Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [439]
delighted him more than to talk about the war. To augment his meager pension he sold a pamphlet containing in detail an account of his injuries and a description of the skilfully devised apparatus by which his declining life was made endurable. A somewhat similar case is mentioned on page 585.
A most remarkable case of a soldier suffering numerous and almost incredible injuries and recovering and pursuing his vocation with undampened ardor is that of Jacques Roellinger, Company B, 47th New York Volunteers. He appeared before a pension board in New York, June 29, 1865, with the following history: In 1862 he suffered a sabre-cut across the quadriceps extensor of the left thigh, and a sabre-thrust between the bones of the forearm at the middle third. Soon afterward at Williamsburg, Va., he was shot in the thigh, the ball passing through the middle third external to the femur. At Fort Wagner, 1863, he had a sword-cut, severing the spinal muscles and overlying tissue for a distance of six inches. Subsequently he was captured by guerillas in Missouri and tortured by burning splinters of wood, the cicatrices of which he exhibited; he escaped to Florida, where he was struck by a fragment of an exploding shell, which passed from without inward, behind the hamstring on the right leg, and remained embedded and could be plainly felt. When struck he fell and was fired on by the retiring enemy. A ball entered between the 6th and 7th ribs just beneath the apex of the heart, traversed the lungs and issued at the right 9th rib. He fired his revolver on reception of this shot, and was soon bayonetted by his own comrades by mistake, this wound also penetrating the body. He showed a depressed triangular cicatrix on the margin of the epigastrium. If the scars are at all indicative, the bayonet must have passed through the left lobe of the liver and border of the diaphragm. Finally he was struck by a pistol-ball at the lower angle of the left lower jaw, this bullet issuing on the other side of the neck. As exemplary of the easy manner in which he bore his many injuries during a somewhat protracted convalescence, it may be added that he amused his comrades by blowing jets of water through the apertures on both sides of his neck. Beside the foregoing injuries he received many minor ones, which he did not deem worthy of record or remembrance. The greatest disability he suffered at the time of applying for a pension resulted from an ankylosed knee. Not satisfied with his experience in our war, he stated to the pension examiners that he was on his way to join Garibaldi's army. This case is marvelous when we consider the proximity of several of the wounds to a vital part; the slightest deviation of position would surely have resulted in a fatal issue for this apparently charmed life. The following table shows the man's injuries in the order of their reception:--
(1) Sabre-cut across the quadriceps femoris of right leg, dividing the tendinous and muscular structures.
(2) Sabre-thrust between the bones in the middle third of the right forearm.
(3) Shot in the right thigh, the ball passing through the middle third.
(4) A sword-cut across the spinal muscles covering the lower dorsal vertebrae.
(5) Tortured by guerillas in Indian fashion by having burning splinters of wood applied to the surface of his right thorax.
(6) An exploded shell passed through the hamstring muscles of the right thigh and embedded itself in the ligamentous tissues of the internal condyle of the femur.
(7) Shot by a ball between the 6th and 7th ribs of the left side.
(8) Bayonetted through the body, the steel passing through the left lobe of the liver and penetrating the posterior border of the diaphragm.
(9) Pistol-ball shot through the sternocleido muscle of one side of the neck, emerging through the corresponding muscle of the other side of the neck.
(10) Sabre-thrust between the bones of the left forearm.
(11) Pistol-shot through the left pectoralis major and left deltoid muscles.
(12) Deep cut dividing the commissure between the left thumb
A most remarkable case of a soldier suffering numerous and almost incredible injuries and recovering and pursuing his vocation with undampened ardor is that of Jacques Roellinger, Company B, 47th New York Volunteers. He appeared before a pension board in New York, June 29, 1865, with the following history: In 1862 he suffered a sabre-cut across the quadriceps extensor of the left thigh, and a sabre-thrust between the bones of the forearm at the middle third. Soon afterward at Williamsburg, Va., he was shot in the thigh, the ball passing through the middle third external to the femur. At Fort Wagner, 1863, he had a sword-cut, severing the spinal muscles and overlying tissue for a distance of six inches. Subsequently he was captured by guerillas in Missouri and tortured by burning splinters of wood, the cicatrices of which he exhibited; he escaped to Florida, where he was struck by a fragment of an exploding shell, which passed from without inward, behind the hamstring on the right leg, and remained embedded and could be plainly felt. When struck he fell and was fired on by the retiring enemy. A ball entered between the 6th and 7th ribs just beneath the apex of the heart, traversed the lungs and issued at the right 9th rib. He fired his revolver on reception of this shot, and was soon bayonetted by his own comrades by mistake, this wound also penetrating the body. He showed a depressed triangular cicatrix on the margin of the epigastrium. If the scars are at all indicative, the bayonet must have passed through the left lobe of the liver and border of the diaphragm. Finally he was struck by a pistol-ball at the lower angle of the left lower jaw, this bullet issuing on the other side of the neck. As exemplary of the easy manner in which he bore his many injuries during a somewhat protracted convalescence, it may be added that he amused his comrades by blowing jets of water through the apertures on both sides of his neck. Beside the foregoing injuries he received many minor ones, which he did not deem worthy of record or remembrance. The greatest disability he suffered at the time of applying for a pension resulted from an ankylosed knee. Not satisfied with his experience in our war, he stated to the pension examiners that he was on his way to join Garibaldi's army. This case is marvelous when we consider the proximity of several of the wounds to a vital part; the slightest deviation of position would surely have resulted in a fatal issue for this apparently charmed life. The following table shows the man's injuries in the order of their reception:--
(1) Sabre-cut across the quadriceps femoris of right leg, dividing the tendinous and muscular structures.
(2) Sabre-thrust between the bones in the middle third of the right forearm.
(3) Shot in the right thigh, the ball passing through the middle third.
(4) A sword-cut across the spinal muscles covering the lower dorsal vertebrae.
(5) Tortured by guerillas in Indian fashion by having burning splinters of wood applied to the surface of his right thorax.
(6) An exploded shell passed through the hamstring muscles of the right thigh and embedded itself in the ligamentous tissues of the internal condyle of the femur.
(7) Shot by a ball between the 6th and 7th ribs of the left side.
(8) Bayonetted through the body, the steel passing through the left lobe of the liver and penetrating the posterior border of the diaphragm.
(9) Pistol-ball shot through the sternocleido muscle of one side of the neck, emerging through the corresponding muscle of the other side of the neck.
(10) Sabre-thrust between the bones of the left forearm.
(11) Pistol-shot through the left pectoralis major and left deltoid muscles.
(12) Deep cut dividing the commissure between the left thumb