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THB[MEDICAL HISTORY] H.A. Barnum w/ Abdomen Wound CDV
![[MEDICAL HISTORY] H.A. Barnum w/ Abdomen Wound CDV](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3262/32626993.jpeg?t=1UW4zR)
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About Auction
LiveOct 11, 2025
Featuring rare artifacts, documents, ephemera, photography, and weaponry relating to the American Civil War. The catalog's emphasis is the Battle of Gettysburg and includes offerings from the collection of noted Gettysburg scholar, Marshall D. Krolick. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
Full-length albumen CDV studio portrait of Henry Alanson Barnum, 149th New York Infantry. New York: H. Lazier, circa 1864-1865. Period ink inscription written to recto. Photographer's imprint to verso.
A rare photograph of Col. Henry Alanson Barnum (1833-1892) pulling either an oakum or a candle wick through an abdomen wound. He is in his Union uniform, and you can clearly see the infantry bugle on his kepi, as well as a lighter sash tied around his waist. While his sash color appears to be buff, which designated a general ranking, something Barnum would not receive until 1865, he signs the photo as "colonel," his rank starting in 1862.
Barnum enlisted in Syracuse, New York, as a captain originally into the 12th New York. It was during his service in the 12th that he was wounded by a conoidal musket ball through the left hip at the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July 1862. The musket ball entered to the left of his naval, through the hip bone, and out through his back, shattering the bone and leaving shards in his body. The wound was considered fatal, so Barnum was left at a field hospital after the Union withdrew, allowing Confederate forces to capture and confine him to Libby Prison. However, he was part of a prisoner exchange and was released to New York two weeks later to recover.
Barnum was hospitalized in New York in October 1862, where civilian doctor Alden March removed several bone fragments from Barnum's now-infected wound. Also in October 1862, Barnum, having just been promoted to colonel, transferred to the 149th. He would not be back in fighting shape until January 1863, but returned for further surgery in April to treat a large abscess that had grown around the wound. But by the Gettysburg Campaign, Barnum had healed enough to lead his regiment in the pivotal battle.
At the start of 1864, his hip was regularly discharging pus from the wound, forcing Barnum to return to New York again, this time to see Dr. Lewis Sayre. Sayre first inserted an oakum saturated with Peru Balsam oil through Barnum's wound to completely drain it. Several weeks later, Surgeon H.K. Hogan replaced the oakum with a candle wick. It was some time during this period that this photo was most likely captured.
Despite the wound, Barnum continued to lead and serve in the 149th. He fought in the Battle of Lookout Mountain, where he received a wound in the right forearm. It was during his charge at Chattanooga, though, that Barnum was nominated and later received a Medal of Honor for "inciting his men to greater action by word and example until again severely wounded." He also fought in the Battle of Peachtree Creek and was hit by shell fragments in his right side.
Barnum continued to battle his infected wound, receiving another surgery from Dr. Sayre in 1874 that resulted in more bone removed, the drainage canal straightened, and a rubber drainage tube inserted. A second tube was then added in 1887. He wore both tubes until his death in 1892, resulting from a bout of pneumonia.
Reference: National Museum of Health and Medicine
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Photography, Early Photography, Historic Photography, Daguerreotypes, Ambrotypes, Tintypes, Cased Images, Union Cases, Albumen Photographs, CDVs, Carte de Visites, Cartes de Visite, Carte-de-visite, Cartes-de-visite, CDV, Cabinet Cards, Stereoviews, Stereocards] [Medical History, Medical Photography]
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