The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1780-10-28 00:00:00, page 1

To the PRINTERS.
I FIND by yourlaft paper, that Dr.Shippenis re elect
ed director general of the American hospitals No
thing could Surprize me more, af^er reading the ma
ny proofs of his negligence, (peculations in hospital Acres,
&c. published in the news-papers, all of which I am
bound to believe, fr< m be in<k pendent chara&e s of the
witnesses, to be true, n r r can any contradiary evi
dence from a commissary, or any body else in office un
der Dr. Shippen, who have probably (hared with him in
the plunder of the hofpit b, alter the opinion I have
formed of his guilt. I think it incumbent upon the
people at large, to enquire who nominated this man for
bis prefentoffice; who recommended him; whodehnded
him, and what states voted f r him, that they may dis
tinguish the genuine lovers of th'ir country from the
lovers of genuine M A DEI R A,
P., S, lain told h:t the surgeons and officers of t s e
army who have read the Sentence of the court-martial,
in one p rt of which they only cold y acquit him of
fraud ; and in another p^t convict him of " (pecu
lating in Acres proper for hospitals, have declared,
that they will no linger serve with him, or keep his
comony. If this be true, it will be kind in the friends
of Dr. £hippen to inform him what company, besides
thur own, he muff keep.
In CONGRESS, June 19, 1780.
Resolved, That if any person or perfens (hall take,
and prosecute to convi&icn, any perlon who Shall pre
pare, engrave, Ramp, forge or print, or cause or pro
cure to be prepared, engraved, Ramped, forged or
printed, the counterfeit resemblance of any paper bills
of credit issued, emitted or made by Congress, or who
ffiall counterfeit or sign the name or namesof the fign*
ers to any true bilis to luch counterfeit psper, with die
intention that such counterfeit paper shall be puffed in
payments or received as genuine and good bills, whether
the fame be so passed or received or not; or who shall pay,
or tender in payment, any such counterfeit money, or
deliver the fame to any other person or persons, with an
faitention that such counterfeit paper be p ff?d, paid or
received, as and for good and genuine, knowing the
fame to be forged or counterfeited: upon every such
convia : on, and procuring a certificate thereof, under
the hands of the judges before whom such convi&ion
ffiall be had, or either of them, such person or persons
shall receive of the continental Inane fficer of the state,
where such conviffion ffiall be had, the turn of TWO
THOUSAND DOLLARS, in the present continental
currency, which the said loan-officer is hereby directed
and required to pay out of any public money in his
hands, and to charge the fame to the United States.
Extract from ths minutes.
CH ARLES THOMSON. Secretary.
Belleville, October to, 1780.
ALL persons who have any demands against the late
Quartermaster General's department, for contra&s
performed, and services done, under the dire&ion of
the fubferiber, for the ufs of the United States, are re
queued to meet him in E^fion, on the roth day of No
vember next, then and there to make a final Settlement
of their accounts, that he may be fooncr enabled to
prelent his accounts, and to do that justice to the good
people in his fare diftri&, which the wisdom and justice
of Congress have pointed cut in their late resolutions.
ROBERT L. HOOPER, late D. Q M. G.
THE
SATURDAY, O CTOBER 28, 1780;
OR I^.^
G ENERA L ^^^ ADVERTISER
w^^rw^^a^^WW^G#^
Port of Philadelphia, PeoiSylvania, „,.
To ALL whom it may concern.
XJOTICE is hereby given, That a Court of Admiralty
will be held at the State-house in the city of Phila
delphia, on the eleventh day of November, at ten o'clock
in the forenoon of the fame day, tor the trial of the
£oop called the Two Brothers, lately taken at sea, sent
into this port and libelled against as prize by John Young,
(who as well, &c.) To the intent that the owner or ow
ners, or any person concerned therein, may appear and
shew cause, if any they have, why the fame Should not
be condemned according to the prayer of the said bill,
&c. By order of the Judge,
Oft. 20. ANDREW ROBESON, Register.
TO BE S O L D,
By the fubferibers, at their store, in Race-street,
CHOICE Loaf Sugar, manufa&ured in this city; and
' in a few days will he ready for sale fipgle refined
Loaf Sugar, Molasses, &c.
PENINGTONS and SCHAFFEES.
TO BE LETT,
r\ N an improving lease, a three ftbry BRICK
"H OW SE, in Lwitia-court. For further parti
culars enquire of William Adcock, near the Court
hcufe.
f Published every Tuesday and Saturday.)
Doctor Morgans Continuation.
