The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1780-10-21 00:00:00, page 2

Doctor Morgans Continuation.
In the Fourth charge against Dr. William Shipper!,
junr. viz. NtgleO of hospital duty and making sane
returns, &c. Lancaft r.
Deposition of the Hon. JOHN HAMBRIGH F, E Q,-
February 8, 1780.
BEING duly (worn, n & d^pofe ', that sometime in
the winter, towards the mo th of March, 177^ °°°
ing then, as well as now, a m mber cf the honourable
council of the State of Pen u'ylvania, and a that time
ia resident in La caller, wh re the council fat, certain
sick and wounded soldiers came to bs house, and co r
pllined exceedingly of their filtering, very much frora
the neglect and mismanagement in tae general hospi
tal at that place, into which they had been received as
patients- and intreated him as one of the council to
come and behold what a Blocking filtration they were
irtat t # e hospital, that he mgit judge of their infera
ble situation: that he thereupon went to view the hot
pitd: that the approach and entry to it was to covers
all round with excrement and nahinefs as to be highly
offenfive, and made it necessary for him to be careful
in what manner he ihould fit down his foot to avoid
trending in it. Upon his entering the hospital, where
the sick lay, and were mucn crouded, the air was to
close and putrid as to be very ftifling: every thing
about was filthy and loathsome ; several of the patients
cried out, as with one voice, on feeing him coi#e in,
that they had been much neglected, and (uttered Great
ly on that account. Some of the wounded declared
tney had not been drefied for two d^ys, some for three
days, and some not for four d ys palt. Both sick and
wounded compl lined that no proper care was taken to.
provide suitable nourishment, or to look after them s.
their cases require 1: that he represented these matters
to the president and council of the ft ate; that Dr.
Shipped, thereupon, came to his house, seemingly mucn
ddpleafed with him, and demanded who had given him
fucn information? to which he replied that he himfe.f
^as an eye witness of their fufferings.
THOMAS AUG. CAL. LLOYD Deposed,
That lie, with near fifty other wounded soldiers,
was, after the battle of Brandywine, ordered to the
hospital in Lancaster, where tney arrived the latter
end of October, 1777: that arriving at the lign o' the
Waggon they were all crouded into a room much too
small for half their number, and no provision was made
for them, not even draw to lie upon : that next night
they reached their defined hospital, the weatner being
then severely cold for people circumhanced as tney
were, being mod of them more than half naked, and
without fire-wood, though in a long established hospi
tal. nor wer- they accommodated with draw or any
fubfidute, without he gives that name to the bare floor,
on which, some fitting, some ying, they passed the
right, and one of his companions then Slept never to.
awake any more: that, for fix weeks, they were with
out any vegetables, except w rat some of the sick beg
ged or bought for themselves: that, in the month of
November, the sick being then increased to about five
hundred, were put nine or ten in a room,which would
be fully occupied by eight well men ; that this was ex
ceflive crouding, and the frequent deaths, of which he,
then a&ing a Reward, kept a register, of from two to
seven in a day, proved the effe& ; that he don't ground
this affection altogether on his own judgment, though
Witness of the fad, for it was then common place talk,
through the neighbourhood; nay, so generally was it
believed these mortal fevers, ranged under several death
ful names, were infectious, thatmany of them, before
charitable vifttants, were deterred from rendering their
vfual services of bellowing on the naked patients, Shirts,
cloaths, &c. which they largely had done and did wish
to continue; and many of them informed him that it
was at the request of Dr. John Kuhn they did so ; that
about the beginning of December was the firft time he
was direfled to go to Mr. William Bawfman's cellars,
where hospital dores were lodged, to draw some wine
out of the pipes there for the use of some nearly dying
men; nay, some of whom did actually die : that the
deponent does not remember any particular pipe being
directed to be broached, but he was to draw it out at
the bung, which he effected with a proof bottle: this
pradice was continued from time to time, and, to the
bell of his recollection, he used it indi(criminately on
every pipe; two of which were afterwards fold, and
filled up out of the other pipes, of which there were
several in the cellar, at which he affified: that the
occasion of of its being issued, as above mentioned, was
at the defre of Dodor John Kuhn to the commiTmy,
" That the lift moments of the expiring sick might be
made more comfortable." that Dr. Kuhnexerted him
felf to procure things comfortable and n ceffary forthe
sick, and appeared to difeharge his duty towards them
as a physician, in the hospital, with particular tender
ness and humanity. The deponent further faith, that
at least from the time he was directed to draw the a
forefaid wine for the sick, he ever efleemed it public
property ; that he is very certain that the sick were much
crouded, and that some fettered and died, apparently
through negle& of necessary (applies and want of
room.*
AT EPHRATA.
