Case 697, Private Dennis Driscoll

During the weeks following, little change was observed in Private Driscoll's condition. His pulse and bladder function were normal, and though confined to the hospital, he was described as being "hopeful." His wound was treated with cold-water dressings and periodically discharged an unpleasant pus.

A little more than two weeks from the time he was admitted however, Driscoll's wound began to show signs of irritation and infection. The exact location of the musket ball was initially uncertain and no attempt to retrieve it had been made. With time the leaden ball became more and more distinct as the area around it reddened. Determined to remove the musket ball, Surgeon B.B. Wilson chloroformed his patient and made an incision over its point of lodgment. In a later case study he wrote, "But the missile, which was distinctly felt previous to the incision, could not be found." Several attempts were made to grasp it, but to no avail.

Strangely enough, the ball was found the following morning in the patient's bed, having "gravitated out during the night." Despite being rid of the ball, pain and tenderness extended over the whole of Private Driscoll's abdomen. Five days after the attempted surgery, the infection spread to the blood and symptoms worsened. Twenty-seven days after receiving the wound, and more than two weeks after the Civil War had ended, Driscoll eventually lost his battle with infection. An autopsy revealed "marked cystitis and peritonitis, with commencing gangrene" as the cause of death.

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