Civil War Washington

CASE 453.—Private Lorenzo E. Dickey, Co. A, 4th Maine, aged 21 years, received a gunshot wound of the right thigh, at Chantilly, September 1, 1862. He was taken to a field hospital in the vicinity of the battle ground, where the limb was amputated at the upper third, on the fourth day after the reception of the injury. On September 8th, the patient arrived at Washington and was admitted to Douglas Hospital. A hæmorrhage from the femoral artery, to the amount of twenty ounces, occurred on October 16th, and was controlled by pressure. After this the case progressed favorably and the wound healed about January 1, 1863. About two months later the patient was transferred to Lincoln Hospital, and subsequently he was sent to St. Elizabeth Hospital, whence he was discharged June 16, 1863, and pensioned. Mr. Dickey was subsequently appointed a clerk at the Pension Office. On January 14, 1873, he visited the Army Medical Museum, being in as good general health as he had been previous to the time of receiving the injury, and suffering no pain from the stump. He stated that his weight then was 194 pounds, while before he was wounded and lost his leg he only weighed 170 pounds. Owing to the shortness of the stump, being only three inches long from the hip joint, he is unable to wear an artificial limb and is obliged to use crutches in walking. A copy of the photograph, taken in 1873, is represented in the wood-cut (FIG. 188). His pension was paid September 4, 1879.