Civil War Washington

CASE.—Private Arthur H——, Co. F, 40th New York Volunteers, aged 28 years, was wounded at the battle of Spottsylvania​ Court-house, Virginia, May 10th, 1864, by a conoidal ball, which entered the cavity at the middle portion of the right branch of the coronal suture and lodged in the brain, from which it was removed on the field. He was conveyed to Washington, and, on the 12th, admitted to the Douglas Hospital. At the dressing of the wound, May 13th, some pieces of bone were removed, and the finger could be passed deeply into the cerebral substance. Paralysis of the left side ensued, and, at times, involuntary discharge of the fæces and urine occurred. The tongue was drawn to the left or paralyzed side. Hernia cerebri appeared, the protruding part occasionally becoming strangulated and sloughing. The patient retained the possession of his mental faculties in a remarkable degree, answering all questions addressed to him with accuracy. Death supervened on June 20th, 1864, forty-one days after the reception of the injury. At the autopsy, the fractured portion of the outer table was found to measure two inches in length by one in width; that of the inner table somewhat less. Two small fragments of the inner, and two of the outer, remained; the rest had been removed. The surrounding bone was cribriform and slightly carious, and the edges rounded off, showing an attempt at repair. No evidence of meningeal inflammation existed; there was, however, extensive softening of the right hemisphere, involving the thalamus optiens and corpus striatum; the lateral ventricles were filled with serum. The case is reported by Assistant Surgeon William Thomson, U. S. A. The specimen is No. 3566, Sect. I, A. M. M.