A book which looks at the medical care, nursing and welfare provided for sick and wounded soldiers, and their families, during the English Civil Wars and Interregnum, 1642-1660. It challenges the received wisdom and makes some bold claims for the efforts and effectiveness of the care provided, especially by the victorious Parliamentarians.

Battle-scarred investigates the human costs of the British Civil Wars. Through a series of varied case studies it examines the wartime experience of disease, burial, surgery and wounds, medicine, hospitals, trauma, military welfare, widowhood, desertion, imprisonment and charity. The percentage population loss in these conflicts was far higher than that of the two World Wars, which renders the Civil Wars arguably the most unsettling experience the British people have ever undergone. The volume explores its themes from new angles, demonstrating how military history can broaden its perspective and reach out to new audiences.