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THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 

1775-1818 
ARMY HISTORICAL SERIES 

Maurice Matloff, General Editor 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE 

(as of February 1979) 

Otis A, Singletary (Chairman) 

University oj Kentucky 

Brig. Gen. Robert Arter 

Maj, Gen, Robert C. Hixon 

Training and Doctrine Command 

Command and General SlaD College 

Sara D. Jackson, National Historical 

Publications and Records Commission 

Harry L. Coles 

Ohio State University 

Robert H, Ferrell 

Indiana University 

Cyrus H, Fraker 

Office 0/ The Adjwalll General 

William H, Goetzmann 

University 0/ Texas 

Col. Thomas E, Griess 

U.S. Military Academy 

Maj, Gen, Enrique Mendez, Jr, 

Office oj The Surgeon General 

James E. O'Neill, Deputy Archivist 

oj the United Siales 

Benjamin Quarles 

Morgan State Col/ege 

Brig, Gen, Alfred L. Sanderson 

Army War College 

Russell F, Weigley 

Temple University 

U.S. ARMY CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY 

Brig. Gen. James L. Collins, Jr., Chief of Military History 

Maurice Matloff 

Chief Historian 

Col. James W, Dunn 

Chief, Histories Division 

Col. William F, Strobridge 

Chief, Historical Services Division 

Col. Earl L. Ziebell 

Chief, Editorial! Cartographic Division 

James E, McSherry 

Editor in Chief 
The Army Medical Department 

1775-1818 

Mary C. Gillett 

MIUTAR'I' 1~ 

CENTER OF MILITARY HISTORY 

UNITED STATES ARMY 

WASHINGTON, D.C., 2004 
The Author: Dr. Mary C. Gillett studied at 

Wellesley College and received her B.A. , 

M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from The American 

University. 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

Gillett. M. C. 

The Army Medical Department, 1775- 1818. 

(United States Army historical series) 

Bibliography: p. 

Includes index. 

1. United States. Army Medical Dept.- History. 2. Medicine, 

Military-United States-History. 3. United States-HistoryRevolution- 1775- 1783- Medical and sanitary affairs. 4. United StatesHistory- War of t812-Medical and sanitary affa irs. I. Title. 

II. Series. [DNLM: 1. Military medicine- History- United States. 

UH223 G479a] 

UH223.GS4 3SS.3'4S'0973 80- 12S02 

First Printed 1981-CMH Pub 30-7-1 

For sale by the Superintendent of Document s, U.S. Govcnlmcnl Printing Office 

Internet.: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll rree (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 

Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 
Contents 

Foreword ix 

Preface xi 

The State of tbe Art 1 

Medicine 1/ Surgery 14/ Medical Education and Experience 18 

2 Evolution of the Continental Army Medical Department 22 

Creation of the Hospital Department: Church as Director General 

22/ Morgan as Director General, 1775 to 1777 29/ New Arrangements for the Hospital Department 35/ Shippen's Controversial Administration 38/ The Hospital Department Under 

Cochran 44 

3 From Siege to Retreat, 1775 to May 1777 50 

The Boston Area, 1775 to 1776 50/ The Northem Department 

57/ New York and New Jersey, 1776 to 1777 65/ Hospitals in 

New York State and New England After the Evacuation of New 

York City 72 

4 Year of Despair and Hope, June 1777 to June 1778 77 

The Middle Department 77/ The Northem Department 92/ 

The Eastern Department 97 

5 From Defeat to Victory, June 1778 to 1783 99 

North of the Potomac: Before the Victory at Yorktown 99/ 

South of the Potomac: Before the Victory at Yorktown 115/ After 

the Victory at Yorktown 123 

6 Between Wars, 1783 to June 1812 129 

Continental Army Patients Remaining in Hospitals 133/ Campaigns Against the Indians 133/ Forts and Their Garrisons 138/ 

Wilkinson in the Louisiana Territory, 1809 140/ Management of 

Supplies 144 

7 Administration of Medical Support, June 1812 to January 1815 148 

Opening Months of the War of 1812 148/ Work of the Medical 

Department 149 
vi CONTENTS 

8 Early Campaigns in the North, 1812 to 1813 157 

Season of 1812 157/ Season of 1813 164 

9 Defeat and Final Victory, 1814 to 1815 172 

Campaign in the North 172/ Campaign in the SOllth 178 

10 The Lessons of War, 1815 to 1818 186 

1ndecision and Decision, March 1815 to April 1818 186/ The 

Stale of the Art 190 

Appendixes 

A Some Influential Doctors in the Continental Hospital Department, 

1775 to 1783 199 

B Law of 27 July 1775 200 

C Law of 17 July 1776 200 

o Law of 7- 8 April 1777 201 

E Law of 6 February 1778 204 

F Law of 30 September 1780 205 

G Hospitals Serving Washington's Army 210 

H An Act to Regulate the Medical Establishment, 2 March 1799 211 

I Legislation Concerning the U.S. Army Medical Department 213 

J Duties of Members of the Medical Department, 1814 213 

K Legislation Affecting the Army Medical Department, March 1815 to 

April 1818 214 

Notes 

Bibliography 

Index 

Maps 

217 

269 

289 

I Boston Area, 1775- 1776 50 

2 The Northern Department, 1775- 1777 58 

3 Continental Army Hospital Locations, 1776- 1777 68 

4 Continental Army Hospital Locations, June 1777-June 1778 78 

5 Northern and Eastern Departments, 1777- 1778 93 

6 Hospital Locations, 1778-1783 100 

7 Sullivan Expedition, 1779 107 

8 The Southern Theater, 1778-1783 116 

9 Northwest Territory, 1783- 1811 132 

10 War in the North, 1812- 1814 158 

11 Niagara Frontier, 1812- 1814 168 

12 The Soutbern Frontier, 1812-1814 179 
Contents vii 

Illustrations 

Hermann Boerhaave I Washington Hall 88 

William Cullen 2 Brethren's House at Lititz 89 

Sir John Pringle 2 Brothers' House at Ephrata 90 

Richard Brocklesby 4 James Thacher 94 

Gerhard van Swieten 5 Philip Turner 98 

John Hunter 5 Hospital Hut Designed by 

Hales's Sketches of Plans for Dr. James Tilton 104 

Ventilators 9 Robinson's House 105 

John Jones 10 David Oliphant 117 

Contrast Between Vaccina- Thomas Tudor Tucker 118 

tion and Inoculation 12 William Read 119 

Petit's Screw Tourniquet 16 J ames McClurg 121 

Act Creating Hospital College of William and Mary: Department 24 Wren Building 122 

Benjamin Church 26 Richard Allison 134 John Morgan 29 Fort Washington 135 Surgeon's Field Case 30 Fort Defiance 136 William Shippen, Jr. 34 "Estimate of Medicine, Hos- Benjamin Rush 36 pital Stores, etc. for Eighty John Cochran 44 

Men [for lOne Year" 145 John Warren 51 

Charles McKnight 51 James Tilton 152 

Return Signed by Charles Benjamin Waterhouse 153 

McKnight 54 William Beaumont 160 

Return of the Sick of the Joseph Lovell 161 

Hospital at Fort George 61 Fort Niagara 166 

J ames McHenry 62 "Soldiers Who Died at the 

Brethren's House at Gen!. Hospital Greenbush 

Bethlehem 71 Together With Their EfWilliam Eustis 73 fects" 176 

Bodo Otto 80 New Orleans in 1815 182 

Valley Forge Hospital Hut 85 Three Oaks Mansion 183 

Schoolhouse Used as Hospital Statement on Hospital Supat Valley Forge 86 plies Sent From New York 189 
viii CONTENTS 

Tables 

I Authority Within the Continental Army's Medical Services, 1775- 83 23 

2 Hospital Department Units in the Boston Area With the Status of 

Patients During Week Preceding 2 December 1775 52 

3 Hospital Department Units in the Boston Area With the Status of 

Patients During Week Preceding 16 December 1775 53 

4 Mortality, 16 December 1775- 30 March 1776 53 

5 Patients in Hospital Department Units, New York City Area, AprilJune 1776 66 

6 Middle Department Hospital Patients, 24 November 1777 80 

7 Organization of Medical Support of the Regular Army, 1784- 1813 130 

8 Pay and Allowances for the Staff of the Medical Department, May 1813 150 

9 Admissions and Deaths at the Burlington General Hospital, January 

1814-April 1815 173 
Foreword 

This is the first volume of a history of the U.S. Army Medical 

Depa rtment from the start of the American Revolution to World 

War I. This book deals with the period when the Medical Department existed only as a wartime expedient and concludes with 

the passage in April 18 18 of the law that fin ally established the 

department on a permanent basis. Future volumes will describe 

all aspects of the medical care of soldiers scattered in small 

units over the rapidly growing nation and the challenges posed 

by war in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The discipline 

that governed Army surgeons and their patients enabled them to 

control treatment and record its results with a precision and 

regularity impossible in civilian medicine. Thus Army surgeons 

and the Medical Department played a large role in the progress 

of medical science, a role not always recognized by the profession, by the scholarly community, or by the public at large. 

This new history of the Army Medical Department tells the 

beginning of that story. It is a significant and long needed contribution to the study of military medicine. 

Washington, D.C. 

2 Augu st 1979 

JAMES L. COLLINS, JR. 

Brigadier General, USA 

Chief of Military History 

Preface 

This volume was originally planned as a Bicentennial study 

of the Medical Department of the Continental Army. Since existing 

histories of the Army Medical Department were either out of 

date or based upon antiquated studies, however, the project was 

expanded to make the present volume the first of a series on 

Army medicine. 

Only the operations of the department are treated here. The 

activities of surgeons not directly under its authority, such as 

militia surgeons and, for a short period, regimental surgeons, 

have not been explored. Coverage of military operations has been 

limited to that necessary for understanding the demands on the 

department. And the author has resisted the temptation to condemn the medical men of the period for their unscientific and 

largely ineffective medicine; they deserve to be judged by the 

standards of their contemporaries. 

Few official records from the period before 1814 exist. People 

of the era lacked our own devotion to record keeping, and much 

of their meager accumulation was destroyed by fire in 1800 or 

lost in 1814 when the British occupied Washington. Most of the 

documents that survived these two disasters are now held by the 

National Archives and Records Service in Washington, D.C. The 

scarcity of official records has made it particularly necessary for 

the author to explore such unofficial sources as the informal 

records, diaries, memoirs, and letters of those who were familiar 

with the work of the Medical Department. This search covered 

the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the National 

Library of Medicine, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 

Many other individuals and institutions have also provided valuable assistance in the form of microfilms or copies of documents, 

suggestions for further contacts or sources, expert opinions concerning problems encountered as work progressed, or reviews 

of the manuscript in its entirety or in part. 

It is impossible to thank by name all those who have in one 

way or another contributed to this volume. The author is particularly indebted to Mrs. Dorothy Hanks and the staff of the History 
xii PREFA CE 

of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, including Ms. Lucinda Keister of the Arts Section; Dr. George 

Chalou and Dr. Elaine C. Everly of the Old Military Records 

section of the National Arch ives and Records Service; Mr. Peter 

J. Parker of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and Mr. Gary 

Christopher, formerly of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; 

Dr. Richard Blanco of the State University College at Brockport, 

N.Y.; and Dr. John Duffy of the University of Maryland, who 

reviewed the first five chapters of the volume. Others who provided especially valuable help were Dr. Whitfield J. Bell, Jr., of the 

American Philosophical Society Library in Philadelphia; Mr. 

Francis James Dallett, Archivist of the University of Pennsylvania; 

Mr. James W. Coleman, Jr., and Ms. Alberta L. Appleby of the 

Morristown National Historical Park; Mr. William R. Cullison, 

Curator of Prints and Drawings, Tulane University Library; Miss 

Margaret Cook of the Library of the College of William and 

Mary in Virginia; Mr. Vernon H. Nelson, Archivist of the Archives 

of the Moravian Church in Bethlehem, Pa.; Col. J. E. Henderson, 

VC, USA, Curator of the Medical Museum of the Armed Forces 

Institute of Pathology; the staff of the Graphic Arts Branch of 

Fort Detrick, Md.; and Miss Elizabeth Thomson, who generously 

shared the fruits of her research on the Doctors Bond. 

The author is indebted to Col. Robert J. T. Joy, MC, USA, 

formerly Director of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research 

and now Chairman of the Department of Military Medicine and 

History at the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences, who reviewed the entire manuscript and made many valuable suggestions, including several concerning the true nature 

of the diseases so unscientifically described by physicians 200 

years ago. Dr. Erna Risch, formerly Chief Historian of the U.S. 

Army Materiel Command, also reviewed the entire manuscript; 

her comments have contributed significantly to its accuracy and 

coherence. 

Members of the staff of the U.S. Army Center of Military History have also played important roles in the preparation of this 

volume. Dr. Robert W. Coakley, Deputy Chief Historian, reviewed the entire manuscript and made many helpful suggestions. 

The maps were prepared under the direction of Mr. Arthur S. 

Hardyman, Chief of the Cartographic Branch. The author also 

wishes to acknowledge the support of the successive directors of 

The Historical Unit of the U.S. Army Medical Department, part 

of which became the Medical History Branch of the Center of 
Preface 

Military History. The author is especially grateful to Mrs. Mary 

D. Nelson of the Ed itorial Branch, who edited the manuscript 

for publication; the author's historian colleagues, Ms. Pauline B. 

Vivette and Mr. George W. Garand, who gave freely of their time 

and expertise; and the late Dr. Rose C. Engelman, Chief Historian 

of the former Historical Unit, under whose supervision the book 

was written. 

The responsibility for all errors remains entirely that of the 

author. 

Washington, D.C. 

2 August 1979 

MARY C. GtLLETT 

xiii 

1 

The State of the Art 

The colonial physicians who formed the 

American Army's Medical Department in 

1775 were all civilian practitioners, many 

without any military experience. A small 

percentage had earned M.D. degrees, but 

most were either apprentice or self-trained, 

and few made any attempt to specialize in 

the manner customary in Europe, where a 

choice was usually made among medicine, 

surgery, and pharmacy. During the second 

half of the eighteenth century, however, 

American doctors were growing in stature 

at home and abroad. Although more of 

them were receiving a forma l medical education, usually in Europe, they were stilI 

limited by the general lack of scientific data 

and by their profession's predilection for 

reasoning rather than research as a way of 

discovering better forms of treatment for 

their patients. The traditional humoral explanation for disease was by this time 

losing ground to several new and conflicting 

systems, where fact took second place to 

theory, in an all-out attempt to reveal one 

or two basic causes for all disease. Disagreements over therapy gave added intensity to 

the feuds and controversies which characterized eighteenth century practice, in general, 

and American medicine, whi~h was not restrained by European guild traditions, in 

particular. Furthermore, the effort to develop 

a fundamental theory deemphasized the importance of the diagnosis of specific diseases. 

Treatment continued to consist largely of 

bleeding, purging, and blistering, regardless 

of the symptoms, since surgery alone was 

based to any significant degree upon experience as a guide in preference to theory.' 

MEDICINE 

The system prevailing in the colonies in the 

years immediately preceding the American 

Revolution, that of the great Dutch physician and teacher Hennann Boerhaavc, explained disease in terms of chemical and 

)hysical qualities, such as acidity and alka-

,inity, or tension and relaxation, instead of 

the blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black 

bile of the traditional humors, and urged 

that nature be permitted to aid in any cure. 

The Boerhaavian system was increasingly 

challenged in the second half of the century 

by that of William Cullen, the Scottish physician and teacher so much admired by 

HERMANN BOERHAAVE. (Courtesy of Nallonal 

Library of Medicine.) 
2 THE ARMY MEDICAL DE. PARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

WILLIAM CULLEN. (Courtesy 0/ National Library 0/ Medicine.) 

Americans studying under him at the University of Edinburgh, many of whom would 

later be leaders in the Continental Army's 

Hospital Department. Cullen believed that 

either an excess or an insufficiency of nervous tension underlaid all disease. Too much 

tension was ollen characterized by a fever, 

to be treated by a depleting regimen including bleeding, a restricted diet, purging, and 

rest and sedation. A cold or chill, on the 

other hand, indicated too much relaxation 

and called for restorative measures. In time, 

Cullen became so influential that Benjamin 

Rush, just gaining prominence in American 

medicine during the Revolution, was able 

to write his former teacher that the American edition of his work "was read with 

peculiar attention by the physicians and 

surgeons of our army, and in a few years 

regulated in many things the practice in our 

hospitals." 2 

Despite his doctrine that disordered nervous tension was the cause of all disease, 

Cullen encouraged the study and classifica-· 

tion of specific diseases. Rush, however, 

eventually modified Cullen'S doctrines, which 

he had originally so much admired, and discouraged the study of separate disease entities by blaming all disease on excessive 

lension which caused disturbance in the 

blood vessels. By 1793, he was openly contending that there was but one single disease 

in existence. The method of treatment upon 

which Rush insisted with increasing inflexibility called for a low diet, vigorous purges 

with calomel and jalap, and bleeding until 

the patient fainted. Rush apparently did not 

hesitate to remove a quart of blood at a 

time, or, should unfavorable symptoms continue, to repeat such a bleeding two or three 

times within a two- to three-day period, it 

being permissible in his opinion to drain as 

much as four-fifths of the body's total blood 

supply. In time, Rush's system and treatment 

became, in the words of a noted medical 

historian and physician, " the most popular 

and also the most dangerous 'system' in 

America." l) 

SIR JOHN PRINGLE. (Courtesy 0/ Library 01 

Congress.) 
Ch. 1] State of the Art 3 

Theorists of the eighteenth century did 

not generally include in their systems an explanation for the outbreak of certain forms 

of disease among many people in one area 

within a short period of time. According to 

his background, training, and experience, 

therefore, a physician might blame mass outbreaks of disease on climate and season, 

unhealthy elements in the air, contagion, 

possibly caused by "animalcules," or God's 

determination to punish sinful man. There 

were many discussions of possible sources 

of disease carried by the air. Rush strongly 

believed in the danger of bad odors, or 

miasmas, and Sir John Pringle, a noted 

British Army surgeon and a Physician General in the British Army from 1745 to 1758, 

much respected by the many Americans 

who knew him in their student days, wrote 

that putrefaction was the greatest cause of 

fatal illness in armies. He listed corrupted 

marsh water, human excrement remaining 

exposed in the hot weather, crowded military hospitals, and straw used for bedding 

rotting in tents as the four prinr:ipal sources 

for putrid air. Although he recognized cold 

as a predisposing factor in disease, Pringle 

noted that heat, too, was often a cause of 

sickness, especially when wet clothes and 

beds or a very humid atmosphere tended to 

interfere with normal perspiration, "relaxing the fibers and disposing ... to putrefaction." He found it "not surprizing [sic] 

that the dysentery and bilious fever, both 

putrid diseases, should ensue." The theory 

of the atmosphere as a cause of many 

types of fevers was still maintained as late 

as 1812. David Hosack, a respected American physician, pointed out at that time, however, that disease might also be spread by 

direct physical contact, as in syphilis and 

scabies, or through the purest air, as with 

smallpox. Many authorities at that time also 

blamed sudden changes in the weather for 

causing outbreaks of disease.' 

The average eighteenth century physician 

had little in the way of either equipment or 

understanding to aid him in distinguishing 

onc specific disease from another. The coucept of a standard body temperature had 

only been suggested, the body's heat-regulating mechanism was not understood, and 

Fahrenheit's recently developed mercury 

thermometer was not commonly used by 

physicians. The stethoscope was not invented until 1814, and although a "pulse 

watch" had been developed in 1707, it also 

was largely ignored by physicians, who 

preferred describing the pulse to counting 

it. The use of percussion to aid in diagnosis, 

however, was beginning to become more 

widely understood because of the work of 

the Viennese physician Leopold Auenbrugger. The reasoning underlying some eighteenth century diagnoses, however, may seem 

strange to us today. When a fever described 

as yellow fever responded to quinine, for 

example, rather than concluding that the 

fever was in reality malaria, the eighteenth 

century physician assumed that quinine must 

be effective against yellow fever. Since all 

fevers were regarded as stemming from the 

same physical unbalance, such a conclusion 

was logical. Rashes were not regarded as 

particularly significant in diagnosis, and differing symptoms appearing in patients believed to have the same disease might be 

brushed off as indicative merely of the 

conditions under which the illness was contracted.' 

In the eighteenth century and, as far as 

the U.S. Army was concerned, until World 

War I, disease invariably caused more 

deaths than wounds. It has been estimated 

that, during the American Revolution, 90 

percent of the deaths occurring among the 

inexperienced, poorly clothed, poorly fed 

soldiers of the Continental Army, most of 

them country boys without previous exposure to communicable diseases, and 84 

percent of those among the seasoned, disciplined British regulars were from disease. 

Under the circumstances, however, it is 

difficult today to determine from the diag-
4 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

noses and descriptions of eighteenth century 

physicians what specilic diseases were most 

common in the army of that period. Respiratory illnesses were most often seen in cold 

weather and dysenterylike conditions in hot 

weather, while fevers were always a threat. 

Venereal disease was common, and smallpox 

could wreak havoc in the ranks of American 

armies. Scurvy was a danger on land as on 

sea, and scabies, otherwise known as the 

Itch, was a more than ordinary nuisance for 

military forces. Other diseases, such as 

diphtheria and scarlet fever, were less common in eighteenth century armies despite 

their occasionally devastating effects upon 

the civilian population.· 

Whatever the eighteenth century diagnoses were, eighteenth century fevers were 

often in fact malaria, widespread in the 

colonies and endemic from New England 

southward. Yellow fever, despite its fearful 

reputation, was endemic only in the deep 

South, although rare outbreaks occurred 

during the summer in a few ports north of 

Charleston, South Carolina. The incidence 

of malaria was rising during the Revolution, 

especially in the South with its long hot summers and undrained swamps, affecting with 

particular severity, for example, not only 

Cornwallis's men but also New Englanders 

participating in the lighting around Yorktown. Although mosquitoes were rarely 

suspected as carriers of disease, eighteenth 

century physicians were aware of the relationship of fevers to swamps and undrained areas. 7 

While "intermittent" and "remittent" 

fevers were probably malaria, those called 

putrid, malignant, jail, or hospital may have 

been either typhus or typhoid. Authorities 

do not agree on the extent to which late 

eighteenth century physicians could differentiate between these two diseases· 

An examination of the writings of the 

period shows, however, that when British 

military physician and author Richard 

Brocklesby made his diagnoses, he did not 

RICHARD BROCKlESBY. (Courtesy 01 Nalional 

Library 0/ Medicine.) 

take into consideration the petechiae which 

modern physicians believe to be the key to 

a delinite differentiation between the two 

diseases in the absence of laboratory tests. 

British surgeon Donald Monro, furthermore, 

believed that the symptoms manifested by a 

malignant fever depended upon the conditions prevailing at the time the disease was 

contracted, and the prominent Austrian military surgeon Gerhard van Swieten considered the appearance of a rash to be an 

indication of a favorable outcome rather 

than one of the nature of the disease. A 

modem authority on the epidemic diseases 

of pre-Revolutionary America also points 

out that "Not only was typhus rarely found 

in the colonial period but even after the 

Revolution the United States remained relatively free of the infection." He ranks typhus 

in importance after malaria, dysentery, and 

typhoid.' 

Eighteenth century soldiers "often exposed to the putrid Steams of dead Horses, 

of the Privies, and of other corrupted 
Ch.1] State of the Art 5 

GERHARD VAN SWIETEN. (Courtesy 0/ NaUon· 

aJ Library of Medicine.) 

Animal or Vegetable substances, after their 

juices had been highly exahed by the Heat 

of Summer" ,. sometimes found ·themselves 

afflicted with "A flux of the belly, attended 

with violent gripings, of very painful strainings for stool." 11 This was blamed on "obstructed Perspiration," 12 or on "bile grown 

acrid by the great heats and the fatigue of 

war" when "the soldier, when hot, suddenly 

exposes himself to cold air, or sleeps in his 

cloaths [sic], soaked with rain" as well 

as on stagnant water and tainted food. 

Van Swieten, whose work was influential in 

America, believed that dysentery could be 

spread through an entire army by the 

breath of those afflicted with the disease 

and that ordinary diarrhea could degenerate 

into dysentery if not promptly treated with 

a mild purge followed by a dose of opium. 

In the eighteenth century, however, even 

dysentery itself often remained untreated. 

The soldier unlucky enough to be so afflicted might, indeed, prefer neglect to the 

very generous doses of purgatives and 

emetics required by eighteenth century doctrine, or to the blister which would adorn 

his abdomen should the physician determine 

that this portion of his anatomy was too 

tense. It was only after he had survived these 

remedies that the patient could hope for a 

dose of opium, which might at least temporarily relieve his agony even if his disease 

had been misdiagnosed, a distinct possibility, 

and was actually typhoid or typhus.' " 

Venereal disease was another ever-present 

threat to the eighteenth century army but 

one not always reported because of the 

punishment often administered to its victims. 

Some modern historians believe that eighteenth century physicians could distinguish 

between gonorrhea and syphilis, but examination of a number Of publications of the 

time suggests that the distinction was partial at best. The British John Hunter, one 

of the century's finest surgeons and anatomists, stated that the two were but "different forms of the same disease," gonorrhea 

JOHN HUNTER. (Courtesy of National Library 

of Medicine.) 
6 THE ARMY MEDICAL D EPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

being the form in which the urethra alone 

was affected and chancre a non secreting 

version of the same disease. Hunter could 

state this confidently even while he noted 

with surprise that mercury, which cured 

chancre, only made gonorrhea worse." 

Brocklesby, too, considered gonorrhea but 

one symptom of "lues venera," as did van 

Swieten and at least one physician as late 

as 1815." 

Although it may not have been fatal, 

scabies brought more patients to British 

Army hospitals during the Seven Years' 

War than any other condition, according to 

British Army surgeon Donald Monro. Its 

cause was known to be "Little Insects 

Lodged in the Skin, which Many Authors 

Affirm They Have Seen in the Pustules by 

the Help of a Microscope." lO The Itch was 

very common in colonial America, Benjamin Franklin's mother-in-law having advertised a remedy for it in 1731. The condition 

usually appeared first between the fingers in 

the form of a " pustule, or two, full of a sort 

of clear water, which itch extremely : where 

these pustules are broke by scratching, the 

water that issues out communicates the disorder to the neighboring parts . . . in its 

progress the pustules augment both in number and size, and when opened by scratching 

a disgusting crust is formed." The favorite 

remedy for the Itch seems to have been 

sulfur, a remedy still in use today, applied 

in either an ointment or a soft soap.l7 

Among the respiratory ailments often 

afflicting armies in the eighteenth century 

were pneumonia, often called peripneumonia, and pleurisy. Van Swieten suggested 

treating the former, as soon as diagnosed, 

by a " large bleeding in the arm" but also 

urged that the air be kept moist and the 

patient encouraged to bring up the secretions 

from his lungs. If the progress of the disease 

weakened the patient, however, this authority recommended that bleeding, purging, 

and sweating be avoided. The soldier unfortunate enough to be afflicted with so 

severe a pleurisy that the pain interfered 

with his breathing would be treated not 

only to bleeding but also to blistering, clystering, and, to encourage the pus to drain 

outward and thus avoid the formation of 

an abscess, plastering. If the patient could 

not sleep, he might be dosed with a syrup 

of white poppies. To soothe his cough, his 

medicine would be administered while 

lukewarm, and winc, salt, and acid foods 

would be denied him." 

Specific types of therapy for specific 

diseases were understandably not too common in the eighteenth century and certain 

remedies were used for almost all diseased 

conditions. Bleeding was popular, the 

amount and frequency varying with the 

individual physician and the system he followed. A moderate bleeding was considered 

to be one taking 8 to 12 ounces at a time, 

a heavy one 16 to 20 ounces. Cleansing the 

digestive tract was another generalized 

remedy followed with or without much 

caution, using such purgatives as rhubarb, 

manna with tincture of senna, or Rush's 

favorites, jalap and calomel, emetics such 

as ipecac and antimony, and enemas of 

varying formulation.' o 

The following order for medicines and 

hospital stores for Fort Meigs placed by 

Brig. Gen. William Henry Harrison during 

the War of 1812 suggests that the same 

kinds of medicines remained popular for 

many decades: 

Peruvian bark (in powder) 

Opium 

Camphor 

Calomel 

Corrosive sublimate 

Tartar emetic 

Gambage 

Jalap 

Ipecuanto 

Rhubarb (in powder) 

Kino 

Colombo (in powder) 

Nitre crude 

Nitre sweet spirits 

50 lb. 

10 lb. 

10 lb. 

5 lb. 

2 lb. 

2 lb. 

2 lb. 

10 lb. 

17 lb. 

10 lb. 

15 lb. 

20 lb. 

20 lb. 

40 lb. 
Ch.l] State of the A rl 7 

Glaubers salts 

Prepared chalk 

Castor oil 

Olive oil 

Gum arabic 

Allume 

Acquous 

Adhesive plaster 

Barley 

Chocolate 

Tapioca 

Blistering ointment 

Beeswax 

M uriated acid 

Sulphuric acid 

Nitric acid 

Vials 

Amputation 

Trepanning 

Pocket 

I I1Slmmellf.\' 

Cases scalpels (No.6) 

Lancets 

Splints 

Sponge 

Muslin 

Wine 

Brandy or rum 

Vinegar 

Molasses 

Coffee 

Hyson tea 

Rice 

Sugar 

Sago 

50 lb. 

20 lb. 

12 gal. 

5 gal. 

20 lb. 

5 lb. 

20 lb. 

20 lb. 

2 bbl. 

300 lb. 

50 lb. 

20 lb. 20 lb. 

4 lb. 

4 lb. 

4 lb. 

5 gross 

3 sets 

3 sets 

3 sets 

3 doz. 

12 sets 

7 lb. 

1,000 yd. 

200 gal. 

100 gal. 

200 gal. 

200 gal. 

300 lb. 

50 lb. 

5 bbl. 

5 bbl. 

50 lb. 

SOUIIC :: William Henry Harrison 10 Secretary or \Var, 

30 Jun 1813, Harrison, Mes,age,. 2: 486. 

Among the newer ideas in medicine was 

the belief in the general wholesomeness of 

fresh air. Benjamin Franklin was among 

its most ardent supporters. Allied with this 

was the newly popular "cooling regimen in 

fevers," involving not only cool fresh air 

but also the bathing of fever patients in 

cold water. Yet another generalized remedy 

of recent origin was mercury, used earlier 

against venereal disease and as a purgative, 

but now also used as an alterative to 

treat many diseases, often in the form of 

calomel or the reputedly better tasting but 

morc nauseating corrosive sublimate. Its 

new popularity was, an American physician 

boasted, le in its origin exclusively American, 

and ... to our colonial physicians the world 

is indebted for one of the greatest improvements ever made in practical medicine." 

Mercury was increasingly prescribed after 

1750 for diseases classified as inflammatory, 

particularly pleurisy, pneumonia, and rheumatism, but it was also eventually used for 

typhus, yellow fever, dysentery, smallpox, 

tuberculosis, dropsy, hydrocephalus, and 

diseases of the liver, with Rush in the forefront of its many enthusiasts.'· Another 

noted American physician of the period, 

David Ramsay, explained the working of 

mercury by claiming that it set up an artificial illness, "transferring diseases of the 

head, of the eyes, and of the bowels to the 

mouth, where they are less dangerous and 

more manageable," 2.1 in line with the principle put forward by John Hunter ·that "no 

two fevers can exist in the same constitution, 

nor two local diseases in the same part 

at the same time." 22 Others accounted for 

the action of mercury by its weight, saying 

that mercury compounds expelled "morbid 

matter" from the digestive system and 

cleared out the glands, particularly the salivaries, and the blood vessels, promoting 

better circulation and eliminating disease." 

It is not likely that there were any 

physicians at that time unaware of the unpleasant side effects of mercury, since even 

laymen could recognize them and physicians 

were at times forced to order smaller than 

usual doses lest the patient realize what he 

was receiving and refuse to take it. Diarrhea, 

bleeding gums, nosebleeds, and loosening of 

the teeth were among the consequences the 

American phYSician John Warren described 

as "frequently troublesome and at times 

alarming." 2 .. 

A far more pleasant eighteenth century 

remedy was wine, the use of which was most 

prevalent from 1700 to 1900. It was used 
8 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT , 1775 - 1818 

as a stimulant to the appetite, a sedative, a 

diuretic, and merely <IS a nutritious addition 

to the diet. Particular wines might be prescribed to relieve specific symptoms, with 

or without the addition of spices, fruit juices, 

and grated rinds. An astringent red wine waS 

recommended for diarrhea, port for anemia 

and acute fevers, claret and burgundy for 

anorexia, and champagne for nausea and 

throat ailmcnts. White wines were thought 

to make fine diuretics, while fortified wines 

in general were prescribed for convalesccnts. 25 

Opium, often in the form of laudanum, 

came to be used frequently in the late eighteenth century, to the point where it was 

"gencrally found in most decent families 

for domestic prescription," Samuel Bard, 

a noted colonial physician, had studied the 

effects of opium on the human body and 

recorded that it acted on the nervous system rather than the blood, slowed bowel 

action, suppressed urine, lessened pain and 

spasms, and brought sleep" 

Quite aside from the state of the art of 

di agnosis and treatment, the hospital in 

which he found himself played an important 

role in the fate of the sick or wounded 

soldier and, indeed, in the long run, in the 

fate of the army itself. The wars of the 

eighteenth century and particularly the Seven 

Years' War between France and Britain, 

therefore, inspircd much writing by experienced army surgeons of both nations on 

the military hospital and its management. 

Considerable emphasis was placed upon the 

need for planning ahcad for the number and 

types of hospitals required. The Frenchman 

Hugues Ravaton, considering this problem 

in 1768, wrote that one could assume that 

three of cvery 100 soldiers would be ill at 

the beginning of a European campaign. 

Halfway through the campaign, a probable 

five or six of 100 would be out of combat 

because of disease, and by the end of a 

campaign, if the victims of venereal disease 

and nonbattle injuries were counted, ten to 

twelve of 100 would be unable to fight because of illness. A day's battle would produce, hc estimatcd, ten wounded per 100 

combatants, but this percentage would 

drop as the number involved approached 

100,000." 

Armed with this type of information, an 

army medical department could predict the 

number of general and regimental hospitals 

needed for the predictable number of patients. The genera l hospital remained in 

one place and was staffed by the physicians 

and surgeons of the medical department, as 

was the Hying hospital in the British Army, 

which accompanied an army as it moved 

about. The regimental hospital was directed 

by the regiment's surgeon and mates, and 

its patients could be sent back to the genera l hospital, as were those of the Hying 

hospital when it had to move. Considerable 

controversy raged at times between the 

proponents of the general hospital and those 

of the small regimental one. The infection 

and bad air of the general hospital caused 

many authorities to favor the smaller facility or at least to urge that the general 

hospital be divided among several locations. 

Locating hospitals so that the sick or 

wounded soldier would have to be moved 

for any great distance was also considered 

inadvi sable. 2~ 

In the management of the individual hospital, eighteenth century military experts 

emphasized the necessity for good order, 

good air, and careful sanitation, as well as 

for the proper staff, which should include 

physicians, surgeons, mates who functioned 

as assistants to either physicians or surgeons, 

apothecaries, nurses, and a purveyor to 

handle supplies. Although the principle was 

not always observed in the British Army, 

Monro in particular emphasized that the 

direction and the purveying for a hospital 

should never be assigned to the same man, 

"as the Temptation of Accumulating Wealth 

has at all Times, and in all Services, Given 

Rise to the Grossest Abuses," a truth of 
Ch.1] State of the Art 9 

r 1\ I '; " I ,'1.,,-, 

... 

T " ~ 

---

I.!. 

L 

" 

.. -

H ALES'S SKETCliES OF PLANS FOR VENTILATORS. (Courtesy oj National Library 0/ Medicine.) 

which the organizers of the Continental 

Army's first medical department should have 

been more conscious. Also required was a 

guard to kecp ordcr and to sce that patients 

obeyed the orders of the physicians, particularly in regard to such matters as drinking 

and receiving visitors. An inspector general 

should be assigned to visit each hospital 

at least once a week to ensure proper care 

and discipline." 

Good air supply could be achieved by 

using large rooms with high ceilings, by 

avoiding overcrowding, and even by llsing 

thc newly developed, manually operated 

Hales ve ntilators, by means of which "foul 

air may be removed from hospitals," by 

burning fr<mkincense, juniper wood and 

berries, or sulfur, or by using the steam 

from vincg(.lr. Good sanitation also required 

proper care of privies, frequ ent scrubbing 

of walls, floors, and bed frames, and 

thorough airing or even impregnating woolen 

clothing and blankets with the fumes of 

muriatic or nitric acid or of burning sulfur. 

Straw rather than feathers was preferred 

for filling mattresses because of the difficulty 

of cleaning feather beds.'· 

Contagion could also be prevented by 

putting surgical and venereal disease patients into a separate room or even a 

separate hospital, away from those ill with 

fevers and dysentery, who should have 

their own well-aired wards and, hopefully, 

their own nearby privies. As much as possiblc, those with similar diseases should be 

kept together. Each patient should, in any 

case, be bathed and dressed in clean clothing before being admitted to a ward, and 

his hands and face washed routinely every 

morning. The physician visiting patients 

should wear clothing especially set aside for 

the purpose plus a "waxed linen coat to 

wear above them in going round to wards" 

and should never visit a hospital with an 

empty stomach if he wished to avoid becoming ill himself. When visiting patients with 

infectious diseases, furthermore, the physician should take tincture of bark before 

entering the room, put rolls of lint impregnated with camphorated spirits in his nose, 

place a bowl of camphorated vinegar near 

the patient he was visiting, and hold his 

breath while physically examining the patient, standing back from the bed when it 

was necessary to ask a question. Peter Middleton, another prominent American physician, suggested that the doctor in such 

instances might even hold tobacco in his 
10 THE ARMY MEDICAL D EPARTMENT, 1775 - 1 8 18 

mouth to guarantee that he did not swallow 

saliva which might have become infected 

while he was in the sickroom.:u 

Prcventive mcdicine played an extremely 

important role not only within the military 

hospital but also throughout the entire 

eighteenth century army. Increasing allention was now also being paid to the idea 

of being sure that the soldier was reasonably 

healthy before he entered the service, especially since it was recognized that the 

stress of entering the army made the new 

recruit particularly susceptible to disease. It 

had long been realized that, since disease 

was caused by "changes in the sensible 

qualities of the air, excesses in dirt, and 

irregularities in exercise," effective prevention of disease also required the close regulating of the soldier's everyday life and 

environment once he had ofticially joined the 

army. The choice of a campsite was of the 

greatest importance, with damp areas being 

particularly undcsirablc. Thick forests were 

also to be avoided because of the restricted 

circulation of air there. Where the army was 

living in tents, the straw used for bedding 

must be quickly changed should it become 

damp, while officers should spread· waxed 

cloth on the damp ground under their 

beds to keep out the moist ure. When it was 

raining, the tents should be tightly drawn to 

lessen water penetration and drainage ditches should be made around them. Campsites and barracks should, of course, be 

kept clean and free of accumulated garbage. 

Privies should be built near the camp, 

preferably over running streams. Even after 

exercising all these precautions, however, 

the army should avoid camping too long 

in one place, especially "when bloody flux 

prevails," 32 

Concern about the soldier and the weather 

extcnded to the soldier's clothing. Since sudden temperature changes, as occurred when 

the soldier left a warm hut to go outside 

in the winter, were considered particularly 

dangerous, it was considered wiser in cold 

JOHN JONES. (From Steve" T. Charles. "101m 

l Olles, American Surgeoll and COllservative 

Palrjol," Bulletin of the History of Medicine 

39 (/ 965): 437. COllrtesy of Johm Hopkills 

University Pren.) 

weather to keep the Illen warm with extra 

garments and blankets than with the creation of great heat by stoves or fires. Flannel 

rather than linen, some authorities said, 

should be worn next to the sk in, especially, 

of course, in the winter. At least onc American authority strongly favored wearing fl annel underclothing even in the summer, since 

it would prevcnt chilling if the temperature 

wcre to drop markedly during the night. 

John Jones, one of America's foremost army 

surgeons, however, believed that lighter 

clothing should be worn in hot weather and 

that linen, washable and cheaper to buy, 

was preferable to flannel." 

Concern went beyond the sold ier's camp 

and clothing to his personal hygiene. It 

should be required that " no soldier be permilled to case himself anywhere about the 

camp except in the privies." He should bathe 
Ch. 1] State of the Art 11 

frequently, in the running water of a warm 

stream when possible, and wash his clothes 

as often as he could. He should keep his 

hair short or at least greased and combed 

daily to avoid the buildup of dirt and perspiration on his head." Pringle believed 

that even the amount of sleep the soldier 

received should be regulated, since "when 

soldiers are off du ty, they sleep too much, 

which enervates the body, and renders it 

more subject to diseases." Adequate exercise was also most im portant.35 

Close supervision of what the soldier ate 

and drank was necessary. Ideally he should 

drink only from the center of a moving 

stream or from wells giving pure water. 

When this was impossible, impure water 

should be mixed with vinegar or with chalk 

or alum and then fil tered. By the early 

1800's, the presence of " animalcules" in 

swamp water was recognized and boiling as 

well as straining of questionable water was 

urged. For hot weather use, Jones suggested 

adding vinegar, highly regarded by many 

for its supposed ability to preserve the 

health in the summer. This mixture would 

"serve to correct in some measure, the 

natural tendency of the humans to corruption, at that season." The drinking of beverages stronger than water, however, caused 

considerable discussion. Monro recommended diluted spirits for soldiers scheduled 

for night duty in cold weather, and Jones 

agreed th at something stronger than water 

or "small beer" was necessary for mcn long 

exposed to the cold and damp. The American Army surgeon Edward Cutbush, however, warned against giving out undiluted 

spirits to soldiers and suggested that beer be 

substituted for stronger liquors.so 

Defective diet was not classified as among 

the most important causes of illness. Many 

believed that, by having to contribute his 

food allowance to a mess and thus being 

unable to squander it on liquor, the soldier 

was guaranteed an adequate diet. Some concern was shown, however, that too much 

meat was being eaten in proportion to fruits 

and vegetables in the diet. Suga r was recommended as a method of making vegetables 

taste better, so as to lower the consumption 

of meat. Others speculated as to whether 

fresh fruit caused dysentery, Pringle believing it did not. Because of the concern for 

the possibly harmfu l effect of meat, the 

proportion of it given to hospital patients 

was restricted for those on "low" and "middle" diets. By the early years of the nineteenth century, concern was also being 

shown by Americans for the health of the 

meat animals the Army used for its messhalls." 

The only important deficiency disease generally recognized at this time was scurvy. 

By mid-century, J ames Lind had conducted 

experiments which showed to his satisfaction 

that oranges, lemons, and limes cured even 

the severest scurvy. By the time of the 

American Revolution, van Swieten had 

recognized that the eating of plenty of ripe 

fruits and vegetables could prevent this condition, but he and a surprising number of authorities, including even Lind himself, continued to assume that additional factors were 

also involved. Lind noted the importance 

of "warm, dry, pure air, with a diet of easy 

digestion, consisting chiefly of a due mixture of animal and vegetable substances," 

adding that "a glass of good sound beer, 

cyder, wine, or the li ke fermented liquor" 

would be advisable.'" Van Swieten, as late as 

1776, blamed scurvy on "Noisome vapours, 

arising from marshy grounds, and stagnating 

waters, inaction, drinking of corrupted and 

stagnating waters, .. . damp and low lodging" as well as "scarcity of green vegetables, 

... the use of salted and smoaked [sic ] 

flesh and fish, and of cheese too old and 

acrid." A number of others writing in the 

period immediately preceding the Revolution expressed themselves along similar 

lines" Nevertheless, Li nd urged that the 

army plant "antiscorbutic plants" where it 

was garrisoned, suggesting, among others, 
12 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT , 1775 - 1818 

, .. ..... 

.7.:1... 1 

CONTRAST BETWEEN VACCINATION AND INOCULATION. Left, inoculation; right, vaccination. 

Second and third days. (From Cecil Kent Drinker, Not So Long Ago (New York: Oxford 

UniverJity Press, 1937.) 
CII.l] 

, 

, 

) 

State of tile Art 13 

-

/ 

CONTRAST BETWEEN VACCINATION AND I NOCULATION. Left, iI/ocilla/ion; righi, vaccination. 

FOllrteel/th alld li/lee",h dllYl" (From Cecil Kelll Drinker, Not So Long Ago (New York : 

Oxford University Press, /937.) 
14 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

"garden cresses," and in 1776, the Conti~ 

nental Congress told its Medical Committee 

to be sure to have sufficient antiscorbutics 

on hand for the army operating in the North. 

In 1808, an army physician commented that 

if fresh fruits were impractical, an essence 

could be made of oranges and lemons to be 

used as a preventive for scurvy.-IO 

The only disease for which prevention in 

the form of immunization was available was 

smallpox. Inoculation, the deliberate introduction into the body of material infected 

with the smallpox virus, thereby causing a 

mild case of that disease, was widely used 

during wartime by the British Army even 

before the American Revolution, after its 

initial introduction in both England and the 

colonies in the 1720's. The procedure ran 

into much opposition, especially in New 

England, in part because the person inoculated became a source of infection for all 

those with whom he came in contact. Many 

areas, particularly in New England, hoped 

to avoid smallpox merely because of their 

isolation, yet the ultimate result of this 

attitude was the appearance in the American 

Revolutionary Army of a large number of 

men who were not immune to the disease. 

The method of inoculation most commonly 

used in the colonies at this time was the 

Sutton or Dimsdale method, named after 

the Englishmen who developed it. As 

adopted in the colonies, this method required 

a two-week preparation period before inoculation, during which the patient was put on 

a diet of light and nonstimulating food s, 

dosed with mercury and antimony, bled, 

and purged. The inoculation itself was done 

by means of puncture rather than incision, 

as had been customary earlier, and on the 

leg, so that it would be as far as possible 

from the head and other vital areas. The 

patients were put on a "cooling regimen," 

exposed to cool air, and permitted to drink 

cool water while suffering [rom the disease 

which, acquired in this manner, was reputed 

to have become "an innocent disease" with 

a death rate of one in 1,000, compared to 

a rate of one in ten for smallpox caught by 

unintentional exposure. Nevertheless, John 

Cochran, soon to gain prominence as the 

fourth Director Genera l of the Army 

Medical Department, wrote in 1772 of his 

concern that the mercury given during the 

smallpox inoculation process could lead to 

other diseases once the patient had recovered from the smallpox itself" 

It was not until the very early nineteenth 

century that Dr. Edward Jenner's method 

of preventing smallpox by vaccination with 

the cowpox virus became popu lar. By 1800, 

Jenner had vaccinated about 6,000 patients, 

and by 1804, his method had proved itself 

by causing a dramatic drop in smallpox 

deaths in both London and Vienna, without bringing with it the risk of a general 

epidemic. Although epidemics of smallpox 

continued to appear in the United States 

even after the introduction of vaccination in 

1800, by 1812 the procedure had been accepted throughout most of the nation as a 

replacement for inoculation with smallpox, 

and in May 1812, shortly before the outbreak of the War of 1812, orders were issued to Army surgeons to vaccinate the 

entire Army using material from cowpox 

vesicles. 42 

SURGERY 

While "Medicine ran into the cuI de sac of 

therapeutic nihilism ... , surgery, with all 

its imperfections ... , could and did cure 

with some confidence" in the eighteenth 

century. By 1750, surgery was a respectable 

profession. The work of John Hunter, who 

was described as the first Englishman to 

raise surgery to the level of a science, added 

to its respectability, while the many wars 

of the eighteenth century were giving surgeons opportunities for observations and 

study which they otherwise would never 

have had. American John Jones urged that 

surgeons acqui re as much learning and 
Ch.i] State of the Art 15 

training as possible ·I !I and took particular 

exception to the idea he had heard suggested 

that surgeons should operate only under the 

direction of physicians, becoming merely 

"surgical machines . .. under the direction 

of their medical masters." Jones also preferred that medicine and surgery be combined, as it was to such a great extent in 

the colonies:H 

A surprising variety of surgical procedures 

was occasionally performed by a few eighteenth cen tury surgeons, but such procedures 

as lithotomy, or cutting for bladder stones, 

setting of fractures, reduction of dislocations, and amputations were very common. 

The skill with which Jones was able to perform lithotomies when he returned from his 

training abroad removed fr0111 this operation the bad name it had acquired in the 

colonies. J ones was reported to be able to 

perform a lithotomy in three minutes and 

at times in one and a half, using a lateral 

perineal approach. Other surgeons of the 

time wrote of dea ling successfully with torn 

tendons, hydrocele, various types of hernias, and fistula lachrymalis, or abnormal 

openings in the tear duct. In France, Louis 

XIV's successful surgery in 1686 for anal 

fistula had inspired confidence both in 

French surgeons and in this operation, while 

the British surgeon William Cheselden had 

attracted attention with, among other accomplishments, his successful operations for 

cataract. 45 

Isolated reports of successful gynecological and obstetrical surgery began to appea r 

in this period, proof that abdominal surgery 

was not always undertaken in vain. American John Bard reported in 1760 on surgery 

performed ten years earlier in which the 

patient survived when he removed a dead 

fetus resulting from an abdominal pregnancy. In the following years there were other 

scattered reports in the colonies of successfu l surgery performed for ectopic pregnancies, and in 1809, the Edinburghtrained American physician Ephraim McDowell performed his famed ovariotomy. 

By the time of the American Revolution, 

Jones could write of the proper handling of 

penetrating wounds of the abdomen with 

enough confidence and in sufficient detail 

to make it obvious that he believed survival from such wounds to bc possible. He 

described the type of suture he used for 

wounds in the intestine and discussed the 

removal of sutures when the injury had 

hea led, as if the patient's survival to th is 

point were not a total surprise. Among other 

achievements in eighteenth century surgery 

was the work of William and John Hunter, 

with whom a number of the Continental 

Army's surgeons studied, in developing 

a new surgical technique for handling 

aneurysms, one soon fo llowed by others. 

There were also rumors in the 1760's of a 

splenectomy so well executed that the 

soldier-patient was able to return to duty. 

A successful appendectomy was performed 

in 1759, although apparently little notice 

was taken of it. Furthermore, before the 

end of the century, the indomitable John 

Hunter was experimenting with organ transplants in chickens, moving the testicles and 

spurs of cocks from one bird to another. 

He also noted that "Teeth, after having been 

drawn and inserted into the sockets of 

another person, united to the new socket 

which is called transplanting." 40 

Regardless of the nature of the mJury, 

the medical care the surgical patient was 

likely to receive ran along familiar lines: 

"moderate evacuation, by bleeding, and 

gentle purging, together with a low diet." 47 

In addition, "when the wounded person has 

not suffered any great loss of blood, it will 

be advisable to open a vein immediately 

and take from the arm a very large quantity, 

and to repeat bleeding, as circumstances 

require, the second, and even the third day." 

To be considered in the making of decisions 

on bleeding the surgical patient, Hunter believed, was the violence of the inflammation, 

the power of the patient's body to make 
16 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL DE PAR T M EN T , I 775 - I 8 I 8 

, • 

PETIT'S SCREW T OURNIQUET . (From Owen H . 

Wallgem'teen, Jacque/ine Smith, lind Sarah 

D . W a llf,feuxtel'll . "Some Highlights ill 'he 

H istory 0/ A II/ pilla/ioll Reflecling Lessons 

;11 Wound H eafill1[," Bulletin of the History 

of Medicine 4 1 ( 1967): I1 5. COllrtesy of 

) oh"s Hopkins University Press.) 

blood, the dislance of the injury from the 

iOurces of circulation, the nature of the part 

inju red, and the duration of the inflammation."'" 

Among the potions most highly regarded 

by military surgeons were opium and bark, 

usually peruvian or cinchona bark, the 

source of quinine, praised in almost identical 

terms by both J ones and British Army surgeon John Ranby, who extolled " the sovereign and almost divine power of opium ~ 

next to this I likewise add bark, a medium 

which no human eloquence can extol with 

panegyric proportioned to its inestimable 

victories." Of bark he added, " I have known 

it to procure rest, if given in large doses, 

when even opium had been taken without 

any manner of effect. J) 49 Van Swieten re. 

garded the ba rk as the best avai lable remedy 

aga inst gangrene, and John Jones main tained 

that it contracted the blood vessels, " restoring their due action upon the blood, when 

too great a quantity of th at necessary fluid 

is lost by profuse haemorrhage, provided the 

larger wounded vessels arc secured by a 

prope r ligature from future bleeding." On 

the other hand , "where there is a great fulness, or too much strength and contractile 

powers in the solids, and an inflammatory 

state of the system ... the bark is not advisable. n GO 

Excess bleeding from a wound was one 

of a number of problems with which eighteenth century surgeons wresUed. Although 

crude tourniquets were used as early as the 

sixteenth century to arrest hemorrhage be· 

fore and during surgery, a new type of 

tourniquet, developed by French surgeon 

Jean Louis Petit in 17 18 and tightened by 

means of a screw, was now being employed. 

The importance of proper ligation of major 

arteries was well recognized. The use of 

ligatures did not become popular for almost 

a century aft er their initial appearance, however, partially because amputation above 

the knee was not often performed, surgeons 

being well aware of the fact that the danger 

to the patient increased with the level of 

the amputation, and because the cautery 

was sufficient to control bleeding from 

small-caliber vessels. Closure of the wound 

was achieved with a variety of sutures. John 

Hunter preferred to usc, wherever possible, 

the dry suture, since otherwise additional 

points of infection could appear at the site 

of each stitch, but he pointed out that the 

dry suture was not appropriate for penetrating wounds. Four other types of suture 

were also used after mid-century: the 
Ch. 1] State of the Art 17 

twisted, then used in harelip repair and for 

wounds presenting similar problems, and the 

interrupted, quilled, and glovers' sutures, 

this last almost entirely for wounds of the 

intestines or stomach. Both interrupted and 

quilled sutures were used with abdominal 

wounds, with the latter preferred. Jones 

recommended the removal of sutures "as 

soon as the union is complete, which generally happens either the second, or third 

day, often in twenty-four hours." The 

double-flap technique for amputations had 

already been developed, but the promotion 

of healing by the first intention was considered to require great care and forethought." It was suggested by Hunter for 

"wherever a clean wound is made in sound 

parts and where the surfaces can be brought 

into contact. or where there is sufficient 

skin to cover the part." On the other hand, 

wounds involving lacerations might be impossible to handle by the first intention, 

while wounds which might contain foreign 

matter should be left open so that pus 

could bring any debris to the surface. 52 

The care of the patient after surgery was 

carefully supervised both to ensure appropriate care of the wound itself and to note 

and treat possible complications. Hunter 

believed that dry lint should not be used as 

a dressing. Poultices were called for when 

it was desired that the wound suppurate. 

Where poultices were not appropriate, he 

maintained that dry lint was likewise inappropriate. He suggested in these cases that 

oil and wax or some other "unctuous matter" be used, or that it might even at times 

be better not to use ointments. Jones 

praised this British conservatism and added 

that, if an ointment had to be used, it 

should at least be very mild. The use of wine 

and alcohol as a remedy against putrefaction, however, was recommended by van 

Swieten, while turpentine, used in the eighteenth century to combat minor bleeding, 

now appears to have real value against bacteria. ~3 

The appearance of "laudable pus" was 

regarded as a good sign, since suppuration 

was considered to be the body's attempt 

to rid itself of harmful materials. Pus caused 

a "very happy effect, by separating the 

lacerated vessels and extravasated fluids 

from the sou nd parts which then grow up 

a-fresh. Hence laudable pus is esteemed by 

surgeons as one of the best signs." Redness 

and heat around a wound were seen as 

inevitable, as was fever in serious wounds. (i·1 

It was expected that the various healing 

processes might bring on a condition called 

" the hectic," the result of the body's trying 

unsuccessfully to heal itself and characterized by "debility, a small, quick, and sharp 

pulse; the blood forsaking the skin; loss of 

appetite; often rejection of all aliment by 

the stomach; wasting; a great readiness to 

be thrown into sweats; sweating spontane· 

ously when in bed; frequently a constitutional purging; the water clear." r.r. Once 

"digestion of the wound" had taken place, 

fever, inflammation, and pain could be expected to lessen. The average eighteenth 

century surgeon was so unaware of the 

causes and effects of infection that, when 

a colleague achieved an unusually low mortality rate, the explanation was sought in 

his surgical techniques and not in his 

standards of cleanliness. 50 

Among other possible complications arising in the wounded soldier was tetanus. 

Thomas, in 1815, admitted the difficulty of 

bringing a patient through tetanus and 

stressed instead attempts to prevent it. He 

cited among these efforts the Navy's custom 

of using a wound dressing containing tincture of opium and the use by a Dr. James 

Clark of calomel before and after surgery 

as a preventive. Rush noted in 1787 the 

vast quantities of opium then routinely used 

to treat tetanus, but stated that he personally had effected a gradual but complete 

cure by administering two to three ounces 

of bark and up to three pints a day of wine 

and raising a blister between the patient's 
18 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT , 1775 - 1 8 18 

shoulder blades to which he applied a 

mercurial ointment.r.7 

The types of surgery most commonly 

performed in the Army involved, of CQurse, 

gunshot wounds and their consequences. By 

the latc seventeenth century, when it was 

realized that the ball was not poisonous, 

surgeons were urged not to probe deeply 

but rather to let the ball remain if it could 

not be located easily. Joncs preferred to 

dilate wounds to facilitate drainage or to 

aid in the reduction of fractures, but Hunter, 

believing that the edges of a wound were 

quite elastic, concluded that enlarging the 

opening was not required unless there were 

severe hemorrhaging, a suspected skull 

fracture, or debris or bone fragments to be 

removed. Many surgeons now believed that 

the caustic dressings once popular for gunshot wounds were no longer necessary'S 

When battle injuries involved fractures, 

the question of amputation arose, many 

surgeons favoring immediate amputation in 

compound fractures. Such injuries, when 

treated in crowded hospitals, were all too 

frequently followed by infection, making 

amputation eventua lly necessary even though 

similar fractures, treated in a rural environment, might never require such drastic 

measures. Van Swieten and John Hunter 

preferred to postpone amputation until it 

was obvious in each instance that it would 

be required. Amputation did not necessarily 

save the patient's life, however. The mortality rate was often 45 to 65 percent where 

the leg was removcd at mid-thigh, although 

some surgeons lost markedly fewer patients 

than this. Jones believed that immediate amputation was definitely advisable when the 

heads of bones were broken or capsular 

ligaments were torn. When the fracture involved the skull, the danger posed to the 

brain by excessive pressure was well recognized and the eighteenth century surgeon 

was prepared to trephine. The patient would 

be fortified agai nst these ordeals by the administration of opium and, perhaps, rum 

and his ears filled with lamb's wool to 

deaden the sound."" 

Although they werc at times will ing to 

attempt a widc range of surgery, eighteenth 

century surgeons generally acknowledged 

their in abi lity to save patients with wounds 

involving the heart, aorta, cerebellum or 

medulla of the brain, or the cisterna chyli. 

Wounds of the spinaL cord, major blood 

vessels, or the principal organs of the chest 

or abdomen were considered very dangerous. Amputation at the shoulder was generally avoided because of the danger of 

hemorrhage. And, of course, anyone could 

become fatally infected, a fact of which 

army surgeons in particular were only too 

well aware. GO 

MEDICAL EDUCATION 

AND EXPERIENCE 

Increasing numbers of young American 

medical students were studying abroad; their 

training added to the prestige of their profession in the colonies, although specialization in the European manner was rendered 

impractical by the generally scattered population of the colonies which required the 

physician to become a medical jack-of-alltrades, physician, surgeon, and apothecary 

all in one. The med icine practiced by some 

of these men carried purging and bleeding 

beyond the extent customary in Europe, and 

although physicians with European training 

were at times most outspoken in their criticism of the poor quality of American medicine, it was often they who, like Rush, went 

to those extremes which we today so deplore. 

The social status of physicians at this time 

could be great; they were found in colonial 

legislatures and local assemblies, on college 

boards, and among the wealthy merchants 

and landed proprietors so influential in 

colonial society.6' 

It has been estimated that by 177 5 approximately 3,500 physicians were practicing in the colonies, caring for a popula-
Ch. J.I State of the Art 19 

tion of three million, but that only 400 had 

M.D. degrees from medical colleges. By 

1776, the two med ical schools then functioning in America had conferred only 5 1 

M.D. degrees. A majority of colonial physicians were either self-taught or taught 

through apprenticeships; and of the approximately 1,200 med ical practitioners serving 

with the Continental Army in the Revolution, only an estimated 100 had M.D. 

degrees. Among the leaders of the Army's 

Hospital Department, however, were some 

of the best trained physicians in the 

colonies.62 (See Appendix A .) 

Training by apprenticeship was a highly 

individualized process which varied with 

the preceptor. Some required their apprentices to have a knowledge of Latin, natural 

history, mathematics, and grammar, but 

others were less demanding. Some apprentices might spend a large part of the traditional seven-year training period doing 

menial and semimenial tasks, receiving at the 

end of that time a certificate which was almost meaningless. 63 

As the colonies became increasingly 

prosperous, greater numbers of young Americans, including many future leaders in the 

Continental Army's Hospital Department, 

went abroad for their medical education. 

Proper preparation for such study was considered to include a college education followed by three years of apprenticeship to a 

physician who himself was well educated. 

The British schools, which were at the height 

of their popularity before the American 

Revolution, included Ed inburgh, where 

clinical instruction was emphasized. Paris, 

where surgery was increasingly respected, 

became more popular with Americans after 

the French Revolution. Colonial students at 

this time usually studied in Paris only after 

having received their M.D.'s, as did John 

Morgan, William Shippen, Jr., and Benjamin Rush after receiving their degrees from 

Edinburgh. John Jones earned his M.D. 

at Rheims before moving on to Paris to 

st udy under eminent French surgeons. A few 

individual European practitioners were especially influential, among them, of course, 

Cu llen of Ed inburgh. In London, the Hunter 

brot hers, William and John, also played important ro les in the lives of many American 

med ical students, including not only Rush 

and Jones but also Morgan and Shippen, 

both of whom were later Director Generals 

of the American Army Medical Department 

during the Revolution. John Pringle was 

anothe r strong influence upon young American students of surgery.6< 

The first form of organized classes in 

medicine in the colonies was a system of 

lectures and demonstrations, often managed 

by a physician whose training abroad led 

him to feel acutely the need for better medical education in the colonies. Classes in 

human anatomy, however, were highly unpopular among ordinary citizens, who associated dissection with body snatching and 

regarded it as a desecration of the human 

body. Even postmortem examinations were 

infrequent and their purpose was limited to 

determining cause of death when murder 

was suspected. Nevertheless, in 1762, Shippen began a series of anatomy classes involving both a human body and a series 

of anatomical plates and casts donated by a 

prominent London physician. His first class 

held only ten students and triggered a 

minor riot, Shippen being accused, despite 

his denials, of grave robbing. The popular 

assumption that dissection of the human 

body implied body snatching lasted at least 

until the 1788 Doctors' Mob riot in New 

York City when three days of violence, put 

down only by military force, inspired the 

first practical laws regulating such matters.6' 

The first American medical school was 

established in Philadelphia in 1765 by 

Morgan. His failure to consult Shippen, 

with whom he had formu lated the early 

plans for the school while both men were 

studying at Edinburgh, added fuel to the 

fire of the enmity already growing between 
20 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 1 775 - 1818 

the two men. Morgan was given the first 

appointment as professor at the new school 

where Shippen, who had been teaching for 

several years in Philadelphia, and later Rush, 

among others, joined him. Students at this 

school were required to have studied Latin, 

Greek, mathematics, and philosophy, and 

Morgan strongly recommended a familiarity 

with French as well. By the turn of the 

century, three morc medical schools were in 

operation in the United States, at Kings 

College, Harvard, and Dartmouth, all with 

faculties in which foreign-trained physicians 

predominated. 66 

By the time the Revolution broke out, 

American physicians were no longer isolated from the thought of their colleagues, 

either those in their own communities or 

those in Europe. Books and journals were 

available to them, and scientific societies in 

the more populous areas gave them a 

forum where they were encouraged to present their own ideas. Here again, however, 

the shadow of things to come was cast by 

the formation in Philadelphia of rival societies by groups led on the one hand by 

Morgan and on the other by Shippen. Few 

of the medical publications in circulation in 

the eighteenth century were of American 

origin, but a number of public and private 

libraries were being created and foreign 

authors became very influential, among 

them not only the British Pringle and 

Brocklesby but also the Austrian van 

Swieten, French surgeons such as Jean 

Louis Petit and Henri Fran,ois Le Dran, 

and many others. The influence of French 

military medicine also appeared in the form 

of translations of the French Journal de 

Midecine MiUtaire wh ich were circulated 

in the United States from 1783 to 1790.7 

Some of the men who were to join the 

American Army Medical Department had 

gained limited experience in military medicine during the French and Indian War. 

Morgan, (or example, was an army surgeon 

with the Pennsylvania militia at that time 

and John Jones had taken part In the 

British attack on Canada. Experience with 

the British exposed some of the apprenticetrained colonial physicians to a higher level 

of practice than they had known before and 

familiarized them with the lower level operations of an army medical department. During the Revolution, even sllch men as Benjajam in Rush, who had no previous military 

experience, expressed a wish to see the 

American Army Medical Department 

modeled more closely upon its British 

counterpart.

68 

During this period, the British Army's 

medical department was ileaded by a council 

of three civilians, usually prominent London 

practitioners, functioning as Physician General, Surgeon General, and Inspector General. Under them an inspector general was 

assigned to every twenty- to thirty-thousandman army, where yet another inspector general served each division of four to five 

thousand men. The principal, or general, 

hospital for such an army might have 400 

beds and a staff of six medical officers (including a physician and two assistants, a 

surgeon and one assistant, and an apothecary) and fifty other workers. The need for 

a sergeant to keep order among hospital patients was first recognized during the French 

and Indian War, and two orderlies were appointed who could assist in maintaining 

discipline. The British also emphasized hospital sanitation, good air and ventilation, 

and the prevention of overcrowding. It was 

intended that each regiment have its own 

surgeon and, in wartime, two assistants, 

and its own hospital in a house or tent. 

Fairly high standards were used in the 

selection of physicians, but regimental surgeons bought their commissions without 

showing any qualifications except that of 

experience, although in this instance, after 

the French and Indian War, higher standards 

were being urged. Regimental surgeons 

serving the Americans during that war 

tended to be poorly trained. The siek and 
Ch. 1) State 0/ the Art 21 

wounded at times went untended for days, 

no efficient system of evacuation was developed until the Napoleonic Wars, and 

supplies and food were inadequate. The 

troops occasiona lly suffered from jaundice, 

and there WdS no evidence that the problem 

of typhus was handled any better by the 

British then than by the Americans during 

the Revolution.· D 

The practice of military medicine in the 

eighteenth century by nations experienced 

with the demands of war left much to be 

desired, even by the standards of the time. 

It could not, therefore, logically be expected 

that the newly created Continental Army 

Medical Department, directed by relatively 

inexperienced men whose personal antipathies toward one another were rapidly 

growing, could, in the early years of the 

Revolution, function in a manner we would 

find acceptable today. 
2 

Evolution of the Continental Army 

Medical Department 

The Continental Army's Medical Department, established in July 1775, was assigned 

an almost impossible task by the Continental 

Congress. A staff [or the most part totally 

unfamiliar with military medicine, handicapped by a serious and chron.ic shortage 

o[ drugs and by con [used and inadequate 

legislation, was expected to provide uniformly competent care for an untrained army 

whose health was jeopardized by poor hygiene and frequently inadequate food and 

clothing. Medicines and supplies were in 

many instances imported and, even before 

the war, oftcn in very short supply. The 

chain of command was confused because the 

legislation cstablishing the department did 

not recognize the existence of regimenta l 

surgeons and regimental hospitals and, when 

the scope of the medical service's activities 

broadened to cover operations beyond Massachusetts, did not dcfine the relationship of 

thc heads of the hospita ls in other areas 

to the original Director General. (Table 

1) In an era when violent quarrels between 

ambitious men were common, these legislative omissions fueled disagreements and 

even feuds which would threaten the Medical Department with paralysis. Thus the 

medical service was all too frequently unable to provide adequate and compassionate 

care, even by eighteenth century standards, 

for the Army's ill and wounded.' 

CREATION OF THE HOSPITAL 

DEPARTM ENT: CHURCH 

AS DIRECTOR GENERAL 

When George Washington arrived at Cambridgc, Massachusetts, on 3 July 1775 to 

take command of the Continental Army, 

the hospitalized sick and woundcd, most of 

whom were from Massachusetts, were being 

cared for by Massachusetts regimental surgeons in Massachusctts facilities. It was 

obvious to all concerned, however, that 

this approach would be inadequate when 

units frol11 other colonies became involved 

and when the fighting sprcad beyond the 

confmes of that colony. Washington pointed 

out that already " Disputes and Contentions 

have arisen and must continue until it is 

reduced to some 'System." 2 

On 27 July, the Continental Congress, in 

a brief resolution, created for a Continental 

Army of approximately twenty thousand 

men what was termed in the language of the 

day '·an Hospital" or, in modern terms, a 

hospital system or medical department, 

whose physicians were not, however, given 

military rank. This piece of legislation, like 

others to follow, was a source of considerable confusion, but the major problem at 

this time was caused by the failure to outline the relationship of the new department 

and its director to the existing regimental 

system, organized by each individual colony 

for the benefit of the regiments from that 

colony.' (See Appendix E.) 

The legislation creating the Hospital Department also failed to discuss its relationship to thc Congress. In September 1775, 

however, in response to the increasing se r~

ousness of the drug shortage, the ContInental Congress crcated a Medical Committee "to devise ways and means for 

supplying the Continental Army with Medicines." This new committee, to which a 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evallllian 23 

TABLE I - A uTHORITY WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL ARMY'S M EDICAL SERVICES , 1775-83 

Highest Authorities Within 

Dale 

Hospit al Department H ighest Authorities Within 

Highest Independent Regimental System 

Authority Major Subordinates 

July 1775 Director General and Surgeons, apothecaries Regimental surgeons 

Chief Physician 

September 1775 Direc tor General and Surgeons, apotbecaries, As above 

Chief Physician; mates Director General and 

Chief Physician in the 

North a 

June 1776 As above, Director As above As above 

General and Chief 

Physician in the 

South a 

July 1776 As above As above, including Regimental surgeons: 

surgeons functioning must submit medicine as hospital directors chests for inspection to 

Hospital Department's 

hospital directors 

September 1776 As above As above Regimental surgeons 

responsible to heads of 

Hospital Department 

April 1777 Directo r General Deputy Directors of Physician and Surgeon each district b General for each army; 

repor ts to Deputy 

Director fo r his districte 

August 1777 Di recto r General; As above As above 

Director of the 

hospitals in the Soutb 

September 1780 Director General; Three chief hospital Chief surgeon and 

Deputy Director physicians physician for each 

General for area south army 

of Virginia 

March 1781 II Director General As above, Deputy As above 

Director in the South 

NOTE: Only the leglslallon o f Apnl 1177 and March 1781 gave the Ouector General supreme authority ove r all 

medica l se rvices . 

• His rela tionship to Ihe Director General and Chid Physician was obscure. It The Director General fUllcliollcd as the Deputy Director in the middle distriel. ~ The regimental system from this point o nward was a part of the Hospital Department . . , No further changes in command slructure occurred during the Revolulioll afte r this date . 

physician, Benjamin Rush, was first appoinled in August 1776, was but one of 

several which were to concern themselves 

with the Hospital Department at one time 

or anot her during the course of the Revolution. lis authority grndually grew, and b;' 

early 1777, it had become involved in such 

ma tters as the hiring and firin g of Hospilal 

Department personnel, sma llpox inoculation 

policies, and the resolution of the internal 

dispules of the Hospital Department.' 

Rush fai led of rceleclion to the Continental Congress in February 1777, and the 

new Medical Committee which was formed 

after the elections contained no holdovers 

from its predecessor. Its responsibilities 

were broadly outlined from the outset; it 

was "to devise ways and means for preserv·· 

ing the health of the troops, and for introducing better discipline into the army." 

Some type of Medical Committee appears 

to have been in existence from this time 

until its functions were assumed by the 

Board of War in May 1781.' 


26 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

BENJAMIN CHURCH. Apparently no picture 01 

Church taken from life exists. This portrait 

was based on "contemporary description" 

(James Evelyn Pilcher, "Benjamin Church, 

Director General and Chief Physician 0/ the 

Hospital of the Army, 1775," Journal of 

the Association of Military Surgeons 13 

(1903): 324). (Courtesy of National Library oj Medicine). 

Despite the existence of the Medical Committee, the Congress continued to involve 

itself directly in the operations of the 

Hospital Department. The shortage of drugs 

eventually became so critical, however, that 

even Committees of Safety from various 

states joined the attempts to relieve it and 

the search for medicines was expanded to 

include France, Holland, and the West 

Indies.' 

To head the newly created Hospital Department, the Continental Congress unanimously elected Dr. Benjamin Church of 

Massachusetts as the first Director General 

and Chief Physician. 7 Church was known 

not only as a talented and well-educated 

physician and surgeon but also as an enthusiastic poet-patriot, an author of Liberty 

songs who played an active role in the operation of the hospital system for Massachusetts military units and in the examination 

of candidates for positions as surgeons for 

those units. He had receivcd his medical 

training in London, practiced in Boston, and 

served Massachusetts as a member of both 

the Provincial Congress and the Boston 

Committee of Correspondence. 

When Church assumed office, colonial 

soldiers were being cared for in about thirty 

hospitals, some of which were in wretched 

condition under the management of surgeons who had little understanding of the 

problems which faced them. He continued 

within the new department the same policy 

of examining candidates for medical positions which was originally followed in the 

appointment of surgeons for Massachusetts 

units and moved to consolidate hospitals, 

ordering regimental surgeons to send their 

patients, whenever possible, unless their 

complaints were very minor, to the general 

hospitals. Massachusetts surgeons generally 

cooperated with Church's efforts, but those 

from the regiments of other colonies generally did not. 8 

Many believed that the smaller hospital 

intended for the care of the ill and wounded 

of a four-hundred- to five-hundred-man 

regiment was less hazardous to the health 

of its patients than the large general hospital. 

It was also true that soldiers felt more secure 

when cared for by their own doctors among 

the men of their own units. General hospitals. however, were reputed to be more 

efficient and to have better staffs, since regimental surgeons and mates were a motley 

crew named by their respective colonels and 

their competence was not necessarily tested 

before appointment.' 

Church found that the costs of running 

the regimental hospitals were extremely high 

and believed that this indicated the existence 

of "inexcusable neglect" on the part of the 

regimental surgeons managing them. He 

wished to have patients moved to general 

hospitals rather than to have medicines 
CII. 2] Continental Army Medical Departmelll Evolution 27 

issued to regimental surgeons to permit them 

to continue to care for their patients. By the 

end of August, although he acknowledged 

organized resistance to his plans, Church 

believed that he was making progress in his 

fight against the supporters of the regimental 

hospital. He was sure that the soldiers themselves appreciated the advantages of the 

hospitals he had established and claimed 

that regimental surgeons had begun to seek 

out mates' berths in the general hospital.'o 

In early September, Washington expressed 

support for the general hospital concept, 

commenting, "there is no need of regimental 

Hospitals without the Camp when there is 

a general Hospital so near and so well appointed." 11 

The opposition continued, however. Regimental surgeons complained to their officers 

whenever the general hospital denied them 

the drugs they demanded. Brig. Gen. John 

Sullivan protested that his wounded were 

being moved three to four miles to Cambridge to have their wounds dressed while 

his regimental surgeons stood virtually idle. 

His officers continued to bring pressure upon 

him : "Are the Dolorous Groans of the 

Disconsolate, agreeable to any human EarThat they should be still Increas'd by Dragging our sick . . . In Waggon Loads to 

Cambridge? Humanity shudders at the 

Prospect." General Sullivan insisted that fully half of the patients ordered by Church 

to the general hospitals refused to go, "Declaring they would rather Die where they 

were and under the care of those Physicians 

they were acquainted with." The period of 

enlistment for the Continental Army at this 

time was for onc year, making it necessary 

to raise a new army at the end of the 

soldiers' terms. Consequently the effects of 

the controversy over medical service on the 

morale of the average soldier were of great 

concern. General Sullivan commented, "I 

greatly fear that if it does not Ruin the 

present Army [it will] prevent another being raised in America." 12 

Although a second problem which 

plagued the Continental Medical Department, that of the Director General's authority within the expanding Continental 

medical establishment, did not appear in its 

ultimate dimensions under the Church administration, its foundations were laid in 

September 1775 when Dr. Samuel Stringer 

was appointed "director of the Hospital, 

and chief Physician and surgeon for the 

Army in the northern department." Stringer 

was to be paid a salary equal to Church's 

and had the right to appoint four men to 

serve under him. These men, however, were 

to be surgeon's mates, not surgeons, implying that Stringer's position was comparable 

not to Church's but to that of a surgeon. 

Although Church was clearly supreme within the establishment centered at Cambridge, 

Congress had failed to define either the relationship of the new system in the north to 

the one in Massachusetts or Stringer's position in the chain of command and had thus 

created fertile ground for future quarrels." 

It was in the midst of his struggle with 

the advocates of the regimental hospital 

that Church fell from power. By September, 

the quarrel between the two factions was so 

intense that Washington ordered that an 

investigation be conducted within each brigade. He required each brigadier general to 

sit with his officers as a court of inquiry 

into the various complaints, talking to both 

the Director General and the regimental 

surgeons. On 20 September, after three such 

hearings, Church attempted to resign, but 

Washington urgently requested the doctor to 

consider the matter at greater length. The 

final hearing was planned for 30 September, 

but on that day Washington announced the 

postponement of this last inquiry because 

"of the Indi.position of Dr. Church."" 

