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- Feb 5, 2017
From The National Museum of Civil War Medicine
I found this photo (from Military Images) brought the War home in an extremely graphic and poignant manner.
Wow! A fantastic image from the Buck Zaidel Collection featured in the Spring 2025 issue of Military Images magazine. The issue features the stories of the conflict's wounded soldiers and advances in Civil War medicine. For more information or to get a copy: https://militaryimagesmagazine.com/2025/03/01/the-spring-2025-issue/
The sight of a man missing an arm or leg rarely occurred before the Civil War, observed a newspaper editorial in the Confederate capital during the waning days of the conflict. Such individuals were assumed to be victims of a railroad accident or other calamity.
When war came, and soldiers disabled by battle wounds appeared on Richmond's streets, they received much attention. As the conflict dragged on, veterans with visible scars of battle became common. "No man need feel at all singular, or have any sensitiveness about attracting attention, by being without an arm of leg," stated the essayist in the March 29, 1865, issue of the Richmond Dispatch, adding, "The gentleman with legs and arms are now becoming oddities, and sometimes suspicious characters."
The editorial continued, "Whenever the people meet a Confederate soldier without an arm of leg, they know the missing limb of that man is buried where he would have freely given his life, 'on the field of honor'; and he looks more of a man, more grand, symmetrical, than many men with legs; and everyone feels a sincere reverence and love for him."
Image: Buck Zaidel Collection.
Read on:
www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com
I found this photo (from Military Images) brought the War home in an extremely graphic and poignant manner.
Wow! A fantastic image from the Buck Zaidel Collection featured in the Spring 2025 issue of Military Images magazine. The issue features the stories of the conflict's wounded soldiers and advances in Civil War medicine. For more information or to get a copy: https://militaryimagesmagazine.com/2025/03/01/the-spring-2025-issue/
The sight of a man missing an arm or leg rarely occurred before the Civil War, observed a newspaper editorial in the Confederate capital during the waning days of the conflict. Such individuals were assumed to be victims of a railroad accident or other calamity.
When war came, and soldiers disabled by battle wounds appeared on Richmond's streets, they received much attention. As the conflict dragged on, veterans with visible scars of battle became common. "No man need feel at all singular, or have any sensitiveness about attracting attention, by being without an arm of leg," stated the essayist in the March 29, 1865, issue of the Richmond Dispatch, adding, "The gentleman with legs and arms are now becoming oddities, and sometimes suspicious characters."
The editorial continued, "Whenever the people meet a Confederate soldier without an arm of leg, they know the missing limb of that man is buried where he would have freely given his life, 'on the field of honor'; and he looks more of a man, more grand, symmetrical, than many men with legs; and everyone feels a sincere reverence and love for him."
Image: Buck Zaidel Collection.
Read on:
A photographic survey of wounded Civil War warriors
A photographic survey of Civil War amputees and other wounded soldiers and sailors, their societal impact, medical treatment, and portraits of the veterans.
www.militaryimagesmagazine-digital.com
Bringing the