Civil War Washington

CASE 791.—Private H. Loud, Co. A, 183d Pennsylvania, aged 18 years, was wounded at the Wilderness, May 8, 1864. Surgeon J. E. Pomfret, 7th New York Artillery, reported his admission to the field hospital of the 1st division, Second Corps, with wound of left ankle by a musket ball." Surgeon N. R.Moseley, U. S. V., who amputated the fractured limb, reported the following result of the case: "The wounded man was admitted on May 28th to Emory Hospital, Washington, where the soft parts became gangrenous and the bones of the ankle joint necrosed; tibia and fibula denuded of periosteum some three inches above the wound. Flap amputation of the leg at the junction of the upper and middle thirds was performed on August 23d, chloroform and ether constituting the anæsthetic. The after-treatment consisted of cold-water dressings, tonics, stimulants, and nourishing diet. Redundant granulations required the application of caustics about three weeks after the amputation. The patient's condition varied much after the operation, alternately recuperating and declining. He became weaker, yet, being young, hopes were entertained of his recovery until within a couple of weeks of his decease, when his appetite failed and he sank rapidly. Death occurred on October 14, 1864, from exhaustion and nervous irritability." The bones of the stump (Spec. 3318), exhibiting but little healthy action and showing sequestra which are about separating from each bone, were contributed to the Museum by the operator, and are represented in the adjoining wood-cut (FIG. 317).