A Life After War
In July 1864, Union soldier John Wales January was captured during a cavalry raid near Macon, Georgia. He was sent to the infamous Andersonville prison, later transferred to Charleston, then Florence, South Carolina. There, scurvy and gangrene set into his feet and lower legs.
The Knife That Saved Him
Surgeons refused to help. Certain he would die without intervention, January used a pocket knife to amputate both of his feet. He cut through dead flesh and tendons, leaving bones exposed by five inches. He kept the knife for the rest of his life.
Barely Alive in New York
In April 1865, emaciated to 45 pounds, he was released to Union lines and sent to David’s Island hospital in New York. On the journey, the bones broke off one by one. Surgeons expected him to die, but he survived, though it took over a year to sit upright.
A Life After War
January later married, had six children, and moved to South Dakota. He farmed, gave lectures, and led veterans’ groups. He died in 1907. His feet were never surgically amputated—only self-removed in a prison hospital with a pocket knife.
In 1864, Union soldier John Wales January was captured near Macon, Georgia, and held in Confederate prisons including Andersonville and Florence.
There, after falling ill with gangrene and scurvy, he used a pocket knife to amputate both feet when no surgeon would help…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/KwIUaECeuC
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) May 10, 2025