True, but effective antiseptics were somewhat known at the time of the Civil War. I happened to visit the history tour at Mayo clinic a couple of years ago. Dr. Mayo got his start as a Civil War surgeon. When it was over, he started his clinic in a small sleepy village in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota. However, he happened to use both antiseptics and antiesthetic during his surgeries. He quickly gained a nationwide reputation that not only did his treatments not hurt, they also didn't kill you. It seems quite interesting that it took 250 years, or more, for antiseptics to be put into common practice.
Just another general comment about science & technology: We tend to think of technological progress in this age as “onward & upward”. I don’t believe that was always the case in earlier times, especially in the absence of a true scientific method where theories are rigorously tested. I think advances were often abandoned/forgotten only to be rediscovered at a later time & place.