MEMBER OF THE “LEFT ARM CORPS”
CONTESTANT IN FAMOUS CONTEST FOR AMPUTEES
Lost right arm and two fingers of the left hand.
This is a unique collection of items memorializing a soldier who, like thousands of others, was made an amputee from injuries sustained in the war. In the case of Jesse Pendergrast, his injuries were sustained on June 17, 1864 at Bermuda Hundred. As he tells it:
“…the rebels…massed their troops in our front, our brigade was standing in the rifle pits and firing at the rebels briskly when a shell from one of their Field Batteries came into the pit where I was standing,
and exploded and wounded me badly, so it was necessary to amputate my right arm at the elbow,
and two fingers and thumb on my left hand… “
This collection is displayed on an original page from an album, and includes a swatch of his uniform, his eagle breastplate, a poem (“Good By Old Arm”) with what may be two pieces of shrapnel, a flattened general service button, a CDV of him as a young man, a GAR medal, several obituaries, and an ad from “Lincoln’s Patent Artificial Arm” with a handwritten note from the inventor, Marvin Lincoln. (Note that the CDV shown above is not in the collection, but is at the Library of Congress.)
THE COLLECTION OF ITEMS
The Front of the Album Page:
Eagle cross belt plate (front)
Eagle cross belt plate (back)
General service button (flattened)
Swatch of cloth from uniform
Ad for “Lincoln’s Artificial Arm”, patented 1863, with notation
from inventor Marvin Lincoln, sent to Jesse Pendergrast.
(At the top is a clipping from newspaper announcing Pendergrast’s award in the
penmanship contest for the “Left Army Corps” – see below)
Poem: “Good-By, Old Arm! (A hospital incident)”
together with two pieces of shrapnel
His brief obituary