Union Brig. General Davis Tillson suffered a pre-war injury that led to amputation of a foot. Hobbling from battery to battery, he commanded artillery that defended both Cincinnati and Knoxville.
At least three well-known Confederates could sympathize with Tillson. Vice-President Alexander H. Stephens suffered all his life from a severe case of clubfoot. Col. Roger W. Hanson had “an especially peculiar gait” as a result of taking a bullet in his leg during a pre-war duel. Brig. General Henry H. Walker lost a foot as a result if a wound at Spotsylvania.