Saddle to Crutches: A Virginia Trooper’s Medical Journey

Hear about Confederate cavalryman Thomas Wallace Colley’s journey from the saddle to the hospital as he dealt with three wounds during the Civil War.

On Sunday September 29 at 1:00 PM at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, hear the story of Thomas Wallace Colley. While serving in the Confederate cavalry during the Civil War, he was wounded three times. Historian and author Michael Shaffer will tell Colley’s history, focusing on his experiences with the medical system.

Over the course of the Civil War, Colley had first hand experience with every aspect of the medical system. He was treated in a field hospital near the front lines, and spent time recovering in a general hospital far behind the lines. His remembrances, though only one perspective, offer insight into the larger narrative of Civil War medical care.

Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, instructor, lecturer, newspaper columnist, and author. Shaffer is a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, Georgia Association of Historians, and Georgia Writers Association. He also teaches Civil War Courses at Kennesaw State University’s College of Continuing and Professional Education and frequently lectures to various groups across the country.