Civil War Washington

CASE 678.—Private J. Walker, Co. A, 7th Wisconsin, aged 27 years, was wounded at the Wilderness, May 6, 1864. Surgeon C. N. Chamberlain, U. S. V., reported his admission to the field hospital of the 4th division, Fifth Corps, with "shot fracture of left leg, caused by a minié ball. On May 12th, the wounded man entered Armory Square Hospital, Washington, where his injured leg was operated on by Surgeon D. W. Bliss, U. S. V., who made the following report of the case: "The ball was found embedded in the shaft of the tibia at about its middle, whence it was extracted on August 13th. The leg went through all the symptoms of necrosis of one or both the bones, the first signs of which appeared on August 19th. On October 10th, the patient was placed upon the operating table and four inches of the shaft of the tibia was removed, together with all the necrosed spicula of bone. Chloroform was used as the anæsthetic. Simple dressings, stimulants, and nourishing diet constituted the treatment. The patient did well after the operation." He was discharged from service January 24, 1865, and pensioned. Examiner A. McBean, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, certified, July 9, 1867: "The remaining portion of the bone from the ankle joint to within four inches of its head has become carious. A large open ulcer is the consequence." Examiner F. A. Reckard reported, March 4, 1874: "The wound is yet open and discharging from an orifice some four inches in length. The remainder of the tibia is badly diseased and portions have come away at different times. The limb is very much swollen at times and retains him in bed for months." The pensioner was paid March 4, 1880. The bone removed consists of a sequestrum six inches in length, and for four inches is tubular. It was contributed to the Museum by the operator, and is numbered specimen 3283 of the Surgical Section. The specimen is shown in FIGURE 2 of PLATE LXXI, opposite page 428.