Today’s Purulent Yet Truly Morbid Fact!
Account of the death of Private Louis Gardner, Company B, 19th Indiana Infantry, 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Corps, Union Army, during the American Civil War.
The case of Louis Gardner is a pitiful, yet classic example of the pain and suffering experienced by thousands of Gettysburg wounded. Many survived, some did not. Here is the medical history of a Wayne County, Indiana soldier who fought death for almost six months. In the end however, he lost, and became no more than a medical curiosity.
Private Gardiner [sic] Lewis, B, 19th Indiana, aged twenty-two, was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, by a round musket ball, which lodged in the internal condyle of the right femur. On November 27, 1863, he was admitted into Jarvis Hospital, Baltimore, the knee being disorganized and discharging a foetid pus. On December 1st, Acting Assistant Surgeon F. Hinkle excised the articular ends of the tibia and femur, sawing off an inch of the condyle of the femur, and three-fourths of an inch of the head of the tibia. An H incision was employed. At the time of the operation the patient was feverish, anxious, without appetite, and sleepless from intense pain. He did well until several days after the operation, when he had a chill. Chills recurred each alternate day, and other symptoms of purulent infection were manifested. On December 23d, the case terminated fatally. The autopsy revealed metastatic foci in the lungs, and six ounces of pus in the left pleural cavity. The incisions were healed, and the ends of the bones were found in apposition, but no union had occurred. The excised portions of the femur and tibia are preserved in the Army Medical Museum.”
Gardiner would have suffered one of the first gunshot wounds to an infantryman of the “Iron Brigade”. He was hit about mid-morning on July 1. His place of entombment is unknown.
Culled from: Killed In Action: Eyewitness Accounts of the Last Moments of 100 Union Soldiers Who Died at Gettysburg
Morbid Link Du Jour!
I’ve said many times before that the real reason I’m obsessed with Mt. Everest is because of all the bodies up there. When you die, they just leave you there because it would require more exertion than is humanly possible at that elevation to bring you down. I’ve also said many times that the only reason I would even slightly consider climbing Mt. Everest – slightly – is to photograph and document all the bodies! And search for Sandy Irvine. Someone has to find Sandy’s camera to see if he and Mallory made it to the top or not!
Anyway, Adoxa8 sent me a link to a site that has probably the most comprehensive collection of Everest body photos I’ve yet seen. It makes for a lovely lunchtime perusal!
