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“Surely the Almighty’s hand was in this.”<ref>William McCarter, ''My Life in the Irish Brigade:The Civil War Memoirs of Private William McCarter, 116th Pennsylvania Infantry,''Kevin E. O'Brien, ed. (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1996),200.</ref>This was the immediate thought of Private William McCarter after discovering that the blanket he had used to shield his head contained 47 musket balls. On December 13, 1862, McCarter survived the Battle of Fredericksburg lying prone and bleeding on the battlefield, armed with a blanket and a prayer. After being shot in the upper arm, the private deemed his situation to be hopeless. He proceeded to pray, which at the time was his only means of solace. After praying he “felt more composed in [his] mind and perfectly reconciled to [his] fate”<ref>McCarter, 180.</ref>

How can a few words to an unproven entity ease a man’s mind and perhaps heal his body? Was the reason for McCarter’s survival supernatural or was it strictly science? Perhaps it was both. A conditioned belief in the power of supernatural intervention is responsible for the scientific explanation of supposed medical miracles. McCarter was far from alone as a miraculous survivor of the bloodiest of all American wars. Although Fredericksburg was a horrific battle, the one seven months hence caused even greater suffering; it occurred on a farm in an obscure Pennsylvania town.

[[File:Civil_War_Zouave_ambulance.jpg|thumbnail|250px|A Zouave unit performing an ambulance evacuation demonstration, March 1864.]]

When he finally arrived at Jarvis General Hospital he was “feverish and almost delirious”<ref>Freemon, 114.</ref>The private had developed peritonitis as a result of his abdominal wound. As defined by the National Institute of Health, peritonitis is the inflammation of the peritoneum, the thin covering encompassing the abdominal cavity. Estee had what is known as secondary peritonitis resulting from a perforation of the bowel due to the gunshot wound. Without the advantage of modern technology, the attending physician diagnosed Estee by virtue of his classic peritonitis symptoms; abdominal pain and distention, loss of appetite, and fever. De Witt C. Peters, the surgeon in charge at Jarvis General, noted in his report that upon examination the “abdomen was tender and tympanic, the knees drawn up, the breathing difficult.” Peters also noted that fecal matter escaped from both the entrance and exit wounds. Upon the introduction of a catheter, he observed the output of “urine and fecal matter.”<ref>United States Army, Surgeon General's Office, ''The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (1861-1865),''Surgical Volume, pt.2, Case 790 (Washington, D.C., 1885), 266-267.</ref> The doctor was convinced of severe peritonitis and informed Estee that “his wound was mortal and he would soon die.”<ref>Freemon, 114.</ref> Estee was wounded on July 2 and received only battlefield first aid before arriving at Jarvis general on July 13, 1863.