Lieut. William H. Nesbit-- Part 3: After the War

William Hoyle Nesbit was a lieutenant in Company E of the 22nd Georgia Infantry Regiment, Wright's Brigade.  He lost his arm at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

He married Martha Curtis Grogan in the village of Alpharetta, Georgia, on December 14, 1865, where he taught school for a few years after the war and was engaged in the mercantile business.  Later he was elected  Clerk of the Court and served Milton County for eight years.  He was then elected  Ordinary and served in that post for sixteen years.

During his last term of office and for several years after, he was owner and editor of the Milton Democrat newspaper.  In this last work, he was associated with his son, G.A. Nesbit, as his publisher.

In 1892, he left Alpharetta and with his family moved to his farm in Cherokee County, where he spent the rest of his life.  Due to the loss of his left arm in the war,  he could not do manual labor, but was very successful  in bee-raising, gardening and stock-raising.

He was devoutly pious and had no fear of death and was buried in Hickory Flat Cemetery in Cherokee, Georgia, with his wife who preceded him.

Not Sure What an Ordinary Is?  --Old Secesh

Lieut. William Hoyle Nesbit-- Part 2: Muster Roll of 22nd Georgia Infantry

From Find-A-Grave.

Muster Roll of Co. E, 22nd Regiment Georgia Volunteer Infantry, Army of Northern Virginia, C.S.A.

Forsyth and Milton Counties, Georgia.

"Warsaw Rebels"

NESBIT, WILLIAM HOYLE

Private August 31, 1861.  Appointed Sergeant Major December 1861.

Elected 2nd Lieutenant and returned to this company June 21, 1862.

Wounded in left arm, necessitating  amputation, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1862.

Resigned on account of wounds November 23, 1863.  Resignation accepted December 8, 1863.

--Old Secesh

A Sad Telegram-- Part 2: Survived the War

The caregiver who handled the young soldier's message apparently did not know how to spell the name and only that he lived somewhere near Atlanta, so he sent the telegram to the city's leading newspaper, the Daily Intelligencer.

Editor John Steele published the plea July 26, prefaced by a notice to readers:  "The following dispatch has been received at this office.  We do not know the residence of Mr. J.W. Neisbit, to whom it is directed, under our care, and therefore publish it. hoping some one will convey to him the information it imparts.  --ED. INT."

Apparently, no one knew where the elder Neisbit (Nesbit) lived, but the case of the wounded lieutenant, who turned 22 just ten days after his Gettysburg wound, worked out well.

On August 3, he was granted a 60-day furlough to return home.  He resigned from the Confederate Army in November 1863.

After the war, he started farming, married and raised a family north of Atlanta.  He died at the age of 83 in 1925, one of approximately 60,000 Civil War amputees.

--Old Secesh

A Sad Telegram: 'I Lost My Left Arm at Gettysburg'

From the same source as the previous post.

Twelve days after he was shot in the left arm on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg, Lieutenant William Hoyle Nesbit wrote or dictated a telegram to his father in far-away Georgia.

***********************

RICHMOND, July 14-- To Mr. J.W. Neisbit, care of the Intelligencer (Atlanta Daily Intelligencer):

Dear Father-- I am at Jordan Springs Hospital, near Winchester.  I lost my left arm at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Come to me.  Answer by telegraph.

W.H. Neisbit

***********************

--Old Secesh

Henry Mills' Bloody Shirt-- Part 2

The collections at the Minnesota Historical Society are filled with items like the shirt.

Objects like this ordinary shirt, worn and frayed and dark with blood of its last two owners.

If you look closely , you can see faint embroidery on the pockets, spelling out the initials J.B.

Maybe these initials were stitched by a mother or a sweetheart.  Maybe some future historian will be combing through the casualty lists of the Battle of Nashville  and put a name on the Confederate soldier who never came home.

"This shirt  saved the life of a Minnesota soldier, said Sondra Reierson of the Historical Society.  The fact that even with the shirt, Mills was able to survive his battlefield wounds in that day and age is only matched by the shirt surviving.

The Mills family kept the shirt safe and beautifully  preserved for 157 years, donated it to the Minnesota Historical Society last week.  It will go on display at the new visitor center opening next year at the Historic Fort Snelling at Bdote.

The story of Henry Mills, who was about 31 years old at the Battle of Nashville, had many more chapters after his Civil War years.  He came home, raised a family and lived to see a brand new century.  He served as a state arsenal keeper, ran a grocery and was elected Justice of the Peace.