JACOB KI MM EL, an inhabitant of Ephra
ta, deposed, That a great number of sick Soldiers were
broughtto that town (known by the name of Dunker's
Town) about Chriftmafs, 1777, in open waggons, in
the night time, ahuoft naked : many of them without
ihoes, flockings, coat or blanket to cover them ; nei
ther were they accompanied by nurses or other attend
ants, and left there by the waggoners, without orders
what to do with them : that the sick crept into his and
his neighbouring houses in a piteous Situation, affect
ing to Humanity, and intreated to be saved from pe
rilling; that many died from the effects of the journey,
# This frongly corroborates Dr. John Kuhn's de
position, Tat the wines were returned and considered
as public property, and that many of the sick being
brought weak and low with diseases, and not allowed
the wine and spirits in Mr. Bawfm o's cellars by express
prohibbiou of Doctor Shippen, did fuffer and die for
want* them.
in such circumflances, and at such a time of year, and
from hunger and cold, and from want of means to tup
port them on the road ; the deponent's Brother caught
the fever, and died of it: his next door neighbour
(Henry Eer, fee adjoining certificate) loft his Father
and Mother by that sickness, which fpre id ammigti the
inhabitants, raged with great violence, and proved fa
tal to many. ~
HENRY BEAR, Miller at Ephrata, declares,
that the faffs related in the foregoing certificate of his
neighbour, Jacob Kimmel, are exart and true, which
he confirms as matter of his own knowledge ; and does
further certify and declare that he received a number
of the sick into his own house and family, whole fevers
proved insertions: that his Father, John Bear, and
Lis Mother, Helena Bear, caught the infection from
them mid died of it: that his wife was also seized with
tie farm- fever, from which file was in the greateff
danger of losing her Lift. In fine, the disorder Spread
through the neighbourhood, and proved .fatal to great
numbers of all ages.
Proof of the Sufferings and Death of the sick and
wounded at READING, from negled of,Hofpi
tal Duty, &c.
ANDREW ENGLE, Tavern Keeper at
Reading, deposed, That Sometime after the battle of
Germantown, a Soldier wounded in the arm came in
to the room where he was, and smelled so offinfively
teat he could not bear to come near him ( that the
poor wounded man thereupon fail " I was wounded at
" the battle of Germantown, and brought here to the
“ General Hospital, and have been here many days,
“ without being dressed: it is no wo r der, Landlord,
“ m.y wound Should be offenfive, when I have been so
" much neglected."
DANIEL LEV AN, Esquire, deposed, That
he, being then fheriffof the County, had occasion to go
into the Court House, to have it cleaned out on some
public occasion; feeing a young man lying in flraw,
he was about giving orders for his removal, when he
cryed out, " For God's fake do not touch me: I have
" been wounded at the battle of Germantown, and
“ have not been dressed these ten days."
ELIZABETH NIEI/ Y, deposed, That
sometime after the battle of Germantown (he visited a
Virginia Soldier, in the Service of the United States, a
ged about 17 or 18 years at the Court House at Rea
ding, then made use of as a General Hofpi al : that he
lay upon draw, without any blanket or other covering
than Straw and his own cloaths, altho' the nights were
then, very cold: that he continued in this situation till
his death, which happened about two weeks after he
was brought to the Hospital : that, for want of proper
care arid attendance to look after and assist him to turn,
the lower part of his back and hips were all mortified
and raw, to which his shirt adhered so firmly, that the
day before his death, and not sooner, it was cut off
from him, and (he was told there was as many mag
gots under and about him, as would nearly fill the
crownof a hat ; that she, at the distance of above fifty
yards, as well as others in the neighbourhood, have
frequently heard him, at midnight; scream out with
pain, so as to keep them awake; that he told the de
ponent the day before he dyed, that ever since he was.
