Buying a Civil War Surgery Set

By: Dr. Michael Echols, American Civil War Surgical Antiques

Every medical or Civil War collector I know wants to buy a 'real' Civil War surgical set.  So, what do you have to do to get one?

First and foremost, you will have to be extremely lucky and knowledgeable to obtain a real, honest, Civil War set.  The safest set to buy, in my opinion, is one marked 'U.S. Army Medical or Hospital Dept.' with military latches on the case and contracted for production by famous American makers for the Union Army.  (Note: the Confederate Army never contracted for surgical sets and none will be marked as such to my knowledge.  The Confederate States Army Medical Department used existing American-made sets and purchased sets from Europe and the British during the War.)

Relative sizes of some 'real' military full surgical sets

There were over 4,000 contracted sets made just for the Union Army, so you would think the odds of finding one are good if you know where to look.  However, not all of these sets survived the end of the War.  Many were destroyed or sold at the end of the War.  One maker in particular, Hernstein, N.Y., sold many un-used sets at the end of the War and he went bankrupt due to the over-production.  At the end of the War many sets which were not bought by the government, were sold at auction to distributors and doctors.   When sterilization began in the 1870-80's, most of the earlier non-sterilization sets were discarded in favor of instruments which could be heated and cleaned for sterilization, thus creating the scarcity factor to consider.  No one knows how many of these sets survived.  Unfortunately great numbers of the sets created for use during the War were not preserved and were of little or no value as sterilization came into use. No one knows how many military sets were discarded as obsolete after sterilization was initiated.

The place to look for Civil War era sets is in existing Civil War collections or in the hall closet of a Civil War surgeon's family.  How do you find this elusive owner...well, that's the trick.   You could try your hand at buying at auctions like eBay and hope you don't buy something put together to sell to unsuspecting collectors who populate such venues looking for a 'deal' on a Civil War surgery set.  Most, if not all, of those sets are suspect for a multitude of reasons: (replaced parts, put-together pieces, European origins, out-right fraud, etc.)

A Tiemann Civil War era civilian surgical set which contained bullet forceps, male urinary sounds, and other features found in military sets, but it is not a true 'military' set.  Value: $8,000 to $12,000

There are two major groups of contract-ordered surgery sets: U. S. Army Hospital Department sets, which were specifically made for use during the Civil War.   (There are also U. S. A. Hosp. Dept. sets used during the Mexican War of 1846, so the trick is to correctly identify the maker and production dates.)  Secondly, there are U. S. Army Medical Department sets, which existed and were used by Union Army surgeons before, during, and after the Civil War.  With Medical Dept. sets you have to figure out when the set was made via the address or style of the case and instruments.  It takes vast knowledge to get it right and at the prices for these sets, you cannot afford to make a mistake!

There are also civilian and military style surgical sets owned or brought to the regular Army by State Volunteer Militia surgeons when their troops were mustered into the Regular Union Army.  These state surgeons may or may not have owned and engraved their sets with their own name, but it is possible and a great source of 'faked engraving'.  It takes an enormous amount of knowledge about makers and dates of manufacture to put the correct pieces of the puzzle together to prove these sets were actually owned or involved directly in the War.    

Sets purchased and used by the Confederate forces are very difficult to prove to have been used during the War unless there is documentation or evidence associated with the owner and a chain of ownership, commonly known as 'provenance'.  Again, the set must be verified as being made pre-War or made during the War.  Confederate sets may be of American, English or French origin.   Otherwise, it's a crap shoot to say any given set is Confederate owned or used. 

The Confederate sources were often pre-War American or European sets in existence before the War or European sets obtained from blockade runners during the War.  To the best of my knowledge, no sets will be marked CSA (Confederate States of America).  Confederate sets are the most difficult to prove to have been used during the War.  Even if a given set has been in a family for many years, unless there is original engraving on the top of the set cartouche, proof is extremely difficult because there were no 'official' surgery sets for Confederate surgeons to my knowledge.

Small field U. S. Army Hospital Dept. military set by Hernstein.

Value: $5,000 to $9,500

Many Civil War era doctors (who may or may not have served on either side during the War) purchased surplus military sets after the War so those sets could be in the family of the surgeon and passed on to this day.  In this case, it takes knowledge to determine when the given set was made and thus determine when or if it was ever used during the War. I have seen more than a few War-years production sets that have had the cartouche (brass name plate) removed, turned over or the engraving buffed off.  The theory is a surgeon bought the sets and didn't want the marking on it for the Army.  Be very, very suspicious of this situation and ask lots of questions.  (It is possible to x-ray the brass plates to see what is on the glued side of the brass.)

 There may have been American, European, and English made sets used by northern doctors who served in the early days of the War as 'contract' surgeons after local battles.  Surgeons in leading medical schools and hospitals also treated soldiers in the first year of the conflict.  The Union and certainly the Confederate contract surgeon's may have (and the emphasis is on '”May Have") brought their existing sets or pocket kits with them.  The source of these sets would have been both European, English, and American in origin.  The trick is proving they were actually owned by the doctor and the set existed before or was used during the War.  This is extremely difficult, but not impossible. 

