The National tribune., 1902-08-21
QUEER WOUNDS.
Remarkable Cases Recorded in Army Medi-
cal Museum.

The records Of the Army Medical Muse
um and the Surgeon-G Generals office, in
this city, show that some queer wounds
were received by soldiers in action during
both the war of the rebellion and the war
with Spain. A comparison of the records
of the two wars and Of the notes concern
ing the recent war in South Africa, be-
tween Beers and Britons. indicate that
both bayonet and saber are destined to
become obsolete, il they are not already
SO, as weapons OF war. As an army Off
Ger recently expressed it:
This is an era of long-range firing, and
the contending lines cannot get close
enough together to use the bayonet. The
unit of action now is not the company,
but the individual soldier in open order.
So with the saber; no line OF cavalry can
pass through u well-directed zone of fire
and get near enough to the enemy to WELD
their swords. The cayalryman vi the fu-
ture can only fight effectively when dis
mounted"
During the war of 1861 to 1860 it is
shown that the bayonet and the saber
played important parts. Bayonet charges
| and haud-to-hand encounters were fire.
quent, as were cavalry charges, and the
surgical records of the Government Illus
trate many wounds received from those
arms, not to mention the slain.
One document ON file AZ the Army Med
ical Museum gives this interesting state
mcHt: OF 2S2 cases of messed wounds
of the scalp inflicted with sabers) only
six terminated fatally. One hundred and
| sixty of the officers and men thus wound
| ed were returned to duty or transferred to
the Veteran Reserve Corps for modified
duty; one officer resigned; 81 prisoners Of
war were placed in the custody of the
! Provost Marshal for exchange or parole; 81
| United States enlisted men were dis
| charged from the service on account OF
physical disability in few instances only,
and commonly because Of the expiration
| of their term Of enlistment; II patients
deserted; four were fur!oughed from Con-
| federate hospitals and did not return, and
| IL remain unaccounted for. Of those dis
| charged for physical disability, or invalid
| ed, or pensioned, two suffered from mental
alteration; others from vertigo, headache,
imperfect vision, persistent pain ut the
seat of injury, patOsis and amaurOsis.'
\ remarkable case on record at the
Army Medical Museum is that of a pri-
vate Of Co. Il, 18th Mich. Cav, who lived
from July to Aug. 1o, 1863. with Il hole
in his skull large enough to admit tws
fingers. The records show that this Mich
| igan trooper was captured by the COnfed-
crates at Gettysburg, July 3, 1865, after
his horse had been shot from under him.
| He was hurried to the rear with other
| prisoners. In the subsequent retreat Of
| Lees shattered army he was unable to
keep up with the rapidly moving column,
| ard all effolts to goad him on were un-
| availing. Confederate Lieutenant in
charge of the guard finally approached the
poor fellow and with an oath said:
We'll, il you can't keep up, stay here"
| With this he raised his sword and dealt
| the cavalryman a heavy blow across his
head. He sank to the ground unconscious.
| He was found lying by the roadside. still
| unconscious, by a Union scouting party,
and was admitted to the Cavalry Corps
hospital. On July 25 he was sufficiently
| rational to give an account of his treat
ment to Surgeon Rulison, of the 9th n. Y.
| Cav.
He fingered until Aug. Is, 1868. when
he died. An autopsy was performed. 1t
| revealed saber cut six inches long which
| had raised an osseOus flap, adherent at
it's base, from the left parietaL and had
cloyen the right parietal with great splin-
tering of the vitreouS plate. A photo
graph Of the skull is on exhibition at the
Museum, with the great, gaping hole in
| it, and the wonder of the Surgeons is how
the Michigan cavalryman lived so long
after receiving wound which in most
cases would have proven almost immedi-
| ately fatal.
Another case is that Of Pennsylvania
| infantryman who received bayOnet
thrust at Fredericksburg in the center of
his forehead, the weapon penetrating the
skull. He also lived several days after
! receiving the wound.
An interesting incident of the war with
Spain is recorded. The advanced trenches
close to Santiago were occupied by Reg
ular infantrymen, and the men had been
ordered to keep close down behind the
earthworks, as Spanish sharpshoOters,
concealed in the dense foliage to the right,
were picking off the Americans whenever
| one of them showed his head above the
| works. Finally there was some cOmmo-
| ton in the Spanish lines, and a private Of
the 18th Inf, who had more curiosity than
caution. arose to a standing posture, ex-
posing his head and shoulders.
Almost instantly there was the sharp
| crack of a Remington from the thicket to
the right, and the infantryman tumbled
backward into the trenches. A Spanish
bullet had entered his meuth, knocking out
| all of his front teeth, cutting away his
tongue from its roots and passing out at
the back of his neck, detected downward
and entered the foot of another soldier,
| making severe wound. The fire of the
Spanish sharpshOOters was so severe and
deadly that these wounded men could not
be carried to the field hospitals in the rear
| until after dark. The man who was shot
| through the mouth and neck recovered
and re-entered the army, but it was nearly
a year before he recovered his speech.
A private in the 11th Inf. was struck in
the hip with what was supposed to have
been an explosive bullet. The missile ex
pioded after entering the hip, and passed
out in fragments, making five other
| wounds at the points of exit. He did not
die as a result Of his six wounds. Modern
surgery saved him, but he will be Grip
pie for life.
| Another Regular was hit in the fleshy
part of the upper leg. The bullet re-
mained imbedded in the flesh. The gritty
| fellow declined to allow the Surgeons to
remove the missile. He explained that he
| had promised to bring his wife a MauSer
bullet, and would carry the one in his leg
home to her. Upon reaching home it was
his intention to have surgeon there re-
move the missile and present it to her.
| He was sent to the conyalescent hospital
| at Washington Barracks, d. c.. and as
| the wound commenced to give him much
4 trouble, the Surgeons decided that the bull
let must be taken ont. This was done,
| against his will. When the missile was
| handed to him after the operation, he saw,
| much to his disgust, that it was q brass
coated Remington bullet, and not
Mauser, and the wonder of the Surgeons
was that he had not died from blood
poisoning. Referring to the matter, he
said to one of the Surgeons:
Had l known it was one of theIn in
| fernal old Remingtons, l would have let
'em take it out in the field hospital. I
thought l was wearing Mauser for my
Betty"
| These are but few of the queer
wounds recorded in the Government Med
| ipal Dena rtmeDtS here hut they serve in n