When my grandfather was a small child, his leg was severely broken in a carriage accident. Everyone thought his leg had to be amputated. His father, a surgeon, said no, he had cut off enough legs during the war, and he wasn’t going to do that to his own son. The leg, and my grandfather, survived and went on to live a normal life, marrying, raising a family, having grandchildren.
The war was the American Civil War and my great-grandfather, Robert Loughran, served as surgeon to the 20th NY State Militia.
The new minie ball used in battle caused horrible injuries, splintering bones and mangling softer tissues. Amputation was many times the only choice. Thanks to one surgeon’s horror at the things he saw, and the things he had to do, my grandfather was saved and I am here to tell the story.
Some of that horror occurred at the Battle of Antietam, in which the 20th NY was fully involved, 150 years ago today.