Title: Potts, J. E.

Source text: The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65.), Part 2, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1879), 195.

Keywords:diarrhœa and dysenteryfatal cases of diarrhœa and dysentery, with accounts of the morbid appearances observedfrom the Third Division of the Alexandria Hospital, Virginiadiarrhœablistered feetpain in chest, dyspnœaboth lungs congestedautopsy performed

Civil War Washington ID: med.d1e41521

TEI/XML: med.d1e41521.xml


Case from the case-book of the THIRD DIVISION of the ALEXANDRIA HOSPITAL, Surgeon Edwin Bentley, U. S. V., in charge:⃰


CASE 485.—Private J. E. Potts, company A, 137th New York volunteers; age 45; admitted June 17, 1863. Diarrhœa. [This man appears on the hospital register of his regiment, sent to general hospital June 16, 1863—fever and blistered feet.] The symptoms yielded readily to treatment. The patient improved in health, was able to eat his full ration, and was confined to bed but a portion of the time. June 27th: He complained of pain in the chest, accompanied by some dyspnœa; pulse not much accelerated. A blister was applied, and a combination of expectorants and anodynes directed. During the night, he grew worse; his respiration became very laborious; he sank rapidly, and died June 28th, at 7 A. M. Autopsy twenty-four hours after death: Almost the whole of both lungs was congested. Nothing else abnormal was observed.


⃰ It is to be regretted that, in most instances, the records of this hospital do not show by whom the autopsies were made. It is known that many of them were made by Surgeon Bentley himself, or under his immediate supervision, but it is only possible to distinguish these from the others in a few cases.