The true reason for the postponement, 

however, was the discovery of a letter from 

Church to a British officer within Britishoccupied Boston. It had been suspected for 

some time that someone in the Provincial 

Congress of Massachusetts was informing 

to the British, but Church had explained his 
28 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L 0 EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

own SUSpICIOUS friendliness with an enemy 

officer as an effort to keep himself informed 

of enemy activities. Washington now learned 

of a letter written the preceding July which 

had been left with a patriot by the "infamous hussy" who had been asked to 

deliver it. His suspicions aroused by her 

obvious anxiety, the patriot had offered to 

take the message into Boston for her. Although written in cipher, the letter was 

easily decoded and the woman, questioned 

by Washington himself, finally confessed 

that Church was the author. An immediate 

search of the doctor's papers, however, revealed nothing incriminating, leading the 

general to conclude that a protege of 

Church's had removed anything suspiciOUS.IIi 

The letter was, according to John Adams, 

" the oddest Thing imaginable. There are so 

many lies in it, calculated to give the enemy 

an high Idea of our Power and Importance, 

as well as so many Truths tending to do 

us good that one knows not how to think 

him treacherous: Yet there are several 

strokes, which cannot be accounted for at 

least by me, without the Supposition of 

Iniquity." Indeed, it was only in the period 

immediately preceding World War II that 

the discovery of Church's letters to the 

British General Gage definitely proved that 

he had been sending secret military and 

political information to the British for six 

weeks before the battle of Lexington. Until 

that time, many others shared Adams's uncertainty. Church himself claimed that the 

letter was intended for his Tory brother-inlaw in Boston and was designed to bring 

about a delay in the British attack which 

was anticipated when their momentarily expected reinforcements arrived, since colonial 

forces were still weak. James Warren and 

Samuel Adams, however, noted as significant 

the fact that Church had apparently never 

mentioned the correspondence to George 

Washington or, indeed, to any of the patriots.'· 

While Washington laid the question of 

how to proceed before his generals on 3 

October 1775, Dr. Isaac Foster (also spelled 

Forster), head of the Massachusetts military hospital system before the creation of 

the Continenta l system, was appointed acting 

Director in Church's place. The next day, 

Washington's Council of War unanimously 

decided that Church had been caught in 

"criminal correspondence with the enemy." 

Close examination of the Articles of the 

Continental Army revealed, however, that 

the only punishment which the Army could 

legally inflict upon Church for this treason 

was cashiering and either the loss of two 

months' payor thirty-nine lashes. Further 

legal problems arose from the fact that the 

alleged crime was committed before 

Church's appointment to the Army post and 

that the letter, the only evidence then available of his treason. was never actually deIivered. 17 

Washington turned to the Continental 

Congress for a way out of this dilemma, 

but with the decision of that body on 14 

October 1775 to elect a new Director General, Church passed beyond the scope of 

this history. It might be added, however, 

that although the Continental Congress and 

both Massachusetts and Connecticut attempted to find some satisfactory way to 

dispose of this case, none was ever found. 

Commented John Adams in June 1776, 

"Nobody knows what to do with him, 

There is no law to try him upon, and no 

court to try him. I am afraid he deserves 

morc punishment than he will ever meet." 

Church's health began to fail, however. and 

he was permitted to board a ship bound 

for the West Indies. Neither he nor the 

ship was ever heard from again. His widow 

successfully applied to the king for a pension 

as the widow of a loyalist, claiming that 

her husband had been imprisoned for services rendered the British crown. 18 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evolution 29 

MORGAN AS DIRECTOR 

GENERAL, 1775 TO 1777 

On 17 October 1775, Dr. John Morgan 

was selected by the Continental Congress 

over three other official nominees to be 

Director General. Morgan was not Washington's first choice, however, since the 

general wished to see his young friend, Dr. 

William Shippen, already Morgan's rival in 

their home town of Philadelphia, take the 

post.'· 

Although the quality of Morgan's mind 

and training was undeniable, the honors he 

had received were many, and his "moral 

character" was deemed "very good" by 

John Adams at the time of his selection,.· 

none other than James Boswell, Samuel 

Johnson's famous biographer, who joined 

the youthful Morgan for a tour of Holland 

in August 1763, called him "un fat 

bonhomme," translated by Morgan biographer, Whitfield Jenks Bell, Jr., as "a 

conceited fool." 21 Several years after Morgan's dismissal from the department, Dr. 

Barnabas Binney called him "the most implacable, revengeful man under the Heavens."" Morgan, Bell has stated, always 

suffered from "the same tension between the 

ideal and the possible, the same conflict 

between what he knew ought to be and 

what in the actual circumstances could be, 

and the same inability to understand the 

difference." Unable "to see anything touching himself in normal perspective,"" Morgan was driven by the demands and 

disappointments he experienced as Director 

General of the Continental Hospital Department to the point where vengeance upon the 

man he eventually blamed for his every 

frustration became his main goal in life. 

Morgan was appointed Director General 

in October, but before actually reporting 

for duty, he took a month to put his personal 

affairs in order and to collect drugs and instruments. Washington was sufficiently 

distressed by the delay to point out that 

JOHN MORGAN. (Courtesy of Historical Society 

of Pellnsylvania.) 

Morgan's presence was most urgently required at camp and that the Director "ought 

not to delay his departure for the camp a 

moment, many regulations being delayed, 

and accounts postponed, till his arrival." 

When he finally did arrive in Cambridge, 

Morgan was confronted with hospitals 

crowded with the victims of various diseases, 

Army officers inexperienced with the maintenance of the health of large numbers of 

men, and a department already experiencing 

increasing difficulties keeping up with the 

demand for supplies. The problems posed 

by two parallel and conflicting medical systems were by no means diminishing, while 

those posed by conflicting authorities within 

the department were just beginning?' 

Seemingly undaunted, Morgan inspected 

the entire department and its operations. The 

stock of medicines and hospital supplies on 

hand proved to be totally inadequate. There 

were almost no blankets, for example, although there were more than 500 mattress 
30 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

SURGEON'S FIELD C ASE. (Courtesy 0/ Armed Forces Institllle 0/ Pathology .) 

ticks. There were only 200 bandages and 

little in the way of materials from which to 

make more. The report on drugs from the 

apothecary revealed that, although 120 different items were on hand, the supply of 

some of the most highly rcgarded medicines 

was very limited. 25 

Medicines were being brought in from 

Philadelphia, but they came in slowly while 

the number of soldiers in Ihe area increased 

rapidly. Morgan's position required him to 

deal with the supply crisis directly. Instruments were so difficult to obtain that he was 

reduced to suggesting to one surgeon that he 

use a razor blade as an incision knife. He 

succeeded, nevertheless, in equipping chests 

for regiments both in Boston and elsewhere. 

The wool and woolen cloth so highly valued by many eighteenth century military 

physicians were hard to obtain, although 

some was purchased on credit in France. 

The genera l shortage of textiles meant that 

even tent materials were in short supply. 

Congress rarely voted enough money to 

meet the department's needs, and Washington further complicated the problem in 

December 1775 by underestimating the costs 

of supporting the hospitals required by the 

Army?" 

The conflict between the Hospital Department and the regimental medical system 

which caused so many difficulties under 

Church also continued under Morgan and 

was intensified by the shortage of medicines and hospital supplies. Morgan's necessarily meager release of supplies from the 

general hospital to regimental surgeons, 

which was in part caused by his desire to 

stockpile stores against future need, only 

served to heighten the tensions already 

existing between the two systems. Regimental surgeons assumed that they had a right 

to draw on ·the general hospital's stores and 

blamed hospital surgeons for the shortages 

which they experienced, but Morgan maintained that he had no orders to supply regimental needs. Since he was unable to account for the way in which regimental 

surgeons used what they drew, he believed 

it necessary to limit carefully what they were 
Cil. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evolution 31 

issued. Morgan did think, however, that the 

regimental hospital served a useful purpose and was even reasonably confident of 

his own ability to handle the situation if 

Congress would clarify the legal relationship between the two systems. Morgan believed it was essential that the regimental 

surgeons, whose number was increasing as 

new regiments were fOfmed, be "placed in 

some subordination." He asked Congress to 

inform him whether regimental surgeons 

were subject to any rule "that may be devised for the government of the Hospital, 

and the good of the service." 27 

Morgan was expected to participate in 

the preparation and issuance of medicine 

chests and the instruments and drugs in 

them to regimental surgeons. Since ncw 

regiments were being formed rapidly at this 

time and supplies were running short, finding the items necessary for these chests was 

quile difficult. Morgan realized, however, the 

potential threat to the general hospital which 

would arise should regimental surgeons 

choose to alleviate the stra in on their system by turning all their patients over to the 

Hospital Department. He pred icted to Washington that the population of the general 

hospital might be increased by such an approach from the approximately 300 there 

at that time to 2,000 and therefore suggested, with Washington's concurrence, that 

regimental and genera l hospitals be brought 

into harmony. On 17 July 1776, however, 

Congress itself finally passed legislation 

which, wh ile to some degree officially clarify ing the relation ship of the two med ical 

systems as far as supplies were concerned , 

failed to eliminate ill feeling. (See Appendix 

C.) The resolve stated that regimental surgeons were not to be permitted to draw 

anything but medicine and instruments from 

the Hospita l Department and that patients 

whose treatment required anything more 

were to be sent into the general hospital. 

The directors of individual hospitals were 

entitled to inspect the regimental chests and 

surgical instruments; if regiments were reduced in size, instwments and medicines 

not being used were to be turned over to the 

Director General who wou ld report on their 

number to Congress. Regimental surgeons 

also were required to submit returns on 

the number of sick under their care to the 

Hospital Department.'· 

This new act also permitted an increase 

in the number of Hospital Department 

surgeons and mates up to one surgeon and 

five mates for every 5,000 men and the 

hiring of as many storekeepers, stewards, 

nurses, and other hospital employees as 

deemed necessary, to be appointed by 

individual hospital directors. The suggestion, 

favored by Morgan, that hospital expenses 

be met at least in par t by a deduction from 

the pay of each soldier did not pass, but 

some economies were achieved by stopping 

the regular ra tions of the sick as long as 

they were in the hospital. Hospital directors 

were required to give the names of the sick 

and dates of their hospitalization to the 

commissary and to the Board of Treasury 

to ensure accurate accounting. 29 

Unfortunately, neither Morgan's efforts 

nor those of the Continental Congress had 

much alleviated the conflict between the 

two systems. Complaints against the general hospital continued, and at least one 

colonel, Maryland's Smallwood, removed 

his men from the general hospital and refused to have others entcr it, commenting 

that they were beller off housed "in a comfortable house in the cou ntry, and supplied 

with only common rations." The Continental Congress forbade the placing of regimental hospitals near general hospitals and 

ordered commanding officers to send an 

officer once a week to check on the condition of their men in department hospitals.so 

Many thoroughly d istrusted regimental 

surgeons. Washington had been disillusioned 

by the facts brought out at the hearings of 

the preceding September and called regi-
32 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

mental surgeons "very great Rascals" willing to certify as sick those who were 

perfectly healthy. These surgeons were 

"aiming, I am persuaded, to break up the 

Genl. Hospital." Their bickering was endangering the entire army and their insistent 

demands for furniture and accommodations 

were resented by Morgan, who could not 

legally accede to their wishes. Washington 

now believed that only ·the subordination of 

regimental surgeons to the Director General 

would resolve the problem, but others 

maintained that the controversy could be 

ended by a firm decision either to take 

everyone who was .(00 ill to perform his 

duties into the general hospital or to have 

the general hospital provide regimental surgeons all they needed to care for their patients. Unfortunately, however, because of 

the shortage of medicine and hospital supplies, the Hospital Department was in no 

position to undertake either alternative." 

Regimental surgeons were also dissatisfied 

because, while they received only $25 a 

month, a sum raised in Iune 1776 ~o 

$33Va, and regimental mates were paid 

but $18 a month, hospital surgeons received $40 a month from the outset and 

hospital mates $20. (See Appendix B.) 

Appeals to Congress resulting from the 

conflict between the two systems poured in 

even as a tendency to partisanship among 

the members of Congress grew and medical 

policy became highly controversial. The 

tension was increased by suggestions that 

it might not be possible to raise more troops 

unless the medical service was reformed. 

Congress's resolution of 30 September 1776 

subordinating regimental surgeons to the 

heads of the divisions of the Hospital Department did not end the controversy." 

(See Table 1.) 

Meanwhile, the confusion about the Director General's authority over the Director of 

the Hospital in the Northern Department 

had come to a head. Dr. Samuel Stringer 

took his post in the North in September 

1775, a month before Morgan's official appointment. He apparently set to work at 

once to carve out an independent niche 

for himself among the troops under Maj. 

Gen. Philip Schuyler gathering for an invasion attempt against Canada. Saying that 

the four mates allowed him earlier were not 

enough, Stringer asked Congress in late 

October 1775 to assign him surgeons and 

more mates. Were surgeons assigned to 

work under him, his own position would, 

of course, be strengthened. 

By 1776, an all-out three-way power 

struggle was developing, with Stringer attempting to maintain his own independence, 

Morgan attempting to "subordinate" Stringer, both physicians scheming to receive the 

support of Congress for their own ambitions, 

and Congress refusing to be pushed or manipulated by anyone into clarifying the situation. Washington himself urged that 

Congress set one single head over the entire 

Hospital Department. Stringer's request in 

May 1776 for an increase in his staff to a 

total of four surgeons, twelve mates, and 

other lesser figures was granted by Congress 

on 22 May in terms which did not make 

clear who was to name these men. Stringer 

now also informed Washington that his 

supply of medicines was totally inadequate 

for his predictable needs, but Washington 

referred the request for supplies to Morgan, 

implying by so doing that Stringer'S position was subordinate to Morgan's.33 

By Iune, Morgan was demanding that 

Congress clarify the situation. "From all I 

am able to learn," he commented, "every_ 

thing in the Medical Department in Canada 

displays one scene of confusion and anarchy; 

nor have the Congress taken upon itself to 

establish ... any person whatever with a 

power sufficient to establish a General Hospital in Canada." The positions of Stringer 

and Dr. Ionathan Potts, recently sent north, 

were unclear. Morgan warned that the surgeons in Canada were spreading smallpox 

through unwisely handled inoculation, some-
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evollllion 33 

thing which did not happen, he insisted, 

where he was in control. Help was badly 

needed everywhere in the North, furthermore, and he recommended that he be 

given permission to appoint more surgeons, 

mates, and apothecaries so that he did not 

have to send men already on duty and 

needed in the New York City area. Stringer, 

however, although he admitted the difficulty 

of finding surgeons and mates, refused to 

accept the officers sent by Morgan in response to his stated need." 

The solution Morgan proposed to problems in the North was the establishment of 

a general hospital in Canada and the placing of all Hospital Department operations 

in the North under his own authority. The 

department as a whole would operate more 

smoothly if he, as Director, chose all surgeons, since unhappy effects would result 

from any undermining of "that idea of subordination so necessary in an Army." He 

boldly stated that "some resolves of Congress 

have been incautiously entered into . . . 

or titles of rank and distinction given, which 

have a tendency to interfere with mine." 

The public, however, not understanding the 

situation, tended to blame only Morgan for 

conditions existing under Stringer's command. Stringer and Morgan continued to 

importune Congress, and Stringer even left 

his post in the guise of seeking a supply of 

medicines to pursue the matter personally 

with Congress. The response of Congress, 

however, was to state rather vaguely that 

Stringer had been appointed "director general and physician for the hospital in the 

northern department only" and to add that 

each hospital director was entitled to appoint his own subordinates unless Congress 

directed otherwise." 

Congress, indeed, was so little impressed 

with its own share of the responsibility for 

the conflicts among the medical officers 

serving the Continental Army that in June 

1776, on the urging of the Virginia Convention, it created yet another hospital system, this time in Virginia, headquartered at 

Williamsburg, where Dr. William Rickman 

was appointed Physician and Director General." 

In September, one of Morgan's friends 

and supporters in the Continental Congress, 

Thomas Heyward, Jr., returned 10 South 

Carolina, after informing Morgan that he 

would not be able to continue to help him. 

Congress, meanwhile, was harried and 

harassed by the number and seriousness of 

the problems with which it had to deal and 

by late 1776 was apparently running out of 

patience with both Stringer and Morgan. 

In November 1776, Oliver Wolcott of the 

Continental Congress ominously commented 

that he hoped that "the Medical Department 

will undergo a Reform of Men at least, if 

not of Measures, that not so much Complaint which I fear has been too well 

grounded, may be heard respecting the 

Conduct of that Department." S1 

Morgan's position was fur·ther undermined 

in the last six months of 1776 by a quarrel 

with another Hospital Department physician. 

His opponent in this instance was more 

dangerous to him than Stringer, for Dr. 

William Shippen was talented, charming, 

superbly trained, highly regarded, and well 

connected by reason of both his own Philadelphia family and his marriage to a member of Virginia's influential Lee family. Despite Washington's desire to see him become 

Church's successor, Shippen had not joined 

the Hospital Department until the summer 

of 1776, when he became chief physician to 

the flying camp under the command of Gen. 

Hugh Mercer, himself a physician. This 

organization was composed of militia and 

state troops called in 0/1 short enlistments to 

form a strategic reserve in the emergency 

created by the impending British attack on 

New York, but it apparently never reached 

its IO,OOO-man goal. 

The appointment of a man he already regarded as a dangerous rival alarmed Morgan, who later maintained that Shippen's 
34 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

WILLIAM Slill'PEN, JR. (Courtesy 0/ National 

Library oj Medicine.) 

assumption of the post was part of a plot to 

take his place. The wording of the notification sent to Shippen, however, casts some 

doubt on Morgan's theory, since the phrase 

"should you accept the appointment" implies 

uncertainty as to Shippen's acceptance. By 

the fall of 1776, however, Shippen may have 

been thinking in different terms, since he let 

it be known that he was available should 

there be changes in the structure of the 

Hospital Department." 

On 9 October 1776, and apparently without consulting Washington, the Continental 

Congress once more produced a confusing 

resolve. Shippen was directed to "provide 

and superintend an hospital for the army, in 

the state of New Jersey" and Morgan one 

"for the army posted on the east side of 

Hudson's river." There was, in this instance, 

again no definition of the relationship of the 

two men, even though the Congress did 

detail carefully how the hospitals were to 

be managed. 

The month was not over before Shippen 

wrote Washington that, although Congress 

had assigned him all army patients on the 

New Jersey side, Morgan had told all 

medical officers to follow only the Director's orders until either he or Washington 

told them otherwise. The basic issue, in 

Shippen's opinion, was whether he was to 

give orders only for patients of the flying 

camp, as Morgan seemed to think, or for 

all sick and wounded in New Jersey, as 

Congress, in Shippen's opinion, intended. 

Washington apparently assumed that those 

of his men who retreated from New York 

to New Jersey nevertheless remained the 

responsibility of Morgan, as chief physician 

for the main army; he stated that he interpreted the resolution to mean that Morgan 

should hospitalize and care for patients of 

the main army wherever he found it to be 

most convenient, on either side of the river, 

and that Shippen should restrict his care 

to the men of the flying camp. He noted 

that the problem would in time probably 

solve itself, since wounded soldiers were 

now beginning to return to the army and 

Morgan would soon no longer need facilities on the Jersey side. 

Shippen, declaring his own confusion, 

turned to General Mercer, who suggested 

that Shippen appeal for clarification to 

Congress. This Shippen did, commenting 

that Washington seemed to make no distinction between Shippen's original appointment 

in July and Congress's newer directive of 

October. The response of that body to 

his appeal was to state that all the sick in 

New Jersey were Shippen's responsibility." 

Morgan's position by December 1776 was 

very weak, and he blamed Congress for 

tying his hands by undermining his authority. Congress ordered investigations into the 

department and there were calls for reform. 

Shippen, in writing to his brother-in-law in 
Cil. 2] COll1inelllal Army Medical Department Evolution 35 

the Continental Congress, Richard Henry 

Lee, referred to directors who were not 

directing and noted that the care of the sick 

was being delegated to ignorant mates while 

surgeons and physicians found other things 

to do. Shippen presented a detailed plan to 

reform the Hospital Department, one which, 

he maintained, would have among its virtues the elimination of any need for regimental hospitals. Washington pointed out, 

however, that the clash between Morgan 

and Shippen greatly increased the sufferings 

of the sick in 1776." 

On 9 January 1777, without warning, the 

Continental Congress passed this brief resolve: "Resolved, That Dr. John Morgan, 

director general, and Dr. Samuel Stringer, 

director of the hospital in the northern department of the army of the United States, 

be, and they are hereby, dismissed from any 

farther service in said offices." 41 Washington, in his letter of 18 January notifying 

Morgan of his dismissal, noted "What occasioned the above Resolve I cannot say, I 

can only assure you, it has not been owing 

to any representations of minc." The general confessed that he was "amazed to hear 

Complaints of the Hospital on the East 

Side of Hudson's River; Doctr. Morgan, with 

most of his Mates has been Constantly 

there, since I left with the main body of the 

Army" and stated his belief that Morgan had 

also done his best to keep costs down." 

Samuel Adams, however, writing to his 

cousin John Adams the day the resolve was 

passed, commented that both men were 

"dismissed without any reason assigned" 

and added that Congress had a perfect right 

to proceed in this manner. Echoing earlier 

comments by critics of Church's administration, Samuel Adams added, "The true reason, as I take it, was the general disgust, and 

the danger of the loss of any army arising 

therefrom," since "Great and heavy complaints" had been expressed concerning 

"abuse in the Director-General's department 

in both our armies; some, I suppose, without grounds, others with (00 much reason." 43 

Because of the abrupt nature of Morgan's 

dismissal, neither the charges against him 

nor his defense initially received an airing. 

Morgan, however, spent many long months 

working first to clear his own name and then 

to bring about the disgrace of his successor. 

His pride had been severely hurt and he 

made no secret of his bitterness. He explained: 

... to be stripped of the ra nk of Director General, of the power of my station, and to be 

left but the shadow of a Director, and yet to 

be accountable for every acc ident, or misconduct of others, as well as my own department, 

and, from the highest post, to be rendered the 

mere dependent of a junior and subordinate 

officer, was what 1 would never submit to. 

The source of all his miseries, the "junior 

and subordinate omcer," was William Shippen, lr. 44 

Morgan was not officially cleared of all 

charges of wrongdoing in office until June 

1779, in part because of his attacks on 

others. In his Villdicatioll of himself, he 

furiously attacked Shippen rather than limiting himself strictly to the matter at hand. 

One of Morgan's supporters in Congress 

drew censure from its President for altering 

Morgan's official appeal after its formal 

presentation to Congress in an attempt to 

make the document less vitriolic. It was, 

therefore, only on 12 June 1779 that Congress resolved that Morgan "did conduct 

himself ably and faithfully in the discharge 

of the duties of his office." He was never 

reinstated. 4ri 

NEW ARRANGEMENTS FOR 

THE HOSPITAL D E PARTM ENT 

Benjamin Rush, who was still a member 

of the Medical Committee, reacted quickly 

to the dismissal of Morgan, writing on 14 

January to Richard Henry Lee to urge that 

the appointment of a new Director General 

be held in abeyance until the two men could 
36 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

/ 

BENJAMIN RUSH. (Courtesy 0/ the University 

oj Pennsylvania.) 

discuss the matter. He stated that he wished 

to give Lee the names of men who, like 

John Cochran, were so able that they should 

be appointeJ at once to high positions on 

the department's medical staff. He also 

wished to advise Lee on the reform of the 

Hospital Department, which, he believed, 

should be designed more along British lines 

in order, for example, to further remove the 

responsibility for obtaining supplies for the 

department from the office of the Director, 

so as to minimize the possibility for corruption.40 

Shippen, also impressed by the British 

system, continued to work on his plan for 

hospital reform, at Washington's request 

with the aid of the same Dr. Cochran whom 

Rush so much admired. This plan suggested 

the appointment of purveyors to manage 

supplies received by the Hospital Department and of an Inspector General to inspect hospitals and apothecary ~hops. The 

general, who made it plain that he still 

wished to see Shippen become Director, 

was not sure that the higher salaries recommended by Shippen would be granted, although he himself felt them necessary, and 

pointed out that the Shippen-Cochran plan 

did not differ fundamentally from the ideas 

favored by Morgan himself. <7 

In response to Washington's urging, a 

special committee was appointed by Congress on 22 March 1777 to study the health 

problems of the Army. The report they issued was repeatedly brought up for consideration in late March and early April, 

but its consideration was also repeatedly 

postponed, often with suggestions for minor 

alterations. The absence of a Director General and the uncertain nature of future 

organization gave cause for concern to those 

who held responsible positions under the 

old system. Washington found it necessary 

in at least one instance to reassure an anxious medical officer that those who had been 

performing their duties faithfully had nothing to feac." 

At last, on 7-8 April 1777, legislation 

changing the organization of the Hospital 

Department, much along the lines suggested 

in the Shippen-Cochran plan, was passed by 

the Continental Congress. (See Appelldix 

D.) Nothing in the new resolve suggested 

that the Director was not the head of the 

entire department. Among his many duties 

was to be the personal supervision of the 

hospitals of the Middle Department, between 

the Hudson and Potomac Rivers. The 

Eastern and Northern Departments, separated geographically by the Hudson River, 

were each to be managed by a Deputy 

Director General; a third Deputy Director 

would supervise hospitals south of the 

Potomac River if the military situation 

seemed to require the establishment of a 

forma l organization in this part of the 

country. The new law implied that the relationship of this last deputy to the Director 

General would be identical with that of his 

counterparts to the north. Assistant Deputy 

Directors, with the hospital surgeons and 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evoilltion 37 

attendants who would serve under them, 

an apothecary general with his ma:es, and 

a commissary with his assistants wefe to 

work under each Deputy Director General. 

In each geographical division (casually 

referred to as either a department or a district), the practice of medicine was to be 

supervised by a Physician General and the 

practice of surgery by a Surgeon General. 

In addition, a Physician and Surgeon General would be attached to the army in the 

Champlain area of the Northern Department, a second to the units in New England, 

in the Eastern Department, and a third to 

the army personally commanded by General Washington, for the specific purpose of 

supervising the work of the regimental surgeons and their mates and the management 

of regimental hospitals. These officers would 

be responsible to the Director General and 

to the Deputy Directors General of the 

districts in which they were serving. 

Among the features of the original Shippen-Cochran plan not found in the new 

legislation were the positions of the Purveyor, whose office was so important in the 

thinking of Benjamin Rush, and of the Inspector General. As a result of the elimination of these positions, the management of 

the department's supplies, as well as the 

responsibility for the condition of the department's facilities, remained entirely in 

the hands of the Director General, although 

tbe Medical Committee was empowered to 

inspect any aspect of the Hospital Department at any time." 

The reaction to the new plan for the 

Hospital Department seems to have been 

one of general satisfaction. John Adams 

considered it "A most ample, generous, 

liberal provision. . . . The expense will be 

great, but humanity overcame avarice." The 

pay sc~ le was indeed high, since it gave the 

senior surgeon, for example, approximately 

a dollar a day more than a colonel of the 

Continental Army earned. The fundamental 

problem lay not with the pay scale but 

rather with the late payment of the assigned 

salaries, which ran months, if not years, 

late.'· 

Modifications and additions to tbe legislation as originally passed began to appear 

before a week had passed, partially as a 

result of an apparent trend away from the 

British custom which separated the function of the surgeon from that of the physician 

and toward a tacit recognition of the actual 

practice in the colonies. The ShippenCochran plan in the form it took on 14 

February) 777 mentioned both senior surgeons and senior physicians and although 

the desirability of keeping the wounded and 

the sick physically separated was reiterated, 

the requirement of the 7-8 April legislation 

for separate positions of Surgeon General 

and Physician General was partially removed 

on 12 April when Congress gave both identical duties; each should function in the capacity of PhysiCian and Surgeon General. 

The complete elimination of any distinction 

between the duties of the physician and the 

surgeon at all levels was not officially 

achieved until September 1780." 

On 22 April 1777, Congress issued still 

further additions to the new regulations. 

Concerned with providing care for military 

patients as quickly as possible, the legislation 

ordered that the Director and Deputy Directors publish frequently in tbe local newspapers the locations of military hospitals 

so that men unable to continue their marcb 

could be sent to the one closest to them. 

Officers were authorized to send patients 

to the nearest private physician for care 

if no military hospital were at hand, but 

were required to send them as soon as possible thereafter to a military facility." 

Shippen was not formally elected Director General until 11 April when the other 

high offices of the department were also 

filled, although his election was by the 

unanimous vote of the states. His Surgeon 

General in the Middle Department was Benjamin Rush, who had first worked with the 
38 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T " E NT , I 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

department as a volunteer in December 

1776, and others of his staff were also ex· 

perienced physicians; it was hoped that the 

reorganization would result in an influx of 

well-trained doctors to the Hospital Depart· 

ment. 

The complete list of officers of the Hospital Department elected on 11 April 1777 

is as follows: 

Director General, William Shippen, Ir. 

Physician General of ·the hospital in the Middle 

Department, Walter Jones 

Surgeon General of the hospital in the Middle 

Department, Benjamin Rush 

Physician and Surgeon General of the army 

in the Middle Department, John Cochran 

Deputy Director General in the Eastern Department, Isaac Foster 

Physician General of the hospiMl in the Eastern Department, Ammi Ruhamah Cutter 

Surgeon General of the hospital in the Eastern Department, Philip Turner 

Physician and Surgeon General of the army 

in the Eastern Department, William Burnet 

Depuly Director General of the hospital in the 

Northern Department, Jonathan Potts 

Physician General of the hospital in the Northern Department, Malachi Treat 

Surgeon General of the hospital in the Northern Department, Francis Forgue 

Physician and Surgeon General of the army 

in the Northern Department, John Bartlett 

SOUII.Cf_'I: Ford , JOllflluls of fill! CCJl/fil/{'//w l Congress, 7: 253; 

Francis Bernard Heitman, Ilistorical Regisler of Officers oflhe 

CCJIIlint'lIIul llrlll), During fhe Wllr orlhe Rel'vlwiol/, April 1775 

10 Dl'('C'lIIber 1783 (Washington : 1892- 93), 

On 5 June, in a further attempt to enhance the department's image, a notice 

signed by Shippen and Cochran in their 

official capacities was placed in the Penn· 

sylvania Evening Post, publicizing the new 

appointments and stating that "all the military hospitals of the United States are in 

excellent order, and that the Army enjoy 

[sic 1 a degree of health, seldom to be seen 

or read of." The significance of this announcement becomes apparent when it is 

considered in the light of the fact that 

Washington believed that the condition of 

the Army's hospitals had contributed to the 

melting away of his entire army in the 

winter of 1776- 77." 

SHIPPEN'S CONTROVERSIAL 

ADMI N ISTRAT ION 

Shippen, like Morgan, was trained at Edinburgh and London after receiving his under· 

graduate degree in the colonies and serving 

there as an apprentice. Although he gained 

distinction as a physician who was genuinely concerned for his patients, it was as a 

teacher and as a social animal that he especially shone. "Nature had been uncommon· 

ly bountiful in his form and aspect," wrote a 

fellow physician, "his manners were extremely elegant ... he belonged to a family 

proverbial for good temper . .. he was ... 

particularly agreeable to young people." It 

was said that before the enmity arose be· 

tween the two Philadelphia doctors, " there 

was no one who did not wish him well" and 

that at his death in 1808, "he left the world 

without an enemy." 54 

Shippen was immediately faced with the 

problems which had haunted both Church 

and Morgan. Supplies were disastrously 

short, rivalries were flourishing, the department's organization was still far from perfect, and Congress was still contributing as 

much to the problems as to their solutions. 

It is also possible that the new Director 

General himself to some degree added to the 

department's problems since, except for his 

first two winters in the Army, he continued 

to teach anatomy as he had before the war, 

and thus did not devote his entire time to 

the Hospital Department. It is also possible 

that he was unwilling to endure prolonged 

personal hardship and deprivation, although 

the matter is open to question." 

The number of sick, which was high even 

before the campaign of 1777 began, grew 

even higher as the cold weather came on. 

"The extreme fatigue and hardship which 
Ciz. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evollllion 39 

the Soldiers underwent in the course of the 

Winter, added to the want of Cloath [sic], 

and, I may add, Provisions, have rendered 

them very sickly," Washington believed." 

This same lack of food and clothing also 

helped to make the sick in the hospitals 

even sicker. John Adams, noting that disease 

killed ten soldiers for one killed in battle, 

added that "Discipline, discipline is the great 

thing wanted. There can be no order nor 

cleanliness in an army without discipline." CiT 

Supplies of almost any description were 

very hard to find and the problems experienced in this regard by the Hospital Department were but a reflection of the overall 

situation, although the larger budget allowed 

by Congress for drugs kept the situation 

from becoming in this respect as desperate 

as it was in 1776.'" Food, especially 

vegetables, vinegar, soap, and clothing were 

particularly hard to obtain for Army patients, although in August 1777, the Continental Congress gave the Hospital Department permission to draw upon the issuing 

commissaries. Many patients otherwise 

ready to rejoin their units were unable to 

do so because they were literally naked. 

By late October, Shippen was begging Congress for clothing but it was not until 19 

November that this body granted Army 

hospitals a share of the Army's clothing supply and permission to install stoves to keep 

the unclothed patients warm.'· 

While Washington admitted that "It is but 

too melancholy a truth, that our Hospital 

Stores are exceedingly scanty and deficient 

in every instance, and I fear there is no 

prospect of their being better shortly," O. 

many did not understand the nature of these 

shortages and blamed the sufferings of the 

Army's patients upon the Hospital Department and its Director, as they had under 

Morgan. By the end of 1777, for example, 

Rush was attacking Shippen with increasing vigor, citing as causes of patient wretch· 

edness both the "want of checks upon the 

lower officers of the hospitals" and also 

what he maintained was Shippen's refusal 

to deal with th~se officers and to join 

him in appealing to Washington and to 

Congress. Rush was certain that Shippen's 

influence among politicians could produce 

action which would cure the problem. Congress, in response to the spiraling costs, resolved in early January 1778 that every 

officer hospitalized with venereal disease 

should be fined ten dollars and every soldier 

four, the sums so collected to be used to buy 

blankets and shirts for hospital patients.·' 

Congress was increasingly displeased 

about the operations of the Hospital Department and complained that for a lengthy 

period of time it had been forced to assume 

the role of Director General of the hospitals 

in addition to that of the other Army department heads. Great hopes were held out, 

however, for a reform plan adopted in 

February 1778, partly as a result of the 

urgent complaints of Rush, who showed 

little awareness of the inevitable effects of 

the universal shortage of supplies and sought 

to solve the department's problems by reorganization. (See Appendix E.) 

Under the new plan, the Director was 

relieved of all supply responsibilities. The 

new position of Deputy Director for the 

Middle Department was created and Jonathan Potts was named to fill it. Although he 

was not given the title of purveyor, the 

new Deputy Director would assume all purveying functions. He would pay salaries and 

incidental expenses and buy medicines and 

supplies, distributing them with the aid of 

assistant deputy directors to be specifically 

assigned responsibility for such matters in 

each district. Accounting procedures were 

tightened. The staff which would in the 

years to come assist the officer functioning 

as purveyor generally included not only 

clerks and storekeepers but also purchasing 

agents and assistants to help with the distribution of supplies. Estimates of need were 

routinely sent to the purveyor, who then 
40 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

turned to such agencies as might reasonably 

be expected to provide the requested items. 

Among these possible sources were state 

agencies, the Commissary General, the 

Quartermaster General, the Clothier General, the Continental Druggist, and the various contractors serving the Army. When 

the purveyor attempted to buy privately, 

however, he was forced to bid against other 

governmental representatives, a situation 

which resulted in artificially intlated prices 

for all. Congress through its committees 

looked as far as Europe and the West 

Indies for drugs which, when received, 

were turned over to the Apothecary General by the purveyor. The new organization 

was, of course, unable to keep inflation and 

inadequate funding from interfering with 

the department's ability to supply its 

needs.·' 

The new legislation also reduced the 

responsibilities of the office of the Deputy 

Director General in the Eastern and 

Northern Departments, where there was little action after Burgoyne's defeat in the fall 

of 1777. The number of hospitals in each 

district, for example, would be determined 

by the district's Physician General and Surgeon General, who would also consult 

directly with the Director General concerning supply needs rather than work through 

the Deputy Director. In the absence of the 

Director General, these two officers would 

also appoint the wardmasters of their district. Reports from the Physician General 

and the Surgeon General would no longer 

be routed through their Deputy Director 

but would be submitted directly to the Director General. (See Appendix E.) 

It was also in February 1778 that the 

French entered the war against Great 

Britain. Although this development was 

crucial to the eventual winning of the war, 

initially it only added to the supply problems faced by the Americans, since the 

French handled their own supply and paid 

higher prices than the Americans to be sure 

of obtaining what they needed, which raised 

the prices the Americans had to pay. 

Following the appointment of Jonathan 

Potts as Deputy Director for the Middle 

Department, Congress was for a time 

finanCially more generous to the Hospital 

Department, and both morale and hospital 

conditions seem to have improved. By the 

fall of 1778, the clothing situation appears 

to have improved as well. As time went on, 

however, congressional generosity no longer 

sufficed. The Treasury did not have enough 

money to give the Hospital Department that 

which Congress assigned to it, and increasing 

intlation was severely undercutting the purchasing power of such sums as the department did receive. By the end of 1779, inflation was so great that $30 in Continental 

money was not worth $1 in specie, and 

food was again short everywhere, although 

appeals to the local populace at times produced good results. By the summer of 1780, 

the department was "destitute of those necessaries which are indispensable for the sick," 

and suggestions were even being made that 

Potts might be profiting from his position. 

In attempting to defend himself, Potts accurately pointed out that a number of men 

including other physicians within the department and assistant Directors General, such 

as Thomas Bond and James Craik, commissaries, assistant commissaries, and 

stewards handled purchasing at one time 

or another·' John Cochran, soon to become 

the fourth Director General, had little hope 

for improvement in the supply situation 

and blamed Congress and its Medical Committee "who will probably pow-wow over it 

awhile and nothing more be heard of it." .. 

Although the legislation of April 1777 

ended the regimental medical system as a 

separate entity, the enmity between regimental and hospital surgeons also continued 

to plague the, department for a time and 

their "continual jealousies and altercations" 

in January 1778 "had a very pernicious 

influence," in Washington's opinion. His 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evolution 41 

efforts to have regimental surgeons submit 

regular weekly reports to the officers of the 

local division of the Hospital Department 

on the number and condition of their patients apparently met with limited success, 

since he found it necessary to repeat them 

from time to time. Eventually, however, 

general distrust of regimental surgeons began to wane, and Washington himself noted 

his desire to see the regimental surgeon 

given more leeway, since being moved to a 

general hospital could harm many patients.·' 

The confusion about the extent of the 

authority of the Director General, however, 

did not disappear under Shippen. Although 

the April 1777 legislation placed no geographical restrictions on Shippen's authority, 

in August 1777 the Continental Congress 

stated that the April reform plan was not to 

be applied to the division of the Hospital 

Department operating in Virginia under 

Rickman and, furthermore, that Shippen 

must withdraw any doctors whom he, assuming that he was Rickman's supervisor, may 

have sent into the South.'· 

Presumably already damaged by the confusion within the department, morale was 

further damaged by the fact that in the 

early years of the war the men of the Continental Hospital Department had neither military rank nor the privileges of the military 

officer.·7 They appealed to Washington in 

April 1779 for permission at least to draw 

clothing from Army stores, but Washington 

did not have the authority to permit this. 

In November 1779, after Congress passed 

and then rescinded one resolution on the 

matter, a clothing allowance was finally 

voted, to be granted on the same basis as 

it had been in 1777 to line officers. When 

additional regulations governing the drawing of clothing were passed for line officers 

a few days later, physicians were again 

omitted, and the oversight was not remedied 

until September 1780. It should be noted, 

however, that as late as March 1780, even 

line officers were apparently not in actual 

practice receiving clothing from the Army. 

The members of Congress also agreed in 

November 1779 upon legislation assigning 

Army physicians a monetary subsistence allowance to replace the rations assigned them 

in 1777 and to be based on a formula derived from the pay scale of line officers, the 

Director General receiving a colonel's 

share. os 

Army doctors resented, however, the 

fact that they still had not been granted retirement half pay for a seven-year period 

as had line officers in 1778. To force Con-

.gress to assign them half pay, they 

threatened in December 1779 to resign en 

masse the following January 1780. An 

attempt to put through the desired measure 

on 3 January 1780 failed of passage, but 

the men of the Hospital Department did 

not, despite their disappointment, desert 

their patients by carrying out their threat 

of mass resignations, even when line officers 

were given half pay for life in October 1780. 

Not until 17 January 1781 and only after 

strong urging by Washington were medical 

officers included under half-pay provisions 

passed earlier for line officers. According to 

the 1781 legislation, all medical officers appointed by Congress who remained in the 

service for the entire war would receive half 

pay for life, but the Director was paid as if 

his rank were that of a lieutenant colonel. 

Medical officers also received at this time 

compensation for the effects of depreciation, 

a measure they had been supporting since 

1780.·· 

The ability of the department to function 

was further diminished by stories of great 

abuses within the Hospital Department, 

spurred by Rush's almost continuous criticisms, which again began to carry considerable weight in 1779, when demands for 

further reform reappeared. A request for 

$ 1 million for the Hospital Department was 

halved after violent debate on the waste 

believed to characterize its operations, especially as far as food and wine were con-
42 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

cerned. Benjamin Rush, who had resigned 

his commission in the Hospital Department 

as a result of his quarrels with Shippen and 

was by now considered to be the Director 

General's bitter enemy, accused Shippen of 

trading in the very hospital stores with which 

Congress was most concerned, especially 

wine and sugar. In June 1779, his own name 

cleared, Morgan joined Rush in clamoring 

that Shippen be court-martialed. Since 

Washington insisted that nothing be done 

until the campaign of that season was complete, however, Morgan's demands that Shippen be at least suspended from office until 

he could be brought to trial were in vain'· 

By December 1779, preparations for the 

court-martial of the Director General were 

under way, but the Hospital Department 

was facing further hardships. The winter of 

1779- 80 was unusually bitter, food was 

scarce, and the deep snow hindered the 

delivery of provisions. When a thaw set 

in, the resulting mud made roads impassable. 

By March 1780, when the case against 

Shippen was ready for trial, hospital stores, 

according to Cochran, were exhausted.7I 

Most of the accusations which were 

formally placed against Shippen originated 

in the period of Rush's service in 1776 and 

early 1777 when, as Shippen pointed out, 

Morgan had voluntarily remained in cnemyoccupied Philadelphia." Morgan was, therefore, forced to rely heavily upon Rush in 

his attempts to disgrace his old enemy. Rush 

was a man of obvious charm but questionable integrity. A contemporary, Dr. Thomas 

Bond, who was described by Whitfield Bell 

as "one of the sanest of the Philadelphia 

physicians" and at one time praised by 

Rush himself,73 commented bluntly that 

Rush was "capable of LYING in the 

WORST SENSE of that approbrious 

[sic 1 word" and called him "an unprincipled man. "74 

In the spring of 1780, Morgan 3nd Rush 

were ready to present five formal charges 

against their enemy. Shippen was accused of 

fraud in selling hospital stores as his own 

and moving them at government expense in 

government-owned wagons, of speculation 

in hospital stores and adulterating hospital 

wines at Bethlehem, of keeping no regular 

set of accounts for the Hospital Department, 

of neglect of his hospital duties to the 

point where soldiers died as a result, and 

of behavior unbecoming an officer and a 

gentleman in his alleged attacks upon Morgan. Unfortunately, the official records of 

the prolonged trial have not survived so 

that only the correspondence of that period 

and the newspaper evidence of the struggle 

in the form of " letters to the editor" can 

shed light upon the nature of the testimony 

offered by both sides during the trial and 

during the hearings of the Continental Congress which followed it.'" 

The reputations of Shippen and Morgan 

are still controversial. The documents of the 

time, however, indicate that the major 

difficulties of the Hospital Department were 

not only frustrating but also inevitable and 

not to be blamed upon any single man or 

group of men. It seems likely, furthermore, 

that neither Shippen nor anyone else could 

have emerged unscathed from an attack by 

Morgan and Rush once their ire had been 

sufficiently aroused. Shippen appears to have 

been the kind of man the ambitious Morgan 

(and perhaps Rush also) wished to be and 

to have won without great effort the acelaim Morgan was struggling so fiercely to 

gain for himself. On the other hand, Shippen does not seem to have been, for all 

his charm and talent, capable of great selfsacrifice. The basic conflict here appears to 

have been not so much of principle as of 

personality and ambition. 

On 27 June 1780, the court-martial 

acquitted Shippen of all the charges against 

him, noting in the instance Of the speculation charge, however, that Shippen had indeed speculated in stores of the kind used 

in hospitals and that this was "highly improper and justly reprehensible." The final 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evoilltion 43 

charge, that of conduct unbecoming an 

officer, was dismissed as "groundless and 

malicious." 70 

The results of the trial established that, 

despite their claims, Morgan and Rush 

could not find witnesses to prove the first 

charge of selling stores belonging to the 

hospital for his personal profit. Dr. Bond's 

testimony that the third charge, of not 

keeping proper accounts, was false was apparently convincing. The charge of neglect 

made public much conflicting testimony, possibly including letters dated 1777 from Rush 

himself in which he praised Shippen's conduct of the department. The trial also 

raised questions as to the propriety of the 

ways in which Morgan and Rush had 

gathered their testimony on this charge." 

Since the court-martial had taken place 

at the request of Congress, Washington 

wished its verdict to have congressional approval, but he urged that it hurry its decision because of the disordered state of the 

Hospital Department. After some delay in 

coming to a decision, on 18 August 1780, 

a month after it received the court's verdict, 

the Continental Congress resolved that "The 

court martial having acquitted the said Dr. 

W. Shippen, Ordered, that he be discharged 

from arrest." 78 

This was by no means the end of the matter, however. Morgan, despite his earlier 

firm assurances that he would abide by the 

court's decision no matter what it might be, 

joined Rush in criticizing the verdict, the 

court's methods of handling the trial, the 

officers conducting it, and Shippen's witnesses, using as their vehicle a newspaper, 

the Pennsylvania Packet. '0 

Although Shippen remained as Director 

General of the Hospital Department, Congress still believed that reform was desirable. 

The Medical Committee brought in a report 

in July, and a reform resolve was finally 

adopted on 30 September, to be followed on 

6-7 October by the election of officers for 

the newly reorganized department.·o 

The new legislation increased the role of 

Congress in choosing department personnel, 

who were reduced in number through a reorganization which no longer called for a 

separate staff for each geographical division. 

(See Appendix F.) The posts of Deputy and 

Assistant Deputy Directors General were 

among those eliminated. The office of Purveyor was officially created; the Purveyor 

was required to render his accounts to the 

Board of the Treasury rather than to the 

Director General. Three chief hospital physicians were responsible for the general hospital system and a chief physician for each 

army supervised the regimental medical 

staff. The fifteen senior hospital physicians, 

in addition to the highest ranking members 

of the department, were all to be elected by 

Congress. Any participation in trade by employees or members of the department was 

forbidden, and all medical officers from surgeon's mates upward were to receive allotments of land upon retirement just as had 

been voted line officers earlier, the Director 

ranking for this particular purpose as brigadier general and the surgeon's mates as 

captains. The Army hospitals from North 

Carolina to Georgia, however, were to continue under the old organization.s1 

When elections were held for the newly 

reorganized department, Shippen, rather 

than being quietly dropped, as might have 

been expected had serious credence been 

given to the charges so recently placed 

against him, was reelected as Director General. John Cochran and James Craik, both 

recommended by Washington, in addition 

to Malachi Treat and Charles McKnight, 

received other top posts. The next day the 

rest of the medical staff was selected;·2 it 

was apparently determined at this time that 

only one Chief Physician and Surgeon General for the Army was needed and the position was given to Cochran. 

Officers of the Army Hospital Department as of 7 October 1780 were: 

Director General, William Shippen, Jr, 
44 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTM ENT, 1775 - 1 8 18 

JOHN COCHRAN. (Courtesy 0/ National Library 

0/ Medicille.) 

Chief Physician and Surgeon General of the 

Army. John Cochran 

Chief Hospital Physicians and Surgeons, 

James Craik. Malachi Treat, Charles McKnight 

Purveyor, Thomas Bond. Jr. 

Assistant Purveyor, Isaac Ledyard 

Apothecary, Andrew Craigie 

Assistant Apothecary, William lohonot 

Hospita l Physicians and Surgeons, James Tilton, Samuel Adams, David Townshend, 

Henry Latimer, Francis Hagan, Philip Turner, William Burnet, John Warren, Moses 

Scott, David Jackson , Bodo Otto, Moses 

Bloomfield, William Eustis, George Draper, 

Barnabas Binney. 

SOI 'ltt 'I,: F l1l'd . ./OIlI'l/(//.I ~r llw COII/illt'nlll/ ('Ollgn'.\',I, I K: IlUX- IO, 

Despite repeated reorganizations, the old 

problem of supply remained. In December, 

the Medical Committee admitted to the Continental Congress "That on account of the 

failures in obta ining money, the sick are in 

a suffering condition; The Physicians unable 

to proceed to their respective charges, and 

the business of the Department greatly impeeded [sic ] in every part." Bond, as Purveyor, was unable to obtain even such funds 

as had been voted to him. As the winter 

deepened, transportation difficulties once 

more complicated the desperate supply situation and the lack of funds further hindered 

attempts to obtain horses and wagons. With 

conditions becoming ever more grave, on 3 

January 1781 , Shippen resigned, claiming 

that he did so because Congress had decided 

that the duties of a professor of anatomy 

and those of the Director General of the 

Hospital were not compatible" 

THE HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT 

UNDER COCHRAN 

On 11 January, John Cochran and two 

others were nominated for the post of 

Director General, and on the 13th, John 

Morgan was added to the list of candidates. 

On the 17th, Cochran was elected. The 

new Director was known to his contemporaries as "an able and experienced practitioner." He also apparently possessed considerable administrative ability, badly needed 

at this time.· ' He had achieved an enviable 

professional reputation without the benefit 

of graduation from any formal medical 

school, having been entirely apprentice 

trained, but had gained military experience 

as a surgeon's mate in the French and Indian War. Not as personally ambitious as 

his predecessors, he once wrote that his "appointment was unsolicited, and a rank to 

which I never aspired, being perfectly 

happy where I was." He openly maintained 

that he preferred James Craik for the post. 

He had considerable experience in the Continental Army, having been appointed Assistant Director of the flying camp hospital 

in 1776, Surgeon General of the Middle Department in 1777, and Chief Physician and 

Surgeon of the Army in 1780.·' 

On the same day that Cochran was ap-
Ch. 2J Continental Army Medical Department Evolution 45 

pointed Director General, several changes 

were made in the rules governing the Hospital Department. The power of the Chief 

Physician and Surgeon of the Army to 

remove regimental surgeons and mates for 

neglect of duty waS modified so that these 

officers could only be suspended until they 

could be court-martialed, hospital physicians 

were empowered to appoint matrons, nurses, 

and other lesser figures necessary to the 

smooth functioning of Army hospitals, and 

the half-pay provision was passed." 

Various other changes in the organization 

of the Hospital Department followed one 

upon the other throughout the last three 

years of the war. In March 1781, the 

Southern Department was at last brought 

directly under the Director General, although 

in his absence from that area, its administration was placed under its own Deputy 

Director, Dr. David Oliphant. The entire 

staff in the South included, in addition to 

the Deputy Director, a Deputy Apothecary, 

a Deputy Purveyor, a Chief Physician of 

the Hospital who was required also to have 

the skills of a surgeon, two hospital physicians also to be qualified as surgeons, four 

surgeon's mates, one assistant each to the 

Deputy Purveyor and Deputy Apothecary, 

and lesser figures as necessary . Named to 

these positions were men who had served 

under Oliphant in the South before this 

change, including Dr. Peter Fayssoux as 

Chief Physician of the Hospital. 87 

In May 1781, the Medical Committee 

which had for so long supervised the affairs 

of the Hospital Department was discontinued and the department was required to 

submit its returns to the Board of War. The 

board was itself superseded later in the 

year by the War Office under Secretary of 

War Benjamin Lincoln. The following July, 

a hospital board was established, consisting 

of the Director General, the Chief Physician of the Army or one of the Chief Hospital Physicians, and two hospital physicians, with a general officer presiding who 

could exercise a tie-breaking vote as necessary. This board was assigned the task of 

determining the fitness of applicants for 

positions applied for in the Hospital Department.ss 

Still not satisfied with the operations of 

the Hospital Department, the Continental 

Congress began in the fall of 1781 to consider complex proposals for yet another reform. Among the ideas examined was a 

suggestion that a complete turnabout be 

made and the use of regimental hospitals 

strongly encouraged. By early January 1782, 

however, the committee studying the matter 

had determined that, since the war was apparently near an end, such a complete 

change was not appropriate and that lesser 

modifications would be satisfactory. The offices of the Chief Hospital Physician and of 

the Chief Physician of the Army were abolished and a three-man hospital board was 

set up to examine all candidates for promotion and to give advice." 

Under the new legislation, the Purveyor, 

under whom the stewards were to serve, 

was to report to the Superintendent of 

Finance, Robert Morris, appointed in 1781 

to bring order to the chaotic finances of the 

Revolution. Further steps were also taken to 

tighten accounting methods. A committee 

investigating this matter recommended in 

July 1782 that an invariable standard of 

prices be established in the apothecary's 

office to systemize accounting. Accounting 

procedures were carefully outlined in detail 

so that this aspect of the department could 

function in as orderly a manner as possible. 

The committee also requested an immediate 

inventory of all the public property held by 

any medical officer. By October 1782, Morris was ready to appoint commissioners to 

settle the Hospital Department's accounts." 

The winter of 1780- 81 was a tragic one 

for the Continental Army and particularly 

for the Hospital Department. Shortages 

were extremely severe, to the point where 

some hospital physicians were unable to 
46 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

make out their returns because of the shortage of paper. Cochran wrote repeatedly to 

the President of Congress, emphasizing his 

belief that "unless some speedy and effectual means arc taken to relieve the sick, a 

number of valuable soldiers in the American 

Army will perish through want of necessaries." In February, Cochran was ordered 

to take over all publicly owned stores being 

held in private hands and, in at least one 

instance, Washington stated that, if necessary, force should be used to acquire this 

property. Specifically mentioned at this time 

were the medicines of Dr. Isaac Foster, 

former Deputy Director General in the 

Eastern Department and former acting 

Director after Church's disgrace, who, maintaining that he had not been reimbursed 

for drug purchases, refused to turn over his 

supply.·' 

The appointment of Morris as Superintendent of Finance on 29 February 1781 led 

to a gradual improvement in the young 

nation'S finances, which in time favorably 

affected the supply problems of the Hospital 

Department; in January 1781, the Army was 

experiencing mutinies, and by March, the 

staffs of some hospitals were reduced to 

sending ambulatory patients into the surrounding communities to beg for food. Even 

in the summer of 1781 , Army patients were 

"suffering extreme distress for stores of 

every kind," physicians were being asked 

to furnish their own instruments, and Bond, 

as Purveyor, was being urged to turn once 

again to the ladies of surrounding communities to obtain old linens for dressings. 

Although the decisive battle of Yorktown culminated in the British surrender in 

October 1781, the Continental Army was 

still experiencing supply shortages well into 

the summer of 1782.'2 Many suppliers had 

not been paid and, as a result, were reluctant to continue to deal with the Continental 

government. By early 1782, Bond was being 

accused of using the money sent him " to 

different Purposes from those which were 

intended," and of delaying the sending in of 

his reports. Morris sharply informed the 

Purveyor in February 1782 that "Until I am 

possessed of these Things, I will not advance 

one Shilling for the Purpose." Bond's deficiencies as far as reports were concerned 

so distressed Morris that, in June 1783, he 

wrote the unfortunate physician that he 

would very much regret it if hc were forced 

by Bond's delinquency to request these documents "in Terms which might excite your 

Painful emotions." 93 

By the fall of 1782, however, supplies and 

gold were beginning to arrive from France,·' 

by which time, of course, the need for supplies was dwindling as the pace of the war 

slowed. 

When Cochran became Director General 

of the Hospital Department in 1781, however, the personal financial situation of the 

officers of the department still was neither 

clear nor strong. The most immediate problem at this time was the tardy arrival of pay, 

which in some instances was two years 

overdue. This situation led even to resignation on the part of physicians unable to 

support themselves and their families under 

such circumstances. Cochran himself was at 

times unable to pay his way to Philadelphia 

to bring the department's problems before 

Congress. When Congress did issue warrants 

for pay, inflation seriously undercut their 

worth. "For God's sake," Cochran wrote 

Robert Morris on 26 July 1781, "help us 

as soon as you can. Most of our officers 

have not received one shilling of pay in upwards of two years." Furthermore, Cochran 

noted that the French paid their military 

doctors over half again as much as the 

American doctors were supposed to be receiving and that even the British medical 

officer was better paid than his colonial 

counterpart." Although legislation calling, 

on paper, for compensation for depreciation 

had been granted to medical officers, when 

attempts were made to execute this law, 

difficulties were encountered. The warrants 
Ch. 2] Continental Army Medical Department Evolution 47 

for this purpose were to be drawn on the 

states, but New York refused to go along," 

and none of the states was in a position to 

pay a lump sum all at once. Pennsylvania, 

for example, decided to issue "Certificates of 

Indebtedness" as compensation. 

The problem of half pay was only partly 

settled, although the original resolution on 

this subject was dated January 1781. In 

March 1783, a new modification was proposed, permitting the officers of the Hospital Department, as well as line officers, to 

receive five years of full pay in money or 

securities at 6 percent rather than half pay 

for life, if they so voted as a group.9' 

Resignations, often prompted by financial 

problems, left openings within the Hospital 

Department and raised the question of 

standards for promotion. Men such as Dr. 

J ames Tilton favored a general promotion 

by seniority, but Cochran noted the possibility of the promotion of unqualified men 

and pointed out that the British did not 

promote in this manner. "It affords me 

but Melancholy Prospect," he wrote, "when 

Gentlemen, who are capable and willing to 

do their Duty, ... take their departure from 

us ... . God knows, with what kind of Cattle their Places will be supplied." 9. Less than 

three weeks later, Cochran pointed out in a 

letter to the President of Congress that he 

had several vacancies and suggested that the 

most senior mates could move up. By July, 

there were seven vacancies among the fifteen 

positions of hospital physician. Congress 

ordered that vacancies in the state lines be 

filled as would any other vacancy within the 

regiment and that the Director appoint men 

to fill any positions vacant in the regiments 

not of state lines. By August, Washington 

was urging that an overall solution be developed for the problem, and Cochran was 

wondering if Congress had forgotten the 

wounded and sick. By September, there was 

also an urgent need for physicians within 

the Southern Department, but Cochran believed that these vacancies should be filled 

by southern physicians who could report 

for duty at once rather than by men promoted to these positions from the north.9• 

On 20 September 1781, the matter fin ally 

reached a vote and Tilton's recommendations for promotion by seniority were adopted. Senior hospital physicians from hospitals recently closed were to receive first 

consideration for vacancies at that level. 

Hospital mates of the greatest seniority and 

regimental surgeons held the next priority, 

the two classifications to be equally ranked 

and examinations necessary for both. Appointments to the highest positions were still 

to be made by Congress, in theory on the 

basis of merit alone, tOO 

On 21 September, however, once again a 

motion was put before Congress to completely rescind a resolution just passed the 

previous day. This attempt to rescind 

Tilton's proposal failed of passage, but on 

the 22d, a motion to suspend the promotion 

of mates to physicians passed. On 3 J anuary 1782, Congress ordered that hospital 

physiCians be appointed from amongst hospital mates and regimental surgeons. The 

latter, to qualify ahead of the former, would 

have to take an examination to prove their 

competence. The obvious reluctance of Congress to promote physicians apparently 

stemmed from the conviction that the department already had enough officers in each 

rank. IOt 

During the summer of 1782, Washington 

was in· correspondence with the British general, Sir Guy Carleton, over the matter of 

granting immunity from prisoner-of-war 

status to hospital officers as first proposed 

by Carleton. By September 1782, Washington was able to notify his generals Heath 

and Knox that Congress had, on 9 September, resolved that captured surgeons, hospital officers, and chaplains were no longer 

to be classified as prisoners of war.' 02 

Even before the British surrender at 

Yorktown in October 1781, however, 

Cochran received totally unexpected orders 
48 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

from the Board of War to start closing 

hospitals, beginning with those at Yellow 

Springs, Pennsylvania, Albany, and Boston. 

He found these orders most confusing, since 

the cost of closing the Boston and Albany 

hospitals and transferring the patients elsewhere would be great both in money and in 

the danger to the patients. Some who were 

interested in the problem were now raising 

once again the old matter of the death 

rate in general hospitals, as Cochran noted 

in a letter to Craik, and were saying that 

general hospitals should be eliminated entirely in favor of regimental hospitals. 

Cochran likened this attitude to the notion 

that one should never go to bed because so 

many people died there; he told the President of Congress that he feared that Congress was not so familiar with the medical 

establishment as it might be and was being 

unduly swayed by the advice of those who 

were seeking their own advantage. "I fear 

we have some evil Counselors who are endeavoring to lead us astray, for astray we 

are going, as fast as the devil can drive us," 

he wrote to Dr. Barnabas Binney.,03 

Cochran apparently resigned himself to 

the closing of the Boston unit in the face 

of the argument that it held few Continental 

patients and that the state shou ld assume 

the responsibility for returning prisoners 

and Massachusetts recruits. He believed, 

nevertheless, that the breakup of the Boston 

and Albany hospitals would be very expensive. Money would be necessary to procure 

accommodations for the patients who were 

put out of these facilities when the nearest 

hospital still open was 200 miles away. 

To save a relatively small sum, the Board of 

War, in Cochran's opinion, was spending a 

large sum.l04 

Although Cochran wrote to Dr. John 

Warren in Boston in October 178 1 that the 

Boston hospital must be closed, he hoped to 

delay the closing of the Albany hospital, especially since he had just ordered 200 more 

men to be sent there. Cochran seems to 

have had his way as far as the Albany hospital was concerned, for it was still in 

operation in November of 1782.'·' 

It was almost two years after the Yorktown victory that, on 3 September 1783, 

the Peace of Paris was finally signed. On 18 

October, Congress resolved to disband the 

Army as of 3 November, and on 23 October, 

the wartime Hospital Department was replaced by an institution to aid those "in_ 

valids of the army and navy" 10. still in 

need of care. 

During the most active years of the 

Revolution, the Continental Army's Hospital 

Department had been crippled by confused 

legislation. Its staff, often unpaid, frequently 

without needed medicines and supplies, torn 

by feuds, its reputation tarnished by the ambitions and greed of a few, struggled against 

hopeless odds in the often vain attempt to 

provide adequate care for the sick and 

wounded. Death rates in Continental hospitals in this period were high and conditions in them, particularly at those times 

when the Army was suffering its greatest 

reverses, were often horrible. The most 

vocal critics of these institutions, however, 

were physicians whose comments were their 

weapons in their bitter feuds. It should be 

noted, furthermore, that even the civilian 

facilities of Europe, which in some instances 

were housed in magnificent buildings designed specifically to serve as hospitals, 

might shock those who visited them; the 

Paris Hotel Dieu, for example, with its 

four to six patients in a bed, its stenchfilled rooms, and its appalling death rate, 

which at times reached a reported 33 percent, was notorious.'·' In the eighteenth 

century, hospitals established on an emergency basis in hastily procured buildings 

and filled to overflowing with patients from 

a lice-infested, starving, wretched, and retreating army could not be expected to 

exhibit conditions which were other than 

frightful. 

Only in the closing years of the Revolu-
Ch.2] COlllinelllal Army Medical Department Evoilltion 49 

tion did the picture brighten, when the chain 

of command was clarified, the most contentious physicians were no longer with the 

department, and money and supplies began 

to come in from France just as the lack of 

major engagements began to reduce the patient load. It was at this point in the war 

that the officers of the American Army's 

first Medical Department began to receive 

recognition of their devotion to duty when 

the Congress granted them the same pensions, allowances, and other considerations 

which had already been awarded to officers 

of the line. 
3 

From Siege to Retreat, 1775 to May 1777 

The months between 27 July 1775, when 

the Hospital Department was established, 

and the late spring of 1777, when General 

Washington's army left its winter camp at 

Morristown, New Jersey, to begin another 

campaign, saw the scope of Continental 

Army operations broaden from a largely inactive siege of Boston to action on two 

fronts, along the Canadian border and in the 

general vicinity of New York City and northern New Jersey. It was a time of limited successes for the new army and of increasing 

strain upon the Hospital Department. 

BOSTON AREA 

1775-1776 

o 

I 

MILES 

2 

I 

THE BOSTON AREA, 

1775 TO 17 76 

The 17,000-l11 an New England army, composed for the most part of Massachusetts 

units, which was positioned o utside of 

British-occupied Boston in July 1775, was 

both disorganized and undisciplined. Enlisted men generally ignored both camp and 

personal hygiene and regarded attempts 

to discipline them as tyranny, but when 

General Washington assumed command, 

only 9.5 to 12.5 percent of them were 

Prospect Hill 

-"( 

//\' 

o 

Cambridge 

o Watertown 

MAP} 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775- May 1777 51 

unfit for duty. Except for makeshift regimental facilities, the only hospitals available 

were those managed by Massachusetts at 

Cambridge, Roxbury , and Watertown. 

(Map J) These hospitals seem to have 

made no attempt to segregate those with 

contagious diseases from the wounded, visitors were allowed unlimited access to patients, and the most elementary rules of hospital discipline were ignored.' 

During his short time as Director General, 

however, Benjamin Church managed to instill some order into the medical service of 

Washington's army. By the late summer he 

had divided the Hospital Department's patients among six buildings, 200 in houses 

named nfter Generals Wnshington, Lee, 

and Putnam and served by surgeons Isaac 

Foster, John Warren, Samuel Adams, Jr., 

and Charles McKnight in Cambridge, and 

170 in three others serving the Roxbury 

JOHN WARREN. (Courtesy of National Library 

0/ Medicine.) 

CHARLES McKNIGHT. (Co urtesy of National 

Library 0/ Medicine.) 

camp but actually located, according to 

Church, in Brookline. The care of Roxbury 

patients was supervised by William Aspinwall, Lemuel Hayward, and Elisha Perkins, 

all three in the pay of individual colonies 

rather than that of the Hospital Department. Church, however, urged that threc 

more surgeons be appointed to serve with 

the department' In December, John Morgan 

referred to Aspinwall and Hayward as "additional surgeons," so apparently they were 

by then members of the department staff. 

However, no records exist giving exact information on this point. Church also planned 

in August to acquire more beds so that 

he could expand the Cambridge hospital to 

a 240-bed capacity.' 

Church had noted that his patients were 

returning to duty before fully regaining 

their strength and that, as a result, as many 

as four of five relapsed and had to return 

to the hospital. He urged the creation of 

a unit specifically for convalescents where, 
52 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

TABLE 2 - HoSPITAL DEPARTMENT UNITS IN THE BOSTON AREA WITII THE STATUS OF PATIENTS 

DURING W EEK PRECEDING 2 DECEMBER 1775 

Absent 

Admilled Dismissed Discharge( TaCon- Absent \vilhou t Hospital Since Last Fit for From the alesccnt With Per- Dead Remainin 

Return Service Army Hospital Permission mi ssion • 

Total 128 95 5 51 I 6 13 • 377 

At Cambridge: 

Washington House 25 8 0 15 0 1 2 69 

Lee House 13 10 0 0 0 I 2 65 

Putnam House 12 5 0 12 0 0 2 47 

Convalescent House 26 30 2 0 0 4 0 80 

At Roxbury : 

Ward House 18 0 1 19 0 0 5 39 

Thomas House 14 17 0 5 0 0 2 50 

Spencer House 20 25 2 0 1 0 0 37 

(convalescents) - SOtlltCt;: John Morgan, Return of the Sick & Wounded In the General Hospita l ill Cambtldgc & Roxbury, 2S Nov 1775 - 2 Dec 1775, RG 93, M246 roll 135, folder 3- 1, ilem 15. ~ Morgan's addition. 

if a Hospital Department physician were to 

check on them each day, such patients would 

olherwise need merely the care of one or 

two mates. By the end of October 1775, 

a convalescent hospital was in operation in 

Cambridge, and by late November, it was 

apparently caring for as many as seventy 

to eighly patients at a time.' . 

On Church's recommendation, General 

Washington took action designed to improve hospital discipline. On 2 1 August, 

he assigned a guard consisting of a sergeant, 

a corporal, and nine men to one of the 

hospital buildings. The following day, commenting that Church had informed him that 

patients were suffering as a result of "having improper things carried to them to e&t" 

and that many of the illnesses afflicting them 

might have been brought in by visitors, the 

general ordered that no enlisted man or 

noncolllmissioned officer be allowed to enler 

a hospital without written permission from 

either his commanding officer or a surgeon. 

A week later, the general decided to organize the separate guards being set up at 

individual hospitals into onc guard, to consist of "one Sub three Sergeants one fife 

Three Corporals & Thirty men," taking 

their orders from Church." 

Despite Church's efforts, when John 

Morgan became Director General, much 

was yet to be accomplished if the Hospital 

Department were to care for the sick and 

wounded of General Washington's army 

efficiently. Since his first inspection revealed 

that no one could tell him the number of 

patients for whom the department was ce· 

sponsible, Morgan ordered that weekly reports, or returns, be made to him by each 

hospital unit. It is from these that we learn 

the details of the slructure of the department as it existed under Morgan in the 

Boston area. 

Four hospital units were in Cambridge 

liS of 2 December 1775, when the first 

return was made, the three named during 

Church's administration after the three generals plus the newer Convalescent House. 

The return from Washington House was 

signed by surgeon John Warren. Doctors 

Samuel Adams, Jr. , and James McHenry, 

the latter apparently a regimental surgeon 

at this time, signed the return from Lee 

House, where five wards were named after 

patriots Henry, Franklin, Gadsden, Rodney, and Gates. Charles McKnight signed 

the report from Putnam House, where six 

wards were named after famous physicians, 

Pringle, Monro, Black, Shippen, Cullen, 

and Hunter. Surgeon's mate Daniel Scott 

signed the return from the Convalescent 

House. Cambridge patients ranged in age 

from 16 to 60 and the most frequent diagnosis was "fever." There were also three 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775- May 1777 53 

TABLE 3-HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT UNITS IN THE BOSTON AREA WITH lliE STATUS OF PATIENTS 

DURING WEEK PRECEDING 16 DECEMBER 1775 

Absent Admitted Dismissed Discharge To Con- Absent Without HOSllital Since Lasl Fil for From the alescent With Per- Dead Remain- Return Service Army Hospital Permission mission ing 

Total ' 155 117 5 29 1 4 11 341 

At Cambridge: 

Washington House 23 11 1 7 0 0 0 73 

Lee House 22 0 0 10 0 0 3 62 

Putnam House 21 8 2 6 0 2 3 52 

Convalescent House 29 25 2 0 1 2 0 67 

At Roxbury: 

Ward House 11 29 0 2 0 0 2 15 

Thomas House 16 19 0 4 0 0 3 49 

Spencer House 

(convalescents) 23 25 0 0 0 0 0 23 

~OtJI:Ct:: John Morgan, Return of the SlI:k & Wounded In the General HospItal al Cambridge & Ro)(bury. 9- 16 Dec 177S, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, item 16 . • Morgan's addition. 

units at Roxbury, Thomas and Ward Houses 

and the convalescent hospital, Spencer 

House. Since the Roxbury returns were not 

signed, the surgeons or mates in charge 

there remain anonymous.a 

The Director General's repo rt to General 

Washington of thi ~ same date was typical 

in its form and its casual arithmetic of the 

many which Morgan was to submit from the 

Boston area in the following months. (Table 2) His patients during these first weeks 

did not total the 676 he claimed, although 

this figure has been uncritically repeated by 

subsequent historians. 7 In reaching his overall total in this instance, Morgan apparently added together the totals from all of 

the individual columns, thus counting both 

convalescents and newly admitted patients 

twice. A more accurate figure would appear to be 497. In his report of 16 December 1775 , as an example of his arithmetic, Morgan not only incorrectly totaled 

the number of admissions to Hospital Department units (ten too many) but also 

concluded that the department cared for 

512 patients, a figure at which it is difficult 

to arrive using Morgan's figures. (Table 

3) It is interesting to note that, while these 

early returns were entirely handwritten, beginning with th at of 2 March 1776, Morgan 

used preprinted forms into which the appropriate entries were made.8 

The health of the army besieging Boston 

when Morgan became Director General 

was considered by contemporaries to have 

been unusually good, although the number 

of men unfit for duty after General Wash -

ington took command apparently ran 

from less than 14 percent to approximately 

17 percent per month, if one can trust 

monthly strength reports. The number of 

patients actually in Hospital Department 

units varied from 320 to 550 in the period 

16 December 1776 to 30 March 1777 

and the death rate from 1.4 percent of 

these patienls to 4 percent." (Table 4) 

The most greatly feared threat to the 

health of the army came from within the 

city of Boston, where for months smallpox 

. raged. 

TABLE 4-MORTALlTI', 16 DECEMBER 1775-

30 MARCH 1776 

Tot:1i Date Patients Dead 

16-24 Dec 1775 439 8 

23- 30 Dec 465 9 

30 Dec-6 Jan 1776 442 18 

13-20 Jan 419 7 

26 Jan-3 Feb 504 12 

3- 10 Feb 497 \3 

17-24 Feb 520 16 

24 Feb-2 Mar 550 1\ 

2- 9 Mar 485 7 

11-17 Mar 404 6 

23- 30 Mar 320 6 

SOURCE. Returns of the SIck & Woundcd III the General 

Hospital :11 Cambridge & Roxbury. 16 Dec 1775 - 30 Mar tTI6, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, items 17- 27. 
54 THE ARM Y M E 0 I CAL D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

.! 

12 

.2 

RETURN S IGNED BY CHARLES MCKNIGHT. (Courtesy of National Archives.) 
Ch. 3] 

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Siege to Retreat: 1775- May 1777 

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55 
56 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

In the fall and winter of 1775-76, 

rumors abounded that the British were 

deliberately attempting to infect their enemies by sending diseased or recently 

inoculated civilians out of the city. The 

records on the hospitalizing of the Army's 

smallpox victims during this entire period 

are incomplete, but a smallpox hospital 

had been in operation, under the supervision of Dr. Isaac Rand, since 27 June 

1775. Rand was among those caring for 

patients in the Cambridge hospital under 

Church, but at some time thereafter the 

threat posed by smallpox waned and General Washington decided to close the hospital. 

In Decem ber 1775, however, Morgan noting 

that smallpox had appeared "several times 

in the army," requested that the care of 

its victims once again be assigned exclusively to Rand and his mate. lo The first 

mention of a smallpox hospital as reestablished under Morgan appears in the Director General's report of 20 January 1776. 

At this time, five patients were listed as 

"remaining" in the Cambridge institution, 

implying that it had gone into operation 

before that date. From the returns that followed through the end of March 1776, 

it would seem not only that smallpox was 

a minor problem for Washington's army 

at this time but also that mass inoculation 

of soldiers was not being undertaken, since 

the greatest number listed as "remaining" 

at anyone time was twelve and the weekly 

admission never exceeded six. James 

Thacher, a regimental surgeon at this time, 

recorded that the most prevalent diseases 

were actually autumnal fevers and dysenterylike conditions." 

Nevertheless, the threat of smallpox continued to hang over the Boston area in the 

early months of 1776, and a Boston publisher even reissued Baron Dimsdale's pamphlet on inoculation, for which Morgan 

wrote a preface. It has been argued that 

the presence of smallpox in the city of Boston was actually to some degree responsible for Washington's reliance upon siege 

rather than attack on the British during the 

fall and winter. When the enemy evacuated 

Boston on 17 March 1776, Washington, 

still wary, initially forbade any of his men 

to enter the city except for 1,000 men who 

had already had the disease, under the command of General Putnam. Both hospital 

and regimental surgeons were ordered to 

keep a sharp watch for smallpox victims 

and to send them at once to the isolation 

hospital. Apparently the contagion was still 

feared weeks after the British evacuation, 

for Thacher noted in May that he had believed it wise to undergo inoculation himself and in July that all soldiers in Boston 

were to be inoculated." 

During the siege, Morgan met the supply shortage affecting the hospitals in the 

Boston area by buying what he could himself and also by launching a vigorous campaign to have both individual citizens and 

states donate needed items. In Morgan's 

behalf, Washington appealed to the governments of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and within a month blankets and materials for 

bandages were arnvmg at Cambridge. 

Morgan then set everyone, including surgeons, to work making bandages. 

One of Morgan's first tasks after the 

British evacuation of Boston was to locate 

drugs and supplies for the new hospital in 

New York. In Boston he found that medicines were often held by Tories who hid 

what they had or by owners who, in fear 

of inflation, insisted on cash payments. In 

time, a good source of medicines also proved 

to be prize ships, taken from the British. 

The drugs left behind by the British in Boston, however, were the source of much 

controversy because of reports that they 

had been poisoned. Dr. John Warren testified that on 29 March 1776, when he entered the workhouse which the British had 

used as a hospital, he found the medicines 

in great disorder with small amounts of 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I77S- May 1777 57 

yellow and white arsenic mixed in with 

them. After learning that another physician 

had already removed twelve to fourteen 

pounds of this poison from among the 

drugs, Warren recommended that no attempt 

be made to use them. On Washington's 

orders and after offering to pay for what 

he took, Morgan did confiscate the drug 

supplies of two Tory physicians in Boston, 

one of whom was reputed to have the largest pharmaceutical business in the city. 13 

By June, having taken over a large quantity of abandoned British property and 

using every other means available to him, 

Morgan had acquireJ a large collection of 

bedding, medicines, furniture, and other 

supplies which, with the exception of the 

materials needed for medicine chests for 

five regiments left to defend Boston, he 

then had moved to Connecticut, as ordered 

by Washington. He was quite optimistic 

about the adequacy of his stock for the 

coming year, believing that he could easily 

obtain the little he still needed in Philadelphia. His optimism, however, was not 

entirely justified, since as early as April 

one of his principal suppliers was running 

low in items needed for regimental chests 

and by May was out of bark, ipecac, and 

cream of tartar, among other popular 

items.14 

In anticipation of the active campaign 

against Boston, which the formation of new 

army units in March had made possible, 

Morgan also prepared a barracks at Prospect Hill which could care for at least 100 

wounded. The fortification. of Dorchester 

Heights by the Americans made the British 

position untenable, however, and they 

evacuated Boston. American losses in action, 

therefore, were slight, and Morgan's planning remained essentially untested. I' 

Almost immediately after the British 

left Boston, the Continental Army moved 

south to the defense of New York City, 

leaving Morgan with the dual problems of 

caring for the approximately three hundred 

patients left behind in the Boston area 

and of preparing to establish a new hospital 

system. Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, sent in 

January 1776 to prepare the defense of 

New York, had written Washington as 

early as 9 February to request the establishment of a hospital there, but it was 

not until 3 April that Morgan received 

official orders to do so. He was at that time 

told to leave behind in Boston only those 

surgeons and attendants necessary for the 

care of soldiers too ill to move with the 

army. Morgan placed Isaac Foster in charge 

of these patients, who did so well that the 

death rate among them was very low and 

by 22 April only eighty remained in department hands. Within six weeks of receiving orders to move the department's 

main operations from Boston, he discharged 

the last man and settled all his accounts 

for the Boston hoopitals.'· 

THE NORTHERN 

D E PARTM ENT 

In the Northern Department in the late 

summer and early fa ll of 1775, preparations were under way for an attack on 

Canada under the command of Maj. Gen. 

