Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
To Remake A Man: Disability And The Civil War, Cameron T. Sauers
To Remake A Man: Disability And The Civil War, Cameron T. Sauers
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
With a disability certificate and discharge from the military in hand, disabled citizens who had not long previously been abled bodied servicemen went through a period of emasculation followed by a return to waged labor which redeemed their sacrifice. These disability certificates were issued in large quantities by the sprawling northern bureaucratic machines created by the Civil War. The above-pictured certificate, issued to James Murray of the 56th New York, discharged Murray from service because, according to his regimental surgeon, he would “never be able to discharge his duty as a soldier.” Murray stood 5’8″ when he re-enlisted for three …
Inspirations Of War: Innovations In Prosthetics After The Civil War, Savannah A. Labbe
Inspirations Of War: Innovations In Prosthetics After The Civil War, Savannah A. Labbe
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In early 1861, a Confederate soldier named James Edward Hanger waited on the ground to die. Minutes before, his left leg had been shot off above the knee while he was sitting with his comrades in the loft of a barn in Philipi, Virginia. As soon as the cannonball burst through the barn, the rest of the men fled, leaving Hanger behind. He was found by enemy troops and brought to a doctor, who amputated his leg. Hanger became the first person to have a limb amputated during the Civil War. When one thinks of Civil War injuries, amputations often …
Clark Gardner: The Curious Case Of Mr. Rich And Mrs. Gardner, Brianna E. Kirk
Clark Gardner: The Curious Case Of Mr. Rich And Mrs. Gardner, Brianna E. Kirk
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The story of Clark Gardner, his double amputation, and his pension records are still surrounded by two other clouds of ambiguity concerning his neighbor and friend, Edward A. Rich, and Gardner’s wife. Rich relayed information to a special examiner about the nature of Gardner’s injuries. He claimed to know Gardner before the war began, revealing that Gardner had running sores on his right leg prior to enlisting in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery. This made the amputation he received in 1879 a result of this pre-existing condition instead of the sickness Gardner claimed to acquire from Staten …
Richard D. Dunphy: To Him, A War Goes On, Kevin P. Lavery
Richard D. Dunphy: To Him, A War Goes On, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Although I have so far treated Richard Dunphy as a man who achieved heroism through valor and suffered greatly for it, there is another side to his character that I have not yet explored. In 1899, his wife, Catherine, accused Richard of being too irresponsible to handle his own pension money. Furthermore, she accused him of abusing his family and failing to pay his bills. To resolve this conflict, the Bureau of Pensions sent Special Examiner E. G. Hursh to Vallejo to investigate. He collected about a dozen depositions in order to evaluate the validity of these claims. Richard Dunphy …
Richard D. Dunphy: Under The Knife, Kevin P. Lavery
Richard D. Dunphy: Under The Knife, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Within four hours of Richard Dunphy’s grievous wounding at the Battle of Mobile Bay, both of his arms had been amputated. In a medical survey, he described the “extraordinary pain” that lasted “for about three weeks.” There was “a great quantity of pus, and twelve pieces of bone or splinters came out” from the wound for months after the surgery. Though the pain was great, it faded in time. The psychological and social effects of the operation, however, never went away. [excerpt]
Richard D. Dunphy: A Frank Request To Gideon Welles, Kevin P. Lavery
Richard D. Dunphy: A Frank Request To Gideon Welles, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
By January 1866, the war had concluded and the country’s divisions had begun to heal. Richard Dunphy, meanwhile, devoted himself to claiming his pension and his medal. When the Medal of Honor he had earned during the Battle of Mobile Bay was lost amidst the naval bureaucracy, Dunphy took it upon himself to write a letter directly to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. He believed that Welles, who had been involved in the creation of the award, would be able to help obtain his well-deserved medal. This letter, owned by the Gilder Lehrman Institute, provides unique insight directly into …
Richard D. Dunphy And The Prices And Prizes Of War, Kevin P. Lavery
Richard D. Dunphy And The Prices And Prizes Of War, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Like many immigrants during the mid-nineteenth century, Irishman Richard D. Dunphy served his new country in the Civil War, albeit not entirely willingly. The wounds he sustained during the war were grave, including the loss of both arms. He received some reward for his sacrifice from his country: a monthly pension, a Medal of Honor, and a notability lacked by other faceless coal heavers. As with other great conflicts, the war played a pivotal role in the lives of its participants, especially in the case of Richard Dunphy. [excerpt]
Richard D. Dunphy: A Veteran’S Struggle Echoing Into The Present, Kevin P. Lavery
Richard D. Dunphy: A Veteran’S Struggle Echoing Into The Present, Kevin P. Lavery
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
When I first received the bundle of Richard Dunphy’s pension documents, I was prepared to begin research on an obscure figure lost to time. To my great surprise, the very first search I performed resulted in a handful of genealogy websites, several citations of his merit, and even a Wikipedia page. As I began research, it became clear that this coal heaver was not one of the faceless many who fought in the American Civil War, but rather a man of the age whose life told a timeless story of hardship and resolve. [excerpt]