"The empty sleeve : or, The life and hardships of Henry H. Meacham, in the Union army / by himself."

"The empty sleeve : or, The life and hardships of Henry H. Meacham, in the Union army / by himself."

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865

Disabled veterans

Amputees

Henry H. Meacham, a former carriage-maker in Massachusetts, joined the 32nd Massachusetts Volunteers; his arm was blown off by a shell near Petersburg in June, 1864. He printed and sold this pamphlet to make a living for himself and his ailing wife. In this account of his war experiences, Meacham says,
"As we were standing there, a shell came through one man and then exploded, taking my right arm off, and killing four of my comrades, making five lives destroyed and one wounded. I never expected to get home or even off the field, but I was bound to do all I could... I was at this time one mile from any surgical assistance, and walked that distance, while the blood was fast leaving me, notwithstanding I had bandaged the arm as tight as possible.... I was so weak as to be unable to walk, or hardly stand.... I had not long to wait before the surgeon came along, and at my earnest request, I was taken to the amputating room and placed on the table. This is the last that I remember until my arm was amputated. After I had fully come to my senses, I was conducted back to my bed on the ground, and there I remained during the night with my bloody clothes on."

This pamphlet is an examples of postwar mendicant literature—items printed and sold for the support of their authors—and illustrate some of the hardships faced by soldiers in battle who became disabled veterans in later life.

Meacham, Henry H.

1869 circa

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Harvard Medical Library Rare Books Collection (E601 .M47).

text

excerpt (cover) of pamphlet

English

text

DigID0001638

Purchased for the Library of Harvard Medical School, 2005

4.5" x 7.5"