Philip Schuyler. (Map 2) These preparations left much to be desired. No department physicians were assigned to the expedition and some units even failed to 

bring regimental surgeons. Furthermore, 

General Schuyler still had no hospital supplies by the first week of August, when 

100 of his 500 men were ill. On 6 August, 

he reported this situation to the Continental 

Congress, stating that he had already given 

up his own personal wine supply for the 

sick of his regiments and that he must have 

medical supplies even if he had to pay for 

them himself. He added that he had hired 

a surgeon from Albany on his own authority and that he would also meet this expense 

personally if Congress failed to act." 

Samuel Stringer, the physician appointed 

by General Schuyler, was requested to 
58 THE ARM Y ME DI e A L D EP A R T MEN T. I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

THE NORTHERN DEPARTMENT 

1775-1777 

o 50 I I 

MILES 

CANADA / 

-~ 

f'1\! ___ - __ - ---I 

NEW 

YORK 

VERMONT 

\ (disputed claims) 

( For;~;7 Ie 

L. • 

Fort 60rge Q:-

NEW 

HAMPSHIRE 

I 

\ 

I 

\ 

1 

\ 

I 

1 

iconderoga ~~~~!nden ce 

George !i 

I t Concord ~ 

Albany 

o 

§ { 

I J o \ 

) 

j - ------~ 

I 

/ MASSACHUSETTS 

t: '" r---u-~ ---T-l f 1 Providence 

I Hartford I 0 

CONNE8TICUT R_1. 

MAP 2 

/ 

I 

I 

> 

{ 

I 

MAINE 

(part of Mass.) 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retrea!: i775- May i777 59 

bring with him as many of the supplies he 

believed to be needed for Schuyler's army 

as time permitted him to gather. By 14 

September, however, when Congress 

officially approved both Stringer's appointment and his reimbursement for the medicines he brought with him, General 

Schuyler had become too ill to continue in 

command and had been replaced by Brig. 

Gen. Richard Montgomery." 

Stringer's headquarters and that of ,Montgomery's 2,000-man army appear to have 

been at Fort George, at the southern end 

of Lake George. Stringer's only assistance 

here seems to have come from regimental 

surgeons and mates, but on 25 October, 

he requested the assignment of Hospital 

Department surgeons to serve under him. 

Stringer apparently accompanied the army 

only to Fort George, but General Montgomery continued to Montreal, taking the 

city on 12 November. By this date, however, disease, desertions, and expiring en~ 

Iistments had reduced his army to 500 men. 

When he marched from Montreal to Quebec in December, 300 of the Montreal 

army went with him and they carried with 

them the seeds of a devastating epidemic 

of smallpox. 

While General Montgomery's army moved 

on Montreal, Col. Benedict Arnold led 

approximately eleven hundred men on a 

second operation against Canada, aimed at 

the city of Quebec. The only medical attendants to accompany him on the grueling 

march through thick New England forests 

and swamps were the 22-year-old regimental surgeon Isaac Senter and his assistants. Senter organized the hospital used 

for the Continental troops before Quebec, 

but although this institution was called the 

"General Hospital," it received its name 

from the fact that the building housing it 

already bore that designation. While most 

of the Northern Army was at Quebec, the 

smallpox epidemic first struck. It continued 

through the spring and summer of 1776 

and eventually involved not only the regimental surgeons and mates but also 

Stringer and the Hospital Department.1• 

By the spring of 1776, Brig. Gen. David 

Wooster was in overall command of the 

troops in Canada, General Montgomery 

having been killed in action in January, 

and almost half of the approximately 

1,900 men before Quebec were sick. An 

abortive attempt was made to start an official inoculation program, since many officers and men were secretly inoculating 

themselves and were thus intensifying the 

epidemic. When British reinforcements arrived at Quebec and the colonial army 

fell back on Sorel, many smallpox victims 

left their beds to join the flight. The epidemic worsened at Sorel and the men in 

the Montreal area were in no better condition, 1,200 of the approximately 3,200 

there in early May being unfit for duty, 

according to General Arnold, most of them 

sick with smallpox. 2• 

The Hospital Department was by no 

means prepared to deal with the rapidly 

growing epidemic. Stringer wrote from St. 

Johns, where the army from Quebec retreated when it left Sorel, that he had 

neither medicines nor instruments and no 

way of obtaining either. It was in late May, 

however, that he finally received permission ·to hire a larger staff." 

A committee of the Continental Congress urged in early May, when new units 

were arriving and the total number of men 

in Canada was approaching 8,000, that 

Dr. Jonathan Potts be hired by the Hospital Department for assignment to either 

Canada or Fort George. By the end of May 

1776, the situation of patients in the 

Northern Department was "almost Sufficient to excite the pity of Brutes, Large 

barns [being] filled with men at the very 

heighth [sic 1 of smallpox and not the 

least things, to make them comfortable" 22 

"and medicines being needed at both Fori 

George and Ticonderoga." 2S 
60 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

By 6 June, as estimated by the recently 

created Brigadier General Arnold, who was 

now in command at Montreal, only 5,000 of 

the men in Canada were fit for duty. Smallpox threatened the destruction of the entire 

army. On 15 June, General Arnold evacuated Montreal an1 by the time he arrived 

at St. Johns, two days later, half of his 

army was sick and the condition of all his 

mcn so poor that to remain at St. Johns 

seemed unwise. Maj. Gen. John Thomas, 

who took command of the army at Quebec 

on I May, himself died of smallpox on 2 

June. "The smallpox," mourned John 

Adams, "is ten times more terrible than 

Britons, Canadians and Indians, together." .. 

The misery of the men who had so recently set off to conquer Canada was total. One 

hospital was described, for example, as a 

"dirty, stinking place" in a camp which 

"echoed with execrations upon the musketoes," "Language cannot describe nor 

imagination paint, the scenes of misery and 

distress the SOldiery endure," and the patients crowded into the barn which served 

as the hospital were in such condition that 

many "could not See, Speak, or walk. In 

one day two had large maggots, an inch long, 

Crawl out of their ears." 2G 

It was only in June, however, that the 

Continental Congress, while leaving Potts's 

exact status unclear, officially ordered him 

to go as Physician and Surgeon to the 

North. Washington was at first undecided 

as to whether to send Potts or Stringer to 

aid Arnold's men who were then still in 

Canada, but by 26 June, when Potts and a 

supply of medicines from the Hospital Department headed north with Brig. Gen. 

Horatio Gates, who was to assume command of the Northern Army in the field 

from Brig. Gen. John Sullivan, General 

Thomas's successor, General Arnold had 

left Canada. When Potts arrived at Fort 

George, he found approximately one thousand patients suffering from smallpox, dysentery, and fevers, cared for by four surgeons and four mates. The number of patients there was still growing when the bulk 

of the Northern Army, which had been first 

reunited at Crown Point, fell back further 

in early July to Ticonderoga. Their seriously 

ill were rowed in small boats to the Hospital Department's Fort George facilities'. 

By mid-July, an estimated three thousand 

of the men of the Northern Army were sick, 

for the most part with smallpox, three 

thousand well, and five thousand unaccounted for. Stringer, now also at the Fort 

George hospital, was close to desperation. 

More units were being sent to join the 

Northern Army, yet except for those which 

Potts brought with him, there were no 

drugs and the hospital was "in the utmost 

distress for both assistants and medicines." 27 Stringer had even been reduced 

to suggesting to Potts that "hemlock tops" 

be used for bedding. His request to Washington of 1 0 May 1776 for help had not 

been granted, the number of patients for 

whom he was responsible was still rising, 

and men were dying for lack of aid. On 26 

July, the hospital at Fort George, reporting for a two-week period, noted 1,497 

admissions, 439 discharges, and 51 

deaths,'· with the deaths in a five-week 

period estimated by one regimental surgeon 

at 300 or more. "In the name of God," 

Stringer asked Gates, "What shall we do 

with them all, my dear General?" ,. 

Morgan, meanwhile, noted in a letter to 

Samuel Adams that he was lacking instructions as to how he should help Potts. He 

had, nevertheless, appointed Dr. James McHenry to serve under Potts, instructing him 

to go first to Philadelphia to obtain medicines with which .to resupply the hospitals 

of the Northern Department. He had also 

assigned Potts the assistance of an apothecary, Dr. Andrew Craigie. Morgan 

ordered Potts to supply medicines both to 

the department's unit and to regimental 

surgeons and to require an accounting from 

regimental surgeons for whatever they used. 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775-May 1777 

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RETURN OF THE SICK OF THE HOSPITAL AT FORT GEORGE. (Courtesy 0/ National Archives.) 
62 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

JAMES MCHENRY. (Colfrlesy 0/ N ational Library 0/ Medicille.) 

He was to report to Morgan monthly on the 

hospitals under him and their expenses. 3• 

McHenry had not arrivcd by the end 

of July and the drug shortage was ~o severe 

that Stringer received permissIOn from 

General Gates to go to New York himself 

to obtain medicines. Unable to fill his requirements in New York, however, Stringer 

hurried to intercept McHenry, who was 

preparing to travel north with the few 

drugs he had been able to collect. Although 

he obviously and desperately needed a 

larger staff, Stringer attempted to show his 

own independence by dismissing McHenry 

as soon as he encountered him, in so doing 

apparently failing to take over the drugs 

McHenry had with him. In August, however, Potts was still in ignorance of this 

development and anxiously awaiting the 

arrival of his new assistant with his 'Supply of medicines. His own dismissal of McHenry did not keep Stringer from eventually blaming Morgan for the shortage of 

supplies in the Northern Department, because the Director General had failed to 

forward the medicines which McHenry 

had obtained. "A tissue of misunderstanding and mistakes seem to be the fate of 

your district," McHenry commented to 

Potts." 

By the second week in August, although 

he still believed he should have been independent of Stringer, Potts had resigned 

himself to working as Stringer's subordinate and acted as Director while Stringer 

was absent from his post, still ostensibly 

seeking drugs. There had been no enlargement of the staff caring for the patients at 

Fort George and the situation at the hospital had not otherwise improved since his 

arrival a month earlier. Patients were 

"without clothing, without bedding, or a 

shelter sufficient to screen them from the 

weather. " There were no jalap, bark, salts, 

or opium available and the number of 

sick was, according to Stringer, still increasing.

32 

Although the urgent need to improve 

the care given patients in the Northern Department was recognized by tile Continental Congress by the late summer of 

1776, there were occasional optimistic reports in mid-August and the smallpox 

threat was dimini hing. Samuel Adams believed that the number of patients was no 

longer increasing at Fort George, Stringer 

maintained that he had located a supply 

of medicines and sent a portion of them to 

Potts, and, on 28 August, General Gates 

was able to write Washington that " the 

Smallpox is now perfectly removed from 

the Army." For the disappearance of this 

disease, Potts should receive some credit, 

since he apparently did go forward with 

the inoculation not long after his arrival, 

as ordered by Stringer, although exact 

figures are not available. 33 

Nevertheless, despite these hopeful 

comments, the shortage of medicines was 

by no means relieved, self-inoculation by 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775- May 1777 63 

newly arriving militia was threatening a 

renewed epidemic, and Stringer was still 

absent from his post. When he had not 

returned by 22 August, General Gates became angry that the Director of his department's hospitals would go "preferment 

hunting . . . while the troops here are 

suffering inexpressible distress for want of 

Medicine." Begging that medicines be sent 

to Potts at Fort George, Gates added a 

request that General Washington be informed of Stringer's behavior. He followed 

this letter by comments in his General 

Orders of 31 August which emphasized 

that, although Stringer had been ordered 

to obtain the needed drugs and return at 

once, he had now been absent from duty 

33 days." 

Smallpox did not reappear in Gates's 

army, but other diseases also afllicted' his 

men, among them dysentery at a time when 

the accepted remedies for this condition 

wefe scarce, bilious, remittent, and intermittent fevers, and scurvy ~ even worms apparently added to the miseries of the 

Northern Army. In September, one regimental surgeon at Ticonderoga reported 

that half of his regiment was unfit for 

duty because of dysentery, jaundice, and 

various fevers. Returns of late September 

suggest that in the Northern Army at this 

time, as many as 50 percent of all the enlisted men assigned to the camp may have 

been sick. Two to four times the number 

sick away from camp remained under the 

care of the regimental surgeons in their 

tents or, quite possibly, within regimental 

hospitals, a situation which may have resulted from the fact that the general hospital staff had not grown as rapidly as the 

size of the army in the North." 

A committee of surgeons had drawn up 

a list of the minimum drug supplies required by a battalion, which included 

twenty pounds of bark, four pounds each 

of gum camphor and powdered jalap, three 

pounds of powdered ipecac and tartar 

emetic, two pounds of powdered rhubarb, 

and fifteen pounds of Epsom salts, along 

with quantities of more than a dozen other 

medicines. Several of these drugs might be 

used to treat anyone collection of symptoms, tartar emetic, followed by a combination of nitre, camphor, and tartar emetic, 

for example, being one treatment for the 

"ague and chills; a violent pain in the head, 

back, and in every bone . . . with loss of 

appetite, Nausea, and considerable degree 

of weakness . .. succeeded with an inflammatory fever" which was seen in the fall 

of 1776 in the North." 

Recognizing that the department's inability to provide adequate care for its patients threatened future recruitment, Gov. 

Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut wrote 

General Schuyler that, rather than waiting 

for a specific order from Congress, he 

would send on clothing and medicines 

whenever informed of the need." 

The Continental Congress reacted to reports of the situation in the Northern Department by ordering that the necessary 

medicines be sent to the northern hospitals and by sending an investigating committee to Ticonderoga. In view of reported 

shortages of all kinds of food except bread 

and meat, the Congress also ordered that 

not only sheep but also cornmeal, rice, oatmeal, and molasses be sent at once to the 

Army's patients in the Lake George and 

Ticonderoga area ." 

Early in October, apothecary Craigie 

commented that, although he had received 

a wagon load of herbs, half of it consisted 

of varieties he could not use, but Stringer, 

now in Albany, wrote General Gates only 

a few days later that he had been most 

successful in obtaining medicines. He wrote 

Potts. as he had on another occasion, that 

he was sending along a portion of his supply, this time enough to fill two barrels 

and a box, and added that he had more on 
64 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L 'D EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

hand should it be needed later. The picture 

brightened further in November when a 

member of Congress noted with satisfaction that "Medicines are sent in sufficient 

Quantities for the Army at Ticonderoga," 

and Potts was able to begin distributing 

generous quantities of medicines to his 

regimental surgeons.

3D 

The alleviation of the drug shortage did 

not mean that the problems of the Northern 

Department were over. Items valued for 

the hospital diet were still in short supply, 

especially sugar, vegetables, and "spirits," 

money to pay the medical staff was almost 

nonexistent, and the Fort George hospital 

was badly overcrowded. Alarmed by the 

possibility of an enemy attack which could 

further burden this facility, Stringer attempted to reduce its population by urging 

that no more patients be sent to Fort 

George, by discharging some from the 

Army, and by sending still others to the 

Albany unit, recently set up in a building 

originally constructed as a military hospital 

during the French and Indian War. In 

November, when the anticipated ,attack 

seemed imminent, despite Arnold's successful delaying action against British naval 

forces seeking to gain control of Lake 

Champlain, he sent 130 patients to Albany; 

housing for as many as 500 patients and 

an adequate supply of food were available 

there, but medical attention was inadequate. Because of his need for medical 

attendants, Stringer was unable to have a 

senior surgeon escort these men. 40 

Complaints about the number of patients Stringer's department was discharging 

from the Army, however, apparently bec 

gan to appear in the summer of 1776, and 

in September, Potts was ordered to discontinue the practice. Stringer protested this 

order to General Gates, maintaining that 

the number for which he was required to 

care was growing daily and that he had 

but three surgeons and two mates at Fort 

George to handle them. He added that he 

believed that such discharges as had already been granted would have met with 

the general's approval." 

The committee sent by Congress to investigate Northern Department hospitals 

reported in November that the Fort George 

General Hospital contained 400 patients 

who lacked only an adequate supply of 

vegetables, "good female nurses and comfortable bedding." Concluding that the 

Fort George unit was too far from Ticonderoga to serve the troops there, it also 

recommended that a building designed to 

serve as a general hospital be constructed 

on Mount Independence, a hill across a 

narrow stretch of Lake Champlain from 

Ticonderoga, where Potts was apparently 

already prepared to care for the wounded 

if any enemy attack should occur." 

When no British attack had materialized 

by December 1776, the Fort George hospital was closed and all of its patients apparently were moved to Albany, while Potts 

was preparing to go home to Pennsylvania 

on leave late in 1776. Having now dismissed Stringer, the Continental Congress 

ordered Potts to return north at once in 

February 1777, however, and by the end 

of March he was again on duty in the 

Northern Department," ·this time as its 

acting Director. 

By the time Potts arrived in the Northern 

Department, conditions were sufficiently 

stabilized for improvements to be scheduled 

and carried out in a coherent manner. General Schuyler suggested that Potts leave the 

Albany hospital to the care of others and 

concentrate on preparing the Fort George 

facility to house patients with contagious 

diseases, as suggested by the congressional 

committee the preceding November. It was 

planned to house newly inoculated patients 

there, but one wing of that hospital had 

never been finished. A general hospital 

was now being prepared on Mount Inde-
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775- May 1777 65 

pendence, and General Schuyler wished 

patients from the Fort George garrison, 

presumably those not afflicted with diseases 

considered contagious, to share this hospital 

with those from Ticonderoga. Since the 

Congress wished in addition to have a 

vegetable garden planted on Mount Independence, Potts had the additional problem of obtaining an adequate supply of 

seeds.44 

The staff assumed by Potts when he 

succeeded Stringer in the Northern Department apparently consisted of three surgeons, an apothecary, nine mates, and a 

clerk. The new Director had the same 

difficulties as his predecessor in meeting the 

payroll and also began to receive complaints about the pay scale. Early in April, 

however, he wrote General Gates that he 

believed he had succeeded in persuading 

all but one of his subordinates to stay on 

even though the promised pay increase had 

not yet materialized." 

The new appointments for the Hospital 

Department made in April (see Chapter 

2) designated Potts Deputy Director for 

the Northern Department and assigned him 

as assistants, among others, Dr. Malachi 

Treat, reputed to be "clever," and another 

physician,4. whose surgery the new Director General, William Shippen, Jr., described 

as "elegant." His new and enlarged staff at 

this time apparently consisted of an Assistant Director, a Physician General, a 

Surgeon General, a Physician and Surgeon 

General of the Army, an Apothecary General, six senior surgeons, seven mates, a 

Commissary General and his assistant, two 

clerks, and one steward,47 

By the end of May 1777, conditions in 

the Northern Department with its three 

general hospitals at Mount Independence, 

Fort George, and Albany were much improved. The general hospital at Mount Independence, for example, on 21 May reported no great incidence of anyone disease 

among its patients but rather a variety, 

from asthma and measles to inflammation 

of the liver and "cough and hectic." Although Potts had appointed a private physician, one Dirk Van Ingen, to care for 

army patients near Schenectady, there is no 

evidence that this was done because of 

crowding in the nearby Albany bospital. 

Smallpox was under control, supplies were 

adequate, patients were, for the most part, 

housed in buildings specifically designed 

for their care, the staff was large in proportion to the number of patients, fresh vegetables were available from local gardens, 

and evidence even indicates that sheep and 

cattle were now being delivered on the 

hoof. By May 1777, therefore, the Hospital 

Department in the North was well prepared 

to handle the casualties of another hard 

campaign.'· 

NEW YORK AND NEW J ERSE Y , 

1776 TO 1777 

For the estimated forty regiments defending 

New York City, hospitals were initially 

established not only within the city but 

also on Long Island, where one of the five 

divisions forming Washington's army of 

about twenty thousand was stationed.'· 

(Table 5) 

On the island of Manhattan, hospital 

units were located in the City Hospital, 

newly rebuilt after a disastrous fire, in tbe 

City Barracks, and even in rows of private 

houses appropriated for tbe purpose by tbe 

New York Convention, in 'Some instances 

outside the most populous areas, but the 

principal unit was at King's College. Morgan later maintained that he had experienced considerable difficulty in using private homes. The state militia actually turned 

patients out of houses on the Bowery and 

one belonging to the Stuyvesants, where 

they had been placed by the state legislature. There were also instances where 

regimental surgeons took over buildings 
66 THE ARM Y M E Die A L 0 EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - 1 8 I 8 

TABLE S-PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL DEPARTMENT 

UNITS, NEW YORK CITY AREA, APRIL-JUNE 1776 

Admitted Dismissed 

Hospital Since Last Fit for Remaln- Return Service Dead ing 

New York City 

24 Apr-4 May· 70 7 3 57 

4-11 May 60 15 1 101 

11- 18 May 85 28 2 156 

18- 25 May' 37 22 1 165 

9-16 Jun < 20 31 4 136 

Long Island 

4-11 May 7 2 0 5 

ll-18 May 19 6 0 18 

18- 25 May 27 18 2 25 

Smallpox Hospital, Montresor's 

Island .. 

4-11 May 4 0 0 5 

18-25 May 8 0 3 25 

9- 16 Jun 0 1 0 6 

SOURe.t:: Return 24 Apr- 2S May, 9- 16 Jun 1716, signed 

by Isaac Foster, RG 93, M246. roll 135, folder 3- 1. items 

4- 8. • Three absent without permission. b Three removed to the smallpox hospital, two absent 

witho ut permission. c Two discharged from the Army, "No return submitted {or 11- 18 May. 

assigned 10 the general hospital. Asked to 

collect herbs, however, the local populace 

also hclped to supply other needs of army 

paticnts in the arca, giving the hospitals 

2,000 sheets, hundreds of shirts, and similar 

supplies. ,. 

To Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene's division 

rell the assignment of hOlding Long Island, 

and it was at General Greene's request that 

a branch of the general hospital was established to serve his troops. Morgan assigned 

this Long Island unit to Dr. John Warren 

when it began operations in the summer 

of 1776 and ordered him to take three 

hospital mates with him. Any further assistance Warren might need could come 

from among the surgeon's mates of General Greene's brigade. On the question of 

what medicines to bring with him, Morgan 

told Warren to consult with physicians 

Foster, Adams, and McKnight." 

Morgan gave Warren detailed instructions on how the Long Island hospital was 

to be managed. Careful records must be 

kept of its patients, the time of their entering and leaving the hospital, and their 

diseases. In this instance, they could also 

be allowed to remain under the care of 

their own regimental surgeons in whatever 

quarters General Greene might see fit to set 

aside for this purpose. These surgeons were 

even to bc permitted to draw upon the 

Hospital Department's stores, but when so 

doing, they were to consider themselves a 

part of the Long Island hospital and under Morgan's authority. No supplies were 

to be issued to patients not reported to 

and considered as a part of the general 

hospital. Nurses must be hired and each 

nurse paid 50 cents a week. The regulations for the unit's personnel and patients 

should be agreed upon by the surgeons, 

read to the occupants of each ward, and 

then posted, along with the rules for diet. 

Both sets of rules must be most strictly enforced.'2 

The regimental surgeons were to be requircd to keep careful records of thcir patients and to submit weekly returns to Warren of those of their patients being cared 

for through the Long Island unit. Once 

each month a roll was to be made out for 

ration money and signed by the general. 

The rations for these men to their regiment 

were to be stopped while they were in the 

care of the Hospital Department. Morgan 

assigned a storekeeper to Warren's staff 

and he was to apply, as appropriate, to 

either the Commissary General or the 

Quartermaster General for what he needed, 

keeping strict accounts of such transactions. 

Warren was in.tructed to obtain lOa blankets and 100 beds to take to Long Island, 

applying to the Quartermaster for straw, 

and he was to be sure to have the nurses 

and washerwomen clean these beds "from 

time to time." An "orderly Mate" was to be 

placed in charge of hospital furniture and 
Cit. 3] Siege to Retreat: 1775- May 1777 67 

bedding and to keep careful records, which 

were to include notations on what equipment and clothing each patient brought 

with him to the hospital." 

Warren's hospital was not long established, however, before the British attack 

in late August 1776 drove the Long Island 

division, now under Maj. Gen. John Sullivan because of General Greene's illness, 

from the island. American losses ran high, 

970 officers and men killed or wounded. 

The patients from Warren's hospital had 

to be moved in considerable haste to New 

York City and placed in the barracks there. 

A heavy rain was falling as the patients 

were landed at various wharves and many 

inevitably suffered as a result, but Morgan 

personally took part in caring for them and 

later maintained that he had not only attended all the operations of which he was 

aware but also dressed all the patients 

himself." 

When operations in the New York City 

area were just in the planning stage, it had 

been assumed that the city itself could 

not be successfully retained unless, by 

holding Long Island, the Continental Army 

could make the city also untenable for 

the British. It was, therefore, obvious that 

if the British were to take Long Island, 

New York City was doomed, patients in 

the New York hospitals would have to be 

evacuated, and hospital supplies and medicines would have to be quickly moved to 

a safer place for storage. (Map 3) 

On General Washington's order, Morgan 

went to Newark several days before the 

evacuation from New York was scheduled 

to take place to set up a hospital for the 

approximately one thousand patients from 

Long Island. Here he established Foster 

and Dr. William Burnet plus seven or 

eight mates to assist them. Morgan had 

sent Dr. Barnabas Binney to Philadelphia 

in July to round up additional hospital 

stores and in August had located some 

himself. Although Binney could find no 

instruments, the supplies arrived at Newark just before the patients themselves 

were expected and were deposited at the 

new hospital under the care of Assistant 

Apothecary John B. Cutting." 

Despite Morgan's efforts, however, the 

move of patients from New York City to 

Newark led to a "dreadful scene of confusion and disorder." Some mates had been 

taken pri'Soner and many nurses and other 

attendants had fled. The militia had impressed a considerable number of wagons 

in the course of their flight, complicating 

the moving of seriously ill and wounded patients to boats. The boats themselves were 

late in arriving. Furthermore, the neigl)bors 

of the new hospital were not pleased to have 

an institution assumed to be a source of 

fatal infections established near them. It 

was also becoming difficult to obtain nurses 

to care [or the growing numbers of sick because, Washington believed, they were not 

being paid enough. Men from the regiments, 

therefore, were used even though their 

services wefe of questionable value to the 

sick.'· On 18 September, Washington was 

forced to authorize regimental surgeons to 

care for their own patients "until the General Hospital can be established on a proper 

footing. II r. 7 

The situation at Newark was made more 

difficult by the Morgan-Shippen feud over 

control of department hospitals in the New 

Jersey area. Shortly after Morgan's departure from Newark, he received a visit 

from Foster, whom he had left in charge of 

the hospital there. Foster reported that Shippen had attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to 

assume control over both the hospital and 

the stores left in Newark. Washington, in 

response to Morgan's complaint about this 

situation, wrote Shippen that he wished 

Foster to remain in charge at Newark.t)8 

In addition to the Newark hospital, Morgan also set up other hospitals in New 
NEW YORK CITY 

o AREA 5 

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MILES 

LONG 

ISLAND 

p 

MARYLAND 

MAP 3 

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Bordentown 
Ch. 3] Siege to Retreat: I775- May 1777 69 

Jersey for the sick and wounded of General 

Washington's army. He supervised the establishment of a 300-bed facility at Hackensack, New Jersey, where hospital supplies 

had also been stored, a few days after he 

opened the Newark hospital. By 18 October, 

Morgan was able to move "several hundreds" of patients to Hackensack despite 

the fact that he had only three mates and a 

surgeon to help him, that he had been forbidden the use of army workmen, that several days' more work was needed, and that 

he had no guards to help him because the 

fifty assigned managed within a short period 

of time and on various pretexts to disappear. Morgan was particularly anxious to 

have his hospital in Hackensack running 

smoothly so that he could leave it in Warren's hands and join General Washington 

at White Plains, New York, where action 

was momentarily expected." 

While Morgan attempted to care for the 

men of Washington's army, Shippen was 

with rue men of the militia's flying camp at 

Amboy. Chosen chief physician for the 

camp on 15 July 1776, at a time when 

fewer than 3,700 men had come in, he was 

quite confident of success in spite of his 

lack of military experience and the greenness of the new recruits which predisposed 

them to illness. He at once placed appeals 

in local papers asking the citizens of Philadelphia and nearby areas of Pennsylvania 

as well as those of New Jersey to send old 

sheets and linens to him for his hospitals 

and he also began to collect a staff. 6• 

By mid-September, however, Shippen 

found himself hard pressed and in great 

need of surgeons, especially, he stated, in 

view of the fact that seven or eight battalions in the flying camp had neither regimental surgeons nor mates of their own. 

He was forced to act personally as both 

director and surgeon at the Amboy unit as 

well as apothecary for nine battalions. By the 

end of September, however, he had added 

to his staff at least two former regimental 

surgeons, Bodo Otto, a native German who 

had served with Pennsylvania troops in the 

Battle of Long Island, and William Brown, 

who had been recommended by both General Washington and the flying camp's Brig. 

Gen. Hugh Mercer. It is interesting to note 

that even before the 9 October resolve 

which placed him in command of all army 

hospitals in New Jersey, the Continental 

Congress apparently considered Shippen 

chief physician for the entire New Jersey 

area. Thus, in appointing Brown as Shippen's assistant, the Congress named him 

assistant for the "Hying camp and troops in 

New Jersey." 01 

As General Wasbington's army retreated 

south through New Jersey before the Bdtisb 

in the fall of 1776, ,the sick and wounded, 

often numbering one-fourth to one-third of 

the total, were sent ahead and placed in 

temporary bospitals at Amboy, Elizabeth, 

Brunswick, Trenton, Fort Lee, Newark, and 

Morristown. On 1 November, Shippen submitted an optimistic report to Congress on 

the hospitals in five of these towns, saying 

that his two units at Amboy contained 90 

sick and 7 wounded, that at Brunswick 10 

sick, and tbat at Trenton 56 sick. At Elizabeth he recorded 54 sick, 3 wounded, and 

25 "sick from Canada" and at Fort Lee, 75 

sick, 9 wounded, and 19 "distressed NewEngland Troops." It should be noted tbat 

even at a time of action, the sick outnumbered 'the wounded sixteen to one. Shippen 

predicted that four-fifths of his patients 

would recover but noted that 2,000 more pa-

·tients who were not yet under his control 

were scattered in barns around the countryside. By late November, in spite of Shippen's 

optimism, patients from the flying camp, 

unattended by physicians, were pouring 

into Philadelphia, arriving in wagons and 

threatening to spread putrit! or camp fever 

among the citizens of the city. Although he 

must have been aware of the sickliness of 

green troops, Benjamin RusH later tried to 
70 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D E PA R T M EN T, I 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

claim that Shippen was to blame for the 

flying camp's high death rate at this time. 

In November 1776, however, he wrote 

Shippen that everyone was praising the 

work he was doing. Washington personally 

ordered the sick from Trenton moved to 

Philadelphia so that his troops might use 

the barracks which had formerly sheltered 

Shippen's patients and gave Shippen permission to use supplies in New Jersey which 

Morgan had been moving about without 

using.62 

Hospital units in Philadelphia were under 

Morgan's direot control, but such a great 

number of the Army's sick was coming 

into the city that the Council of Safety 

asked the vacationing Jonathan Potts early 

in December to take charge of them, apparently under Morgan. Bodo Otto took 

over the city's Bettering House, and several stores and private houses were also 

pressed into service as hospitals. Philadelphians were asked to help to obtain the 

supplies the Hospital Department needed 

and many ci,ti zens served as volunteer 

nurses. Morgan, with a possible British occupation of Philadelphia in mind, asked 

faculty members of his own medical school 

to stand by to care for patients too ill to 

be moved. Soon, however, so many disabled soldiers were quartered on local 

citizens that Morgan ordered o~rs to send 

flying camp patients belonging to Maryland 

units back to Maryland, adding that Potts 

was to be sure that these men received the 

best carc, including warm housing and 

blankets. A hospital was, therefore, established in Baltimore under Dr. Samuel MacKenzie and a mate. Morgan urged that 

others be accommodated in towns outside 

Philadelphia. Despite the care and attention devoted to the patients remaining in 

the city, however, the death rate was very 

high. On 16 February 1777, a total of 

4,745 of the l7,449-man army was reported to be ill or unfit and some claimed 

that as many as 2,000 military patients 

were buried in the Philadelphia potter's 

field"" 

Washington was concerned with the 

threat of contagion posed by the large 

numbers of the Army's patients housed in 

Philadelphia and wished from the beginning to see hospitals established at a safe 

distance from that city. Shippen moved his 

family to join him a-t Bethlehem in early 

December and , with the cooperation of the 

Council of Safety of Pennsylvania, established hospitals at Bethlehem, Allentown, 

and Easton, Pennsylvania. In a letter urging 

that he be sent the funds he was totally 

lacking for the care of his patients, he reported to his brother-in-law, Richard Henry 

Lee, that as of 17 December his patients 

were much reduced in number and doing 

welL" 

The main hospital in Shippen's system 

occupied the former Single Brethren's 

House of t he Moravian Order in Bethlehem. 

This 83- by 50-foo t building dated from 

1748 and contained eight rooms on the 

first floor of the main section. There were 

also refectories, a chapel, and superintendent's rooms on the second floor and dormitories plus several smaller rooms on the 

third. More recently built east and west 

wings housed further accommodations, including workshops. Completing ,the complex was a 40-foot belvedere or summerhouse open to the outside air. Shippen 

filled the cellars of the former church 

storehouse with hospital supplies and medicines and assigned offi cer patients the upper rooms. The hospital guard, surgeons, 

and convalescents were housed in shops 

and other build ings on the western side of 

town. A Moravian minister, the Reverend 

John Ettwein, visited all the patients at 

Bethlehem, the single brethren aided patients, the women made lint bandages, and 

Moravian carpenters made the coffin s and 

dug the graves for 110 patients before the 

survivors were transferred to Philadelphia 

late in March 1777." 
CII. 3] Siege to Retreat: 1775- May 1777 71 

BRETHREN'S HOUSE AT B ETHLEHEM. (From Duncall, Medical Men.) 

Patients began arriving in Bethlehem 

early in Deeembcr 1776 in all sorts of 

transport and were initially so short of food 

that the Moravians fed them for three days 

until the Army's supplics arrived. Shippen 

was touched by the cooperation of the 

townspeoplc and decidcd to house as many 

of the former Morristown patients as possible at Easton and Allentown. These units 

also were closed in March 1777 and patients 

too sick to be discharged as convalescents were sent to Phil adelphia . The men 

who had been serving as nurses or orderlic'S 

returned to their regiments, while the department began efforts to find women to 

replace them. GO 

The last action before the Army went 

into winter camp at Morristown involved 

Washington's surprise Christmas attack 

upon Hessian units at Trenton and his 

early January success against the British 

at Princeton. The wounded from these operations and the sick from the camp at Morristown required the opening of new hospitals and -the reopening of some old ones 

in New Jersey. 

Christmas celebrations at Bethlehem were 

interrupted by General Washington's call 

to Shippen and his principal surgeons to 

join him as he moved against Trenton. It 

would appear, however, that Shippen did 

not reach -the general in time to take immediate charge of the wounded, as on 29 

December the general ordered that the 

wounded from the initial Trenton engagement be taken to Newtown, Pennsylvania, 

just across the Delaware River from 

Trenton, until Shippen and John Cochran 

could have them moved farther."' Fortunately, few Americans were injured in this 
72 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

engagement, but seventy-eight wounded 

Germans surrendered. Since the Americans wished to encourage such mercenaries 

to desert the British cause, they paroled 

these men and provided them with hospital 

facilities aM the care of ,their own surgeons. 

An attempt was even made to give the 

German surgeons instrument's, but it was 

reported that at leas-t some of the amputating instruments so supplied were unusable. 

Benjamin Rush had offered his services 

to General Washington's army after the 

Continental Congress adjourned on 12 December, and he and Cochran assumed responsibility for the Continental Army's 

wounded at Trenton just before the general began his withdrawal toward Princeton. 

It would appear that General Washington 

not only ·took no physicians with him on 

this march but also failed to inform Rush 

and Cochran that he was leaving. Cochran 

discovered the Army's departure on 3 

January 1777 only when he rode out in 

search of it. Rush and Cochran were at 

the time caring for about twenty American 

wounded who were in danger of being captured by -the British. The surgeons hastily 

obtained wagons and horses and removed 

their patients to Bordentown, southeast of 

Trenton, apparently assuming that this 

would be Washington's destination. Three 

days later they moved their unit to Princeton, where on 7 January 1 777 Ru~h wrote 

Richard Henry Lee of the serious (and soon 

to prove fatal) wounds of General Mercer. 

Since many other Americans were also 

wounded in the Princeton engagement, a 

hospital was set up in the College's Nassau 

Hall. Here Rush and the other surgeons, 

possibly including Pott~, with the aid of a 

surgeon and five privates left behind for 

the purpose by the British, cared for both 

American and enemy wounded until the 

end of the month when Rush, considering 

his pa-tients to be out of danger, left to rejoin the Continental Congress." 

HOSPITALS IN NEW YORK 

STATE AND NEW ENGLAND 

AFTER THE EVACUATION OF 

NEW YORK CITY 

Some of the wounded from action in the 

vicinity of New York City were cared for 

in hospitals in New York State and in New 

England. (See Map 3.) After opening the 

hospital a't Hackensack, New Jersey, in 

October 1776, Morgan had hurried toward 

White Plains, New York, where action was 

momentarily expected. When he arrived at 

his destination, he found that the department's surgeons had already decided upon 

a church at North Castle as the site for a 

general hospital. The supply situation, however, had not been solved, since, despite 

orders to the contrary, the regimental surgeons of Maryland unit~ had arrived at 

White Plains expecting Morgan to let them 

have what they needed. Many regimental 

surgeons were not even present, despite 

both orders to the contrary and the fact 

tha't the sick and wounded were numerOU5. 69 

As soon as action was joined, on 28 

October, Morgan and his surgeons set out 

for White Plains from North Castle, while 

mates followed them with wagons carrying 

instruments and dressings. They established 

themselves near the front lines in houses 

along the road to North Castle and remained there, according to Morgan, about 

a week, until the enemy withdrew and 

WaShington left to cros~ the river in an 

attempt to defend Fort Washington, on the 

northern end of Manhattan Island. During 

this engagement, Morgan was able to return 

to North Castle only briefly and at least 

one surgeon and three or four mates were 

also on duty at White Plains, awaiting possible further action. Morgan kept surgeons 

Samuel Adams, Jr., and Charles McKnight 

at North Castle, and sent some one thousand patients to Stamford and Norwalk, 

Connecticut, under the care of physicians 

Philip Turner and William Eustis.'· 
Ch.3] Siege 10 Retreat: 1775- May 1777 73 

While Morgan was at White Plains, the 

British took Fort Washington and also Fort 

Lee, opposite Fort Washington on the west 

bank of the Hudson River, and then bcgan 

to drive General Washington south through 

northern New Jersey. After leaving instructions with his surgeons, therefore, Morgan 

moved to join General Washington, catching 

up with him not long after the army 

crossed the Delaware River. 7t 

Among the hospitals Morgan left behind 

him was that 3'1 Stamford, in charge of 

Turner, whose un it carcd for 1,200 to 1,300 

patients from early November to February 

1777, by which time only 25 remained. 

Eustis was in charge of the hospital at Norwalk, where approximately 700 patients 

were sheltered in the course of thc late 

fall of 1776 to March 1777, when only 8 

to 10 patients remained. 72 

For help in supplying these two hospitals, Morgan was forced to turn ·to Gov. 

Jonathan Trumbull of Connecticut, who 

sent Turner a significant supply of necessary 

items. It was ironic that Morgan's need in 

Connecticut was so great, for about eight· 

een tons of supplies from New York City 

had been moved by boat to Stamford just 

before the evacuation of that city and stored 

in a private home there. Not long after 

these supplies arrived in Stamford, they 

were moved, without either Morgan's 

knowledge or Gcneral Washington's approval, but their new location was only 

fifty miles from Stamford and Morgan 

could easily have reached them. Unfortunately, however, while Morgan's most 

urgent need at this time was for medicines, 

the bulk of these supplies consisted of 

blankets, bedding, sheets, and new shirts. 7S 

Among the hospitals set up by the Hospital Department in New York State were 

units at Kingsbridge, on thc east side of the 

Hudson opposite the northernmost tip of 

Manhattan Island, and at Fishkill, on the 

Hudson River not far from West Point, 

both of which served the men of Maj. Gen. 

WILLIAM EUSTIS. (Courtesy 0/ National Library 01 Medicine.) 

William Heath's army. The hospital at 

Kingsbridge cared for the sick and wounded 

of a still raw and undisciplined army in a 

filthy camp entirely devoid of sanitation. A 

form of diarrhea termed "putrid" resulted 

from the unhealthy conditions, and one 

surgeon commented that "Many died, melting as it were and running off by the 

bowels." Aid from the Quartermaster's Department was almost impossible to obtain 

for this hospital, according to Morgan, and 

medicines were so short that the capture 

of a chest of medicine from the enemy 

was deemed a noteworthy event. 74 

After the loss of the White Plains engagement, General Washington sent General Heath's division north to Peekskill and 

West Point and stationed General Lee on 

the Croton River south of Peekskill. Both 

divisions thus remained on the east side 

of the Hudson River, where Morgan still 

directed the department's hospitals. Before 
74 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L 0 E PA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

leaving to join General Washington near 

Trenton, New Jersey, Morgan set up a 

hospital for Genera l Heath's division at 

Peekskill, in response to the complaint that 

the sick and wounded of this 5,000-man 

division were receiving inadequate care. 

Morgan initially sugges·ted that General 

Heath find appropriate quarters to shelter 

300 sick and that the Hospital Department, 

now free to expand its slaff to match the 

Army's growth, then staff the unit. The 

Director General added, however, that he 

believed Peekskill to be an unhealthy location for a hospital. Morgan put Adams 

and McKnight in charge of the new hospital, but they were unable to find a satisfactory site nca r the town and finally took 

over accommodations at Fishkill, twenty 

miles to the north , for their hospital. General Washington, however, ordered that 

convalescents be sent to Peekskill. On Morgan''S dismissal in January 1777, General 

Washington requested that Dr. Isaac Foster, 

as the "eldest surgeon," take over the 

temporary supervision of these hospitals on 

the east side of the Hudson River. 75 

Until mid-1776, official policy called for 

the prevcntion of smallpox epidemics 

through isolation only and rejected planned 

inoculation. When General Washington's 

army moved south from Boston, a smallpox 

isolation hospital was established on Montresor's Island (now Randalls Island) in 

the East River and a twenty-three-man 

guard of men who had already had the 

disease was assigned to it. Although there 

had been some inoculations at the Montresar's Island hospital in the spring, in 

May, General Washington ordered that 

there were to be no more. All those already inoculated or exposed to the disease 

were to be sent there. (See Table 5.) The 

genera l warned that "any disobedience to 

this order will be most severe ly punished." 

The Continental Congress supported Washington's stand and when a private physician 

in the State of New York was discovered 

to have been inoc.ulnting soldiers, he was 

jailed.'· 

Despite these precautions, the fear of 

smallpox grew among the men of the 

Continental Army. Recruiting was threatened, and by late June, official attitudes 

toward inoculation began to show signs of 

change. The Maryland Council of Safety, 

noting the presence of smallpox among 

some of the Maryland troops, suggested 

that inocul ation be tried and even offered 

to pay for such a step, but the Council 

of Massachusetts, learning that Maj. Gen. 

Artemas Ward was permitting the inoculation of some of the troops outside Boston, 

where this procedure was illegal, asked 

that the practice be stopped." 

General Washington found that, despite 

all precautions, 1110St units contained a few 

infected men who posed a threat to the 

entire regiment in which they served. And 

by August official attitudes were apparently 

Changing in favor of inoculation in segregated camps. Ordcrs again were issued 

specifically forbidding private and secret 

inoculation, but the prohibition brought 

protests, since it was believed that such 

a rule would hinder recruiting, especially 

for the Northern Army." 

Since General Washington and the Hospital Department still feared ' the possibility 

of triggering an epidemic, careful precautions were planned to ensu re the isolation 

of soldiers undergoing inoculation. The general suggested moving them out of Philadelphia and into nearby segregated hospitals. And when he sent John Cochran to 

Newtown, Pennsylvania, to oversee inoculation there, he suggested that houses in the 

remote countryside be used to shelter newly 

infected soldiers. General Washington 

urged that those already inoculated not be 

moved until entirely recovered and that 

when they left the hospital they be equ ipped 

with either new or "well washed, air'd and 

smoaked" clothing. By mid-February, he 

was also suggesting that the individual 
Ch.3] Siege to Retreat: 1775- May 1777 75 

states immunize their recruits before sending them .to join the Army. Rush, as chairman of the Medical Committee of the Congress, wrote Washington that troops coming in from the South were terrified of 

contracting smallpox naturally and, since 

the disease was raging in Philadelphia, 

should be inoculated somewhere outside 

of that city.'· 

It was in February 1777, while the bulk 

of Washington's army was in winter camp 

at Morristown, that the official order to 

proceed with the inoculation of the entire 

army was given. The Continental Congress, 

then meeting in Baltimore, ordered specifically that the troops there be immunized 

and requested the Maryland Assembly to 

give MacKenzie the necessary medicines. 

On 5 February, the general, convinced that 

only inoculation would prevent the destruction of his army, decided that all soldiers, 

including recruits, at Morristown and in the 

Philadelphia area should undergo the procedure.ao 

The Hospital Department, although now 

without a Director General and in a state 

of disorganization after the dismissal of 

Morgan, nevertheless immediately moved 

to carry out the wishes of Congress. Shippen ordered Dr. Bodo Otto to leave Philadelphia for Trenton, where he was to set 

up an inoculation hospital in an old barracks originally cons-tructed for British 

troops in the French and Indi an War. General Washington personally told Dr. Nathaniel Bond to prepare to inoculate troops 

in the Morristown area, emphasizing that he 

wanted the procedure administered secretly 

and as quickly as possible. Bond was to immunize not only the troops already in Pennsylvania and New Jersey but also all those 

coming into the area, upon arrival. 

A few minor complications arose as the 

process of immunizing General Washington's army began. The general was unhappy 

that so many troops were being marched 

all the way to Morristown before being 

inocuialed, since the facilities were not as 

good there as elsewhere. Some confusion 

existed in the area supervised by Foster, 

and that doctor claimed that he had been 

told that the order to inoculate -the -troops 

in the Fishkill area had been counter· 

manded. General Washington told Foster 

that he had never intended to cause any 

delay in the inoculation of these troops, 

since waiting so long to begin the procedure 

had already had harmful effects .• ' 

Distressed that Virginia still did not permit 

inoculation, General Washington wrote 

Gov. Patrick Henry to support -the repeal of 

such restrictions, adding that smallpox "is 

more destructive to an Army in the Natural 

way, than the Enemy's Sword." ·2 These 

regulations were apparently changed shortly aft er General Washington's request, 

since on 23 April, the Continental Congress 

ordered Dr. James Tilton to Dumfries, Vir· 

ginia, "to take the charge of all continental 

soldiers that are or shall be inocul ated" 

there and on 30 April decreed that troops 

from Carolina stop at Dumfries, Colchester, 

and Alexandria, all in Virginia, to undergo 

the procedure." 

In having his entire army inoculated during the winter and early spring of 1777, 

General Washington took a great risk. The 

procedure would in a short time greatly 

strengthen his army, but it temporarily 

weakened his forces in the face of the 

enemy. Only four of every 500 of his men 

died as a result of inoculation, however, 

and the gamble was so successful that he 

repeated it in the Valley Forge winter of 

17788 • 

By March, General Washington had sent 

a large proportion of his troops north to 

the Hudson River, and only 3,000 remained 

at Morristown, two-thirds of them militia 

whose terms of enlistment were about to 

run out. French arms and supplies were 

now arriving. however, and in a short time 

new units also began to come in. By May 

there were 8,000 men at Morristown, hut 
76 THE ARM Y M E 0 I C AL D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

2,000 of them were soon sick. Furthermore, 

an epidemic of fever was raging in one of 

the Army's faciliti es in Philadelphia, where 

Benjamin Rush reported that most of the 

staff had been ill at one time or another and 

several surgeons and mates had died.sli 

Thus, despite his precautions, it was with an 

army weakened by sickness th at General 

Washington noened the spring campaign in 

May 1777. 
4 

Year of Despair and Hope, 

June 1777 to June 1778 

During the 1777- 78 campaign season, the 

crucial victory over the British at Saratoga 

in October 1777 brought action in the North 

to an end for the scason and, for all practical purposes, for the war. [n the Middle 

Department, however, repeated military 

setbacks as Washington unsuccessfully attempted to defend Philadelphia and the 

grim winter at Valley Forge which followed 

placed demands upon the Hospital Department in the New Jersey-Pennsylvania area 

which it could not meet. 

THE MtDDLE DEPARTMENT 

As Washington retreated before the British 

in Pennsylvania, the Hospital Department 

was forced to move seriously wounded and 

ill patients from place to place in all kinds 

of weather in open and springless wagons. 

Villagers who lived along the evacuation 

routes long remembered hearing "the 

wounded cry as they passed over the 

stones." 1 The shortage of both housing and 

clothing led to the overcrowding of poorly 

clad patients in inadequate facilities and 

the rapid spread of what was then called 

putrid fever, making a shambles of wbatever hopes may have arisen as a result of 

the reorganization of April [777 under the 

leadership of the new Director Genera[, 

William Shippen, Jr. 

Troops in the New Jersey-Pennsylvania 

area saw no major action until September 

of the new season since during the early 

summer the maneuvers of the British general, William Howe, in an attempt to force 

the Continental Army to give battle in tbe 

vicinity of Brunswick and Amboy, New 

Jersey, were in vain. In July he embarked 

[5,000 men, about two-thirds of his army, 

in the waiting ships of the British Navy and 

disappeared over the horizon. During the 

following six weeks, several sightings of the 

enemy fleet led to varying predictions of 

General Howe's ultimate intentions, and 

General Washington, trying to anticipate the 

enemy's next move, led his forces north to 

the Hudson River and then south again to 

New Jersey and Pennsylvania? 

General Washington's troops were far 

from healthy during this time. Of an army 

of roughly 18,000, more than 3,500 were 

sick, according to a Medical Committee report of 5 August [777. 3 The general blamed 

the high rate of sickness upon the excessive 

use of "animal food, untempered by Vegitables, or Vinegar, or by any kind of Drink, 

but Water and eating indifferent Bread" and 

continued his efforts to improve not only 

the diet and camp sanitation affecting his 

troops but also the conduct of his regimental 

surgeons and the management of the hospitals caring for his men. He ordered that a 

list of the sick in each regiment be made 

every day and turned in to the regimental 

surgeon. He required that these doctors 

neither go on leave nor hospitalize a patient 

without permission from Dr. John Cochran, 

Physician and Surgeon General of the Army, 

or his deputy.' 

By July, however, the situation had not 

improved and Cochran's problems were multiplying. Although his letters do not reveal 
o 

CONTINENTAL ARMY 

HOSPITAL LOCATIONS 

June 1m-June 1na 

o 20 I I 

o 

MILES 

.~ '" 

§ 

'" 

"Ii 

OJ 

PENNSYLVANIA 

Reading 

$chaeffelstown 

Northampton 

o 0 

Easton 

Allttntown 

Faulkner 

Swamp 

o o Bethlehem 

Plumsteadville 

o 

Buckingham 

o 

+ Pennypacker Mills Pot Sg~ 0 

Reamstown ~ Skippack North Willes 

o French Creek Limerick 0 0 0 0 

Manheim o Ephrata 0 frlppe 0 

WBIWiCkO PhoenixvillB'::J. Evansburg o 

Lititz 

LancBster 

o 

o 

o Yellow 

Springs o Valley 

Forge 

° pSOI; 

Germantown 

o 

NEW 

., 

$~ 

o~ 

... $ 

PHILADELPHIA 

Fort Mercer 

-------

MAP4 
Clz. 4) Despair alld H ope: JlIlle 1777- JlIlle 1778 79 

precise ly what it was th at Cochran had done 

to offend, Cochra n was under fire from Maj . 

Gen. John Su lli van, who regarded th is physician's attitude as insulting. Furthermore, 

General Washington's very recently issued 

orders that regimenta l surgeons report twice 

weekly to Cochran on the patients in their 

care were appa rently all too frequently ignored. On 9 July, he announced that surgeons continuing to disobey him in this 

matter were to be arrested/' 

When the general turned his attention to 

the facilities caring for his men, he discovered that interference [rom his officers 

was undermining the authority of hospital 

physicians. Commenting that doctors should 

be in complete control of these units, he 

ordered that no othcer visit such a facility 

except to check on the treatment of its 

patients or to help maintain order and discipline. In September, he also ordered that 

officers not remove patients from hospitals 

without the written permission of the physician in chargeY 

The situ ation as far as hospitals were 

concerned seems to have been satisfactory in 

August 1777, however, Dr. Benjamin Rush 

claiming at that time that "great order, 

cleanliness, and the most perfect contentment prevail in our hospitals." By the end of 

that month , his army's march slowed by the 

presence of unfit soldiers still under the 

care of regimental surgeons, General W ashington had decided to turn all the sick over 

to the hospitals rather than attempt to take 

them with him on further moves about the 

countryside.

7 

In September, the British landed at the 

head of the Chesapeake Bay and Continental 

units saw their first real action of the season 

when General Washington attempted to 

stop the enemy at Chadd's Ford on the 

Brandywine Creek in Pennsylvania on 11 

September 1777. (Map 4) Contemporary 

estimates of the losses suffered here by 

General Washington's army vary widely, 

but a modern authority estimates 200 killed 

and 500 wou nded. Failing to stop the 

British at the Brandywine, the Continental 

Army moved northeast to the Schuylkill 

River and then retreated northwest along 

that river. After using a surprise bayonet 

attack to defeat Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne 

at Pao li on 2 1 September, on the 26th the 

enemy occupied Philadelphia unopposed. 

T he Continental Army lost an estimated 100 

wounded at Paoli and another 500 in 

wounded on 4 October through the defeat 

of General Washington's army at Germantown . By 24 November 1777, wounds and 

disease had crowded Middle Department 

hosp itals wi lh approx imately three thousand 

men, a figure which did not include those 

under the care of regimental surgeons.

s 

(Table 6 ) 

The walking wounded from the Brandywine defeat appear to have been directed 

toward the Hospital Department's facilities in Philadelphia, and the more seriously 

injured were taken in open wagons, escorted 

by physicians, to such New Jersey hospitals 

as those at Trenton and Princeton. Dr. John 

Augustus Otto, one of the sons of the Dr. 

Bodo Otto who was director of the barracks hospital at Trenton, accompanied one 

group of wounded to his father's unit. Here 

he stayed until the fall of Philadelphia 

necessitated the abandonmcnt of that hospital. Another group of the wounded, escorted by D r. James Tiltoll , wenl in slow 

stages to Princeton, stopping on the way 

in Philadelph ia and Bristol, Pennsylvania, 

and Trenton. Tilton later claimed that the 

quarters these men were assigned at Otto's 

hospital had not been cleaned and that his 

patients contracted putrid fever there. T he 

commissa ry of the Trenton hospital, Otto, 

and a second son, Frederick, who also 

worked with his father, however, maintained 

that the rooms had been cleaned before 

Tilton's arriva l and that there had been no 

putrid fever in their hospital fo r three weeks 

before that date. It was true, at any rate, 

that Tilton and many of the Brandywine 
80 THE ARM Y M E DI e A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

BODO OTTO. (From James E. Gibson, Dr. Bodo 

Otto and the Medical Background of the 

American Revolution, / 937. Courtesy 0/ 

Charles C Thomas, Publisher, Springfield, 

III.) 

wounded wilh him did develop " languor 

and listlessness of Ihe whole body, and a 

peculiar sensation of Ihe head, as if it were 

lightened or compressed" shortly after their 

arrival in Princeton. Arter some days, other 

symptoms appeared, and " the pulse began to 

sink, a dry tongue, delirium" developed. 

Tilton noted that " If I ever saw the 

pelechiae, so much dwelt upon by Pringle 

and Monroe, I have forgotten all about 

them. This I am sure of, they were not regarded as essential to the disease."!) 

The most seriously injured from Brandywine received emergency care in buildings 

near the battlefield and were then collected 

by the victorious British and removed to the 

Wilmington area. General Howe told General Washington shortly after the battle that 

Continental physicians would be permitted 

to visit and treat wounded Americans held 

by the British. The Continental general responded by sending Rush, whose subsequent 

experience with the British system left a 

lastingly favorable impression, four other 

doctors, a hospital mate, and several other 

attendants through the lines.1O 

The fall of Philadelphi a forced the evacuation of facilities within the city and 

rendered nearby hospitals vulnerable to surprise raids by the British. It also made 

necessary the establishment of new units at 

more distant locations. After the Brandywine defeat, Shippen had written a Moravian 

leader at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to ask 

the aid of his order in locating permanent 

TABLE 6-MIDDLE DEPARTMENT HOSPITAL PATIENTS, 24 NOVEMBER 1777 

Location Sick Wounded Convulcscent 

New Jersey 

Burlington 80 10 

Trenton 112 0 

Princeton t39 130 

Pennsylvania 

Buckingham 239 10 

North Wales tOO 0 

Skippack (Shippack) 90 0 

Easton 253 40 

Bethlehem 161 80 

Allentown 81 9 

Reading .. . . ... . Lancaster .... ... . Manheim · 17 5 

Maryland 

Baltimore ... . .. . . NOTE: Excluding regimental and brtgade hospitals; as reported by Wliham Sh ippen . • Mistakenly listed as Mendham in Duncan, Mc/ileal Jltm. p. 239. 

11 

102 

10 

10 

59 

20 

107 

142 

tOO 

.. . . . .. . 

40 

. ... 

Tota l 

101 

214 

279 

259 

t59 

110 

400 

383 

190 

290 

300 

62 

37 
Cil. 4] Despair and Hope: June 1777- June 1778 81 

accommodations in that area for an estimated two thousand patients; and in late 

November and December, many of the 

patients from New Jersey facilities at Mount 

Holly, Bordentown, Burlington, and Trenton 

were moved to Princeton. General Washington feared for the safety of the Princeton unit and urged unsuccessfully that it, 

too, be moved. Other patients, including 

those from such Pennsylvania hospitals as 

the units at Bristol, Pottsgrove, and Buckingham, were evacuated to the west and northwest deeper into Pennsylvania, where new 

hospitals were established at Lancaster, 

Lititz, Ephrata, Reading, Easton, Allentown, Warwick, Reamstown (Rheimstown), 

and Northampton. The closing of so many 

hospitals, however, and the distance to the 

new facilities made it necessary to open 

temporary hospitals at Evansburg, Trappe, 

Pennypacker Mills, Faulkner Swamp, and 

Skippack, Pennsylvania. These units handled 

the 421 wounded from Germantown before 

they were moved even farther west within 

the state.lI 

Those patients in General Washington's 

army who had accumulated under the care 

of regimental surgeons since the army had 

first seen action in the fall of 1777 were 

removed to units of the general hospital 

when the army went into winter camp at 

Valley Forge. Reports to the Adjutant General concerning the number and location of 

patients still with the army were required 

in anticipation of this move. Dr. Charles 

McKnight and a colonel were told to provide wagons, but only for those patients 

unable to walk even when relieved of their 

packs. Three days' provisions were to be 

sent with these men and one officer from 

each brigade was to accompany them to 

ensure their receiving proper care. Dr. 

Jonathan Potts, again on leave from the 

Northern Department, had volunteered his 

help in this massive evacuation, and Shippen 

wrote him to point out that patients being 

taken to hospitals on the west side of the 

Schuylkill River would eventually pass 

through Potts's hometown of Reading. Shippen asked his colleague to supervise these 

men during their stay in Reading and to 

do what he could to obtain for them comfortable transportation to their final destinations,12 

The evacuation of so many hospitals, the 

overall increase in the patient load, and 

outbreaks of disease added to the burden of 

the Hospital Department even in hospitals 

which were not relocated. Nevertheless, in 

early December, although Tilton maintained 

that the Princeton facility's patients at this 

time were vermin-infested and filthy, Rush 

did not seem unduly alarmed. When he 

wrote Shippen from Princeton, he limited 

himself to explaining his need for cooking 

utensils, straw for bedding, and similar items 

and mentioning plans to take over the local 

Quaker meetinghouse and the home of a 

Tory to expand to 1,000 the capacity of 

his unit, which was already using the college's Nassau Hall and a church. Rush's 

letter of the same day to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene also gave no indication that 

the doctor was particularly upset by conditions at Princeton, although he did note 

that since many of the patients in his hospitals were only slightly ill and tended to 

spend their time stirring up trouble, he 

needed two or three officers to enforce 

discipline. In mid-December, however, Rush 

pronounced the situation at Princeton frightful. One building, which was large enough 

for only 150 men, now held 400, he said, 

and in one three-day period, twelve soldiers 

had died of putrid fever. Since the past 

spring, he added, six surgeons had died of 

fevers contracted at the Princeton hospital 

and there were still no guards present to 

enforce discipline.13 

The necessity for reopening the hospital 

at Bethlehem had apparently distressed 

Shippen, who wrote the Reverend John 

Ettwein of his regret that he was "obliged 

by Order of Congress to send my sick and 
82 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

wounded to your peaceable village ... I 

am truly concerned for your Society and 

wish sincerely this stroke could be averted." 

By the end of September, both civilians and 

soldiers were pouring into the village. Less 

than three weeks after the defeat at Germantown, there were reportedly more than 400 

men in the Single Brethren's House, where 

physicians considered 360 to be an absolute 

maximum. The wounded coming in after the 

Germantown engagement were frequently 

sent on to Easton, but those too seriously 

injured to be moved farther were placed 

in tents at Bethlehem. Despite the crowded 

condition of the Bethlehem hospital, in 

October, Rush, as Physician General, 

ordered that 100 more be taken in." 

Because of such severe overcrowding in 

the Single Brethren's House, steps had to 

be taken to add to the available accommodations. Early in November, seventy patients 

were sent to a nearby farm. Rooms not previously used for patients, such as the kitchen, also were taken over. A separate hospital was set up nearby at the Fulling Mill, 

where woolen cloth was made. The suggestion that one or more of the women's 

buildings be used, however, caused so much 

dismay among the Moravians that the idea 

was abandoned. Sixteen members of the 

Continental Congress, including Richard 

Henry Lee, John Hancock, and both Samuel and John Adams, signed a message at 

this time recognizing the Moravians' "humane and diligent attention to the sick and 

wounded" and calling for the protection of 

their "persons or property." Hi 

The situation in the middle states as 

General Washington's army prepared to 

take up winter quarters at Valley Forge 

did not inspire optirriism. Shortages of all 

kinds, especially of housing, made it impossible to provide care compatible with the 

standards of the time. Severe overcrowding 

alone was considered by one physician to 

have been responsible for at least half of the 

large number of deaths which occurred in 

the early winter, although precise recordkeeping was often impossible where the 

turnover was so great. lO 

A large number of the higher officers 

of the Hospital Department came into Pennsylvania during the winter at Valley Forge. 

Among them were, in addition to the Director General, the leading members of the 

staff for the Middle Department, including 

the new Deputy Director and Purveyor, Dr. 

Jonathan Potts; the Surgeon General (soon 

to succeed Rush as Physician General), Dr. 

William Brown; and Cochran, the Physician 

and Surgeon General of the Army. Also 

serving in this area were two Assistant 

Directors, Dr. Thomas Bond, J r., and Dr. 

James Craik; and two Apothecaries General, 

Dr. Andrew Craigie, who left the Northern 

Department at about the same time as Potts, 

and Dr. John Brown Cutting, who had apparently been asked in the summer of 1777 

to take charge of the buying of drugs of the 

entire Hospital Department. Also present 

at Valley Forge was Baron von Steuben, 

whose Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States, 

enacted into law by Congress in March 

1779, formalized those doctrines on hygiene 

long preached by British and Continental 

military physicians. 17 

Food, clothing, bedding, drugs, instruments, bandaging, even wagons for moving 

supplies were all very difficult to obtain at 

this time. The spring of 1778, furthermore, 

brought an increase in the number of men 

sent to hospitals because of disease, enhancing the effects of these shortages and leading 

Craik to warn, "if I am not supplied with 

what I write for, it will be impossible for me 

to give satisfaction here." 18 

The scarcity of clothing affected not only 

patients being treated in hospitals but also 

those ready to return to duty. Those who 

entered more or less fully clothed often 

could not leave when recovered because 

the clothes they had turned over when they 

were admitted could not be found. Those 
ell. 4] Despair and Hope: JlIne 1777- JlIne 1778 83 

in the hospital, moreover, had so little to 

wear while in bed th at an adequate supply 

of blankets assumed a crucial importance . 

General Washington ordered that the items 

of clothing a patient wore on entry into the 

hospital be carefully recorded before storage. 

Those belonging to patients who died in the 

hospital were to be saved for men returning to duty. The Continenta l Congress appealed to the clergy in the Middle Department for donations of linen and woolens for 

the sick and wounded, and in February, 

General Washington ordered the Clothier 

General to supply both sick and convalescent patients.]!) 

General Washington also was distressed 

by the inadequacy of supplies of food and 

bedding for hospitals. In J anuury 1778, he 

ordered the Quartermaster General to draw 

upon his supplies of straw to meet the requests of army doctors and to see that the 

huts used for the sick at Valley Forge be 

kept well supplied. In February, he also 

ordered the Commissary General, Ephraim 

Blaine, to keep the army's sick supplied 

with rice, or, if it could not be found, at 

least with the ubiquitous cornmeal. .Blaine 

and Potts, however, were in conflict for the 

purchase of many items and Blaine attributed some of the higher prices to the 

competition from Potts, so that wholehearted cooperation between the two men 

was unlikely. Furthermore, since Blaine was 

not always able to meet his regular commitments, it was not easy for him to aid 

Potts significantly. A more direct approach 

to the problem of buying food for the 

sick involved sending several men frol11 

each regiment out to scour the neighborhood for such food as could be obtained 

. from local farmers and transferring supplies 

from the Northern Department where, after 

the victory at Saratoga, the demand had 

begun to drop. Because of these steps, combined with the efforts of the new Quartermaster General, Nathanael Greene, and the 

milder weather which facilitated transport ation, by April, adequate amounts of flour , 

beef, and bread were ava ilable in the Middle Department. In May, however, when 

the army was preparing for the new campaign, many other items were still in short 

supply, among them sugar, tea, coffee, 

chocolate, salt, wine, and vinegar as well 

as bedding, paper, and pots. By June, 

difficulties obtaining food for the sick led 

General Washington to direct the Commissary General of the Army to be prepared 

at all times to supply the sick with fresh 

foods 2 • 

Medicines were difficult to obtain throughout the entire winter of 1777- 78. General 

Washington's January order that the Director General furnish medicines for regimental 

chests was not carried out until April 

because of the shortage of the required 

drugs. Department members traveled to 

neighboring colonies in their search for 

medicines and considerable ingenuity was 

shown in acquiring what was needed; the 

Department turned to the Commissary of 

Military Stores for sulfur and oil and to 

the Northern Department for other medicines. 21 

The shortage of instruments experienced 

in the early weeks of Dr. John Morgan's 

administration also continued during the 

winter of 1777- 78, when many regimental 

surgeons were still unable to obtain so much 

as a lancet. Lint and bandages were also 

hard to find in Pennsylvania. To alleviate 

this problem the department encouraged 

Moravian women at Bethlehem and Lititz 

to make lint and drew once more on the 

generous supplies of the Northern Department. Apothecary General Craigie also suggested that the shortage of bottles be relieved 

by reopening the glassworks at Manheim, 

Pennsylvania. 22 

The shortages of medicines, boUles, in·· 

struments, and other items usually contained 

in the regimental surgeon's medicine chest 

led inevitably to delays in the distribution 

of these chests. Cutting sugested that when 
84 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D E PA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

the new, smaller, and standardized chests 

were ready, the larger ones be called in for 

replacement. Concern over the need for 

these medicine chests was expressed by 

General Washington himself, who ordered 

that regiments without chests be reported to 

Cutting as Apothecary General of the Middle Departmcnt. In May, however, Cutting 

"went away before the regimental chests 

were finished" and there was "a great 

clamor about them," since sufficient medicines to keep all regiments supplied were 

still lacking.'" 

Such drugs as were available to the Hospital Department in Pennsylvania were apparently stored initially at Manheim, but in 

March 1778, Shippen ordered them moved 

to Yellow Springs. Craigie, however, under 

the assumption that there would be some 

consolidation of hospitals in the area in the 

future, wanted to locate the main depot at 

Carlisle, Pennsylvania , and to have medicines and chests prepared there. He noted, 

however, that he had not been able to induce 

the masons at Carlisle to complele the required construction for such a depot and 

commented in a letter to Potts that "The 

department is at present in chaos-no regularity- no system," even though needs were 

"great and many." 2-1 

In addition 10 Ihe shortage of supplies 

and medicines, many serious conditions afflicted the men at Valley Forge. Those most 

frequently experienced included a typhustyphoid type of fever and smallpox, the latter for the most part apparently through 

inocu lation. While neither of these conditions posed a serious problem in the camp 

until spring, frostbite injuries during the 

winter were at times so severe as to necessitate amputations. There was, moreover, at 

least one minor ailment which, without 

threatening life, tormented the men at 

Valley Forge. This was "the Itch," or 

scabies. Baron de Kalb wrote back to 

France that Continental soldiers were severely affected even before they camped at Valley Forge, and General Washington ordered 

regimental surgeons to obtain the necessary 

sulfur from Cochran and to see that men 

with this condition were "annointed for it," 

as quickly as possible." 

Large orders for lime juice suggest that 

scurvy was present in General Washington's 

army in the spring of 1778. Dysenterylike 

conditions were also being encountered, but 

the greatest burden on the entire hospita l 

system in the Middle Department during 

the period spent at Valley Forge seems to 

have resulted from the repetition of the 

previous winter's smallpox immunization 

campaign. It was believed that not only 

the ever-present possibility of action but also 

the heat itself made the procedure inadvisable in the summer, so despite the fact 

that spring inoculation slowed the preparation of the army for a new season of campaigning, the step was again undertaken in 

the winter and early spring of 1778. Attempts to determine how many men would 

requ ire immunization began late in 1777, 

and by January, the effort to inoculate all 

susceptible soldiers in General Washington's 

army was under way. The progress was 

slowed, however, both by the tendency for 

some surgeons to slip away from camp and 

by the lack of straw to serve as bedding. 

By March, inoculation had progressed to 

the point where, along with the lack of 

proper clothing, it was rated as one of the 

principal factors which "certainly emaciate 

the effective column in our returns," 20 and 

the rate of sickness for General Washington's army exceeded 48 percent. 

Recruits for General Washington's army 

who had to come through Virginia were for 

a time inoculated at Alexandria, Virginia, 

under the supervision of Dr. William Rickman, Director of the Continental hospitals 

in Virginia. In the fall of 1777, howeve r, 

rumors began to circulate that the procedure 

was being mishandled there and that patients were dying with putrid fever. Rickman 

was temporarily recalled, but the committee 
Ch. 4] Despair and Hope; June 1777- June 1778 85 

VALLEY FORGE H OSP lTAL HUT. (Courtesy 0/ Historical Society 0/ Penllsy lvania.) 

investigating his conduct determined that the 

high death rate was attributable to the 

poorly clothed and exhausted condition in 

which the men arrived at his hospital and 

that the doctor had done as well as could 

have been expected under the circumstances.

2 7 

In March, it was decided that in the 

future troops coming in from the south 

should not be inocu lated until they reached 

the Valley Forge area. Orders were issued 

to the effect that as they moved north, 

these troops should avoid all towns where 

smallpox might be present. In anticipation 

of the inoculation of these men and apparently believing it a necessary ingredient 

of the diet of the smallpox patient, Cochran 

urged that Potts send him "Molasses in 

abundance." By the end of April, approximately one thousand men were in va rious 

stages of inoculation at Valley Forge and 

50 to 100 more were undergoing the procedure in a hospital near Wilmington. Delaware,2S 

It is in the documents dating from the 

winter at Valley Forge that one first encounters with any frequency the usc of the 

term "flying hospital" in connection with 

the Continental Army. Like so many other 

designations in this army, however, the 

phrase was casually and imprecisely employed. In this instance, the Hying hospita l 

was managed not in the British manner as 

part of the general hospita l (sec Chapter I) 

but rather as a large and more formal version of the regimental hospital. The flying 

hospital at Valley Forge consisted of a 

series of brigade hospital huts whose man 
86 THE ARM Y M E 0 I CAL D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 I 8 

SCHOOLHOUSE USED AS HOSPITAL AT VALLEY FORGE. (Courtesy oj Historical Society 0/ 

PelllJsy/vallia.) 

agement was the responsibility of Physician 

and Surgeon General of the Army Cochran. 

In these units were kept, as was the custom 

also with regimental hospitals, only those 

who would be ready in a short time to 

return to duty and those who would be 

moved to a genera l hospital as soon as their 

conditions permitted.:w 

General Washington issued the order 

which led to the establishment of the Valley Forge flying hospital early in January. 

He required his generals to have two huts 

bu ilt for each brigade at appropriate locations 100 to 300 yards to the rear as soon 

as mcn could be spared for the work from 

constructing shelters for the rest of the army. 

These hospital huts were to be 15 feet 

wide, 25 feet long, and at leasl 9 feet 

high. They were 10 be covered with board or 

sh ingles, the cracks were to be left unfilled 

in the interests of ventilation, and there 

were to be a chimney at one end and a 

window on each side. 30 

General Washington wanted patients to 

be kept as close as possible to camp. which 

necessitated the opening of new units near 

Valley Forge, for which the Hospital Department at that time had "neither utensils 

nor necessities required to open new ones." 

Nearby buildings, therefore, including 

churches, barns, and even a schoolhouse, 

were pressed into service to house Valley 

Forge patients who could not be accommodated in brigade huts. The assignment of 

the individual patient to a hospital was always to be made by Cochran. General Washington pointed out that send ing men to 

overcrowded hospitals or to units not prepared to receive them could have already 

caused some deaths." 
Gil. 4] Despair and Hope: June 1777- June 1778 87 

A lack of discipline among army doctors 

continued to plague the hospital system at 

Valley Forge. Although there were more 

than sixty surgeons and thirty-three mates 

serving with General Washington's army 

shortly before it entered winter camp, it 

was difficult to estimate the exact number 

actually on duty at Valley Forge because so 

many were able to wangle furloughs to 

which they were not entitled. At one point, 

the general forbade all leave for doctors, and 

in April, he ruled that on ly passes signed 

by Cochran were to be honored. In an 

attempt to further ensure that the sick of 

his army receive as nea rly adequate care 

as was possible under the circumstances, 

General Wash ington also ordered the commanding officer of each brigade to appoint 

a captain to make daily visits to the sick of 

his unit who were hospitalized in the vicinity 

of Valley Forge." 

The casual attitude of so many Valley 

Forge physicians toward their responsibilities even thwarted General Washington's 

attempts to estimate the strength of his 

army. The reports of hospital surgeons on 

the number of men being cared for in their 

facilities differed markedly from those of 

regimental surgeons who were, despite the 

general's efforts, still careless, both in meeting the deadlines which had been set for 

their reports and in clearing hospitalizations with Cochran.'" 

By spring it was necessary to prepare 

the flying hospital for the new campaign 

season. Although the army was " becoming 

more sickly," the flying hospital itself was 

reported by Craik to be "in fine order." 

General Washington's principal concern in 

this connection seems to have been the 

speed with which the staff of the flying hospital could move the wounded after a battle 

back to a general hospital, since he did not 

wish to be again encumbered with disabled 

soldiers while his army was on the march. 

He therefore ordered the physicians of that 

unit to investigate the most efficient ways 

to move the seriously ill or wounded to 

permanent facilities, and by the end of June, 

approximately 85 percent of those under the 

care of surgeons appear to have been transferred to general hospitals" 

During the winter of 1777- 78, patients 

from the camp too ill to remain in the flying 

hospital were cared for in the general hospitals nearest Valley Forge, while faci lities 

at a greater distance sheltered the sick and 

wounded hospitalized during the fa ll's campaigns. In the first group, the Yellow Springs 

facility was by far the largest and most important. It was built during the early winter 

on land owned by an army physician, Dr. 

Samuel Kennedy, in an area already well 

known for the healing properties of its mineral spring.3a 

Unlike so many of the army's hospitals 

during this period, the Yellow Springs unit 

was carefully planned from the outset. The 

main building, later called Washington Hall, 

was specifically designed for the purpose and 

could comfortably shelter 125 palients. It 

was three stories and an attic high. 106 by 

36 feet in dimension. The first floor held the 

kitchen, dining room, and service rooms, the 

second two large wards, and the third many 

small rooms. Nine-foot porches ex tended 

around three sides of the first two stories. 

