"At an age when appearances are reality, it becomes important to provide the cripple with a limb which shall be presentable in polite society, where misfortunes of a certain obtrusiveness may be pitied, but are never tolerated under the chandeliers."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Human Wheel, Its Spokes and Felloes (1863)
The Innovation of Prosthetic Limbs
The demand for artificial limbs were high due to the impact and casualties of the Civil War. Before the Civil War began, the first artificial limb was patented and filed by Benjamin Franklin Palmer on November 4, 1846. His invention appeared in fairs and competitions in the United States, but his greatest success was at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851 where many people in the country celebrated his new invention.
NOTE: To view the model of Palmer's artificial limb, click here!
During the Civil War, Palmer opened the American Artificial Limb Company in Meredith, New Hampshire. The US government supported and supplied artificial limbs to the Union soldiers who suffered an amputation with a price up to $75. The Confederates, meanwhile, were on the side of the rebellion, and did not receive support from Washington for artificial limbs. So, they would have to raise funds on their own to receive artificial limbs.
John M. Morgan
One of the soldiers who received an artificial limb from Palmer was John M. Morgan (1844-1914). He received his prosthetic leg on April 10, 1864 for $50. John served in the 13th Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company H. He was mustered at age 18 on August 14, 1862, and served for 3 years. He was discharged with the loss of his leg on May 17, 1865.
John was born on August 16 in Horsham. At age 12 he became independent, and found farm work in Lancaster, PA. Before joining the 13th Regiment in the Civil War, he was part of the 4th Pennsylvania Reserves under the leadership of Captain Isaiah W. Kimble. While serving in the 14th Regiment, a minié ball plowed through his left leg. He was unwilling to leave his post, but he was forced to go to the hospital when his leg was amputated. He continued serving in the war in the Invalid Corps. He was considered one of the most courageous soldiers in his unit, and was granted a pension for his service in the Civil War.
After the war, John went on a prospecting tour in Los Angeles, California where he was given a mail route. He then returned to Pennsylvania and did trading. He married Sarah Jackson in 1868 and settled in Horsham for a year and a half. He moved his family to Plumstead Township, PA in Bucks County, then to Jamison where he conducted his farm. In 1881, John conducted a mail route from Hatboro to Lansdale. He continued the mailing service for many years where he earned $400 a year.
NOTE: It was unknown when he was in Spring House, PA, but I would assume he was around there between 1866 and 1868.
Bibliography
Carroll, Dillon. "After the Amputation." National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Last modified February 23, 2017. https://www.civilwarmed.org/prosthetics.
Davis, William W. Hart. History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, From the Discovery of the Delaware to the Present Time. (New York, Chicago: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1905): 416-417.
Executive Documents Printed by the Order of The House of Representatives, During the First Session of the Thirty-Ninth Congress, 1865-66. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1866): 77.
Gayle, Alice J. "13th Pennsylvania Cavalry Company H." PaRoots. Accessed January 28, 2023. https://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/cavalry/13thcav/13hcavcoh.html.
"Register of Civil War Volunteers, 1861-1865, Volume 11: 112th-126th Regiments." Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Accessed January 28, 2023. Pages 73 & 74. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r19-65RegisterPaVolunteers/r19-65%20Reg112-126Interface.htm.
"The Palmer Patent Leg." Nineteenth-Century Disability: Cultures & Contexts. Accessed January 28, 2023. http://nineteenthcenturydisability.org/items/show/59.
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