Chamberlain Most injured Civil War General

John D. Kennedy of South Carolina. He was wounded six times and struck by spent balls fifteen times.

R

Yikes! We may have a winner here. :unsure: Getting hit with a spent bullet was just about as bad as getting hit with one not spent! Sherman had a 'spent' minie ball bounce off the epaulette on his shoulder - he'd gotten his hand deeply grazed earlier but it was the bad bruise from the minie ball that put his arm in a sling for several days.
 
Yikes! We may have a winner here. :unsure: Getting hit with a spent bullet was just about as bad as getting hit with one not spent! Sherman had a 'spent' minie ball bounce off the epaulette on his shoulder - he'd gotten his hand deeply grazed earlier but it was the bad bruise from the minie ball that put his arm in a sling for several days.

His Wikipedia entry has an amusing line, "During 1864, when not disabled..."

R
 
Was J.E.B. Stuart wounded at all before receiving his mortal wounding, on May 10th 1864, by Private John Huff of the 5th Michigan Cavalry ???
 
For the sake of argument, what if we counted "wounds" in the Civil War the same way a wound today would be defined as warranting a Purple Heart??....If we did this, it would remove dysentery and dirt as being a "wound".....Now, how would this affect being wounded multiple times in the same engagement?....I confess, I do not know exactly what the criteria for the Purple Heart is.....If I got shot in the right arm and shot again in the left leg, does that count as two wounds, and thus two purple hearts?
Thanks for your patience and indulgence!
I agree it's hard to get a correct count when just about anything would count as a wound back then. You would have to specify what counts as a wound.
 
Okay I know I'm late to this conversation but are we talking about most wounds sustained or are we talking about some of the grevious nature of injuries, because in my research I came upon a story regarding Gen. Gabriel Paul who apparently had both eyes shot out from behind at Gettysburg, which he also lost part of his jaw and teeth.
 
Okay I know I'm late to this conversation but are we talking about most wounds sustained or are we talking about some of the grevious nature of injuries, because in my research I came upon a story regarding Gen. Gabriel Paul who apparently had both eyes shot out from behind at Gettysburg, which he also lost part of his jaw and teeth.

Ow. The conversation was on Most (as in number)....but.....dang. That's gotta win some category.
 
For the sake of argument, what if we counted "wounds" in the Civil War the same way a wound today would be defined as warranting a Purple Heart??....If we did this, it would remove dysentery and dirt as being a "wound".....Now, how would this affect being wounded multiple times in the same engagement?....I confess, I do not know exactly what the criteria for the Purple Heart is.....If I got shot in the right arm and shot again in the left leg, does that count as two wounds, and thus two purple hearts?
Thanks for your patience and indulgence!
You get a Purple Heart each time you have to see a doctor with a combat injury, so no, you don't get two for two shots that took place at the same time. However you can get them for very minor injuries. My dad had three, one for a grenade, one for being shot seriously, one for being basically grazed by a bullet. Ask for some antiseptic, get a Purple Heart. He knew a guy who had one for falling out of a helicopter, but I think technically that was a mistake since it's supposed to be only wounds inflicted by the enemy. In practice if there's a fight and you seek medical help afterwards you mostly get one, because no one is reading the paperwork that closely.
 
Okay I know I'm late to this conversation but are we talking about most wounds sustained or are we talking about some of the grevious nature of injuries, because in my research I came upon a story regarding Gen. Gabriel Paul who apparently had both eyes shot out from behind at Gettysburg, which he also lost part of his jaw and teeth.
Gabriel Paul. LOC #00524
00524v.jpg
 
General Stephen J. McGroarty lost his arm and shot 23 times!?
...At the battle of Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864, his left arm was shattered at the elbow by a minie ball. This occurred in the early part of the engagement, and throughout the battle he refused to leave the field, but remained in and through the fight, his wounded arm hanging by his side, the bridle-rein in his mouth, and his sword in his right hand, and he by his presence and his voice encouraging his troops throughout the entire action. He was shortly afterward complimented in general orders for his distinguished personal bravery and daring.
But he could never feel that he was rid of his shattered arm. He was compelled to submit time and again to having amputation performed on his arm. Three times in all was he called on to have that terrible operation performed. And yet this was not all that he suffered by reason of this wound. He never could rid himself of the terrible sensation he experienced on the battlefield on that 20th of July, when he rode nearly half a day with his arm crushed at the elbow and dangling by his side, each splinter of shattered bone giving increased agony at every movement, and it followed him to the grave. It is related of General McGroarty that during his military career,
he was struck by the shots of the enemy no less than twenty-three times, bearing the marks of that number of wounds upon his person.... [bold added]
http://www.mcgroarty-ireland.com/page18.htm