Dr. Bodo Otto, formerly in charge of the 

Trenton hospital, was called to take over 

here, where he was joined by at least two 

of his sons and by Kennedy himself'· 

Although Otto's patients began to arrive 

before the new building was ready for use 

and thus had to be sheltered in three nearby barns, the Yellow Springs unit quickly 

acqu ired a reputation for being "very neat, 

and the sick comfortably provided" for." 

General Washington himself visited the hospital in May, speaking "to every person in 

their bunks, which exceedingly pleased the 

sick," and was apparently favorably impressed by the facility.ss 

Nevertheless, the Yellow Springs unit was 

not without its problems. Putrid fever raged 
88 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

WASHINGTON HALL. (From ](ulles E. Gibson, 

the American Revolution, J937. Courlesy 

III.) 

there as elsewhere, and Kennedy, among 

others, died from it. The staff found that a 

shortage of the wine so esteemed fo r its 

medicinal properties triggered problems with 

rowdy officers who "crowd in upon us and 

from the reputation of our hospitals, ... 

call for wine and threaten excision if they 

do not get it." Furthermore, the number of 

patients was so great that other nearby 

buildings were pressed into service, the three 

barns were retained in use even after the 

main building was opened, and a convalescent unit was opened about two miles 

distant from Washington Hall.'" 

Among the units caring for battle casualties was the hospital reopened in Bethlehem, 

Pennsylvania, in September. At the end of 

November, Shippen recorded only 383 patients at this facility, but patients continued 

to arrive in the village th roughout December. 

(See Table 6.) The total number of the 

sick and wounded in the Bethlehem Single 

Brethren's House alone by the end of DeDr. Bodo Otto and the Medical Background of 

0/ Charles C Thomas, Publisher, Springfield, 

cember, after the arrival of fifty wagons 

laden with men from New Jersey on the 

27th, was reported to be over 700. Many of 

these patients arrived after exhausting journeys through snow and rain clad "in rags 

swarming with vermin" and despite the 

Moravians' efforts to collect blankets, 

bandaging, and clothing on their behalf, continued even in the hospital to be poorly 

clothed and filthy. In this environment, of 

course, wounds quickly became infected 

and putrid fever appeared. It spread rapidly 

not only among patients but also among 

attendants, many of whom were Moravians,·10 and afflicted most heavily those on 

the upper fioor, where "the stench and filth 

were bad indeed." The Reverend John 

Ettwein wrote in his account of the 1777- 78 

winter that among the Moravians, "several 

died (among them my best & dearest Son 

20 Years old)."" 

Preparation to close the Bethlehem hospital began in the spring of 1778, and in 
CII. 4] Despair alld Hope: June 1777- June 1778 89 

BRETHREN'S HOUSE AT LITITZ. (Co urtesy 0/ Historical Society 0/ Penllsylvania .) 

mid-April, a large number of the patients, 

about 100 of whom were classified as convalescents, were removed to the facilities 

at Lititz. Pennsylvania. A few still remained 

in Bethlehem in early May, however, and 

it was not until late June that the Moravian 

men were able to reoccupy their home. The 

staif of this hospital was moved to the Yellow Springs area to serve patients left behind at Valley Forge." 

The village of Lititz, to which so many 

Bethlehem patients were taken in April 

1778, was a Moravian community about 

half the size of Bethlehem. Since here, too, 

the order possessed large buildings appropriate for hospital use, when hospitals near 

Philadelphia were being evacuated, a unit 

was established in the stone Brethren's 

House, which was three stories high, 60 

feet long, and 37 feet wide. Dr. Samuel 

Kennedy was in charge of the Lititz unit 

from the time of the unit's opening until 

he moved to Yellow Springs, when he was 

succeeded by Dr. Henry Latimer. Dr. William Brown, best known as the probable 

author of the first American pharmacopoeia, 

made Lititz his headquarters after his selection as Physician General in February 

1778.43 

The hospital at Lititz, apparently overcrowded soon after its opening, was also 

swept by disease during the winter of 
90 THE ~M Y ME D t eA L DE PAR T MEN T , 1 775 - 1 8 1 8 

. ,-

',. , .. ..:, 

BROTHERS' HOUSE AT EPHRATA. (From DUllcan, Medical Men.) 

1777- 78. Although the first eighty patients 

arrived in fifteen wagons on the evening of 

19 December, only two days later the unit 

had become so crowded that its staff had to 

turn away 100 patients. Inevitably, in a 

very short time, putrid fever was raging. 

The hospital quickly ran out of medicine 

and members of the staff began to fa ll ill. 

In a ten-day period ending I J anumy 1778, 

seven patients died. From 12 to 22 January 1778, there were 12 deaths and 25 

cases of putrid fever among the 173 patients. In the course of the winter, both of 

the physicians serving the hospital contrncted 

the disease at the same time, and civilian 

doctors had to be called in to care temporarily for military patients. Five Moravian 

nursing volunteers and the congregation's 

pastor died. The Sisters' Hou se Diary of 

Lititz records in an entry at the end of 

December, "The misery of the lazaretto 

cannot be described; neither can it, without 

being seen, be imagined." .j ., 

The town of Ephrata, where a Hospital 

Department unit opened about the time of 

the Brandywine engagement, was another 

unusual religious community, not of Moravians, however, but of uDunkards," after 

whom Ephrata was also called Dunkerstown. 

The Dunkards of Ephrata were actually a 

splinter from the original Dunkards, lived 

celibate and almost monastic lives, and observed the seventh day of the week as the 

Sabbath. At Ephrata, three surgeons and 

two mates apparently formed the staff which, 

during the course of the winter and spring, 

cared for about 500 patients. Although the 

buildings they used were relatively large, 

the Dunkards of Ephrata had made their 

rooms sma ll and the doorways low, in an 

attempt to keep the occupants humble." 

The community kept the hospital well 
Cil. 4] Despair alld H ope: Illne 1777- llIlIe 1778 91 

supplied with veal and milk , and Shippen 

sent in all the required medicines, while 

the physicians in charge reportedly maintained a high level of discipline; but the 

death rate was still high. Putrid fever soon 

invaded this unit, too, and killed patients, 

staff, and Dunkards who had volunteered to 

serve as nurses, As many as 200 were 

rumored to have died and been buried on 

a hill in a plot belonging to the community, 

but Brig. Gen. Lachlan McIntosh reported 

that from 18 December 1777 to 26 April 

1778, only 57 either died or deserted and 

168 were discharged, with 34 remaining in 

the hospital as of that date.'" 

Ephrata was considered at the time to 

be "An inconvenient place for an Hospital," 

but an unknown number of the patients 

from the facilit y at Reamstown, Pennsylvania, were moved there, nevertheless, on 

17 March 1778, when the Reamstown unit 

was closed. By June 1778, however, the 

Ephrata hospital, too, had been closed." 

Another important Pennsylvania hospital 

during this pcriod was at Reading, often for 

patients whose ultimate destination lay 

further to the west. Begi nning in September 

1777, the courthouse, a potte r's shop, several churches, a Quaker meetinghouse, and 

other buildings in Reading were used to 

shelte r patients. Soldiers' wives were among 

the patients here and as many as eight of the 

nurses were women. These buildings quickly filled up and as early as mid-December 

men we re be ing sent on to other hospitals, 

including that at Ephrata. On 30 March, 

149 patients were reported to be at the 

Reading facilities, but by mid-April, only 

32 remained. General Mcintosh recorded a 

total of 132 as dead or deserted in the 

seven months of the hospital's operations 

to that date, 367 sent on to Lancaster 

County hospitals, 22 furloughed, and 513 

more returned to camp. ·HI 

Other large general hospitals in Pennsylvania at this time included the units at 

Allentown and Easton. In November 1777, 

the Allentown facility held 190 men and 

th at at Easton 400, but by March 1778, 

the two together held no more than 70 

patients and were plagued by shortages, 

especially by a shortage of beef. Shippen, 

on visiting these hospitals in the spring, 

urged that both be closed and that any 

patients not rcady to rcturn to camp be 

sent to Bethlehem. The men at Easton were 

moved to Bethlehem on 27 March, but the 

unit at Allentown remained open through 

mid-April." 

The idea that the military hospitals in 

the Middle Department should be consolidated was put forward in the spring of 

1778 by both Shippen and General McIntosh, who made an inspection trip among 

these hospitals at this time at General Washington's request. Both men envisioned a 

greater concentration of patients at the 

Lititz unit, to which General McIntosh 

recommended the removal of the Schaefferstown and Ephrata patients. He urged 

that all Pennsylvania hospitals except those 

in Lancaster County (which included the 

Lititz unit) be closed. Shippen, however, 

wished to go further and envisioned the 

expansion of the Lititz facility and the complete abandonment of the village by the 

Moravians. The Reverend Ettwein, however, 

wrote General Washington to emphasize 

that his people from Lititz would be rendered almost incapable of supporting themselves should this happen. Shippen finally 

abandoned his plan, but the Hospital Department continued to occupy the Brethren's 

House there for five more months and patients continued to come into Lititz not only 

from Bethlehem but also from Easton, Allentown, and Reading, as the hospitals in 

these towns were closed. 50 

In addition to the hospitals in Pennsylvania, at least two units east of Philadelphia 

remained open during the winter and early 

spring, onc at Princeton and the other in 

Delaware. The latter facility averaged eighty 

patients, all from Brig. Gen. William Small-
92 THE ARMY M ED ICAL DEPARTM ENT, 1775 - 1 8 1 8 

wood's brigade. Originally located at Newport, which General W ashington considered 

to be too exposed, this hospital was moved 

to the Nottingham Meeting House near Wilmington some time shortly before 22 April 

1778. The Princeton hospital, the only one 

outside of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 

which General McIntosh believed should 

remain open in the Middle Department, held 

only fifty-three patients as of 8 April. From 

14 January to 8 April, 52 died or deserted 

from this hospital, while 135 were recorded 

as returned to duty, Cit 

As spring approached, various proposals 

were put forth concerning the handling of 

the casualties which would be left behind 

when the army marched or would be sent 

to the general hospitals from the flying hospital with General Washington's army. 

Craik at onc time envisioned continuing to 

use the huts at Valley Forge as units of the 

general hospital after the army itself had 

left. He assumed that 1,500 to 1,700 patients would be left behind and urged that 

Shippen send surgeons and mates to Valley 

Forge to carc for them since, of course, the 

regimenta l surgeons would leave with their 

units,G2 

General Washington, however, was not 

happy with the use of these huts even for 

healthy men and had ordered some sickly 

regiments to vacate their huts as soon as 

tents could be obtained for them. The rate 

of illness continued to climb at this critical 

time, however, and there were not enough 

wagons available to move the ill to hospitals 

beyond Valley Forge. The general seemed to 

have at last resigned himself to the temporary use of huts for the sick, but he ordered 

that any mud used as plastering be removed 

and every effort be taken to improve ventilation.l

•

3 

The general also ordered that officers be 

appointed to stay behind with the ill at 

the rate of one officer for every 250 men. 

He told his regimental surgeons to report 

to Cochran on the number of men who 

could not march with the army and required 

that medical attendants fro'm each brigade 

remain to care for these men until hospital 

surgeons could remove them. An attempt 

was also to be made to find women to serve 

as nurses for the patients remaining at Valley Forge. On I June, General Washington 

appointed a colonel to supervise the care 

of the sick and to send them back to the 

army as they recovered. Finally it was decided to put Otto in charge of the patients 

left behind and to move them when possible 

either to Yellow Springs or to a new hospital to be established for them elsewhere.'" 

On 18 June, the British evacuated Philadelph ia and General Washington led his 

army out of Valley Forge to reoccupy that 

city and then through Bucks County, Pennsylvania. across the Delawa re River; on 28 

June, the army was into the first action of 

the new season, at Monmouth, New Jersey.M 

THE NORTHERN D EPA RT MEN T 

Although the men under Maj. Gen. Philip 

Schuyler, like General Washington's men, 

continued to suffer from a lack of clothing, 

prospects for the new season of campaigning 

seemed reasonably bright as far as the 

army's health was concerned. The smallpox 

problem was under control, and newly 

planted gardens promised a reliable supply 

of fresh vegetables. The total number who 

were sick of the 4,533 men who were at 

Ticonderoga and Mount Independence on 

25 June, however, is difficult to estimatc. 

(Map 5) Samuel Adams reported 342 to 

be "Sick in camp, and in barricks" as of 

that datc,:JG and since General Schuyler 

complained of the hospital under construction there that "not one single room ... 

is yet finished, nor will it soon be in condition to receive a considerable number of 

sick," " one might safely assume that there 

were few patients, if any, being cared for 

outside of "camp ... and barricks," in this 

area. It is, therefore, surprising to note that 
Ch.4] Despair and H ope: JlIne 1777- JlIne 1778 

\ 

Montresl 

a CANADA r) 

~-\ ' ) \ 

--- \ ---- ---

Leke Champ/sin 

S8(8(OgO 

o 

Schenectady 

o 

Albany 

N.Y. 

Fishkill I 

West 0 

I 

I 

VERMONT 

(disputed claim) 

NEW 

HAMPSHIRE 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

) 

\ 

\ 

MASSACHUSETTS Boston 

- --...,.--, I Providence 

a 

Hertford 

o 

MAINE 

(part of Mass.) 

CONNECTICUT 

\ RHODE;)~ IISLAr.J~ , '/I, 

Point I Danbury 

NtlWpon ~ 

o 

g,eekskil\ NOfwel 

N.J. ?v~~ -- NORTHERN AND EASTERN 

DEPARTMENTS 

lm-l778 

93 

o tOO 

MtLES 

MAP5 
94 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 -1818 

JAMES THACHER. (Courtesy 0/ National Library 0/ Medic:ill e.) 

in the entire Northern Department in July 

and August the overall sick rate, if monthly 

report figures are used, was just under 24 

percent and that more Ihan half of these 

were "sick absent." General Schuyler was 

distressed by the condition of the hospital 

accommodations on Lake Champlain and at 

the end of June had all the patients not 

likely to be ready to return to duty in a 

very short time moved in covered boats 

to the Fort George facilities where, he believed, there would also be a better supply 

of vegetables." 

The British, under Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne, had already begun their move south, 

and when, on 6 July, Continental forces 

abandoned Ticonderoga, the remaining patients, along with hospital and other supplies, 

were hastily loaded into 200 small boats. 

That night, escorted by five armed galleys 

and a guard of 600 men, these vessels 

slipped across thirty miles of water as still 

as glass to Skenesboro, at the southern tip 

of the lake. They were so closely pursued 

by the enemy, however, that they were unable to stop there and werc forced to continue south along a small river to Fort Anne, 

in the process losing to the British several 

patients and most of their supplies. At Fort 

Anne, the sick were placed in tents where 

they remained until 25 July, when surgeon's 

mate James Thacher was ordered to take 

them by boat to Albany. Thacher and his 

forty patients arrived there safely, having 

covered approximately fifty-five miles in 

three days." On 29 July, the British also 

took Fort George. If any of the patients who 

had been moved to Fort George from Ticonderoga were still there, presumably they 

also moved farther to the south before the 

British arrived. 

Although the hospitals in the Lake Champlain-Lake George area were abandoned in 

the summer of 1777, a new unit was established at roughly the same time in the vicinity of Bennington, Vermont, to serve the 

militia units gathering there. American patients were cared for by regimental surgeons 

in whatever sheiters could be found for them 

scattered about the countryside, but after 

the British were severely defeated in their 

raid on Bennington, Dr. Francis Hagan 

reported to Potts that a meetinghouse had 

been taken over for wounded prisoners and 

two German surgeons had been placed in 

charge of them. Stores were badly needed; 

this shortage was to continue throughout the 

summer and fail, causing unnecessary suffering for the unifs patients. Hagan could 

not find nurses for the wounded, and the 

local population was of no assistance to 

him, but his patients were in no condition 

to be moved. The situation here seems to 

have only deteriorated as the scason progressed, for as late as 21 September, Hagan 

was writing Potts of his fear of the effects 

of cold weather upon his patients, of the 

poor condition of the prisoners, and of the 

additional problem posed by the fact that 
Cir. 4] Despair and Hope: Jllne 1777-1I1ne 1778 95 

the British and Hessian patients were mutually antagonistic.

GO 

Not all was gloomy at Bennington, however. Another physician there, Dr. Samuel 

MacKenzie, wrote Potts on 27 August 1777, 

"I want Doclr Treat here very much to 

prescribe leeks for the Doctrs as they seem 

very fond of bundling and the Tory girls 

seem to have no objection to that kind of 

amusement." 6 1 

The flying hospital for the Continental 

Army in the Northern Department, under 

the direction of Physician and Surgeon General of the Army John Bartlett, was also 

beset by many problems. Its location as the 

army prepared to meet General Burgoyne 

at Saratoga was considered unhealthy, and 

at times the sick entering and being discharged were too numerous to count, although on 18 August, Bartlett fixed the 

number of patients at 335, under the care 

of thirty-two nurses. Regimental surgeons 

contributed to the situation by complaining 

that Bartlett was refusing to supply them 

with medicines, lint, and bandages, a charge 

he vigorously denied. His staff was too small, 

he added, and he needed three more regimental surgeons and three more mates. By 

the end of the month, when he still had 

192 patients in his hospital, such regimental 

surgeons as were available were refusing to 

help him, saying that Maj. Gen. Horatio 

Gates, who replaced General Schuyler on 

19 August, had forbidden them to do so" 

Despite the good beginning, as the summer progressed, sickness increased in the 

Northern Army. The men were often in 

retreat, at times without shelter, and almost 

always short of every sort of supplies except 

food, and the quality of that food was open 

to criticism. Nevertheless, on 20 July 1777, 

of 6,023 officers and men, only 459 were 

reported to be in the general hospital, a 

figure which apparently represented about 

half of the total list of those sick and presented a marked contrast to the situation in 

the North the previous year. The staff of 

the department included fifteen surgeons 

and seven mates and the much feared putrid 

fever was not a great threat. Furthermore, 

during the period 1 March to 29 August 

1777, only fifty-three of the men cared for 

by these doctors were reported to have 

died.·' 

General Gates's force grew rapidly in 

October 1777. He had approximately 8,000 

officers and men on 4 October, 885 of 

whom were sick in the general hospital and 

another 4,000 men joined him in the course 

of the following three days. In contrast to 

the situation which developed in the North 

in the spring of 1776, however, the staff of 

the Hospital Department in the Saratoga 

area, responsible for both American patients 

and wounded prisoners, also grew rapidly 

until it was almost double its original size. 

From the end of August to mid-November 

1777, however, another 150 men were reported to have died and the British complained that their wounded held by the 

Continental Army were not being well 

treated. In September, British Brig. Gen. 

Simon Fraser himself inquired with concern 

about sick and wounded prisoners in American hands after the British raid on Bennington and suggested that he could forward 

both medicines and surgeons to aid in their 

care, but General Gates appeared initially 

to have rejected l his offer. The American 

informed his counterpart that his wounded 

prisoners were well supplied with "Surgeons, 

medicines, and attendance, with every comfort imaginable." After their Saratoga defeat 

in October, however, when the British were 

forced to abandon an entire hospital, including approximately 250 patients, five medical 

attendants remained with their patients in 

captivity."' 

At some time in the fall, the British 

wounded were moved from the Saratoga 

area to the Albany facilities, where more 

than 300 American patients were being 

cared for, but their chief physician continued to complain of the treatment they re-
96 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

ceived and of supply shortages. Among the 

enemy patients here who had the least cause 

for complaint, however, was one Maj. John 

Dyke Ackland (Aeland), who was shot 

through both legs. His wife, who had accompanied him through the entire campaign, 

sailed down the Hudson River, acco l11 ~ 

panied only by a maid, a valet, and a 

chaplain, to join her husband at Albany and 

to nurse him back to health at the hospital. 

She apparently was treated with true gallantry by General Gates."' 

Most of the American patients at the 

Albany hospital suffered from disease rather 

than from physical injuries; numbers of 

patients reported in mid-August were as 

follows: 

Dysentery 81 Rupture 2 

I n Ie fm ittent fever 79 Scorbutic 4 

Diarrhea 61 Pleurisy 3 

Rheumatism 22 Hemorrhoid I 

Cough 25 Hemoptysis 2 

Conva lescent 17 Nephritis 3 

Debility 17 Asthma 1 

Lues venerca 14 Paralysis 2 

Fever 13 Cholera 1 

Whooping cough 10 Hypochondria 1 

Head itch 9 Scrofula 3 

Measles 8 Ophthalmia I 

Putrid fever 6 

Bilious fever 4 Total 396 

Dropsy 4 

Jaundice 2 Surgical 53 

SOURCE: A Return of the Present Stale of the General 

l-I ",spilal at Abany ~it: 1 20 Aug 1777. Potts Papers. 2: 283. This relUrn, however. gives nn incorrect total 

of 296. 

In the fall of 1777 the patients with physical injuries included none other than Brig. 

Gen. Benedict Arnold (promoted to major 

general on 29 November 1777 ) , who was 

again wounded, this time by a musket ball 

which had broken his leg. Of Arnold the 

patient, Thacher said , "He is very peevish 

and impatient under his misfortunes." Hospitalized for a time with Arnold was a 

young lieutenant colonel, James Wilkinson. 

who was to lead a colorful life after the 

Revolution and to serve with less than COffiplete success as a major general in the War 

of 1812. While on duty in the North, 

Colonel Wilkinson became so ill that he had 

to be evacuated by wagon first to Albany 

and then, on 20 October, accompanied by 

a hospital surgeon, further south, taking with 

him the details of the Saratoga victoryo. 

By the end of October, the overflow from 

the main Albany unit had spilled over into 

private homes and a church. Enemy patients were being cared for by their own surgeons, but Thacher considered the Hessian 

doctors "uncouth and clumsy operators." 

The operations being performed consisted 

principally of amputations and trepanning, 

and some surgical patients for a time had to 

endure maggots which thrived in their 

wounds. Among the twenty patients Potts 

had assigned to Thacher was a particularly 

interesting one in the person of an American 

captain who had managed to survive a 

scalping at the hands of the Indians. G1 

The increase in the number of patienls at 

the Albany unit strained the supply system 

in the Northern Department. For a time, 

no fresh straw was available, and with the 

harsh northern winter rapidly approaching, 

wood was also badly needed. In an attempt 

to relieve the pressure on the hospital, seventy to eighty men were returned to their barracks and steps taken to furlough an even 

greater number. By mid-November, however, 218 patients, I 18 wounded and 100 

sick, were still listed on the rolls at the 

Albany hospital, a figure which a month 

later had risen to a total of 297. 0' 

The number of patients under the care 

of Dr. Dirk Van Ingen in Schenectady had 

also increased in this period to the point 

where by late summer Van Ingen had found 

it necessary to hire two men and two women 

to care for them in the two rooms which 

had been allotted them in a barracks. By 

mid -August, he needed bedding, medicines, 

and more attendants for his forty-three patients. In November the Schenectady unit was 

treating 72 patients and a month later 312, 
ell. 4] Despair and Hope: lune 1777-lllne 1778 97 

more than were reported for that period by 

the Albany unit. The subsequent decrease 

in the patient load by February 1778 led to 

the transfer of rcmaining Schenectady patients to Albany, where on 16 February 1778 

therc were only 304 patients, 24 of whom 

were children being wormed. (The records 

do not indicate whether these patients were 

military dependents.) '" 

Inoculation continued to be practiced in 

the Northern Department, although the evidence suggests that the procedure was undertaken earlier in the yea r in the North 

than it was in the Middle Department. Repeatcd references to the fact that inoculation 

was taking place can be found, but since 

the records remaining to us from this period 

rarely distinguish between smallpox deliberately and naturally acquired, we can only 

assumc that most of the smallpox patients 

hospitalized in the Northern Department at 

this time had acquired the disease through 

deliberate immunization. Northern Department records list 68 smallpox patients at 

Albany and 260 at Schenectady in December 1777, but only 30 at Albany and 55 at 

Schenectady in January, and on 15 January, 

Dr. Robert Johnston noted that those patients who had been inoculated had done 

well and were almost ready to return to 

duty.7. 

The total number of patients in the 

Northern Department at the end of November was estimated by Director General Shippen at 1,000. Potts had been forced by ill 

health to return to Pennsylvania at the end 

of the campaign season and Johnston was 

asked by both General Gates and Potts to 

function as Deputy Director Gcneral in the 

Northern Department, although it appears 

that he was never actually named to the 

position. By the end of the year, since the 

patient load was diminishing and all of the 

twenty patients assigned specifically to 

Thacher's care had recovered, the young 

surgeon was permitted to go on a forty-day 

furlough" 

When Thacher returned in Fcbruary 

1778, although the hospital was in desperate need of money, the atmosphere was 

quite different from that prevailing in Middle Department hospitals at this time. "Several gentlemen belonging to the hospital 

being desirous of improving in the accomplishment of dancing," Thacher and his 

friends actually hired a teacher and every 

afternoon worked with him to prepare themselves to "figure in a ballroom." [n the 

spring of 1778, with the patient load still 

steadily decreasing, the decision was made 

to move most of the Albany staff and supplies down the Hudson to the West Point 

area, since it was expected that in the future 

major Continental operations would not 

take place in the Northern Department. On 

5 June, therefore, the staff, except for three 

doctors who stayed behind to care for the 

remaining patients, and the facility's stores 

were embarked on a sloop and taken down 

the Hudson. Two days after its departure, 

the unit stopped at Fishkill to replenish its 

food supply and on 10 June was ready to 

install itself on the east bank of the Hudson 

across from West Point. Large houses surrounded by extensive farms and gardens 

had been found for the hospital facilities to 

be established there ; good pasture for horses 

and cows abounded, and a number of large 

orchards offered several kinds of fruit. The 

principal house used by the Hospital Department here was referred to as Robinson's 

House, after the wealthy Tory Col. Beverly 

Robinson, from whom it was confiscated 

following his flight to New York City." 

THE EASTERN DEPARTM ENT 

Despite several British raids in the area, 

there was no major action in the department 

east of the Hudson River in the period June 

1777 to June 1778, and there were few patients for Eastern Department hospitals to 

treat, only 383 being reported there in late 

November 1777. Dr. Isaac Foster had been 

placed in charge of this department in April 
98 THE ARM Y M E Die A L 0 EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

PHILIP TURNER. (From Packard, History, J: 

565,' reproduced from Charles B. Graves, 

"Dr. Philip Turner 0/ Norwich, emU/eeriCIII." Annals of Medical HiSiory 10 ( 1928J. 

Courtesy oj Harper & Row, Publishers. 

{nc.) 

1777 with physicians Ammi Ruhamah Cutter and Philip Turner as his Physician General and his Surgeon General, respectively, 

and Dr. William Burnet as his Physician and 

Surgeon Gencral of the Army. Cutter apparently resigned his position in March 

1778.

73 

The hospitals within this department included units at Danbury, to which the Stamford hospital had been moved, Hartford 

and New London, Connecticut, Providence 

and Newport, Rhode Island, Boston, Massachusetts, and Fishkill and Peekskill, New 

York. The assignment of patients to appropriate hospitals was the responsibility of 

Burnet, who also received reports from regimental surgeons reputed to be often careless 

with their reporting. Turner apparently 

made his headquarters at Danbury, where a 

five-room building housed the hospital, and 

traveled a 400-mile circuit to visit lesser 

units. 74 

The hospitals in his department, Foster 

maintained, were in excellent condition and 

"the sick soldiers are as anxious this year, 

to be admitted into them, as they were last, 

to avoid them." Rush believed Foster's 

division to be so superabundantly supplied 

with linen, bedding, and similar items that 

he suggested that the Director General send 

someone to New England to bring back a 

portion of their plenty to the Middle Department. 75 

The only real concern for the medical staff 

of the Eastern Department lay in the possibility of a smallpox epidemic among newly 

arrived troops during the active part of the 

campaign season, since, as noted in the sec~ 

tion on health at Valley Forge, inoculation 

was not undertaken during the summer. As 

early as July 1777, therefore, Maj. Gen. 

Israel Putnam, commanding in the Peekskill, 

New York, area, ordered the immediate hospitalization and isolation of all who so much 

as seemed to be infected with the disease. 

Inoculation was undertaken in the late winter 

and early spring of 1778, however, and the 

existing records do not mention any type of 

epidemic in this department in the period 

June 1777 to June 1778. Foster was able to 

comment in March 1778 that "we do very 

little here." 7. 

The 1777- 78 season was characterized by 

inactivity in the Eastern Department and the 

end of large-scale operations in the North, 

but the Hospital Department had no reason 

to expect that their work would be easier in 

thc 1778- 79 season. The Continental doctors 

and their patients from General Washington's army had endured another year of 

agony, and the sickly condition of the men 

as they left Valley Forge gave little reason 

for optimism. 
5 

From Defeat to Victory, June 1778 to 1783 

For three years after the battle of Monmouth in June 1778, the major operations 

of the Continental Army took place in the 

South, where the organization of the Hospital Department was either weak or nonexistent. The successful siege of British-held 

Yorktown , Virgini a, by a combined FrenchContinental force in the early autumn of 

178 1, however, brought an end to all significant military activity in the American 

Revolution, while the signing of the Treaty 

of Paris in the early autumn of 17 83 was 

followed by the disbanding of both the 

Continenta l Army and its Hospital Department. 

NORT H OF T H E P OTOMAC: 

BEFORE T H E VI CTORY 

AT YO R K T O W N 

After evacuating Philadelphia in June 1778, 

the British forces withdrew to New York 

City, on their way defeating an attempt by 

the Americans to stop them at Monmouth, 

New Jersey. (M ap 6) After the ba ttIe of 

Monmouth, General Washington also led 

his men north and established his headquarters at Wh ite Plains, New York. General Washington's army saw little action 

in the North fr0111 this point onward,l and 

the number of wounded was correspondingly 

small, but shortages of food, clothing, and 

supplies continued to have an unfavorable 

effect upon both the health of the army and 

the suffering of the patients in Continental 

hospitals. 

The wounded from the battle at Monmouth were initially cared for in nearby 

buildings, including a courthouse and 

churches, where they lay upon straw on the 

fl oor. Many fe ll victim to thc heat during 

the battle, and as the army continued 

northward, the number of thosc unable to 

keep up the pace without medical ca re in ~ 

creased, the temperaturcs being so high 

that a "vast number of our men fell down 

with the Hea t ... & Died." Early in July, 

Genera l Washington, concerned lest the 

army's mobility be impeded by attcmpts to 

carry the sick and wounded with it, ordered 

that they be sent to a barracks in thc town 

of Brunswick, New Jersey, and that the 

director of the flying hospital inform him at 

once how many of these men were left 

behind. Many who became ill after early 

July appear to have been carried along for 

a short time in wagons but at the end of 

the month were sent back to hospitals at 

Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey. It appears th at somewhere in the course of the 

march to White Plains, men were also hospitalized at Springfield, New Jersey, in accommodations General Washington considered inadequatc. Only one Hospital Department physician could be spared fo r this 

facility, but a regimental surgeon was as~ 

signed to assist him . Thc number of patients 

here rose to 200 before thcse men could be 

moved to the hospital opened at Morristown, New Jersey.2 

In returning to New York State, General 

Washington's men crossed from the Middle 

into the Eastern Department, where Dr. 

Isaac Foster was the Deputy Director and 

Dr. William Burnet the Physician and Sur-
100 THE ARM Y M E DI e A L D E PAR T M F. NT . 1775 - 1 8 1 8 

...>....,,--1-- - - -

MIDDLE 

DEPARTMENT 

PENNSYLVANIA 

~ Schaefferstown 0 

p~ ." .~ 

~$ -9 0 Lititz 

MARYLAND 

Reading 

o 

French Creek 

o 

Downingtown 

o 

10 

m 

Yellow Springs 

o 

\~ "'h1(','V ~ 1 » 

BALTIM ORE 

\~ 

MAP6 

NORTHERN 

DEPARTMENT 

NEW YORK 

New Hackens(J ck 

New 

o 

Windsor r?shkill 

Otterkill o 0 

West Point 0 

....... Robinson House 

~ Peekskill 

'- \ 

_ .. -~7~L-· Basking Ridge 8/ Springfield V'f 

o 0 NEW 

Pluckemin 

0 

Bound In t;d1;: 

Middlebrook Cf::yBrook V 

.0 Brunswick 

Princeton 

o 

o Tren ton 

o 

NEW JERSEY 
Ciz. 5) Defeat to Victory : JIIlle 1778- 1783 101 

/ MASSACHUSETTS 

Springfield I ~ 

t- ----u\ o EASTERN-I - '--

I 8 

I ~ I 

I <fenbury 

I p'OV'den' 1 

DEPARTMENT \ RHODE 

CONNECTICUT I ISLAN :u l\ 

~blNoWP"" \ ""'~ . 

Conanicui .... nd 

I 

Bedford 

• :> 

o 9 poundridge 

\/~ 

~ 

8, 

HOSPITAL LOCATIONS 

lnS-I783 

o ~ 

L' ___ ==-__ -.JI 

MILES 
102 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, 1775 - 1 8 1 8 

geon General of the Army. Dr. John Cochran, however, was still attached to General 

Washington's army as Physician and Surgeon General of the Army. The situation 

was further complicated by the fact that 

many surgeons from the Northern Department were still working in th is area. Rather 

than grant eilher Cochran or Burnet supreme authority over fl ying and regimental 

ho:;pitals there, Genera l Washington ordered 

that they share the responsibility. Burnet 

apparently signed many, if not all, of the 

weekly returns submitted concerning these 

fac ilitics,3 but there does not seem to have 

been any friction between the two men. 

Reports of the laLe summer of 1778 

signed by Burnet as Physician and Surgeon 

General of General Washington's army suggest that the number of the sick within 

General Washington's army was running at 

1,200 to 1,450 men per week, but not all 

of the sick soldiers were retained in the 

hospitals within the camp and the monthly 

strength report for the period indicates that 

the rate may have been 17 to 20 percent. 

On 12 September, a group of patients was 

moved to the genera l hospital at Fishkill. 

Water transportation was frequently resorted to for such moves, many of the patients on this occasion going by land to 

Tarrytown and thence by water to Fishkill. 

Those able to walk went on foot to Peekskill, where they boarded boats for the 

same destination, while their packs were 

sent separately by the Tarrytown route.' 

Little detail is available on the management of medical support for the unsuccessful 

attempt by the Continental Army on Newport, Rhode Island, conducted from 29 

July to 31 August 1778, but we know that 

the care of the 137 American wounded was 

assigned to Dr. Thomas Tillotson of the 

staff of the Northern Department and to an 

assistant, also drawn from the Northern 

Department staff. Tillotson reported to Foster, from whom he was ordered to obtain 

his medicine, instruments, and "such things 

as may be thought necessary in the formation of a military and flying hospital." 5 

When it was time in late 1778 to establish winter camp, several units remained behind at Peekskill, Fishkill, and West Point, 

New York, and three brigades wintered at 

Danbury, Connecticut, but the bulk of General Washington's army marched south to 

winter camp at Middlebrook, New Jersey, 

in late November. A total of seven brigades 

spent the winter there, while an eighth 

camped at Paramus, New Jersey. Information on the precise nature of the hospital 

facilities serving troops in New Jersey during this winter is not plentiful, but it appears 

that some patients were housed in nearby 

churches, barns, and a courthouse, while 

others were sent to the hospital at Brunswick. There seem also to have been physicians caring for Middlebrook patients at 

Bound Brook.· 

There was remarkably little sickness in 

the Continental Army north of Virginia in 

the years 1779 and 1780, perhaps as a 

combined result of inoculation for smallpox, a drop in the proportion of green to 

seasoned troops in the Army, and efforts 

to improve sanitation and discipline. Since 

the health of his army while it camped at 

Middlebrook did not demand all the time 

of the regimental surgeons there, General 

Washington was able to decide that it 

would be wise if they were to spend some 

of it improving their professional knowledge 

and skills. A series of lectures was planned, 

with the first to be conducted by Dr. William Brown, Physician General of the Middle Department, in February. The general 

observed that "All regimental surgeons are 

desired to attend." j 

In May 1779, General Washington led 

his men out of winter camp toward West 

Point, New York, after ordering that the 

huts they had been using be left standing 

for the benefit of those too ill to keep up 

with their fellows. After the army reached 

West Point, the number hospitalized with-
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: Illtle 1778-1783 103 

in the camp at anyone time often fan 

higher than 300, with 20 to 30 percent of 

this number classified as convalescent. A 

comparable number might be described as 

lame. Well over 10 percent of the total in 

the hospitals within the camp were suffering 

from intermittent fevers, but putrid fever 

does not seem to have been a serious threat 

at this time.s 

In the fall of 1779, Virginia and Carolina 

troops were sent south toward their own 

states, where enemy invasion was anticipated, and other units again camped for 

the winter along the Hudson River or in 

Connecticut, but the main body of the army 

left the Highlands of the Hudson in late 

November and arrived at the camp at Jockey Hollow, about three miles south of Morristown, early in December.o 

These men were already in poor condition and without adequate food, clothing, 

or fucl, and now. since they were not using 

the site of the 1776- 77 encampment, there 

were no huts available to house them when 

they arrived. With the snow lying two feet 

deep around them, they had to lie on the 

bare earth. For more than a week after their 

arrival at camp, there was no bread for 

them to eat. to 

During the winter of 1779- 80, rivers 

froze solid and temperatures reportedly 

dropped lower than they had been in 

decades. The four to six feet of snow which 

sometimes covered the ground interfered 

with the transportation and delivery of supplies and occasional thaws only turned 

roads into quagmires. Food had been hard 

to obtain even before the onset of winter 

because the drought of the previous summer 

had lowered both crop yields and the 

level of the water wh ich powered flour 

mills. Now the frozen streams of winter 

again made milling im possible and, for a 

long period of time, adequate stocks of 

clothing were still unavailable. By spring, 

the army was near starvation and mutinies 

were beginning to break out. Il 

Surprisingly, however, in view of the conditions at the camp, there were relatively 

few patients in the hospitals serving Morristown in the winter of 1779- 80. In February 

1780, approximately 3.5 percent of the 

slightly more than 11 ,500 men at Morristown were reported seriously enough ill to 

be hospitalized and perhaps more than twice 

this number of the sick were cared for within their own quarters. Those men who did 

requ ire prolonged hospitalization were sent 

to the nearby general hospitals at Basking 

Ridge (also spelled Baskinridge or Baskenridge) or Pluckemin, but in the period I 

March to I April 1780, 670 men, or 60 

percent of the total requiring hospitalization, 

did not leave the care of the regimental and 

flying hospital surgeons. Only eighty-six died 

from 17 December 1779 to 3 June 1780. 

These patients were housed in regular huts 

rat her than in especially designed structures, 

and the huts assigned during the winter to 

the Pennsylvania Line were taken over in 

June 1780 to serve as a general hospital for 

the patients who had to be left behind when 

the army left its winter encampment. Dr. 

James Tilton has been traditionally credited 

with having designed the Morristown hospital huts, but recent research has shown 

that Tilton's design was apparently used 

only once during this winter, not at Morristown but for an experimental general hospital building at Basking Ridge, near Morristown. 12 

The troops remaining along the Hudson 

during the 1779- 80 winter apparently fared 

no better than those at Morristown. Severe 

snowstorms began late in November and 

alternated with freezing rain throughout 

December. The effects of the weather upon 

the men led Maj. Gen. William Heath to 

comment that among the men spending the 

winter there, the number who froze to death 

rivaled the number returning to the army 

aner treatment at the New Windsor hospital. 13 

As far as the Hospital Department was 
Cil. 5] Defeat to Victory: June 1778-1783 105 

ROBINSON'S HOUSE. From the Ilumber 0/ palielLls reportedly cared for here, it might be 

assumed that other buildings ill the same area were also llsed to house patients. (From 

Duncan, Medical Men.) 

concerned, conditions did not improve markedly with the coming of summer. In August, Dr. James Craik commented that 

"There is a large army without stores, surgeons or any thing comfortable for the 

sick & wounded." 14 The number of sick 

grew as the summer progressed, but there 

continued to be little for patients to eat. 

By early August, the hospital at Robinson's 

House, across the Hudson from West Point, 

held 126 sick and hungry men. Discipline 

and organization, furthermore, were so poor 

that, although Cochran urgen tly needed 

surgeons, doctors who could have helped 

him were in Philadelphia and, the Medical 

Comm ittee was informed, had "no visible 

employment." U 

The main part of General Washington's 

ragged army remained in New York for the 

winter of 1780- 81. Conditions were so poor 

that mutinies began to break out once again 

in early January 178 1. It was at this difficult 

time that Director Gencral William Shippen resigned. 'U 

Figures in the Hospital Department reports which have survived from this period 

do not agree with the corresponding Army 

monthly returns. Although at the end of 

March 1781, for example, the return of the 

new Director General, John Cochran, listed 

a total of 288 patients remaining in regimental and Hying hospitals, the official 

monthly return submitted by General Washington listed only 251 "sick present." The 
104 TH E ARM Y ME DI e A L DE PAR T MEN T . 1 775 - 1 8 1 8 

TIL TONS J{OSpITA L 

MORRISTOWN' 

/ 7 ~ O. 

H OSPITAL H UT D ESIGN ED BY DR. JAMES TILTON. (From Dunca1l, Medical Mea.) 
106 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

following May, however, when Cochran reported a total of 398 men and 40 women 

and children being cared for by all of the 

Army's hospitals, the official return recorded 

a total of 723 under the care of surgeons, 

406 "sick present," and 208 "sick absent" 

among the rank and file and 109 in both 

categories among the commissioned and noncommissioned on-icers. The official monthly report for June listed 566 sick in all 

categories, but the figure given by Cochran 

for June is 408, with 218 of these in the 

flying hospital. The discrepancies in the reports of anyone given mantI:> may, of 

course, reflect differing base dates for the 

reports, in accurate reporting at one or more 

levels, the inadvertent omission of one or 

more units from one of the overall monthly 

returns, or shifts in unit assignments between 

the times of composition of the different 

returns. Of the 288 listed by Cochran as 

remaining in the regimental and flying hospitals of the Army for March 178 1, 43 were 

termed ulame," 18 "rheumatic," and 14 

"venereal." In May, 41 of the 142 in the 

flying hospital were suffering from "casual 

hurts," 19 were convalescent, 16 suffering 

from intermittent and remittent fevers, and 

6 from smallpox." 

In June 1781, while preparing for operations against New York City, General Washington ordered his regimental surgeons to 

send to the hospital at Robinson's House all 

patients unable to move with the army, except for those with smallpox, who were to 

be isolated in the huts used during the previous winter by New Hampshire troops. IS It 

might be noted that this order for all practical purposes converted Robinson's House 

into a general hospital. 

In July 1781 , when the rate of sickness 

appears to have dropped below 11 percent, 

two flying hospitals were listed in Director 

General Cochran's records, without any 

description or commentary to distinguish 

between the two, one having forty-one patients remaining at the end of the month 

and the other twenty-one. In the August 

report, Cochran listed a flying hospital with 

102 remaining at the cnd of that month 

and another 207 patients remaining with 

the "Army east" of the Hudson. Since General Washington, discouraged about operations against New York City, received word 

in August that he could have the support 

of the French force under Rear Admiral 

de Grasse for an attack on the British in 

eastern Virginia, by October there was a 

flying hospital at Yorktown. Reports from 

the army east of the Hudson continued to 

come in, however, since forty-four remained 

hospitalized there after forty-nine were sent 

on to a general hospital·· 

Although the men camped along the Hudson saw no major action after the summer 

of 1778, Indian and Loyalist attacks on 

American settlements at Wyoming, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River and at 

Cherry Valley, New York, on the Mohawk 

River in 1778, led in 1779 to a coordinated 

campaign under the overall command of 

Maj. Gen. John Sullivan against the perpetrators of these massacres. (Map 7) General Sullivan personally led 2,500 men based 

a t Easton, Pennsylvania. Brig. Gen. James 

Clinton commanded 1,5 00 men from New 

York State and Col. Daniel Brodhead 600 

men based at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania. General Clinton's units left Albany in the spring 

of 1779 to establish a base at Canajoharie, 

New York, and then moved southwest to the 

Susquehanna River. They followed the river 

to Tioga, where they met General Sullivan's 

mcn. Colonel Brodhead, however, because 

of his inability to obtain adequate guides, 

failed to meet the Sullivan-Clinton force at 

Genesee, New York, as had been planned. 

Before undertaking these operations, General Sullivan established a hospital unit at 

Easton and ordered his regimental surgeons 

to provide the necessary medicines for those 

whose health would not permit them to accompany the expedition. Many of these patients were ill with intermittent fevers which 

were blamed on the overly long baths they 

were accustomed to taking in the river. 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: JlIne 1778- 1783 107 

IROQUOIS NATION 

N. Y . 

PA. 

MAP 7 

. .£=-==-

WESTERN 

PENNSYLVANIA 

o 

\\ 

t:8yuga 

L~lf.e 

\ 

\ 

I 

I 

Sunbury 

General Sullivan was among those whose 

health was precarious at this time, but although his condition seems to have gradually 

worsened, he continued with his men 

throughout the entire campaign.20 

Leaving Easton, General Sullivan's men 

moved on to Sunbury, where Dr. Francis 

SULLIVAN EXPEDITION 

1779 

~ - - - - Route of advance 

+--- - - - - Route of return 

o W I , 

NEW YORK 

MILES 

Cherry Valley 

o 

PENNSYLVANIA 

NEW 

JERSEY 

Alison was in the process of creating a 

general hospital to care for their casualties, 

arriving there on 21 June. Two days later 

they continued on up the Susquehanna River 

toward Wyoming. At Wyoming, General 

Sullivan ordered his regimental surgeons to 

report about their patients to the "Senr. 
108 THE ARMY MEDICAL D EPARTMENT, 1775 - 1 818 

Surgeon to Ihe Flying Hospital" once a 

week." An officer noted while here that 

'·A No. of the troops" were down with 

"the dissentary." 22 In mid-July, the sick at 

Wyoming were moved " to the genl Hospital 

under the Direction of Doc!. McCrca," but 

whether McCrea's unit was the hospital 

which seems to have remained at Wyoming 

after General Sullivan's troops left is not 

clear. 23 

Both before leaving Wyoming to continue his northward march and after arriving 

at Tioga on 31 July, General Sullivan continued to plan the details of his order of 

march. He decided that the Surgeon General, by whom he presumably meant the 

head of the flying hospital, should remain 

by his side, the surgeons attached to the 

flying hospital, with their mates, should 

march at the rear of the entire army, and 

the regimental surgeons should remain at 

the rear of their respective brigades or regiments. 2-4 

While awaiting General Clinton's arrival 

at Tioga, General Sullivan's men built a 

small fort which was duly named Fort Sullivan. Here also plans were mClde for the 

operations of the next few weeks and regimental surgeons were ordered to obtain the 

supplies they believed they would need from 

McCrea. T he problem of supplying milk 

for those staying at Tioga was among the 

difficulties most easily met; by a decisic 

worthy of Solomon, a cow whose ownership was being disputed by two officers was 

confiscated for the benefit of the hospital" 

On 26 August, after General Clinton's arrival at Tioga, General Sullivan, although he 

was by this time too ill to ride his horse, 

led the force north once again, leaving 250 

able-bodied men behind to guard the hospital. Three days later, they defeated a 

combined Indian-Loyalist force near the 

village of Newtown and suffered about forty 

casualties. These men, along with those 

few who had fallen ill since leaving Tioga, 

were sent back to Fort Sullivan by water, 

along with the heavy artillery and ammunition wagons, all of which threatened the 

maneuverability of the force . As the expedition continued forward, this procedure 

was repeated, patients being sent back to 

Tioga each time, usually by water, with a 

small guard to ensure their safety on the 

trip.20 

After reaching Genesee on 14 September 

and fa iling to encounter Colonel Brodhead's 

men, the expedition turned back toward 

Tioga, arriving there 30 September. On 3 

October, the sick and wounded were sent 

on to Wyoming by water. When the main 

army passed through that town, a small 

group of officers was left behind to conduct 

them to Easton." 

An officer from the Sullivan expedition 

estimated that the total casualty list, including both the wounded and those dead because of enemy action or disease, did not 

exceed fifty. The total number of those who 

became ill at some time during the expedition, however, is difficult to estimate, although one authority suggests a figure 

approaching 450'8 

Patients not on ly from General Sullivan's 

army but also from that of General Washington necessitated the opening or expanding 

of a number of general hospitals even when 

some of those in operation in the winter 

of 1777- 78 were being closed down . In the 

rail of 1778, Shippen was confident that the 

few hospitals remaining in both the Middle 

Department and the Eastern Department 

were functioning well. Only six months later, 

however, a Hospital Department physician 

stated that while he agreed that the Middle 

Department was "really now upon a respectable rooting," in the Northern and Eastern 

Departments, "everything is carried on, as 

in the beginning, with wild anarchy and 

uproar." 2{l 

In the Middle Department, by the fall of 

1778, a number of the older units in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were apparently 

closed or on the verge of closing, but in the 
Cil. 5] Defeat to Victory: Jlllle 1778- /783 109 

following three years, others within the department opened in response to the needs of 

the Army's operations. 

The Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, hospital was caring for seventy patients in early 

August of 1778 but does not appear in later 

records. A unit at French Creek, Pennsylvania, held 130 patients in September and 

89 a month later. It is possible that this 

unit was later included in reports as a 

part of the Yellow Springs hospital, but it 

does not appea r under its own name after 

October. There was also a unit at Downingtown , Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia, in 

the summer of 1778, where in early August 

there were approximately seventy patients, 

but further information on this facility, too, 

is lacking. The Lititz, Pennsylvania, hospital was closed in late August 1778 and 

its patients were moved to Yellow Springs. 

The unit at Reading, Pennsylvania, was 

closed as of I January 1779, although hospital stores were apparently still being kept 

there the following spring.'· 

The facility at Yellow Springs was 

destined through the two years following 

1778 to take in all the patients still remaining in other Pennsylvania hospitals outside 

of Phil adelphia. In O ctober 1778, there 

were 115 recorded at Yellow Springs; after 

this point, the number there began to decline. The unit continued to be highly regarded, however, and the Reverend Dr. 

James Sproat recorded his belief that " the 

hospitals ra re 1 well provided for, and the 

gentlemen take good care of the sick," 

despite the fact that Dr. Bodo Otto, director 

of the unit, continued to find it necessary to 

plead fo r stores and clothing for his patients 

and salaries for his sta ff.l l 

By mid-I780 only fifty-one patients were 

still at the Yellow Springs hospital, all of 

whom were suffering from "chronic affections." In September 1781, when fewer than 

thirty patients could be found there, even 

before the victory at Yorktown, the Continental Congress finally ordered the Yellow 

Springs hospital closed and the remaining 

patients moved to Philadelphia .'" 

In July 1778, not long after the British 

evacuated Philadelphia, the Hospital Department reopened its facility in the Bettering House there. Dr. Jonathan Potts and 

Dr. Thomas Bond, Jr. , then arranged with 

the managers of the privately owned Philadelphia Hospital to use that institution's 

"elaboratory" as i.I Hospital Department 

pharmacy. In September, Bond, whose 

father was one of the founders of the 

Philadelphia Hospital, also arranged to have 

some of the Army's convalescents taken in 

there, agreeing to give the hospital control 

over what cases could be admitted. The 

Army was to be held responsible for bedding 

and provisions as well as for the pay of 

nurses. 33 

The charity hospital in Philadelphia appears to have served as an emergency overflow facility for the department's Bettering 

House several times during the last years 

of the Revolution. In the spring of 1779. 

fo r example, the Bettering House was again 

overcrowded, and in late March a department spokesman asked the Philadelphia 

Hospital to take in more convalescents. On 

this occasion the hospital board refused to 

do so and referred scathingly to the " Inexpediency and impropriety of the request." 

The board maintained that it had been assured that the use of the laboratory was all 

that would be asked of it." The behavior of 

soldier-patients appears to have been the 

principal cause of the board's wrath , since 

when Bond agreed to have a physici an remain with Continental patients and to personally "do everything in his power to 

restrain the Soldiery, and prevent their 

committing damages and behaving irregularly," he was able to obtain a reversal of 

the adverse decision . Bond also agreed to 

try to have these convalescent soldiers out 

of the Philadelphia Hospital within six 

weeks and to guarantee that no patient with 

an infectious disease would be brought in. 
110 THE ARM Y ME D teA L D Ii PAR T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

On this occasion the department used only 

a garret and a lower ward and again provided bedd ing and food as well as firewood 

and other necessities. On 16 June 1779, 

having removed the Army's patients from 

the charity hospital, Bond was earelul to 

thank the board [or the use o[ the hospital's 

rooms. During the next year, the number 

of patients in the Hospital Department's facilities flu ctuated, from a high of 130 in 

December 1779 to a low 01 4 in May 1780. 

Once ngain in the summer of 1781, Hospital Department facilities in Philadelphia 

were so crowded that the department turned 

to the Philadelphia Hospital for help with 

its patients, who included about ninety sick 

British prisoners. This time it was the 

Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris 

who worked out an agreement with the hospital board which permitted the department 

to send soldiers to that institution. The 

department was to pay 15 shillings a week 

for each man and to agree that military 

patients would be required to obey the 

hospital's rules.35 

[n 1780, the Continental Congress urged 

its Medical Committee to move the department hospital out of Philadelphia to a site 

where the cost of living would be lower. 

Nevertheless, although by 1780 there were 

more hospitals in New Jersey than in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia remained the site both 

of a department hospital and of a hospital 

stores warehouse. The number of patients 

there may well have remained small, however, until the fall of 1781. when from the 

eight reported in July, the number rose in 

September to seventy-two and in October to 

eighty-five 'G There was also a general 

hospital at Baltimore, Maryland, which 

stayed open through the summer of 1778. 

In August of that year, this facility began 

to dismiss its last patients, furloughing some 

and distributing the rest among relatives, so 

that by September it was no longer in 

operation.

37 

The old New Jersey hospitals at Trenton 

and Princeton appear only sporadically in 

reports dating from mid-I778 to the end of 

178 1. (See Map 6.) Twenty patients were 

at Trenton on December 1779, ten at the 

end of March 178 I , and nine a month later. 

The Princeton hospital may have been open 

in the summer of 1778, at which time a 

typhus epidemic was reported raging there, 

but it does not appear in the reports of any 

later period. Also mentioned in the records 

surv iving from 1778-79 was the unit at 

Brunswick which cared for some of the 

men who fell ill after the battle of Monmouth and served the Middlebrook camp 

the following winter.'s 

Among the new hospitals set up in the 

Middle Department in the last years of the 

war were three faci lities in Pennsylvania, 

which cared almost exclusively for patients 

from General Sullivan's campaign against 

the Indians and Loyalists, and two in New 

Jersey which managed the care of General 

Washington's sick and wounded. 

According to the 6 October 1779 report of Director General Shippen, the three 

fixed hospitals serving patients from the 

various units operating against the Indians 

and Tories in 1779 were at Fort Pitt, Pennsylvania, which presumably ca red for 

Colonel Brodhead's casualties, at Sunbury, 

Pennsylvania, and at Fort Sullivan at Tioga, 

Pennsylvania. (See Map 7. ) The records of 

the Fort Pitt and Tioga facilities are few, 

while those of the Sunbury hospital, more 

numerous, are not always entirely legible. 

Shippen listed thirty patients at Fort Pitt 

and thirty-seven at Fort Sullivan on 6 

October 1779. On 31 December he recorded 

thirty still at Fort Pitt but made no refer-

"ence to any patients remaining at the Tioga 

facility, which was evacuated early in the 

fall at the conclusion of the campaign. The 

returns from the Sunbury unit began in the 

summer of 1779. They indicate that during 

the following months only a minority of 

Sunbury's patients were suffering from 

wounds. Of the 165 patients remaining there 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: JIIlle 1778- 1783 111 

on 22 September 1779, for example, the 

diagnosis in 3 1 instances was bilious fever, 

in II diarrhea, and in 19 dysentery, but 

only 33 were listed as wounded. In the fall, 

with the campaign over, the number of 

patients at Sunbury began to drop, reaching 

28 by mid-December 1779, and the proportion classified as convalescent to rise 

until it reached over 50 percent early in 

1780.30 

The conditions most frequently bringing 

sick mcn to Sunbury included a high proportion of dysentery and diarrheal ike ailments, although by the autumn of 1779 this 

type of illness appcared less frequently. 

Other diseases seen in significant quantity 

were "lues veneria," bilious and intermittent 

fevers, rheumatism, and ophthalmia.-&o 

By mid-April 1780, when the last report 

to be found among the papers of the physician who directed the Sunbury unit was 

prepared, only twelve patients remained 

there, four being convalescent, five wounded, 

and one each suffering from dysentery, 

asthma, and rheumatism. Precisely when 

this hospital finally closed its doors is not 

known, but since plans were being laid for 

its termination as early as October 1779,41 

we can perhaps assume it did not remain 

open much after the spring of 1780, when 

its patient load had become quite small. 

The three new general hospitals opened 

in New Jersey first appeared in records 

dating from 1779. (See Map 6.) Two, 

those at Basking Ridge and at Pluckemin, 

were destined to care for patients during 

the grim winter spent by General Washington's men at Morristown . The latter unit 

was opened in the summer of 1779 when 

the general ordered that patients who were 

being cared for in barns in the vicinity of 

the Middlebrook camp be moved to the huts 

which had been used during the preceding 

winter by the artillerymen of Brig. Gen. 

Henry Knox at Pluckemin. By October 

1779, ninety-eight patients were on the 

rolls of the new hospital. 42 

The second New Jersey hospital serving 

Morristown opened in the winter of 1779-

80 at Basking Ridge, under Tilton's direction. Here a log building on a hill near a 

brook appears to have been Tilton's famed 

experimenta l hospital hut. It was apparently 

Basking Ridge's main building, since thc 

facility could hold more than half of thc 

maximum number of fifty-five patients rcported being cared for at Basking Ridge at 

one time, Among the features of this structure were smaller units than those usually 

found , packed earth floors, walls without 

windows, and a fireplace in each section, the 

smoke from which left the room by means of 

a fo ur-inch hole in the roof. As many as 

twenty-eight patients were placed here, with 

their feet toward the fire.43 

While the number of patients at the 

Pluckemin facility increased throughout 

early 1780, that at Basking Ridge declined. 

The two hospitals, however, shared a common problem at this time in the form of 

patients who, upon recovery, chose 10 desert 

rather than return to duty,44 By summer, 

the patient load at both hospitals had begun 

to fall off until on 1 July 1780 they held 

only fift y-three patients between thcm. 

Begi nning in the summer of 1780, the 

huts serving the Pennsylvania Line during 

the second Morristown encampment were 

taken over for a third New Jersey general 

hospital, established to care for the sick who 

were left in camp when the army returned 

to New York State. The huts at Morristown 

were small and in very bad condition, 

partially because of the "d isorderly Behavior of the Patients," Only in a few instances were the individual compartments 

large enough to hold three men. Most of the 

huts did not provide adequate shelter from 

the ra in and snow. Nevertheless, in the fall 

of 1780, patients from units in the area of 

Paramus, New Jersey, which was considered 

to be th reatened by possible enemy action, 

were ordered moved to Morristown. In 

January 178 1, Dr. Malachi Treat, reporting 
112 THE AR M Y MEDICAL DEPARTM ENT , 1775 - 1 8 18 

on the situation at the Pennsylvania huts, 

urged that the patients at Morristown be 

transfe rred to Trenton. He pointed out that, 

in addi tion to its thirty-five patients, the 

unit was encumbered by many women and 

children "who are a Nuisance at present." 

By March 1781, there were only nineteen 

patients in the huts, six of whom were classified as convalescent and five as wounded, 

and no new patients were being admitted. 

The number of patients continued to go 

down, and in June the hospital was closcd. 45 

In theory, the setting of the Hudson River 

as the boundary between the Middle and 

Eastern Departments should have prevented 

any confusion over the extent of the au w 

thority of the head of the Eastern Depart" 

ment. The documents of the period, however, show Foster, the Deputy Director for 

the Eastern Department, exercising authority over storage facilities on the west bank 

of the Hudson. The hospital at Fishkill , to 

the east of the river, on the other hand, 

seems to have been in some ways independent of the Eastern Department. How 

much this confusion of authority added to 

the dissension which characterized th is department in the years 1778- 80 cannot be 

ascertained, but the personal antagonisms 

prevailing among Eastern Department physicians at this time were a matter of record.-IG 

Named without indication of state on an 

Eastern Department return of the fall of 

1778 were hospitals at Boston , Bedford, 

Pound ridge, Springfield, Fishkill, and Danbury. It was a 1780 return, however, that 

listed Fishkill but maintained that no report 

had been received from the Eastern Department. Furthermore, a Middle Department 

physician, Dr. Charles McKnight, was in 

charge at Fishkill. This hospital had at least 

one small claim to fame; it was here that 

Cochran attended the Marquis de Lafayette 

while that nobleman was seriously ill with a 

fever.-I7 

The Fishkill unit was still in operation in 

mid- 1781 and its patients numbered as 

many as forty-five. The diseases found here 

included rheumatism and venereal diseases 

while the number of wounded in 178 1 was 

low, apparently less than half a dozen. By 

July 17 81, however, the decision to close 

the Fishkill hospital had been made." 

Two more Hudson River hospitals were 

those at New Windsor and at Robinson's 

House, but considerable confusion exists 

concerning both their status and the details 

of their operation. The New Windsor facility, located at this time in a church large 

enough to accommodate fifty patients, may 

have served as an administration center for 

some of the other units along the river, since 

Dr. Francis Alison, sent to the area in the 

fall of 1778, worked at Robinson's House, 

on the east bank of the Hudson, but sent his 

returns in to New Windsor.-10 The Robin· 

son's House hospital was still referred to as a 

flying hospital, despite the fa ct that on a return of May 1781, it was listed separately 

from the flying hospitaL' · The overall capacity of the Robinson's House unit seems to 

have been comparable to that of the hospital 

at New Windsor, and in the summer of 

1780, when it held 126, it was considered to 

be seriously overcrowded. This condition 

was relieved by sending some of these men 

to FishkilL" 

At some point in the winter of 1780- 8 1, 

both the Robinson's House and the New 

Windsor units appear to have been closed, 

for in July 187 1, before General Washington's arm y moved south to besiege Yorktown, Director General Cochran referred to 

new hospitals which he had only recently 

established at Robinson's House and huts 

formerly used by artillery units at New 

Windsor as well as in the barracks of West 

Point. r.i2 

Reports were again submitted for the unit 

at Robinson's House beginning in May 1781 

and running at least through October of that 

year. The number of patients in that period 

varied from 60 to 142. A high proportion 

of these in the fall were suffering from bilious 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: June 1778- 1783 113 

putrid fever, 57 percent, for example, in 

October. Reports from the New Windsor 

huts apparently began to come in by July 

178 1. The number of patients ranged from 

96 in July to an estimated 250 in October. 

Here, too, the number of cases of bilious 

putrid fever rose sharply with the onset of 

autumn, as did those described as intermittent and remittent fevers. The West Point 

unit was in a barracks and served the garrison there. Of the 135 men hospitalized at 

West Point in the month of September 1781, 

more than half were ill with dysentery." 

Two other hospitals, both quite large and 

located not far from the Hudson River, appear on a single Hospital Department return, that of 6 October 1779, but are never 

mentioned again in the records which have 

survived from that period. The Otterkill 

facility, located quite close to New Windsor 

on the west bank of the river, held 112 

patients at this time. (See Map 6.) It was 

not identical with the New Windsor facility, 

wh ich was listed sepa rately on the same rcport. There is no indication given as to why 

the existence of such a large facility as that 

at Otterkill should have been so brief. The 

second of these two units, at New Hackensack, on the east side of the Hudson, was 

comparable in size to that at Otterkill, and 

its origins and fa te are equally mysterious." 

A large number of hospitals of varying 

size also operated in New England in the 

period 1778- 81. Among the largest of these 

was the unit at Danbury, Connecticut, which 

admitted 938 patients in the course of 

September and October 1778. (See Map 6.) 

Of these, 69 died and 7 I 6 were dismissed 

as cured. Of the 294 remaining at the end 

of October, 208 were classified as convalescents. Some of the men at Danbury were 

probably those transferred there from smaller units to the west whose security was 

considered to be threatened by their proximity to the British in New York City." 

Although no returns exist from Danbury 

after that of 7 November 1778, when 162 

of its 197 patients were convalescent, the 

hospital there continued in operation at 

least through the spring of 1780 and was 

quite possibly still functioning a year later. 

Like the patients at other hospitals in this 

period, those at Danbury suffered from the 

shortages afflicting the Hospital Department, 

particularly a lack of straw for bedding and 

vegetables. " 

At least two other Eastern Department 

units reporting on their patients in the 

early autumn of 1778 seem to have been 

closed by the end of October. One of these 

was at Bedford, New York. (See Map 6.) 

During September and October, Bedford 

admitted 107 patients, 59 of whom were 

considered cured before the unit was closed. 

In August 1780, however, the Bedford hospital was open again and caring for 300 

to 400 patients, according to Dr. William 

Eustis.:i7 

Poundridge, New York, twenty miles 

northeast of White Plains, admitted seventyfour patients in the early fall of 1778, one 

of whom died and only one of whom was 

claimed to have been cured. It is possible 

that this hospital was also considered endangered by its proximity to New York 

City and its patients were moved elsewhere, 

perhaps to Danbury." 

There were at least two other general 

hospitals in Connecticut and one in Rhode 

Island during this period. (See Map 6.) 

The facility at Hartford, established for 

the sick and wounded of units stationed 

near that town, was short-lived. This hospital was closed in March 1779 and its patients were sent to New London. The latter 

unit may also have been closed not long 

after this time, for in the spring of 1780, the 

Continental Congress ordered Shippen to 

open a facility in New London to receive 

such sick prisoners as might be exchanged 

by the British and in so doing made no 

reference to any institution already existing 

there. This unit appears to have been little 

used and was closed in the spring of 1781. 
114 THE ARM Y ME Die A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, I 775 - 1 8 1 8 

Dr. James Thacher in his Military JOl/rnal 

also mentioned a hospital at Providence, 

Rhode Island, operating in 1779, and Dr. 

Philip Turner's 1778 return listed patients 

at a unit at Springfield, in an unmentioned 

state. 51) 

There was a general hospital at Boston, 

Massachusetts, during this entire period, 

under the direction of Dr. John Warren, 

who, like Shippen, conducted classes while 

he served as a member of the Hospital Department. The hospital, like so many others, 

experienced severe supply shortages. Many 

returns in the period complain that no report 

had been received from the Eastern Department, Of, specifically, none from Boston, 

and indications of the capacity of the 

Boston facility were, for this reason, scarce. 

A total of thirty-six patients were being 

cared for there at the end of October 1778 

and thirty-seven in the spring of 178 1.°. 

In the spring of 1778, the days of the 

Albany general hospital, the one remaining 

general hospital in the Northern Department, where Robert Johnston was acting 

as Deputy Director, had seemed numbered. 

(See Chapter 4.) Before the launching of 

the Su lIivan expedition, many of the patients there were chronically ill or permanently crippled. Many of the other patients 

were ready to rejoin their units but unable to 

do so because of a lack of clothing. General Washington attempted to remedy this 

situation early in 1779 by ordering clothing 

sent north and requesting General Clinton 

to be most careful in its distribution. At 

the end of January 1779, Treat, Physician 

General in the Northern Department, maintained that all was going relatively well at 

the "out Post of God's Creations" where 

"your Eyes behold only Dutchmen" in spite 

of the continued lack of money and the 

fact that the clothing ordered for patients 

ready to return to their units had not yet 

arrived.O! 

When General Clinton set out to join 

General Sullivan in the campaign against 

the Indians and Loyalists, he decided to 

leave behind him in charge of the guard for 

the Albany hospital one Captain Gregg, 

the same officer who had earlier survived a 

sca lping. Captain Gregg's wish to join the 

operations aga inst the Indians was not 

granted by General Clinton, who commented that " if the Indians ketches him 

again they will Cut of [sic] his head as 

scalping Can't kill him." 62 

On 6 October 1779, only fifteen patients 

remained at Albany, but from that date to 

3 1 December of that year, the patient load 

increased to 140. During this same period, 

the number of patients at Sunbury dropped 

markedly twice in close succession. The 

number at Albany slowly decreased after 

the end of 1779, reaching 86 by the end 

of February 1780, 62 at the end of March, 

and 35 by early July. By August 1780, it 

was being suggested that although there were 

six surgeons at Albany, one would suffice 

and the others should be sent to where they 

were more needed,63 

All was not well at the Albany hospital 

in the summer of 1780, however, despite 

the plethora of phYSicians. Treat wrote 

the Medical Committee of the Continental 

Congress that "Our hospital is at present 

destitute of everything that can afford Comfort to a sick soldier" and that the hospital 

had no wine, sugar, tea, coffee, rice, or 

molasses and only a little rum, a state of 

affairs which was neither new nor unique.o .. 

The patients at Albany still numbered 

more than thirty in the spring of 1781, and 

a report of May 178 1 added that twentyseven women and children were also being 

cared for by the hospital. Throughout the 

summer and early fall the number of patients at Albany fluctuated between sixty 

and ninety and the recorded diagnoses were 

scattered among many diseases, including 

intermittent and remittent fevers, dysentery 

and diarrhea, rheumatism, and "various 

chronic." " The shortage of supplies continued "and the sick suffer extremely at 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: JlIne 1778- 1783 115 

times for want of provisions," but by the 

summer of 1781 the staff at Albany had 

been reduced to one surgeon and four 

mates. GO 

Smallpox was no longer among the 

diseases most frequently listed by the Army's 

surgeons in any of the departments. The 

lesson taught by the devasting effects of 

smallpox in the early years of the Revolution was not forgotten in the later years 

and care was usually taken, north of the 

Carolinas, once the campaign season was 

out of the way each year, to inoculate 

those who were not already immune to the 

disease, especially if smallpox had already 

begun to appear among the men. The 

women and children accompanying the 

army might also be inoculated and although 

some of the men were not in good condition when subjected to this procedure, the 

death rate was still quite low, in one instance only four of 500.07 

An added responsibility for the Hospital 

Department developed in July 1780, when 

4,000 troops of the French Army under 

the Comte de Rochambeau arrived off New 

England to aid in the fighting against Great 

Britain. In anticipation of their arrival, 

General Washington and the Marquis de 

Lafayeue began in the spring of 1780 to 

plan to acquire appropriate accommodations for patients from the French forces. 

The American general ordered Craik, as his 

personal friend and then Assistant Director 

General in the Middle Department, to take 

over responsibility for the establishment of 

a hospital near Providence, Rhode Island, 

for the new allies and urged specifically 

that Cra ik acquire sufficient space. These 

facilities were to contain room for a kitchen, 

an apothecary shop, storage, a bakery, and 

surgeons' quarters. There should also be 

enough meat and vegetables on hand to 

meet the initial needs of the French 

troops·8 

Craik experienced considerable opposition from Rhode Island citizens, however, 

when he first tried to find the desired facilities. Local inhabitants apparently regarded hospitals as foci of infection and 

were of the opinion that the plague would 

arrive with the French fl eet. At last Rhode 

Island College (now Brown University) in 

Providence surrendered its buildings for this 

purpose. In time, the French created their 

own hospital establishments at other sites, 

including Conanicut Island in Narragansett 

Bay. It was fortunate, indeed, however, 

that the initial housing problems were 

solved by 11 July, when the French fleet 

arrived off Newport, Rhode Island, because 

an estimated 1,700 to 2,600 Frenchmen 

of both the army and the navy were suffering 

from scurvy . The French, furthermore, had 

not been long in Rhode Island before their 

men began to show symptoms of dysentery 

as well. Fortunately. the French Army's 

medical organization was highly developed 

and the physicians were thoroughly capable 

of caring for their own men.

GO 

SOUTH OF THE POTOMA C: 

BEFOR E TH E VtCTORY 

AT YORKTOWN 

As far as the care of sick and wounded 

soldiers was concerned, the SOllth was, until 

March 1781, for all practical purposes 

divided into three sections, on ly one of 

which was a part of the Continental Hospital Department system. (Map 8 ) Although 

its position in relation to the position of 

Director General was at times in dispute, 

the establishment in Virginia was, from its 

inception, a part of the Hospital Department. (See Table I .) In the Carolinas and 

Georgia, however, two separate systems, one 

centered about Charleston, South Carolina, 

and the other covering North Carolina, 

gradually emerged, independent both of the 

Hospital Department and of each other. The 

existence and the independence of hospitals 

south of Virginia were recognized, morc or 

less in passing, by the legislation of Sep-
116 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L DE PAR T MEN T . 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

v 

N o A T 

, .J' 

---- -------- t' 

( 

"-

~~\ • 

G E o R G 

------ ~'. 

------- 'j \ : ~ It 

E A S T /" 

F L o 

MAP 8 

A 

{SPAIN) 

o A 

R G 

P E NN SY L VAN I A 

N 

THE SOUTHERN THEATER 

lnS-1783 

o ISO 

MILES 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: Jllne 1778-1783 11 7 

tember 1780, and the Director General of 

the Hospital Department did not formally 

assume responsibility for the operations of 

these institutions until 22 March 1781, at 

which time units from the North were moving into the South in ever greater numbers. 

Even under these circumstances, however, 

the congressmen from South Carolina opposed the subordination of the system in 

their state to the Hospital Department." 

The first general hospital established for 

American troops fighting south of Virginia 

was apparently that created in June 1776 

in the Charleston area under Charleston's 

Dr. David Oliphant for "State troops, Militia, Sailors and Negroes in the public Service." Although some seem to have thought 

that Oliphant should have been responsible 

to the Hospital Department, he did not 

consider himself to be so and the post in 

which he served was not a creation of the 

Continental Congress." 

In time, as the tempo of the war in the 

South began to increase, Oliphant was encouraged to set up a medical organization 

which would include all of South Carolina 

and Georgia as well, a course of action 

which must have seemed particularly desirable because of the heavy toll which sickness was taking from the forces fighting 

the British in the South. At somewhat the 

same time, the sick and wounded in North 

Carolina (or perhaps only those of the 

militia of that state) were placed under the 

overall direction of Dr. Hugh Williamson. 

The operations of Oliphant'S organization 

were severely impeded when its members 

were captured by the British on 12 May 

1780, at the time of Maj. Gen. Benjamin 

Lincoln's surrender of Charleston. It was 

these men, nevertheless, who attempted, 

with little cooperation from their captors, 

to care for the sick and wounded among 

the American prisoners accumulated by 

the British at Charleston. Despite British 

denials, it appears that the general lack of 

cooperation these physicians received from 

DAVID OLIPHANT. (Courtesy 0/ NUlional Library 0/ Medicine.) 

the enemy was matched by the experiences 

of Williamson when he crossed enemy lines 

to care for prisoners wounded at Camden, 

South Carolina, later that year.72 

From the spring of 1780 onward, the 

medical care received by the troops south 

of the Virginia-North ClIfolina border seems 

to have been haphazard, lacking both organization and physicians, as well as nurses, 

food, and medicines. Despite the efforts of 

Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates to establish a 

general hospital and an appeal to Dr. William Rickman as "Director of the General 

Hospital of the Southern Army," for aid, 

care was almost, if not entirely, in the hands 

of regimental and militia surgeons. It appears, indeed, that, except for regimental 

surgeons, such representatives of the Hospital Department as were with units moved 

in from the North may have been required 

to stay behind when the troops crossed into 
118 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL D E PAR T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

THOMAS TUDOR TUCKER. (Courtesy oj National Library 0/ Medicille.) 

North Carolina. One aUlhority reports, 

furthermore, that there seemed to be not 

a single American surgeon of any kind in 

attendance for the battle of King's Mountain 

in October 1780." 

The September 1780 reorganization of 

the Hospital Department officially recognized the existence of the hospitals south of 

Virginia, although it neither defined the 

relationship of these institutions to the Hospital Department nor affected the work 

of physicians south of Virginia. The growing 

pace of activity in this area, however, required that an attempt be made to impose 

some form of organization upon the physicians caring for the men under Maj. Gen. 

Nathanael Greene, who was appointed to 

command in the South in October 1780. 

A general hospital seems to have evolved 

at Charlotte, North Carolina, during the 

summer of 1780, but the care provided 

there, which was largely, if not entirely, in 

the hands of volunteer physicians, was very 

poor and, in General Greene's opinion, 

"shocking to humanity." In November, a 

Board of War meeting at Hillsboro, North 

Carolina, appointed Dr. James Browne 

director of the medical establishment in 

that state and assigned Williamson to the 

post of surgeon general. One author believes 

that Browne had been in charge of a hospital caring for General Greene's men at 

Cheraw, South Carolina. H 

At about the same time, plans were also 

being made to transfer the Charlotte facility 

to Salisbury, North Carolina, where it was 

to be directed by Dr. William Read. Read, 

however, had barely established his hospital 

when General Greene began his retreat north 

into Virginia and the hospital had to be 

evacuated. Patients unable to ride on this 

occasion were, according to Read, moved 

on litters.75 

In South Carolina, Oliphant was paroled 

by the British during the winter of 1781, 

but he remained in charge of the hospital 

for the American prisoners at Charleston. 

His chief assistant, Dr. Peter Fayssoux, as 

well as two junior hospital surgeons and 

four regimental surgeons, was exchanged 

in March 1781.'· 

In the spring of 1781 , however, Dr. 

David Oliphant became Deputy Director 

for the area south of Virginia, with a deputy 

purveyor, chief physician of the hospital, 

chief physician of the army, and two hospital physicians under him. Despite the 

organizational change, inadequate carc, as 

before, continued to add to the sufferings of 

men who were wounded or who became 

ill while serving in the South. Oliphant 

seems not to have been active on their 

behalf at this time and one of the physicians 

under him, Dr. Thomas Tudor Tucker, 

served as director of the Charleston hospital, which was still held captive by the 

British. The regiments which came in from 

North Carolina were in a particularly poor 

situation because they had neither physicians 

nor medicines of any kind. 77 

As the heat of summer began to settle 
Cil. 5] Defeat to Victory: June 1778- 1783 119 

upon "a country as hot as the Antichambers 

of Hell," the incidence of disease mounted, 

triggering an increase in the number of 

desertions." Fatigue and "frequent skirmishes" also added to the list of the disabled. The situation was made worse by 

the fact that a large quantity of the hospital 

stores was destroyed by the raids of the 

much dreaded British Lt. Col. Banastre 

Tarleton. ,. 

