The OED defines “bedlam” through the antiquated terms “lunatic asylum” or “madhouse.” The term originated from the slurring of the name of the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, which was once the primary psychiatric institution of London. The Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, where Minor was incarcerated in 1872, was built because of overcrowding at the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem.

Literally meaning “early-flowering failure of the mental powers,” this 19th century psychiatric diagnosis distinguished a condition in which a person begins to lose touch with reality, and has since been replaced by the term schizophrenia. Minor was diagnosed with dementia praecox in 1918.

Desertion is the criminal abandonment of military duty without permission and with the intention of not returning. A chronic problem during the Civil War, desertion was punishable by death and other corporal punishments like imprisonment, flogging, or branding. Minor was forced to brand a deserter during his military service—a traumatic event that affected his mental health.