Existing comment:
Civil War (1861-1865)
Plaster model
On March 25, 1865, a shell fragment tore into the cheek, leaving the right angle of the mouth hanging loose, and shattering the jaw of a 20-year-old private of Company F, 14th New York Heavy Artillery during the Battle of Petersburg. The soldier was evacuated to the field hospital of the 9th Corps, then sent to the Armory Square Hospital in Washington DC, and then transferred to the DeCamp Hospital in New York. After discharge from the Army on October 21, 1865, he was admitted to New York Hospital where he was treated by pioneering plastic surgeon Dr Gurdon Buck.
When admitted to New York Hospital, the patient's face was extensively disfigured by scarring. The chin receded due to the absence of the jaw. A scar had formed along the opening of the lower portion of the mouth since [the] patient's lower lip remained partially detached. His tongue adhered to the right side of the mouth, making it almost impossible to speak. Since he was missing most of his teeth with the loss of with his jaw, he was restricted to a liquid and soft solid diet. |