150 Years Ago Today in the Civil War: Battle of Philippi Posted
by Diane This June 3, 1861, battle, which resulted in a Union
victory, was part of a campaign by Maj. Gen. George McClellan,
then commander of the Department of Ohio, to protect mostly pro-
Union western Virginia and secure railroad bridges. What may be
the first battlefield amputations were performed on the
Confederate side. Horrible as it was, this common battlefield
surgery, which generally took about 15 minutes, saved many
lives, according to Michael O. Varhola in the book Life in Civil
War America. One of the patients was 18-year-old James E.
Hanger, who lost his leg. After returning home, he crafted an
artificial leg from barrel staves with a hinge at the knee. He
was commissioned to manufacture prosthetic limbs for other
wounded soldiers and patented his device. He founded what is now
the Hanger Orthopedic Group, still a leading manufacturer of
artificial limbs. Civil War | Genealogy books Friday, June 03,
2011 9:52:20 AM (Eastern Daylight