A Kolbe U. S. Army Hospital Dept. military issue capital bone surgery set.  Value: $20,000 and up

Someone telling you 'my great grand daddy was a surgeon in the Civil War and this was his set' is a story I've heard way too many times.  If you have one, then be prepared to prove it with letters, a military Form 18,  photos, or direct proof in the Roster of Regimental Surgeons or the Medical and Surgical History of the War of Rebellion, that your great grand daddy really was a surgeon and really did own 'that particular' set DURING or BEFORE the War.  Such a set in the hands of most dealers is reason to demand and get total proof of the provenance as well as a written guarantee of ability to return the set if it isn't as described.  The other problem is proving the dates during which a given set existed from that maker.  Do not let anyone bully you into believing what he says is gospel because you don't know enough to even ask the right questions. 

U. S. A.(Army) Hospital Department hand engraved brass plate on the case top  (make sure this plate is not a 'fake' or mechanically engraved)

The other major problem is with surgical sets that 'belonged' to a documented Civil War surgeon.  There can be extensive provenance about the owner (surgeon) but the set will be post-Civil War issue and simply 'owned by' or 'presented to' the Civil War doctor after the War.  In that case, the surgical set is not 'Civil War', but merely owned after the War by a Civil War doctor, assuming he ever owned it.  It could be a set just 'associated' with the doctor.  Even with engraved names, you can't believe all you see.  With the kind of money real Civil War sets bring, you can't believe everything you see or hear.  Consider the source of the set. 

A Wade and Ford set owned by a Civil War Naval surgeon, engraved with the owners name and dated 1862 on the case top brass plate.  Value: $15,000 and up.

Another 'got'cha' problem is that during the War, makers like Hernstein and Tiemann were so busy producing for the Union War effort, apparently their production for the civilian trade was reduced.  After the War or during the last years of the War, they started piecing together wood cases and instruments from before and during the War to sell to the civilian trade.  For that reason, we see sets that contain War-time saws and bullet forceps, labels from during the War, but cases made before the War.  From a 'dating' standpoint, sometimes it's a nightmare to figure out who did what and when, but experience is the great teacher and having seen hundreds of sets teaches one what to look for and what to reject as being 'Civil War' issue.

A Hernstein U. S. Army Hospital Dept. military issue 'capital' surgery set.  Value: (100% complete and original), $35,000 and up.

A few more thoughts about 'provenance' supported sets.  Just because someone shows up with a lot of written information about a great set, you still have to prove the set belonged to the owner/surgeon and is not just a pile of  'history' copied off some internet site.  The set has to be from the right time frame, and to be something the owner 'could' have owned.  This boils down to documenting the dates of manufacture, the source of the set, then connecting the set to the owner during the Civil War.  This is very difficult to do while sitting in an auction room without having the knowledge or having taken the time to inspect and researched a set before hand.  Knowledge is power as they say.

One of the big problems with buying any European set is dating the set to a specific time frame because there is very little information available about specific European and in most cases English sets, with which you can date the sets to within five or ten year time frames.  There are a couple of books on European and English topics (Bennion, Kickup), but nothing to match Edmonson's work on American maker sets.  I guess one could buy a European military set made immediately before or during the War and romance about it being used in the War.

Hernstein U. S. Army Hospital Dept. military issue Civil War trepanning set.  Value: $6,500 and up.

On eBay, you can roll the dice, and make a bid on a 'True Civil War' set offered almost nightly.  Typically they are listed by the seller as "Civil War Era" to be safe.  Documented Civil War sets are rare.  Finding one on eBay or at any auction is going to be pure speculation on your part unless you possess a great deal of knowledge.  The auctions do not belong to the Boy Scouts and are not sworn to tell you the truth!

Rare Tiemann U. S. Army Hosptial Department military issued Civil War urology set.  Value: $15,000 and up.

Keep in mind, some dealers hype their sets as being "Civil War" because those sets bring a premium.  The same follows for dealers who 'plant' instruments in sets to fill them out.  You have to know what is correct and what is not or you are going to end up with a set which is less valuable than what you paid or a sore point in your collection.  

As far as values, that is a very subjective topic.  What is valuable to me as a long time advanced collector, may not be to a less sopisticated collector and almost never for a 'dealer'.  Dealers have to make a profit on what they buy and many will disguise themselves as 'collectors' in order to buy your set at a bargain price.  In general, a large, well marked, complete, 30 piece, military set (U.S.A. Hosp. or Medical Dept. set should sell for above $20,000 and may reach $40,000 or more depending on the degree of completeness and condition.  Smaller sets generally, 20 or less pieces, sell in the $5,000 to $15,000 range, again absolute prices being dependent on the number of instruments, completeness, size of the set, and above all, condition.  Documented provenance can greatly increase the value of any set, but the documentation must be air-tight.

Non-military civilian set prices range all over the place, depending on maker, dates, condition, etc.  For any of these sets, you always need a second opinion on the values, especially if you think the price being offered is too low.  Prices for partial sets, are not included in this discussion because they vary greatly depending on how much is missing, dates, markings, and condition.  In general partial sets do NOT command high prices as it is pretty much impossible to find the correct parts to 'flesh-out' a partial set.  It's hopeless, for the most part, to think you are going to find the right missing parts.

Dr. Echols is strictly a collector/researcher of Civil War surgical antiques and not a dealer. For extensive information on this Civil War medical topic, please search for the web site:

American Civil War Surgical Antiques