More than three million soldiers fought in the American Civil War from 1861-1865. Hundreds of thousands were permanently disabled by battlefield injuries, or surgery, which saved lives by sacrificing limbs.
Soldiers at Armory Square Hospital, Washington, D.C., 1860s Courtesy National Library of Medicine
The selflessness of soldiers fostered great respect after the war. Yet as Americans sought to put the memory of the conflict behind, they increasingly ignored the plight of aging, disabled, impoverished veterans. By the 1880s, support for veterans was diminishing, as depicted in this representation of a Union soldier grasping at government funds with many arms.
Puck magazine cover, December 1882
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Private George W. Lemon was shot in the leg and captured by Confederate soldiers. He received treatment for his injuries only after being freed by the Union force over a week later. He suffered repeated infections in the wound for more than a year until Surgeon Edwin Bently amputated the limb.
“Private George W. Lemon,” Drawings, Photographs and Lithographs Illustrating the Histories of Seven…, George A. Otis, 1867
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Captions from the National Library of Medicine Life and Limb promotional materials.