Fighting in the summer months this far 

south was generally considered unwise, and 

so, as the temperature reached its peak, 

Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, now commanding in the Southern Army, led his men 

to camp for the summer in the High Hills of 

Santee in South Carolina. Dr. William Read, 

in charge of a hospital at Charlotte, North 

Carolina (a unit which had been reestablished there after having been moved earlier 

to Salisbury) , was ordered to leave that 

facility in charge of a subordinate and to 

join General Greene to crcate and direct a 

fl ying hospital for his army. It appears that 

the chief physician of the hospital for 

General Greene's army was at this time 

Fayssoux, who joined him after 'being released from Charleston as the result of an 

exchange of prisoners in March 1781.'. 

The health of General Greene's men, 

while it may have benefited to some degree 

from the summer spent in the High Hills of 

Santee, was far from what might have been 

hoped for by the beginning of the autumn 

campaign season. Many hundreds were still 

sick, and supplies of bark, inadequate from 

the outset, were totally exhausted by midOctober. Oliphant was by now in Philadelphia, but the number of patients under 

Fayssoux, acting in his stead, increased 

after the engagement at Eutaw Springs, 

South Carolina, on September 1781, when 

morc than 250 men were wounded, and 

physicians were themselves now falling ill. 

The burden of nursing fell on soldiers 

fortunate enough not to be seriously ill or 

wounded, few of whom had any real aptiWILLIAM READ. (Cou rtesy of Natio"al Library 

0/ Medicine.) 

tude for this type of work. General Greene 

was profoundly distressed by the inadequate 

care his wounded were receiving and noted 

that " numbers of brave fellows who had 

bled in the cause of their country, have 

been eat up with maggots, and perished in 

that miserable situation." 8 1 

The sick among those still imprisoned at 

Charleston in the late spring and summer of 

1781 were many. Oliphant claimed, however, that the British were forcing ill 

prisoners to leave the hospital before they 

had completely regained their health and 

were feeding those still in the hospital a 

"salt diet," rather than supplying the type of 

nourishment considered necessary for sick 

men in a hot climate. Unfortunately, the 

Continental Congress, because of the shortage of funds, was unable to supplement 

this diet. That body did, however, retain 

in service the Continental physicians of the 

South Carolina system, who, in captivity 

themselves, were caring for the wretched 

men at Charleston.

82 

The hospital system in Virginia was 
120 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL 0 EPA R T MEN T, I 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

directed by Dr. William Rickman and was 

independent of that in the colonies further 

south. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly. 

where Rickman's facilities were located in 

the summer of 177 8, although he had appa rently rejected the College of William 

and Mary because it had too many partitions which would interfere with the free 

circulation of air. Private homes had been 

deemed less than ideal because they implied 

a larger staff and higher operating costs. 

The palace at Williamsburg, used as a hospital during the siege of Yorktown, was 

se riously considered by Rickman several 

years earlier but was not taken over at that 

time. 83 

It is possible that a facility called the 

Vineyard Hospital, outside of Williamsburg 

on the road to Yorktown, was used for both 

Continental and Virginia militia patients 

beginning at least as early as May 1779, 

and that private homes, despite the disndvantages, were used before that time to 

house Army patients. Since recruits were at 

times inoculated in Virginia, special facilities 

were also set aside when needed as smallpox 

hospitals, such as those used in 1777 at 

Dumfries, Colchester, and Alexandria.s·

1 

A hospital was appa rently in operation in 

the fa ll of 1778 near Fredericksburg, Virginia, at the time that units under the command of Maj. Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, 

newly appointed to command in the South, 

were passing through, since on 25 October, 

Cochran reported that 562 patients were 

being ca red for in this area. Of these, 65 

were described as flying hospital patients, 

166 convalescent, 111 sick with either 

intermittent or remittent fever, 83 with 

bilious fever, and 34 " lame & rheumatism." " It is difficult to say whether this 

unit was serving as both fl ying and general 

hospital or whether those referred to as 

flying hospital patients were merely those 

transferred from the flying hospital. 

In 1779, when General Washington began 

moving all Carolina and Virginia troops 

south, at least one of these units, that 

under the command of Brig. Gen. Charles 

Scott, was not accompanied by an adequate 

number of medical attendants. General 

Washington at first suggested that Rickman 

supply the deficiencies, but finally, since 

Scott was in "utmost distress" on this account, he turned to Shippen with the request 

that the Director General send two surgeons 

and two mates to join General Scott at 

Petersburg, Virginia. At least one surgeon 

and one mate joined General Scott in the 

summer of 1779, but twenty to thirty patients who could not move with his unit 

were left behind at Petersburg without a 

single surgeon to care for them. Despite the 

unhealthy reputation of that town, Continental hospital facilities were still there in 

the fall of 1780." 

Another Virginia hospital was established 

by Rickman in the spring of 1780 at Chesterfield Court House, which seems to have 

been along the route taken by troops moving 

into the Carolinas. This particular site was 

not the first choice of the Hospital Department but was urged upon it by the governor 

of Virginia. In early June, eighteen patients 

were being treated here, but by the end 

of the year, the log house which sheltered the 

unit was not finished and medicines, as 

elsewhere, were badly needed. The unit was 

still in operation in March 178 1, with 55 

patients on its rolls, 17 of them wounded 

and 25 convalescent.s• 

By the spring of 178 1, however, Rickman was no longer in charge of the hospital 

in Virginia, having been dropped from the 

department at his own request the preceding 

fall. The identity of his successors is unclear. Dr. David Gould, who may have 

been his first replacement, died in July 

178 1. Either Dr. Goodwin Wilson, who 

supervised facilities at Beaverdam, Hanover, 

and Charlottesville at some time in 1781, 

or Dr. James McClurg may have followed 

Gould." 

In the spring of 1781, the British troops 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: June 1778-1783 121 

under Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis marched 

north into Virginia and joined the units 

already in that area . Shortly after their arrival, reinforcements from New York joined 

them. The tempo of the war in that state, 

therefore, increased, and by midsummer, 

the hospital at Williamsburg was the main 

southern facility for the Hospital Department. This unit appears initially to have 

been under the direction of Tucker, who 

came up with his patients upon their 

release from Charleston. 8o 

In the late spring of 1781, the men of 

Maj . Gen. Anthony Wayne's command began to move sOllth. On 4 June, their sick 

were left behind them just south of Leesburg, Virginia, under the care of a surgeon. 

On 10 June, Wayne joined Lafayette on 

the North Anna River, and by 19 June, both 

units were in the vicinity of Richmond and 

"destitute of cvery necessa ry, both of life 

and convenience." Many of the physicians 

accompanying General Wayne did not have 

so much as blood-letting instruments.DO 

On 6 July, the combined forces of General Wayne and Lafayette met the British 

at Green Spring, Virginia, where General 

Wayne's men, who took the brunt of the 

action, suffered ninety-nine wounded. These 

men were cared for at a church nearby and 

on the 7th sent to an unidentified hospital.o, 

The number of sick from both Continental and French units in Virginia increased during the late summer, and wagons 

moved flying hospital patients from place 

to place in the heat. In early August, some 

of the sick from among General Wayne's 

men were sent to a general hospital located 

in a private home at Hanover, Virginia; 

the officers from this group were moved 

on to Pennsylvania later in the month. By 

late August, the Hanover unit was running 

short of almost all the stores it required, 

especially medicines, and the number of 

patients was so great that eight or nine 

buildings, some of them containing as many 

as eight rooms, were taken over. Untrained 

JAMES MCCLURG. (Courtesy 0/ Natiol/al Library of Medicil/e.) 

soldiers, here as elsewhere, were pressed into 

service as nurses. In September, as preparations for the siege of Yorktown increased, 

the physician at the Hanover hospital himself died and the responsibility for the care 

of his fellows feU entirely upon one of the 

patients.1)2 

A combined American and French force 

of 15,000 men was in place at Yorktown 

by the end of September, under the overall 

command of General Washington. Three 

or more hospitals were opened at Williamsburg, where Director General Cochran reported a total of 250 patients, and in Yorktown flying hospitals for both French and 

Americans settled down with the armies for 

the siege, the Continental unit under Craik's 

direction since Cochran had remained behind along the banks of the Hudson. Not 

all department reports identify the location 

of flying hospitals, but one report which 

still exists without question originated from 

the American Yorktown flying hospital. It 

is dated October 1781 and does not record 

the number of admissions and discharges, 
122 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

COLLEGE OF WILLIAM AND MARY: WREN BUILDING. (From Duncan, Medical Men.) 

but it lists 6 dead and 147 convalescent, 

209 with intermittent fever, 103 with diarrhea, and 646 remaining at the end of the 

month.!l3 

In Williamsburg, the French took over 

the building belonging to the College of 

William and Mary which they, in contrast 

to Rickman, considered well suited for a 

hospital. They were particularly impressed 

with its size and sturdy construction, but 

in time fo und it necessary to take over the 

Capitol as well. Before they returned the 

college to its owner, onc wing burned down. 

The Americans used the palace, which was 

not in good condition, and two churches to 

house their sick and wounded. A 200-man 

detachment from the forces besieging Y orktown stayed behind to guard hospitals and 

the stores left in Williamsburg while the 

main army moved against the British.!)" 

Casualties for the allied armies during 

the siege of Yorktown were not great, but 

sickness, particularly malaria, took a heavy 

toll and an epidemic of smallpox was anticipated. The French experienced a rate of 

disease in their hospitals no better than 

that of the Americans even though their 

military hospital organization was elaborate 

and their physicians so much respected that 

Continental doctors were glad to have their 

aid and advice. Tilton blamed poor sanitation and a tendency to avoid the use of the 

medicines, including opium, popular among 

American physicians, for the limited success of French units."' 

Early in the siege of Yorktown, the number of patients in American hospitals in the 

area rapidly increased. New England troops, 

especially, were suffering from the remittent 

and intermittent fevers considered endemic 

in that area. Craik noted that blankets were 

in short supply and that, unless action were 

taken at once, an unnecessarily high mor~ 

tality rate could ensue. At the time of the 
Ch. 5] Defeat to Victory: IUlle 1778-1783 123 

British surrender, 600 Americans were too 

sick or too severely wounded to be cared 

for by camp hospitals, approximately 400 

of them at Williamsburg and more than 200 

at Hanover. Thacher estimated that seventythree Americans were wounded during the 

siege.

Do 

AFTER THE VICTORY AT 

YORKTOWN 

From November 178 1 to the end of the 

war, an unofficial truce prevailed throughout the colonies. General Washington remained near New York City until the end 

of the war, while General Greene set up 

camp near Charleston, South Carolina, until the summer of 1783, when the last of 

the Southern Army left for home" 

The number of patients resulting not 

only from bat tie but also from the malariaridden environment was increasing at such 

a pace that even before the Articles of 

Capitulation were formally signed, General 

Washington himself was active in the attempt to find additional hospital space. 

He wished as many as possible to be cared 

for within the town of Williamsburg and 

emphaSized the need for separate housing 

for those who came down with smallpox 

while in the area. He was distressed by 

conditions in the Army's hospitals there 

but apparently believed that captured funds 

would now make improvements possible. 

As soon as the Articles were signed, the 

general prepared to move his army out of 

the unhealthy climate as quickly as possible. 

The transports which were being loaded 

before the month was out sailed 4 November, but a sufficient number of officers 

was left behind to escort patients back to 

their units as they recovered. 08 

At the end of November 1781 , 186 patients were still at Williamsburg, 23 of 

whom were suffering from smallpox and 49 

each from wounds and dysentery. At Hanover there were another 114 patients who 

could not accompany the army when it 

moved north. Only 74 remained at Williamsburg and 32 at Hanover by the end of December, however. There is some question as 

to which physician was in charge of the 

Williamsburg hospitals at this time and no 

evidence to indicate who had charge of the 

Hanover facility. Apparently both Tilton 

and Treat directed the Williamsburg units at 

one time or another during or after the 

siege, but it seems likely that Treat, who 

was a Chief Physician and Surgeon of the 

Hospital at this time, held overall authority 

in Williamsburg during the siege and that 

Tilton, as a Hospital Physician and Surgeon, 

succeeded Treat.·' 

Despite General Washington's hopes, the 

sufferings of the patients in Williamsburg 

continued unabated after the siege, not only 

because of the lack of such fundamental 

items as wood and straw for bedding but 

also, in the opinion of at least onc observer, 

because the surgeons there behaved in an 

irresponsible manner, failing to make the 

required purchases even when they had the 

money to do so. In December, matters were 

made even worse by a disastrous fire which 

burned the palace to the ground. Fortunately, there was only one casualty and the 

French took in those who would otherwise 

have been without shelter. In January, fiftyfive Continental soldiers, nineteen of whom 

were wounded, were still hospitalized at Williamsburg. At last, in the spring of 1782, 

General Washington decided that there were 

so few patients remaining at Williamsburg 

that he could have the facilities closed.'" 

After the Yorktown victory, General 

Greene moved southeast toward Charleston. 

His men had been in poor health since the 

engagement at Eutaw Springs a month 

earlier and now many had to be left behind 

at the hospital in the High Hills of Santee 

under the care of Fayssoux. A second hospital was maintained at Charlotte, North 

Carolina, in late 1781 and early 1782.101 

Many of the units which had been sur-
124 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 .- 1 8 1 8 

rounding Yorktown, including those of General Wayne and Maj. Gcn. Arthur St. Clair, 

were now sent south to join General Greene. 

These men were also in poor condition and 

inadequately fed and clothed. Some, at least, 

maintained themselves in good spirits by 

whatever means presented themselves, re· 

pea ted references in at least one journal to 

the dire state of the author's health being 

followed by repeated references to "last 

night's carouse." As these troops neared 

Charleston, they came upon an area of very 

bad water with many stagnant swamps and 

ponds " full of little insects." ,.2 

Whcn the troops of Generals Wayne and 

St. Clair reached the vicinity of General 

Greene's camp near Charleston early in January 1782, many were sick enough with 

fever to require hospitalization at the facility which had been established at Ashley, 

apparently in a private home. Although its 

physicians were "very kind" and it was 

"furnished with some stores, sugar, tca and 

molasses," the Ashley hospital was reputed 

to be a "very disagreeable place-aU sick, 

and some continually dying." By March, 

although the health of the Southern Army 

had markedly improved, talk of mutiny was 

being heard. loa 

The journals kept during the spring and 

early summer of 1782 suggest that many of 

the men of thc Southern Army did not 

lightly turn to physicians and hospitals for 

aid. The author of one account, for example, 

mentioned in his entry of 28 May 1782 that 

he was " loaded with sickness and distracted 

with toothache . . . almost dead with pain." 

He continued to make similar complaints 

for more than ten days without ever suggesting that he was seeking professional help, 

and on one occasion, apparently on his own 

initiative, took "a vomitt which almost 

killed" him,to", 

During the summer of 1782, General 

Greene's men again began to suffer from 

fevers, just as they had in previous summers, 

and matters grew worse as the summer 

progressed. By the end of August, they were 

"dayly experiencing instances of mortality 

. .. , soldiers dying fast," the hospital was 

crowded, many were sick at camp, and 

deaths were so frequent that funeral ceremonies were no longer cond ucted. By the 

second week in September, it was estimated 

that more than half of the men remaining 

in camp were ill, although there appears to 

have been at least some bark available. loo 

Treating oneself apparently continued to 

be an accepted practice in the fall of 1782. 

In one instance, for example, the victim's 

fever and aching began on 29 September. 

He first tried treating himself on the 30th, 

using an emetic. Still feverish on 2 October, 

he started taking bark and within the week 

felt very much better. He suffered a relapse 

ten days later, however, and again tried an 

emetic before turning to bark because of 

the "violent fever and pain" in his "head 

and bones." The fever returned once more 

for two days in mid-November, but the 

diarist unfortunately did not record his 

treatment on this occasion. lOG 

This "cursed disorder," presumably malaria, which was still severely affecting the 

Southern Army in the autumn of 1782, led 

to the deaths of almost 100 men in September. Characterized by "ague and fever," 

it was blamed not on insects, despite the 

fact that their presence had been the subject of comment, but on the climate. General Wayne himself fe ll victim to it early 

in September and was treated with emetics 

and peruvian bark. He was still ill at Christmas and wrotc Dr. Benjamin Rush that he 

was "broken down and nearly exhausted" 

as a result. 107 

In December, the British evacuated 

Charleston and, although General Greene 

remained there until the following August, 

the number of men in his command began 

to diminish. The Secretary at War ordered 

at the time that they be furloughed until 

peace was officially signed and some units 

were granted leave at once. Transportation 
CII. 5] Defeat to Victory: Jllne 1778- 1783 125 

difficulties interfered with the departure of 

others, and since it was July before the 

units from Pennsylvania and Maryland 

boarded their ships, the diseases which 

characterized the summer months in the 

South appeared again. One-third of those 

who were awaiting transport to their home 

states that summer were ill. 108 

There had been rumors during the siege 

of Yorktown that the British were trying 

to infect the Continental Army by sending 

out from the town u a large number of 

negroes, sick with the smallpox." Whatever 

the truth of the matter was, by January 

1782, smallpox was spread ing in the Continental Army in the North, and it was 

decided once more to inoculate all those 

who had not already had the disease. By the 

end of the month, approximately two 

thousand men had been immunized, and by 

May the process was complete.''' 

To care for men returning north from 

Yorktown who might become ill along the 

route and be unable to continue because 

of the winter weather, temporary hospitals 

were established along the route from Virginia northward. One such unit, at Head of 

Elk, Maryland, was opened no later than 

22 November 1781. During December, 1I8 

patients were admitted here, but only 38 

remained at the end of the month, 60 having been discharged and 2 having died. Dr. 

Henry Latimer set up another such unit at 

Wilmington, Delaware, and 105 patients 

were admitted during December, of whom 

23 died and 35 rema ined at the end of the 

month. General Washington decided to have 

the Head of Elk patients moved there, and 

late in January, thirteen convalescents from 

Head of Elk were moved to the Delaware 

unit. In February, plans were laid to move 

these patients and those at Trenton to 

PhiiadelphiaYo 

Upon their return from Virginia, the 

physicians of General Washington's army 

set up their flying hospital at New Windsor, 

New York. At some time before the fall 

of 1782, Dr. David Townshend became 

director of this unit. Regimental surgeons 

were required to report to him weekly 

about their patients and to receive their 

bandages and ointments from him. Obtaining wood was a constant problem here, and 

as early as 9 December 178 1, patients were 

suffering as a result of the inadequate supply.'" 

Director General Cochran recorded that 

at the end of December 1781 there were 

239 patients, including 25 women and children, in the New Windsor huts. Of this 

number, 27 were convalescent, 29 suffering 

from "ulcers," 23 from inflammatory fever, 

27 from intermittent and remittent fevers, 

and 36 from diarrhea or dysentery. By the 

end of January 1782, however, the number 

of patients had dropped to 187, remaining 

below 190 until June 1782. In June and 

July, however, the number of patients again 

rose to 225 or more, with 38 of the men 

suffering from venereal disease, apparently 

the most common ailment at this time, although many cases of the various types of 

fever could also be foundY' 

The hospital at the New Windsor huts 

continued in operation at least until the 

end of December 1782, when the last of 

Cochran's reports which are still in existence 

was made up. By the last two months of the 

year, the patients were numbering well over 

200, and as many as a quarter of them at 

anyone time might be women and children. 

The incidence of malarial type fevers fell 

off rapidly until none was listed in the 

September, November, and December reports (there is no report for October) , but 

"inflammatory fevers" afflicted thirty-three 

patients in the last two months of the 

year.

1lS 

Because of the rather casual use of 

nomendature and the equally casual attitude 

toward reports, it is difficult from the documents of the period to separate one flying 

hospital from another and flying hospitals 

from regimental hospitals. In his report of 
126 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

November 1781, for example, Cochran lists 

a flying hospital with the Eastern Army. 

Although it was obviously not the unit at 

New Windsor, no identification of it is 

available. In November, however, 17 were 

admitted to this unit, 24 were discharged, 

2 died, 35 were sent to the general hospital, 

and 84 remained at the end of the month. 

The report of March 1782 lists "sick with 

the army," which was then broken down 

into two categories, the army at West Point 

and the army east of the Hudson. At the 

former, 100 were confined with smallpox, 

presumably, considering the time of the 

year, from inoculation, and forty-two with 

bilious fever. Eight died during the month 

there and 345 remained. East of the Hudson 

there were 35 patients with smallpox, 26 

with bilious fever, 171 convalescents, and 

367 remaining at the end of the month. 

February of 1782, however, was the busiest 

month for the hospital serving the army at 

West Point. During this month, 1,149 were 

admitted, and although 1,002 of these had 

smallpox, there were only 39 deaths. In 

the spring of 1783, an epidemic of measles 

struck the West Point area and General 

Washington urged that fresh meat, which 

was considered desirable for victims of this 

disease, be procured. The West Point unit 

was still in operation late in 1783.

' 1< 

The total remaining sick with the Army 

at the end of each month throughout the 

year ranged from 370 in May to a high of 

729 in July. when 216 were sick with intermittent and remittent fevers. Other diseases 

in the last eight months of 1782 were bilious and putrid fever, which hospitalized 

as many as 90 patients in the late summer 

before tapering off as the fan wore on to 

November's 34 and December's 26. As 

many as 170 men might be placed in the 

category of "casual hurts" each month.115 

It was during the winter of 1781 - 82 that 

Cochran and Craik appear to have given 

some thought to improving the equipment 

of the Continental Army's flying hospital. 

They decided that dimensions o( 15 feet 

by 26 feet were the most suitable for the 

tents which the hospital apparently used 

while the army was on the march. They 

should also either " have fly's to them" or 

" be made of the best stuff." Their idea 

pleased General Washington, who passed it 

on to the Secretary at War. lIo 

It is difficult, however, because of the 

relatively imprecise information given by 

eighteenth century documents, to be sure of 

the number and type of the hospitals in the 

vicinity of General Washington's army after 

the Yorktown victory. One unit is listed 

as located at New Boston on the Hudson 

River and, according to some sources, under 

the direction of Eustis in December 1782. 

Thacher, however, also mentioned that both 

Townshend and Eustis were at the New 

Windsor hospital in December 1782. Eustis 

himself wrote of being Hospital Surgeon at 

New Boston in the autumn of 1782. General Washington referred in November 1782 

to "the Hospital of Dr. Eustace," thus distinguishing it from Townshend's unit, but 

did not further identify it.'17 

The returns submitted by Director General Cochran in the last half of 1782 called 

the New Boston unit the "New Boston 

huts," where the August 1782 population 

of 216 gradually dwindled to 34 at the end 

of December 1782. The number of wounded 

here was always small, no more than four 

according to the records available today, 

but in the summer, fevers of both the intermittent-remittent and hilious-putrid types 

accounted for a large proportion of the 

sick, almost half in August. General Washington was particularly concerned about the 

fu el supply for Eustis's unit, presumably 

New Boston, as the winter of 1782 approached, but believed that it could be kept 

adequately supplied because no more patients were being sent there.11 8 

Several of the oldest general hospitals 

in the department's organization were still 

in operation when General Washington's 
Ch.5] Defeat to Victory: June 1778-1783 127 

victorious army left Yorktown. The hospital 

at Trenton, New Jersey, for example, was 

still in operation as General Washington's 

men made their way north. Cochran recorded 72 American patients and 23 

British prisoners at Trenton at the end 

of November and 38 Americans at the end 

of December. 1l9 

The number of patients at the department's Philadelphia hospital, already rising 

before the battle of Yorktown, reached a 

peak of 314 in November 1781. Only 30 

of these men were listed as wounded, however, while 43 had inflammatory fevers, 40 

diarrhea, 52 "various chronic," and 63 

smallpox. Early in December, there were 

approximately 100 smallpox patients at 

Ph iladelphia, although no differentiation was 

made between those who had acquired the 

disease by inoculation and those who had 

contracted the disease naturally. The patient 

load decreased markedly, to 107, in December 1781 and vacillated between 94 and 146 

until June, when only 68 patients remained. 

Bilious-putrid fevers do not appear to have 

posed a serious threat in the winter and 

early spring of 1782, although other fevers 

afflicted from a quartcr to a half of the 

patients there. This unit was apparently 

sufficiently crowded in the spring of 1781 

to cause the Hospital Department once more 

to contact the privately run Philadelphia 

Hospital to request the use of its facilities 

for Continental patients and sick British 

prisoners, but the appeal was denied. 12• 

The total number of patients remaining 

at the military facility in Philadelphia continued to be less than 100, except for August, and until late fall a sizable proportion 

was afflicted with intermittent and remittent 

fevers. Women and children at that time 

formed a third of the facility's patients. Sick 

British prisoners were a responsibility of 

the department in Philadelphia throughout 

1781 and 1782, and their number ranged 

from twenty-eight to seventy. Reports concerning them are less detailed, however, 

than those on American patients in Philadelphia, and in many reports they are all 

lumped together under the heading "various 

diseases." Despite the strain on the Philadelphia unit, it was only in 1783 that the 

department was successful in placing some 

of its patients in Philadelphia's civilian facility.121 

The Albany unit, like that in Philadelphia, 

was still open when the Hospital Department was disbanded, even though its closing 

had been ordered two years earlier. In November 1781, fifty -four patients were at 

Albany. This unit seems to have been closed 

early in 1782 and then reopened in th.· 

spring, since forty-five patients were reported to be there in May. From forty-four 

to fifty-four patients, as many as half of 

whom might be women and children, were 

cared for at Albany through November 

1782, beyond which time there apparently 

are no further reports still in existence. The 

staff there in late 1783 consisted of one surgeon and his mate."2 

By the spring of 1782, General Washington had come to regard the continued operation of the general hospital at Boston as 

an unjustifiable expense, especially since the 

Corps of Invalids was no longer stationed 

there. As a result, the general ordered 

Cochran to close that facility at once.''' 

Although there was no major action after 

the victory at Yorktown and Congress had 

forced the closing of some of the major 

hospitals even before the end of 1781 (see 

Chapter 2), the concern of General Washington and, until its termination in the fall 

of 1783, of the Hospital Department for 

those soldiers who were still suffering from 

wounds and sickness did not diminish. The 

general continued to inspect such hospitals 

as still remained open and to urge that 

they be "amply Supplyed with Medicines, 

refreshments and accomodations."lN Even 

under the adverse conditions of the last 

two years of the Revolution, therefore, 

there were patients for whom the Hospital 
128 THE ARM Y ME DI e A L D E PAR T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

Department was still responsible who could 

praise "the humane treatment and comfortable accommodations they ... invariably experienced." I20 

In 1783, although they did not realize 

it, physicians were unable to offer their 

patients anything better than humane treatment and comfortable accommodations. Although the often cold , half-starved, poorly 

clothed men of the Continental Army suffered more from disease than did their 

disciplined and seasoned opponents, eighteenth century medicine was everywhere 

helpless against disease and infection and 

had little to offer aga inst pain. The time had 

not yet comc, furthermore, when an understanding of the importance of scientific observation to medicine would make it possible for those physicans who cared for the 

victims of war, regardless of the army in 

which they served, to contribute significantly 

to the progress of medical science. Administrators may have learned much about 

the management of a military hospital system in the course of the Revolution and 

individual surgeons undoubtedly added to 

their skills while confronting diseases and 

injuries which they would never otherwise 

have encountered in such numbers, but no 

significant insights into the prevention, 

diagnosis, or treatment of disease appear 

to have resulted from the American Revolution. Indeed, although they did not know 

it, physicians would continue for many 

decades after the signing of the Peace of 

Paris to be unable to offer their patients 

anything of a value to rival that of their 

compassion and concern. 
6 

Between Wars, 1783 to June 1812 

The period between the end of the Revolutionary War and the spring of 1812 was 

a low point in the history of the medical 

service of the U.S. Army. The very concept of a regular standing army was suspect 

to the leaders of the new nation, who believed that the Army should be strictly 

limited to as small a force as was compatible 

with the protection of westward moving 

settlers and the magnitude of the threat 

from abroad. Much reliance was placed 

upon militia and volunteer units which were 

employed as more appropriate to the defense of a republic than the Regular Army. 

A force of as limited numbers as that initially 

maintained in this period did not require 

the establishment of a formal medical department, and, indeed, there were no top 

management posts in the Army at this 

time. 1 

The strength and organization of the 

Army, however, fluctuated with the threat 

to the nation as perceived by its leaders. 

The resultant instability was increased by 

the inadequate size, organization, and leadership of the Department of War, which was 

created in the summer of 1789. Despite the 

fact that three Secretaries of War in the 

interwar period, Henry Dearborn, James McHenry, and William Eustis, were physicians 

and that the number of men actually in 

the Army had greatly increased by 1794, 

no central organization was established for 

the medical services. (Table 7) Even for 

those brief periods before 1812 when laws 

cal1ing for a central organization were on 

the books, the medical department, like 

the Army itself, existed largely on paper. 

(See Appendix H.) 

The organization created on paper by the 

legislation of 1799, a medical department 

for both Army and Navy, indicated 

that the lessons of the Revolution had not 

been entirely lost. A purveyor, for example, 

was specifically called [or, to handle the 

buying of medicine and the other requirements of the projected department, and thl! 

regimental surgeons were fully under the 

control not only of the physician-general, or 

head of the department, but also of the 

senior hospital surgeon of an army or district. The relationship of medical officers 

and line officers was in some instances 

carefully outlined. A regimental surgeon 

could be temporarily reassigned away from 

the care of the patients of his regiment, for 

example, only by the physician-general or a 

senior hospital surgeon with the consent of 

the commander-in-chief or of the commander of an army. In addition, the rules 

which the department was to draw up for 

hospital discipline and camp sanitation were 

to be subject to the approval of the commander-in-chief or the commander of a 

separate army or district as well as, ultimately, to that of the President of the 

United States. Provision was also made for 

the calling of medical boards to examine 

candidates for positions within the department, but the establishment of these boards 

was to be at the discretion of the physiciangeneral.' (See Appendix H.) 

Initially it was only the constant threat 

of Indian attack that made the maintenance 
130 THE ARM Y ME Die A L DE PAR T MEN T, 1775 - 1 81 8 

TABLE 7-0RGAN,ZATION OF M EDICAL SUPPORT OF THE REGULAR ARMY, 1784-1813 

Date 

1784, June: 

1785, April: 

1789, August: 

September: 

1790, April: 

179 1. March: 

1792, March: 

December: 

1794, May: 

1796, May : 

1798, April: 

May: 

July: 

1799, March: 

1800, May-June: 

180 I, March: 

1802, March: 

Regular Army 

All but 80 men from Continental 

Army to be discharged 

700 men called up from state militias to form regiment for I-year service 

700 men called up from state militias 

for 3-year service 

1 infantry regiment: to consist of 560 

men 

I artillery battalion: 280 men. Dept. 

of War established 

Army's organization accepted under 

new Constitution 

Infantry regiment expanded: to include 1,216 enlisted men and non- commissioned officers 

Second infantry regiment authorized: 

912 more men 

3 more infantry regiments 'luthorized, 

plus 1 squadron light dragoons 

Army reorganized into form of Le- gion: composed of 4 sublegions, 

1.280 men in eacb 

Corps of Artillerists and Engineers 

established: 4 battalions Legion organization abolished: Army 

reorganized into 4 regiments of 

infantry, 2 companies of light 

dragoons, and the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers 

Second regiment of Artillerists and 

Engineers authorized 

Increase in size of Army up to 10,000 

men authorized 

12 infantry regiments authorized; 

dragoon regiment created 

Additional 24 infantry regiments au- thorized, as well as 3 cavalry regiments. another battalion of Artill erists and Engineers, a regiment 

and a battalion of riflemen 

All but 4 infantry regiments. 2 regiments of Artillerists and Engineers, 

2 troops of dragoons. to be mustered out 

Army reduced to 2 infantry regi- ments, 1 artillery regiment 

Medical Personnel 

surgeon,4 surgeon's mates 

I surgeon, 4 surgeon's mates 

surgeon's mate 

1 surgeon, 2 surgeon's mates for infantry regiment ; I mate for artillery 

battalion 

Ratio of 1 surgeon and 2 surgeon's 

mates per regiment maintained, 

but President may take on more 

mates 

surgeon, 2 surgeon's mates per 

regiment, plus a surgeon's mate 

for the dragoons I Surgeon-General for the Legion plus 

I surgeon and 3 surgeon's mates 

per sublegion and 6 mates for garrison duty 

1 surgeon, 4 surgeon's mates 

For each regiment, I surgeon, 2 

surgeon's mates; no medical attendants for dragoons; 1 surgeon, 4 

surgeon's mates for Corps of Artillerists and Engineers; up to 10 more surgeon's mates could be 

appointed by the President 

1 surgeon, 3 surgeon's mates 

President authorized to appoint a Physician-General if he believed it 

advisable, to serve until dismissed 

by President 

surgeon, 2 surgeon's mates pt!r regiment : more if President believed it 

advisable, to se rve until dismissed 

by President; James Craik appointed Physician-General 

Medical Department created by Act 

to Regulate the Medical Establishment 1\ 

Each regiment, regardless of type, to 

have I surgeon, 2 surgeon's mates 

Only 6 surgeons and 12 surgeon's ma tes reta ined in Army; Craik 

mustered out 

Only 7 mates still in Army 

2 surgeons and 25 surgeon's mates 

authorized, all to be attached to 

garrisons and posts 
Ch.6] Between Wars: 1783-Jlllle 1812 131 

TABLE 7-0RGANIZATION OF M EDICAL SUPPORT OF THE R EGULAR ARMY, 1784- 18t3-Continued 

Dnte HCJ:'ulllr Army 

1807, December: 

;He<licnl Personnel 

2 surgeons in Army, onl y I on duty; 

3 1 surgeon's mates, only 27 on duty 

1808, April: Army of 9,900 authorized, to include Addition of 5 surgeons. ~5 surgeon's 

mates for hospitals, plus I steward and I ward master per hospital au- thorized 

3,300 already serving 

IXI2, Jan uary: Inc rease of 10 infantry regiments, 2 Ratio set of I surgeon, 2 surgeon's 

ma les per regiment of any type plus 

hospital surgeons and mates as needed and I stewa rd per hospital 

artillery regiments, and I dragoon 

regiment authori zed 

~ June: When war declared. authorized 

strength of Army was 35,603 men in 17 infantry regiments, 4 artillery 

regiments. 2 dragoon regiments, a Corps of Engineers, and I regiment 

of riflemen 

26 June: Army reorganized: size of infantry 

regiments set at 900 men and au- thorized numbe r of infantry regiments raised to 25 

Each infantry regiment to have I 

surgeon, 2 surgeon's mates, dragoon 

regiments I surgeon's mate each 

1813, January: Raising of up to 20 more regiments 

authorized 

Each new regiment to have I surgeon, 

2 surgeon's mates 

NOli:: For act ual strength of Army. sec Weigley. Army, p, 566, 

Sut)M( 'f.S : Emory Upton, ,\Ii/iwry Poli(\' o/Ih" Vlliled SUlle.f (Washington: Government Pri nting Olliee, 19(4) pp. 69. 75-76. 

71:1,1:10,1:12.1:13.1:15-1:16,1:19: U.S. Congress. AIIII'rinm SI(l/I' PapI'n: DOC/IIIII'IIU, LI'Ki~1I11il'(' (lml t:."{'(·ul;I·/' oflhe CUIIK'I·.\'S Oflhl' Ulliled SllI/f'.,,, C/as.f V: "lililar .• ' Ajlairs, 7 vols. (Wash ington : Gales and Seaton, UD2- 6 1), I: 5, 40-41. 154-55; C:lllan. ,\Ii/;lar .• ' 1.(111'.\', pro 212- 13, 230. 231:1: Weigley, Army, p, 11 KaScc Arpcndi.'( H. 

of any regu lar military force acceptable. 

Periodic exped itions with small numbers of 

regulars and their surgeons serving as a 

nucleus for la rger numbers of untrained 

militia and volunteers were sent into the 

Northwest Territory to forestall large-scale 

Indian attacks. Forts were also established 

to protect the settlements going up in these 

areas formerl y held by the Indians. In 

time, however, the defeat of poorly organized campaigns such as those of Brig. Gen. 

Josiah Harmar in 1790 and Maj. Gen. 

Arthur St. Clair in 179 1 led to increases in 

United States military strength which. because of the growing fear of war with either 

France or England , were maintained even 

after Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne's defeat 

of Tecumseh and the Shawnee Indians at 

Fallen Timbers in 1794. 3 

As the threat from France waned, the 

Indian menace once more became uppermost among the Army's concerns, although 

the northwestern campaign of Maj. Gen. 

William Henry Harrison against the Shawnee 

in 18 11 was the only active move against 

the Indians after 1800 and before the War 

of 1812. In 1802, the organization of 

medical support was changed to center it 

around the garrisons which were now being 

established as a line of defense along the 

nation's perimeters. The President, after 

congressional approval, assigned surgeons 

and mates by fort rather than by regiment. 

To meet the new approach, the number of 

mates was increased, but it was not until 

1808 that the need for physicians other 

than garrison surgeons was recognized and 

a plan was created which authorized the 

assignment of both medical and administrative personnel specifically to hospitals. Ap-
NORTHWEST TERRITORY 

1783-181 1 

o 100 

I I 

MILES MICHIGAN TERRITORY 

LAKE MICHIGAN 

% 

%; 

'fc) ..,.. 

~ "". ' .. ., 

." 

..,.. 

MAP9 

I 

\ 

I 

ILLINOIS TERRITORY \ 

'0 

'" 

-- 1

--,~ 

r/.~ Fallen Timbers 

~ Fort Defiance 

---------- riPpecanoe ~ Fort Wayn e 

Tippecanoe 

INDIANA TERRITORY 

Terre Haute/ Fort Harrison 

Vincennes 

Fort Knox 

):( 

~ St. Clair's defeat 

10 

\ Greenville/ Fort Jefferson 

OCincinnatil Fort Wash

KENTUCKY 

Note: Boundaries indicated here are a$ they exis
Ch.6] Between Wars: 1783- JlIne 1812 133 

parently only one hospital surgeon and one 

hospita l mate were actually appointed at 

this time. It was only six months before 

the outbreak of war that provision was 

once again made for the assignment of 

surgeons and mates directly to individual 

regiments:' (See Table 7. ) 

The prestige of the military surgeon at 

this time could not have been high. He still 

had no official rank and was paid a salary 

lower than that of major. Lewis and Clark 

apparently did not consider the services of 

a surgeon to be necessary for their famous 

expedition to explore the lands beyond the 

Mississippi River, and only two years before 

the beginning of the War of 1812, a group 

of surgeons complained to the Secretary 

of War that they were " the mere menial 

drudges of camp." , 

CONTINENTAL ARMY 

PATIENT S R EMA INING IN 

HOSPITALS 

After the peace treaty of 3 September 1783 

brought the formal end of the American 

Revolution there was no further reason to 

delay the final closing of those hospitals 

which were still caring for patients from 

the Continental Army. Presumably the 

medical board which was formed in the 

summer of 1782 to decide whether to transfer the "invalids and debilitated men" remaining in the Army to the Invalid Corps 

or to discharge them from the Army, as 

well as to determine their eligibility for a 

pension, continued in operation until all 

in this category had been processed. For a 

time, however, the remnants of the Continental Hospital Department functioned as 

a peacetime organization dedicated to the 

care of these men at West Point, Albany, 

and Philadelphia. In the summer of 1783, 

however, Gen. George Washington predicted 

that it would be possible to close this establishment completely by the following summer. The staff of the former Hospital 

Department was gradually dismissed as the 

need for its services diminished,G Since, except for fewer than 100 men assigned to 

guard stores and magazines at such places 

as West Point and Fort Pitt, the men still 

remaining in service from the Continental 

Army were dismissed on 2 June 1784, one 

can only assume that by this time all former 

Continental Army patients, including those 

in the Corps of Invalids, had also been discharged. 

CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE 

INDIANS 

The first major operation involving the U.S. 

Army was that led by General Harmar in 

1790 against the Indians in the Northwest 

Territory, near present-day Fort Wayne, 

Indiana. (Map 9) At this time the Army 

consisted of one infantry regiment, to which 

was assigned a surgeon and two mates, 

and an artillery battalion with its surgeon's 

mate. (See Table 7.) Serving as the Army's 

top physician was Dr. Richard Allison, of 

whom a contemporary said, "none were 

more brave, humane, and benevolent." 7 

Allison was assisted by surgeon's mates 

John Elliott and John M. Scott, while the 

mate assigned to the artillery battalion was 

Nathan Hayward. Little is known of the 

medical care received by the 320 regulars 

who accompanied the 1,100 militia men 

on this expedition, but the sick rate was 

high and Allison complained long before 

the campaign began that the medicines provided for his use constituted an "injudicious 

assortment" of " the refuse of the druggists' 

shops" and were of such poor quality that 

he was unable to determine proper dosages· 

The governor of the Northwest Territory 

during this period was Arthur St. Clair. In 

1791 , St. Clair was assigned the rank of 

major general in the Army, which had been 

enlarged for a second attempt to subdue 

the Indians in the Northwest. It is interesting 

to note that General St. Clair, like so many 
134 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

RICHARD ALLISON. (Courtesy oj National 

Library of Medicine.) 

other men in prominent positions with the 

Army at this time, had had some medical 

training. Among the members of his expedition who served as physicians were Allison, as chief surgeon, and Elliott, who 

continued to function for a time as Allison's 

mate and then, with Allison's full approval, 

was promoted to surgeon of the 2d Regiment. This latter post had first been offered 

to Eustis who, destined for greater things, 

turned it down. Among other medical attendants was Victor Grasson, a surgeon's 

mate attached to a volunteer unit. 0 

General St. Clair's force of 1,500 militia 

men and volunteers and 600 regulars was 

larger than that of his predecessor, but the 

general himself was in poor health and so 

badly afflicted with gout that he could not 

walk without aid. Before the expedition was 

over, he was unable to so much as mount 

his horse without assistance. His men, furthermore, were "badly clothed, badly paid 

and badly fed. " Since they were for the 

most part recruited from cities and large 

towns, they were also reputed to be uener~ 

va ted by idleness, debaucheries, and every 

species of vice." 10 

By the fall of 1791, General SI. Clair's 

surgeons were faced with severe problems. 

Hospital stores, particularly wine, were in 

very short supply and the number of men 

who were sick had risen so high that the 

general decided to remain at Fort Jefferson, 

near present-day Greenville, Ohio, until the 

end of October, hoping that both health and 

supply problems might improve. By the end 

of the month, however, when they resumed 

their march, 120 men were so ill that they 

could not continue any further." 

Considering the nature and condition of 

his force, it is not surprising that on 3 

November, GeDeral SI. Clair was soundly 

defeated by the Miami Indians, who attacked 

him about thirty miles from Fort Jefferson. 

Of a total of 1,400 effectives, 632 were 

killed and 264 wounded. Surgeon Grasson 

was among those killed, but Allison distinguished himself in the desperate confusion by aiding the officers in rallying their 

men. Even before the battle was over the 

Indians were scalping their victims. A 

witness noted: "I saw a Capt. Smith just 

after he was scalped, sitting on his backside, his head smoaking like a chimney & 

he asked me if ye battIe was not a most 

over." 12 

The retreat which fo llowed was so rapid 

that those among the sick and wounded 

who were fortunate enough to be taken 

along by their fellows were deposited at 

Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles from the 

battleground, less than eight hours after the 

flight began. Having settled the disabled 

there, however, the able-bodied set out 

again and reached Fort Washington, where 

Cincinnati now stands, on 8 November. The 

wounded continued to straggle in to Fort 

Jefferson for days after the battle. "Some 

soldiers have come in with ye Skin & Hare 

taken clean off of their Heads," an officer 
Ch. 6] Between Wars: 1783- June 1812 13S 

FORT WASHINGTON. (From a drawing by Maj. 

Bradley.) 

wrote his brother, '" and one had not only 

been scalped but also had "a tomehawk 

stuck in the head in two places." 14 Although two medicine chests were lost in the 

defeat, every possible elfort seems to have 

been made to establish hospital facilities and 

to obtain all the provisions needed for the 

wounded, whose situation was "truly distressing." 15 

The failure of two attempts to subdue 

the Indians in the Northwest led to a reassessment of the approach to the problem. 

The leaders of both expeditions were officially exonerated of any major blame, 

which was placed upon the War Department, the Quartermaster's Department, and 

contractors. Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne was 

given the Army's five regular infantry regiments and cavalry and artillery to establish 

the Legion for a new elfort against the 

Indians. General Wayne was also granted 

the time to train his men thoroughly near 

Pittsburgh before taking them into action, 

but although Congress had by this time 

Ebellezer Denny, reproduced in Wilson, 

authorized a ratio of one surgeon and two 

surgeon's mates per infantry regiment as 

well as a mate for the light dragoon squadron, there was only one surgeon actually 

with the army when it began its training.JG 

(See Table 7.) 

General Wayne regarded "the health and 

comfort of the soldiers" as "objects of the 

first consideration" and was personally concerned with the maintenance of their health 

and the proper care of those who became 

ill. The general ordered the single surgeon, 

Dr. John F. Carmichael, with his men to 

begin at once to set up a tent hospital." 

When, in addition to "a virulent Vencri," 

smallpox broke out, General Wayne ordered 

Carmichael to begin inoculating all men who 

had never had the disease. IS Shortly thereafter he also ordered Carmichael to locate 

"two industrious humane and honest Matrolls to assist in nursing and cooking for 

the Sick." Although he had little control 

over the shortage of hospital supplies, General Wayne decided to deal with the severe 
136 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

FORT DEFIANCE. (COllf/esy 01 Library 0/ 

Congress.) 

and prolonged shortage of vegetables by 

offering the whiskey ration of his men, both 

sick and well, to the local inhabitants in 

exchange for their produce.' · 

Discipline within the hospital also concerned General Wayne even after the arrival 

of a second surgeon to help Carmichael. On 

at least one occasion, the general was required to court-martial a sergeant "for 

riotiously beating a Woman kept by him as 

a Mistress to the injury of the Sick in the 

Hospital . . . for abusive language and using 

Menancing [sic 1 words and gestures to 

Doctor Carmichael, when requested by him 

to desist from the above purpose." 20 

General Wayne began his active campaign in the spring of 1793, moving first to 

Fort Washington (Cincinnati) and then 

slowly westward, establishing forts as he 

went. He was now accompanied by at least 

four physicians, including his chief surgeon, 

Allison. As the summer progressed, however, his men began to fall ill in increasing 

numbers, fevers and influenza posi ng the 

greatest problem. Supplies of hospital stores 

and medicines were quickly exhausted. 

Finally, in desperation, the general ordered 

Allison to buy the needed items wherever 

he could find them, regardless of price. 2I 

The decisive action of General Wayne's 

campaign against the Indians was the Battle of Fallen Timbers, which took place on 

20 August 1794 not far from the new 

British fort near the site of present-day Toledo and shortly after the building of Fort 

Defiance. The wounded, a total of approximately 100, eleven of whom later died of 

their injuries, were considered fortunate to 

be moved from the battlefield in a carriage, 

but at least one witness believed that the 

evacuation could have been better managed. 

"The wounded of the third sub-legion are 

under obligations to doctor Hayward for 

his attention and humanity to them in this 

distress," he wrote, but "Doctor Carmichael 

through neglect had the wounded men of the 

artillery and cavalry thrown into wagons, 

among spades, axes, picks, &c." and as a 

resu lt, they had to end ure "extreme pain, 

beside the frequent shocks of a wagon on 

the worst of roads." By 27 August, however, 

the wounded had reached Fort Defiance 

and were "happily fix ed in the garrison, and 

the doctors say there is no great danger of 

any of them dying." 22 

Even before Fallen Timbers, General 

Wayne himself had become gravely ill with 

gout; Allison reported him to be "in agony." 

The sick rate among his men, already high 

in the early summer,23 was still increasing 

in September, the principal ailment being 

" the fever and ague." An officer explained 

that "The number of our sick increase daily, 

provision is nearly exhausted, the whiskey 

had been out for some time .... Hard duty 

and scanty allowance will cause an army 

to be low spirited, particularly the want of 

a little of the weI." General Wayne may 
Ch.6] Betweell Wars: 1783- June 1812 137 

have believed it advisable to trade whiskey 

for vegetables, but not everyone agreed 

with him ; "the troops would much rather 

live on half rations of beef and bread, provided they could obtain their full rations of 

whisky" than enjoy the ample supply of 

vegetables now available at Fort Defiance. 

Unfortunately for the whiskey lovers, however, their favorite beverage was in very 

short supply by that time." Shortages continued until a member of General Wayne's 

staff commented of the wounded that "no 

set of men in the like disabled situation 

ever experienced much more want of conveniences &c. II and from time to time the 

general still found it necessary to have Allison make purchases on an emergency 

basis.25 

September was a bad month for malaria 

in many areas of Ohio in this period, and 

in September of 1795 the number of sick 

was again growing rapidly. The burden of 

the hospital at Greenville, moved from its 

initial location in a blockhouse to huts, grew 

from 120 to more than 300 patients in the 

space of a month. Patients from General 

Wayne's army had been "totally destitute 

of any kind of Hospital stores ... since 

last Winter, except a little occasionally 

purchased from the Merchants at this place 

& Cincinnati in cases of the last necessity." 

Finally the general moved the entire hospital into the open woods in an attempt to 

stem the onslaught of disease. Since Allison 

was no longer able to find either opium or 

peruvian bark in adequate quantity locally, 

his surgeons began trying substitutes for 

peruvian bark, fearing that if the tide were 

not turned, they might soon be facing an 

epidemic of putrid fever. October found 

General Wayne once again pressing the War 

Department for supplies, pointing out that 

he was "totally destitute of ... Medicine & 

Hospital stores," but only in mid-November 

did even a portion of the desperately needed 

hospital stores begin to arrive at General 

Wayne's camp.20 

Supply shortages occllrred yet again and 

to an alarming degree in 1796, at a time 

when the number of physicians available to 

care for General Wayne's men was also 

inadequate. Secretary of War McHenry 

seems to have believcd this situation hopeless, for he suggested that the area of 

present-day Toledo be abandoned because of 

the prevalence of the disease there. The supply of peruvian bark was exhausted, and in 

the garrisons the general had assigned to 

posts from Fort Wash ington to Detroit, 

more than 400 officers and mcn were sick, 

most of them with malaria." General 

Wayne, however, was not required to contend with these problems much longer. His 

health had continued poor, and in December 

1796, on his way home from Detroit, he 

died. 

The last campaign against the Indians 

in the Northwest to be undertaken before 

the outbreak of the War of 18 12 was 

launched in 1811 when it seemed that the 

Shawnees under Tecumseh were becoming 

an ever greater threat to settlers. At 

Vincennes, approximately 300 regulars and 

twice that many militia men were placed 

under the command of the Indiana Territory's governor, William Henry Harrison, 

who was in time commissioned a brigadier 

general. General Harrison, who had studied 

briefly at the Medical School of the University of Pennsylvania, was another of the 

Army's leaders who had rece ived some 

training as a phy ici an.2~ 

General Harrison established a general 

hospital at Vincennes under the supervision 

of two physicians from the 4th Infantry 

Regiment. The head of this hospital, Dr. 

Josiah Foster, was a man whom Harrison 

knew and very much admired. Militia units 

appear to have, as usual, provided their own 

surgeons for this campaign" 

Although during the summer his men 

were in generally poor health and suffering 

particularly from "bilious autumnal fever," so in September 1811, General Harri-
138 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 177 5- 1818 

son moved his men from Vincennes up the 

Wabash River to erect Fort Harrison near 

the site of Terre Haute, Indiana. At this 

time, he ordered that the sick from his 

force, many of whom were afflicted with the 

painful disease then called "the fever and 

ague," or intermittent fever, be sent to Fort 

Knox, where a surgeon's mate supervised 

their care. 31 

By late October, General Harrison was 

ready to move directly against the Shawnee 

in their village on the Tippecanoe River 

near the site of present-day Lafayette, Indiana . At this time the 900 to 1,000 men 

under his command were accompanied by 

three physicians, a surgeon, and two mates, 

two of whom appear to have been attached 

to the Regular Army. The health of the 

regulars had improved, but that of the 

militia was apparently deteriorating. The 

sick, among whom were presumably both 

militia and regulars, were left behind at a 

small blockhouse built for their use, with a 

sergeant's guard to protect them." 

The Indians, led in Tecumseh's absence 

by his brother, launched a surprise attack 

on 7 November 1811 upon General Harrison's camp ncar their village, but the level 

of discipline which the Americans had attained was such that they were able to 

resist the attack and mount a counterattack 

of their own which culminated in the 

destruction of the Indian confederacy 

Tecumseh had formed. General Harrison's 

men suffered total losses of fewer than 200. 

Of this number, 37 were killed in action 

and more than 150 were wounded, among 

whom was a militia surgeon's mate. Despite 

the relatively primitive conditions under 

which he was forced to work, among the 

operations which Foster apparently performed were two amputations at the 

shoulder, a type of surgery not often undertaken at the time. 33 

General Harrison's force returned to 

Vincennes on 18 November, moving the 

wounded much of the way by boat, but by 

the time they reached that post, the injuries 

of twenty-five of them had proven fatal. 

By 4 December, three more men had died 

in the general hospital at Vincennes and 

so many wounds were proving unusually 

slow to heal that Foster suspected that the 

Indians had used poisoned ammunition. Examination of the balls found in wounds 

revealed that they had been "chewed before 

they were insertd into rifles for the purpose 

of enlarging the wound and lacerating the 

contiguous flesh." " 

FORTS AND THEIR GARRISONS 

The defense policy of the new nation 

called for the establishment of forts or 

fortifications at strategic points both in 

areas where Indians and settlers were likely 

to come into conflict and along the coast, 

to guard against attacks from European 

nations. Among the concerns of the Secretary of War in 1794, for example, was the 

completion of fortifications on three islands 

in New York harbor, at eight New England 

ports, at eleven towns and cities from Philadelphia south to Georgia, and at West Point 

on the Hudson River.'"' 

One such coastal fort was Fort Jay, on 

Governors Island in the Harbor of New 

York City, constructed in 1794 in anticipation of war with France. A surgeon's mate 

was sent there in the spring of 1802, when 

the policy of assigning medical support by 

garrison rather than by regiment was adopted. (See Table 7.) A difficulty which was 

by no means unique to the New York City 

garrisons arose, however t when the Army 

surgeon assigned to the area allowed other 

concerns to distract him from his Army 

duties. About eight years after this physician 

was sent to Fort Jay, testimony at a courtmartial revealed that the only Army physician then assigned to care for the New 

York garrisons was living and practicing 

medicine within the city and on occasion 

unavailable to these men when they needed 

him.aG 
Ch.6] Between Wars: 1783-lllne 1812 139 

Fort Adams on the Mississippi River 

south of Natchez seems to have served 

as a supply distribution center for lesser 

outposts in the area. So important had this 

fort become by 1802 that it was assigned 

to the care of Carmichael, one of the two 

surgeons still remaining in the Army at 

that date. Carmichael had previously spent 

some time at Fort Adams and was, therefore, familiar with the climate and the 

problems associated with it. In 1803, a surgeon's mate was sent to work under Carmichael, a move which could have been 

necessitated either by unexpectedly heavy 

demands upon Carmichael's time or by the 

fact that this surgeon, too, had found other 

duties to keep him busy. He functioned as 

a customs collector during part of his stay 

at Fort Adams, for example, giving up this 

position only in the spring of 1803. The 

Secretary of War commented on this particular occasion, " I trust in the future his whole 

attention will be paid to his medical duties." 

By the spring of the following year, however, 

Carmichael was preparing to resign." 

The character of the forts in the Northwest Territory varied greatly; some were 

simply stockades while others were relatively 

complex installations where life was not entirely devoid of luxuries. At Fort Washington, for example, a physician owned a summerhouse which stood in the midst of the 

extensive gardens lying just beyond the walls 

of the fort. 38 

Particularly detailed records which provide insight into the work of a garrison 

surgeon were left by the surgeon's mate at 

Fort Defiance in Ohio in 1795. Here Dr. 

Joseph Gardner Andrews was responsible 

for the health not only of the garrison of 

approximately 160 officers and men, but 

also of a small number of civilians, including 

five women and a child. In addition, Andrews, like other Army physicians during 

this period, cared for the ill among neighboring Indians. S. 

In the course of fulfilling his duties in 

1795, Andrews confronted diseases which 

were undoubtedly familiar to most of the 

surgeons serving with the U.S. Army. On 

1 January, he had thirty-seven patients, all 

members of the garrison, twenty-five of 

whom were wounded. Four of the remainder 

were suffering from what he diagnosed to 

be rheumatism, three from diarrhea, one 

from dysentery, and one from intermittent 

fever. A month later, although one of his 

earlier patients was dead, the total number 

had dropped to twenty-seven, three of 

whom were convalescents and fifteen 

wounded. By I Mareh, the doctor had lost 

another patient and a child was among 

those listed as sick. By April, although the 

child was well again and Andrews's patients 

numbered only twenty-one, intermittent 

fever had made its appearance among 

them.'· 

Both the total number of patients and 

the number with intermittent fever gradually 

dropped as spring and summer wore on, 

however, despite the fact that in July there 

were "musketoes plenty" in the area between Fort Defiance and Fort Wayne. By 

late August, Andrews was himself acutely 

ill, and by 1 September, all nine of his 

patients were sick with intermittent fever. 

Ten days later, despite his own condition 

and the fact that he had "not a particle of 

Hospital Stores," he was attempting to care 

for fifteen patients, all of whom had intermittent fever. Less than a week later, when 

he himself still "Had the Ague & fever 

extremely severe," he turned to "the Dogwood bark in simple decoction" in an attempt to treat his intermittent fever patients, 

who now numbered twenty-one. 

The situation as far as hospital supplies 

were concerned had come to the attention 

of the officers at Fort Defiance, who finally 

managed to obtain eight gallons of liquor for 

the fort hospital by promising to pay for it 

themselves should the government refuse to 

do so. By the end of September, Andrews 

had also received a keg of wine and 30 
140 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

pounds of brown sugar, items which were 

sorely needed by the time they actually 

began to arrive. By I October, sixty-one of 

the total population of Fort Defiance were 

sick. Of this number, fifty-eight were listed 

as having intermittent fever and three remittent fever. Andrews observed that "The 

Intermittents in this place are extraordinarily 

rapid in depriving the patients of strength." 

The prevalence of fevers was not limited to 

Fort Defiance, 500 having been reported 

sick with the two types of fever at Fort 

Jefferson. 

By 7 October, Andrews was feeling well 

enough to pronounce himself recovered, but 

two weeks latcr his fever recurred, fortunately, it seems, for a brief time only. Others 

were [liso recovering at this time, and his 

report of 1 November records only thirty 

patients, one of whom was suffering from 

wounds and two, one of whom died a short 

time later, from typhus. By December 1795, 

Andrews's patients numbered only eleven, 

two of whom were convalescent and seven 

afflicted with "debility." 

Although the Indians Andrews treated 

included even a Delaware chief, it was an 

American who seems to have caused him 

the most trouble. Ensign Frothingham was, 

to the surgeon's great disgust, much given to 

treating himself and brought with him to 

Fort Defiance "a quantity of medicines, lotions & unguents almost equal to the contents 

of my Chest, like a person who has dabbled 

sufficiently in medicine to render it a 

dangerous tool." With the aid of an Indian 

squaw, this officer " induced a dropsy, or 

rather a very dangerous relapse, as ... he 

had the anasarca last year." Although he at 

last promised to follow Andrews's advice 

exclusively, two weeks later, on 6 December 

1795, "after a tedious illness wch he did 

not endure with that christian fortitude, that 

his affectation of religion seemed to induce 

an expectation in the minds of his Brother 

Officers," Ensign Frothingham "died . . . 

without a pang." Andrews stated that an 

autopsy revealed that his kidneys had ceased 

to function. 

WILKINSON IN THE LOUISIANA 

TERRITORY, 1809 

In 1808, fear of a possible attack by the 

British upon the newly acquired Louisiana 

Territory led to the assignment of Brig. Gen. 

James Wilkinson, another physician who 

had abandoned the active practice of medicine and an officer who moved successfully 

from one scandal, including the Aaron Burr 

conspiracy, to another, to command the 

troops to be sent to strengthen the defenses 

there.'n 

The units assigned to General Wilkinson 

in 1809 included three regular infantry regiments and elements of a fourth, in addition 

to companies of dragoons, light artillery, and 

riflemen, for a total which at times approximated 2,500 regulars. It is difficult to 

ascertain precisely the number and status of 

the physicians on duty with General Wilkinson's forces in 1809, but records surviving from this period indicate that among 

their number were the surgeons for two or 

more infantry regiments and one for a 

regiment of riflemen, in addition to a 

surgeon and a mate assigned to the general 

hospital at New Orleans as hospital physicians; there were probably others there as 

well. General Wilkinson, however, believed 

that there should have been more physicians 

with his men.

42 

A general hospital was established at 

New Orleans to care for the sick of General 

Wilkinson's command, but exactly how 

many patients this facility could handle is 

not clear. The general maintained that two 

empty barracks next to the hospital would 

be used to add as many as 500 places to 

the hospital's capacity. During the summer 

of 1 809, the immediate supervision of this 

unit was the responsibility of the hospital 
Ch. 6] Between Wars: 1783-lune 1812 141 

surgeon's mate. The hospital surgeon reportedly had a large private practice in the 

New Orleans area."a 

As far as the Army's health was concerned, the situation was building up to 

disaster by the spring of 1809 in New 

Orleans. General Wilkinson's troops were 

undisciplined, his officers inexperienced, and 

hospital stores short. In mid-April, only two 

surgeons, one of whom was ill himself, and 

two mates were actually on duty to care 

for the 550 regulars who were ill in the 

New Orleans area, and General Wilkinson 

finally believed it necessary to hire private 

physicians to help care for his men. Although the fevers which were expected in 

the summer in this area had not yet appeared, the health of the men continued 

poor, the diseases most frequently seen 

being "mostly of the bowels, and ascribable 

to a change of diet, and the water of the 

Mississippi." Eustis, Secretary of War at 

this time, expressed great concern for the 

future health of General Wilkinson's men 

and agreed with him that the Army should 

leave the city of New Orleans." 

Although on 30 April, Eustis suggested 

that General Wilkinson move his men north 

up the Mississippi River to Fort Adams and 

Natchez, in the late spring the general 

moved them to a location twelve miles 

south of New Orleans, on the west bank 

of the Mississippi, an area known as Terre 

aux Boeufs; he later claimed that he did 

not receive Eustis's communication of 30 

April until after the move to Terre aux 

Boeufs had been completed. " 

Terre aux Boeufs had a reputation for 

pools of water which stagnated long after 

a rainfall, but General Wilkinson maintained 

that the site he had chosen was a healthy 

one with good water. Although he had 

found it necessary to order drainage ditches 

dug there, he claimed specifically that the 

area was dry. 40 

The sick rate at the new campsite continued very high, although General Wilkinson, in defense of his decision, pointed out 

that Terre aux Boeufs was an improvement 

over New Orleans. In an eight-day period at 

New Orleans in early June 1809, ten men 

died and nine more deserted, but in the last 

twenty days of the month, when the army 

was at Terre aux Boeufs, only eleven men 

died and three deserted. He also stated that 

on 14 June, shortly after the move, 565 of 

the 1,662 men present at camp were sick, 

but that on 27 June, only 429 were sick of 

a total of 1,690." 

The summer was a grim one. General 

Wilkinson claimed that hospital tents were 

set up for each regiment at Terre aux 

Boeufs and eventually an eighty-man hospital as well, but, even so, at times the sick 

had to remain in their own tents. The supply 

of medicines was inadequate and the surgeons in attendance were often sick themselves. The flour was at times moldy, worminfested, and so hard as to challenge an ax. 

It was suspected that the general was in 

collusion with the contractors who were 

responsible for supplying his force.·8 

The supply problem was not alleviated, 

however, by either the management of Secretary of War Eustis or the custom of 

allotting supplies by company without reference to hospital requirements. Eustis alternated between forbidding the purchase of 

the expensive eggs, poultry, and wine physicians wanted for their patients and maintaining that he could not understand why 

all things necessary for the health of the 

troops had not been purchased. The general 

himself blamed the youth and inexperience 

of the contractor's agent and finally resorted 

to the step of authorizing his hospital surgeon to buy personally whatever the sick 

needed" 

General Wilkinson did not initially move 

his men upstream when he finally did receive Eustis's suggestion because, he maintained, those familiar with the area told him 

that such a move at that time would endanger the health of his men. The general 
142 THE ARMY MEDICAL D EPARTMENT, 1 775- 181 8 

stated to Eustis that since the trip would 

have to be made by water, it could lead to 

the deaths of as many as nine-tenths of his 

men. On 22 June, however, Eustis specifically ordered an immediate move to Fort 

Adams and Natchez. 00 

Despite General Wilkinson's misgivings, 

the voyage up the Mississippi River was undertaken, albeit not as soon as Eustis wished. 

Dr. Alfred Thruston, surgeon for the 7th 

Infantry Regiment, had officially protested 

the idea of moving the men during the heat 

of summer, but in September, the sickest 

men having been sent back to the general 

hospital at New Orleans, 1,542 men began 

the journey. All of them were taken across 

the river to the east bank in boats, and then 

the 982 men able to do so were put on shore 

to proceed north on foot. The remainder, 

382 of whom were convalescents still too 

weak to march, stayed in the boats for the 

entire trip.Cil 

Although there seems to have been no 

lack of both medicines and such staples of 

the diet of the sick as tea, sugar, chocolate, 

brandy, and wine during the voyage, it was 

soon impossible to provide the sick with 

proper medical care. Their number multiplied rapidly and the boats were soon so 

crowded with the ill that the surgeons could 

move among them only at night, when camp 

was set up on shore. 52 

The trip from Terre aux Boeufs to Natchez was completed in approximately 45 

days. By early October, however, there were 

so many ill among the men that two groups 

of patients, each accompanied by a physician, were left off before they reached Natchez. The officers took up a collection to 

buy supplies for the hospital which was set 

up for 100 patients south of Fort Adams, 

and another 120 sick officers and men were 

landed at Fort Adams itself. An estimated 

300 more men died on the journey." 

General Wilkinson himself, however, was 

not with his men for this tragic voyage. At 

the time of the departure, being seriously ill 

with "remittent fever, attended with very 

violent paroxysms," he remained at New 

Orleans. In November, he set out for Natchez, where a short time later he was relieved by Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton." 

It seems reasonable to assume that several 

diseases were to blame for the devastation 

of General Wilkinson's army in the spring, 

summer, and fall of 1809, when at least 500 

and possibly as many as 1,000 died . The 

surgeon for the 5th Infan try Regiment, Dr. 

William Upshaw, reported that the most 

prevalent diseases in the early summer were 

"chronic diseases, bilious and intermittent 

fevers, some cases of scurvy," The chronic 

ailments seem to have been diarrheas, which 

were blamed on changes in food and water 

despite the fact that some cases predated 

the arrival at New Orleans, and a violent 

dysentery." 

General Wilkinson himself noted that the 

heat was usually blamed when the number 

of sick was high and that although June and 

July were wet months, the disease rate 

among his men did not peak until later. If 

one were to assume that malaria was onc of 

the principal diseases afflicting the men 

along the southern Mississippi River, however, the late summer peak would not be 

unusual. More recent records indicate, for 

example, that the number of admissions to 

Army hospitals in the continental United 

States because of malaria in 1921 was greatest in August and September and that the 

peak month during both world wars generally came no earlier than July and at times 

as late as the early fall '· 

General Wilkinson and the others concerned with the health of his troops, however, appear to have had no real suspicion 

that mosquitoes were related to the high 

disease and death rate in 1809, even though 

they did try to protect the troops from 

them. In August of 1808, the Secretary of 

War suggested to the military agent for 

New Orleans the purchase of u a reasonable 
Ch. 6J Between Wars: 1783- June 1812 143 

supply of musquitoe nets for the troops." 

In April of the following year, General Wilkinson ordered 100 mosquito bars specifically for the field hospital serving his sick 

and still more for the rest of his men. It was 

noted at the time, however, that since the 

diarrhea common in his army caused nonhospitalized men to leave and reenter their 

tents frequently in the course of an evening, 

mosquito bars did not always solve the 

mosquito problem. 57 

At least one attempt was made by a surgeon familiar with the sufferings of General 

Wilkinson's men to find a single disease 

which could be blamed for most of the illness. Dr. J abez Heustis chose scurvy as the 

culprit, but admitted that not all of the 

symptoms he had recorded were those usually associated with it. 

This disease first made its appearance 

among the soldiers in the form of an intermitting fever, which, by degrees, assumed a more 

malignant aspect, acquiring the character of 

the bilious remitting, or yellow fever; becoming morc malignant as the season advanced, 

and the heat increased. In some instances this 

fever was of a violent inflammatory character, 

in others, typhoid symptoms marked both its 

invasion and progress . ... Towards the end of 

July the epidemic malady appeared among the 

troops in a new form, of such an anomalous 

aspect, as at first to occasion doubts as to 

its nature.~8 

Before the more obvious symptoms appeared, according to Heustis, the " features 

became sad . . . and the face assumed a 

sallow hue." In time the joints became stiff 

"and the tendons in the arms rigid and contracted." The patient then began to experience "pain in the parotid glands," and, in 

time, "buboes ... in the groin," petechiae, 

loose teeth, and bleeding gums. From 

this point onward the disease progressed 

rapidly, according to Heustis, "destroying 

the whole inside of the mouth in twelve 

hours, and frequently in less than half that 

time." In one case, a patient was so severely 

affected that he took "hold of his tongue 

... deliberately drew it from his mouth , and 

threw it on the table, for the contemplation 

of his companions."l'.iU 

Heustis was not entirely satisfied with 

scurvy as an explanation for the illnesses 

which affl icted General Wilkinson's men. 

The symptoms he observed reminded him 

in some ways of descriptions of "the Eastern plague," which, as he understood it, 

was also characterized by enlarged glands, 

"feotor of the breath," buboes in the groin, 

and petechiae. Furthermore, he noted, 

scurvy was not usually accompanied by 

diarrhea and dysentery. Officers did not 

often contract this illness, a phenomenon 

which Heustis attributed to their custom 

of buying fresh food from local inhabitants, 

something enlisted men could not afford to 

do, but he concluded that "The efficient 

cause of this pestilential distemper was undoubtedly the use of unwholesome and corrupt provision" such as "old, rancid" pork 

and beef which was "poor, lean," and that 

air "highly impregnated with noxious miasmata" was undoubtedly a contributing 

factor. co 

Heustis blamed 1,000 casualties upon the 

disease he was attempting to define. He 

estimated that 150 of that total had been 

"destroyed at Terre-aux-Boeufs," 250 during the journey upriver, and 600 at the new 

campsites. He believed, however, that the 

chief physician caring for General Wilkinson's men in the Natchez area had contributed to the high mortality rate with his 

"injudicious use of mercury, which was 

prescribed as a general remedy by the superintending physician .... A few doses of 

this medicine relieved the patient of his 

misery, and put an end to his earthly sufferings." He added that other physicians with 

General Wilkinson's men did not share the 

fa ith of their superior in mercurials and in 

his absence omitted his prescriptions in 

favor of "vegetable remedies," such as sorrel and wild peppergrass.·' 
144 THE ARM Y M I! DIe A L D I! PAR T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - I 8 1 8 

MANAGEMENT OF SUPPLIES 

Army physicians had no supply system of 

their own in this period, and for much of 

the time, no physician was directly involved 

in the purchasing and distributing 01 hospital supplies and medicines. Attempts were 

made to control the use 01 these items and 

to increase the efficiency 01 the supply system by such steps as establishing separate 

lists 01 medicines to be purchased lor southern and northern areas, but complaints 01 

shortages and poor management continued 

to come in lrom the field, and physicians 

were lorced to exercise what ingenuity they 

could. To augment their supplies 01 medicines, they turned to such locally available 

remedies as the barks 01 wild cherry, sassafra s, willow, and other trees, using them for 

conditions ranging lrom levers to consumption. It should be noted that in spite 01 the 

fact that it was so difficult to keep its physicians adequately provided, the War Department at times permitted some 01 them to 

use government supplies for their own 

private patients." 

Complaints were heard involving both the 

quantity and quality 01 medicines bought, 

according to Secretary 01 War Eustis, by 

the "Purveyor of Public Supplies." Eustis, 

apparently determined that something be 

done to give a physician a role in the purchasing and distributing of medicines and 

hospital supplies, finally turned to Dr. Benjamin Rush for advice. He also asked for 

the name of someone who could work with 

the men who had the overall responsibility 

for purchasing. Rush recommended Dr. 

J ames Mease, who worked at this task during the winter and spring 01 1810. With 

Rush's aid, Mease composed a list of the 

necessary supplies and then personally inspected and packed the items to be distributed to the surgeons. 03 

Mease's services seem to have been rendered on a temporary basis, for in February 

1812, Dr. Francis LeBaron was given the 

task of managing the "selection, inspection 

and putting up of the medicines and hospital 

stores." LeBaron's position was not an official one, a fact which seems to have very 

much concerned him. He urged that Congress create the official position of "Inspector of Medicine & Hospital Stores," but by 

the end 01 1812, nothing had been done 

about the matter."' 

LeBaron's duties included the composition of standardized lists of drug needs and 

the solicitation of bids on them from the 

leading druggists in Boston, New York, and 

Philadelphia. He was also responsible lor 

constructing and outfitting 01 medicine 

chests, each 01 which was intended to serve 

500 men and to be carried on a baggage 

wagon three and one-half feet lang." 

LeBaron's center 01 operations appears 

to have been Philadelphia, but he was also 

expected to establish storage depots elsewhere. On 8 June 1812, a few days before 

war was offiCially declared, he was ordered 

to set up a depot at Albany, "for an Hospital Establishment lor the Northern 

Army." 00 

Throughout the entire period from 1783 

to the outbreak of the War of 1812, the 

medical support of the units composing the 

Regular U.S. Army lay, for all practical 

purposes, entirely in the hands 01 individual 

surgeons. Separated from one another by 

vast distances, frustrated by shortages of 

medicines and supplies, they struggled with 

the health problems of soldiers who were 

poorly trained, poorly clothed, poorly fed, 

and only too olten poorly led as well. It 

was of physicians caring for the Army's 

sick and wounded under just such circumstances, however, that a soldier who had 

witnessed their efforts wrote "too much 

cannot be said in their praise." 67 
Ch. 6] Between Wars: 1783- June 1812 145 

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146 THE ARM Y ME DI e A L DE PAR T MEN T, 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

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Cit. 6] Between Wars: 1783

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Administration of Medical Support, 

June 1812 to January 1815 

Largely because of British impressment of 

American seamen and their aid to the Indians, the United States had been anticipating war with Great Britain for several years 

before the actual declaration on 18 June 

1812, but neither the Army nor the organization of the Army's medical support was 

ready for open hostilities when they came.! 

OPENING MONTHS OF THE 

WAR OF 1812 

The, direction of the nation's armed forces 

at this crucial time remained in the somewhat inept hands of Secretary of War William Eustis. It was Eustis who sent Brig. 

Gen. William Hull orders hours before war 

was forma lly declared but did not inform 

him that this step was imminent. It was also 

Eustis who assigned Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn to command in the North without telling him that his command included Detroit, 

leaving General Dearborn to assume that 

Detroit was not his responsibility. Eustis 

resigned in December 1812, however, and 

was replaced by John Armstrong. 

Initial preparation for war involved little 

in the way of organizational change for the 

Army despite the increase in size from 

slightly more than 6,500 in 1812 to 19,000 

in 1813. The nation's leaders had little enthusiasm for centralization and staff offices; 

the medical department which had been established in anticipation of war with France 

at the turn of the century had been disbanded 

when the threat abated. The enrolling of 

surgeons and mates to be directly attached 

to hospitals had been authorized in 1808, 

however, and the assignment of surgeons 

and mates directly to regiments was revived 

in January 1812. (See Table 7.) 

Eustis continued LeBaron in his informal 

position as inspector of the supplies needed 

by the Army's surgeons in their work but 

supervised his work closely. With the coming 

of war, however, it became necessary to 

establish depots beyond the one already 

planned for Albany, which Eustis was planning to turn into a major medical supply 

center for troops all along the Canadian 

frontier. Late in August, the Secretary of 

War sent LeBaron a series of orders requiring him to send at once to Pittsburgh "medicine & apparatus for five Regiments, in small 

chests; also to Annapolis, medicine, surgical 

instruments &ca, for four hundred militia on 

duty at that place." 2 Only a few days later, 

Eustis also ordered LeBaron to send " the 

necessary medicine & Stores for an Hospital 

Establishment at New York." 3 

Although the militia called into federal 

service supplied its own surgeons, it looked 

to the Regular Army for medical supplies. 

LeBaron was, therefore, required to send 

sufficient hospital stores and medicines from 

his Albany warehouse to Niagara for the 

5,000 militia there and to be prepared, 

should there not be a sufficient quantity on 
Ch.7] Medical Support Administration: June I 8l2- January 1815 149 

hand at Albany to meet this requirement, to 

send more north from Philadelphia at once. 

Supplying the militia, however, made anticipation of needs much more difficult. Although militia and volun teer units played an 

important role in the War of 1812, the 

accurate prediction of how many such urnts 

might come in or when they might appear 

was impossible. Should unexpectedly large 

numbers come in during the autumn or 

spring, the "sickly seasons," shortages could 

occur very rapidly.' 

Eustis directly supervised the financial 

management of medical supply and ordered 

LeBaron in October 18 12 to prepare estimates on projected expenses for 1813. He 

also informed LeBaron that the Quartermaster believed that money could be saved 

by purchasing supplies where they were to 

be used, thus avoiding shipping expenses. 

LeBaron, however, explained that local 

sources of supply, even for such easily 

obtained items as vinegar and cornmeal, 

were uncertain and that he could not be sure 

of obtaining these items locally when they 

were needed. II 

Eustis also personally made decisions such 

as the one involving the size of the medicine 

chests to be constructed for the Army's use. 

LeBaron was ordered to have small chests 

made, despite the fact that surgeons could 

not seem to agree about what medicines 

were absOlutely necessary to such a chest. 