Born in 1833, he died in 1925 at the age of 92.

--Old Secesh

Henry Mills' Bloody Shirt-- Part 1

From the July 3, 2021, Minneapolis Star Tribune "Minnesota Historical Society looks to the future" by Jennifer Brooks.

I wrote about the shirt that may have saved Henry Mills' life at the Battle of Nashville in 1864 earlier this month.  It is now housed  in the collections of the Minnesota Historical Society.  Here is some more information on it.

Henry Mills held on to the shirt that saved his live for the rest of his long life.

It was a dead man's shirt.  Likely taken off a dead Confederate soldier on the icy Battle of Nashville on a bitter day in December 1864.  Mills took the shirt and wrapped it tightly around  the bleeding bullet wound in his leg.

He ended up losing the leg, but kept the shirt.  After the war, it came home with him to Minnesota -- first to Fort Snelling, where Lt. Henry Mills mustered out of the 7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, then to his home in St. Paul.

No matter how many times the Mills family washed that shirt, the blood stains would not come out.  But, instead of burning it or cutting it into strips for rags so he wouldn't be reminded of its story, Mills carried this bit if his past into the future.

--Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 3: 'Bite the Bullet?'

MYTH 3

INSTEAD OF ANESTHESIA, WOUNDED SOLDIERS WERE GIVEN A LEAD BULLET TO CHEW ON --  HENCE THE TERM 'BITE THE BULLET.'

As noted earlier,  the percentage of amputations performed without the benefit of general anesthesia was incredibly small.  Still, if a man was  in incredible pain, perhaps something to chew on would have been considered.  maybe a leather strap of belt.  Most likely something that wasn't small with the possibility of accidental swallowing.  The idea of gnawing on something as small and hard as a bullet just doesn't fit the bill.

The idea of biting the bullet probably comes from relic hunters who found them on the battlefield.  Lead bullets found on a battlefield with teeth marks on them are called pain or hospital bullets. Actually these bullets with teeth marks are most likely from rooting hogs or squirrels who thought the bullet was a nut or something else to eat.

The idea of giving a man a bullet to chew on, is not only a dentist's nightmare, it's plain dangerous as a choking hazard.

So, then, what about the old phrase "bite the bullet?"  Who knows?  But there is no evidence that soldiers had to "bite the bullet" during the Civil War.

--Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 2: There Was Adequate Anesthesia on Both Sides

MYTH 2:  There was no anesthesia so amputations were always performed with the men conscious.

Case studies show that some 95% of amputations done by Union surgeons were performed under anesthesia.  When chloroform or ether were not available, amputations  were sometimes postponed rather than cause unnecessary suffering by the victim.

As for Confederate surgeons, Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire reported "...that in the corps to which I was attached (2nd Corps ANV), chloroform was given 28,000 times..."

In a piece titled "Confederate Medical Service", Dr. Deering J. Roberts expanded:  "Many Confederate surgeons reported that at no time did they fail to have an adequate supply of the three most important drugs, quinine, morphia and  chloroform."

--Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 1: About Those Surgeons and Amputations

From Civil War Talk by lelliott19.

MYTH 1:  Civil War Surgeons Were Uneducated, inhumane "butchers" who amputated limbs  arbitrarily and unnecessarily.

Most had at least some medical training.  Very few had performed amputations or surgery in the numbers they were soon faced with, especially after battles.  Most lacked experience with gunshot wounds.  Most had received experience through attendance at medical lectures, apprenticing under an experienced  physician and/or practiced  medicine before the war.

As far as  amputations, minie balls shattered bones and shattered bones do not heal on their own. There were no orthopedic plates or pins like we have today.  Limbs were amputated as the most effective ways to save lives.

I always have a problem with all the sources I've read, however, mentioning piles of legs and arms in operating rooms after battles.  A bit on the gross side for me.

--Old Secesh

Fort D, Cape Girardeau, Missouri-- Part 1: A Shiloh and John Powell Connection

From Wikipedia.

A Civil War fort along the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, about 115 miles southeast of St. Louis.  (It is 35 miles from Sikeston, home of the original Lambert's Cafe, home of the "Throwed Rolls".)

During the Civil War, it was the site of the Battle of Cape Girardeau on April 26, 1863.  The forces engaged in  a minor four-hour skirmish, each side sustaining casualties in the low double digits.  Fort D was not involved in it.

