Artificial Limbs for Confederate Amputees
Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Artificial Limbs. North Carolina was first state to provide limbs to Confederate amputees. Factory, which operated 1866-67, was 1/4 mi. NE.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
In the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, North Carolina became the first state to provide artificial limbs to its Confederate amputees, running a factory here from 1866 to 1867. The war had left tens of thousands of maimed veterans, and the program was an early public effort to care for the disabled survivors of the conflict. It marked a first, halting step toward veterans' welfare in the South.
Why it matters
The scale of Civil War amputations forced America to confront how a society cares for its wounded, and this pioneering program foreshadowed the veterans' benefits of later generations.
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