Legrand G. Capers
Encyclopedia
Legrand G. Capers was an American physician, best known for his 1874 spurious case report
of bullet-mediated impregnation
of a young woman.
, as the son of the merchant LeGrand G. Capers (1808–1868) and his first wife, Abigail Swift (1810–1846). LeGrand G. Capers, Sr. served on gen. Worth's
staff during the Mexican–American War
.
LeGrand G. Capers, Jr. trained medicine under as the assistant to his brother-in-law, Ebenezer Swift, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College. Later he practised as ship physician on Vanderbilt's
steamers.
When American Civil War
broke out, Capers participated in the foundation of Confederate Medical Department in Alabama. On July 19, 1861 he became assistant surgeon in the 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. On October 30, 1863 he was promoted to chief surgeon in Cutshaw's battalion.
After armistice, Capers moved to New Orlean and became demonstrator of anatomy in New Orleans School of Medicine. He fell ill in October 1877 and died shortafter on tuberculosis
on December 2. He is buried in Vicksburg
. Obituaries appeared in the Transactions of the Mississippi State Medical Association and American Medical Weekly.
Case report
In medicine, a case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient, but usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence....
of bullet-mediated impregnation
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
of a young woman.
Biography
Legrand Guerry Capers, Jr. was born on April 16, 1834 in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, as the son of the merchant LeGrand G. Capers (1808–1868) and his first wife, Abigail Swift (1810–1846). LeGrand G. Capers, Sr. served on gen. Worth's
William J. Worth
William Jenkins Worth was a United States general during the Mexican-American War.-Early life:Worth was born in 1794 in Hudson, New York, to Thomas Worth and Abigail Jenkins. Both of his parents were Quakers, but he rejected the pacifism of their faith...
staff during the Mexican–American War
Mexican–American War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...
.
LeGrand G. Capers, Jr. trained medicine under as the assistant to his brother-in-law, Ebenezer Swift, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College. Later he practised as ship physician on Vanderbilt's
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
steamers.
When American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
broke out, Capers participated in the foundation of Confederate Medical Department in Alabama. On July 19, 1861 he became assistant surgeon in the 4th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. On October 30, 1863 he was promoted to chief surgeon in Cutshaw's battalion.
After armistice, Capers moved to New Orlean and became demonstrator of anatomy in New Orleans School of Medicine. He fell ill in October 1877 and died shortafter on tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
on December 2. He is buried in Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
. Obituaries appeared in the Transactions of the Mississippi State Medical Association and American Medical Weekly.
"Bullet pregnancy"
The infamous case of "bullet pregnancy" was published in 1874 in The American Medical Weekly. Capers claimed that he witnessed this case eleven years before, while serving in Confederate army:
On the 12th day of May, 1863, the battle of R. was fought. [...] Our men were fighting nobly, but pressed by superior numbers, had gradually fallen back to within one hundred and fifty yards of the house. My position being near my regiment, suddenly I beheld a noble, gallant young friend staggering closer, and then fall to the earth. In the same moment a piercing scream from the house reached my ear! I was soon by the side of the young man, and, upon examination, found a compound fracture, with extensive comminution of the left tibia; the ball having ricochetted from these parts, and, in its onward flight, passed through the scrotum, carrying away the left testicle. Scarcely had I finished dressing the wounds of this poor fellow, when the estimable matron came running to me in the greatest distress, begging me to go to one of her daughters, who, she informed me, had been badly wounded a few minutes before. Hastening to the house, I found that the eldest of the young ladies had indeed received a most serious wound. A minnie ball had penetrated the left abdominal parietes, about midway between the umbilicus and anterior spinal process of the ilium, and was lost in the abdominal cavity, leaving a ragged wound behind. Believing there was little or no hope of her recovery, I had only time to prescribe an anodyneAnodyneIn medicine before the 20th century, an anodyne was a medicine that was believed to relieve or soothe pain by lessening the sensitivity of the brain or nervous system In medicine before the 20th century, an anodyne was a medicine that was believed to relieve or soothe pain by lessening the...
, when our army fell back, leaving both field and village in the hands of the enemy. [...] About six months after her recovery, the movements of our army brought me again to the village of R., and I was again sent for to see the young lady. She appeared in excellent health and spirits, but her abdomen had become enormously enlarged, so much so as to resemble pregnancy at the seventh or eighth month. Indeed, had I not known the family and the facts of the abdominal wound, I should have so pronounced the case. Under the above circumstances, I failed to give a positive diagnosis, determining to keep the case under surveillance. [...] Just two hundred and seventy-eight days from the date of the receipt of the wound by the minnie ball, I delivered this same young lady of a fine boy, weighing eight pounds. [...] About three weeks from the date of this remarkable birth, I was called to see the child, the grandmother insisting there was "something wrong about the genitals." Examination revealed an enlarged, swollen, sensitive scrotum, containing on the right side a hard, roughened substance, evidently foreign. I decided upon operating for its removal at once, and in so doing, extracted from the scrotum a minnie ball, mashed and battered as if it had met in its flight some hard, unyielding substance.