brought to that place, none of the dortors of the Hos
pital had ever dressed or looked at his wound before
that very morning : and (he further deposed, That a
nother Soldier, wounded through the short ribs, was.
lying on the brick pavement, with straw under him,
just by the former, without any other covering than
flraw, and his coat upon it; that he asked her for
something warm and comfortable, to eat, or to drink,,
if it was only baum tea, for he had nothing but bread
and meat, which he said he could not eat, being then
low ; that she thereupon carried him proper virtuals,
and nursed him every day for two weeks successively,
when he appear d to be on the recovery, at which time
foe herfelf was taken sick, when he soon grew worse
and died : that she was an eye witness of many other in
ftauces of like ihocking neglert and inhumanity tow
ards thefick in the General Hospital at the Court House,
then under direction of Dr. William Shippen, junior.
HENRY DEGENHARTZ, an inhabi
tant of Reading, deposed; Th t, being moved with
companion, he went to visit the sick and wounded in
trie General Hospital at Re ding ; that he found among
the wounded of the Maryland corp, one Jacob Hout,
who informed the deponent that he was wounded in
the thigh, and had not been dressed once since he was
brought to the Hospital, which was several days before ;
that he had no proper care taken of him, nor any suit
able nourishment; that he thinks the patient would
have died, if he had remained there, for a putrid fe
ver prevailed; the smell of the sick was offenfive and
many died ; the deponent looked at the wound, which
was all alive with maggots; he procured a wheel-bar
row, and wheeled him to his own house, where he and
his wife took care of him; lie then called on several
Dortors of the Hospital, and begged some of them
would come and dress his wound ; but they refufed,
altho' it was but next door to one of the Hospitals
where were other wounded men: that he was distressed
what to do for him, when fortunately he met captain
Mears, of the 4th Pennsylvania regiment, who, from
motives of humanity, made it a practice to visit the
Hospitals every day, and to dress such wounded out of
the Hospitals as the surgeons overlooked; that he in
treated him to come and visit the above named wound
ed man, which he did, dressing him daily for some
time, and the patient recovered.
CAPTAIN JOHN MEA R S related, on
oath, other like instances of neglert and inhumanity
towards the sick and wounded then at Reading; and th t
no wipe was to be got for many of the sick and wound
ed nho flood in need of it, tho' upon enquiry, he learn
ed that Dortor Shippen fold wine, from the Hospital cel
lars to Tavern Keepers : and such as applied for ne
cessaries for the fuifering sick were deemed Bu'v Bodies.
Captain Mears and others, who visited the Hospitals
daily, deposed further, That altho' they saw Dortor
Shippen frequently at Hartman's tavern, (where he fold
wine) they never saw him on the inside of an Hospi
tal.
Dortor JOHN HINAN deposed, That,
during his services of upwards of two years 111 the mi
litary Hospitals, under the direction of Dortor William
Shippen, junior, a fever prevailed in the Bettering
House, Philadelphia,at Bethlehem and Dunker's Town,
which proved f.tal to great numbers: that the said pu
trid fever was brought on by the want of room and
necessaries for the sick: that many soldiers caught the
putrid fever in the Hospitals, who came to be cured of
other diseases : that man, of the surgeons and nurses
caught the said putrid fever, and many of them died
with it: that the (offerings of the sick could, in no in
fiance, be attributed to negligence or inattention of the
physicians and surgeons general, or of the senior surge
ons, who were diligent and faithful in doing their duty
to them: that during the above space of two years he
nev 1 r saw the dirertor general but once in the Hospital
at Bethlehem, and three times in the Hospital at the
Bettering House, which Taft place he visited one of the
said three times, in order to procure matter to innocu
late a private patint.
Was it reafonabh, or is it justifiable, on any princi
ple of honefly or humanity, that the Dirertor and Pur
veyor General of the hospitals fliould find time to trade
in hofpitd fiores, and find little or no leisure to super
intend his department, or to visit the Suffering and dy
ing sick? Is not this making his place worse thana
mere (insure : giving him power and authority to
defraud the public at the expence .of the sick and
wounded ?
