A Ghastly Wound at Antietam: William Kidd Co F 16th Mississippi

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Muscatine Weekly Journal. (Muscatine, Iowa), November 21, 1862, page 4.

William Kidd, Pvt., Company F, 16th Mississippi. The surgeons must have done a pretty good job of treating William, considering the circumstances. He was evidently wounded September 17, 1862 during the Battle of Antietam. On November 3, he was paroled for exchange from Camden Street USA General Hospital, Baltimore, MD; received at Fort Monroe November 5; treated at General Hospital No. 7 in Richmond November 9; and furloughed from that place November 11, 1862 - for 60 days. He never returned to service and was finally retired November 1, 1864.

After the war, William Kidd and his wife, Martha, had at least four children: Adale (Adele) E (b. 1867), James E. (b. 1870), Nancy H. (b. 1873) and Benjamin J. (b. 1876). Sometime prior to 1880, the family moved to Leon County, TX where William is listed as a farmer (no disability noted.) According to the census, Martha died prior to 1900 and William lived to the age of 76 or 78. He died November 12, 1908 and was buried in North Creek Cemetery, Nineveh, TX. FindAGrave
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That man is adorable.
I cannot even imagine what he must have felt when his "upper jaw fell down over the lower jaw and chin" - what thoughts must have gone through his head when he lay there hour after hour unattended. Would that be the last on this earth for him? And if a miracle happens and he would live, what whould that life be, with such a ghastly wound that would forever remind him of these hours. And then probably those who found him must have been shocked and maybe (probably) gagged or even vomited at his sight - a man with only half a face! I think a LOT of other men would have despaired or become bitter or lose all zest for life.
But not him - he even developed self irony, which to me is the greatest and most adorable character trait- to say that his wound probably did not help his personal appearance much! I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I read it! That is personal greatness beyond imagination. Wonderful to know that after the war he found personal happiness and fathered four children.
 
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Another version of the same report, from two week earlier, indicates that Kidd was up walking the street of Sharpsburg prior to November 7th. Since he was walking around Sharpsburg, this would have presumably been prior to his parole from the Camden Street USA General Hospital, Baltimore on November 3.
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The Daily Evansville Journal.(Evansville, IN), November 07, 1862, page 2.
 
I wonder if there was any kind of plastic surgery back then. Not to enhance beauty, but to restore basic functions like being able to swallow - or keep the eye where it belongs, with the bony casing gone.
It reminds me of a modern day hero, Jason Redman, a former Navy SEAL who also was shot in the face and arm in Iraq and had to undergo 37 surgeries to restore his face. But he also never gave up and now works as a motivational speaker to help others cope with the obstacles in their lives. His book "The Trident" is awe inspiring and very thought provoking.
Seems that in a way not all men (or women or whatever) are created equal - men like Kidd and Redman obviously are from sterner stuff!
 
I don't think they had plastic surgery as we know it. The risk of infection was so great that no one would undergo the knife unless they absolutely had to. He may have work a mask of some sort later in life. People did do that (it's not just the Phantom of the Opera).
Believe it or not they did and it has its own section in the "Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion", this is a huge 5 or 6 part series of books with plates and woodcuts showing various wounds and procedures during the Civil War.

There are literally thousands of cases described and shown:

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View attachment 375390
Muscatine Weekly Journal. (Muscatine, Iowa), November 21, 1862, page 4.

William Kidd, Pvt., Company F, 16th Mississippi. The surgeons must have done a pretty good job of treating William, considering the circumstances. He was evidently wounded September 17, 1862 during the Battle of Antietam. On November 3, he was paroled for exchange from Camden Street USA General Hospital, Baltimore, MD; received at Fort Monroe November 5; treated at General Hospital No. 7 in Richmond November 9; and furloughed from that place November 11, 1862 - for 60 days. He never returned to service and was finally retired November 1, 1864.

After the war, William Kidd and his wife, Martha, had at least four children: Adale (Adele) E (b. 1867), James E. (b. 1870), Nancy H. (b. 1873) and Benjamin J. (b. 1876). Sometime prior to 1880, the family moved to Leon County, TX where William is listed as a farmer (no disability noted.) According to the census, Martha died prior to 1900 and William lived to the age of 76 or 78. He died November 12, 1908 and was buried in North Creek Cemetery, Nineveh, TX. FindAGrave
View attachment 375391
 
