December 13-15, 2022 Collectible Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/14/2022
"He treasures a number of interesting mementoes of his service, among which are the instruments he used in extracting a ball from Colonel Mosby..." So wrote Gen. Clement Evans of Dr. William L. Dunn in an 1899 edition of "Confederate Military History." This wood surgical case with various instruments belonged to Dr. Dunn and comes from the Lattimer collection. Several old display tags indicate it was on display at some point in a historical society or local museum. One of the tags reads, "Bullet forceps and knife used by Dr. Dunn to cut bullet out of Confederate general Mosby..," which likely refers to the bullet forceps present in the case and perhaps one of two amputation knives with checkered black ebony handles. The brass bound wood case is a typical surgical case of the Civil War with dark velvet lining of the top present but the interior dividers and bottom lining removed and various tools now loose inside. Other tools include an early key type tooth extractor, 2 fleams (one cased), a pair of nippers, an early instrument with checkered bone handle, and later pieces such as steel nippers, test tube in wooden case, and a pocket medicine case with glass vials and pockets labelled "powders" and "prescriptions." Dunn was attending Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia when the war started and joined the 1st Virginia Cavalry. Ordered to report to the medical staff, he instead was active as scout and messenger. He finally joined the medical department at the end of a year's service, studied surgery at a Richmond hospital until April 1863, when accepted an appointment as Assistant Surgeon (and acting Surgeon) with Mosby, whom he had known from service in the 1st Virginia. He treated Mosby at least 3 times: the first when he removed a bullet when Mosby was shot in August 1863 at Goodings (or Gooden's) Tavern and last when attending him after his December 1864 wounding at Lakeland, when he avoided capture by pretending the wound was mortal. Dunn himself was captured in October 1863, but exchanged in November. As with his service in the 1st Virginia, Dunn did not avoid fighting, taking part July 1864 raid on Point of Rocks and the fight at Aldie soon after, the capture of several ambulances in September, the scout along the Valley Pike in October. Mosby replaced him soon after with Dr. Aristides Montreiro, commenting that he had found Dunn, "too fond of fighting. I wanted a surgeon that took more pride in curing than killing." Mosby and Dunn, however, remained lifelong friends. The collection includes 2 1913 letters to Dunn from Mosby on current politics and medical matters. Also included are a half-dozen legal documents of Dunn's, several of his calling cards, and a wartime letter to him from a young lady in Richmond that may have been added to the collection by Dr. Lattimer. Five old display tags include one reading, "Some of Dr. Dunn's surgical instruments (including tooth extractors,)" indicating the group is largely as it came out of the family.
Item Dimensions: 16 - 1/2" x 9 - 1/4"