Joseph Hooker was born in Hadley, Massachusetts on November 13, 1814. He graduated from West Point in 1837, at the age of 23. He served in the Mexican war, and he resigned shortly after its conclusion. Hooker took up business in Oregon and California. Come 1861, he found himself called to battle, and was appointed a Brigadier General of volunteers in May 1861, Major General of volunteers in May 1832, and Brigadier General in the Regular Army in September of 1862. He was present during the Peninsula Campaign.
At Antietam, he was wounded in the right foot while standing in the stirrups on horseback. He was taken to the Pry House where he was treated, first in the operating room on the first floor, then to a bedroom upstairs. Warm water dressings were applied to the injury. The next morning, his foot was hot and inflamed. A surgeon used a syringe to wash the wound before dressing it a second time. The third morning, Hooker’s foot had improved and was no longer inflamed. He shortly left for Washington, DC. He continued to serve in the Army throughout the war, receiving several more serious wounds. His foot occasionally caused him acute pain, and his gait was the same after Antietam.