Trivia 7-16-19 Amputation

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John Bell Hood was wounded in the leg at Chickamauga on September 20, 1863 resulting in a comminuted fracture which necessitated amputation.
1. Name the respected surgeon who performed the operation.
2. Which amputation technique/method was used - circular or flap method?
3. To whose residence was Hood taken after surgery?

credit: @lelliott19
 
1. Dr John Thompson Darby
2.circular, Hood was in bad shape this is simplest and fastest
3. Hood and leg were taken to the Cliby-Austin house in Tunnel Hill (for burial) but as he began to recover, he was moved to the residence of the Little family.
 
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1. Surgeon T.G. Richardson. Darby reported: “The shock was not so great as is usually seen in such a serious fracture. Chloroform was given and the operation performed by Surgeon Richardson, assisted by Surgeons Hudson & Jones at 4 P.M.”

2. Circular method. Dr. Darby who took care of Gen.Hood states in his report "the circular method was used and the amputation made at the lower fourth of the upper third." This quote was from his report on Sept. 20.

3. West Armuchee Valley, Ga., residence of Colonel Francis H. Little of the 11th Georgia Infantry.
 
Hahaa, I can almost see some members cringe at these questions!! But what a brave man John Bell Hood was!! While searching for the answers my respect for him grew with every minute. Made a mental note to start the book "John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General" by Stephen Hood, that sits on my Kindle for quite some time now...

Here come my answers:

1.) Army of Tennessee Surgeon T. J. Richardson
2.) The circular method was used
3.) He was taken to the residence of the family of Colonel Francis Hamilton Little of the 11th Georgia Regiment

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From: The Lost Papers of Confederate General John Bell Hood / by Stephen Hood

"The general was immediately transported to the field infirmary, where surgeons W.O. Hudson of Hood’s Division, D.C. Jones of Brig. Gen. Jerome Robertson’s Brigade, and Army of Tennessee surgeons T.G. Richardson and E.A. Flewellen, in consultation, decided on amputation. Darby reported: “The shock was not so great as is usually seen in such a serious fracture. Chloroform was given and the operation performed by Surgeon Richardson, assisted by Surgeons Hudson & Jones at 4 P.M.”
https://www.historynet.com/john-bell-hood-pain-and-prescriptions.htm


"It happened so fast. As Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood of the Confederacy led his soldiers into action at the battle of Chickamauga on Sept. 20, 1863, a Minié ball struck his right leg; later that day his leg was amputated four inches below the hip. Although such operations resulted in an 80 percent casualty rate throughout the Civil War, Hood survived, and traveled with his damaged appendage to the residence of the Little family, 15 miles away from the battlefield."
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/john-bell-hoods-leg/
 
Surgeon Tobias Gibson Richardson (Medical Inspector AoT) performed the operation. He was assisted by Surgeon William Oliver Hudson (Act. Chief Surgeon of Hood's Division) and Surgeon J. C. Jones (Robertson's Brigade Surgeon) and employed the circular method, amputating Hood's leg at the upper third of the femur. Hood experienced some nausea from the chloroform, but by 3 pm the next day, was sufficiently recovered to begin transport. He was carried on a litter thirty miles to the residence of Col Francis H Little, 11th Georgia, arriving there on the night of September 22.
[The Lost Papers of Confederate General John Bell Hood, Stephen Hood, Savas Beatie, Jun 19, 2014, p.28.]

Source: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/civil-war-surgery-amputation-101.156250/page-2#post-2046654 - posted by the wonderful @lelliott19
 
1. The surgeon that performed the amputation was T. G. Richardson and was assisted by Chief Surgeon Hudson of Hood’s Division and by J. C. Jones (Robertson’s brigade surgeon).

2. The technique used was the circular method.

3. Hood (and his leg) were carried almost 30 miles on a litter to the residence of Colonel Francis H. Little (11th Georgia) in West Armuchee Valley, Northern Georgia.

When I was reading there was some speculation that perhaps the wound was caused by friendly fire as the minnie ball entered the posterior of the femur when he was in the saddle while trying to position his division.

Source: Lost Papers of Confederate Genera John Bell Hood pages 27-28. https://books.google.com/books?id=R...age&q=john t darby chickamauga report&f=false
 
1. T. G. Richardson who was Medical Inspector of the Army of Tennessee performed the amputation. His assistants during the amputation were Surgeons W.O. Hudson (of Hood's Division) and D.C. Jones (of Brig. Gen. Jerome Robertson’s Brigade).
2. The circular method was used.
3. Hood was carried by litter to the residence of Colonel Francis H. Little of the 11th Georgia Infantry in the West Armuchee Valley, Georgia.

Sources: The Lost Papers of Confederate General John Bell Hood by Stephen Hood (p. 28), https://www.historynet.com/john-bell-hood-pain-and-prescriptions.htm
 
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