Prosthetic or wooden foot used by an amputee after the Civil War. Many types of artificial arms and legs were patented during the late 1860s and 1870s. From "Pictorial Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicinal Instrument and Equipment, Vol. II" by Dr. Gordon Dammann. |
John Humphrey left his Lockington home and his job as a mechanic to join the 50th Ohio. At the Battle of Marietta, Georgia, he received a wound to the lower right thigh. The surgeon amputated his right leg. He died the same day. Shelby County, Ohio farmer John Proctor received the same wound in the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864. His right leg was also amputated. He never recovered, dying on August 12, 1864. Civil War veteran Sam Gish survived the war, and returned to Pemberton. Current county resident Russ Sayre recalls Gish, "Sam lost a leg at Antietam, and was always proud of it." An interesting historical note involving the first amputation performed in the war involved men from Sidney. The first engagement following the fall of Fort Sumter was the Battle of Phillipi, West Virginia, on June 3, 1861. The 15th Ohio participated, including many soldiers from Sidney. A Confederate soldier received a serious leg wound, and the leg was amputated by Dr. J. D. Robison. Dr. Robison's son was a Sidney resident. The cannon ball which struck the soldier was recovered by Sidney soldiers Joseph Laughlin, A. O. Waucop, Jasper Nutt, and DeWitt Haleman, who brought it home. A "Sidney Journal" article on July 3, 1896, noted the ball was still on display in the Monumental Building. Some men feared surviving an amputation more than dying in battle. Sgt. Oldroyd of the 20th Ohio commented in his diary on June 12, 1863: "I have heard many a one say he would rather be shot dead in a fight than lose a limb, and thus be compelled to totter through life disabled. But I know our country will be too magnanimous to neglect its brave defenders who have fought its battles..." [Back] [Next] [Up] [New Search] 'Civil War' segment written in July, 1998 by Rich Wallace |