Civil War Washington

CASE.—Private J. E. A——, Co. I, 32d New York Volunteers, having been wounded in front of Richmond, on June 25th, 1864, was sent to Washington, and admitted into Mount Pleasant Hospital. The sternum was transversely fractured at the articulation of the third and fourth ribs by a round ball, which did not penetrate the chest. The wound was perfectly round, and from the first showed no healthy action, being covered with a thick, unhealthy slough, accompanied by a copious, fœtid discharge, and inflammation of the surrounding tissues. The administration of tonics and stimulants, and the application of cold-water dressings failed to avert the fatal issue, which occurred on August 1st, 1862. The autopsy revealed destruction of the costal cartilages in the vicinity of the wound, which was about two inches in diameter, and ulceration of the mediastinum beneath. There were very fine adhesions of the pleural to the thoracic parietes, particularly of the right side; the heart was considerably hypertrophied, and showed evidences of fatty degeneration. The fractured sternum, shown in the adjoining wood cut (FIG. 209), was contributed to the Army Medical Museum, with the history, by Assistant Surgeon C. A. McCall, U. S. A.