The First Cut: A Railroad Accident, an Amputation, and a Firestorm in Congress

Saturday Speaker Series: Jon-Erik Gilot

Popular history tells us that young Confederate James Hanger endured the first amputation of the Civil War in June 1861. But Historian Jon-Erik Gilot will explain that history discounts the tragic story of William Parker, a conductor on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad who lost both legs several days prior to Hanger, and who struggled for decades for recognition and compensation.

Jon-Erik Gilot is the Curator at the Captain Thomas Espy Grand Army of the Republic Post, Carnegie, Pa., and a contributing historian at Emerging Civil War. He works as a corporate archivist in Wheeling, West Virginia.

The presentation is included with admission to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

You may also like the following events from National Museum of Civil War Medicine:

• This month, 13th May, 11:00 pm, Meet the Author: Scott Hartwig in Frederick, Maryland
• This month, 24th May, 01:00 pm, Faces of Civil War Nurses: A Photo Exhibit in Washington
• This month, 31st May, 10:30 am, Shepherdstown: A Confederate Hospital Walking Tour in Shepherdstown