Guiding
his horse during the heat of battle, a line officer sometimes wished for an
extra arm. That way he could use his revolver while holding his reins and
waving signals to his aides.
Confederate
Major General John B. Hood tops the list of those who kept on going with
inadequate body equipment. At Gettysburg, an injury to his left arm left it all
but useless. Chickamauga then cost him his right leg, which was amputated very
close to his trunk. Hood therefore led Confederates in the battle of Atlanta while
strapped into his saddle, wearing a five thousand-dollar French made cork leg.
Though
notoriously temperamental, drugs may have affected his judgment. Trying to cope
with constant pain, he used laudanum in such quantities that some medical
analysts suggest it may have produced euphoria.