JACOB STEHLEV deposed, That whilst the
general hospital was fixed at Reading, on the years
1777 and 1778, the head surgeon of the hospital, and
four other hofpitil dortors, a commissary of the hos
pital and his wife, with a woman cook, were quartered,
at the house of the deponent, for which.be never re
ceived any pay: that, at different times, they had
quantities of cyder, beer and milk from him, for their
own use, and he supposed they would have paid for
those articles themselves. ;but an account was made
out against the general hospital for them by the Stew
ard, and paid for at a pubic charge, for which he
gave a receipt in the books of the General Hofpital;*
that whilst those persons remained at the house of the
deponent, they generally lived in riot, caroused night
ly, HAD LIQUORS BROUGHT TO THEM IN BUCK
ETS FUL FR M THE HOSPITAL STORES, set up late
at night, and danced and frolicked all-together till
midnight, and sometimes till one or two o'clock in the
morning : that his wife once made free to go to the
room, and to desire they would not make such a noise
as to ditlurb her rest ; on which one of the Doftors
took up his sword, drew it from the scabbard, and
chaced her back to her room, where she was obliged to
run for fafety, and to fafien the door to keep him out:
that the deponent, at the fame time, heard that many
complaints were made, that whlft the Dortors were
living on the public (lores the sick were neglerted.f
* This is a new way of impofiug on the public, and
attaching Hospital Commissaries, &c. to a Dirertor
General ; and such, no doubt, are proper per sons to
be calledon to give testimony in behalf of the principal,
and to invalidate the oaths of material and independ
ant witnesses.
t It is no wonder they Should be neglerted, where
such an example was set them by the head of the de
partment, as gave a fanrtion to his inferior officers to
fhre, with him, in the spoils of the hospital. Let the
reader compare the above relation, on oath, of bare
faced cheating the public, and profufe dissipation of
Hospital Liquors, with the preceeding depositions of
Dr. Rufli and Dr John Kuhn, that the sick Suffered
and died for want of a little Madeira wine and spirits;,
and further compare it with the parsimony with which
Madeira wine, when, by earnest request granted to the
sick, in order to make their expiring moments more
comfortable, was allowed to be drawn only with a
proof glass, that more might be left to fell for the
emolument of a Director General, as is seen in Thomas
Lloyd's deposition, and he will be at no loss what
judgment to form upon the comparison.
w^^W s^^^^ ^^W^
The S ALES of the
Dry Goods
Belonging to the Ship Lady Margaret's Cargo, will he
continued on TUESDAY next, at ten o'clock, in a
commodious Store fitted up for the purpose, behind
the M rfh&l's dwelling houie, inWater-ftreet between
Arch and Rac-ft eett.
MATTHEW CLARKSON, Marshal.
New Jerfe, O&ober 13. 1780.
To be Sold by Public Vendue,
On Thursday the 26th instant, at TEN o'clock in the
forenoon, at Cbduut neck,
THE Schooner FLYING-FISH and her cargo of
Tobacco; consisting of go hogsheads of the best
Mir, land, captured on her voyage to St. Euftatia, re
taken and brought into this port and now ready fcr sea.
ALSO, A SCHOONER of about 35 tons burthen,
and her cargo of 20 hogsheads of Tobacco, being taken
at lea without any perlon or papers on board, supposed
to be cut out of Cnefapeak bay and deserted by the ene
my on the approach of the Schooner R ttlefnake.
By <r icr of the Hon. Judge of she Admiralty.
ZACHARIAH ROSSELL, Marshal.
TO BE SOL D,
At PUBLIC VENDUE, on Tuesday the 31st day of
this inllapt, October,
, Valuable PLANTATION, Situate in Amtell
fl t wnfhip, Hunteidon conn y, 12 miles from Tren
ton, 3 miles from the river Delaware, whereon Au
guuine Stevenson now dwells, containing 200 seres,
w,th a Sufficient quantity of meadow, woodland rnd
orchard ; ago rd house and barn. Any person or per
son., inclining o purchaf?, may view the premifts be
fore or at the time of sale, which will begin at ix o'clock
of said day ; where attendance will be given, and the
conditions made known, by
Odo. 14, ROBERT STEVENSON, \ Ex ecutm,
1780. THOMAS STEVEN SUN,, ExeCU '°''