Holmes claimed to have embalmed 4,028 bodies during the Civil War. His supposed nontoxic embalming solution was, indeed, toxic and to this day continues to contaminate the soil in older cemeteries.

Many prominent Civil War officers were embalmed, including the first casualty of the war, Colonel Elmer Elsworth, who was laid in state in the East Room of the White House at Lincoln’s request.

At the annual Gettysburg Civil War Battle Reenactment, we visited a camp surgeon and embalmer in the living history village and spoke to reenactors about medical practices during the war.

An embalming surgeon is seen at work on a Civil War soldier's body sometime in the early 1860s. Corbis Embalming fluid is effective, but it’s also nasty stuff.

Although the practice of embalming dates back to ancient Egypt, the procedure was not widely practiced in the United States until the Civil War.

Holmes alone reportedly embalmed 4,000 men over the course of the war at $100 per body. Opportunists, seeking to cash in, quickly set themselves up in business.

Many prominent Civil War officers were embalmed, including the first casualty of the war, Colonel Elmer Elsworth, who was laid in state in the East Room of the White House at Lincoln’s request. This ...

The Civil War, on the other hand, led to an unprecedented demand for embalming. This consisted of a chemical injection (usually through a femoral artery) after which the embalmer would ship the ...

At the annual Gettysburg Civil War Battle Reenactment, we visited a camp surgeon and embalmer in the living history village and spoke to reenactors about medical practices during the war.