Lessons in History-Opium Slavery Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis

Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis

Saturday, April 18, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Education Gallery (First Floor)

Join The National Civil War Museum for a powerful and eye-opening program with author Jonathan S. Jones, as he discusses his new book, Opium Slavery: Civil War Veterans and America’s First Opioid Crisis.

During the Civil War, opium and morphine were widely used and considered essential to battlefield medicine. These powerful drugs eased pain, treated illness, and saved lives. Yet when the war ended, thousands of veterans returned home physically wounded—and unknowingly dependent on the very medicines that had sustained them.

In the decades that followed, addiction—often described in the nineteenth century as being “enslaved” to opium—became a hidden epidemic among former soldiers. Veterans and their families struggled with the medical, social, and emotional consequences of dependency. At the same time, prevailing cultural attitudes framed addiction as a sign of moral weakness, unmanliness, or mental instability, limiting effective treatment and deepening suffering.

Drawing on veterans’ firsthand accounts, hospital and asylum records, government reports, newspaper coverage, and contemporary advertisements, Dr. Jones uncovers the largely forgotten story of America’s first opioid crisis. His research sheds new light on the Civil War’s long and traumatic aftermath and offers striking historical context for today’s opioid epidemic.

Admission

Admission to the program is free. Regular Museum admission applies for those wishing to tour the National Civil War Museum galleries.

About the Author

Jonathan S. Jones is Assistant Professor of History at James Madison University and a scholar of nineteenth-century American history. His work explores the intersections of medicine, war, and society.

ISBN 9781469689531