Losing a limb was a devastating consequence of war for many soldiers. Reentering civilian life with a disability proved as challenging as their military experience. Here’s how some veterans coped.
Medical treatment evolved rapidly during the Civil War. The continuous stream of sick and wounded soldiers taxed regimental field surgeons and physicians to the limit. Yet these same illnesses and battle injuries, that plagued both sides, forced the medical treatment of the time to advance.
The same can be said for the makeshift field hospitals of the early Civil War years. Medical camps evolved from unorganized, unsanitary, disease ridden quarters to more efficient, better supplied centers of treatment. Field hospitals gradually developed higher standards providing an improved quality of care in the aftermath of a battle. Medical treatment and hospital surroundings progressed significantly enough that a soldier wounded in the latter part of the Civil War had a much better chance of survival than the soldier injured in the war’s early years.
Well documented is the vast number of soldiers who lost a limb after a battle and were treated in field hospitals. At the close of the Civil War, nearly sixty-thousand soldiers, both north and south, had suffered amputation. We’ve all seen the harrowing depiction of a Civil War soldier undergoing limb amputation on TV shows and in movies, revealing the crudeness of the surgery. Thankfully some progress was made in this area as well.
As the war entered its third and fourth year, surgeons became proficient in amputation. Chloroform and ether were more readily available to anesthetize the soldier prior to surgery. Given the many opportunities surgeons soon became experienced and most could amputate a limb within five minutes. It was essential to perform an amputation in as little time as possible to prevent excessive blood loss by the patient. Toward the end of the war the survival rate for amputees had risen to approximately 75 percent, but that also depended on the location of the surgery on the body. Ninety-six percent of the soldiers that lost part of their foot survived, yet the survival rate for those with more drastic amputations like removal of the entire leg up to the hip was under 20 percent.
Civil War veterans who lost limbs during the war were faced with overwhelming difficulties throughout the rest of their lives. Trying to work and support a family with physical limitations was challenging at best. Some chose to use artificial limbs to live as near normal life as possible. There are records of those brave soldiers trying to move forward in their post war life.
If your ancestor was a Confederate veteran, the Confederate Disability Applications Database is a great resource. Located on the Library of Virginia’s site, this database contains the applications of Virginia Civil War veterans who sought help purchasing artificial limbs and other disability benefits after the war.
Available between 1867 and 1894 the Virginia General Assembly passed a measure which would help those Civil War veterans in medical need. They set up a Board of Commissioners on Artificial Limbs for this purpose and veterans applied for assistance whether it was for artificial limbs or other disability help. Applicants had to submit quite a bit of documentation to receive aid. This information included where they lived, what unit they served with, where they served and how they were injured. Veterans stated what help they were seeking and included their medical history after their injury. They submitted as much information as possible to receive the assistance requested. Very similar to a pension file, all this information is available on the database. I found most soldier’s files had at least six documents.
This legislation was passed by the Virginia General Assembly. So of course it was open only to the residents of Virginia but there were applicants who served with a Virginia regiment and lived elsewhere either during the war or after when they applied for assistance. I encourage you to check the data base even though you know your Civil War ancestor lived in another state after the war. Many applicants were turned down for assistance but the documentation they provided is still available on the site.
[Photographed 1864, printed between 1880 and 1889] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
If your ancestor was a Union veteran there is resource material available for those veterans seeking artificial limbs, unfortunately it is not digitized and online. Compiled in Record Group 15 at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) this information may be helpful if your ancestor lost a limb during the war.
First there’s the “List of Persons Furnished Artificial Limbs and Commutation, 1885” (RG 15, NM-23, Series 17). This resource lists veterans by name in alphabetical order, his regiment, date of his application for a limb, and the number of limbs he received or if he was paid for his disability, usually at five-year intervals.
Then there is the “List of Veterans Furnished Artificial Limbs, 1871–1872” (RG 15, NM-23, Series 16) This compilation contains a list of men who were furnished artificial limbs during this time period of 1871 through 1872. The list includes records for 3,021 arms, 4,464 legs, 48 feet, and 214 apparatus for resection given to veterans. That’s an amazing number in such a short time span.
The “Registers of Persons Furnished Artificial Limbs and Commutation, 1870–1927” (RG 15, NM-23, Series 18) is an eleven volume set. These records list the veteran’s name, rank, regiment, residence, date of injury, which arm or leg was injured, the amount of payment and other information.
Finally there is “Letters Sent Relating to Prosthetic Appliances, Commutation, and Transportation Reimbursement, 1885–1892” (RG 15, NM-23, Series 2) This volume provides information on how a limb was obtained by a veteran.
Although unusual and not the ordinary genealogical research we pursue, spending some time understanding your ancestor and the challenges he faced after losing a limb in the war reveals so much about him as a person. You’ll come to know his valor, his persistence, his ambition to live a productive postwar life. Good luck as you research this sometimes difficult but often inspiring part of your Civil War veteran’s life.
For further reading:
Civil War Medicine by American Battlefield Trust – https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/civil-war-medicine
Using Records of Artificial Limbs for Union Civil War Veterans, 1861 – 1927 by Claire Kluskens https://www.archives.gov/files/calendar/know-your-records/handouts-presentations/kluskens-artificial-limbs-presentation.pdf