The
mission statement for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine states that we
are the premier center for the preservation and research of the legacy of Civil
War medical innovation. It should be no
surprise then that our displays deal with subjects such as the medicines used
during the Civil War, the equipment and instruments used, and the medical practices
of the time. While all of this
information is quite valuable, it is the personal stories which have the
greatest impact though. So, today I thought
I’d share just a few of the stories of some wounded Civil War soldiers.
A photo of Private T.W. Pease of Company H, 19th Indiana, which shows the wounds to his leg. Also notice his orthopedic shoe. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine. |
Private Pease
was wounded on July 1, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was struck in the right leg by a Minié
ball which entered the back of his thigh, fractured the upper portion of his
femur, and lodged inside his leg. While
at Gettysburg, he had three surgeries in which the bullet and three inches of his
femur were removed. By the
time Pease was mustered out of the army in 1864, he was able to walk using
crutches. However, after returning home
to Indiana, he experienced problems with his wounds. After three additional surgeries it was
discovered that there were still fragments of the Minié ball in his leg. They were finally removed thirteen years
after his original injury! He was
eventually able to walk with the assistance of a cane and a six-inch lift in
his boot.
A photo of Private Lewis Martin, of Company E, 29th United States Colored Troops, which shows the stumps from two amputations. Photo courtesy of the National Archives. |
Private
Lewis Martin enlisted in Illinois in February of 1864. A muster roll record lists his place of birth
as Arkansas, his age as 24 years, his height as 6 feet, 2 inches, and his
occupation as a farmer. A few months
later he took part in a battle at Petersburg, Virginia and was wounded in the
arm and the leg, resulting in the amputation of both limbs. His wounds were described in his discharge
form: “Loss of right-arm and left-leg by amputation for shell and gunshot
wounds received in battle at Petersburg on July 30, 1864 in charging the
enemies works. In consequence of which
is totally disabled for military service and civil occupation wholly.” Unfortunately, not much is known of Martin's life after the war.
We do know that after being wounded, Private Martin was a patient here at Harewood Hospital in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. |
A photo of Private John F. Reardon, of Company C, 6th New York Cavalry, which shows his arm after a bone resection. Image courtesy of Dr. Gordon Dammann. |
Private Reardon
was wounded by a shell fragment in the right arm on October 11, 1863 at
Culpepper, Virginia. An account of his
treatment can be found in Images of Civil
War Medicine by Gordon Dammann and Alfred J. Bollet. “Private
Reardon....was admitted to the Armory Square Hospital in Washington, D.C. only
one day following his injury. Surgeon
D.W. Bliss....found that Reardon's right humerus was shattered by a fragment of
shell, which was removed.... The
fragment was four inches long, one inch broad, and weighed nine ounces. Surgeon Bliss excised the head and six inches
of the shaft of the humerus through a straight incision on the outside of the
limb. His case was written up as
illustrating retained mobility of the arm after excision. The arm was three inches shorter than the
other, but muscle development was comparable.
Reardon was able to move the arm in all directions except abduction
(i.e. movement laterally, away from the body)....
After
recovering in March 1866, Reardon was reenlisted and assigned to duty as an
orderly in the Army Medical Museum.... he served....suffering very little
inconvenience "from the mutilation he has undergone." The record of
his case....went on to state that "Without difficulty he can place his
right hand on the top of his head; he can lift a weight of two hundred pounds
or more with the injured limb without pain.
The movements of the forearm and hand are not in the least impaired, and
there is great freedom of all the movements except abduction."
These men
are certainly quite the testament to the medical innovation of the time!
nice. glad that the pictures are not in color.
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