lelliott19
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Private William M Dean, born November 15, 1838, suffered a "Barton's fracture" of his right arm. John Rhea Barton, an American surgeon, first described this type of fracture in 1838. A Barton's fracture is usually the result of a fall on an extended and pronated wrist.
Although the specific circumstances of Dean's injury are not known, the 26 year old was disabled from field service.
His arm probably looked something like this.
https://www.theadventuremedic.com/f...nowsports-injuries-part-i/attachment/bartons/
If Civil War surgeons possessed modern imaging equipment, they would have likely seen something like this.
Today, doctors know that the best outcome for a fracture of this kind is by open reduction (surgery) and internal fixation with a plate and screws. But none of that was available at the time, and so, on November 4, 1864, William M. Dean was examined by a medical board and found unfit for field duty.
The board stated "We further declare our belief that he will not be able to resume these duties in a less period than Forty (40) days....." Forty days! Can you imagine? These days, a normal fracture is expected to take 6-8 weeks to heal. And this is no ordinary fracture. Without surgery, plates, screws, etc. nerve damage can result.
And so the report of the Medical Board recommends that Dean's current detail be continued for another 40 days. But what was his detail? On April 20, 1864, he had been ordered to report to Selma, AL.
Where he was detailed "Forwarding subsistence stores" - presumably loading crates.
William M Dean died June 24, 1901 and was buried in the Glenwood Cemetery, Fort Payne, AL. Sometime after December 1864, William M Dean apparently switched sides, since he has a US grave marker which reads "W M Dean\CO G\1st ALAVidet \Cav."
https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28000812
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