The Civil War ignited an epidemic of opiate addiction, and thousands of veterans struggled with drug dependency.

“America’s Original Opioid Crisis: Civil War Veterans and Opiate Addiction” investigates opiate addiction in the Civil War era, illuminating themes such as wartime medical conditions, ideas about pain and manhood, and the fate of ailing Civil War veterans. 

Part of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies’ “New Perspectives on the Civil War Era” online speaker series, the virtual event took place on October 27, 2020.

The event included a discussion and a presentation by Penn State postdoctoral fellow Jonathan Jones.

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