06219v.jpg

S. J. McGroarty LOC #06219

20yr75.jpg
 
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Gen. Gordon carried a horrible face wound all of his life. He was a great general and a great public servant.
He represented the defeated south in a magnanimous way and did so much to heal the wounds of war and reconstruction.
 
General Stephen J. McGroarty lost his arm and shot 23 times!?
...At the battle of Peach Tree Creek, July 20, 1864, his left arm was shattered at the elbow by a minie ball. This occurred in the early part of the engagement, and throughout the battle he refused to leave the field, but remained in and through the fight, his wounded arm hanging by his side, the bridle-rein in his mouth, and his sword in his right hand, and he by his presence and his voice encouraging his troops throughout the entire action. He was shortly afterward complimented in general orders for his distinguished personal bravery and daring.
But he could never feel that he was rid of his shattered arm. He was compelled to submit time and again to having amputation performed on his arm. Three times in all was he called on to have that terrible operation performed. And yet this was not all that he suffered by reason of this wound. He never could rid himself of the terrible sensation he experienced on the battlefield on that 20th of July, when he rode nearly half a day with his arm crushed at the elbow and dangling by his side, each splinter of shattered bone giving increased agony at every movement, and it followed him to the grave. It is related of General McGroarty that during his military career,
he was struck by the shots of the enemy no less than twenty-three times, bearing the marks of that number of wounds upon his person.... [bold added]
http://www.mcgroarty-ireland.com/page18.htm

View attachment 55677
S. J. McGroarty LOC #06219

Wow! We have a winner. 23 times is a hard one to catch, and then he gets phantom limb syndrome to boot! I've read about that in other old timers who had traumatic surgeries - which was every amputation in those days - or a particularly bad injury like this one. The nerves once connected to the missing limb keep sending messages to the spinal column and to the brain.
 
There were an awful lot of vets who died years and years after the war from the war. Some historians think the death toll for the CW should be revised upward to include those deaths.
Sorry forgot about Chamberlain. His death was consistent with battle injuries sustained at Petersburg I believe.
 
I think Joe Johnston might just win this contest - he was shot nine times BEFORE he went down at Seven Pines. Cleburne was shot in the chest during a ruckus in Helena before the war, and was shot either in the leg or the arm - don't know which battle.

If we're counting accidents caused by battle, I think Forrest might win. He was shot four times - in the left hip at Shiloh, in the foot at Tupelo, along the back (or arm, it's not clear) at Tunnel Hill and in the same hip by Gould. Having so many horses shot out from under him, he fell off them a lot - dislocated the same right shoulder at least three times. Cracked two or three ribs from a horse rolling over him at Ft Pillow. Was temporarily paralyzed when a cannonball went through his horse just behind his legs - lots of blood, too. At Ebenezer Church, he was attacked by a Union captain who chopped up his right arm, head and right shoulder before Forrest shot him dead.

I think he's even on Ol' Joe!
I think being a poor rider don't count.
 
Gabriel Paul. LOC #00524
View attachment 55676
OH WOW!!!!! Cant help but chuckle at the irony of this post. I look at the image of Gabriel Paul and below it is @Mike Serpa tag line which says, "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." Sorry not trying to be insensitive. Just found myself chuckling.
 
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OH WOW!!!!! Cant help but chuckle at the irony of this post. I look at the image of Gabriel Paul and below it is @Mike Serpa tag line which says, "In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king." Sorry not trying to be insensitive. Just found myself chuckling.
You are not insensitive. I've used a few different avatars; all were blind in one or both eyes. Current avatar is General John F. Miller. Blind in his left eye.
 
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