D&r WILLIAM SMITH, a junior surgeon of the
hospital, depot's,
TH A T he has known four or five to die, fuc
tffively, on the fame straw, in the fame bunk,
and of the feme fever ; feme of whom were ad
mitted for other flight disorders, that did not appear
dangerous in themselves, till, after lying some time on
that draw, they were seized with the ulual symptoms
of a malignant hospital fever, the straw not being
changed for a whole month, or longer: that, of eleven
junior surgeons and mates, who attended the sick at
Bethlehem, ten were seized with the disease, most of
them dangerously ill, of whom one died ; of three (tow
ards two dird, and the third but narrowly escaped.
JOHN FRY, affiffant barrack master, at Reading,
deposed, That the sick and wounded, as well in private
houses as in the large hofpitajs, were often miserably
neglc&ed: that it was a custom, howtvrr, that wh&n
men, who w.cre sick in private houses, seemed to be on
the recovery, and in a fair way of doing well ; th^y
were ordered to the large hospital:, to leff^'n the rouble
of looking after them, where, he was sorry to observe,
that many, thereupon, grew worse and died : that he
was in the large crouded hospitals frequently, but never
saw Dr. Shippen in any of them, though he has fern
him at Hartman's tavern at those times, and heard Ue
sick making daily complaints, some crying cut for one
thing and some for another, which they could not get :
that he has seen the dead fcldiers laid in the church
yard, indecently exposed, for many days together, Io
that passengers would cry out, Oh fhameful! nor are
these, added he, the only instances of (hocking neglt&
of the sick belonging - to the general hospital at Reading,
under the dire&ion of doftor William Shippen, or of
furprizing difiegard to that decency which ail chriftiant
generally observe ip . repeat to the dead.
WILLIAM REESER also deposed, That he has teen
five dead bodies, naked and exposed in the church-yard,
at once; and in forty-eight hours after has seen the
fame number, in the fame place, and he believed them
to be the fame.
PETER OZEAS deposed, That from the month of
October, 1777, to the month of July, 1778, he was Ra
tioned, and did the, duty of barrack master at Reading,
under colonel Isaac Melcher, barrack matter general:
that in the difeharge of that duty, he was in the diffe
rent hospitals every day, generally two or three times
a day, having for assistant, John Fry, an inhabitant of
Reading: that he was an eye witness of the extraordi
nary (offerings which the sick and wounded (oldiers of
the general hospital endured, from negle& and want of
care in the (aid department, which was to the last de
gree difgraceful to those concerned in the direction and
management thereof, and Shocking to humanity: that
it would be tedious and difficult to enumerate all the in
stances of Ihameful mis management and cruel treat
ment cf the sick, the wounded, the dying and dead
men, of the said hospital, cf which he was, himfelf a
witness, or allured on the most credible testimony of
others; but being called upon to declare some of those
particulars which fell under his own observation, he
certifies the truth of the following, and confirms them
on oath.
About the month of January, 1778, fays his dopo
fition, upon visiting the court house, one evening, which
was then made use of as an hospital, in which sick and
wounded were crouded promiscuously, I heard piteous
groans, as of one dying, which proceeded from one of the
boxes, in which the jury are commonly impannelled:
being directed by those groans, I went to the box which
was full of straw: on removing part of it, without
which I could not fee that any one was there, I disco
vered a young man, a soldier of general Nafh's brigade,
belonging to the State of North-Carolina, buried under
the straw: I alked what was the matter: he answered,
that at the battle of Ger manto An he was Sadly wounded,
a ball having paff<d through from the loins to the up
per and inside of his thigh, and that be Suffered exceed
ingly from, the burning pain of the wound, and from
not being dressed by any of the dc&?rs for four days
past. " I languish,'' (aid he, "of hunger and thirst,
“ no vi&uals having been brought to me the whole
“ day, nor has any body been to look after ne" He
had no bed, nor any thing to lie upon but the straw in
which he was covered, nor had he any cloaths upon
him but a Shirt and t offers, and Short ragged Stockings
or le^gens, and a little blue jacket across his breast, cold
as the season was. I gave him what comfort I could,
and engaged to acquaint the defers with his Situation.
