Civil War Washington

CASE 1703.—Corporal J. B. Rogers, Co. K, 57th Massachusetts, aged 30 years, was wounded at Petersburg, June 17, 1864, and admitted to the field hospital of the 1st division, Ninth Corps. Surgeon M. K. Hogan, U. S. V., noted: "Wound of left hand by minié ball; amputation of second finger, and removal of last two fingers with excision of last two metacarpal bones." On June 24th, the patient entered Emory Hospital at Washington, where the arm was amputated on July 19th. Acting Assistant Surgeon E. B. Harris forwarded the pathological specimen (FIG. 558), consisting of "the lower extremities of the bones of the forearm, the scaphoid, semilunar, cuneiform, trapezium, trapezoid, and the first two metacarpals, showing the bones entering the articulation to be carious." The remainder of the bones of the hand had been removed on the field. The following description of the case was transmitted with the specimen: "From the effects of disease of the soft parts it was found best to remove the limb at the middle third of the arm. Death resulted on the morning of July 26, 1864." The stump of the amputated limb was also contributed to the Museum (Cat. Surg. Sect., 1866, p. 136, Spec. 2894) by Dr. Harris, who described the post-mortem appearances as follows: "No union of flaps save a slight degree of granulation at the bottom of the wound; soft parts around the bone remaining healthy, with an appearance of general inactivity of the muscular tissues; the medullary substance of a dark grumuous character and showing evidence of disease."