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Full-Text Articles in History
Competing Stories: The Gardner Saga Continues, Brianna E. Kirk
Competing Stories: The Gardner Saga Continues, Brianna E. Kirk
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
In 1893, two Philadelphia doctors from the Mütter Museum sent surveys to Civil War amputee veterans in order to compile records on their war amputations circa thirty years after seeing combat. One of those surveys found its way into the hands of Clark Gardner, a fifty-four year old double amputee vet who served in the 10th New York Heavy Artillery. (An introduction to Garnder can be found here.) Gardner’s responses to the survey are quite compelling and provided vivid details about his war amputations, the healing processes, difficulties he encountered, and artificial limb usage. [excerpt]
Tales From A Boston Customs House: “Worthy” Suffering, S. Marianne Johnson
Tales From A Boston Customs House: “Worthy” Suffering, S. Marianne Johnson
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
Despite Francis Clarke’s argument that men who suffered in exceptional ways, such as amputees, were regarded as national martyrs and held up as the emblem of sacrifice to the nation, this argument cannot be applied wholesale to all exceptional sufferers in the post-war North. Although men who lost limbs in battle were often remembered in terms of glory and treated as national heroes, those who suffered in non-heroic ways, such as prisoners of war and the victims of non-combat related accidents, were often treated as less deserving of honor. [excerpt]
Tales From A Boston Customs House: “Living Monuments”, S. Marianne Johnson
Tales From A Boston Customs House: “Living Monuments”, S. Marianne Johnson
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
The image of the amputee is a classic one in the memory of the American Civil War. Francis Clarke has argued that the long-suffering and sacrificial Union amputee became a national martyr to the righteousness of their cause. While this view was manifested in various ways throughout the postwar North, the case of double-arm amputee Lewis Horton serves to give depth insight into–and possibly push back against–this argument. [excerpt]
Tales From A Boston Customs House: Recovering From Trauma, S. Marianne Johnson
Tales From A Boston Customs House: Recovering From Trauma, S. Marianne Johnson
The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History
After losing both arms in a gunnery accident aboard the USS Rhode Island in 1863 and being told he would not live, Medal of Honor recipient Lewis Horton resolved that he would recover and be with his family again soon. The double amputation, completed within an hour of the accident, was successful, but Horton lost a significant amount of blood and could merely wait and hope. Eighty days after amputation, the ligatures — cords left in the limb to hold arteries closed until they had sufficiently healed — were removed, and healing commenced quickly. Shortly after, he was discharged and …