Dr. George Humphrey Tichenor was a Confederate surgeon during the Civil War. In 1863 his leg was wounded in battle, and for fear of an infection setting in, army doctors wanted to amputate. Tichenor refused, insisting the wound be treated with an antiseptic he had formulated years earlier. Composed mostly of alcohol, with some peppermint oil and arnica, the formula healed the wound and saved Tichenor’s leg, allowing him to revolutionize medical treatments and subsequent surgeries during the war. By 1905, the Dr. G. H. Tichenor Antiseptic Co. was founded in New Orleans. The bottled antiseptic is still sold in drug stores to treat ailments ranging from cuts to sore throats.