Civil War Washington

CASE 1700.—Private J. T. Crawford, Co. K, 51st New York, aged 17 years, was wounded in the left arm, at Manassas, August 30, 1862, and entered Judiciary Square Hospital at Washington. Surgeon C. Page, U. S. A., reported: "Gunshot wound through left elbow joint, ball entering nearly over and somewhat toward the outer edge of the coronoid process of the ulna and emerging behind the olecranon. The wound was explored on September 16th, when entire comminution of the joint was discovered. The arm was amputated at the middle third of the humerus, on October 7th, by Acting Assistant Surgeon F. H. Brown. Ether was used." The specimen (FIG. 556) was contributed by the operator, and consists of "the lowest third of the left humerus and upper halves of the bones of the forearm. * * A nearly longitudinal fracture has split off the lower and outer four inches of the humerus; the tip of the olecranon is fractured, and the articular surfaces of the three bones are carious. A large fragment of the shaft has reunited with displacement. The epiphyseal lines are well shown."—(Cat. Surg. Sect., 1866, p. 166.) On March 28th, the patient was transferred to Ladies Home, New York City, whence he was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps on September 14, 1863. He was ultimately discharged on November 28, 1865, and pensioned. An artificial arm was furnished in May, 1864, by Mr. Lincoln, of Boston, who reported that the amputation was performed by flap method. In his application for commutation, in 1870, the pensioner reported that two operations were performed, subsequent to the amputation, by Surgeon A. B. Mott, U. S. V., and Acting Assistant Surgeon G. M. Smith, at the Ladies Home Hospital, and described "the remaining stump of the arm as being four inches long from the shoulder, and in good condition." This pensioner was paid June 4, 1875.