Without the benefit of antiseptics and antibiotics, thousands of soldiers died when their wounds became infected. Many of those who survived their wounds were left with permanent disabilities. Nathan Jewett of Sharon, a Private with Company G of the Connecticut Second Heavy Artillery, was discharged after three months of service, left with a ball lodged in his side that was expected to “trouble” him for the rest of his life. Jewett lived only another ten years after being wounded, dying at the age of 33.

Cornwall’s Horace Williams, also a Private with Company G, was shot in the mouth at the Battle of Fort Fisher in January, 1865. The ball was not found and removed until May. The muscles or, perhaps, the nerves for one eye were damaged, preventing Williams from closing or blinking that eye for the rest of his life

Other Cornwall soldiers known to have suffered from debilitating wounds include Thomas Smith, John Milton Gregory and Nelson Clark.