Work on Fort D began on August 6, 1861, under the direction of Lieutenant John W. Powell of Illinois.  He later recruited a company of Cape Girardeau men for service in the Union Army.  These men eventually became Battery F, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery (Powell was from Illinois)   After a short period of training, they were at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6, 1862.

As Powell raised his hand, a bullet shattered his wrist and the arm was later amputated to stop infection.  In 1868, a one-armed John Powell led the first successful  navigation of the Colorado River through what Powell named "The Grand Canyon."

--Old Secesh

The Strange Tale of Col. Dahlgren's Prostheic Leg-- Part 2: The Leg That Served Both North and South

Union Colonel Ulric Dahlgren lost a leg in battle and acquired a new one .  After he was killed in his famous raid on Richmond, his leg was taken and displayed in  a Richmond department store.  Soon thereafter, Confederate Lieutenant James Pollard, who had led the unit that killed Dahlgren,  lost a leg.

He claimed Dahlgren's leg as a war prize.  When it didn't fit him, he gave it to Confederate Captain John N. Ballard of Mosby's Rangers.

So, the leg served both North and South.

Captain Ballard had lost his leg  in a skirmish with a small party of Union cavalry at Ewell's Chapel, east of Bull Run Mountains.  After the war, he married  Miss Thrift, and the Thrift Farm on the site of the Battle of Chantilly became known as the Ballard Farm.

--Old Secesh

The Strange Tale of Col. Dahlgren's Prosthetic Leg-- Part 1: Served Union and Confederate

From Civil War Talk.

We may not know for sure what happened to Col. Ulric Dahlgren's real leg, but more is known about his prosthetic one.

When Confederate Captain John Newton Ballard of Mosby's Raiders lost his leg in battle in 1863, he quickly acquired a second hand artificial leg and got back to action.  However, at Halltown, Virginia, his horse collided with that of a Union cavalryman and his artificial leg was crushed.  This probably made him the only Civil War soldier to lose the same leg twice.

However, he was about to have some luck  In March 1864, Union Col. Ulric Dahlgren was killed near Richmond leading a cavalry raid.  He too had lost a leg in action in 1863 (and we know about it being buried in the Washington Navy Yard).

Dahlgren's body was found by a 13-year-old Confederate, who took the wooden leg as a souvenir.  This prosthetic eventually made its way to  John Ballard, who wore it until the end of the war.

--Old Secesh

Some More On Col. Ulric's Replacement Leg-- Part 3: What Happened to His Replacement Leg?

And, yet, the story of the luckless colonel's leg does not end here.  There is yet the story of what happened to the artificial leg Ulric Dahlgren was wearing when he was killed.  I have seen it referred to as a cork and now a wooden leg in different sources..

That wooden leg, apparently, was not returned with the colonel's body.  It was later said that one of John Mosby's Rangers, himself missing a leg, took it and wore it for many years.

An article in the  Bennington, Vermont, Evening Banner on September  18, 1922,  said that Captain John Ballard "probably will carry it with him to his grave."

Keeping Up With Ulric's Legs.  --Old Secesh

Some More On Col. Ulric's Leg-- Part 2: The Leg's Long Story At the Washington Navy Yard

And, then there is the story of what happened to the colonel's leg.  After it was cut off, the question became what to do with it.  It was in an advanced state of decomposition and it was determined that sending it to Philadelphia to be buried in the family plot was not an option.

But, there was a closer option: the Washington Navy Yard.  Ulric's father, John Dahlgren, was no longer in charge there, but the current commander  took the leg.  At the time, a new foundry was being to built at the yard to cast the elder Dahlgren's cannons and it was deemed appropriate that the leg should be buried in a wall of it.  A plaque was affixed to it saying that this was where the leg was buried.

The foundry was  demolished in 1915 and replaced with a metal fabrication shop though the leg was kept where it was.  However, the new shop was torn down in 1942 and the leg wasn't there.  The plaque, however, was attached to the new building erected on the site which in turn was replaced with a parking garage in 1998.  That plaque and another one explaining the story are still at the new facility.

It is not known where the leg is.

Where Is the Leg?  --Old Secesh

Some More On Col. Ulric's Leg-- Part 1: Wounded, Recovery and Death

From the December 12, 2016, The Hill is Home blog  "Lost Capital Hill :  Ulric Dahlgren's Leg."

After his wounding in Hagerstown, Md., on July 6, 1863, Ulric Dahlgren completed his patrol and, while reporting to his commanding officer, fainted from loss of blood.  He was sent home to his father's house by train just south of Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C..

