Shot While Rescuing a Comrade
George Thomas Perkins by Miller & Rowell of Boston, Mass. A Harvard educated physician, Perkins joined the Union army as a hospital steward after his hopes for a coveted surgeon's commission were dashed. He joined the Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry in 1861 and suffered a nearly mortal wound at Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862. A gun shot struck him in the lower back as he rescued a wounded comrade. Two days later he and other injured soldiers fell into enemy hands while they lay at a makeshift hospital at nearby Savage's Station.
The Confederates released Perkins about a month later. He eventually recovered and returned to duty. After the Twenty-second mustered out of the service in 1864, Perkins served a stint as assistant surgeon in the Thirty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In January 1865 he became surgeon of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry. He died in 1880.
Read his profile, which is part of the New York Times Disunion series.
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.
Shot While Rescuing a Comrade
George Thomas Perkins by Miller & Rowell of Boston, Mass. A Harvard educated physician, Perkins joined the Union army as a hospital steward after his hopes for a coveted surgeon's commission were dashed. He joined the Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry in 1861 and suffered a nearly mortal wound at Gaines' Mill on June 27, 1862. A gun shot struck him in the lower back as he rescued a wounded comrade. Two days later he and other injured soldiers fell into enemy hands while they lay at a makeshift hospital at nearby Savage's Station.
The Confederates released Perkins about a month later. He eventually recovered and returned to duty. After the Twenty-second mustered out of the service in 1864, Perkins served a stint as assistant surgeon in the Thirty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In January 1865 he became surgeon of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Infantry. He died in 1880.
Read his profile, which is part of the New York Times Disunion series.
I encourage you to use this image for educational purposes only. However, please ask for permission.