Friday, March 15, 2013

A Very Useful Leg...!

We have all read about the art of re-purposing something, right? This is taking that very thing to a whole new level!

I think that we forget that on the battlefield, it wasn't uncommon to use the weapons and other equipment of the fallen enemy. Let's face it...many things were hard to come by on the battlefield, so you did what you had to do to get by. Sometimes the items that were re-used went beyond ammo and guns, as this story from listverse shows!

Leg That Served the North and the South
June 1863



When Confederate Captain John Newton Ballard of Mosby’s Rangers lost his leg in battle in 1863, like many of his fellow officers, he didn’t waste time fretting over his amputated limb. Instead, he acquired a second hand artificial leg and got back to war. Unfortunately, he was left literally without a leg to stand on near Halltown, Virginia, when his horse collided with a Union cavalry soldier’s mount and his prosthetic was crushed, making him the only Civil War soldier to lose the same leg twice. However, he was about to have a stroke of luck. In March 1864, Union Colonel Ulric Dahlgren was killed near Richmond, Virginia, during a cavalry raid. He, too, had lost a leg in 1863 (in fact, the severed leg was given a military funeral and is still sealed within the wall of Building 28 in the Washington Navy Yard). Dahlgren’s body was found by Confederates, one of whom took his wooden artificial limb as a souvenir. The Yankee prosthetic made its way to John Ballard, who wore it in active service to the end of the war.

I'm thinking these guys were true men! Men that didn't know the meaning of quit. There are so many more stories like this from the conflict known as the "War Between The States" that we will probably never know them all!

Looks like another good day for coffee out on the patio. I'll share my cinnamon rolls, OK?

4 comments:

linda m said...

This story gives new meaning to the word "recycle". Yes, back in those days men were truly men. thanks for a very interesting story. Coffee outside sounds good. Cloudy here and looks like snow. Have a great weekend.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Just wondering if that war had turned out a little different, what it would be like today? I bet there would be at least three or four countries. One north of the Mason-Dixon line, one south east of that line, and then there would be Texas. Maybe even a fourth on the west coast.

JO said...

Nothing was ever wasted. It's amazing to see it was even jointed.

The weather in the morning is great but it sure gets hot in the afternoon now. Coffee on the patio this time of year seems really special. I'll join in and have fresh ground coffeed too.

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
Sorta makes us realize just how important recycling really is.

I know you'll sure be glad when the snow goes away for a while!

Thanks for coming over today!


Hey Dizzy...
Very good point to ponder! No telling what things would have looked like, if that were the case!

Thanks, buddy, for coming over today


Hey Jo...
I'm glad you are getting just a tad of warmer weather already.

Not hot here, but it is warming up nicely!

Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by today!