LeBaron pointed out that when large chests 

were used, he could include adequate 

amounts of all the drugs which might be 

required without being forced to try to 

predict what each individual surgeon might 

use in every possible situation. It was not 

until the following spring that the discussion 

was fin ally resolved in favor of small chests.' 

LeBaron himself criticized the lack of 

system and organization which made "wanton waste" possible and noted that the 

surgeons themselves were complaining that 

they were unsure as to the nature of their 

responsibilities. He cited an instance when a 

militia surgeon reported for duty at a site 

where three months' allowance of hospital 

supplies was stored for militia use, then 

invited in his friends, " and eat, & drank them 

up," returning home before the hospital 

surgeon for the area could discover what 

had happened.' 

WORK O F THE M E DI C AL 

D E PARTMENT 

Nine months of the War of 1812 passed 

before the offices of Physician and Surgeon 

General and Apothecary General were 

created in March 1813. Although demands 

upon the Army's physicians were heavy, it 

was June before appointments to these positions were actually made, and the additional 

regulations necessary to complete the central 

organization of the Army Medical Department and to define its functions were issued 

at irregular intervals throughout the remainder of the war. 

It was on 3 March 1813, in an act reorganizing the general staff of the U.S. Army, 

that the Congress also created in a few 

brief words the positions of Physician and 

Surgeon General and Apothecary General, 

both of which were to be filled by civilians. 

(See Appendix I for texts of those portions 

of major legislation which affected the Medical Department.) Unlike the department 

designed in 1799, this new organization 

involved only the Army, and rather than detailing the responsibilities of both officers, it 

made the President responsible for outlining 

the specific duties of both' In May 1813, 

therefore, President Madison issued his 

"Rules and Regulations of the Army of the 

United States." 

The new regulations forbade private practice to all Army physicians and outlined the 

duties of the Physician and Surgeon General, 

who was made responsible for the specific 

assignments of individual surgeons. The 

Physician and Surgeon General was also 

responsible for the appointment of stewards 
150 THE ARM Y M E Die A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

TABLE 8-P AY AND A LLOWANCES FOR HIE ST AFF 

OF nm M EDICA L D EPARTMENT , MAY 1813 

Position Monthly 

Salary 

Forage 

Allowances Rations 

Hospital Surgeon $75 2 6 

Hospital Surgeon's 40 2 2 

Mate 

Steward 20 0 2 

Wardmastcr 16 0 2 

Surgeon 4S 2 3 

Mate 30 2 2 

SOUR.CE: American Siale Paperl : Milita,}' Affairs. 1:435. 

NOTE: The Physician and Surgeon General received a straight 

salary of $2.500 a year without allowances, the Apothecnry 

General $ 1,800 without allowances. 

and nurses and for the management and use 

of the stores, instruments, and medicines 

boughl for Ihe Medical Department by the 

Purchasing Department, with the Apothecary 

General serving as his assistant. A scale of 

pay and allowances was also established for 

the department and, in addition, every hospital a nd regimental surgeon was granted the 

privilege of a private room at whatever 

facilily he was serving. (Table 8 ) Another 

passage in the May 18 13 regulations prescribed a uniform for the Physician and 

Surgeon General, the Apothecary General, 

and hospilal surgeons and mates. It was to 

resemble that of the general staff, but was 

specifically characterized by an embroidered 

gold star on the high collar of the black coat, 

" pocket flaps, and buttons placed across the 

cuffs, four to each, and covered bultons in 

all instances, of the color of the coat. " 0 

The following December, further regulations were issued to govern the department's 

operations. The senior surgeon assigned to 

each of the nine military districts into which 

Secretary of War Eustis had divided the 

military organization of the country in 1812 

was to be the director of the medical staff of 

that district, including regimental surgeons. 

The specific assignment of each physician 

was to be based upon his personal ability 

and training. All Army surgeons had to be 

either graduates of approved medical schools 

or capable of passing an examination administered by an Army examination board. 

In the spring of 1814, one such board consisted of the Inspector General of the Army, 

the Physician and Surgeon General of the 

Medical Department, two hospital surgeons, 

and three regimental surgeons.'· 

The areas covered by the military districts 

in the spring of 1813 were as follows: 

1: Massachusetts, New Hampshire 

2 : Rhode Island, Connecticut 

3: New York to the Highlands, part of New 

Jersey 

4 : Part of New Jersey, .111 of Pennsylvania nDd 

Delaware 

5: Maryland, Virginia 

6: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia 

7: Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi 

8: Kentucky, Ohio, Northwest Territory 

9: New York north of the Highlands, Vermont 

SOURCE: Marguerite McKee, "Service of Supply in the War or 

1812," QIlDflermasler Review 6 ( 1921) : 49-50. SOn. 

Modifications and additions to these regulations continued 10 appear during the 

course of 1814. In March, for example, two 

rations a day and forage for two horses were 

added to the salary already allowed the 

Physician and Surgeon General, and $ 15 a 

month was added to the pay of regimental 

surgeons and mates. The President was now 

also permitted to hire as ma ny assistant 

apothecaries as he believed necessary . In 

December 1814, yet another set of regulations for the Medical Departmenl was issued 

and policy limiting the number of patients 

admitted into general hospitals was officially 

stated ; unless the movements of an army 

required leaving its patients behind, only lhe 

wounded or the chronically ill should be 

sent to the general hospital. The Apothecary 

General and his assistants were at this time 

made directly responsible to lhe superintendent general of military supplies for lhe disbursement of all hospital supplies boughl for 

the Medical Department by the Commissary 

General of Purchases." (For a detailed 

description of the duties of various members 
CII.7] Medical Support Administration; lime I812- January 1815 151 

of the department as understood at this time, 

see Appendix J.) 

By the end of 1814, the departmental 

structure included hospital surgeons, who 

were assigned responsibilities according to 

their seniority, and their mates, as well as 

post Or garrison surgeons and regimental 

surgeons and mates. The senior hospital 

surgeon in an army or district served as its 

medical director and was responsible for the 

medical staff of that army or district. Although regimental surgeons and mates seem 

to have been identified with their regiments 

more closely than with the Medical Department and the reports of the Physician and 

Surgeon General did not even mention them, 

they were nevertheless required to submit 

monthly and quarterly reports to the medical 

director of the army or district in which they 

were serving. These reports were consolidated with those from hospital surgeons and 

post surgeons by the senior surgeon in 

charge and forwarded on to the Physician 

and Surgeon General. 12 

The precautions necessary to ensure high 

standards of cleanliness and sanitation were 

officially spelled out in the December 1814 

directives. The wardmaster, for example, was 

responsible for seeing that c1osestools were 

cleaned at least three times a day and that 

either water or charcoal was kept in them. 

Beds and bedclothes were to be aired each 

day and exposed to sunlight when possible. 

The straw in each bed sack was to be changed at least every month. When a patient was 

discharged or died, the straw from his sack 

was to be burned. Each patient was to be 

washed every day and his hair combed. At 

least one female attendant was to be assigned to each hospital or infirmary to perform such menial tasks as the cleaning or 

washing of bunks, floors, bedding, and cooking utensils, for which she was to be paid no 

more than $6 a month plus one ration a day. 

The regulations of December 1814 also 

went into detail concerning the housing of 

regimental and post surgeons and mates. AIthough the latter were regarded as having a 

lower status than their colleaguos assigned 

to regiments, they were, like the regimental 

and hospital surgeons, assigned to single 

rooms. To heat each room, regardless of 

occupancy, a half a cord of wood was 

allotted in the May- October period and 

three times that amount during the colder 

months of the year. 

Regimental surgeons were made responsible for the continued training of their 

mates and private practice once again was 

forbidden in this last set of instructions. 

Should medical care be required at any time 

for units unaccompanied by an Army surgeon, however, provision was made for the 

officer in command to hire a civilian 

physician and pay him according to the 

patient load. Should there be more than 

thirty patients involved, the civilian doctor 

would be paid a salary identical with that 

of the surgeon's matc. 

It was not until I I June 18 I 3, however, 

that the position of Physician and Surgeon 

General of the Medical Department was 

filled with the appointment of Dr. James 

Tilton. Tilton, who has been described as 

"one of those American eccentrics who had 

that combination of erudition and native 

radicalism which has provided this country 

with some of its most engaging characters," 

had become familiar with the problems of 

military medicine during the Revolution and 

had already expressed some distinct ideas 

on the best approach to some of them.!3 

At this time, however, Tilton himself was 

not in the best of health. In the summer of 

1 814, he commented often on his "frail condition," citing his "anthrax," which was "still 

an open wound of some extent," and the 

"rheumatic swelling of my knee that is not 

a little inconvenient." 14 The growth on his 

knee was "threatening to make a cripple of 

me" in September 1814 and apparently later 

proved to be malignant, his leg being amputated within less than a year and a half 

of these references to it. There is no specific 
152 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

JAMES TILTON. (Courtesy 0/ Natioflal Library 

of Medicine.) 

evidence, however, to indicate that his poor 

health and the fact that he spent much of his 

term of office at his home in Wilmington, 

Delaware," interfered with his effectiveness 

as head of the Medical Department. 

Serving under Physician and Surgeon 

General Tilton was Apothecary General 

Francis LeBaron, officially appointed to this 

position on 11 June 1813, although he had 

been managing the supplies since before the 

outbreak of war. Not long after he became 

Apothecary General, LeBaron requested the 

appointment of assistant apothecaries, but 

fourteen months elapsed before the first two 

assistants were hired. By the end of 1814, 

however, there were nine assistants working 

under LeBaron, assigned to Philadelphia, 

Norfolk, Charleston, New Orleans, Williamsville, Sackett's Harbor, New York City, New 

London, and Boston.1O 

There was confusion, however, as to the 

whereabouts of many of the other members 

of the Medical Department. In the spring of 

1814, for example, the Adjutant General 

wrote Tilton to request from him a list of the 

assignments given his surgeons and commented that "with your list and by the help 

of the records in this office, probably we 

shall be able to account for and where the officers of your department are." 17 In responding to this request, however, the head of the 

Medieal Department pointed out that, although the list he was enclosing was accurate 

concerning hospital surgeons and mates, 

"The garrison surgeons and mates may be 

defective, as they are a species of Surgeons 

that I have had but little to do with." 18 

There was also apparently some confusion 

about which surgeon was in charge in each 

area. In his final report for 1814, for 

example, Tilton commented of the 8th District that he had been told that a Dr. Turner, 

who was only a regimental surgeon, had 

"very improperly assumed the directing." 10 

The difficulty experienced in establishing 

the locations of members of the department 

can be illustrated by the wanderings of one 

of its members, Dr. John R. Martin, who 

was ordered in June 1813 to join Maj. Gen. 

William Henry Harrison in Ohio. In February 1814, however, Martin was in 

Washington, D.C., but was ordered to go to 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This order was 

rescinded two days later and he was ordered 

to remain where he was. The next month he 

was ordered to Erie, New York, but two 

months after this he was apparently located 

in Ohio and was sent a letter which ordered 

him to go to Buffalo. His presence in Buffalo, 

however, was by August considered to be 

" likely to interrupt the harmony which subsisted" there and his assignment was changed 

to Sackett's Harbor, New York. One cannot 

be sure of where Martin was actually located 

while his assignments were being changed. 
Ch.7] Medical Support Administration: lune I8I2-lanuary 1815 153 

It seems likely, for example, that the "Dr. 

Martin" who assisted another physician in 

caring for wounded Americans taken captive 

by the British in late August north of Washington, D.C., at a time when John R. Martin 

had been ordered to upstate New York was 

none other than this same John R. Martin.'· 

The length of time it must have taken Martin 

to go from one place to another would only 

have added to the confusion, and it is possible, of course, that some of these changes 

of assignment never caught up with him. 

The relationship of the staff of the Medical Department to the numerous militia and 

volunteer units which served at various times 

against the British in the War of 1812 appears never to have been specifically outlined. In practice, the surgeons reporting for 

service with these units usually cared for 

their own sick and wounded. On at least one 

occasion, at the time of the British raid on 

Washington in 1814, a separate hospital 

was established for militia wounded.'! When 

necessary, however, the hospital staff of the 

Medical Department cared for these men 

within the general hospital system. 

Despite the criteria established in December 1813, the caliber of the phYSicians serving in the Regular U.S. Army at this time 

was by no means uniform. While some 

surgeons earned enviable reputations among 

their colleagues, others were less fortunate. 

According to the outspoken Tilton, a garrison surgeon's mate at Detroit, for example, 

was "not only incompetent in medical 

knowledge, but so sottishly abject in his 

conduct, as to be utterly unworthy of trust 

or confidence." A surgeon with the 18th 

Infantry Regiment was "not only incompetent, but deranged to such a degree as to 

make it unsafe & improper to trust patients 

in his charge." The much-transferred Martin, 

his superior noted, had been "accused of 

purloining the rations of the sick." Martin 

and another surgeon were, indeed, "nothing 

more than disorderly excrescenses '. that 

had better be lopped off." 22 

In the opinion of at least one experienced 

Army physician, it was difficult to retain the 

surgeons who served on the regimental staff 

because of the inadequate pay they received. 

Costs along the Canadian frontier were particularly high, he pointed out, and regimental 

surgeons and their mates tended to serve a 

year because of "Curiosity alone" and then 

leave'3 It should be noted, however, that 

well over half of the surgeons on the regimental staff in 1813 returned the next year 

to serve either in the same capacity as they 

had been serving in 1813 or in a different 

one within the regimental framework. 

By the end of 1813, the staff of the 

Medical Department had become quite large 

and the several documents issued since the 

spring of 18 13 had to some degree outlined 

the way in which the department should 

operate, but the policy concerning the hiring 

of additional personnel appears to have remained unclear. A question which arose in 

the summer of 1814, however, was answered 

in the December 1814 additions to the regulations. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, hospital 

BENJAMIN WATERHOUSE. (Courtesy of National 

Library of Medicille.) 
154 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L DE PAR T MEN T, 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

surgeon in Boston, commented that he was 

not sure whether nurses should be allotted 

rations in addition to their salaries of $6 a 

month. The rules of the department as he 

then understood them stated that nurses 

should receive no more than $6, but nurses 

of the necessary caliber could not be hired 

at that rate, in his opinion. Waterhouse also 

posed another question. Young men were 

being actively sought to work in the department, but he wondered whether those "of a 

family, habits & connexions notorious for 

opposition to the Administration, the war, & 

the loaning of money to the government" 

should be hired. He himself believed "that 

no man should eat the bread of the government who throws himself into the scale of 

the opposition," especially since the Army 

was already "sadly encumbered by people 

of this class" who were "afraid or ashamed 

to wear even the cockade." 24 

During the less than two years he was in 

office, Physician and Surgeon General Tilton 

attempted to initiate a system of reporting 

from Army surgeons around the nation. He 

wished to accumulate not only data on the 

numbers of hospitalized patients, their diseases, and the number who died, but also 

other information of value to medical science 

concerning weather, c1imate, and the siting 

of hospitals. The department was still in 

such a state of confusion, however, and the 

surgeons were so accustomed to working 

independently that in August 1814, when 

Tilton turned in his report for the department to the Secretary of War, he was forced 

to point out that his subordinates had provided him with little of the requested information. Six months later, furthermore, the 

situation had changed very little." 

On the basis of the reports he did receive, 

however, Tilton concluded in the summer of 

1814 that in general the health of the Army 

was good. He believed that while improved 

discipline and the resultant greater personal 

and hospital cleanliness played a major roll 

in the Army's health, the effort to avoid 

crowding general hospitals was also an importan t factor. 2. 

In February 1815, the Physician and 

Surgeon General submitted his second report, which included all but the last weeks of 

the hostilities of the War of 1812. There was 

so little improvement in the response of the 

various surgeons under him that he pointed 

out to the Secretary of War that "The negligent habits, which had gained footing, in the 

medical department before anything like 

system was attempted to be established can 

hardly be reformed, without further legislative & executive aids." Only one report had 

come in from the 1 st District, for example, 

there was no report whatever from the 8th, 

and even in the 3d District, where the senior 

hospital surgeon had apparently gone to considerable trouble to collect data from the 

physicians under him, the reports were not 

complete.2j 

Because of the attitude prevalent among 

his subordinates at the time he became head 

of the Medical Department, it is difficult to 

assess Tilton's performance as Physician and 

Surgeon General fairly. He proposed measures, among them the creation of examining 

boards and the submission of regular reports 

from the field, which would in the hands of 

his successors make it possible for the department to operate with notably greater 

efficiency and effectiveness than it had ever 

done before 1815; but Tilton was not in 

office long enough to achieve any significant 

success along these lines himself or to leave 

any clear indication whether his health was 

seriously limiting his ability to enforce the 

orders he issued. Years of effort would have 

been required to effect the necessary improvement in discipline, and his attempts to 

exercise effective supervision and contra] 

over the selection and assignment of Army 

surgeons under the relatively rapidly changing conditions of war were also frustrated by 

the inevitably slow communications of the 

period. 

During this period, purchasing was still, 
Ch. 7] Medical Support Administration: June 1812-!anuary 1815 ISS 

in theory, handled on an Army-wide basis, 

by the Commissary General of Purchases. 

This system has since been evaluated as a 

total failure, with the work of the contractors 

who supplied rations receiving particularly 

heavy criticism. Except where a specific 

contract had been arranged, the Army's 

purchasing department was assigned the 

responsibility for buying such hospital stores 

as the Medical Department needed and turning them over to the Apothecary General's 

department. In practice, the situation was 

not so simple and the management of supply 

for the newly appointed Apothecary General 

was also complicated by poor roads, the 

long distances which often separated garrisons and armies from supply centers, the 

shortage of specie, and a general distrust of 

paper money. 28 

Having been ordered on 21 June 1813 to 

"establish" himself at Albany, LeBaron arrived in upstate New York at the end July. 

Surgeons were ordered to send him their 

estimates there, where he was to requisition 

his needs from the deputy commissary of 

purchases and turn for transportation to the 

Quartermaster General. Apparently these 

three gentlemen as well as the Army contractor for the area all experienced particular difficulty in meeting militia needs, and 

in October 1814, the Adjutant General 

ordered them to design a form which would 

include the pertinent regulations and which 

could be used in an effort to improve the 

management of supply for these units." 

LeBaron's role was never an easy one; he 

came under fire not only for the quality of 

some of the stores he provided, which suggests that he may have actually been doing 

his own buying directly, but also for the way 

in which medicines were packed. The Secretary of War complained in the spring of 

1813 that the medicine contained unnecessary ingredients which made " the preparations elegant" 80 and in the fall of the same 

year that LeBaron's chocolate was "a vile 

cheat and highly pernicious to the sick," 

and his port wine was "vile stuff," "the worse 

and weakest kind." The secretary maintained 

that LeBaron, who at the time complained 

about high prices and a lack of fund s, could 

afford stores of a better quality if he acquired them locally wherever possible, thus 

avoiding high transportation costs."' To follow this suggestion, however, LeBaron would 

have had to do his own purchasing. 

The problem of the size of the medicine 

chests which he distributed continued to 

plague LeBaron. Some surgeons were refusing to take chests with them because of the 

difficulties involved in moving such large 

containers when the Army was on the march, 

and one physician was so impressed by their 

size that he referred to them as "the most 

astonishing things." LeBaron, however, 

maintained that the larger chests were used 

because there had been a requirement that 

no regiment have more than two chests. Since 

initially neither he nor the surgeons had had 

enough experience to predict precisely what 

types or quantities of drugs would be needed, 

he had found it necessary to supply a greater 

variety and a greater quantity than might 

actually be needed." 

The Secretary of War finally ordered LeBaron to reduce the size of the chests he 

issued in the future , and the Apothecary 

General began to prepare smaller ones, 

weighing approximately 160 pounds, in addition to storage chests, weighing from 120 

to 200 pounds, from which they could be 

replenished. He was actually, however, faced 

with the problem of disposing of at least 

eight of the large boxes which he now could 

no longer send out to the Army's surgeons. 

He hoped that the Navy would take them, 

since size would not be a handicap on shipboard, but the Navy had no need for more 

chests. LeBaron then suggested sending them 

to New Orleans, using water transportation 

as much as possible, to serve there as a 

source of supply for new posts which might 

be opened in that area. The Secretary of 

War pointed out that it would be wise to send 
156 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D E PAR T MEN T, 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

these containers to posts which could not be 

easily supplied and where there would also 

be no need to move them about. 33 

LeBaron tried to emphasize planning as a 

method of preventing unnecessary distribution problems and urged such steps as the 

establishment of a distribution center for the 

South at New Orleans. Despite his efforts, 

however, events he could not fore see added 

to his troubles. On one occasion, while he 

was away on an inspection trip, supplies 

which had been accumulated at Pittsburgh 

for two divisions were all sent to the single 

division under General Harrison. On another 

occasion, in the Niagara area, stores which 

had been at Sackett's Harbor simply disappeared, "mostly lost, destroyed, or stolen." 

The troops at French Mills were in need at 

this time, but Maj. Gen. James Wilkinson's 

men had already used up all the stores which 

had been stockpiled at Burlington, Vermont.Soi 

In December 1814, a third difficulty arose 

when Dr. James Cutbush, Assistant Apothecary General, arrived at Philadelphia to take 

up his duties. LeBaron had placed all the 

medicines stored there in the hands of a 

civilian apothecary following the death of an 

otherwise unidentified Dr. West, but the retail druggist made up into medicines some 01-

the simple drugs which had thus fallen into 

his hands and proposed that the Army pay 

the retail rate to get them back'" 

Many of the problems experienced by LeBaron and other members of the new Medical Department resulted from the fact that 

the outbreak of the War of 1812 found the 

Army's system of medical support unprepared to meet the suddenly escalating demands placed upon it. Congress, however, 

appeared relatively unimpressed by the 

seriousness of the situation and assigned to 

the executive the task of establishing guidelines for the management of a Medical Department which it created only nine months 

after the declaration of the war. Hastily and 

casually conceived and staffed for the most 

part with men unaccustomed to the demands 

of military medicine, the Medical Department was severely handicapped in its 

attempts to provide adequate care for the 

Army's sick and wounded. 
8 

Early Campaigns in the North, 

1812 to 1813 

During the first campaign season of the War 

of 1812, the physicians caring for the 

regular soldiers of the U.S. Army were 

forced to work under a decentralized, peacetime organization. During the second season, 

the effort required to meet the unpredictable 

demands of war at the same time that the 

Medical Department was being reestablished 

made it difficult for Army surgeons to give 

their patients the best care available even by 

nineteenth century standards. 

SEASON OF 1812 

American plans for the early months of the 

War of 1812 called for a three-pronged 

attack on Canada by means of thrusts from 

the Lake Champlain- St. Lawrence River 

area, from Niagara, and from the Northwest 

Territory. (Map 10) By the end of 1812, 

all three moves had failed.' 

For the attack against Canada from the 

American side of the St. Lawrence River, six 

thousand to eight thousand men were gathered in the fall of 1812 at Grcenbush, near 

Albany, under the personal command of 

Maj . Gen. Henry Dearborn. In November, 

the army marched from Plattsburg, New 

York, to launch an attack against Montreal. 

The militia, however, stood on its right not 

to fight on foreign soil. Those who did cross 

into Canada managed to fire on one another 

in the confusion. After the fiasco, the militia 

returned home and the light artillery and 

dragoons returned to Greenbush. Three regiments of regulars went to Burlington, Vermont, for the winter, while three more spent 

the season at Plattsburg. 

Maintaining the health of the troops in 

this area was a problem from the outset. The 

season was rainy and the ground was wet. 

Although the camp at Greenbush was often 

moved, diarrhea and dysentery took a considerable toll. Not only intermittent fever 

but also typhus and rheumatism were prevalent even as early as mid-September. 

Despite the threat to the army posed by the 

high disease rate, when Dr. James Mann, 

placed in overall charge of the medical services for the forces in upstate New York, 

arrived at Greenbush the second week in 

August, he found that the physician who was 

to have preceded him had not arrived and 

that the troops were without medical care. 2 

Since no preparations had been made to 

care for those of the men at Greenbush who 

might fall ill, upon his arrival Mann had to 

go over the hospital supplies, which, fortunately, he found to be in good order, as 

well as to care for the ill with the aid of but 

one other physician, a regimental surgeon's 

mate who arrived a few days after Mann. 

There were no buildings prepared to receive 

the sick and Mann did not wish to erect new 

tents because of the wet ground, so the sick 

were left in the tents they shared with their 

healthy comrades. An average of 100 men 

fen ill each week at Greenbush, and by the 
WAR IN THE NORTH 

1812-1814 CANADA 

FOrt 

Dearborn 

\ 

a: 1 

~\ 

;::! I 

MAP 10 

o 100 

I I 

MilES 

Battle of 

Toronto 

(YorkJ Q 

the Thames _ J 

-- 1JtiIIdIn ,,' 

- r-t<'~~;;rrt "'r Sandusky 

\ ""~ ~eigs Fort Stephenson 

Fort 

INDIANA 

TERRITORY 

\ 

Defiance 

OHIO 

\ 

\ 

( \ .• iI te 

-

PENNS
Ch.8] Early Campaigns ill the North: 1812- 1813 159 

time the last units of the army left for the 

abortive attack on Montreal, a total of 200 

men had been left behind because of poor 

health. Nevertheless, Mann believed that the 

health of the men at Greenbush was good 

when considered in the light of the fact that 

most of them were new to the military life.' 

Mann believed that the basic problem 

which underlay all others as far as medical 

support of the Army was concerned was the 

lack of overall organization. He himself 

worked on an outline of rules and regulations 

for a hospital department when he could 

find a spare moment, but he had difficulty 

findin g the time to complete it. He was not 

sure of his authority; although he had hired 

a wardmaster and steward, for example, he 

had not taken on nurses or orderlies because 

he was not sure that he was entitled to do 

so. He also noted that conflicts with line 

officers were made almost inevitable by the 

ill-defined nature of the role of the hospital 

surgeon:1 

Among the varied duties which Mann 

was required to perform in the fall of 1812 

was the distribution of hospital supplies 

from the Greenbush area to Niagara and 

Plattsburg, New York, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts; the administration of medicines 

to the ill of the rifle corps who did not have 

a regimental surgeon to care for them; and 

the revision of diets for hospitalized patients. He decided that the convalescents in 

his care did not need the full diet required 

by the healthy and active soldier. Mann 

suggested that the convalescent receive 12 

ounces of meat and 12 ounces of bread a 

day. The "half diet" should consist of 6 

ounces of meat and 10 ounces of bread, 

with the addition of a gill of rice or a half 

pint of meal plus half a gill of molasses. 

Those on a "low diet" should receive only 

bread, rice, or barley with sugar, without 

any meat. Although chocolate or tea with 

sugar was to be permitted from time to 

time, Mann opposed the use of whiskey.' 

Mann regretted being so busy with his 

responsibilities as hospital surgeon that he 

had little time to study the diseases he encountered and to record his observations. 

During the fall and winter of 1812- 13, 

however, he saw many cases of rheumatism, 

pneumonia, measles, dysentery, and intermittent fever. When he first arrived at 

Greenbush, he also found that a few of the 

men had fallen in with what he diagnosed 

as typhus before they reached the camp. 

Four of the seven men who died in the 

period from mid-August to the end of September were from among this group of 

typhus patients, and two others who died 

had long been afflicted with what we would 

today call tuberculosis. Mann had expected 

to encounter what he called spotted fever, 

which bad been prevalent in the East in 

earlier years, but this disease never became 

a problem in the Northern Army.· 

On the basis of his observations during 

the first fall and winter of the War of 1812, 

Mann concluded that rheumatism afflicted 

men older than 40 more frequently than 

younger soldiers and was quick to recur 

after exposure to wet, cold weather in those 

who had previously suffered from it. Mann 

preferred to reserve venesection for the 

treatment of the acute form of rheumatism, 

using calomel, opium, blistering, and the application of warmth for chronic cases.' 

Among the other conditions studied by 

Mann were pneumonia and dysentery. In 

some cases of pneumonia, death could occur within 24 hours of the appearance of the 

first symptom, which was usually a sensation of weight upon the chest. The convalescent from this form of pneumonia, Mann 

noted, often had a jaundiced appearance. 

The type of dysentery seen by physicians in 

the North at this time "was attended in most 

cases with a fever of the synocbal type, accelerated action of the arteries, and heat 

increased considerably above the healthy 

standard." Mann favored treating it by 

bleeding, preferably a single bleeding of 

16 ounces followed by a "full cathartic of 
160 THE ARM Y ME DI e A L D E PAR T MEN T, 1 775 - 1 8 1 8 

WILLIAM B EAUMONT. (COIlTlesy 0/ National 

Library 01 Medicine.) 

calomel and jalap." "Anodynes," or painkillers, might be administered after the "in_ 

testines were well evacuated." Mann also 

discovered that "There were cases when 

calomel and opium, in small doses, at intervals of 4 or 6 hours, were found beneficial." 

Emetics were generally used only when all 

else had failed, but dysentery could take 

on "a typhoid form" which made the administration of wine or diluted brandy, up 

to two pints of the former, as well as purgatives, advisable. Milk was also recommended, especially for the convalescent from 

this variety of dysentery, but meat and 

broths were strictly forbidde n' 

Intermittent fevers apparently appeared 

at Greenbush only in men hailing from 

south of the Hudson River who had had the 

disease before. These men were treated 

with emetics when the "cold stage" was 

about to appear and then, during periods 

when there was no fever, with cathartics, 

bark, and wine in addition to the emetics. 

A disease which was more common than 

i?termittent fever was measles, which, at onc 

lime or another during the winter, afflicted 

as many as one-third of the entire army.' 

Among the physicians who eventually 

served under Mann was Dr. William Beaumont, a surgeon's matc, who later was to 

gain fame through his studies concerning 

digestion. At this time, Beaumont was 

particularly concerned with the respiratory 

diseases he was encountering with great frequency. He commented that the men were 

making " the very woods ring with coughings 

& groaning." Pleurisy was a common affliction among his patients and was handled, 

in its earliest stages, by bleeding followed, 

as the symptoms subsided, by the administration of opium, digitalis, and "Glyc. Snn 

Tart. Ato," a combination Beaumont found 

to be "very efficatious [sic 1 in relieving the 

Cough." For patients who could not otherwise be relieved, Beaumont favored the 

raising of blisters.lo 

Mann believed that attention to certain 

precautions could lower the incidence of 

disease within the Army. Soldiers should, 

for example, wear woolen shirts. "Spirits" 

should be eliminated from the rations of the 

healthy as well as from those of the sick, 

since " Immoderate potations of spirits by 

weakening the sensorial powers, and inducing general debility" were a "predisponent 

cause of disease." The presence of alcohol 

in hospitals would constitute a threat to the 

health of the soldier who was "habitually 

intemperate," who would always be "in_ 

dustrious to procure the means of indulging 

his appetite." Mann observed also that some 

of the men were convinced that "ardent 

spirits" were good for bowel complaints and 

were, apparently, dosing themselves to the 

point of inebriation.ll 

No matter how successful Army surgeons 

might be with their patients, however, there 

would always be those who, for political 
Ch. 8] Early Campaigns in the North: 1812- 1813 161 

reasons of their own, in Mann's opinion, 

would be willing to exaggerate the Army's 

rate of death and disease "with design to 

render government and its officers odious." 

Furthermore, Mann maintained that this 

rate would always be higher than the public 

might expect it to be because young and 

healthy men did not join the Army." 

Early in February 1813, Mann made an 

inspection tour of the hospitals caring for 

General Dearborn's men at Plattsburg and 

Burlington. He was favorably impressed by 

the way in which Dr. Joseph Lovell, later 

to become Surgeon General of the United 

States Army, was managing the hospital at 

Burlington, although the number of deaths 

there from November to February approached 200. The death rate at Plattsburg, 

where the surgeon's mate who was in charge 

of that unit kept the wards clean and in 

good condition and supplies were more than 

adequate, was comparable to that at Burlington." 

When Mann returned to Greenbush, however, although the progress being made on 

a new building was encouraging, he discovered that the surgeon he had left in 

charge had been seriously neglecting his patients and that a pneumonia epidemic was 

growing. Mann was so angered by what he 

found that he considered placing formal 

charges against his subordinate but finally 

decided against taking so drastic a step. Despite the situation which had developed in 

his absence at Greenbush, only eighty-nine 

patients had died there from I August 1812 

to February 1813, with the highest rates occurring in December. Mann attributed the 

improvement which followed in January to 

a change from using "stimulants .... employed as medicine" to "evacuating and 

antiphlogistic" remedies. 14 

The American forces in the area between 

Lakes Ontario and Erie, slightly less than 

half of whom were militia, numbered about 

6,500. They were divided among Lewiston, 

Buffalo, and Fort Niagara. It is not surJOSEPH LOVELL. (Courtesy 0/ National Library 

0/ Medicine.) 

prising that the campaign here was also a 

failure; the militia exercised its right not to 

fight on Canadian soil whenever it wished, 

the commander of the militia was totally 

lacking in military experience, the commander of the regulars was unreliable, and 

the two commanders were apparently incapable of cooperation. 

The health of the men on the Niagara 

frontier appears to have been no better than 

that of their fellows in northeastern New 

York State. A letter written in early November 1812 from Buffalo reported that 

three or four of the Regular Army there 

were dying each day and that more than 

100 of those wounded in an attack on 

British-held Queenston on 13 October later 

died. The high death rate there was blamed 

on a lack of "proper surgeons." The most 

common diseases afflicting the men at Buffalo were measles and dysentery, the latter 

being blamed on the fact that the men were 

eating fresh meat. At Lewiston, some units 

reported one-third to one-half of their men 

sick in November, and it was noted that 

the hospital tent of one regular infantry 
162 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL 0 EPA R T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

regiment held the bodies of five men who 

had been dead more than 24 hours but had 

not been buried because of a shortage of 

coffins. 1.; 

The 1,300 regulars at Fort Niagara were 

cared for by three physicians. One was 

attached to the fort's regular garrison and 

two were from regiments newly stationed 

there. The situation of the surgeon of the 

14th Infantry Regiment may well have been 

indicative of that faced by others near 

Niagara. In early October, he was without 

medicines, hospital stores, or surgical instruments. There were, unfortunately, not only 

sick but also wounded needing care at 

Niagara because the fort was bombarded at 

times by the British guns across the Niagara 

River.lo 

Brig. Gen. William Hull was in command 

of operations in the Detroit and western 

Great Lakes area in the first few months 

of the War of 1812. He arrived at Dayton, 

Ohio, early in the spring of 1812 and 

marched northward from there, reaching the 

Rapids of the Maumee River by the end 

of June. Here, since his horses were exhausted, he hired a schooner, the Cuyahoga, 

and a small boat to carry his sick and 

wounded and a major portion of his baggage, including his medical supplies and a 

trunk full of confidential military records, 

the rest of the way to Detroit." 

The British, however, controlled Lake 

Erie, and to reach Detroit the Cuyahoga 

had to pass under their guns at Fort Malden. 

Since General Hull had not been officially 

informed that war had been declared, he 

was unaware of the magnitude of the risk 

he was taking. The enemy, having learned 

of the declaration of war, captured the 

Cuyahoga on 2 July, but the small boat, 

carrying some of the sick, seems to have 

escaped to arrive safely at Detroit." 

There is some confusion as to what happened to the small boat and its occupants. 

A few patients and the surgeon's mate from 

the Ohio volunteers who was sent along 

with them apparently were in this cral!. 

Although the diary of a physician captured 

by the British at this time has been attributed to this mate, Dr. James Reynolds, by 

its editor, others have disagreed with him. 

The preponderance of the evidence seems 

to indicate that the physician in the small 

boat and, presumably, the patients with 

him, reached Detroit safely on 3 July 1812 

and that Reynolds was killed just before 

General Hull's surrender of Detroit in 

August by a nearly spent ball which tore 

off one leg and mangled the other.'o 

After their hospital supplies were captured, the providing of medical support for 

General Hull and the bulk of his army after 

their arrival at Detroit by land on 5 July 

posed a problem. New supplies were to have 

come in from Fort Fayette, located near 

Pittsburgh, but Fort Fayette itself was short 

on these items also. Further difficulties, according to General Hull, were caused by the 

fact that the hospital surgeon originally assigned to the units at Detroit, Dr. Josiah 

Foster, died before he had progressed far 

in the organization of medical services there. 

Foster's place was taken by Dr. Abraham 

Edwards, a former surgeon's mate who had 

also had experience as a line officer?· 

The British deliberately played upon General Hull's fears. Rumors were circulated 

about huge numbers of Indians who were 

presumably thirsting for American blood. 

Canadian militiamen were clothed in the 

red uniforms of British regulars and paraded 

where the Americans could see them. On 

16 August 1812, in what one historian has 

termed "one of the most disgraceful episodes in the military History of the United 

States," 21 General Hull surrendered not only 

Fort Detroit but other forts in the area as 

well. 

Among those included in General Hull's 

surrender was a detachment of fifty-four 

men with their families at Fort Dearborn, 

where Chicago now stands. The physician 

caring for the population of this fort was 
Ch.8] Early Campaigns in the North : 1812- 1813 163 

Dr. Isaac Van Voorhis of the 54th Infantry 

Regiment. At the time of the surrender, 

Genera l Hull ordered Fort Dearborn evacuated and, despite warnings from friendly 

Indians that they would be ambushed, the 

occupants obeyed. An estimated 1,500 Indians set upon the small group, which included 9 women and 18 children, after it 

left the shelter of the fort and killed 30 

soldiers, 10 male civilians, 2 women, and 

12 children. Among the dead was regimental 

surgeon Van Voorhis. 22 

Not long after General Hull's surrender 

at Detroit, Brig. Gen. William Henry Harrison was appointed commander of all 

forces, regular and militia, a total of approximately six thousand men, in the Northwest. Several expeditions were sent out 

against the Indians during the fall, and by 

December, General Harrison's men held a 

line across northwest Ohio from Fort Defiance to Sandusky. 

By November, however, typhus had appeared among General Harrison's men, the 

weather was cold and wet, and proper 

shoes and clothing were lacking. Three or 

four men were dying each day. On Christmas, one of General Harrison's officers reported that, of the approximately six hundred men in his unit, recently returned from 

an expedition against the Miami Indians, 

more than three hundred were suffering such 

severe frostbite that they were unfit for 

duty." 

Near the ruins of old Fort Defiance in 

the fall of 1812, where militia units and detachments from two infantry regiments were 

stationed under Brig. Gen. James Winchester, the burden borne by the Army's 

physicians was great. Hospital stores were 

being stolen before they could be delivered 

at the camp, and typhus was raging among 

the men. By winter, although the new fort, 

including its hospital, had been completed, 

supplies were exhausted and the suffering 

from cold and hunger was increasing. One 

of Winchester's men noted on Christmas 

Eve that "Our sufferings in this place have 

been greater than if we had been in severe 

battle. More than one hundred lives have 

been lost, owing to the bad accommodations. 

The sufferings of about three hundred sick 

at a time, who are exposed to the cold 

ground and deprived of every nourishment, 

are sufficient proof of our wretched condition." 24 Wrote another soldier, "We now 

saw nothing but hunger, and cold, and 

nakedness, staring us in the face." 25 

Having been ordered by General Harrison 

to move from their new fort to the Falls 

of the Maumee River and to build huts 

there fo r the winter, General Winchester and 

1,200 men set out, arriving at the rapids on 

10 January. Shortly thereafter, upon learning that the Americans at a small settlement 

called Frenchtown (now Monroe, Michigan) , thirty-five miles away and only eighteen miles from British-held Fort Malden, 

were being threatened by the enemy, General Winchester sent an advance party of his 

men to help them.26 

After an indecisive engagement on 18 

January when more than fifty Americans 

were wounded and twelve killed, these men 

set up camp at the village. The officers took 

over some private homes and the hospital 

was set up in a tavern at some distance from 

the main camp. On 21 January, however, 

after General Winchester and the main body 

of his force had joined the men already at 

Frenchtown, the enemy attacked and overwhelmed the Americans, killing 397, 

wounding 27, and capturing more than 500, 

including General Winchester. Among the 

dead were the senior surgeon for the entire 

force and the surgeon of the 17th U.S. 

Infantry Regiment. Another physician had 

taken up the weapon of one of his patients 

while the struggle was still taking place and 

set out to join the fighting; he was never 

seen alive again. A volunteer surgeon and 

his mate were captured when they elected to 

remain with about sixty to sixty-five 

wounded men at the hospitaL" 
164 THE A RM Y M E Di e A L D E P A R T MEN T, I 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

On accepting the surrender of the Americans who were still fi ghting, the British 

promised to assign a guard for the wounded 

to keep them from being killed by the 

Indi ans before they could be moved to 

Malden. The promise was ignored, however. 

No guard was posted, and so, after enjoying 

the liquor they found stored in the tavern -

hospital, the Indians tore the blankets away 

from the wounded and then set fire to the 

buildings. Those who tried to escape were 

shot and tomahawked.

2S 

General Harrison attempted to aid General Winchester, but his relief party was 

unable to reach the scene of the battle in 

time" General Harrison then fen back on 

the Maumee River and, abandoning any 

furth er thoughts of a winter offensive, 

passed the rest of the winter constructing 

the fort to be known as Fort Meigs. 

S E A S O N O F 1 8 13 

Although there was military activity both in 

the North and the South during the campaign season of 1813, the United States 

forces involved in the South were for the 

most part either those of the Navy or of the 

Tennessee units of Andrew J ackson which 

he led against the Creek Indians of the 

Mississippi Territory. General Wilkinson's 

exped ition of Army regulars into West 

Florid a which culminated in the occupation 

of Mobile met with no opposition. In the 

Northwest, the campaign season of 1813 

was so successful that by the onset of winter 

and after young U.S. Navy Commander 

Oliver Haza rd Perry's victory over a British fleet on Lake Eric, the entire area was 

under American control. General Harrison 

was thus able to move 700 of his regul ars 

from the Northwest to Buffalo and Sackett's 

Harbor. Although the general himself resigned from the Army at this time, these 

mcn took part in the campaign in western 

New York State. 

In the Northwest in 1813, there do not 

appear to have been any general hospitals, 

at least not of the size and caliber of those 

in northern and western New York State. 

There were garrison facilities at some of the 

posts,'!· bu t presumably most of the ill and 

wounded of General Harrison's army were 

the responsibility of regimental surgeons and 

mates or even of militia physicians. 

During the spring and early summer of 

18 13, General Harrison's army was in unusually poor health and his hospital stores 

and medicines were being consumed not 

only by the sick but also by the wasteful 

habits of militia surgeons and mates at the 

various small posts scattered throughout 

the Northwest. Hospital supplies of liquor 

were apparently a source of particular concern to General Harrison, who noted that a 

"dry Barrell" should be " put over that which 

contains" hospital liquor because "Experience has long since convinced all those in 

the Western country who are desirous of 

having their Liquors secured from plunder 

and adulteration that it is the only way of 

affecting it." 31 

In May 18 13, the enemy attempted to 

take Fort Meigs before the reinforcement 

expected by the troops there could arrive. 

Although the siege was abandoned after 

nine days, the defenders suffered 81 killed 

and 189 wounded at a time when the 

medical support available for them was " extremely deficient in almost every respect. " 

T here was " no head to the Hospital Department," and the surgeons were young 

and inexperienced and, for the most part, 

from the militia. One officer noted that the 

militia was content to look for its physicians 

"wherever a person could be found with a 

lancet in his pocket, or who had by some 

means or other oblained Ihe title 0/ doclor." 

Although there had been a "man of skills 

and talents" in charge of the medica l services at this fort before the siege began, this 

otherwise unidentified gentleman was no 

longer in the Army by May of 1813, having 

left both the fo rt and the Army, it would 
Ch.8] Early Campaigns in the North: 1812- 18 /3 165 

seem, in disgrace, considered to be "alike 

destitute of honor and reputation," 32 

There was no place to put the wounded 

at Fort Meigs while it was under siege; they 

lay in trenches "on rails barely sufficient to 

keep them up out of the water, which in 

many places from the bleeding of the 

wounded, had the appearance of puddles 

of blood. " There were even times when 

there was nothing available with which to 

cover these unhappy creatures, since the 

same supply shortages experienced by other 

camps also afflicted Fort Meigs. The force 

there was so shorthanded that men could 

not even be spared to give adequate care to 

the wounded,33 several of whom died "of a 

lock-jaw," brought on, General Harrison 

believed, by " their great and unavoidable 

exposure to tJ'te cold." 34 

Once the siege was over, blockhouses 

were cleared of guns and stores and turned 

into temporary hospitals, but the men were 

still "but badly provided with the little 

necessaries and comforts which belong and 

afford so much relief, to the brave soldier 

who has recently lost a leg or an arm, or 

had his side pierced with a bayonet." " 

General Harrison took it upon himself to 

forward an urgent order worked up by a hospital mate for medicines and stores in their 

behalf. (See Chapter 1.) 

General Harrison's operations in the 

summer and early fall of 18 13 in the Lake 

Erie area were successful and culminated 

in October in the defeat of the British and 

their Indian allies in Canada at the Battle 

of the Thames River and the death of the 

Indian leader Tecumseh. However, apparently little had been done in advance to 

prepare for the care of the sick and wounded. 

One of the men with this expedition described coming down with "the Ague" on 

board a boat because of the wet, cold 

weather. He had, apparently, no alternative 

but to continue the march once on land. 

The only help available to the sick was 

that which their fellows could provide by 

carrying their weapons and packs for them 

and, when crossing small streams, by carrying the sick 1hemselves on their backs.so 

After the fin al battle in October, General 

Harrison reported that five of his men 

had been killed and twenty-two wounded in 

the engagement and that five of the 

wounded died shortly thereafter. Although 

there does not seem to be any record of 

where these men were initially cared for, 

after Detroit was recaptured a hospital was 

opened under Dr. Cornelius Cunningham, a 

garrison surgeon's mate: in the house 

formerly occupied by Governor William 

Hull. For a brief time before moving on 

to New York State, General Harrison and 

his men returned to Detroit, and in November of 1813, four hundred of the regulars 

who had been with him in Canada were 

left behind in the Detroit facility. By this 

time, the sick rate was again soaring and 

the men were both tired and hungry. Some 

of the illness was blamed upon the large 

quantities of bad bread they had reportedly 

eaten. A month later, however, the situation 

had not improved. "The troops ... . still 

Continues to be very much sick and many 

have Died since we came to this place." 37 

In the Northeast, troops under Maj. Gen. 

Henry Dearborn left Sackett's Harbor in 

April 1813 to take Toronto, then called 

York, and Fort George. (See Map 10.) They 

then held off an enemy attack on Sackett's 

Harbor itself, but in December 1813, the 

British launched a successful attack, retaking Fort George and capturing Fort Niagara 

as well. A series of enemy raids which included the burning of Buffalo and Black 

Rock brought the hostilities of that campaign year along the Niagara to a close. 

Farther east, a two-pronged American 

move against Montreal in the autumn of 

1813 was a complete failure. After replacing the ailing General Dearborn at Sackett's 

Harbor, General Wilkinson moved east 

along the St. Lawrence River, intending to 

join Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's forces 
166 THE ARM Y ME Die A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - 1 8 1 8 

FORT NIAGARA. (Courtesy 

moving north from the Lake Champlain 

area. Both generals, however, retreated after 

separate defeats by the enemy. General 

Hampton returned to Plattsburg and General Wilkinson fell back on French Mills. 

General Wilkinson was accused at this time 

of excessive drinking and of attempting to 

blame his condition on illness."' 

In New England and the states south of 

New York in this period, where there was 

little if any military action involving the 

Regular Army, there were at least one or 

two garrison or regimental physicians in 

each military district, caring for the men of 

small Army units scattered among small 

posts. In the I st District, which included 

Massachusetts and New Hampshire, for example, there were eighty-seven patients at 

such posts as Forts Independence, Constitution, Sullivan, Preble, Seammel, and Sumner." (See Chapter 7.) 

Although hostilities in the North and 

of Library of COllgress.) 

Northwest involved both the 8th and 9th 

Military Districts, the greatest amount of 

action during the entire period was concentrated in the 9th District, or upstate New 

York and Vermont. Hospitals here were 

relatively numerous and during the campaigns of the summer, in response to demand, could be quickly set up in barns or 

tents. Finding attendants for these facilities, however, was difficult and they were 

initially selected from the line. Such men 

often turned out to be those "of incorrect 

habits, and bad dispositions" and eventually 

it was realized that it was better to choose 

attendants from among convalescents, some 

of whom could always be found who had 

"happy dispositions, who were kind to the 

sick." ",0 

When it was necessary to move the sick 

and wounded, a number of forms of transportation could be used to negotiate the 

notoriously poor roads of the area. Some 
Ch.8] Early Campaiglls ill/he North: 1812- 18/3 167 

patients were moved in litters made of 

blankets hung between poles, others in 

wagons or sleighs, according to the weather, 

while still others avoided the roads altogether when they were moved in boats. The 

concept of the ambulance also appeared during this period; Mann referred to the "flying machines, called volantes" developed in 

France during the Napoleonic Wars," and 

Winfield Scott, in that section of his memoirs 

which concerned the War of 1812 but which 

was written many years later, actually used 

the term ambulance.-I2 

The forty-ward general hospital at Burlington, Vermont, with its staff of eight 

hospital surgeons and mates, had as fine a 

reputation as any facility in the 9th District. 

Its site, sixty to seventy feet above the level 

of the lake and on sandy, well-drained soil, 

was healthy. Rules requiring high standards 

of sanitation were firmly established. Floors 

and walls were kept scrupulously clean with 

soap and limewater, and all bunks were removed and thoroughly washed when they 

fell vacant. The straw in each bed sack was 

removed every two weeks and burned. When 

the weather permitted, windows were kept 

open all day; when it was cold, they were 

opened frequently for short periods of time. 

Closestoois, bedpans, and "urin aries" were 

removed as soon as used. Although there 

could be as many as seven hundred to eight 

hundred patients at Burlington at anyone 

time, infectious diseases did not pose a major 

problem." The responsibility for the good 

record of the Burlington facility in the first 

two years of the War of 1812 was shared by 

two surgeons, Dr. Joseph Lovell, who 

opened the unit in 1812, and Dr. Walter 

W. Wheaton, who mcceeded Lovell some 

time in 181344 

Another general hospital was in operation 

late in 1813 at Malone, New York, about 

thirty-one miles from Sackett's Harbor and 

near the northern border of the statc, where 

General Wilkinson had set up his headquarters. An academy, an arsenal, and two 

private homes which seem to have been 

located near the borders of a millstream 

"surrounded by a fine country of land" were 

taken over for this purpose. Within ten days, 

these accommodations, with a total capacity 

of 250 men, were prepared to house the sick 

comfortably, each man in his own bed, under the supervision of hospital surgeon 

Mann, who arrived in December."" 

There was at least one general hospital in 

the vicinity of Sackett's Harbor throughout 

most of 1813. At Sackett's Harbor itself 

there was a facility which in 1812 had been 

occupied by the militia's patients and which 

was, by the spring of 1813, when Mann first 

saw it, " in filthy condition." Dr. William 

Beaumont arrived with his regiment at Sackett's Harbor in March 1813 and joined Mann 

in reporting the prevalence of respiratory 

diseases, diarrhea, and intermittent fevers, 

among the ill there.

40 Beaumont described a 

type of pneumonia characterized by "universal pain in the bones & musseles [sic J, cold chills, nausea & pain in the head and 

breast,-sometimes accompanied with acute 

local pain in the side, with cough & other 

evident Pneumonia symptoms" which appeared among his patients. 47 

General Dearborn, however, believing it 

impossible to care for the sick within the line 

of defense at Sackett's Harbor, ordered a 

temporary hospital established at Watertown, New York, twelve miles from Sackett's 

Harbor. Within ten days, Mann had prepared accommodations for JOO there and 

moved the sick into them. Among those so 

moved were twenty men whose feet had 

been badly frozen in the course of a march 

from Plattsburg under Brig. Gen. Zebulon 

Pike. On 23 April 1813, however, Mann 

was ordered to leave Watertown and to return to Sackett's Harbor to be ready to 

accompany the 1,600-man expedition preparing the move against Toronto. A surgeon's mate was left behind at Watertown to 

care for the patients there .-Is 

It was fortunate that the patients had been 
168 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

--

Outtemuon

o 

CANADA 

N1AGARA FRONTIER 

1812·1814 

MilES 

MAPll 

Lewiston 

o 

NEW YORK 

Fort Schlosser 

n 

OBlack Rock 

O BuffMo 

moved away from Sackelt's Harbor by April 

because in May, Ihe British raided the town, 

killing twenty-two Americans and wounding 

eighty-four, before being repulsed. By late 

June 1813, however, when a hospital surgeon 

was ordered to report there, a general hospital had once again been opened at Sackett's 

Harbor. A total of three surgeons and five 

mates seem to have cared for the sick and 

wounded here during the summer of 1813. 

By early September, there were 62 in the 

general hospital here as well as 501 in regimental ones, and conditions remained poor. 

It was reported that there was little good 

water available and that the food, particularly the bread, was bad. Great difficulty was 

being experienced in maintaining standards 

of camp sanitation because so many of the 

soldiers were inexperienced, and diarrhea, 

dysentery, and jaundice afflicted half of 

those who were acutely ill. The atmosphere 

was not considered to be healthy, and it was 

urged that camp be moved to a drier site 

for winter quarters before autumnal diseases 

made their appearance in full force."D 

Further confusion exists concerning the nature of the facilities in the Foro! Niagara-Fort 

George area. (Map 11) Mann described 

a tent hospital located two miles east of Fort 

Niagara where the wounded from the attack 

on Toronto were cared for beginning on 8 

May 1813 and also noted that about two 

hundred wounded were moved from Fort 

Niagara to Lewiston in mid-June 1813. It 

is not clear whether it was from the tent 

hospital Or from a regimental facility that 

those two hundred came. Despite the fact 

that it was believed that the wet nature of 

the area was bringing on fevers and diarrhea, 

some type of hospital seems to have remained here throughout the summer and 

into the fall, when it was reported that twothirds of the sixty-five men the British killed 

and fourteen of those they wounded in the 

taking of that fort were hospital patients.'· 

Whether the hospital referred to in these 

later documents was still a general hospital 

rather than a regimental facility is not 

apparent. 

There was also a general hospita l at Fort 

George, which was taken from the British in 

late May 1813 and held for several months. 

Although the alternating cold and heat, 

dryness and dampness here were blamed 

for the high incidence of typhus, intermittent 

fever, diarrhea, and dysentery among military and civilian populations alike, the water 

came in for its share of blame, since it was 

said to have "a purgative quality." A contributing factor in the high disease rate, in 

Mann's opinion, however, "was the effluvia 

from the sinks [latrines] ," which filled the 

air with a heavy stench even when the 

"sinks" were covered with earth every day.ti l 

In June, some of the patients at Fort 

George were also moved to the higher, 

healthier facility at Lewiston. By August. 

however, more than one-third of the men 

still there were sick and, with half the medi-
Ch. 8] Early Campaiglls ill the North : 1812-1813 169 

cal staff too ill to work, only three surgeons 

and four mates were available to care for six 

hundred to seven hundred patients. Hospital 

stores were running short by September 

when Mann decided to move the general 

hospital from Fort George to a site near 

Buffalo and to send all 100 invalids ready 

for discharge with a surgeon's mate from 

Fort George to Greenbush" 

It was in May 1813 that a unit Mann 

described as a flying hospital was opened at 

Lewiston in two barns and a number of 

hospital tents which were located about 

seventy feet above water level. Initially the 

staff there appears to have consisted of 

Mann and four hospital mates, who were 

expected to care for as many as six hundred 

to seven hundred patients or morc, among 

them the wounded from the garrison hospital 

at Newark, ncar Fort George, who were 

moved to Lewiston in June. Later, however, 

two of the mates were ordered to Fort 

George, leaving Lewiston severely understaffed. Mann was able to obtain a sufficient 

number of bunks and bed sacks for this unit 

to assign one to each patient and located a 

good supply of milk for his patients. G3 

By the end of September 181 3, the 

weather along the Niagara had become "very 

pleasant, and the troops generally more 

healthy." The convalescents at Lewiston 

were put on light duty and they did so well 

that only three experienced significant relapses. When his ·army left the area, General 

Wilkinson ordered that those not strong 

enough for the march be sent to Lewiston 

and that Mann locate winter quarters for 

them which would be secure from the enemy. 

Since, with the arrival of colder weather, 

the sick in the tents became uncomfortable 

and some developed pneumonia, Mann concluded that, although the Lewiston unit had 

earned an excellent reputation, it should 

now be abandoned. There does, however, 

seem to have been a hospital operating at 

Lewiston again in the summer of 1814." 

Although typhus and diarrhea had been 

a problem in Lewiston in 1813, Mann observed that wounds seemed to heal more 

quickly there than at other hospitals in the 

area, a fact he attributed in part to the 

healthy site. Of the 950 to 1,000 men cared 

for there, 59 died , with half of these deaths 

occurring within a three-week period in one 

sixty-man ward. Mann concluded that this 

tragedy had been caused by "an imprudent 

and injudicious administration of tartrite of 

antimony. n /Hi 

When Mann broke up the Lewiston hospital, he sent approximately 100 of the 

strongest of his patients there to Greenbush 

also, but 250 others were sent to Williamsville, the site he had chosen near Buffalo. 

They were taken first in wagons from Lewiston to Fort Schlosser, where they boarded 

boats to travel to Black Rock. Before they 

could disembark into the wagons which took 

them the linal forty miles to Willi amsville, 

however, a sudden rainstorm and wind arose 

and some of the hospital stores and baggage 

were lost. Six "of the most enfeebled" patients died on the way.'· 

The hospital at Williamsville was located 

in an extensive barracks which had been 

renovated for use as a hospital. Since some 

of the men brought to this facility lacked 

adequate clothing, it was doubly fortunate 

that it was possible here to keep the rooms 

warm. Only six men were assigned to each 

ward, the rooms were easy to keep clean, 

and the patients tended to recover their 

health quickly. Having settled his patients 

in Williamsville's wholesome accommodations, Mann set out to join General Wilkinson at his winter camp at Malone, leaving 

surgeon's mate Joshua Whitridge, a physician whose "services . . . cannot be too high~ 

ly appreciated," in charge. It seems probable 

that this facility, too, was closed at some 

time in the winter of 1813- 14 or the spring 

of 1814." 

The regimental surgeons and mates of the 

units in the North also established their own 

hospitals or infirmaries. Beaumont described 
170 THE ARM Y ME Die A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

one aspect of the work of a regimental 

surgeon in his account of the att-ack upon 

Toronto in the spring of 1813, when the 

explosion of an ammunition dump caused 

American casualties in excess of 300, 109 of 

whom came from his regiment, including 65 

deaths. "Wading in blood," he personally 

operated on fifty patients in a two-day period. "Their wounds were of the worst kind , 

compd fractures of legs, thighs, & "rillS and 

fractures of Sculls." "1 cut and slashed for 

48 hours, without food or sleep-My God! 

who can think of -the shocking scene, where 

his fe llow creatures lye mashed & mangled 

in evry part with a leg-an Arm- a head, or 

a body ground in pieces." Although Beaumont performed his operations at Toronto, 

some surgeons seem to have worked on 

board ships of the American Great Lakes 

squadron. " 

The patients at Toronto were placed on a 

boat when it was time to evacuate them, but 

for several days bad weather kept the vessel 

in harbor. The men were not removed, how- _ 

ever, and they spent a total of eight days on 

board, including the single day required for 

the voyage itself. They were so crowded 

that the surgeons could not effectively care 

for them. Although his wound was slight, 

one man died, apparently of suffocation in 

the close quarters. Diarrhea and dysentery 

also began to make inroads among his patients, but Beaumont commented that they 

survived in better condition than he would 

have expected under the circumstances. 

After their evacuation from Toronto, these 

casualties were hospitalized first at Newark 

and late in June wefe moved to Lewiston. 51) 

After the unsuccessful attempt on Montreal in the fall of 1813, General Hampton 

was criticized for his handling of his wounded, who were reported ly "very much neglected, as far as regards comfortable quarters and 

transportation and . . . were strewed along 

the roads through which we marched, without care or attendance." General Wilkinson's 

wounded, however, received the benefit of 

organized care during the winter of 1813- I 4 

after they arrived at winter camp. A regimental hospital was established at French 

Mills, in northern New York, sixteen miles 

from General Wilkinson's headquarters at 

Malone. Nevertheless, the patients here had 

to endure shortages of hospital stores and 

medicines and a poor diet, as well as the 

rigors of the weather, since they were for a 

short time sheltered in tents, the two houses 

taken over for their use being too small to 

shelter all the sick and wounded. The shortage of bedding required that some patients 

lie upon straw on the floor. The available 

blankets were of an inferior quality, and by 

early December, shirts for the patients had 

not yet been received. The port wine was 

reportedly not pure, the chocolate was so 

poor as to be inedible,'o and the flour was 

"so sour and damaged, as to prove unhealthy." The bread his men ate, according 

to General Wilkinson, contained lime, soap, 

"and other extraneous and even feculent 

ingredients." The water used in making the 

bread seems to have been at the root of the 

problem, since it was "impregnated with, 

and contains a diffusion of excrementitious 

matter." 01 Sick and death rates were high 

in one instance; 75 men of a 160-man unit 

were ill, 39 with diarrhea and dysentery, 18 

with pneumonia, 6 with typhUS, and 12 with 

"paralysis of all the extremities." 62 

From June 1812, when war was declared, 

to June I 8 13, when Tilton was appointed 

Physician and Surgeon General of the Medical Department, the medical support of the 

Army continued to be, for all practical purposes, entirely in the hands of individual 

surgeons. The creation of the office of the 

Physician and Surgeon General, however, 

put Tilton in a position to assign and reassign surgeons, surgeon's mates, and hospital attendants on the basis of the overall 

need of the service and with due consideration for the skills -and experience of the 

personnel of the Medical Department as a 

group. In the Northwest, slow communica-
Ch, 8] Early Campaigns illlhe North: 1812- 1813 171 

tion and transportation made it impossible 

for any significant effects of the new organization to be felt in the period of scarcely a 

year remaining after Tilton's appointment 

before the end of the campaign season of 

18 13- 14, In the Northeast, however, the 

benefits of centralization could be seen even 

in this short period of time in the sending of 

Mann, who had personally established an 

ellicient hospital out of the chaos he found 

at Greenbush, to help his less experienced 

colleagues with the management of other 

hospitals caring for war casualties in upstate 

New York and New England, 
9 

Difeat and Final Victory, 1814 to 1815 

Enemy attacks on the Baltimore-Washington 

area in the summer of 1814- 15 made it 

obvious that the British posed a threat not 

on ly to the northern tier of states but also 

to the borders of the entire nation. Although 

by this time the care given the soldiers 

fighting in the North was beginning to show 

the benefits of the efforts and experience 

of the Medical Department's surgeons assigned to that area, the facilities available 

to the regulars defending Washington and 

New Orleans were in some degree overwhelmed by the sudden need to care for 

militia and volunteer casualties as well. 

CAMPA I GN IN THE NORTH 

Alt hough the campaign season of 1814 in 

the Northeast began with the failure of a 

northwHrd move by Maj . Gen. James Wilkinson from the Lake Champlain arca, operations to tht: west, along the Niagara River, 

reflected great credit upon the American 

forces, in large measure because of the 

training given to many of the men by Brig. 

Gen. Winfield Scott and the leadership of 

General Scott and Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown. 

Both the Americans and the British suffered 

heavy losses in these engagements; the 

Americans, for example, lost 227 wounded 

in the 5 July action along the Chippewa 

River and more than 850 in tota l casualties 

in the 25 July Battle of Lundy's Lane. Unfortunately, both General Brown and Gcn- . 

eral Scott were wounded in tht:: COUfS\.! of 

the summe r, and in October. Maj. Gen. 

George b,ard. who led reinforcements in 

from the east, ordered the Americans to 

withdraw from Canadian territory,l 

Reinforcements for the Niagara area, 

however, had been taken from among the 

forces along Lake Champlain. The enemy 

quickly attempted to take advantage of the 

situation, but the success of American naval 

forces in the Battle of Plattsburg Bay and the 

resultant loss by the British land forces of 

their naval support led to the withdrawal of 

the British into Canada and the end of the 

threat of British invasion from the north. 

The Burlington hospital continued to be 

one of the major Army facilities in this 

area during the last months of the war. In 

charge at Burlington were, first, Dr. James 

Mann, the surgeon with the greatest seniority 

in the 9th District and therefore presumably 

its medical director, and later, Dr. Henry 

Huntt, a hospital surgeon of junior status. 

Under their supervision at one time or 

another in the period January 1814 to April 

1815 were more than 3,700 patients, fewer 

than 200 of whom died.' (Table 9) 

If one can generalize from Mann's account, the most persistent problems confronting the surgeons staffing this hospital 

were those caused by regimental officers 

and regimental physicians. Often the required records did not accompany the patients to the hospital, an omission which at 

times may have been deliberate. A shortage 

of blankets and bedding was aggravated by 

the failure of regimental surgeons to send 

the bed sacks along with the men they 

sent to the general hospital. Some patients, 

furthermore, were sent from regimental 
Ch.9] Defeat and Final Victory : 1814- 1815 173 

T ABl.E 9-Ao M ISSIONS AN D D EATHS ,\T T HE 

B URLI NGTON GENERAL H OSP ITA L. 

JA NUA RY J8 14- ApRIL 18 15 

Month Adnlissions Deaths 

Total 3.707 184 

1814 

January 180 7 

February 67 1 17 

March 931 29 

April 630 22 

May 151 17 

June 59 6 

July 30 I 

August 33 0 

September 729 31 

Octobe r 105 2S 

November 52 II 

December 13 S 

1815 

January 35 6 

February 56 3 

March 20 2 

April 12 2 

SOURCES : Mann, Ske tclle., p. 144; Hunlt, "Burlington," p. 179. 

facilities to the general hospital only after 

they had reached "a moribund state." Mann 

was particularly angered, however, when 

regimental officers, often without even consulting a member of the hospital staff, informed one of his patients that if he did not 

return to duty at once, he would be considered a deserter. Mann believed that no 

officer was entitled to command a soldier 

to leave the hospital without a specific order 

to that effect from his commanding general.' 

The strain placed upon the Burlington 

hospital increased in the late summer of 

1814 after patients from Plattsburg were 

evacuated there in the face of the enemy 

advance. An estimated 650 to 815 patients 

arrived at the Vermont facility in open 

boats, "a great number of them . . . unable 

to walk; and some were so reduced by 

disease as to be unable to tell their names." 

A sizable majority of the men had diarrhea 

and dysentery 4 and some developed what 

was diagnosed as typhus. It was noted at 

this time that the suffering of such of these 

men as had recently come in from the south 

seemed to be greater than that of others 

under these circumstances. Although the 

hospital itself could hold only 300 at a 

time, a barracks was taken over for the 

use of these new patients, and each man 

was washed and placed in a clean bed. In 

early September 18 14, after the Battle of 

Plattsburg, seventy-nine more patients entered the Burlington hospital, fifty-five of 

whom were seriously wounded. Dysentery 

and diarrhea were now afflicting so many 

that physicians "could hardly enter a ward 

without seeing half a dozen on the closestool," and care was taken to keep closestools filled with limewater to reduce the 

odae.5 

The men hospitalized at Plattsburg were 

not so fortun ate as those at Burlington. In 

December 1813, first priority had been given 

here to building barracks for able-bodied 

soldiers and thus the hospital facilities were 

very disorganized when an epidemic similar 

to that of the previous year hit the Northern 

Army in the early months of 1814. As a 

result, some of the sick reportedly died 

from the cold. By the early summer of 1814, 

the weather and " ill-judged" troop movements were blamed fo r a "prodigious mortality," and by mid-August 1814, when 

there were 100 men in the general hospital 

within the Plattsburg camp, Mann was the 

only physician available to care for them. 

Another thirty patients were hospitalized in 

the village itself at this time under Wheaton's 

management and regimental surgeons were 

responsible for another fifty to ninety men. 

By I September, surgeons at Plattsburg 

were caring for more than seven hundred 

mcn.

6 

Although General Izard and his men 

marched for Sackett's Harbor in late August 1814, they left more than nine hundred 

patients and convalescents from both regimental and general hospitals behind at 

Plattsburg. Those still hospitalized at Plattsburg in early September were evacuated to 

Burlington in the face of the British ad-
174 THE ARM Y ME 0 I CAL DE PAR T MEN T, I 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

vance. Initially, however, because of the 

lack of adequate transportation, they were 

moved two and a half miles to Crab Island, 

where for several days Mann, aided only by 

a surgeon's mate who was himself sick, 

cared for them as they lay on the wet 

ground, sheltered only by tents from the 

rainy weather. Finally, however, in the care 

of the surgeon's matc, they were moved in 

large open boats the remaining twenty-five 

miles to Burlington.' 

Although he stayed with his patients 

while they were on Crab Island, Mann 

continued in overall charge of both Army 

and Navy wounded from the Battle of 

Plattsburg and reported that while the guns 

were firing, surgeons were exposed to danger 

as they moved from one protected area 

to another to care for the wounded. After 

the hattIe, more than thirty major operations 

were performed and these with such skill 

that Mann could write that "the medical 

gentlemen of our army and navy were . . . 

superior to the medical gentlemen of the 

British navy." 8 

The unit at Plattsburg appears to have 

been reopened once the threat to the town 

had passed, and by the end of the year, as 

the war drew to an end, 174 were patients 

still hospitalized in regimental units and 210 

in general hospitals in the Lake Champlain 

area, including Burlington and Plattsburg.

9 

In the hospital at Malone, New York, 

the situation had deteriorated seriously by 

February 1814. Two hundred patients had 

been sent in from the camp at nearhy 

French Mills and every house available for 

the purpose in the village was taken over 

to shelter the total of 450 patients now 

hospitalized in Malone. An adequate supply 

of blankets, bed sacks, hospital stores, and 

medicines, however, could not be located. 

The sick were suffering so intensely from 

the severe weather that four of them, according to Mann, died from the cold. 

"Humanity," Mann commented, "shudders 

at the appearance of these unfortunate men." 

It now became necessary to send the men 

arriving at this hospital to other facilities, 

despite their "deplorable condition." Mann 

noted that this was not the first time the 

Medical Department had been overwhelmed 

by circumstances. 'O 

On 9 February 1814, all the patients 

whose condition permitted it were moved 

away and the hospital at Malone was 

broken up. Under Mann's supervision, more 

than 450 men were sent first to Plattsburg, 

a journey of about seventy miles, and then 

on to Burlington. They were moved in 

sleighs in small groups to avoid overtaxing 

the accommodations of the sparsely settled 

areas through which they had to pass. 

Twenty of those in the poorest condition, 

however, were left at Malone under the 

care of a civilian physician and were captured by the British, while six of those who 

attempted the journey died on the way.11 

Despite the crowding at Malone in the 

early winter of 1814 and the reappearance 

of the pneumonia experienced in the North 

the previous winter, only twenty men of 

the 380 admitted in the period 1 January 

to 9 February 1814 died at Malone. Some 

of the victims of this form of pneumonia 

died in a very short time after the first 

appearance of their symptoms. Among the 

complications attending this illness were 

"swelled feet and legs; some of these were 

accompanied with mortifications; the consequence of long confinement and inactivity 

in the boats, wet and cold, during the passage of the army down Lake Ontario and 

the river St. Lawrence. n 12 

The hospital located at Sackett's Harbor, 

New York, remained there at least through 

the summer of 1814 despite dissatisfaction 

with the site. In the winter of 1814, the 

Apothecary General complained that the 

'surgeons at this facility were wasteful, and 

the surgeon in charge pointed out that the 

2,500 soldiers there had no regimental surgeons or mates with them and that, although 

hospital surgeons had taken over these re-
Ch.9] Defeat and Final Victory: 1814- 1815 175 

sponsibilities, more physicians were needed 

at Sackett's Harbor. 1:, 

For the final two years of the war there 

was also a general hospital at Brownville, 

New York, near Sackett's Harbor. It appears to have been closely linked with the 

Sackett's Harbor unit and from January 

1814 to April 1816 was under the supervision of Dr. Hosea Blood. Unfortunately, 

however, Blood's repoN concerning deaths 

among the patients under his care does not 

break the figure down between Sackett's 

Harbor and Brownville. In the period 23 

October 1813 to 20 January 1814 at 

Sackett's Harbor and 20 January 1814 to 

April 1816 at Brownville, 325 of his patients died. Tilton seems to have believed 

that the Brownville site was well chosen 

since the air and water there were good, 

but he urged that tents continue to be used 

during the summer of 1814 and that a 

large number of them be kept on hand to 

meet any eventuality, since huts should be 

used only in cold weather. H 

A general hospital remained at Greenbush, New York, on the east bank of the 

Hudson, opposite Albany, as late as the 

earliest weeks of 1816. Little detail is 

available on conditions there, but the site 

was considered to be high enough to avoid 

the great danger posed by the fogs rising 

from the river. In the fall of 1813, a group 

of patients from the hospital at Lewiston, 

New York, had been evacuated to Greenbush, and early in 1814, two hundred to 

three hundred more were sent in from Buffalo. In his report of August 1814, however, 

Tilton listed only sixty-seven patients remaining in the Greenbush general hospital, 

but by 31 December 1814, the number of 

patients at Greenbush had again increased 

markedly, partly because the facility was 

now caring for 161 wounded British prisoners as well as 160 Americans." 

In 1814, the hospital at Williamsville, 

New York, did not occupy the same quarters 

it had used the previous year, and patients 

were sheltered in tents while aWaItmg the 

completion of buildings designed specifically 

for use as a hospital. Progress on the construction was extremely slow, however, and 

General Izard wrote that "the jealousy and 

quarrels between surgeons and the Quartermaster's department of General Brown's 

division" were to blame. In early November 

1814, the new building was still "far from 

ready for the reception of the sick and 

wounded," 10 Some of the construction may 

have been complete by 26 November, for 

General Izard referred to the Williamsville 

facilities at that time as an "extensive hospital establishment," but in early November, 

because of the inadequacies of the facility, 

General Izard, following a suggestion from 

the hospital's senior surgeon, ordered that 

as many as could tolerate the journey be 

sent on to Greenbush. Nevertheless, almost 

two thousand patients were in such poor 

condition that they had to remain behind 

in the tents at Williamsville." 

There was, for a time, also a hospital set 

up at Buffalo in 1814 in the tents left behind 

when camp there was broken. The Americans wounded in July's battle at Chippewa 

and some of the enemy wounded, probably 

those from the Battle of Lundy's Lane, 

were sent to Buffalo. Among the British patients were some so badly burned in the 

explosion of a powder magazine that their 

"faces and hands were so crisped that the 

skin peeled off like a baked pig." Among a 

Dumber of American wounded who were 

rowed up the Niagara River in a Hat-bottomed boat to Buffalo was General Scott 

himself. Only those in the poorest condition were retained at Buffalo for any length 

of time, however, and although some difficulties were experienced in obtaining transportation, all but eighty to ninety men too 

seriously injured to be moved were sent 

eastward, apparently within a few weeks, 

to the facility at Williamsville. The Buffalo 

facility was closed on 23 December 1814.'8 

Because of the casual nature of some 
176 TH E ARMY M E D I C AL D E PARTMENT 1 • 775 - 1818 

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Ch.9] De/eat and Final Victory: 1814- 1815 177 

of the reports which survive from the time 

of the War of 1812, it is difficult to be 

sure of the nature of all of the hospitals 

serving the Army during that time. The 

Tilton report of 20 August 1814, for example, mentioned a return from a hospital 

surgeon, E. W. Bull, concerning the sick and 

wounded from Chippewa. It did not, however, make clear whether Bull was referring 

to men who became incapacitated during the 

battle of that name or to men hospita lized 

at some facility or facilities at or near Chippewa. If the former is truc, however, the 

figures furnished Tilton by Bull ( approximately 900 wounded, 300 sick) are, as 

Tilton commented, surprisingly high and 

probably included, as the Physician and 

Surgeon General commented, British casualties. It is difficult to believe that 300 men 

would fall ill as a result of one battle, and 

therefore it is likely that the reference was 

to the number of patients at a hospital. 

There is no record of a general hospital 

at Chippewa, however, but since the reporting physician was a hospital surgeon rather 

than a regimental surgeon, it is reasonable 

to assume that the Chippewa facility was a 

fl ying hospital. '" 

Patients at Fort Erie, which was taken 

from the British in July, were cared for 

by regimental surgeons who received high 

praise in the summer of 1814. The men 

there suffered from the high rate of illness 

which was to be expected in the area, but 

by early August, they were in better health 

than had been expected. Not long thereafter, however, the British began an unsuccessful five-week siege of Fort Erie, during 

which a strongpoint blew up just as the 

British were about to take possession of it. 

The wounded left behind by the British, 

their faces, in some cases, "so fearfully 

disfigured , that the sight of them was 

sickening," were carried to the American 

hospital. The care two surgeons and three 

mates gave the men entrusted to them at 

Fort Erie 2. led the commanding general to 

comment upon their "active, humane, and 

judicious treatment of the wounded, both 

of the enemy and of our own." 21 

The final report for the Medical Department in the 9th District in tbe War of 1812, 

covering the last months of 1814, noted 

that in the right wing there were 174 men 

remaining in regimental facilities and 2 10 

in general hospitals, and in the Niagara 

area, the left wing, 365 in all facilities. In 

the vicinity of Sackett's Harbor, the central 

division, the total number of patients reported to Tilton was 581, but he questioned 

the accuracy of this figure." 

In tbe Northwest's 8th District, even after 

the departure of Maj. Gen. William Henry 

Harrison and approximately seven hundred 

regulars for the Niagara front, surgeons were 

unequal to the task which confronted tbem. 

