Title: Lapham, C. N.

Source text: The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65.), Part 3, Volume 2 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1883), 224.

Keywords:wounds and injuries of the lower extremitiesinjuries of the shaft of the femuramputations in the shaft of the femurprimary amputations in the shaft of the femur for shot injuryprimary amputations in the middle third of the femurrecoveries after primary amputation in the middle third of the femurcannon ball carried away both legsboth limbs amputatedright thigh amputated at middle third, comminution of leg involving knee jointleft leg disarticulated at knee joint, benefits of disarticulation incalculablefurnished with artificial limbs

Civil War Washington ID: med.d2e10533

TEI/XML: med.d2e10533.xml


CASE 436.—Corporal C. N. Lapham, Co. K, 1st Vermont Cavalry, aged 23 years, was wounded during the engagement near Boonsboro', July 8, 1863, by a cannon ball, which carried away both legs. He was conveyed to the field hospital at Boonsboro' where both limbs were amputated two days after the receipt of the injury. Four months after the operation the patient was deemed well enough to be allowed to go to his home, where he remained until the following year. On May 31, 1864, he was furnished with artificial limbs by Dr. E. D. Hudson, of New York City, who contributed the photographs represented in the annexed cuts (FIGS. 176, 177) and the following description of the operation: "The right thigh was amputated at the middle third, by the antero-posterior flap method, on account of great comminution of the leg involving the knee joint; the stump is healed and in a favorable condition. The left leg was disarticulated at the knee joint. This operation was also performed by antero-posterior flaps, and the stump is healed and in good condition, though the supporting cicatrix at the base is not good. The condyles of the femur, as a base, form the most useful, reliable, and comfortable support, and constitute his chief dependence, and the benefits of disarticulation, when compared with amputations of the thigh, are shown to be incalculable." The patient was discharged from Baxter Hospital, at Burlington, Vermont, Aug. 25, 1864, and pensioned. Five months later, when a student at the Collegiate Institute in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., he wrote to Dr. Hudson that "he could walk with ease on level ground, get up and down stairs readily, and was getting along much better than he anticipated in so short a time." Some time afterwards he obtained an appointment as clerk in the U. S. Treasury Department at Washington, in which occupation he is still employed. His pension was paid September 4, 1879. In his application for commutation he reported that Surgeon L. P. Woods, 5th New York Cavalry, was the operator who amputated his limbs.

FIG. 176—Amputation of right thigh at middle third and of left leg at knee joint. [From a photograph.]
FIG. 177—Appearance of patient with artificial legs. [From a photograph.]