Civil War Crutch

47" length. Made for a natural limb with the leathery bark on, split and shaped with heat (steam or boiling water) enclosing a swelled hand grip. Separate arm rest, evidently made from the same limb. Evidently Southern as those used in the North were machine made. See Civil War Collector's Encyclopedia p.83. The battle field 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 for quaint provincial character.