CIVIL WAR CRUTCH

42” length for a boy or short man, both of which served in large numbers. Boys served in Confederate forces. The sides are made from a single piece unified at the base and split above enclosing a swelled hand grip. Crescent form armrest secured with wood pegs. See Civil War Collector’s Encyclopedia p.83. The battlefield remedy for limb wounds, arm or leg, was amputation, necessitated by limited time and resources and to minimize infection which was fatal. Massive numbers of men fighting on either side finished the War on crutches such as this, but few compare to the quaint provincial character.