the dark with a bluish green light. Upon further inspection, medics found that the glowing wounds healed faster and were cleaner than other injuries. The soldiers labelled the phenomenon the “angel glow.” What caused the glow remained a mystery for nearly 140 years.

The Battle of Shiloh erupted between Confederate and Union soldiers on April 6, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. The grueling battle lasted two days and was known as one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles; an estimated 24,000 casualties suffered all together.

The Union Army barely squeaked out a victory, but not before leaving thousands of wounded soldiers behind. The fierce battle kept medics at bay until it ended, leaving several wounded soldiers suffering in the mud, rain, and cold spring weather for two days.

Finally, the battle ended. The sun had set once most of the medics reached the battlefield. They were instantly astonished by the bluish green, glowing wounds some of the soldiers had. Many thought that it was due to a supernatural intervention. There were limited official reports of the event happening, but it remained a part of Civil War folklore for over a century.

An Experiment and Explanation

In 2001, high school student Bill Martin got an idea that the angel glow could have been caused by a light-producing bacteria. His mother, a microbiologist, encouraged Martin to conduct his own experiment for a high school science project.

Martin took soil samples of the Shiloh battlefield and found the presence of a special nematode that produces a glowing bacteria. The only problem was that the bacteria couldn’t grow in an environment as warm as the human body. The bacteria proliferate in the gut of the nematode.

Martin persisted to test his theory. On a cold spring night he measured the temperature of his skin. His skin’s surface temperature was cold enough for the bioluminescent bacteria to survive. He then hypothesized that if the soldiers were sitting in the cold and wet weather for two days, hypothermia would have set in and lowered the body temperatures of the wounded soldiers.

Further research has also explained the notion that the glowing wounds were cleaner and healed faster than others. Scientists have since determined that the type of bacteria found in the soil of the Shiloh battleground has unique healing properties. Researchers concluded that the bacteria entered the soldiers’ wounds and prevented other harmful bacteria from causing an infection.

Since the discovery was made, scientists have conducted further research to better understand the healing properties of the bacteria. Scientists have yet to figure out exactly how it occurs, but research is still being conducted in hopes to replicate the natural healing phenomenon.

Ambrose Bierce in 1896 by Frances Soule Campbell. From volume one of the "Collected Works," 1909. Public Domain

Noted writer Ambrose Bierce witnessed the Battle of Shiloh and believed that celestial beings did indeed heal soldiers on both sides of the battle, when he said: “God’s great angels stood invisible among the heroes in blue and the heroes in gray, sleeping their last sleep in the woods of Chickamauga.”

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]