The same agues and fevers which severely 

aIDicted the civilian population in the area 

of Lower Sandusky, Ohio, and the country 

around Fort Stephenson struck at the garrisons holding the area. The physician responsible for the health of the soldiers here, 

Nathan Boulden, regimental surgeon for 

the 28th Infantry, also attempted to care 

for the thirty families living near the fort, 

even after he himself fell ill. He commented 

that the low-lying land was "astonishingly 

fruitful in the production of marsh 

miasmata" and that there were occasions 

when every member of a family was sick 

at the same time. 23 

Upon his arrival in the Northwest as 

hospital surgeon for the 8th District late in 

1814, another Army surgeon, Adam Hays, 

commented that "there had been no kind 

of system in this district, but I shall endeavor to cleanse the Augean stable." He 

emphasized the shortage of hospital surgeons, pointing out that the Army would 

save money in the long run by sending out 

two good hospital mates and three garrison 

mates and thus eliminating the need to hire 

private physicians with wasteful habits." By 
178 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , I -; 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

mid-January, however, the situation in the 

Northwest had deteriorated to the point 

where Boulden " fled for his life," after 

"having lost his health in the sickly region 

of Sandusky," and Hays was threatening to 

resign because of a shortage of physicians 

so severe that those who remained were 

"worn out." 25 

Although Tilton's attempt to put the 

Army's medical services on a systematic 

basis fell short of its goal and the care 

offered the sick and wounded in the Northwest's 8th Military was far from the ideal 

in the 9th Military District where the Army 

had concentrated both its most skilled 

physicians and many of its finest military 

leaders, by 1814 the picture was not entirely 

a dark one. "Intermittent fevers, dysentery, 

diarrhoea and jaundice" were regarded as 

uendemic diseases" here,26 but because of 

the efforts of both physicians and military 

leaders, the only formidable sources of 

disease in 1814 appeared to be new troops, 

"the miserable rcfuse of society who never 

had energy to demonstrate that they lived." 

"The mystical power of strict discipline and 

rigid police" which could prevent even " the 

demon diarrhoea" was now recognized 27 

and utilized in both camp and hospital. The 

recognition of the need for order and system was already leading to improvements 

in the care offered the sick and wounded 

of the Army in the North. 

In the districts of the North where there 

was no military action, however, few patients required the attention of Medical 

Department physicians. In the 2d District 

(Rhode Island and Connecticut), for example, at the end of 1814 thirty-five patients were reported to the Physician and 

Surgeon General, all of them in a regimental infirmary, while in the general hospital of the 3d District (southern New 

York State and adjacent New Jersey), there 

were but fifty -eight patients remaining at 

this time, twenty-two of whom were from the 

militia. 28 

CAMPAIGN IN THE SOUTH 

The demands made upon the Army Medical 

Department in the South, where relatively 

few Regular Army units saw action during 

the War of 1812, were quite different from 

those encountered in the North. Unfortunately, however, few of the surgeons on the 

small staff in the South left records of their 

work, and, as a result, only fragmentary 

information is available on the activities of 

department physicians below the MasonDixon line. 

During the War of 1812, most of the 

area below the Mason-Dixon line lay in the 

5th, 6th, and 7th Military Districts and, 

after the summer of 1814, in the newly 

created 10th Military District, which included the District of Columbia. (Map 12) 

At the end of 1813, there were a total of 

four hospital surgeons, six hospital surgeon's mates, one garrison surgeon, and 

six garrison surgeon's mates assigned to the 

first three of these districts. In the following 

year, a fifth hospital surgeon and five more 

hospital surgeon's mates were added to the 

staff in the South, but, even so, there were 

fewer physicians assigned to the hospitals 

and garrisons of the entire South than to 

the northern 9th District2 ' 

In anticipation of an enemy attack upon 

Washington, the 10th Military District was 

formed on 2 July 1814, to include the 

area from Baltimore south through northern 

Virginia, and Brig. Gen. William H. Winder 

was placed in command. Estimates of the 

number of men, both militia and regulars, 

vary, but the latter did not exceed 500 

and may have been no more than 300. 

More than 93,000 militia were alerted, but 

the entire force at General Winder's disposal 

at the time of the British landing near Benedict, Maryland, on the Patuxent River on 

19 August probably did not exceed 1,700 

men. 

Although approximately five thousand to 

six thousand Americans, a large majority of 
" VIRGINIA NO'~O/~ Fort Nelson /' __ 

SI. 

MISSOURI 

- KENTUCKY ~ _ --r - NORTH 

,--- - - /' CAROLINA / 

TERRITORY 

TENNESSEE / __ - -C _ ~ 

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THE SOUTHERN FRONTIER 

1812-1814 q,oooo 

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MAP 12 
180 THE ARM Y ME D t e A L D E PA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - 1 8 I 8 

them untrained militia and volunteers, were 

in the vicinity of the capital by 24 August, 

the British won an easy victory in the Battle of Bladensburg and then moved on 

Washington to burn the Capitol, the White 

House, and other government buildings 

before withdrawing to their ships and reembarking on 30 August. A British attack 

on Baltimore in early September was defeated by militia and volunteers, without 

the aid of regulars except fo r those at Fort 

McHenry, where 24 of 600 regulars were' 

wounded and 4 killed.:

w 

Several facilities appear to have cared for 

the Army's patients in the summer of 18 14 

in the vici nity of Washington, D.C. One 

Army hospital, under the direction of Dr. 

William Jones, who was probably a hospital surgeon's mate at the time, was 

operating at a location described as Greenleaf's Point, now the site of Fort McNair 

at the junction of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, as early as the fall of 1813 . 

The care offered soldiers before the summer 

of I 8 14 in what would become the 10th 

Military District nevcrtheless seems to have 

left much to be desired and the establishment of the new district does not appear to 

have markedly improved it. The day before 

the Battle of Bladensburg, Physician and 

Surgeon General J ames Tilton complained 

that the district was in great disorder 

largely because no one was officially in 

charge of medical support there. He urged 

the appointment of a hospital surgeon to 

provide leadership and proposed a personal 

visit to the area. Although it appears that 

it was not unti l 1 October that a hospital 

surgeon was moved to the 10th District, 

within three months he was able to bring 

at least some order to the management of 

medical support in that area." 

Because of the absence of a hospital surgeon in August 1814, wounded from action 

in the Washington area were apparently 

placed under the overall supervision of Dr. 

Hanson Catlett, who was referred to in a 

House of Representatives report as "the 

superintending surgeon." He is listed in the 

official records as the regimental surgeon 

for the I st Infantry "' and referred to himself as having been specifically "attached to 

the suite of General Winder, as staff surgeon." :J:J Shortly after the Battle of Bladensburg, Catlett went through the British lines 

to aid in the care of injured American 

prisoners. Two other American physicians, 

at least one of whom was apparently himself also a captive, aided him here. By 2 

September, the hospital Catlett had been 

ordered to set up on Capitol Hill was ready 

to take all the patients who might be sent 

there. When the British reembarked, they 

left several surgeons and their most seriously wounded behind them, and these men, 

too, became an American responsibility. 

There is no indication whether any of these 

prisoners were cared for in the Capitol 

Hill unit, which was still in operation as 

late as September 1814." 

In addition to the Greenleaf's Point and 

Capitol Hill facilities, there was also a 

third military hospital in the District of 

Columbia. Here some of the sick and 

wounded, both American and British, were 

cared for by a prominent civilian physician, 

Dr. J ames Ewell, who was assisted by a 

second civilian doctor. Ewell wrote that the 

Acting Secretary of War had ordered a 

militia facility established next door to his 

unit. This "militia-murdering hospital" was 

run by a surgeon's mate who had barely 

started his medical training at the time when 

he was appointed to care for the militia's 

wounded.ali 

By the end of 1814, the regular troops 

in the 10th District were in good condition 

but the health of the men of the militia 

was reported to be suffering because of their 

lack of discipline. The militia's sick were 

being discharged, however, and at the end 

of the year there were only eighty sick in 

regimental infirmaries and seventy in the 

general hospital. By J anuary 1815, the 
Ch. 9] Defeat and Final Victory: 1814-1815 181 

troops still in the Washington, D.C., area 

were again sickly and a hospital surgeon 

was ordered to investigate conditions in a 

small barracks "near the President's 

Square." It was pointed out to this surgeon that the hospital at Greenleaf's Point 

was not filled to capacity and could accommodate more patients than it then held.30 

Although regular units were also distributed among garrisons and forts throughout the deep South, many of the operations 

there during the War of 1812 were, like 

those in the North, conducted by militia 

and volunteers. The men operating against 

the Creek Indians in the Southeast beginning in the summer of 1813 were reinforced 

by regulars only in February 1814 when 

the 600-man 39th Infantry Regiment moved 

from Tennessee to Fort Strother on the 

Coosa River in what is now northeastern 

Alabama. (See Map 12.) On 28 May 1814, 

Andrew Jackson was named major general 

in the Regular Army to command the 7th 

Military District, which included Louisiana 

and the Mississippi Territory and, believing 

that the British were planning a move in the 

South, the Secretary of War began concentrating troops, both regular and militia, 

there. By I July, there were reportedly 

more than 2,000 regulars in the 7th Military District 37 and militia was being raised 

within Louisiana and neighboring states 

for the defense of that area. 

General Jackson did not remain in the 

vicinity of New Orleans at this time but 

moved against West Florida with both regulars and volunteers. He did not return to 

New Orleans until 2 December. On 10 

December, the British fteet was sighted at 

anchor not far from New Orleans, at a 

time when the only regulars there were 

elements of two regiments and an artillery 

detachment, totaling six hundred to eight 

hundred men or fewer." Militia and volunteer units continued to pour in, however, 

and by 22 December, General Jackson had 

more than 2,000 mel) at New Orleans. 

The first engagement with the British at 

New Orleans took place on 23 December 

1814 and was followed by three more battles, on the 28th of December and the 1st 

and 8th of January 1815. The battlc of 8 

January resulted in a decisive victory over 

the British with only minor losses for the 

Americans. On the morning of 19 January, 

it was discovered that the British had slipped 

away from New Orleans, leaving behind 

eighty of their wounded.'· Minor clashes 

between the British and Americans continued in the South, however, until midFebruary when Congress ratified the Treaty 

of Ghent and brought the War of 1812 

officially to a close. 

Other than physicians accompanying militia and volunteer units and such of the 

department's regimental medical staff as 

may have accompanied detachments of 

regulars into the 7th Military District, the 

medical staff in this district was composed 

of a single hospital surgeon, who was stationed at the general hospital at New Orleans, two hospital surgeon's mates, whose 

precise locations cannot be determined, a 

garrison surgeon at New Orleans, and four 

garrison surgeon's mates, two of whom were 

at Fort Stoddert, north of Mobile Bay, and 

a third at Natchitoches, in west central 

Louisiana. The location of the fourth garrison surgeon's mate does not appear in 

the reports of the period'· 

There was neither a surgeon nor a mate 

assigned to Fort Strother, and as late as 

December 1813, the 39th Infantry was 

without a surgeon. It is likely, therefore, 

that the medical care of regular units 

based there during two successful months 

of campaigning early in 1814 was provided 

by a regimental surgeon's mate." The 

records of the medical care of General 

Jackson's men are very sparse, however, 

and the few details which can be pieced 

together concern the hospital and physicians 

at New Orleans. 

According to Dr. Oliver Spencer, the 
182 THE ARMY MEDI CAL D EPARTMENT , 

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Ch.9] Defeat and Final Victory: 1814- 1815 183 

THREE OAKS MANSION. (From Arthur. New Orleans.) 

garrison surgeon for that post, before General Wilkinson's last nine-month command 

in the 7th Military District, which ended in 

the spring of 1813, the general hospital in 

the New Orleans area moved with the units 

it served when they left the city itself. 

Since that time and despite the "acknowledged insalubrity" of the location , the facility had remained within the city, which 

was known not only for its permeation by 

;'poisonous exhalations" from the river and 

marshes but also for its "extrao rdinary 

profligacy and licentiousness." 42 

Even before the War of 18 12, the general hospital at New Orleans was apparently located very near an Ursuline convent, 

the unit's presence having been described 

as a "great inconvenience" for "the ladies 

of the convent. " As early as April of 1812, 

it had been suggested that the hospital building and lot be given to the Ursulines in 

exchange for property which they owned 

elsewhere, but as late as mid-June of 1815, 

the trade had not been carried out, even 

though General Jackson himself was in 

favor of moving the facility outside the 

city.43 

From time to time, other buildings were 

apparently also used to shelter Army patients near New Orleans. During the action 

around New Orleans on 8 January, hospital 

facilities were set up ncar the field of battle. 

It seems likely that a building was used 

rather than a tent, since the hospital surgeon, Dr. David Kerr, later stated that 

when the action was at its height, Louisiana's governor Claiborne rode his horse 

behind the hospital, "where he was entirely 

shelter'd from the balls of the enemy." This 

unit could have been the hospital set up in 

late December in a mansion house outside 

the city, one which was so damaged by this 

use that, according to its owner, $550 would 

be required to repair it. There was a man-
184 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

sion known as Three Oaks in this area 

which served as a hospital during the defense of New Orleans. Other patients were 

cared for in the schoolroom of the Ursuline 

convent, which had been abandoned by its 

pupils on 23 December. Fifty beds were 

reportedly set up there and it seems possible 

that the sisters also served as nurses elsewhere. 44 

Kerr was the director of the New Orleans 

general hospital during the last months of 

the War of 1812 and as such was apparently 

also responsible for collecting the required 

reports from the regimental and garrison 

surgeons and mates in the 7th District. Kerr 

reported to Tilton, however, that as of 30 

July 1814 he had been unable to acquire 

reports from the other physicians in his 

district, although there were forty-nine patients under his own care in the general hospital. 45 

References pertaining to the medical care 

received by the troops defending New 

Orleans are not always easy to interpret 

because of a tendency to refer to participants 

in the struggle by their last names only and 

because there were two physicians with the 

last name of Kerr involved. It is, therefore, 

not always possible to be sure from the 

context to which of the doctors Kerr reference is being made. By the time of the 

British assault on New Orleans, Spencer had 

resigned as garrison surgeon, but Dr. Christopher Backus, of "the Drs. Apothecary 

Generals department," remained in the city. 

A native of Louisiana, Backus had been appointed Assistant Apothecary General in 

August 1814. Also aiding in the care of 

the wounded near New Orleans was a Dr. 

Flood, who appears to have owned land 

upon which General Jackson's line was at 

one time camped and who seems, like John 

Kerr, to have volunteered his services. Dr. 

Lewis Heerman was a third volunteer whose 

name, like that of Flood, does not appear 

on the rolls of the Army Medical Department. 4G 

Because the climate was taking its 

customary toll, the burden on the hospital 

facilities in the New Orleans area in December 1814 and January 1815 was great, 

despite the low number of American casualties. Many contracted "pernicious fever and 

dysenteries" and in one month 500 men 

reportedly died from disease alone. Large 

numbers of wounded British prisoners were 

also the responsibility of the U.S. Army at 

this time. The captives were taken to New 

Orleans the evening of 8 January, but, since 

the facilities there were already filled with 

Americans, an appeal was made to the citizens of the city for help. Pillows, old linen 

for dressings, and 140 mattresses were 

brought forward, and many civilians volunteered to take British casualties into their 

homes and to care for them there until space 

could be found for them within the hospital. 

All civilian physicians in the city at this time 

were called upon to care for the enemy 

wounded. They appear to have responded 

without hesitation and some even left town 

and went out to meet the wounded to render 

morc prompt carc.H On 8 January, General 

Jackson assured the British Commander that 

"The wounded on the field shall be sought 

after, and every comfort administered them 

until they are reed." 48 

General Jackson also sent a friend who 

happened to be a native of New Orleans 

back to check on the condition of his own 

wounded, who were scattered about the city, 

but despite his concern, the death rate among 

the hospitalized in New Orleans in the early 

winter of 1815 was reported to be very high. 

Militia and volunteer surgeons were ordered 

retained in the service to care for their patients who were housed in Army hospitals. 

General Jackson himself was on the sick 

list at one time, laid low by a "serious attack 

of disentry ... brought on by cold and 

fatigue ." His cure, achieved through the 

efforts of "Doctor Kerr Hospital surgeon," 49 

undoubtedly confirmed his earlier evaluation 

of the care the sick and wounded received 
Ch. 9] Defeat and Final Victory: 1814- 1815 185 

during and after the defense of New Orleans 

which had led him to conclude that "The 

medical staff has merited well of the country." no 

In the 5th and 6th Military Districts, 

unlike the 7th, there were no major military 

operations in the last year and a half of the 

War of 1812, although enemy raids occurred 

from to time along the eastern coast. In the 

5th Military District, the headquarters of the 

Medical Department was at Norfolk, an area 

which the hospital surgeon in charge found 

to be healthier than he had anticipated. 

Assigned to Norfolk in 1814 were the district's only hospital surgeon, two hospital 

surgeon's mates, and a garrison surgeon's 

mate. There was also a garrison surgeon's 

mate at nearby Fort Nelson. lil 

When the hospital surgeon at Norfolk 

reported to Tilton in the summer o[ 1814, 

there were but forty -three patients in his 

general hospital and 6 18 in the " regimental 

infirmary." Elsewhere within the district, 

however, there seems to have been much 

confusion. The Deputy Quartermaster General in Richmond, Joseph Wheaton, maintained that he was forced to act as physidan, 

superintendent, and manager of hospitals in 

Richmond from I J anuary 18 14 to 19 

November 1817 !i2 because "there was no 

hospital or medical department, nor even a 

United States physician at Richmond" to 

care for the many sick who, after their discharge from the Army, went through Richmond on their way from No rfolk. He had 

personally taken the initiative, arranged to 

obtain the use of a building for a hospital, 

signed on a surgeon's mate, and appointed 

nurses. He apparently also supervised the 

care of patients from the militia units in the 

area. 53 

The troops in the Carolinas and Georgia 

were served by a relatively large medical 

staff, which as of 29 December 18 13 included, on paper, three hospital surgeons, 

three hospital mates, and two garrison mates. 

Tilton appears to have had as little success 

in extracting reports from this district as he 

had in many others." 

The last year of the War of 1812 illustrated in the North the improvements in the 

care of the sick and wounded which could 

result from the effort and planning of experienced physicians when they were given 

adequate time and resources. Hospitals there 

were clean and efficiently managed and there 

is no evidence that in the North they became 

the hotbeds of infection wh ich they had been 

in the Revolutionary War. In the South, 

where a high rate of disease was to be expected but where relatively few regular 

tfOOpS were stationed, the situation was quite 

different. Since casualties here were few 

among American regulars, any unusual strain 

upon the department's physicians resulted 

largely from the wounded militia, volunteer, 

and enemy troops entrusted to their care. 
10 

The Lessons of War: 1815 to 1818 

The experiences of two wars and several 

expeditions against the Indians made it obvious not only that Army surgeons, like their 

colleagues everywhere in the late seventeenth 

and early eighteenth centuries, were unable 

to treat a large proportion of their patients 

successfully but also that the U.S. Army was 

unable to deliver the best medical care, as 

determined by the standards of the time, to 

its sick and wounded. After hostilities ended 

in 1815, a number of surgeons published 

journal articles about their professional experiences during the War of 1812, but since 

there was no central authority to coordinate 

their observations or to study their conclusions and since they had little understanding of the causes of disease and infection, 

the significance of their contributions was 

limited. 

A number of the nation's political leaders 

were also brought by the experiences of that 

war to urge the creation of a permanent, 

professional, and quickly expandable Army. 

Although their concepts failed to achieve 

wide acceptance in the years following the 

war and their efforts were to a significant 

degree frustrated , a permanent Medical Department was nevertheless established in 

1818 when, as a result of the efforts of 

Secretary of War John Calhoun, legislation 

created a number of permanent staff departments for the Army. The disciplined, coordinated collection and study of data 

systematically gathered by the department 

from different areas of the country and over 

a long period of time now became possible; 

as a result, as the value of statistical studies 

received greater recognition, the department 

would be in a position to make important 

contributions to medical science. The existence of a permanent organization, furthermarc, would also guarantee that a nucleus of 

experienced and disciplined military surgeons would be available at all times in the 

future to advise concerning the prevention 

of disease and to care for the Army's sick 

and wounded. 

INDECISION AND DECISION, 

MARCH 1815 TO APRIL 1818 

The confusion and suffering caused by the 

fact that the Medical Department was created 

after the War of 1812 had begun and therefore could not prepare for the care of large 

numbers of sick and wounded in the War of 

1812 did not prevent the breakup of its 

central organization within a short time after 

the hostilities ended. The office of Physician 

and Surgeon General was eliminated by the 

legislation of 3 March 1815, which reduced 

the Army in size to 10,000 men, but the 

positions of Apothecary General and two 

assistants, considered still needed because 

of "principles of convenience and rcal 

economy," 1 wefe provisionally retained 

through an order of 17 May 1815. (See 

Appendix K.) The ratio of one surgeon and 

two mates per regiment was not altered, 

however, and a maximum of five hospital 

surgeons, fifteen hospital mates, and twelve 

post surgeons per division was also permitted. Many of the most experienced physicians were dropped, either temporarily or 
Ch.lO] Lessons of War: 1815- 1818 187 

permanently, from the service, even in those 

instances when they had expressed a wish to 

be retained. By the end of the year, however, 

Secretary of the Army William H. Crawford 

was urging Congress to recognize the fact 

that the military should be given "in time 

of peace, the organization which it must 

have to render it efficient in a state of war. n 

Even so, he did not suggest the creation of 

the post of surgeon general, but merely proposed that a permanent staff include an 

apothecary general, whom he would have 

stationed at Philadelphia 2 

In April 1816, legislation was passed to 

clarify the organization of the medical support to be provided the Army and the positions of the Apothecary General and his two 

assistants were now made permanent. The 

Army was divided into a Northern Division 

with four geographical departments and a 

Southern Division with live. A ratio of four 

hospital surgeons and eight mates for each 

of the two divisions was established, and the 

position formerly known as garrison surgeon 

was officially redesignated post surgeon. Although there was now a small permanent 

staff to handle the supply of drugs and medicines, when John Calhoun became Secretary 

of War late in 18 16, there was still no single 

superior over the entire department through 

whom the Apothecary General, Francis LeBaron, could work in estimating the overall 

needs of the Army's surgeons.' 

Apparently some critics of the medical 

care available to the men of the U.S. Army 

at this time blamed inadequacies in large 

measure upon "the irregular and injudicious 

mode which government has pursued in the 

organization of a medical department." Calhoun, however, was a young man of both 

energy and ambition. He was convinced of 

the necessity of expanding the work of his 

predecessor in creating a peacetime staff 

organization wh ich would be able to meet 

the challenge of war whenever it might come. 

By April 18 18, the new Secretary of War 

was able to add to the permanent staff posts 

of the Army that of the Surgeon General of 

the Army Medical Department.' 

At least twenty-two phYSicians who had 

served with the Army during the War of 

18 12 informed Tilton, who himself retired in 

the spring of 18 15, that they wished to 

remain in the Army. It appears, however, 

that by J anuary 1816, only seven of the 

twenty-two had actually been retained in 

any capacity whatever and that at least one 

of the seven was very unhappy with the 

position to which he had been assigned. One 

of those who was dropped from the Army 

commented to Tilton that "a just and honorable reward for public service is seldom 

bestowed on the humane and fa ithful physician and surgeon." Although he remained 

in the Army, a second physician, Dr. J. H. 

Sackett, who had served as a hospital surgeon's mate during the war, joined those who 

complained of the Army's attitude. Sackett 

had at first been dropped from the Army's 

rolls in May 1815, but after being asked to 

remain the following month, was assigned 

the position of a mere garrison surgeon's 

mate.Ci 

Despite the fact that Dr. J ames Mann, in 

Tilton's words, "the oldest surgeon on our 

register," was recommended for reappointment by both Tilton and LeBaron, among 

others, and wished to remain in the Army, 

he was not initially asked to do so. He 

appears, however, to have remained on duty 

at least through mid-April. He became quite 

bitter over what he regarded as the Army's 

unfairness, since he had a family to support 

and had given up his private practice upon 

entering the Army. By the spring of 181 6, 

however, he had apparently been reappointed 

and was serving as one of the four hospital 

surgeons in the Northern Division, along 

with Benjamin Waterhouse, Joseph Lovell, 

and Tobias Watkins.· 

Even after hostilities ceased, large numbers of bills which Apothecary General Francis LeBaron had difficulty paying continued 

to come in to his office. Among the expenses 
188 THE ARMY MEDI C AL DEPARTM E NT , 1775 - 1818 

he was requ ired to handle were the costs of 

care for the men who were treated by private 

physicians after falling ill along the roadside 

when units of the Northern Army were on 

the march. Through the entire spring of 

1815, LeBaron continued to press for the 

funds he needed to meet the department's 

expenses, and during the summer the Secretary of War decided that one way of 

meeting some of these claims against the 

department would be to sell off all hospital 

supplies no longer needed.' 

Early in 1816, LeBaron began to urge 

measures to eliminate waste and extravagance. Since surgeons were accumulating unnecessarily large quantities of supplies, 

specific regulations should be drawn up " for 

the economy of supplies in this Dept." 

LeBaron's problems continued, however, 

and the spring of 18 17 found him still concerned about the accountability of surgeons 

and others who handled supplies. He maintained that a one-quarter savings could 

result if surgeons were made responsible to 

the Apothecary General and the Apothecary 

General in turn to "some higher source." 

He reported that he had been able, even so, 

to save some money by having old instruments repaired, but old medicines tended to 

deteriorate and those of his drugs which had 

been long in storage were losing in value 

with every passing day. They should, therefore, be sold at once.

8 

Another economy suggested by LeBaron 

in March 18 15 was a consolidation of hospitals to reduce the cost of transporting 

supplies. The Apothecary General urged 

that the men then in facilities at Burlington, 

Brownville, and Williamsville be sent to 

Greenbush, but he agreed with Waterhouse 

that an invalid hospital should be opened to 

serve the northern and western states. His 

suggestions, however, appear to have been 

to some degree ignored, since the hospital 

at Brownville was in operation as late as the 

fa ll of 18 17 and that at Burlington was 

still open when the hospital surgeon who 

was in charge there in the winter and spring 

of 1815 left the Army that summer" 

LeBaron made a number of other suggestions for improving the efficiency of the 

department's supply system, but it is not 

always possible today to ascertain to what 

extent his ideas were carried out. He appears 

to have succeeded to some degree in limiting 

the frequcncy of supply deliveries to any 

given area to once a year and hoped that, as 

a result, he would receive fewer of those 

small orders which could be easily lost. He 

requested that estimates of need be made up 

by March of each year, pointing out that 

timely returns could have saved $ 10,000 of 

the $36,000 to $37,000 which was spent on 

drugs in the twelve-month period ending in 

the summer of 1817. 10 

The path of distribution of supplies to the 

regimental surgeons lay through the quartermasters at such central points as Ph iladelphia, Boston, and New York . In early 1815, 

ror example, the assistant apothecary general 

assigned to Richmond, Virginia, was receiving all of his medicines from the deputy 

commissary in that city. There was at least 

one request that a storage depot also be 

established at Baltimore, but LeBaron believed th at taking this step would unnecessarily complicate the handling of supplies." 

LeBaron hoped to take advantage of water 

transportation wherever he could . With this 

in mind, he pointed out that New York City, 

where he wished to make his headquarters, 

was an ideal location. He apparently experienced difficulty in receiving permission 

to make the move and in the spring of 1816 

was still urging that this step be taken. He 

pointed out to the Secretary of War that the 

rivers leading to the west from Philadelphia 

could be used for transport from a depot 

there and that New Orleans could serve as a 

center from which the deep South could be 

supplied. LeBaron's work was complicated, 

however, not only by such occasional problems as the "uncommon scarcity of Water of 

the Mohawk" but also by the fact that he 
Ch. 10] Lessons 0/ War: /8/5- 1818 189 

STATEMENT ON HOSPITAL SUPPLIES SENT FROM NEW YORK. (Courtesy 0/ Natiollal Archives.) 
190 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - I 8 I 8 

could not be sure what forts were in use at 

any given time.

12 

The Apothecary General made an inspection trip in the late summer and early fall 

of 1816. It was planned to take him along 

the northern frontier, which was in an "unsettled state" as far as the Medical Department was concerned. He hoped to visit 

Brownville, Sackett's Harbor, Niagara, and 

Detroit, and possibly Michilimackinac as 

well. When he learned that the men constructing a "military road" near Detroit 

would probably suffer a high rate of disease, 

LeBaron decided to take two wagonloads of 

items which they might need along with him 

when he left Albany. He seems to have set 

out upon this three-month voyage in the 

late summer of 1816, but in addition to 

being "sick most of the time," he was shipwrecked on Lake Ontario." 

Despite his efforts to improve the supply 

operations of the Medical Department, LeBaron's position was made insecure by continuing criticism of the quality of the supplies he sent out. In February 1817, although 

the exact nature of the complaint was not 

spelled out in the Secretary of War's letter 

to the Apothecary General, LeBaron was 

tersely informed that if there were further 

complaints on this score, "the government 

[will] .. . discontinue your services." 14 

Much of the work of Army surgeons in 

the period immediately after the end of the 

War of 1812 involved the sick and wounded 

still remaining in need of care or new patients from among the troops originally concentrated as a result of the war. In February 

1815, for example, there were still " sundry 

considerable armies & cantonments" in the 

9th Military District. As late as March there 

were also sick and wounded British prisoners in a hospital at Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 

Even in 1 817, Army surgeons were still 

concerned with the veterans of the War of 

1812. The certificate of an Army physician 

was required for some types of pensions, 

but apparently not all of the certificates 

issued were accurate. In at least one instance, a surgeon stated that a man had 

been wounded in action at a time when 

the individual had not yet joined the Army. 

The physicians invo lved, however, were not 

accused of fraud but rather of a lack of 

awareness which made them the easy victims of dishonest soldiers.Hi 

Although there IVcre still patients requiring care in the vicinity of Lake Champlain, 

Dr. Henry Huntt was on leave and Mann 

was attending the court-martial of Maj. Gen. 

James Wilkinson at Utica, leaving no hospital surgeon on duty in this area. By April, 

however, when Mann had returned to Platt s~ 

burg, the men were in excellent health, a 

fact he attributed to the " rigid discipline 

and judicious police" which prevailed among 

them. He also noted that the regimental 

units were well managed. Huntt was ordered 

to the general hospital at Burlington early 

in February 1815, but in June he was relieved of duty there and left the Army.'· 

By the end of June 1817, Dr. Joseph 

Lovell appears to have become, at least 

unofficially, the head of the Northern Division. He turned in a report of that date 

which was entitled "Remarks on the Sick 

Report of the Northern Division for the 

Year Ending June 30, 1817" 17 and later 

that fall lVas referred to as "Inspecting hospital Surgeon, at Head Quarters." 18 As a 

result of his inspections he was able to 

report that the health of the men in the 

North was very good. More than 2, 100 

patients had been treated in the preceding 

twelve months, 838 of whom were suffering 

from fevers "and other important complaints," 193 from wounds, and 55 from 

venereal diseases.1o 

THE STATE OF THE ART 

Two wars and a number of campaigns 

against the Indians offered the physicians 

who served with the American Army before the spring of 1818 opportunities they 
ell. 10] Lessons of War: 1815- 1818 191 

would not otherwise have had to observe 

diseases and their treatment and the effects 

of climate, weather, and geography upon 

health. Some of these surgeons attempted 

to record either forma lly Or informally for 

the benefit of others what they had seen 

while in the Army and the conclusions they 

had reached, but the speedy disbanding of 

the Medical Department made the most 

effective usc of their professional experiences during the war impossible. 

Most of the observations of the military 

physicians of this period seem to have been 

directed at the practice of medicine rather 

than that of surgery. Concern continued 

to be shown for the prevention of disease, 

through improved hygiene and, in the case 

of smallpox; through the new process of 

vaccination. The prevalent types of treatment were also examined with a critical 

and discriminating eye. 

Vaccination was not used within the 

Army with the enthusiasm which might 

have been expected, despite the fact that an 

early supporter of the procedure, Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, joined the Army Medical 

Department during the War of 1812. Since, 

in addition, no deliberate effort was made 

to study the effectiveness of the procedure, 

a valuable scientific opportunity was lost. 

LeBaron, as Apothecary General, attempted 

in late April of 18 J 3 to have all non immune 

troops vaccinated and urged that the material necessary be sent out at once so that 

all susceptible men could be immunized before the new campaign began. Although he 

sent out the "vaccine virus" to various 

commanding officers, LeBaron did not 

have the authority to order the troops 

to undergo the procedure. He made no 

reference to the existence of any smallpox 

within the Army, but pointed out that immunization was necessary because some of 

the localities through which the troops 

would have to pass were experiencing smallpox epidemics. He emphasized that no 

special preparation was deemed necessary 

before vaccination and that after the procedure had been completed, the men could 

continue with their normal routines.:w 

Not long after he became head of the 

Medical Department in 1813, the Physician 

and Surgeon General appointed six young 

surgeon's mates to form a vaCCinating 

team to go out to immunize the Northern 

Army. Like LeBaron, however, Tilton made 

no mention of any smallpox epidemic within the ranks of the Army. Whether the 

mission he assigned was actually accomplished cannot be ascertained, but the next 

summer Maj. Gen. George Izard, alarmed 

by a single case of smallpox within his 

camp, sent "an express" to Albany to obtain "kine pox matter" and commented 

that his troops should have been vaccinated 

earlier,21 

Although none of these documents refers to an epidemic of smallpox within the 

Army in the War of 1812, the fear that 

there might be one was evident. Since references to devastating smallpox epidemics 

were common in the documents of the 

Revolution, and since the disease was still 

dreaded, it is unlikely that similar epidemics 

in the War of 1812 would go unmentioned. 

Discipline as a key to the prevention of 

disease was well recognized by the War of 

1812 and was emphasized by the future 

Surgeon General, Joseph Lovell, who 

pointed out that One of the reasons for 

retaining a "military establishment" in 

peacetime was the fact that military experience was necessary to an understanding 

of regulations and their importance. The 

precautions recommended for the prevention 

of disease included not only the obvious 

sanitary measures but also the locating of 

camps in dry areas and the starting of 

fires early in the evening on the windward 

side of camp if circumstances made the 

pitching of camp in a damp area unavoidable." 

Proper clothing was considered to he 

very important. No new conclusions on the 
192 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L DE PAR T MEN T, 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

subject appear to have been reached during the War of 1812, however; faith was 

still placed in the wearing of woolen shirts, 

particularly north of Philadelphia, and 

Lovell recommended that the advice of 

Benjamin Franklin on that subject be followed: woolen shirts should be worn "until 

mid-summer" and put on again "the next 

day." Surgeons in the War of 1812 were 

apparently also familiar with the damage 

which cold and damp could cause to the 

feet. Lovell emphasized the importance of 

proper footgear, commenting that "the most 

important circumstance perhaps of all is 

to enable the soldier to keep his feet warm 

and dry by a liberal allowance of woolen 

socks and laced shoes, reaching at least to 

the ankle." Lovell also believed, however, 

that letting the feet remain wet and cold 

for any length of time had "deleterious 

effects upon the constitution through the 

lungs and bowels." 23 Tilton shared Lovell's 

faith in ftannel worn next to the skin, but 

he believed that wearing clothing which was 

too warm in the summer was also unwise. 

In hot weather the soldier should wear 

"pantelets & shoes, without stockings," but 

in every kind of weather, he should wear 

gaiters. 24 

Mann's experiences, however. had not led 

him to great optimism concerning what preventive medicine could accomplish with the 

average soldier. The Army enlisted many 

men who were already "habitually intemperate, with constitutions broken down by 

inebriation and its consequent disease; 

whose bloated countenances exhibited false 

and insidious marks of health" and these 

"contribute to fill our hospitals." "It has 

been too much an object with officers on 

the recruiting service, to fill up their rolls 

with numbers." "The surgeons of the army," 

Mann lamented, "are made mere scapegoats, on whom are heaped a multitude of 

sins." 25 

Although hospital records surviving from 

the War of 1812 list fevers and digestive 

and respiratory ills as the most prevalent 

diseases, some patients suffered from 

"nothing" or even "rascality." 26 One Army 

surgeon, however. recommended a cure for 

this kind of ailment. Blistering, he said, was 

"a good test, in doubtful cases, whether a 

man was really sick. Rather than submit to 

the pain of blistering a second time, unless 

absolutely diseased, he would prefer going 

to duty ... so that, whether a man was 

actually sick or only feignedly ill, blistering 

was an excellent remedy." 2 7 

If there were a disease deserving of the 

name of "camp disease" in the. War of 1812, 

Lovell believed it would have to be diarrhea 

and dysentery. The primary cause of this 

problem was, in his opinion, not bad food 

or water, but cold and damp weather. To 

treat diarrhea and dysentery, physicians 

tried inducing perspiration by warm baths, 

warm drinks, warm coverings, and medi~ 

cines believed to increase perspiration, such 

as Dover's powder, a combination of opium 

and ipecac. 28 

Another goal of the physician treating 

dysentery was the emptying of the digestive 

tract by purges and emetics, an approach 

which was accepted with little or no question. There seems to have been some difference of opinion, however, on whether 

the purge should precede or follow the 

emetic. Waterhouse believed that ipecac 

should be administered before the purge, 

and that jalap, senna, aloes, rhubarb, and 

"perhaps calomel" should not be used for 

purging the sufferer from this disease because they increased "peristaltic motion." 

Epsom salts, manna, castor oil, and extract 

of butternut, on the other hand, were appropriate since they operated by "increasing 

the secretion of the glands of the intestines." 

Heustis, however, favored administering the 

purgative, preferably castor oil, before the 

dose of ipecac or tartar emetic. For severe 

and chronic dysentery he also recommended 

the raising of blisters just above the ankle 

and the administration of 1.5 to 2 grams 
Ch.1O] Lessons of War: 1815- 1818 193 

of opium, to be combined in the case of 

heavy drinkers suffering from this disease 

with 2 to 3 grams of sugar of lead. Waterhouse used opium only when his "patient 

has been thoroughly evacuated," but admitted that the sufferer's pain alone might 

make the use of opium necessary.29 Mann, 

however, warned that the sudden checking 

of chronic diarrhea could bring on dropsy, 

which was best relieved by "drastic 

purges." "0 Waterhouse also recommended 

the use of "decoction of wild cherry" as 

an "astringent in the latter stage of dysentery." 3 1 

Neither Waterhouse nor Heustis seems to 

have believed in the unrestricted use of 

bleeding for dysentery and diarrhea. Heustis 

stated that only feverish patients should be 

bled, while Waterhouse recommended 

venesection only when the sufferer was 

young and had "a very hard and crowded 

pulse," accompanied _by "severe pains in 

his back and loins." Even in these instances, 

however, Waterhouse warned that patients 

should be bled but once32 

There was considerable agreement on the 

appropriate diet for the patient with diarrhea 

or dysentery. Heustis and Waterhouse 

agreed that meat in any form should be 

avoided, along with alcohol. Heustis encouraged the use of ripe fruit, especially 

mangoes, guavas, and pomegranates, for 

"scorbutic dysentery," while Waterhouse 

emphasized that the fruit must be truly ripe 

since green fruit would have a harmful effect. Heustis favored a milk and vegetable 

diet fo r these patients," and Mann added 

that "No article prescribed proved so beneficial as milk and its preparations ... By 

milk alone, it was my persuasion, that many 

lives were saved, which, without it, would 

have been lost." 34 

Physicians in the early nineteenth century 

continued to question whether many of the 

fevers so prevalent among the Army's patients were sepa rate entities; nothing of 

significance had been learned about these 

diseases since the time of the Revolution. 

In 18 17, for example, Heustis wrote: 

"Briefly, my opinion is, that the intermitting, 

remitting, yellow fever, and plague, are 

only gradations and modifications of the 

same disease." In 1813, Dr. John Warren, 

who had served with the Hospital Department in the Revolution, speculated as to 

whether the disease known in the tropics 

as yellow fever was identical with typhus, 

although he was confident that the yellow 

fever which struck Boston in 1798 and 

1802 was not typhus. Warren did distinguish 

between inflammatory fever and typhus, but 

he seems to have used the terms typhoid 

and typhus almost interchangeably." A 

physician thus might describe a fever as 

being "a typhoid type" and characterized by 

a "total loss of appetite, great thirst, parched 

brown tongue, sordes on the teeth, increased 

heat of the skin." 36 

By 18 17, studies arising from the interest in the possible effects of weather and 

climate, however, seem to have somewhat 

lessened the prevalent enthusiasm for the 

idea that the origin of fevers might be in 

"those changes in the air that are pointed 

out by the thermometer, barometer, or 

hygrometer." Waterhouse began to believe 

that the origin of these "wide spreading 

maladies, as well as endemics, or local 

disorders" lay in "some secret movement, or 

alterations in the earth, or on its surface." 

He noted that while "Epidemics seem to 

accompany or follow a blighted state of 

vegetation," they also seemed "to accompany an abund ant harvest, but whether in 

the series of cause and effect, is not fully 

known." He then terminated his discussion 

with an abrupt "As to myself, I'm weary of 

conjecture! " " Not long after the permanent 

organization of the department, Army surgeons would be required to begin contributing detailed and systematic reports to 

the study of the question Waterhouse and 

others had raised. 

Although the physicians of the early nine-
194 THE ARM Y ME Die A L DE PAR T MEN T, I 775 - 18 I 8 

teenth century may not have been sure of 

Ihe idenlity of typhus, at least one left a 

particularly vivid picture of the effects upon 

a patient of a disease to which he gave 

that name. Describing a case he had encountered in the vicinity of Niagara, Lovell 

wrote: 

In the course of the 4th week, a small circumscribed spot of inflammation shewed itself 

in the face, generally, near the angle of the 

mouth. In a few days, the side of the face 

swelled; this tumour was very hard and pale, 

resembling the colour of a white swelling of 

the joints. It was not in the scat of the parotid 

gland but anterior to the branch of the lower 

jaw, and was attended with a most profuse 

and fetid salivation .. . . In a few days more, 

the red spot began to assume a vivid appearance, and symplOms of incipient mortification. 

In a short time the mouth was literally ex.-

tended from ear to ear, ex.posing the backmost 

grinders on both sides. 

Lovell ruled out the use of mercury as a 

cause of this horrible disfigurement, pointing out that " in Ihe majority of these cases, 

not a particle of mercury had been used in 

any form,":l8 

The treatment of whatever diseases might 

have been included in the term "typhus" 

varied. Lovell noted that militia doctors in 

the summer of 1814 treated it by blistering 

"the padent almost from the crown of his 

head to the sales of his feet; so that the chief 

difficulty was to remove the irritative fever 

induced by this empirical, slovenly practice." 

Some physicians also placed great reliance 

upon mercurial medicines 39 and still others 

upon the use of leeches and cupping, although they might believe that venesection 

itself was harmful and had in some instances 

"destroyed patients," 40 

When treating fevers described as intermittents, Mann resorted to bleeding and 

also reported the use of medicines other 

than "bark" (by which, presumably, he 

meant cinchona bark), including aromatics, 

bitters, wine, snakeroot, and arsenic compounds; Lovell commented that he had been 

unsuccessful in the use of bark against a 

tertian form of intermittent. Mann also failed 

to relieve tertian intermittents with bark except when the patient was already convalescent, although he had used "an arsenical 

preparation" with this type of fever and it 

had "acted almost like a charm." Lovell, 

on the other hand, observed that intermittents which responded to arsenicals in 1813 

had not done so in 1814.41 The question of 

the best drugs and dosages to use against 

malaria was to be taken up by the department and thoroughly studied with the aid 

of data collected from surgeons in the 

field after the permanent organization of 

the department in 1818. 

By mid-1817, however, intermittents were 

for some reason no longer being seen with 

any frequency in the North except in the 

new 5th Military Department and particularly Detroit. Lovell's report of 30 June 

1817 listed 164 cases of intermittent fevers 

in the North, of which 141 were in the 

5th Military Department, 120 in Detroit 

itself. In the same report, Lovell listed 266 

cases of inflammatory fevers, including colds 

and pleurisy, "which no ordinary care can 

prevent." 42 

Among other conditions mentioned in 

the records of this period was epilepsy, 

which Mann treated at Burlington with nitrate of silver. He concluded that "By this 

medicine alone, the morbid action, which 

constituted the disease, was entirely subdued."" Mumps also appeared from time 

to time in the Army, and on one occasion 

Hanson Catlett maintained that it had been 

brought on by "exposure to severe cold 

weather, & storms of snow & rain, which we 

have had for some days past" at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Catlett maintained that 

mumps might prove fatal on this occasion 

unless the men were moved to drier quarters,44 

On some occasions, Army surgeons used 

eutopsies to further their understanding of 
Ch.10] Lessons of War: 1815-1818 195 

the diseases they were encountering. Waterhouse recorded that postmortems on patients who died of dysentery showed him 

small ulcers all along the lining of the 

victim's intestines. He concluded, as a result, that dysentery "is to the intestines 

what smal/pox is to the skin."" Mann described many autopsies done in late 1812, 

in 1813, and in early 1814 upon patients 

who died from the prevalent "pneumonia 

natha," 40 

By the end of the War of 1812, some 

surgeons who had cared for troops in that 

period were beginning to have reservations 

about a number of the remedies used. 

Opium, of course, was suspect because of its 

potential for causing "an interruption of the 

natural actions of the small intestines." 

Since it "corrects nothing, expels nothing; 

and only assuages and benumbs," opium 

was apparently not highly regarded." Sugar 

of lead, however, "was, at one time, a fashionable remedy among the surgeons of the 

army for chronic diarrhea." Surgeon Henry 

Huntt was familiar with a patient who used 

this remedy extensively for the better part 

of a year. Over that period the victim slowly 

developed constipation, loss of appetite, 

"profuse perspirations," an abscess on one 

leg, an ulcer on the other, and ever more 

violent pain. Before death brought release, 

he had become completely paralyzed. Although Mann noted that sugar of lead, like 

opium, could also lead to dropsy, Huntt 

placed the blame for its adverse effects not 

so much upon the medicine itself as upon 

its use in a fickle climate. 48 

The need for care in the use of mercurial compounds was now also recognized 

by at least some Army surgeons, since 

misuse could lead to the "destruction of not 

only the muscles, but the bones of the 

face." Mann recorded "Four cases, under 

these formidable effects of mercurial ptyalism" who were admitted to the Lewiston 

general hospital. Of these, three died with 

their jaws and faces dreadfully mutilated. 

The fourth recovered, but with the loss of 

the inferior maxilla on one side and the 

teeth on the other. "He lived a most 

wretched life . .. incapable of taking food, 

except through a small aperture in place 

of his mouth." Mann doubted, furthermore, 

that calomel administered during a campaign ever completely cured syphilis. He 

suggested that it should be used only after 

the troops had entered winter camp, since, 

if carelessly used in the field, it was "frequently injurious to the bowels." It should 

never be given to patients "when exposed to 

cold and moisture," since if the skin could 

not be kept warm, "either the bowels or 

the glands of the mouth suffered." •• 

Reservations concerning such timehonored remedies as the antimonials and 

venesection were also now being expressed. 

Mann urged that the former not be used 

when the men were being sheltered from 

changeable weather in tents, and Waterhouse 

pointed out that although "If a thick muscular part is inflamed, we can, at oncc, 

remove that inflammation, by taking off its 

tension, by bleedings," "if the mucous membrane, lining any internal cavity, more especially of the intestine, be inflamed, we 

cannot take off its tension by bleeding, 

without hazarding life." ,. 

The Army's physicians of the early nineteenth century did not often comment on 

their experiences in the field of surgery. Apparently little surgery was performed outside 

the areas of major military activity; in the 

3d Military District during the entire war 

only two amputations and one operation 

for the correction of hydrocele were recorded. When surgery, such as the setting 

of broken bones, became necessary at posts 

where there was no surgeon, the procedure 

might well be done by someone without any 

training whatever. Mann was very much 

concerned about the quality of the surgery 

which Army surgeons were performing and 

urged that his colleagues pay particularly 

close attention to the work of the famous 
196 THE ARM Y M E Ole A L 0 E PA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

French military surgeon, Dominique Lafrey.51 

One surgeon, W. E. Horner, in the 9th 

Military District where most of the action 

of the War of 1812 took place, wrote a 

series of articles on the surgical cases he 

had encountered and the conclusions he had 

drawn from them. He noticed, for example, 

that buckshot wounds rarely proved dangerous unless a vital organ was hit and that 

bullet injuries which hit neither bones nor 

the "great cavities" also did not usually 

pose a great problem. He believed that the 

large size of English musket balls made 

amputation necessary when one of the 

"large cylindrical bones" was hit." 

Major amputations posed a number of 

further problems. The onset of hot weather 

greatly decreased the patient's chances for 

survival; mortification quickly set in, muscles retracted to an unusual degree, and 

many patients died. There was still considerable debate over the advisability of 

postponing amputations. Horner believed 

that if a patient did not have to be moved, 

it might be wise not to inflict the shock of 

amputation upon a man still suffering from 

the shock resulting from his wounding. Indeed, if a limb had been torn off, something 

could be said, he maintained, in favor of 

letting nature take care of the situation, 

since "by her law if a bone protrudes beyond 

the limit of its covering by muscles and 

skin , she in a few weeks, reduces its length 

to the proper mark by the process of exfoliation." 53 

Horner was familiar, however, with Larrey's preference for immediate amputation 

and credited the French surgeon as well as 

his English colleagues with the preference 

Americans showed in favor of early operation, even when they were familiar with 

instances during the War of 1812 when the 

survival rate among those whose amputations were temporarily postponed was higher 

than that among those whose surgery was 

performed at the first possible moment." 

Among those undergoing amputation who 

were discussed by Horner was one patient 

who greatly puzzled him. This soldier underwent the excruciating procedure with complete serenity, "smoking tranquilly during 

the whole operation; his ease not seeming to 

be an affectation," while his leg was removed, 55 

Several physicians with experience gained 

in the War of 1812 criticized the plan developed for a military hospital by Tilton 

during the Revolution. (See Chapter 5.) Surgeon William Barton was vigorously opposed to Tilton's design and, in a "treatise 

on various types of military hospitals," 

ridiculed Tilton's notion that earth floors 

and a center fireplace without a chimney 

would reduce the spread of disease. He 

maintained that wooden floors were entirely 

safe if kept clean and thickly covered with 

sand and added that he did "not think 

any plan was ever conceived, so fraught with 

mischief as this; and which certainly does 

not reflect either credit upon the inventor's 

ingenuity or discernment." Barton was apparently unaware of the existence of Tiltontype huts at Brownville, New York, where 

the surgeon in charge was quite pleased 

with the design, and at least one other 

site, for he claimed that "not withstanding 

the elevated rank of ·Dr. Tilton during the 

war, his plan was never adopted by a 

single surgeon." 56 There is no evidence, 

however, that Tilton ever attempted during 

the War of 1812 to have such a hut constructed. 

Mann's experiences in the War of 1812 

led to criticism of the Tilton plan which was 

milder than that of his outspoken colleague. 

He agreed that it was desirable that a hospital, particularly a temporary one, be only 

one story high, making proper sanitation 

easier and eliminating possible disturbance 

from footsteps overhead, but he disagreed 

with his superior on many other aspects of 

hospital design. Wood floors were warmer 

than those of earth, he noted, and in hot 
Ch.l0] Lessons of War: 1815-1818 197 

weather tents were better than huts. The 

smoke which filled Tilton-style units aggravated coughs and chest problems, and 

unless the required lumber were standing 

in the immediate vicinity, obtaining logs 

needed for the Tilton units could be very 

expensive. 57 

As Mann envisioned it, a military hospital 

should have windows on the east and west 

and, "On the west, a closed passage should 

extend the length of the hospital 12 feet 

wide, into which the doors of the several 

wards open." This passage would shield the 

western windows from the summer heat. 

Within the building, each separate ward 

should be thirty feet by twenty-four feet in 

size and thus large enough to hold twenty 

patients, with ceilings at least eleven feet 

high. Since ventilation without drafts was 

of great importance, hospital windows 

should be double-sashed. Each ward would 

require the attention of two nurses, unless 

more were required to handle the cooking. 

Wards for patients with contagious diseases 

should contain fewer patients than other 

wards, surgical patients should be kept 

separate from those with fevers, and men 

with either venereal disease or scabies 

should be kept away from all others. There 

should also be a separate room where patients about to be admitted could be washed 

with tepid water and dressed in clean 

Iinen.

58 

Mann pointed out that while the medical 

staff of each army on the move should be 

prepared to set up a field hospital and to 

provide transportation to this facility for 

its patients, each permanent hospital should 

have its own separate staff. In the temporary 

hospital, instead of the customary bunks, 

Mann suggested the use of "canvas bedbottoms, constructed with loops on the 

side, through which pass poles for their 

support. The bed-bottoms are supported by 

stakes drove into the earth with a fork on 

the top to support the poles, to which the 

bottoms are attached. These beds may be 

put up in a few minutes." 50 

Mann urged also the keeping of systematic hospital records concerning ·patients and 

prescriptions, but he pointed out that, except for the Burlington hospital in the 

winter of 1813- 14, this was not generally 

done. Lovell, in his report of June 1817, 

went even further than Mann and urged 

that hospital surgeons and mates also keep 

careful records of weather and local climate ;" he would later, as head of the department, require this of them. 

In his Medical Skelches which appeared 

in 1816, Mann discussed not only the problems of the individual military hospital but 

also those of the Army Medical Department as a whole. Since his opinions were 

generally well received by his colleagues, it 

is likely that they agreed with the emphasis 

he placed upon the need for prellaring for 

the medical care of the nation's soldiers 

before the outbreak of war and also with 

his plea for increased stature for the Army's 

surgeons.G1 

Throughout the period from 1775 to 

1818, the inability to plan ahead on a 

long-range basis to meet the needs of the 

Army's sick and wounded had forced the 

Medical Department to function in an inefficient and, too often, ineffectual manner, 

handicapped by a lack of supplies and 

housing and by surgeons who were to 

varying degrees unresponsive to discipline. 

In addition, innumerable opportunities to 

evaluate the effectiveness of various forms 

of treatment on a wholesale basis and thus 

to advance the state of the art of medicine 

were lost because of the lack of a permanent 

organization to plan and conduct such 

studies. 

The lessons so painfully learned in two 

wars and a host of Indian skirmishes finally 

became too obvious to ignore. As the new 

nation expanded with great rapidity and 

Army units took up their duties increasingly 

far from Washington, an ever greater need 
198 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

arose to attract into the Army and train 

physicians qualified and willing to work in 

isolated areas on a permanent basis. To atlract and supervise such a staff and to plan 

and coordinate not only the care of military 

patients but also the highly valuable studies 

Army surgeons would in the future conduct, 

a permanent central organization was necessary. The establishment of the Army Medical Department on a permanent basis in 

April 1818 was, therefore, a vital step 

toward making the best care possible available to all the sick and wounded of the 

United States Army. 
Appendixes 

ApPENDIX A 

SOME INFLUENTIAL DOCTORS IN THE CONTINENTAL 

HOSPITAL D E PARTMENT. 1775 TO 17 83 

Name 

Benjamin Church 

John Morgan 

H ighest Responsibil ity 

Director General 

Director General 

Education/Experience 

Studied medicine in London 

William Shippen, Ie. Director General 

M.D. from Edinburgh. further medical 

studies in England and Europe, 

surgeon in French and Indian War 

M.D. from Edinburgh. further medical 

J oho Cochran 

Benjamin Rush 

Malachi Treat 

Ammi R. Cutter 

William Brown 

Walter Jones 

Charles McKnighI 

Philip Turner 

Jonathan Potts 

Samuel Stringer 

James Craik 

Peter Dott Fayssoux 

Hugh Williamson 

Bodo Otto 

J ames Tilton 

Director General 

Physician General 

Physician General, 

Chief Hospital Physician 

Physician General 

Physician General 

Physician General 

Surgeon General, 

Chief Hospilal Physician 

Surgeon General 

Deputy Director General 

Director of Hospital in North 

Chief Physician and Surgeon 

General of the Army 

Chief Physician and Surgeon 

General of Southern 

Department 

studies in England 

Apprentice-trained in England, surgeon's mate in French and Indian 

War 

M.D. from Edinburgh 

Professor of Medicine at King's College 

Served with British at Louisburg and 

in Indian frontier wars with rangers 

M.D. from Edinburgh 

M.D. from Edinburgh 

Private student of William Sh ippen, Jr, 

Assistant surgeon to provincial regiment under General Amherst at 

Ticonderoga 

Studied medici ne at Edinburgh, M,D, 

from Philadelphia 

Served in British Army 

Trained at Edinburgh, served in 

French and Indian War 

Medical education at Edinburgh 

Surgeon to the North Carolina Medica l education at Edinburgh and 

militia London, M.D. from Utrecht 

In charge of Yellow Springs Medical education in Europe 

hospital 

In charge of various hospitals, Graduate of Phi ladelphia 

including that at Trenton 

SOURCES: Gordon, Aesculapius, pp. 42, 47, 95, 127,2 16,304,369.374,417,476; Major, History 

of Medicin e, 2: 718,72 1- 22; Butterfield, Lellers of Rush, 1: 1080,1630, 1770; Sydoey H.Camey, 

Jr .• "Some Medical Men in the Revolution," M :tgazillc of His/ory 21 (19 15): 185; Duncan. 

Medical Mell, p. 84; Brown, Medical Deparlmelll, pp. 40, 4 1, 42, 43, 44, 47, 60, 
200 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

ApPENDIX B 

LAW OF 27 JULY 1775 

The Congress took into consideration the 

report of the committee on establishing an 

hospital, and the same being debated, was 

agreed to as follows: 

That for the establishment of an hospital 

for an army consisting of 20,000 men the following officers and other attendants be appointed, with the following allowance or pay. 

viz. 

1 Director general and chief 

his pay pcr day 

4 Surgeons, per diem, each 

I Apothecary 

20 Mates, each 

I Clerk 

2 Storekeepers, each 

physician. 

4 dollars 

1 1/3 do. 

1 1/3 do. 

213 do. 

213 do. 

4 dollars per 

month 

Nurse to every \0 sick, 1115 of a dollar 

per day. or 2 dollars per month 

Labourers occasionally. 

The duty of the above officers: viz. 

Director to furnish medicines, Bedding and 

all other necessaries, to pay for the same, 

superintend the whole, and make his report 

to, and receive orders from the commander in 

chief. 

Surgeons, apothecary Oll1d mates: To visit 

and attend the sick and the mates to. obey 

the orders of the physicians, surgeons and 

apothecary. 

Matron: To superintend the nurses, bedding, 

etc. 

Nurses: To attend the sick, and obey the 

matron's orders. 

Clerk: To keep accounts for the director 

and storekeepers. 

Storekeeper: To receive and deliver the bedding and other necessaries by order of the 

director .... 

The Congress then proceeded to the choice 

of officers for the Hospital, when 

Benjamin Church was unanimously elected 

as director of, and chief physician in, the 

hospital. 

Resolved, That the appointment of the four 

Surgeons and the Apothecary be left to Doctr. 

Church. 

That the Mates be appointed by the Surgeons; that the number do Dot exceed twenty; 

that the number be not kept in constant pay, 

unless the sick and wounded should be so 

numerous as to require the attendance of twenty, and to be diminished as circumstances will 

admit; for wch. purpose, the pay is fixed by 

the day, that they may only receive pay for 

actual service. 

That one Clerk and two storekeepers and 

one nurse to every 10 sick be appointed by 

the Director. 

SOURCE: Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental COIIgress, 2: 209-10,211. 

ApPENDIX C 

LAW OF 17 JULY 1776 

The Congress took into consideration the 

report of the Committee on the memorial of 

the director general of the American hospital; 

Whereupon, 

Resolved, That the number of hospital surgeons and mates be increased, in proportion to 

the augmentation of the army. not exceeding 

one surgeon and five mates to every five 

thousand men, to be reduced when the army 

is reduced, or when there is no further occasion 

for such a number: 

That as many persons be employed in the 

several hospitals, in the quality of store keepers, 

stewards, manage rs, and nurses, as are necessary for the good of the service, for the time 

being, to be appointed by the directors of the 

respective hospitals: 

That the regimental chests of medicines, and 

chirurgical instruments, which are now, or 

hereafter shall be, in the possession of the 

regimental surgeons, be subject to the inspection and inquiry of the respective directors 

of hospitals, and the director general; and that 

the said regimental surgeons shall, from time 

to time, when thereto required, render account 

of the said medicines and instruments to the 

said directors, or if there be no director in any 

particular department, to the director general; 

the said accounts to be transmitted to the 

director general, and by him to this Congress; 

and the medicines and instruments not used by 

any regimental surgeon to be returned when the 

regiment is reduced, to the respective directors, 

and an account thereof rendered to the director general and by him to this Congress: 

That the several directors of hospitals, in 
Appendix D 201 

the several departments, and the regimental 

surgeons, where there is no director, shaH 

transmit to the director general regular returns 

of the number of surgeons' mates and other 

officers employed under them, their name and 

pay; also an account of the expenses and 

furniture of the hospital under their direction; 

and that the director general make a report 

of the same, from time to time, to the commander in ch ief and to this Congress. 

That the several regimental and hospital 

su rgeons, in the several departments, make 

weekly returns of the sick to the respective 

directors in their departments: 

That no regimental surgeon be -allowed to 

draw upon the hospitaL of his department, for 

any stores except medicines and instruments: 

and that, when any sick person shall require 

other stores, they shall be received into said 

hospital, and the rations of the said sick 

persons be stopped, so long as they arc in 

said hospitals, and that the directors of the 

several hospitals report to the commissary the 

names of the sick, when received into, and 

when discharged from the hospitals, and make 

a like return to the Board of Treasury: 

That all extra expences for bandages, old 

linen, and other articles necessary for the service, incurred by any regimental surgeon, be 

paid by the director of that department, with 

the approbation of the commander thereof: 

That no more medicines belonging to the 

continent be disposed of, till further order of 

Congress: 

That the pay of the hospital surgeons be 

increased to one dollar and two thirds of a 

dollar by the day; the pay of the hospital mates 

to one dollar by the day; and the pay of the 

hospital apothecary to one dollar and twothirds or a dollar by the day; and that the 

hospital surgeons and mates take rank of regimental surgeons and mates: 

That the director general, and the several 

directors of hospitals, be empowered to purchase, with the approbation of the comlnanders 

of the respec tive departments, medicines and 

instruments fo r the use of their respective 

hospitals, and draw upon the paymaster for 

the same, and make the report of such purchases to Congress. 

SOURCE: Ford, Journals 0/ Ille COlllillelllal COIIgress, 5: 568-71. 

ApPENDIX D 

LAW OP 7 - 8 APRIL 1777 

Resolved, That there be one director general of all the military hospitals which shall 

be erected for the continental army in the 

United States, who shall particularly superintend all the hospitals between Hudson and 

Potowmack rivers: 

That there be one deputy director general, 

who, in the absence of the director general, 

shall superintend the hospitals to the eastward 

of Hudson's river: 

That there be one deputy director general, 

who, in the absence of the director general, 

shall superintend the hospitals in the northern 

department: 

That when the circumstances of the war 

shall require it, there be one deputy director 

general, who in the absence of the director 

general, shall superintend the hospitals in the 

southern department: 

That the director general, or, in his absence, the deputy director general in each 

respective department, be empowered and required, with the advice and co,:!sent of the 

commander in chief therein, to establish and 

regulate a sufficient number of hospitals, at 

proper places, for the reception of the sick 

and wounded of the army, to provide medicines, instruments, dressings, bedding, and 

other necessary furniture, proper diet, and 

every thing requisite for the sick and wounded 

soldiers, and the officers of the hospitals; to 

pay the salaries and all other expences of the 

same : 

That there be assistant deputy directors, to 

superintend the hospitals committed to their 

care, and assist in providing the articles before 

specified, under the orders and controul of the 

director or deputy director general of the 

respective districts: 

That there be one apothecary general for 

each district, whose duty it shall be, to receive, 

prepare, and de liver medicines, and other 

articles of his department to the hospitals and 

army, as shall be ordered by the director general, or deputy directors general, respectively: 

That the apothecaries [general] be allowed 

as many mates as the director general, or 

respective deputy director generals, shall think 

necessary: 
202 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

That there be a commissary of the hospitals 

in each of the aforesa id districts, whose duty 

it shall be, to procure, store, and delive r provisions, forage, and such other articles as the 

director, or deputy director general shall judge 

necessary for the use of the hospitals; in the 

purchase of which, he shall frequently consult 

with the commissary and quarter master general, and be regul ated by the pricts which 

they give: 

That the commissary be allowed such assistants and store keepers, as the director 

general, or deputy director general of the 

district, shall judge necessary: 

That a steward be allowed for every hundred sick or wounded , who shall receive provisions from the commissary. and distribute 

them agreeable to the orders of the director 

genera l, or in his absence, of the deputy director general, or physician, or surgeon general, 

and be accountable to the commissary for the 

same: 

That a matron be allowed to every hundred 

sick or wounded, who shall take care that the 

provisions are properly prepared; that the 

wards, beds, and utensi ls be kept in neat order, 

and that the most exact oeconomy be observed 

in her department : 

That a nurse be allowed for every ten sick 

or wounded, who shall be under the direction 

of the matron : 

That an hostler or stabler be allowed to 

each hospital, to receive the horses from the 

commissary, and to take care of the waggon, 

and other horses belonging to the hospital, 

pursuant to orders from the director general. 

or. in his absence, the deputy director general, 

or such other officer as he shall appoint: 

That there be a clerk in each district, whose 

business it shall be, to keep the accounts of 

the hospitals, and to receive and deliver the 

monies agreeable to the orders of the director 

or deputy director general: 

That a sufficient number of assistant clerks 

be allowed: 

That such officers and soldiers as the general shall order to guard the hospitals and to 

conduct such as shall be weekly discharged 

the hospitals, to their respective regiments, 

shall, while on this duty, obey the director or 

deputy director general, or the physicians and 

surgeons general; 

That the director and deputy directors general be respectively empowered to appoint 

and discharge their assistant deputy directors, 

and other said officers and attendants of the 

hospitals, in sllch numbers as the necessities 

of the army may require, and the commander 

in chief of the department shall , in writing, 

approve; report of wh ich to be immediately 

made to Congress, as hereafter directed : 

That there be also one physician and one 

surgeon general in each district, to be appoi nted by Congress, whose duty it shall be, 

respectively, to superintend the practice of 

physic and su rgery in all the hospitals of the 

district to which they shall be appointed, and, 

in the absence of the director or deputy director general, they shall have power to order the 

physiCians, surgeons, and other officers of the 

several hospitals, to such duty as they shall 

think proper, and shall report weekly to the 

director general, or, in his absence, to the 

deputy director general, or, in his absence, to 

the assistant deputy director, the state and 

number of the sick and wounded in the hospitals, and the delinquent officers of the same, 

and see that such, as may be fit , shall be delivered every week to the officer of the guard , 

to be conducted to the army: 

That there be allowed, also, senior physicians and surgeons, who shall attend, prescribe for, and operate upon, and see properly 

treated, such sick and wounded, as shall be 

allotted them by the director general, deputy 

director general, or assistant director, or physician, o r surgeon general; the number for the 

district to be determined by the d irector or 

deputy director general, and appointed by the 

surgeon and physician general: 

That there be also such a number of second 

surgeons as the director or deputy director 

general for the district shall judge necessary, 

to assist the senior surgeons, and be under 

the same direction, and to be appointed by 

the physician and surgeon general as aforesaid : 

That there be also such a number of mates 

as the director general or deputy director gen w 

eral of the district shall direct, who shall 

assist the surgeons in the care of the wounded, 

and see that the medicines are properly and 

regularly administered, and appointed in the 
Appendix D 203 

manner before directed for senior and second 

surgeons: 

That a suitable number of covered and 

other waggons, litters and other necessaries 

for removing the sick and wounded, shall be 

supplied by the quarter master or deputy 

quarter master genera l, and in cases of their 

deficiency. by the director or deputy director 

general: 

That there be one physician and surgeon 

general for each separate army, who shall be 

subject to the orders and controlll of the 

director general and deputy director general 

of the district wherein he acts: That his duty 

shall be, to superintend the regimental surgeons and their mates, and to see that they 

do their duty, to hear all complaints against 

the sa id regimental surgeons and mates, and 

make report of them to the director general, 

or, in his absence, to the deputy director, or, 

in their absence, from the said army, to the 

commanding officer thereof, that they may be 

brought to trial by court martial for mi be ~ 

havior; to receive from the director general 

or deputy director general, a suitable number 

of large strong tents, beds, bedding, medicines, 

and hospital stores, for such sick and wounded 

persons as cannot be removed to the general 

hospital with safety. or may be rendered fit 

for duty in a few days; and shall also see that 

the sick a nd wounded, while under his care, 

are properly attended, and dressed and conveyed, when able, to the general hospital, for 

which last purpose he shall be supplied by the 

director general, or deputy director, with a 

proper number of convenient waggons and 

drivers: 

That each physician and surgeon general of 

the armies shall appoint such a number of 

su rgeons, nurses, and orderly men, as the director general or deputy director general shall 

judge necessary for the more effectual care 

and relief of the sick and wounded, under the 

care of such physician and surgeon genera l 

as provided in the last foregoin g section; and 

the said physician and surgeons general shall 

have under them, in each army, a steward to 

receive, and properly dispense such articles of 

diet as the director general, or deputy director 

general shall give, or order to be given him by 

the commissary of the army or hospital: 

That whenever any regimental surgeon or 

mate shall be absent from his regiment without 

leave from the said surgeon general, or the 

commander in chief of the army where his 

duty lies, the said surgeon gene ral shall have 

power to remove such surgeon or mate, and 

forthwith to appoint another in his stead : 

That the director, deputy directors, physicia ns, and surgeons general, and all other officers before enumerated, shall be tried by a 

court martial fo r any misbehaviour, or neglect 

of duty, as the commander in chief of the 

several armies shall direct: 

That the physician and surgeon general of 

each army, shall cause daily returns to be 

made to him, of all the sick and wounded, 

which have been removed to the hospitals, 

all that remain in the hospital tents, all that 

arc become fit for duty, all that are convalescent, and all who may have died, specifying 

the particular maladies under which the sick 

and wounded labour: 

That the said physicians and surgeons general shall cause weekly returns of the same to 

be made to the director or deputy director 

general respectively : 

That the physicians and surgeons general 

of the hospitals, cause like daily returns to be 

made in every hospital, and the like weekly 

returns to their respective directors, mUla/is 

mutandis: 

That the deputy directors general cause the 

like returns to be made, once every month, 

to the director general, together with the names 

and denominations of all the officers in the 

respective hospitals, 

And that the director general make a like 

return for all the hospitals and armies of these 

United States, once every month, to the 

Medical Committee : 

That the Medical Committee have power to 

appoint any of their members to visit and inspect a ll or any of the medical departments, 

as often as they shall think proper. to enquire 

into the cond uct of such general officers of 

the hospital as shall be delinquent in this or 

any parts of their duty, and to report their 

names to Congress, with the evidence of the 

charges, which shall be brought against 

them, .. , 

Resolved, That in time of action and on 

any other emergency. when the regimental 

surgeons are not sufficient in number to attend 
204 THE ARMY M E DI CAL DEPARTME NT, 1775 - 1 8 18 

properly to the sick and wounded , that cannot 

be removed to the hospitals, the director, or 

deputy director general of the district, be empowered and required, upon the request of 

the physician and surgeon ge neral of the a rmy, 

to send, from the hospitals under his care, to 

the assistance of such sick and wounded, as 

many physicians and surgeons as can possibly 

be spared from the necessary busi ness of the 

hospitals. 

That the director, deputy directors general, 

assistant deputy directors, physicians and 

surgeons general, be, and they are hereby 

required and directed to employ such parts 

of their time, as may conveniently be spared 

from the duties before pointed out to them, in 

visiting and prescribing for the sick and 

wounded of the hospitals under their ca re. 

That the establishment of the medical department be as follows: 

I director general, 

3 deputy direclors 

general, 

Indeterminate assistant 

deputy director, 

4 physicians general 

and 4 surgeons 

general each, 

to each army, 

physician and 

surgeon general of 

the army, 

Senior Surgeons, 

Second Surgeons, 

Surgeons' mates, 

Apothecaries general, 

M-a tes, 

Commissary, 

Clerk, who is to be 

pay master, 

6 dollars 

a day and 9 rations 

5 do. 6 do. 

3 do. 

5 do. 

5 do. 

4 do. 

2 do. 

I 1/3 do. 

3 do. 

I 1/3 do. 

2 do. 

2 do. 

6 do. 

6 do. 

6 do. 

6 do. 

4 do. 

2 do. 

6 do. 

2 do. 

4 do. 

4 do. 

Assistant clerks, 213 do. 1 do. 

Stewards, I do. 2 do. 

Matron, 1/2 do. I do. 

Nurses, 24-90 I do. 

Stable r, I do. I do. 

Regimental surgeons, 2 do. 4 do. 

Ditto, mates I 1/3 do. 2 do. 

Ordered, That the regulations respecting hospitals be published. 

SOURCE : Ford, JOlirnals 0/ the Continelltal COil· 

gress, 7: 231- 37, 244-46. 

ApPENDIX E 

L ,\W OF 6 FEBRUARY 177 8 

Congress took into consideration the report 

of the committee to whom the letters from 

Dr. Shippen, Dr. Rush, and others were com· 

mitted ; and thereupon came to the following 

resolutions: 

For the better regulating the hospitals of 

the United States, 

Resolved, That there be a deputy director 

general for the hospitals between Hudson and 

Potomack rivers; and that the superintending 

care of the director general be extended 

equally over the hospitals in every district, 

and that he be excused from the duty of providing supplies, when the deputy director general shall be ready to enter upon the office: 

That the several officers of the hospitals 

shall cease to exercise such of their former 

powers as are herein assigned to other officers 

thereof: 

That in the absence qf the director general 

from any district, the physician general and 

surgeon general shall hereafter determine the 

number of hospitals to be provided by the 

deputy director general for the sick and 

wounded, a nd shall superintend and control 

the affairs of such hospitals: 

That the director general shall consult with 

the physician general and surgeon general in 

each district, about the supplies necessary for 

the hospitals, and shall give orders in writing 

to the deputy director general thereof to provide the same; and, in the absence of the director general, the physician general and surgeon 

general shall issue such orders: 

That each deputy director general shall 

appoint one or more of the assistant deputy 

directors, under him, to the sole business of 

providing beds, furniture, utensils, hospital 

c1oathing, and such like articles; and shall appoint one or more to provide medicines, instruments, dressings, herbs, and necessaries 

of a similar kind: 

That the director general shall frequently 

visit the hospitals in each district, and see that 

the regulations are carried into effect; shall 

examine into the number and qualifications of 

the hospital officers, report to Congress any 

abuses that may have taken place, and discharge the supernumerary officers, if there be 
Appendix F 205 

any, tnat all unnecessary ex pence may be saved 

to the public; and when the director general 

is 1I\ any particular district, the physician general and surgeon general in that district shall 

not appoint any officers without his consent: 

That, on the settlement of hospital accounts. 

the officers entrusted with public money shall 

produce vouchers to prove the expenditure, 

and receipts from the proper officers of the 

hospit-a ls, specifying the delivery of the slores 

and other articles purchased; and the apothecari es, mates, stewards, matrons. and other 

officers. receiving such stores and othe r articles. 

shall he accountable for the same, and shall 

produce vouchers for the delivery thereof from 

such officers, and according to such forms as 

the physicia ns general and surgeons general 

have directed, or shall, from time to time, 

direct; which forms and directions the physicians a nd surgeons general shall report to the 

Board of Treasury: 

That the director general, or, in his absence 

from the district, the physician general. and 

surgeon general, shall appoint a ward master 

for each hospital. to receive the arms, accoutrements and cloa thing of each soldier admitted therein. keeping entries of, and giving 

receipts for such articles, which, on the recovery of the soldier, shall be returned to 

him, or, in case of his death, the arms and 

accoutrements shall be delivered to the commissary or deputy commissary of milita ry 

stores, and receipts be taken for the same; 

and the ward master shall receive and be accountable for the hospital cloathing; and perform such other services as the physician 

general or the surgeon general shall direct : 

That the physicians general and surgeons 

general shall hereafter make no returns to the 

deputy directors general, but the returns shall 

be made by the sa id officers respectively to 

the director general, who shall carefully transmit copies of each with his monthly return 

to Congress, and suspend such of the officers 

aforesaid as neglect this or a ny other part of 

their duty, and shall report their names to 

Congress: 

That the director and deput y directors general forthwith prepare their accounts, and 

adjust them with the commissioners of claims, 

at the Board o f Treasury. 

That four dollars a day, and the former 

allowance of ralions, be hereafter allowed to 

each assistant deputy director and the commissary of the hospitals in each district; and 

one dollar a day, and two rations, to each 

ward master: 

Resolved, That Dr. Potts be called from the 

northern district, and appoi nted to act as 

deputy director general in the midd le district. 

Resolved, That the eldest assistant deputy 

director in the northern district shall execute 

the office of the deputy director general in 

the said district, until the further orders of 

Congress: 

That the salaries of the hospital officers and 

debts contracted for the hospitals of the 

middle district to the time of Dr. POllS's entering upon the office of deputy director general 

therein, shall be adjusted and paid by the 

director general, who shall deliver all the public stores in his possession to the deputy director general or his order, taking duplicate receipts for the same, and transmitting one of 

each to the Board of Treasury; and the same 

rule shall be observed by Dr. Potts with 

respect to the salaries a nd debts of the hospitals of the northern district, and the public 

stores thereof, which are to be delivered to 

his successor in office in that district. 

SOURCE : Ford, ]oumals of the Continelltal COligress, 10: 128- 31. 

ApPENDIX F 

LA W OF 30 SEP T EM B E R 1780 

Whereas, the late regulations for conducting 

the affa irs of the general hospital are in many 

respects defective ; and it is necessary that the 

same be revised and amended, in order that 

the sick and wounded may be properly provided for and attended, and the business of 

the hospitals conducted with regularity and 

oeconomy; therefore, 

Resolved, That there be one director of the 

military hospitals, who shall have the general 

direction and superintenda nce of all the hospitals to the northward of North Carolina; 

that, within the aforesaid limits, there be 

three chief hospital physicians, who shall also 

be surgeons; one chief physician, who shall 

also be a surgeon, to each seperate army; 

fifteen hospital physicians, who shall also be 

surgeons; twenty su q~eons mates for the hospitals; one purveyor, with one assistant; one 
206 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

apothecary; onc assistant apothecary ; and to 

each hospital a steward, matron , orderly men 

and nurses, as heretofore : 

That the director, or, in his absence, one of 

the chief hospital physicians, be empowered 

and required, with the advice and consent of 

the Commander in Chief, or commander of 

a seperate army. to establish and regulate such 

a number of hospitals. at proper places, for 

the reception of the sick and wounded of the 

army. as may be found necessary: 

That the director be authorised and instructed to enjoin the several chief hospital physicians, and other officers of the hospitals under 

his superintendance, to attend at such posts or 

stations as he may judge proper, and also to 

attend and perform such duties, at any post 

or place, as a change of the position of the 

army, or other circumstances, may from time 

to time make necessa ry, and shall be required 

by the Commander in Chief; and that, in case 

of any dispute concerning their seniority or 

precedence, the director shall determine the 

same in the first instance, the party supposing 

himself aggrieved being al liberty to appeal 

for redress to the Medical Committee. 