Late last night I googled my Great-Great Grandfather, William Kidd. This led me to your site. Most of the comments were about his wound received at Antietam. The information I relate came from my maternal Grand Mother, Mary Nunnery Holloway, decease, from Oakwood, TX. William Kidd was her maternal grandfather. Her father was Benjamin Nunnery, who was also wounded at Antietam And also captured. He joined Hood’s Brigade in Leon County, Tx. He married Wm. Kidd’s daughter sometime in the late 1880s.
William Kidd, 16th Mississippi went down to Antietam Creek and shaved the night before the battle. His remark to his family in later years was, “that was the last time I looked like a man.” It was said he was shot in the face, hit by grape shot. He lay on the battlefield for two days, presumed dead. On the evening of the second day, two Yankees were picking up bodies for burial. One of them tripped over Kidd which let out a moan of pain. The soldier said, “look here, this poor boy is still alive!”
Kidd said he was treated in a hospital in Baltimore, MD. He always praised the kind treatment given to him by the Yankee doctors & nurses.
Kidd‘s fighting days were over. He was paroled. He returned to Meridian, Mississippi, his home. He was observed walking up the road to the home. We was unrecognizable to family members. Family lore has it that one of the slaves said, “That’s master Billy, returning home.” Needless to say, the plantation did not survive. Billy Kidd (no relation to Billy the Kid or Captain Kidd). Is said to have worked as a river boat captain out of New Orleans until the family moved to Leon County, TX. There he married the daughter of Benjamin Nunnery, mentioned above. Ben Nunnery fathered my Grand Mother in 1890. He passed away in 1891. The Nunnery family, Mother & infant daughter moved into the Kidd home in Oakwood, TX. That home still stands in Oakwood & belongs to a relative of mine. I still own some land that belonged to William (Billy) Kidd and some that belonged to Ben Nunnery.
William Kidd passed away in 1908 and is interred in North Creek Cemetery, 14 miles south of Oakwood. He always wore a large white cloth patch that the scars left from the missing nose, right eye, both cheeks, and portions of upper jaw. I’m certain he lived with pain and discomfort for some 46 years, but he did live a full life. We all have our crosses to bear. Great-Great-Grandad Kidd was able to bear his well.
Bob Peters
View attachment 375390
Muscatine Weekly Journal. (Muscatine, Iowa), November 21, 1862, page 4.

William Kidd, Pvt., Company F, 16th Mississippi. The surgeons must have done a pretty good job of treating William, considering the circumstances. He was evidently wounded September 17, 1862 during the Battle of Antietam. On November 3, he was paroled for exchange from Camden Street USA General Hospital, Baltimore, MD; received at Fort Monroe November 5; treated at General Hospital No. 7 in Richmond November 9; and furloughed from that place November 11, 1862 - for 60 days. He never returned to service and was finally retired November 1, 1864.

After the war, William Kidd and his wife, Martha, had at least four children: Adale (Adele) E (b. 1867), James E. (b. 1870), Nancy H. (b. 1873) and Benjamin J. (b. 1876). Sometime prior to 1880, the family moved to Leon County, TX where William is listed as a farmer (no disability noted.) According to the census, Martha died prior to 1900 and William lived to the age of 76 or 78. He died November 12, 1908 and was buried in North Creek Cemetery, Nineveh, TX. FindAGrave
View attachment 375391
 
Late last night I googled my Great-Great Grandfather, William Kidd. This led me to your site. Most of the comments were about his wound received at Antietam. The information I relate came from my maternal Grand Mother, Mary Nunnery Holloway, decease, from Oakwood, TX. William Kidd was her maternal grandfather. Her father was Benjamin Nunnery, who was also wounded at Antietam And also captured. He joined Hood’s Brigade in Leon County, Tx. He married Wm. Kidd’s daughter sometime in the late 1880s.
William Kidd, 16th Mississippi went down to Antietam Creek and shaved the night before the battle. His remark to his family in later years was, “that was the last time I looked like a man.” It was said he was shot in the face, hit by grape shot. He lay on the battlefield for two days, presumed dead. On the evening of the second day, two Yankees were picking up bodies for burial. One of them tripped over Kidd which let out a moan of pain. The soldier said, “look here, this poor boy is still alive!”
Kidd said he was treated in a hospital in Baltimore, MD. He always praised the kind treatment given to him by the Yankee doctors & nurses.
Kidd‘s fighting days were over. He was paroled. He returned to Meridian, Mississippi, his home. He was observed walking up the road to the home. We was unrecognizable to family members. Family lore has it that one of the slaves said, “That’s master Billy, returning home.” Needless to say, the plantation did not survive. Billy Kidd (no relation to Billy the Kid or Captain Kidd). Is said to have worked as a river boat captain out of New Orleans until the family moved to Leon County, TX. There he married the daughter of Benjamin Nunnery, mentioned above. Ben Nunnery fathered my Grand Mother in 1890. He passed away in 1891. The Nunnery family, Mother & infant daughter moved into the Kidd home in Oakwood, TX. That home still stands in Oakwood & belongs to a relative of mine. I still own some land that belonged to William (Billy) Kidd and some that belonged to Ben Nunnery.
William Kidd passed away in 1908 and is interred in North Creek Cemetery, 14 miles south of Oakwood. He always wore a large white cloth patch that the scars left from the missing nose, right eye, both cheeks, and portions of upper jaw. I’m certain he lived with pain and discomfort for some 46 years, but he did live a full life. We all have our crosses to bear. Great-Great-Grandad Kidd was able to bear his well.
Bob Peters
Thanks for sharing all of this! How wonderful that you know so much about your family history
 
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