Civil War Dental Forceps, dug Hospital site, Murfreesboro - as in museum (SOLD)

Being offered here is an original, excavated pair of Dental Tooth Forceps. The overall measurement is 7 ½” and it is frozen in the closed position. It is a very primitive tool having a curved handle design which goes back to the 1700s. There is a very faint makers-mark, but it is almost impossible to make out. It looks like a few of the letters are “…uten…et”.  It was dug quite a few years ago in an antebellum house at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which was used as a field hospital after the battle.

With 24,645 casualties, just about every house, building and barn would be needed to care for the wounded. There were very few “dentists” who served in the field during the Civil War. Most procedures would be done by the regiment’s surgeon, so such instruments would typically be a part of his instruments. There were also facial injuries, so such a tool would be needed.

Dug medical items are rare because they were so limited and very hard to replace. There is an identical example of this piece in The Civil War National Museum in Harrisburg, PA (see pictures). The condition of this piece is amazing – virtually no rust or pitting, and a very smooth surface.