In consequence I ftr itway went home, and desired my
wife to make him feme coffee, which She did immediate
ly, and my girl carried it to him, with bead and butter,
of which he did eat as much as he chose, and I dittrt
buted the remainder amongst others of the sick who
Rood in like need of affiitancc. I then went to the doc
tors (hop, and rflrd for the head debtor, and was di
rected to Frieder's tavern, where I found him, and gave
an account of the ftste of the above wounded person,
and his (offerings from regle& of care ; defiringhe would
go immediately with me and fee him, for I was appre
hensive be could not live long in his prefect circum-
Rances : accordingly we visited him together: the doc
tor ftepprd into the next box, and asked what ailed him :
“ Oh doaor," said the lad, lam sadly wounded, and
“ have not been dressed these four days ; it kills me, it
" kills me." Then the doctor Stretched over and felt
his pulse, and f&id, " well, I will fend you Something,''
but, without ever locking : t, cr inquiring into the state
of his wound; which was all that puffed betwixt them#
On going out with ^e he Shook his head ; told me the pa
tient had a high f ver, and believed he was done for ; and
added, it is dangerous to stay here long; I must be going :
buthe sent him nothing ; tor next morning I went again
to the place, and found the young man dead ; and those
who lay near, told me, that no doctor nor any other per
son had been near him since I went away the night be
fore, nor sent any thing for him.
At another time, my wife took a walk with some cf
her n ighbours to visit the hospitals, and fee whether
they could give any affi%nce to the sick. On coming
to the door of the wooden church, which was one of
ti e hospitals, the, looked in, and saw a man wounded
in the foot, bleeding prefufely and very pale : my wife,
thereupon, said to a man, who appeared to he a crip
pled ioldier, " why do yen: not go immediately for a
" do&or ; the man seems as if he would bleed to death."
His answer was, “ I have been twice this morning to the
" house where the do&ors keep, to stop the blood cf one
" man, and desired some of them to come immediately -
" but they damned me, and bad me to be gone about
" my business, and not plague them with fi;ch matters."
My wife carried some rags up, afterwards, to flop the
blood and dress the wound. When I came home, at
night, flie told me of it. Next morning I wtnt to fee
the wounded man, and found he was dead ; and that
none of the decors had been there to look after him.
So little care was taken in tending upon and surfing
the sick and wounded, that all the hofpi:als swarmed
with lice, which crawled on the floors and on the straw,
thick as ants; and it was impossible to lean against an,
place where the sick were, and not be covered with lice.
In particular there was one sick man, who lay at John
Fry's house, who was so covered with vermin, creeping
all over him, that the straw cn which he lay appeared to
be quite alive with them. I made Several applications to
the do&or who seemed to have most authority in the
hospital, to remove him to some place where he would
be more comfortable, and have a proper nurse to look
after him; for which he got in a paflkn, said he was a
dirty fellow, and wished he was dead. This was all the
effe& of my application to him, for he never came him
felf, nor Sent any 0 her doaor to visit him. The man
was then removed to a kitchen on the opptfite fide cf the
way, with a brick floor, on which he wrs laid, with his
head under a cold flair-cafe, where, having no proper
care tpken of him, he “ as the do&or had vifraed,'' 'whe
ther it was from hunger, cold or disease, soon died.
I had daily occasion to visit the doctors at the hospital
stores, where they commonly staid, to inform them of
different sick and wounded men, that being brought to
the hetpitals fill under my notice, to desire them to vi
sit them. At these times I frequently saw country peo
ple trucking geese, turkies, and other poultry, and frefh
meat, also ^ gs, butter, and other marketing, for sugar
and coffee from the hospital stores : but I never heard that
any of the poor sick foidiers, in the hospitals, ever got
any o : the poultry, &c. thus purchased with stores, said
to be hid in for them, but of which they obtained little
or none; for 1 frequently asked them the question, and
rroe Specially as I knew that Mrs. Bird sent great
, antities oi poultry to the hospital stores for the sick.
They assured me they rever get any cf it: and yet the
hospital stores were replenish d with the best provifi n
which the country could afford ; for the country people
fls ked there with the produce of their farms, and open
ly declared, they could get what they w. nted, at the
hospital, f^r their provision, on better terms, in the way
barter, than fiom other people for money. This provi
sion. was co^fumed by the ft wards rnd de aers at heir
own tables; which I always observed to he.covered with
all forts 0 rhe best teih provisions, and furnished with
plenty cf diff rent forts of excellent wine, of which I
hd now and then a glass offered to myfelf.
I there frequently law some of the sick who were
ab e to creep abroad, come with little eathern cups, to
beg the dc&ns ior a little wine for Some of their tick
and wounded companions, mer ti < ning th.m by name,
who, they said, Rood in need and had sent them for it;
but they were always Severely reprimanded by the doc
tors, AND SENT OFF WITHOUT IT, AND FORBIDDEN
TO COME ANY MORE ON ANY SUCII ERRAND. I law
the two hogSheads of hospital Sugars that Dr. Shippen
Sold to Mr. Biddle, taken out of Michael Bright's Gellar;