John Mosby's Crutches
date: label: date made
content: ca 1863
label: associated date
content: 1861 - 1865
name: label: user
content: Mosby, John Singleton
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: Hand-carved wood.
label: Description
content: Specific History
label: Description
content: These crutches were used by John Mosby during the Civil War. Mosby stated, “These crutches were made for me during the war by a slave named Isaac who belonged to my father. They were first used in August 1863 when I went home wounded. My mother kept them for me and I again used them in September 1864 & December 1864.” General Robert E. Lee once said to Mosby, after seeing him on crutches at his headquarters, “The only fault I have to find with your conduct, Colonel Mosby, is that you are always getting wounded.”
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: John Mosby was wounded on August 24, 1863. He was shot through the side and thigh as he attacked the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry, which had halted to water the horses at Billy Gooding's Tavern on the Little River Turnpike in Virginia. He was carried into the woods and was attended to by Doctor W. L. Dunn. Due to the painful nature of his wounds, Mosby was slow to travel so he was carried into the pines and concealed as the pursuing federal troops passed through searching for him. Once clear of the danger, Mosby returned to the South to recuperate.
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: Virginia
topic: label: Subject
content: Slavery
label: related event
content: Civil War
label: related event
content: Civil War and Reconstruction
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
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content: Military
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content: ThinkFinity
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Colonel John S. Mosby
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.11971
label: catalog number
content: 11971
label: accession number
content: 51962
objectType: label: Object Name
content: crutches, pair of
label: Other Terms
content: crutches, pair of; Equipment, Individual
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: cotton (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 52 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in x 2 1/2 in; 133.35 cm x 21.59 cm x 6.35 cm