William H. Harris

From Harris, he enlisted in Company E, 7th Wisconsin Infantry on 10 February 1862.

He was wounded in action at Turner's Gap on South Mountain on 14 September 1862 ...

... by a ball, which entered the chest in front, one inch outside of the left nipple. It has never been found. He expectorated a small quantity of blood immediately, and this continued for three or four days. Air never escaped from the wound ...

In October a surgeon noted:

... his respiration and the heart's action have never been disturbed; he has had no cough, and on the 26th day [about 10 October], when he came under our notice, the external wound was entirely closed.

This case is so extraordinary in its results that we entertain some doubt whether the ball was not withdrawn by the clothing. It is possible, however, that it remains in the chest.

Service information from the State of Wisconsin1. The medical quotes from Frank Hastings Hamilton's Treatise on Military Surgery and Hygiene (1865, online).