At first it seemed the wound was minor, but it became clear after awhile that it would have to be amputated.  During his recovery, Ulric received a visit from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who brought good wishes, but also a promotion to colonel.

Ulric Dahlgren rejoined the Army, now with a cork leg.    He was sent on a raid of Richmond targeting Jefferson Davis.  But Davis survived, Ulric did not.  Papers on Dahlgren's body  gave away the story of killing Davis.  Whether those papers were authentic is not known.  However, Southerners were irate and Ulric's body was mutilated.

Much later the body was turned over to Union authorities and taken to Philadelphia for burial in the family plot.

--Old Secesh

The Saga of Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Leg-- Part 3:

Despite the amputation, Ulric Dahlgren later returned to action, promoted to the rank of colonel while convalescing, he left his sick bed to lead a daring but controversial and ill-fated 1864 attack on Richmond.

His stump had not yet hardened enough to attach a wooden leg, so Dahlgren rode with his right thigh lashed to the saddle and crutches attached to the side of his horse..

He was killed when Confederate troops ambushed his detachment.

And, what about his leg?

The foundry was torn down after World War II, but the leg was not found.  The plaque was moved to another building.

So, Leg, Leg, Who's Got the Leg.  --Old Secesh

The Saga of Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Leg-- Part 2: In A Cornerstone

At the time of his wounding, Ulric Dahlhren was a 20-year-old cavalry officer leading a charge through the streets of Hagerstown, Maryland,  when a Confederate shot  struck his right ankle and passed through his foot.  Three days later, he got home to Washington, but a fever set in and surgeons had to amputate his leg  just below the knee.

His father was John Dahlgren, who had recently been commandant of the Washington Navy Yard (but now commanded the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron trying to take Charleston, S.C.)  A new gun foundry was being built at the Yard.  The day after the amputation, an ambulance took the leg to the yard, and a Marine honor guard escorted it to the foundry where the building's cornerstone was about to be laid.

The leg was placed in a box, draped with an American flag and sealed inside the cornerstone.

So, Now We Know Where the Leg Is, Or Do We?  --Old SeceshWhere

A Coincidence About the Dahlgrens

I have been writing about Ulric Dahlgran's leg in this blog.

His father, John Dahlgren, has an article in the April 2019 Naval History Magazine about his work on amphibious operations during the Civil War.  John Dahlgren had been commander of the Washington Navy Yard before and during the first part of the war and had met with President Lincoln many times.

He was also responsible for the Dahlgren guns and other items for the Navy.

At the time of Ulric losing his leg, his father was commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

--Old Secesh

Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Prosthetic Leg-- Part 1: Saw Service In Both Union and Confederate Armies

Well, maybe we don't know for sure where Col. Dahlgren's real leg is, but his prosthetic one also has an interesting story.

From the May 7, 2014, Civil War Talk "This prosthetic leg  served in both the Confederate and Union armies."

When Confederate Captain John Newton Ballard of Mosby's  Rangers lost a leg in battle in 1863 he acquired a second-hand artificial one and got back into the war.  Unfortunately for him, this one was crushed  when his horse collided with  a Union cavalry man's steed and his prosthetic was crushed, making him probably the only Civil War soldier to lose the same leg twice.

However, he was about to have a stroke of luck.    In March 1864, Union  Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was killed near Richmond, Virginia, during a cavalry raid.  He too has lost a leg and was wearing an artificial limb.
Dahlgren's body was found by a 13-year-old Confederate who kept it as a souvenir.  It eventually got to Ballard, who wore it until the end of the war.

--Old Secesh

Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Leg-- Part 2: Under a Parking Lot?

Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, he was in Hagerstown, Maryland,  in July 1863 when his right foot and lower leg was hit by a bullet.  It became necessary to amputate below the knee.  He survived that, but a year later was killed during a Richmond Raid targeting Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Now, back to that leg.    Ulric Dahlgren's father was Rear Admiral John Dahlgren, who had developed an innovative smoothbore cannon and was admired by President Lincoln.

Leg burials weren't uncommon back in that era, at least among the well-connected.    That summer, the heat in Washington, D.C. was sweltering and Ulric decided not to bury the leg at his home.  So instead it ended up up in the cornerstone of a new foundry building being built.  That building has since been torn down and is a building that serves as a parking lot.

However, there is a plaque at that structure, Building 28, that gives the story of Ulric's leg.  However, a Washington Post story from 1991 reports that the leg may have been removed at some point so perhaps it is not there.

Where Is Ulric's Leg?  --Old Secesh