That in time of action, and on any other 

emergency, when the regimental surgeons are 

not sufficient in number to attend properly to 

the sick and wounded that cannot be removed 

to the hospitals, the director, or, in his absence, 

the nearest chief hospital physician, be empowered and required, upon request of the 

chief physician and surgeon of the army, to 

send from the hospitals under his care, to the 

assistance of such sick and wounded, as many 

surgeons as can possibly be spared from the 

necessary business of the hospitals: 

That the director, or, in his absence, two 

of the chief hospital physicians, shall make 

out and deliver, from time to time, to the 

purveyor, proper estimates of hospital store·s, 

medicines, instruments, dressings, and such 

other articles as may be judged necessary for 

the use of the hospitals; also direct the 

apothecary or his assistant, to prepare and deliver medicines, instruments, dressings, and 

other articles in his possession to the hospitals 

and surgeons of the army and navy, as he or 

they may judge necessary : 

That the director authorise and instruct the 

purveyor and apothecary to supply, for the 

use of the regimental surgeons, such medicines and refreshments as may be proper for 

the relief 'Of the sick and wounded, before 

their removal to a general hospital, and to be 

dispensed under the care, and at the direction 

of Ihe chief physician of the army: 

That the director, or, in his absence, the 

chief hospital physicians, respectively, be empowered occasionally to employ second mates, 

when the number of the sick shall increase 

so as to make it necessary, and to discharge 

them as soon as the circumst·ances of the sick 

will admit: 

That the director, or, in his absence, the 

chief hospital physicians, respectively, shall 

appoint a ward master for each hospital, to 

receive the spare regimental c1oathing, arms, 

and acc'Outrements of each soldier admitted 

therein, keeping entries of and giving receipts 

for every a rticle received, which, when the 

soldier shall be discharged, shall be accounted 

for by the said ward master with the commanding officer of the regiment to which such 

soldier belonged, or the officer directed to 

take charge of the convalescents from the said 

hospital; or, in case of the death of the 

soldier, shall be accounted for with, and delivered to the quartermaster of the regiment 

to which the said soldier belongedi and the 

ward master shall receive and be accountable 

for the hospital cloathing, and perform such 

other services as the chief hospital physician 

shall direct. 

That the director shall make returns of all 

the sick and wounded in the hospitals, once 

every month, to the medical committee, together with the names and ranks of all the 

officers and others employed in the several 

hospitals: 

That the director be required to employ 

such part of his time as may be spared from 

the duties before pointed out to him, in visit~ 

ing and prescribing for the sick and wounded 

of tbe hospitals; and that he pay particular 

attention to the conduct of the several officers 

in the hospital department, and arrest, suspend and bring to trial, all delinquents within 

the same: 

That the duty of the chief hospital physicians shall be, to do and perform all the duties 

herein before enjoined them to do in the ab .. 

sence of the director; to receive and obey 
Appendix F 207 

the orders of the director, made and delivered 

to them in writing. to superintend the practice 

of physick and surgery in the hospitals put 

under their particular care by the director, 

or which, by the order of the commander in 

chief or the commander of a seperate army. 

may be by them established; to see that the 

hospital physicians and other officers attending 

the same, do their duty; and make monthly 

returns to the director, of the state and 

number of the sick and wounded in the hospitals under their care; and also make returns 

to the director, and to the medical committee, 

of all delinquent officers, in order that they 

may be speedily removed or punished; and to 

take measures that all such sick and wounded 

as are recovered and fit for duty be delivered 

weekly to the officer of the guard, to be conducted to the army: when present at any 

hospital, to issue orders to the proper officers 

for supplying them with necessaries; and generally, in the absence of the director, to superintend and controul the business of such 

hospitals, suspend delinquent and remove 

unnecessary non-commissioned officers, making report to the director; and, when in their 

power, to attend and perform or direct all 

capital operations: 

That the hospital physicians shall take 

charge of such particular hospitals as may 

be assigned them by the director: They shall 

obey the orders of the director, or in his 

absence, of the chief hospital physician: They 

shall have power to suspend officers under 

them, and to confine other persons serving in 

the hospitals under their charge, for negligence 

or ill-behaviour, until the matter be regularly 

inquired into : They shall diligently attend to 

the cases of the sick and wounded of the 

hospitals under their care, administering at all 

times proper relief, as far as may be in 

their power: They shall respectively give 

orders, under their hands, to the assistant 

purveyor or steward at the hospital, for the 

issuing provisions and stores, as well as for the 

procuring any other small articles that the 

exigencies of the hospital may require, and 

which the store is not provided with, having 

always a strict regard to oeconomy, as well 

as the welfare of the sick then to be provided 

for: They shall make weekly returns to the 

nearest chief hospital physician, of the state 

of the hospitals under their respective care. 

The mates shall each take charge of and 

attend the patients assigned them and perform 

such other duties as shall be directed by the 

director, chief or other physicians and surgeons. 

The chief physician and surgeon of the 

army shall be subject to the orders and controul of the director: His duty shall be to 

superintend the regimental surgeons and their 

mates, and to see that they do their duty: To 

hear all complaints against the said regimental 

surgeons and mates, and make report of them 

to the director, or, in his absence, to the Commander in Chief or commanding officer of a 

seperate army, that they may be brought to 

trial by court-martial for misbehaviour: To 

draw for and receive from the purveyor a 

suitable number of large strong tents, beds, 

bedding and hospital stores, and from the 

apothecary, or his assistant, proper medicines, 

for such sick and wounded persons as cannot 

be removed to the general hospital with safety. 

or may be rendered fit for duty in a short 

time. He shall also see that the sick and 

wounded, while under his care, are properly 

attended and provided for, and conveyed, 

when fit to be removed, to the general hospital; 

for which last purpose, he shall be supplied 

by the quartennaster general, with a proper 

number of convenient waggons and drivers; 

he shall have a steward, which he is to appoint, to receive and properly dispense such 

articles of diet and refreshment as shall be 

procured for the sick; and also shall appoint 

such a number of nurses and orderly men as 

may be necessary for the attendance of the 

siCk and wounded under his care. He shall 

cause daily returns to be made to him of all 

the sick and wounded which have beeD removed to the hospitals, all that remain in the 

hospital tents, all that are become fit for duty, 

all that are convalescent, and all who may have 

died, specifying the particular maladies under 

which the sick and wounded labour, and 

shall make a monthly return thereof to the 

director, who shall add it to his general hospital returns, to be transmitted monthly to the 

Medical Committee. 

That whenever any regimental surgeon or 

mate shall be absent from his regiment, without leave from the chief physician and sur-
208 TH E ARM Y M E DI e A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

geon or commander of the army where his 

duty lies, the said chief physician and surgeon shall have power to remove such surgeon 

or mate and forthwith appoint another in his 

stead. 

That the purveyor provide, or cause to be 

provided, all hospital stores, medicines, instruments, dressings, utensils, and such other articles as shall be prescribed by the written 

order of the director, or two of the chief 

hospital physicians, and deliver, or cause the 

same to be delivered, upon written orders, 

under the hands of the director, or chief hospital physician, or one of the hospital physicians, having the charge of a particular 

hospital, or of a chief physician and surgeon 

of the army, which, with receipts thereon for 

delivery of the same, shall be his sufficient 

vouchers. He shall be allowed a clerk, and as 

many store keepers as occasion may require, 

and the director shall approve of. He shall 

also pay the salaries of the officers, and all 

other expences of the hospitals. He shall render his accounts every three months to the 

Board of Treasury for settlement, and make 

application for money to the Medical Committee, before whom he shall lay estimates 

of articles necessary, which shall previously 

have been approved and signed by the director 

or two of the chief hospital physicians; at the 

same time he shall render to them an account 

of the expenditure of the last sum of money 

advanced to him; and the said Medical Committee shall lay such estimates before Congress, 

with their opinion thereon: 

That the assistant purveyor shall procure 

such supplies, and do and perform such parts 

of the purveyor's duty, as by him shall be 

particul arly assigned to him. 

That the apothecary and his assistant receive, prepare and deliver medicines, instruments and dressings, and such other articles 

of his department, to the hospitals and army, 

on orders in writing from the director or 

either of the chief hospi tal physicians, or chief 

physician and surgeon of the army; and that 

he be allowed as many mates as occasion may 

require, and the director shall approve of: 

That the director, or in his absence, the 

chief hospital physician, shall appoint a steward for each hospital, whose duty it shall be to 

purchase vege tables and other small articles, 

under the direction of the purveyor, and to 

receive hospital stores from the purveyor, and 

provisions from the commissary general, and 

issue the same for the use of the sick and 

wounded, agreeably to the order of the physician and surgeon attending such hospital; the 

steward to account with the purveyor for all 

such issues: 

That the director, or, in his absence, the 

chief hospital physician, appoint a proper 

number of matrons, nurses, and others, necessary for the regul ar management of the hospitals, and fix and ascertain their pay, not 

exceeding the sums heretofore allowed; and 

point out and prescribe their particular duties 

and employments, in writing, which they are 

enjoined to observe and obey: 

That the director, with two chief hospital 

physicians, be empowered to fix the pay of 

second mates, and of such clerks, store 

keepers, and other persons, as may occasionally be employed; and also make such regulations, and point out and enjoin, in writing, 

such further particular duties for the several 

officers in the hospital department, as they 

may judge necessary for the regular management of the same; which uuties shall always 

be consistent with, and in no wise contradictory 

to any of the duties herein before particularly 

enumerated, and which being reported to, and 

approved of by the Medical Committee, shall 

thereupon become obligatory to all those concerned: 

That the quartermaster general furnish the 

hospital department, from time to time, as 

occasion may require, with such a number of 

horses and wagons as may be necessary for 

removing the sick and wounded, and for 

tra nsporting the hospital stores; but that no 

other horses than those belonging to the officers of the department, for which forage may 

be herein allowed, be kept seperately and at 

the expence of the department. 

That no person concerned in trade, on his 

own account, shall be suffered to ac t as an 

officer in the hospital or medical department of 

the army: 

That no officer or other person in the hospital department, except the sick and wounded, 

be permitted to use any of the stores provided for the sick: 

That the director, chief hospital physicians, 
Appendix F 209 

and the chief physicians and surgeons of the 

army, physicians and surgeons, purveyor, 

apothecary, assistant purveyor, and assistant 

apothecary, be a ppointed and commissioned 

by Congress; the regimental surgeons and 

mates to be appoi nted as heretofore: 

That the director, with the advice and 

concurrence of two of the chief hospital 

physicians, appoint all hospital mates, which 

appointments shall be certified by warrants 

under the hand of the director; in which <l p. 

pointments no person shall be admitted under 

the age of twenty-one yea rs: 

That all the officers in the hospital or 

medical departments, shall be subjected to 

trial by courts-marti al fo r all offences, in the 

same manner as officers of the line of the 

army. 

Resolved, That the pay and establishment 

of the officers of the hospital department, and 

medical staff, be as follows: 

Director. one hundred and fifty dollars per 

mo nth, two rations for himself, and one for 

his servant, per day, and forage fo r two 

horses: 

Chief physicians and surgeons of the army 

and hospitals, each, o ne hundred and fo rty 

doll ars per mo nth, two ra tions per day, and 

fo rage fo r two horses: 

Purveyor and apothecary. each, one hundred 

and thirty doll ars per mo nth : 

Physicians and surgeons of the hospitals, 

each, o ne hundred and twenty doll ars per 

month, o ne ration pe r day, and forage fo r o ne 

horse : 

Assistant purveyors and apothecaries, each, 

seventy-five doll ars per mo nth: 

Regimental surgeons, each, sixty-five doll ars 

per mo nth, one ratio n per day, and fo rage fo r 

o ne horse: 

Surgeons' mates in the hospitals, fifty dollars per mo nth, one ratio n pe r day: 

Surgeons' mates in the army, forty-five dollars per mo nth. o ne ratio n pe r day: 

Steward for each hospita l. thirty-five doll ars 

per mo nth, o ne ra tio n per day: 

Ward master fo r each hospital, twenty-five 

dollars per mo nth. o ne ratio n per day. 

Resolved. That no ne of the aforesaid officers. o r ot her pe rsons employed in any of the 

hospitals, be entitled to ratio ns of provisio ns 

or forage when on furlo ugh. 

Resolved, That the chief physic ian of the 

army be allowed a two horse covered waggon 

for transporting his baggage : 

That the several officers above mentioned 

shall receive their pay in the new currency, 

emitted pursuant to a resolution of Congress 

of the 18th day of March last; and that they 

be allowed and paid at the rate of five doll ars 

of sa id currency per mo nth for eve ry retained 

ration; and shall each be entitled annually to 

d raw cloathing from the sto res of the c1 0athier 

general, in the same manner and unde r the 

same regul ations as are established for officers 

of the line, by a resolution of Congress of the 

25th November, 1779: 

That the returns fo r c10athing for officers 

in the medical staff (regimental surgeons and 

their mates, who are to draw with the regimental staff, excepted) be signed by the directors, or one of the chief hospital physic ians; 

and such c10athing shall be delivered either 

by the cloathier general or any sub-cloathier 

in the state in which the officer 10 receive 

cloathing shall reside, in the same manner as 

is pro vided in the cases of other stafT officers 

not taken from the line : 

That the several officers whose pay is established as above (except the stewards and 

ward masters) shall at the end of the war 

be entitled to a cert ain provision of land . in 

the propo rtion following, viz. 

The director to have the same quantity as 

a brigadi er·general; 

Chief physicians and purveyor, the same as 

a colonel; 

Physicians and surgeons and apothecary. the 

same as a lieutenant colonel; 

Regimental surgeons and assistants to the 

purveyor a nd apothecary, the same as a major; 

H ospital and regimental surgeons' mates, the 

same as a captain; 

That the former arrangements of the hospital 

depa rtment, and all resolutio ns heretofore 

passed touching the same, so far as they 

are inconsistent with the foregoing. be repealed, excepting that the hospitals in the 

southern department, from North Carolina to 

Georgi a, inclusive. be continued under the 

same regul ations as heretofore, until the 

furth er order of Congress. 

SOURCE: Ford, Jourl/als 0/ the Contillell tal Congress, 18 : 878- 88. 
210 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

ApPENDIX G 

HO SP ITAL S SERVING 

WASHINGTON'S ARMY 

r n the period covered by Chapter 4, a la rge 

number of hospitals served General Washington's army. Among those not discussed in 

the text are the following : I 

Buckingham Meeting House, Pellllsy/vmda . 

On 15 November 1777, Genenl\ Washington 

ordered the sick of his army to be sent here, 

but on 18 November the gove rnment of the 

state of Pennsylvania apparently ordered that 

no more sick be sent to that town. As of 24 

November, the Buckingham unit contained 

259 patients, 10 of these being wou nded and 

another 10 convalescent. This unit was among 

those closed after the British occupation of 

Philadelphia. 

French Creek, Pe"nsylvania. The hospital 

here was established in the winter of 1777- 78 

in the Lutheran Zion and German Reformed 

churches as well as in the parsonage they 

shared a few miles north of Yellow Springs. 

III will was stirred up by the arbitra ry manner 

in which the bui ldings were requisitioned, but 

when he arrived at nearby Yellow Springs, 

Dr. Bodo Otto was able to smooth the matter 

over. The fac il ity was still in operation in 

the spring of 1778, and the va rious components, one of which held more than 60 

patients and another almost 1 00, were described at th at time as "clean" and " airy."!! 

Lancaster, Penl1sylvania. This fac il ity seems 

to have been established sometime in the fall 

of 1777 and was the fi nal destination of Brig. 

Gen. Anthony Wayne's wounded after the 

Paoli engagement. On 11 October 1777, the 

unit held 59 patients. It was apparently suffering the effects of overcrowding in late January 

and by early February was said to be caring 

for as many as 400 to 500 patients. On 26 

April 1778, Brig. Gen. Lachlan McIntosh reported that 203 patients were in the hospital 

there, 98 had died or deserted, and 340 had 

been discharged since 1 J anuary 1778. He 

added to his report the fact thal among the 

latter therc may have been some of the patients sent to Lancaster from Lititz.:l 

Limerick, Pennsylvania. A letter of Dr. Benjamin Rush to John Adams of 13 October 

1777 mentions a hospital located here, 26 

miles from Philadelphia, on the road to Reading." 

Manheim, Pennsylvania. A Manheim 

church was apparently used as a hospital and 

at least some medical supplics werc stored in 

the town until March, when Sh ippen ordered 

them to be moved to Yellow Springs. Shippen 

reported 62 patients in this hospital on 24 

November 1777, of whom 17 were sick, 5 

wounded, and 40 convalescent. 5 

North Wales, Pennsylvania. Mention is made 

in at least one contemporary accou nt of a 

hospital established in a Quaker meet inghouse on the North Wales road. Shippen reported on 24 November 1777 that there were 

in this unit 100 sick and 59 convalescents.o 

Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. William Shai nline Middleton, in his article "Medicine at Valley Forge," mentions a hospital located in a 

German Reformed church near Phoenixville 

in the spring of 1778.' 

Pillmstead (Plumsteadville), Pennsylvania. A 

report dated 10 December 1777 lists a hospital here which admitted 40 patients at the 

end of November, of whom by 10 December 

2 had died and 10 had been discharged, leaving 28 remai ning. On 19 December 1777, the 

patients rema ining here were removed by General Washington's orders, escorted by a surgeon, to Lititz.s 

Red Lion (Red LYOIl, Lionville). Pennsylvania. The Uwchlan Quaker Meeting House 

here was taken over by force to be used as a 

hospital in the winter of 1778. A hospital was 

still in existence at Red Lion in June 1778 

and was sheltering 127 patients as of 14 June 

1778.' 

Reamstown (RlteimstDwn), Pennsylvania. 

This unit was opened in December 1777 and 

closed on 17 March 1778 . From 21 Janua ry 

to 17 March, 19 Reamstown patients either 

died or deserted. 10 

Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. This unit must 

have been established at essentially the same 

time as those at Ephrata and the other towns 

in the same general area. General McIntosh's 

report on Schaefferstown covers the period 1 

January 1778 to 19 April 1778 and lists 76 

patients remaining as of the latter date, 7 

having died or deserted in the period and 

103 returned to duty.l1 

Warwick (Warrick), Pennsylvania. At least 
Appendix H 211 

some of the patients at this hospital were located in a Lutheran church, but General McIntosh's report of 26 April speaks of "Three 

Churches, Warwick." The unit was closed 7 

April 1778 and its remaining two patients 

went to Manheim. Of the men cared for here, 

41 were reported dead or deserted, 142 returned to camp.12 

York (town), Pellnsylvania. Although in late 

March the hospital here was reported as sheltering few patients, General Mcintosh reported 23 still in this facility as of 27 April 

1778 and the journal of the Rev. Dr. James 

Sproat implies that this facility was still open 

on 9 June 1778." 

Black River, New Jersey. A hospital existed 

here for at least part of the spring and summer of 1777. In June, General Washington 

urged the replacement of the male nurses 

here by women, although there is no record 

of whether this was actually done. 14 

Mendham, New Jersey. A hospital existed 

here in a barn and a church near General 

Washington's army at Morristown for at least 

several months of the winter and spring of 

1778. As in the case of Black River, New 

Jersey, General Washington wished the male 

nurses here to be replaced by women. 15 

Red Bank, New Jersey. Dr. Benjamin Rush 

was assigned the task of opening a hospital 

here to care for the wounded of the Delaware 

River forts in November 1777. It is unlikely, 

however, that he was able to progress far with 

his task, because Fort Mifflin, across the river 

from Fort Mercer, was abandoned by the 

Americans the night of 15- 16 November and 

Fort Mercer five days later.1G 

ApPENDIX H 

AN ACT TO REGULATE THE 

MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT, 

2 MARCH 1 799 

Sec. l. Be it enacted by the Senate and 

House of Representatives of the United States 

of America in Congress assembled. That in the 

medical establishment of the United States 

there shall be the following officers: A physician-general, who shall be charged with the 

superintendence and direction of all military 

hospitals, and, generally, of all medical and 

chirurgical practice or service concerning the 

army and navy of the United States, and of all 

persons who shall be employed in and about 

the same, in camps, garrisons, and hospitals. 

An apothecary-general, and one o r more 

deputies, who shall be charged with the safe 

keeping and delivery of all medicines, instruments, dressings, and other articles, for the use 

of the hospital and army. A purveyor, who 

shall be charged with providing medicines. 

stores, and whatsoever else may be necessary 

in relation to the said practice or service. A 

competent number of hospital surgeons, who 

shall be liable to serve in the field , and who 

shall have the immediate charge and direction 

of such military hospitals as may be committed 

to their care, respectively. A suitable number 

of hospital mates, who are to observe the 

directions of the hospital surgeons, and shall 

diligently perform all reasonable duties required of them for the recovery of the sick and 

wounded. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That each 

military hospital shall have a steward, with a 

competent number of nurses, and other attendants; which steward shall be charged with the 

procuring of such supplies as may not otherwise be furnished, and with the safe keeping 

and issu ing of all supplies. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That the 

said physician-general, hospital-surgeons, purveyor, and apothecary or apothecaries, deputy 

or deputies, shall be appointed as other officers 

of the United States; and the said mates and 

stewards shall be appointed by the authority. 

and at the direction, of the said physician~ 

general, subject to the eventual approbation and 

control of the President of the United States, 

and shall be removable by the authority of the 

said physician-general; and that the surgeon of 

each hospital shall appoint, employ and fix the 

compensations of, the nurses and other attendants of such hospital, subject to the control of 

the sa id physician-general, or the hospital 

surgeon, of senior appointment, with a separate 

army, or in a separate district. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That as 

often as the regimental sick will not sutrer by 

the employing of regimental surgeons or mates 
212 T H BAR M Y M B DIe A LOB PAR T M B NT, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

in the temporary or other hospitals of the 

United States. the physician-general, or the 

hospital surgeon, of senior appointment, with a 

separate army, or in a separate district, with 

the consent of the general and commander-inchief. Or the officer commanding a separate 

army, may require the attendance of such 

surgeons, or surgeon's mates, as in his opinion, 

can be with safety so withdrawn from their 

regiments. 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That it 

shall be the duty of the physician-general, with 

I wa or morc hospital surgeons, to frame a 

system of directions relative to the description 

of pat ients to be admitted into the hospitals; to 

the means of promoting cleanliness in the hospitals; to the prevention of idleness, skulking, 

and gambling. in the hospitals; to the prevention 

of the spread of infectious distempers in the 

camps and hospitals. and the government of 

nurses, and all others charged with the care 

of the sick in camps or hospitals, subject, in 

the first instance, to the approbation and revision of the commander-in-chief, the commander of a separate army, or in a separate 

district, as the case may be, and, eventually, 

to the approbation and control of the President 

of the United States: Provided always, That 

the said directions, having received the sanction of the commander-in-chief, or the commander of a separate army, shall be operative. 

and remain in full force, unless altered or 

annulled by the President of tbe United States. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the 

compensations of the said several officers shall 

be as follows : of the physician-general, one hundred dollars pay per month, and fifty dollars 

per month, which shall be in full compensation 

for forage, rations, and travelling expenses: of 

the purveyor, one hundred dollars pay per 

month, in full compensation for his services, 

and all expenses: of the apothecary general, 

eighty dollars pay per month, and thirty dollars 

per month. in full compensation for forage, 

rations, and all expenses: of each of his 

deputies. fifty dollars pay per month, and sixteen dollars per month. in full compensation 

for forage, rations and all expenses: of each 

hospital surgeon, eighty dollars pay per month, 

and forty dollars per month, in full compensation for forage. rations, and all expenses: of 

each mate, thirty dollars pay per month, and 

twenty dollars per month, in full compensation 

for forage, rations, and all expenses: of each 

steward. twenty-five dollars pay per month, 

and eight dollars per month, in full compensation for forage, rations. and all expenses: 

Provided, That none of the officers aforesaid 

shall be entitled to any part of the payor 

emoluments aforesaid, until they shall respectively. be called into actual service. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That, for 

the accommodation of the sick of the army and 

navy of the United States, the physiciangeneral, and hospital surgeon of senior appointment, with the approbation of the general 

commanding the army within the district where 

he shall be, shall have power to provide temporary hospitals; and the physician-general. 

with the approbation of the President of the 

United States, shall have power to provide and 

establish permanent hospitals. 

Sec. 8. And be it further enacted, That all 

the said officers, and others, shall, as touching 

their several offices and duties, be liable to the 

rules and regulations for the government and 

discipline of the army and shall be bound to 

obey, in conformity with law and the usages 

and customs of armies, the orders and directions of the chief military officers of the respective armies, and within the respective districts 

in which they shall respectively serve and be. 

Sec. 9. And be it further enacted. That the 

physician-general or, in his absence, the senior 

medical officer. with the approbation of the 

commander-in-chief, or commanding officer of 

a separate army. be, and hereby is, authorized 

and empowered, as often as may be judged 

necessary, to call a medical board, which shall 

consist of the three senior medical officers, 

then present, whose duty it shall be to examine 

all candidates for employment or promotion in 

the hospital department, and certify to the 

secretary of war the qualifications of each. 

(Approved, March 2,1799.) 

SOURCE: Trueman Cross, Military Laws 01 the 

United States; to Which is Prefixed the Constitutioll 0/ th e UI/ited States (Washington: Edward de 

Krafft, 1825), pp. 96-99. 
Appendix J 213 

ApPENDIX I 

LEGISLATION CONCERN I NG 

THE U.S. ARMY MEDICAL 

D EPARTMENT 

March 1813: That, for the better superintendence and management of the hospital and 

medical establishment of the army of the 

United States, there shall be a physician and 

surgeon-general, with an annual salary of 

S2500, and an apothecary-general, with an 

annllal salary of $1800; whose respective duties 

and powers shall be prescribed by the President 

of the United States. 

[January-March J 8 J 4: legislation reaffirming 

ratio of one surgeon and two mates per 

regiment.] 

March 1814: That, from and after the first day 

of June next, the officers of the army shall be 

entitled to waiters, agreeable to grade. as 

follows: ... the physician and surgeon general, 

two; ... hospital surgeon, each, one .... 

That the President of the United States be 

authorized to appoint so many assistant 

apothecaries as the service may, in his judgment, require; each of whom shall receive the 

same pay and emoluments as a regimental 

surgeon's mate. 

That the physician and the surgeon general 

of the army be entitled to two rations per day, 

and forage for two horses; and that in addition 

to their pay, as at present established by law, 

the regimental surgeons and regimental surgeons' mates be entitled to $ 15 per month each. 

SOURCES: Callan, Military Loll'S. pp. 246. 253- 55; 

William O. Owen, cd., A Chronological Arrangement 0/ Congressional Legislation Relating to tile 

Medical Corps 0/ the United States Army From 

1785 to 1917 (Chicago: American Medical Association. 1918). pp. 10- 11. 

ApPENDIX J 

DUTIES OF MEMB ERS OF 

THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 

1 8 1 4 

Physiciall alld Surgeon General: 

I) establish rul es for management of Army 

hospitals and see that they are enforced; 

2) appoint stewards and nurses; 

3) request and receive returns of medicines, 

surgical instruments, hospital stores; 

4) authorize, regulate supply of regimental 

medicine chests; 

5) report twice a year on regimental medicine chests, sick in hospitals to War Department; 

6) report yearly to War Department on 

estimated supply needs. 

A pothecary General: 

I) assist Physician and Surgeon Genera l in 

his duties; 

2) obey orders of Physician and Surgeon 

General. 

Apothecary General and his assistalllS: 

I) receive and manage all hospital stores, 

medicines, surgical instruments, dressings, 

bought by commissary general of purchases or 

his deputies; 

2) account to superintendant general of 

military supplies for all disbursement of items 

under 1) above; 

3) pay monthly wages of stewards. ward 

masters, nurses of hospital; 

4) compound, prepare, and issue medicines 

under direction of Physician and Surgeon General or on estimates and requisitions of senior 

hospital surgeons and regimental surgeons; 

5) regulate, under supervision of superintenda nt general of military supplies, forms of 

returns made quarterly to apothecary general's 

office by deputy apothecaries, surgeons, mates, 

or those having charge of instruments, medicine, hospital stores, hospital equipment of any 

kind. 

Senior hospital surgeons: 

I) direct medical staff in army or district 

to which he is attached; 

2) live at or near headquarters; 

3) countersign all requisitions of regimental 

surgeons or mates made on apothecary general 

or his assistants; 

4) inspect hospitals under him, correcting 

abuses and reporting delinquencies; 

5) make quarterly reports to Physician and 

Surgeon General on sick and wounded in his 

hospital and on medicines, instruments, hospital 

stores received, expended, on hand, and 

wanted; 
214 THE ARM Y ME Di e A L DE PAR T MEN T, 1 77 5 - 1 8 1 8 

6) keep diary of weather, med ical topography of country whe re he is serving; 

7) report to commanding officer concerning 

anything concerning the health of the troops. 

Hospital surgeons: 

1) superintend everything relating to hospital; 

2) order steward to furnish whatever is 

needed by the sick ; 

3) visit sick and wounded in hospital every 

morning; 

4) require from resident mate report on all 

changes since morning; 

5) instruct mate in writing on care of 

patients; 

6) have police rules of hospital displayed in 

each ward; 

7) assign appropriate wards to patients; 

8) keep register of all patients admitted; 

9) keep case book of every important or 

interesting case of disease and report on it 

monthly. 

Mates: 

I) visi t patients with surgeon, take note of 

his prescriptions; 

2) keep case book; 

3) attend to carrying out of surgeon's 

prescriptions; 

4) dress all wounds; 

5) enforce discipline; 

6) one mate, at least, to remain on call; 

7) responsible for medicines and instruments. 

Steward: 

1) receive and take charge of all hospital 

stores, furniture, utensils, under surgeon's 

direction; 

2) keep accurate account of all issues; 

3) responsible to Apothecary General or his 

assistant. 

Ward master: under steward's direction: 

I) receive arms, accoutrements, clothing of 

every patient admitted; 

2) have clothes immediately washed, numbered, labeled with name, regiment. company 

of patient and properly stored; 

3) responsible for cleanliness of wa rds and 

patients; 

4) calJ roll every morning and evening; 

5) supervise handling of closestools, seeing 

that they are cleaned at least three times a day 

and always have proper quantity of water or 

charcoal in them; 

6) see that beds and bedding are properly 

aired and exposed to sun, weather permitting; 

7) see that straw in each bed sack changed 

at least once a month ; 

8) see that each pati ent washed and has hair 

combed every morning; 

9) see that bed and bedding of patient who 

has been discharged or has died is cleaned and 

straw burned; 

10) see that nurses and attendants are kind 

and attentive to patients; 

II) supervise all attendants. 

SOURCE: Paraphrased from Palmer, Historical 

Register, 3: 7-9. 

ApPENDIX K 

LEGISLATION A FFECTING THE 

ARMY MEDICAL D EPARTMEN T , 

MAkcH 1815 TO APRIl. 1818 

March 1815: That there shall be. . such 

number of hospital surgeons and surgeon's 

mates as the service may require, not exceeding 

five surgeons and fifteen mates, with one 

steward and one ward-master to each hospital. 

[T his act also reaffirmed the ratio of one 

surgeon and two mates for each regiment.] 

April 1816: . . . and that the apothecarygeneral, as heretofore authori zed, be allowed 

two assistant apotheca ries. 

That the medical staff shall be so extended 

that there shall be four hospital surgeons and 

eight hospital surgeon's mates, to each division, 

with as many post surgeons as the service may 

require, not exceeding twelve to each division; 

who shall receive the same pay and emoluments 

as hospital surgeon's mates .... 

... and that the garrison surgeons and mates 

be hereafter considered as post surgeons. 

April 1818: That so much of the act "fixing 

the military peace establishment of the United 

States," passed the 3d of March 1815, as relates 

to hospital stewards and ward-masters, and so 

much of the "Act for organizing the general 
Appendix K 215 

staff, and making further provision for the 

army of the United States," passed Apri l 24, 

18 16, as relates to hospi tal surgeons, hospital 

surgeon's mates, . . . be and the same is hereby 

repealed. 

That there shall be one surgeon-general. with 

a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars 

per annum, onc assistant surgeon-general with 

the emoluments of a hospital surgeon, ... to 

each division . . . and that the number of 

post-surgeons be increased, not to exceed eight 

to each division. 

SOURCES: Owen, Legislation, pp. 10 - 1 I ; Call an, 

Military Laws, pp. 266, 273- 76, 285. 

Notes 

C HAPTER 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, this chapter is 

based on these secondary sources: Erwin 

Heinz Ackerknechl , A Short History of Medicille (New York: Ronald Press Co., 1955); 

Stanhope Bayne-Jones, The Evo/wio" of Prevelltive Medicine ill the United States Army, 

1607-1939 (Washington : Government Printing Office, 1968); John B. Beck. M edicine itl 

the American C% llies: An Historical Sketch 

oj the Stale 0/ M edicine ;11 the America" 

C%llies, From T he;r First Se ltlemelll 10 the 

Period 0/ the Revo/llliotl (orig. printed Albany, N.Y.. 1850: Albuquerque. N. Mex.: 

Horn & Wallace Publishers. 1966 l; Whitfield 

Jenks Bell, Jr .. "Medi cal Practice in Coloni al 

America," Blllle/j" 0/ rlw History of M edicille 31 (1957): 442-53: Fielding H. Garrison, H istory oj MelJicil/(' ( Philadelphia: W. 

B. Saunders Co., 1914): Maurice B. Gordon, 

Aesclilapilis Comes /0 Ihe Colollil'.\· (Ventor, 

N.J.· Ventor Publishe rs. 1949): L. S. King, 

The Medical World oj fhe EiKhlet>IIlh Century 

(Chicago: University of Ch icago Press, 195R); 

R. H. Major, A Histnry oj M edicine (Spri ngfield. 111. : Charles C Thomas. 1954); Ri chard 

Harrison Shryock. The Del'l'/oplllell' oj JWod·· 

em M edicine: All interpretation oj the Social 

ami Scienlific FaclOrs Involveel (New York: 

Alfred A. Knopf, 1947); Richard Harrison 

Shryock, Eigh/een/It CellI/II,)' Medici" e in 

America (Worcester, Mass. : American Antiquarian Society , 1950); Ri chard Harrison 

Shryock, Medicine and Socil'fy in Amerka, 

J660-J860 (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell U ni ve rsity 

Press. 1960): Richard Harrison Shryock. 

"Publ ic Relations of the Medical Profession 

in Great Britain and the United Stales: 1600·-

1870," Allnalx oj Medical History. n.s. 2 

( 1930): 308-39; Allen O. Whipple. The £1'0-

/zllion oj Surgery in Ih e Ullitl'd SI(lfe.'i (Springfield, III. : Charles C Thomas. 1963). 

Also consulted for the preceding paragraph 

were : M ichae l Kraus, "American and European Medicine in the Eighteenth Century," 

Bul/etin 0/ the History 0/ Medicine 8 (1940): 

683-84; Lyman H. Butterfield, "Benjamin 

kush : A Pnysician As Seen in His Letters," 

Bul/etin oj the History of Medicine 20 

( 1946): 150; George W. Corner. ed., The 

Autobiography 0/ Benjamin Rush: His "Travels Through Life" Together With His "CommOl/place Book" for J789-J813 (Princeton, 

N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1948L p. 

362. 

2. Quoted in Joseph Carson, A History 01 

the Medical Departmelll oj the University oj 

Pellnsylvania, From Its FOlilldatioll if! 1765 

(Phil adelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1869), 

p. 85; Corner, Rush. pp. 81-82. 362-64; Benjamin Waterhouse, The Rise, Progress, and 

Preselll State 0/ Medicine (Boston : Thomas 

and John Fleet. 1792), pp. 15-16. 17; Samuel 

Miller, A Briel Retrospect of the Eig/lleemh 

Century, 2 vols. (New York: T , and 1. 

Swords, 1803), I: 264-66. 

3. Quoted in Shryock, Eigh teelllh Celllllry 

Medic;ne, p. 17; O. H . Perry Pepper, "Benjamin Rush's Theories on Blood Letting After 

One Hundred and Fifty Years," Trallsactions 

oj Ihe College of Physicians of Philadelphia, 

41h ser. 14 ( 1946): 122, 123 ~ Nathan Smith 

Davis, History 0/ Medical Edllcatioll all(/ Instilll/iolls ill the Uniled States From Ihe First 

Selliemem 0/ the British Colonies to the Y ear 

J850 (Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Co., 185 1), p. 

70; Corner. Rush, pp. 364-65. 

4. Many authors, including Bayne-Jones, 

erroneously refer to Pringle as Su rgeonGeneral. John P ringle, Observations 011 the 

Diseases ill the A rmy, ill Camp and Garrison 

(London: A. Millar, D. Wilson, and T. Payne. 

1752). pp. 96-98, 101-2, quole from pp. 

101-2; Robert Thomas, The Modem Practice 0/ Physic. 3d Ameri can ed. (New York : 

Collin & Co., 1815). p. 275; Charles-Edward 

Amory Winslow, "The Colonial Era and the 

First Years of the Republic ( 1607-1799)-

The Pestilence That W·alketh in D arkness," in 
218 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 18 J 8 

C.-E. A. Winslow, Wilson G. Smillie, James 

A. Doult, and John E. Gordon, The Hil·tory 

0/ Americall EpidemioloKY. cd. Franklin H . 

Top (St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Co., 1952), pp. 

2 1- 23; D.wid Hos·ack, Observationf on the 

Laws Governing the Commllnication 0/ COI/-

tagiolls Diseases and the Means 0/ Arresting 

Th eir Progress (Ncw York : Van Winkle and 

Wi ley, 1815) , pp. 2, 3 1, 34, 4 1; Wilson G. 

Smi ll ie, Pllblic Health: Its Promise lor the 

Fllture: A Chronicle 0/ the Developmem 0/ 

Public Health in thi' Unital Slates, 1607- 1914 

(New York: Macmillan Co., 1955) , p. 37; 

Miller, Brie/ Retrospect, p. 273; John Pringle, 

Six Discourses, Delil'en'(/ by Sir Joh" Pringle , 

Bart . . .. , To Wh ich Is Prefixed the Life of 

the Allthor by Andrew Kippis, D. D. F. R . S. 

"lid S. A. (London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 

1783), p. xii. 

5. D'Arcy Power, Selected Writings: 1877-

1930 (Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1931), pp. 

4- 5; Silas Weir Mitchell, Th e Early History 

0/ Instfllmel1ll1l Precisio n ill Medicine (New 

Haven: Tuttle, Morehouse & Tay lor, 1892L 

pp. 15- 16, 2 1-23; Logan Clendening, ed. , 

Source Book 0/ M edical History (New York: 

Dover Publications, 1942), p. 306; Erwin 

Heinz Ackcrknccht, Malaria ill the Upper 

Mississippi Valley , 1760- 1900 (Baltimore: 

Johns Hopkins Press. 1945). pp. 7, 54; Smillie, Pllblic He"I,h , pp. 50- 5 1; Richard 

Brocklesby, Oecollomicill (I11t1 Medical Observatiolls, in Two ParIS. From the Y ear 

1758 to the Year 1763. Inclusive. . (London ; T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, 1764), 

p. 2 12; Donald Monro, All Aceollllt 0/ the 

Diseases Which Were Most Ff('que llt in the 

British Military Hospi/(lJs ill Germany, From 

January 1761 to the Rewm of the Troo ps 

to Englalld in March 1763 . .. (London : A 

Millar, D. Wilson, T. Durham. and T. Payne, 

1764), p. 8. 

6. Pringle, Ob.fervalions, p. 95; James 

Lind, An Essay all Diseases Incidental in 

Europeans ill Hot Climllfl's .. . (London : T. 

Becket & P. A. De Hondt, 1768), pp. 36- 38; 

Gerhard van Swieten, Th e Diseases Incidem 

to Armies, Willi the Method of Cure . . . To 

Which Are Added: The Nature alld Treatment 

0/ Gunshot W ounds, By Joh" Ranby, E.fquire, 

Surgeon General to the British Army ... 

(Philadelphia: R. Bcll, 1776), p. 5; John 

Ballard Bl ake, "Diseases <l nd Medical Practi ce 

in Coloni al America," in "Symposium on the 

History of American M edicine," Ini('rl/m;oll,,1 

Record of Medicine 171 (1958): 35 1- 53; 

Smillie, Public Heal'h . p. 43; Monro. All AcCO Ill/t, pp. 265- 67; Reuben Friedman, "Scabies in Colonial America," AUf/als of Medical 

Hi.f,ory, 3d ser. 2 (1940): 401 - 2; Alfred 

Hess, Scurvy. Past alld Present (Phi ladelphia: 

J. B. Lippincott Co., 1920). p. 3. 

7. Blake, "Diseases," p. 356; Smillie, 

Pllblic Heol,h, pp. 35. 67; Mark F. Boyd, 

"An Historical Sketch of the Prevalence of 

Mal aria in North America," Americall JOllmal 

0/ Tropical M edicine and Hygiene 21 ( 194 1) : 

229; Richard Harrison Shryock. "Medical 

Practice in the Old South," South Allantic 

Qllarterly 29 (1930): 160-6 1; A. W. Rateliffe, 

"The Historical Background of Malari a-a 

Reconsideration," JOllrt/aJ o/ Ih e Indiana State 

Medical Association 39 (1946): 339; Robert 

Hamilton, Observations 0 11 the Marsh Remit-

'elll Fever . .. (London : T. Gillet, 1801)' p. 

23; Thomas, Modem Practice, pp. 4-6. 

8. Such authors as John Duffy, Philip Cash, 

and Wyndham B. Blanton maintain that physicians at the time of the American Revolution 

could not distinguish between the two diseases, 

but Fielding H. Garrison and John B. Blake 

have noted that the disease described as "putrid , malignant" fever may have been typhus 

and "slow, nervous" fevers typhoid. Neil 

Cantlie maintains that typhus was at this time 

already beginni ng to be recognized "as a 

specific entity," but Lester S. Ki ng explains 

that although Pringle described jailor hospital 

fever so well that we can recognize it tod ay as 

typhus, the great British mil itary physician 

did not consider this ill ness to be a specific 

entity but rather believed that any putrid disease could lead to what he called jail or hospital fever. John Duffy, Epidemics ill Colollial 

America (Baton Rouge : Louisiana State 

University Press, 1953), p. 232; Philip Cash, 

Afedical M en at the Siege 0/ Boston, April 

1775-April 1776 ... (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1973) , p. 53 ; Wyndham Bolling Blanton, M edicine ill Virginia in 

the Eigilleelllh Century (Richmond: Garrett & 

Massie, 1931), p. 258; Garrison, His,ory 0/ 
Notes to Chapter 1 219 

Medicine, pp. 292-93; Blake, " Dbcascs," 

p. 353; Neil C<lntlie, A J-Ji,Hory 0/ 11,(, Army 

M!'dical D ep(lt'llII elll , 2 vols. (Edinburgh : 

Churc hill Li vingstone, 1974) , I : 57; Kin g, 

Mt,di('al World, PI'. 136-37. 

9. Quoted in Dulfy. Epit/ellliC'.r, p. 232; 

Brocklcsh y, Oh.H!rI'lIlioll,\', p. 2 12: Medica l Dcpartme nt. Unit ed Sta les Army. { ,,{ecl iol/.\' Oi.\'· 

e aSC' ,I', Inte rna l Medi c ine in Wo rkl W:\r II. 

vol. 2 (Washington: Government Printing OfIke, 19(3), p. 2 17; Monro, All ACTOIII/I, 

p. R: Van Swictcn. IJi,\'('w'('.\', p. R6. 

10. Monro, All At'COIIIII, PI'. 57-SR. 

II . Van Swictcn. Di.\"l'(I.H'.\', p. 6R. 

12. Monro, All ACU)f/111, p. 57. 

13. Van Swietcn. Oi,w'lI,w!.\', pp. 67-73, 

quotes from p. 69; John Hunter, Oh.W!rI'aliollJ 

011 the DiseaJes 0/ ti,t' Army i,l Jamaica . .. , 

3d cd. (London: T. Payne. I HOH). p. 176; 

Thomas, Modem ProctiC<'. PI'. 278-RO; Smi lli e, Pllblie Healt" , p. 43. 

14. John Hunter, A Trea fise Oil ,he' VeIl ereal Disease, ahridged by Willi am C urrie 

(Philadelphia: Charles Cisl. I7H7), p. 59, 

quote from p. 5; HowClfd Lewis A pplegale, 

" Remedial Medicine in the Ame rican Revolution<lry Army," Military M('(/icill e 126 

( 1961 ): 450; Smillie, Pllhlic H elllth , Pl'. 

48-49. 

15. Quoted in Brocklcsh y. Oh,'i('rvatiol1.\'. pp. 

286-97; Va n Swieten, Di,\'ca,H' ,\', p. 95; Thomas, 

Modern Practice, p. 502. 

16. Monro, An ACCOllnt, p. 265. 

17. Quoted in va n Swic tcn , Di.w'axes, p. 100; 

Monro, An A ('('O llllt , pp. 266-67 ; Broc klesby, 

Observatiolls, pp. 2M5-X6; Va n Swieten, Di,\'-

ellse.r. pp. 100- 1; Ltr, Col Rohert 1. T. Joy, 

MC, to author, 25 Mar 76 . 

1M. Van Swieten , Di.\·Nf.\'es. pp. 14, 19- 3 1, 

quote from p. 28. 

19. David Ramsay. A Review of thl' Improvements, PrOKre,tf ami State of Medicine 

ill the XVIIIIII Centllry <Cha rleston : W . P. 

Young. 1801). pp. IH- 19; Lind, All E.I'.I'IIY. 

p. 233: Joh n Hunte r, Hffn i('rian Remin;sc:ellces: 

Being the SlIbstance oj 1I Course of Leclllres 

Oil the Principle,\' lIml PraClice of SlIrgery . Delivered by Ihe LllIe Mr. Joh ll HI/nln, ill the 

Y ellr 1785. ed . by J. W. K. Pa rkinson (London : Sherwood. Gi lbert, and Pepir, 1833), 

p. 66; Corner, Rush. pp. 364-65; David Ha rris, " Medi ci ne in Colonial Ame rica," Califo rnia and WeSfern M edicine 5 1 ( 1939): 38. 

20, Quoted in Beck. Medicine, p. 30 ; Franc is 

R, Packard, '; How London and Edinhurgh Influ e nced Medi ci ne in Phil.uJclphia in the Eightee nth Century." Annah- oj Medical Hi,\'tory, 

I1 .S. 4 (1932) : 227-28; Theodore Dille r. 

Franklin ',I' Contributio1/ fO M edicine ( Brooklyn. N.Y.: Albert T. Huntington. 19 12), 

PI'. 9- 10. 20, 25 . 52, 56-57; William Pepper, 

The Medico! Side of Benjamin Frankli" 

(P hiladelphia: Willi am 1. Campbell , 1911), 

pp. 9-10, 12, 63, 72; Willi am Buchan. Observations COllcernillg the Prevenlioll and Cure 

oj the Venereal DiseaJe . .. (Dublin: P. 

Wogan . J. Millikin, W. Sleatcr, J. Rice , P. 

Moore, 1796), PI'. 7 1-72; James Thacher. 

Americall M edical Biography .. , (Boston : 

Ri chardson & Lord and Colto ns & Barnard, 

1828 ) . pp. 27-28; John Warren, A View 0/ 

the Mercurial Practice in Febrile Diseases (BosIon: T. B. Wait and Co., 18 13), pp. vi-viii, 

I, 4; Ramsay, Review. pp. 16, 19: Miller. 

Brief Retrospect, pp. 31-34. 

21. Ramsay, Review. p. 19. 

22. John Hunter, Treatise 0 11 the Blood, JIlj/ammation, lind G flllshot W OIIIll/s (London : 

John Richardson, 1794), p. 3. 

23. Warren , Mercurial Practice, pp. 12-16. 

24. Warren, M ercllrial Practice, pp. 5, 7-8, 

quote from p. 42 ; Thache r, Biography. pp. 27-

28; Buchan, V enereal Disease, pp. 68. 70, 

25. Salvatore P. Lucia, A History of Wille 

as Therapy ( Philade lphia: I . B. Lippincott 

Co .• 1963). PI'. 155-56; Brocklesby. Oh,.erv{/-

Val io/l,\', pp. 195, 196, 223-24; Monro, All 

Account, pp. 16, 17n; Thomas, Modern Practice, p. 47. 

26. Ramsay. Review, pp. 18-19. 

27. Hugues Rava ton , Chil'llrgie d'armee Oil 

trai/e de,\' plaie.\' d'armee.\· (I fe ll ( Pa ris: Didot 

Ie jeu ne. 1768). pp. 635- 36. 

28. Pringle. Oburvations. pp. 128, 131-32; 

Mo nro, All ACCOllfll , pp. 357-60; Albert A. 

Gore, The Story of Ol/r Services Under til e 

Crowll. A Historical Sketch of the Army 

Medical Staff (Londo n : Bailliere, Tindall , and 

Cox. 1879), p. 107; Ca ntlie, History, I : 45, 

145 ; Van Swieten, Diseases, p. 13. 

29. Monro, All ACCOllllt, pp. 357-59, 36 1-

64, 382-85, 403-6, quote from p. 395; 
220 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Brocklesby, Observatiolls, pp. 27-28, 52-53; 

Lind, An Essay, p. 165 ; Pringle, Observations, 

pp. 131-32. 

30. Ramsay. Review, p. 22, quote from 

p. 23; Pringle, Observatiolls, pp. 128-32, 133-

35; Lind, All Essay, p. 165 ; John Aiken , 

Thoughts all Hospitals (London: Joseph Johnson. 1771) , p. 20; Stephen Hales, A Treatise 

all Vemilators (London: Manby, 1758), 

pp. 1-3, 14; Thomas, Modern Practice, 

pp. 283-S4; Edward Cut bush, Observatiolls 

on the Mealll' 0/ Preserving the Health 0/ 

Soldiers ami Sailors . .. (Philadelphia: Fry 

and Kammerer, ISOS), pp. IS2-84, 190-91; 

Robert P. Multhauf. A Cataloglle oj Ins/mmems and Models ill 'he Possession 0/ the 

American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia: 

American Philosophical Society, 1961) , p. 32; 

Monro, All Accoullt, pp. 359-65, 368-69. 

31. Monro, All Accoullt, pp. 365-401, 

quote from p. 400; Peter Middleton, A Medica/ Discourse, or an Historical Inquiry into 

the Anciem and Preselll State of Medicine 

... (New York: Hugh Gaine, 1769), p. 219. 

32. John Jones, The Surgical Works 0/ the 

Late Joh" Jones, M.D ., 3d ed., edited by James 

Mease (Philadelphia: Wrigley and Berriman, 

1795) , pp. 161-63, first quote from p. 157 ; 

Monro, All Account, pp. 338-39, 344-45; 

Cutbush, Observatiolls, pp. 3-4, 55-57, 

62-64; Van Swieten, Diseases, pp. 7, 9, 

second quote from p. 9; General Committee 

of Defense, Observations Relative 10 the Means 

oj Preserving Heldth ill Armies, 7 Sep 1814; 

Howard Lewis Applegate, "Preventive Medicine in the American Revolutionary Army," 

Military Medicille 126 (1961): 379, 3SI. 

33. Cutbush, Observations, pp. 12, 14-16; 

Monro, All Account, pp. 317-18; Jones, 

Works, pp. I S8, IS9; Pringle, Observations, 

pp. 116-1S; Applegate, "Preventive Medicine," 

p. 379. 

34. Quoted in Jones, Works, p. 163; Applegate, "Preventive Medicine," pp. 380-81; Van 

Swieten, Disellses, pp. 10- 11 ; Pringle, ObserVl/fiom;, p. 113; Ramsay, Review, p. 33; Cutbush, Observations, pp. 8-11. 

3S . Pringle, Observations, p. 112; Jones, 

Works, pp. 157, 170-7 1. 

36. Cut bush became better known after he 

joined the U.S. Navy as a surgeon in 1799. 

Jones, Works, pp. 16S-69; Monro, An AcCOil fit, p. 319; Cutbush, Observations, pp. 22-

23, 24-25, 26-27, 29, 32; Van Swieten, 

Diseases, p. 8; Pringle, Observations, pp~ 

137-38. 

37. Jones, Works, pp. 157, 167; Pringle, 

Observations, pp. 10S-9; William Buchan, 

Observlltions Concerning the Diet oj t/ie CommOn People ... (London: A. Steahan, T. 

Cadell, Jr. , and W. Davies, J. Balfour and 

W. Creich, 1797) , p. 7; Applegate, "Preventive Medicine," pp. 379-80; Ramsay, 

Review, pp. 31-33; Middleton, M edical Discourse, pp. 9-13; Monro, An Acco/lnt, pp. 

377-79; Cut bush, Observations, p. 3S. 

38. James Lind, A Treatise oj tile Scurvy 

. .. (Edinburgh: Sands, Murray, and Cochran 

for A. Kincaid & A. Donaldson, 1753), 

pp. 192-95, 197-202, quotes from pp. 180, 

l SI; Blake, "Diseases," pp. 351-53; Hess, 

Scurvy, p. 3; Van Swieten, Diseases, p. 7. 

39. Van Swieten, Diseases, p. 90; William 

Buchan, Domestic Medicine; or, til e Family 

Physician . .. , 2d American ed. (Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1774), p. 299; Miller, 

Briej Retrospect, p. 289; Ramsay, Review, 

pp. 2S-30. 

40. Lind, SClIrvy, p. IS2; Cutbush, ObservatiOIlS, pp. 30-31; Blanton, Medicine, p. 260. 

41. John Morgan, A Recommendation oj 

In ocllimion, According to Baron Dimsdale's 

Method (Boston: 1. Gill, 1776), pp. 3, 7, 

11 - 12, quote from p. 11; Cantlie, History , 

I: 140, 28 1; Arnold C. Klebs, "The Historic 

Evolution of Variolation," Bulletin 0/ the 

Johlls Hopkills Hospital 24 (1913): 71-72; 

Reginald H. Fitz, "Zabdiel Boylston, Inoculator, and the Epidemic of Smallpox in Boston 

in 1721 ," Bul/elin oj the Johns Hopkins Hospital22 (1911): 316-20; Winslow, "Colonial 

Era," pp. 19-20; John Ballard Blake, Public 

Health in the TOlVn 0/ Boston, 1630-1822 

(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959L 

pp. 112, 114; Thacher, Biography, p. 27; 

Lyman H. Butterfield, ed ., Letlers oj Benjamin 

Rllsh: Memoirs 0/ the American Philosophical 

Society, 30, parts 1 and 2, 2 vols. (Princeton: 

Princeton University Press, 1951) , 1: 66- 67; 

Morris C. Leikind, "Vaccination in Europe," 

Ciba Symposia 3 (1942): 1101; Maurice B. 

Gordon, "Medicine in Colonial New Jersey 
Notes to Chapter 1 221 

and Adjacent Areas," Bulietin 0/ the History 

0/ Medicille 17 (1945): 45-47; Benjamin 

Gale, "Historical Memoirs, Relating to the 

Practice of Inoculation for the Smallpox, in 

the British American Provinces, Particularly 

in New England," ROYll1 Society of LOIlc/OIl, 

Philosophical Transactions 55 (1765) : 194-

95. 

42. John Warren, A. Dexter, James Jack~ 

son, and John C. Warren, Report 011 Vaccinalioll , n.p., I Jun 1808, pp. 136- 38; U.S. War 

Department, Subjecl Illdex , / 809-/860, Gelleral Orders. AdjWlUlI General's Department, 

Subject Index 0/ 'he General Orders 01 the 

War Department From J Jail . 1809 10 31 

Dec. 1860, compo under direction of Brig 

Gen Richard C. Drum, by Jeremiah C. Allen 

(Washington: Government Printing Office, 

1886), p. 177; Bayne-Jones, Prevelllive Medicine, p. 75; John B. Blake, Benjamin WalerhOllse alld the Introduction 0/ Vaccination, a 

Reappraisal (Philadelphia: University of 

Pennsylvania Press, 1957), p. 62; Anthony 

Wayne, "General Wayne's Orderly Book," 

Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society 34 

(1904): 350; Howard Dittrick, "Medical 

Agents and Equipment Used in the Northwest 

Territory," in Jonathan Forman, comp., Physicians and the Indian Wars (Columbus, Ohio : 

Ohio State Medical Association, 1953). 

43. Quoted in Owsei Temkin, "The Role of 

Surgery in the Rise of Modern Medical 

Thought," Blllletill 0/ the History oj Medicille 25 (1951): 259. 

44. Jones, Works, pp. 7-8. 111-\3, quote 

from p. 11; Power, Writings, p. 270 ; Harvey 

Graham, The Story oj Surgery (Garden City, 

N.Y. : Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1939 ), p. 214; 

Josiah Bartlett, A Dissertation all the Progress 

0/ Medical Science i1l the Commonwealth 0/ 

Massachusetls (Boston: T. B. Wait and Co., 

1810), p. 15. 

45. Ramsay, Review, pp. 10- 11; Allen O. 

Whipple, The Story oj Wound Healing and 

WOllnd Repair (Springfield, III.: Charles C 

Thomas, 1963), p. 68; Jones, Works, pp. lOll , 33-34, 40-41; Benjamin Gooch, A Practical Trea,;se Oil Wounds alld Other Chirurgical Subjects . .. ,2 vols. (Norwich: W. Chase, 

1767), I: 193; Henri Fram;ois Le Dran, T"e 

Operatiolls ill Surgery 0/ Mons. Le DrOll, 

trans. Thomas Gataker (London: C. Hitch 

and R. Dodsby, 1749), p. 79; "The Medical 

History of Louis XIV (Editorial) ," Allllais 

0/ Medical Hislory , 1st ser. 8 (1926): 203. 

46. Hunter, Treatise 011 the Blood, pp. 207-

8; Jones, Works, pp. 36-38, 40-41; Hunter, 

Remilliscellces, p. 131; Lloyd Allan Wells, 

"Aneurysm and Physiologic Surgery," Bulleti,1 

0/ ,"e Hislory 0/ Medicille 44 (1970): 411-

24; Gooch, Treatise, I: 102-3. 

47. Jones, Works, p. 33. 

48. Quote from John Ranby, "The Nature 

and Treatment of Gunshot Wounds," in van 

Swieten, Diseases, p. 121; Hunter, Reminiscences, p. 65. 

49. Ranby, "Gunshot Wounds," in van 

Swieten, Diseases, pp. 125, 126; Jones, Works, 

p. [40. 

50. Jones, Works, pp. 141, 142; Van 

Swieten, Diseases, p. 94. 

51. Jones, Works, pp. [6-17, quote from 

p. 30; John S. Billings, ''The History and 

Literature of Surgery," in Frederic Shepard 

Dennis, ed., System oj Surgery (Philadelphia: 

Lea Brothers & Co., 1895), I: 72. Billings has 

termed the Petit tourniquet "an appliance of 

almost as much importance as the ligature"; 

Owen H. Wangen steen, Jacqueline Smith, and 

Sarah D. Wangen steen, "Some Highlights in 

the History of Amputation Reflecting Lessons 

in Wound Healing," Bulletill 0/ the History of 

Medicine 41 (1967) : 101-2, 103; Miller, 

Brie/ Relrospect, pp. 299-300; Samuel Clark 

Harvey, The History 0/ Hemostasis (New 

York : Paul B. Hoeber, 1929), pp. 63-64; 

Cantlie, History, I: 59; Theodor Billroth, "Historical Studies on the Nature and Treatment of 

Gunshot Wounds From the Fifteenth Century 

to the Present Time," trans. C. P. Rhoads, 

Yale Journal 0/ Biology and Medicille 4 

(1931-1932): 235; Hunter, Trealise 0 11 ,'', 

Blood, pp. 209-10, 211; Gooch, Treatise, I: 

150-51, 154; Ramsay, Review, p. II; Graham, 

Surgery, p. 213. When the edges of a wound 

have been brought together and held in this 

position before the healing process has begun, 

the wound is said to be healing by the first 

intention. 

52. Hunter, Treatise 0" the Blood. pp. 204. 

211, quote from p. 204. 

53. Wangensteen, "Amputation," pp. 103, 
222 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

lOS; Hunter, Remilli,\'cenceJ', pp. 79, 132; 

Jones, Worb, pp. 21-22. 

54. Jones, Works, pp. 19-20, quote from 

p. 20; Hunter, Reminiscences, p. 69. 

55. Hunter, Tremhe 011 the Blood. pp. 496-

97, 499. 

56. Quote from Gooch, Treat ise, 1: 71; 

Wangensteen, "Amputation," p. 106. 

57. Thomas, Modern Practice, pp. 332-33; 

Benj amin Rush, ObJerV(l!iofl.\' 011 the Cause 

and ClIre vi the Tetallus (Philadelphia, 1787), 

pp. 461-62. 

58. Jones, Work..', pp. 67, 134, 135-37; 

Hunter, TreMi,lie Of! the Blood. pp. 530, 532, 

535-36; Hunter, Remilli.\'l . .'e fl ces, p. 104; Ramsay, Review, p. II ; Ravaton, Chirurgie, 

pp. 86-87. 

59. Wangensteen, "Amputation." pp. 105-6; 

Louis C. Duncan , M edical Mel! ill the Americall R evolutioll, 1775-1783, Army Medical 

Bulletin No. 25 (Carlisle Barracks, Pa.: Medical Field Service School, 1931) , p. II: C. M. 

B. Gilman, "Military Surgery in the American 

Revolution," Journal of the Medical Society 

of New Jersey 57 ( 1960): 493- 94: Temkin, 

"Surgery," pp. 252-53; Buchan, Domestic 

Medicine, p. 439; Mi ll er. Brief Retrospect, 

p. 30 1; Hunter, Remilli:H:ences, p. 84: Jones, 

Works. pp. 43-54. 59-60, 63-66, 70, 151, 

154-55; Aiken. ThOI/Rhts, pp. 24-25. 

60. Gooch, Treatise, I: 78-79, 98-118; 

Jones, Works. pp. 35, 63-66. 

61. Tcmkin, "Surgery." p. 251: Richard 

Harrison Shryock. Medical Licensing ill 

America. /650-/965 (Baltimore: Johns Hop~ 

kins Press, 1967), pp. 4-5, 8-9; Henry Woodhouse, "Colonial Medical Practice," eiba 

Symposia I (1940): 383; Shryock. "Public 

Relations," pp. 310, 3 12; William Shain li ne 

Middleton, "John Morgan. Father of Medical 

Education in North America," A "nals of 

Medical Hi.Vlory, 1st ser. 9 (1927): 18; 

Claude Edwin Heaton, "Medicine in New 

York During the English Colonial Period. 

1664-1775." Bulletin of the Hi.r/or), of Medicine 17 (J 945): 36-37: Duncan. Medical 

Mell, p. 38; Henry R. Viets. A Brief History 

of Medicine in Masmchusefls (New York: 

Houghton Mifflin Co .. 1930) . p. 81. 

62. William Frederick Norwood, Medical 

Education ill the United States Before the 

Civil War (Phi ladelphia: University of Pennsylvani a Press, 1944), pp. 9, 58; R. H. Dalton, 

"A Glance at the American Medical Profession Si nce the Beginning of the Present Century," JOllmal of the A mericall M edical Association 21 ( 1893) : 953; Winslow, "Colonial 

Era," pp. 18- 19. 

63. Whitfield Jenks Bell, Jr. , "Philadelphia 

Medical Students in Europe, 1750- 1800," 

Pennsylvania Magazine of History ami Biogra~ 

phy 67 (1943): 4; Norwood, Medical Edl/cation , pp. 32-35. 

64. Bell, "Students," pp. 3, 13, 14, 18, 19; 

Ramsay, Rev iew, pp. 8, 9-10; Kraus, "Medi~ 

cine," pp. 680-81; Edgar M. Bick, "French 

Influences on Early American Medicine and 

Surgery," JOllmal of the MOllnt Sinai Hospital 

24 (1957): 500, 502, 503; James Joseph 

Walsh, History of Medicine in New York 

. , 5 vols. (New York: National Americana 

Society, 1919), I: 40--41. 44: William Frederick Norwood, "Medicine in the Era of the 

American Revolution," International Record of 

Medicine 171 (1958): 395; Packard, "London 

and Edinburgh," p. 222; William Henry 

Welch. "Influence of English Medicine Upon 

American Medicine in Its Formative Period," 

in Papers and Addresses, ed. Walter C. Burket 

(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1920), 3: 

445, 446, 447; Genevieve Miller, "Medical 

Schools in the Colonies," eiba Symposia R 

(1947): 524; William Shainline Middleton, 

"Willi am Shippen, Junior," Annals 0/ Medical 

History , n.s. 4 (1932): 442; Jones, Works, 

pp. 4-8; James Gregory Mumford, A Narrative 0/ Medicine in America (Phi ladelphia: 

J. B. Lippincott Co., 1903), p. 96. 

65. Richard Harrison Shryock, A mericafl 

Medical Research: Past and Preselll (New 

York: Commonwealth Fund, 1947), p. 20; 

Jules Calvin Ladenheim, "The Doctors' Mob 

of 1788," JOllrnal of the History 0/ l\1edicine 

5 (1950): 23,24-25,29-35; William Dosite 

Postell , "Medical Education and Medical 

Schools in Colonial America," International 

Record of Medicine 171 (1958): 366-67; 

Norwood, Medical Education, pp. 6, 37, 38, 

39, 42, 46; Walsh, Medicine in New York, 

p. 47; D. J. D'Elia. "Dr. Benjamin Rush and 

the American Medical Revolution," Proceed~ 

ings 0/ the American Philosophical Society 
Notes to Chapter 2 223 

110 (1966): 227; Nathan Smith Davis, COIItributions to the History 0/ Medical Educalion and Medical IIlSfilWiolls ill the United 

States 0/ America 1776-1876 (Washington: 

Government Printing Office, 1877), p. 12; 

Richard Hingston Fox, Dr. Jolm Fothergill 

and His Friends, Chapters ;11 Eighteellih Celltury Life (London : Macmillan and Co., 

1919), pp. 367-68. 

66. John Morgan, "A Discourse Upon the 

Institution of Medical Schools in America," in 

Publicalions oj the Tn.flill/le of the History of 

Medicine (orig. printed in Philadelphia by William Bradford, 1765, reprinted facsimile from 

first ed . with introduction by Abraham Flexner; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1937) , 

2: 16-17, 30-32; Norwood, Medical EdllClltiOIl , pp. 43--44, 67, 69-70. 

67. Middleton, Medical Discourse, p. 68; 

Butterfield, Letters of Rush, 1: 31 n; Brooke 

Hindle, The Pursuit 0/ Science ill Revolutionary 

America, 1735-1 789 (Chapel Hill: University 

of North Carolina Press, 1956) , pp. 61, 111-

12; Stephen Wickes, His/ory oj Medicine if! 

New Jersey, lIIId oj Its Medical Men From the 

Selllement oj the Province to A.D. 1800 

(Newark: Dennis, 1879) , p. 53; John D. 

Comrie, History of Scoltish Medicine , 2d cd., 

2 vols. (London: Bailliere, Tindall, & Cox, 

1932), 2: 441; Bick, "French Influence," pp. 

508-9. 

68. Davis, History of Medical Education, 

pp. 20- 2 1; Norwood, Medicaf Educa/ioll, pp. 

57, 58; Miller, "Medical Schools," p. 523; 

Duncan, Medical Mell. pp. 17- 18; Middleton, 

"Morgan," p. 14; James E. Gibson, Dr. 

Bodo alto and Ille Medical Backgrollnd of 

the American Revolution (Baltimore : Charles 

C Thomas, 1937), pp. 48--49 ; Jones, Works, 

pp. 11 - 12; Hindle, Science, p. 110; Corner, 

RIISh, p. 131. 

69. Duncan, Medical Mell, pp. 18-19; 

Courtney Robert Hall , "The Beginnings of 

American Military Medicine," Annals of Medical History, 3d ser. 4 (1942) : 122-23; Cantlie, 

History, I: 102, 145, 147 ; Gore, Story, pp. 94-

95, 104, 105; Pringle, Ob,../,vatiollS, pp. 131 -

32; Monro. All Accollnt, pp. 361-64; Lind, 

An Essay, p. 165; Nicholas Senn, "The Evolution of the Mi litary Surgeon," Surgery, 

Gynecology alld Obstetrics 8 (1909) : 394; 

Whitfield Jenks Bell, Jr., Jolm Morgan, Com;-

nelllal Doctor (Philadelphia: University of 

Pennsylvania Press, 1965), pp. 31-32, 42; 

Billroth, "Gunshot Wounds," pp. 239--40. 

CHAPTER 2 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, this chapter is 

based On these secondary sources: P. M. Ashburn, A History of the Medical D epartment 

oj the United Slates Army (Boston : Houghton 

Mimin Co., 1929); Harvey E. Brown, The 

Medical Department of tile United States 

Army From 1775 to 1873 (Washington: The 

Surgeon General's Office, 1873) ; Duncan, 

Medical Men; Fielding H. Garrison, "Notes 

on the History of Mi litary Medicine," reprinted from Military Surgeon, vols. 49-5 I, 

1921-22 (Washington: Association of Military 

Surgeons, 1922) ; Gibson, Otto; Louis Clinton 

Hatch, The At/ministration of the American 

Re volutionary Army, Harvard Historical 

Studies, vol. 10 (New York: Lenox Hill 

l'ubl. & Dist. Co., 1904); Edga r Erskine 

Hume, Victories of Army Medicille : Scielltific 

Accomplishments of the Medical Department 

of the United States Army (Philadelphia: J. 

B. Lippincott Co., 1943) ; James M. Phalen, 

Chiefs of the Medical Department, United 

States Army, 1775-1940, Army Medical Bulletin No. 52 (Carlisle Barracks, Pa. : Medical 

Field Service School, April 1940); Erna 

Risch, Quartermaster Support of the Army: 

A History 0/ the Corps, 1775-1939 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1962): 

Charles Smart, "Medical Department, U.S. 

Army," Joumal oj Military Service Institute 

14 (May 1893): 692- 708; Oliver Lyman 

Spaulding, The Ullited States Army ill War and 

Peace (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 

1937); Russell F. Weigley, History 0/ the 

Ulliled States Army (New York: Macmillan 

Co., 1967). 

2. Washington to the President of Congress, 

20 Jul 1775, in John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The 

Writings of George Washingtoll From the 

Original Mamucript Sources, 1745-1799. 39 

vols. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1931 --44),3: 350. 

3. Worthington Chauncey Ford, Gaillard 

Hunt, and others, eds., Jourtlals of the Comi-
224 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTM ENT , 1775 - 1818 

nental Congress, 34 voIs. (Washington: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 1904-37) , 2: 

209. 

4. Ford, Journals 0/ the Colltinellfai COIlgress, 2: 191, quote from p. 250; 4: 344; 5: 

636, 673; 6: 1006, 1065 ; 7: 13, 44; Medical 

Committee to George Washington, 13 Feb 

1777, in Edmund Cody Burnett, ed., Leiters 

oj Members oj the COn/inemal Congress, 8 

vols. (Washington: Carnegie Institution of 

Washington, 1921-36), 2 : 249; Gibson, OUo, 

p. 109; Jennings Bryan Sanders, Evo/wiDn oj 

ExeclItive Departments oj the Continental 

Congress (Glollcester, M·ass.: Peter Smith, 

1971 reprint 01 1935 edition), p. 7. 

5. Ford, Journals 0/ the COlltinental Congress, 7: 193. A number of other committees 

of the Continental Congress became directly 

or indirectly involved in the affairs of the 

Hospital Department. Among them were the 

so-called Secret Committee and two appointed 

at different times to hear John Morgan's de~ 

fense of his own conduct as the second 

director and his charges against his successor, 

William Shippen, and another formed in February 1778 alter Rush attacked Shippen. Ford, 

Journah 0/ the COlltinetltal Congress, 7: 206, 

219,225; 8: 626; Bell, Morgan, pp. 211-12, 

219; Corner, Rush, p. 136. 

6. George B. Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies 

in the American Revolutioll, U.S. National 

Museum Bulletin 225 (Washington: Smith~ 

sonian Institution, 1961), pp. 121-22; Ford, 

JOllmals 0/ the Continental Congress, 3: 26 t; 

5: 528; 6: 990; 17: 708; Claude Halstead Van 

Tyne, Tile War o/Independence, 2 vots. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1929),2: 284. 

7. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 2: 211. 

8. William Frederick Norwood , "The Enigma of Dr. Benjamin Church, A High-Level 

Scandal in the American Colonial Army Medical Service," Medical Arts and Sciences 10 

(1956): 82; Church to Samuel Adams, 23 Aug 

1775 in Allen French, General Gage's l,,~ 

formers (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan 

Press, 1932), pp. 173- 75; John Sullivan to 

John Langdon and Josiah Bartlett, 4 Sep 1775, 

in John Sullivan, Letters and Papers of Major 

General John Sullivan, 1771-1777, 3 vols., 

Collections of New Hampshire Historical 

SOCiety (Concord: New Hampshire Historical 

Society, 1930), 1: 82- 83. 

9. Norwood, "Church," p. 82; Howard 

Lewis Applegate, ''The American Revolutionary War Hospital Department," Military 

Medicine 126 (1961): 296; Robert Jackson, 

A System 0/ A rrallgemellt and Disc;'plille lor 

the Medical Departmellt 0/ Armies (London: 

John Murray, 1805), p. 59; Edwin P. Wolle, 

"The Genesis of the Medical Department of 

the United States Army," Bulletin 0/ 'he New 

York Academy 0/ Medicine, 2d sec. 5 

( 1929): 829-30. 

10. General Orders, 7 Sep 1775, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 3: 480-81, quote lrom p. 481; 

Church to Samuel Adams, 23 Aug 1775, 

French, Gage, pp. 174-75. 

11. General Orders, 7 Sep 1775, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 3: 481 . 

12. Quote from Sullivan to John Langdon 

and Josiah Bartlett, Sullivan, Leiters, t: 82; 

Petition to Sullivan, 1775, Sullivan, Letters, 

1: 84. 

13. Ford, Journals 0/ the COlllifl elllal Congress, 2: 249-50, quote from p. 249. 

14. Washington's Orders, 14 and 18 Sep 

1775, and Horatio Gates to Church, 24 Sep 

1775, in Peter Force, cd., American Archives: 

Fourth and Fi/th Series, Cofltaininc a DOCllmentary History 0/ the United States 0/ 

America From March 7, 1774, to the Definitive Treaty 0/ Peace With Greal Britain, 

September 3, 1783, 9 vols. (Washington: M. 

St. Clair Clarke and Peter Force, 1848- 53), 

3: 769, 770, quote from Washington's Orders, 

30 Sep 1775, pp. 857- 58; General Orders, 28 

Sep 1775, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 3: 524. 

15. Quote from James Warren to John 

Adams, 1 Oct 1775, in Warren-Adams Letters, 

Being Chiefly a Correspondence AmOng John 

Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Warren, 

2 vols., Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 5th ser. 72 (1917), 73 (1925), vol. 

1, p. 121; Henry Ward to Gen Nathanael 

Greene, 26 Sep 1775, Force, American 

Archives, 4th sec. 3: 809; Washington to the 

President of Congress, 5 Oct 1775, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 4 : 9- 11; Norwood, "Church," 

pp. 83-84. 

16. Quote from JQhn Adams to James Warren, 18 Oct 1775, Burnett, Letters, 1: 234; 
Notes to Chapter 2 225 

Carl Van Doren, Secret History 0/ the American Revolution . . . (New York: Viking Press, 

1941), pp. 19, 21; John Adams to Abigail 

Adams, 13 Oct 1775, in John Adams, Letters 

of Johll Adams Addressed 10 His Wife, ed. 

by Charles Francis Adams, 2 vats. (Boston: 

Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1841) , 

1: 65-66; Council of War, Cambridge, 4 

Oct 1775, and Massachusetts House of Representatives, 28 Oct 1775, Force, American 

Archives, 4th ser. 3: 958, 1479n-83n, 1485-

86; Samuel Adams to J ames Warren, 13 Oct 

1775, and James Warren to Samuel Adams, 

26 Oct 1775, Warren-Adams Letters, I: 141-

42; 2: 424. 

17. Quote from Council of War, 4 Oct 

1775, Force, American Archives, 4th sec. 

3: 958, 1159-60; General Orders, 3 Oct 1775, 

and Washington to the President of Congress, 

5 Oct 1775 , Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4: 2, 

9-11; Norwood, "Church," pp. 85-86, 87. 

18. Quote from John Adams to Benjamin 

Kent, 22 Jun 1776, Burnett, Leiters, I: 502; 

Norwood, "Church," pp. 85-86, 88-89; Edward Alfred Jones, The Loyalists of Massac/wselts: Their Memorials, Pelilions, and Claims 

(Baltimore: Genealogical Pub!. Co., 1969), 

p. 87; Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, 15 

Nov 1775, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4: 91; 

Ford, Journals 0/ the Cofltinemal Congress, 

3: 294-95, 4: 352; Massachusetts House of 

Representatives, 16 Oct 1775, 26 Oct 1775, 

and 11 Nov 1775 , and Connecticut Committee 

of Safety, 22 Nov 1775, Force, American 

Archives, 4th ser. 3: 1464, 1477, 1517-18, 

1636-37 ; John Hancock to Massachusetts 

Council,3 Oct 1777, Burnett, Lellers, 2: 506; 

James Warren to John Adams, 5 Jun 1776, 

Warrell-Adams Lellers, I : 254-55. 

19. Washington to Richard Henry Lee, 8 

Nov 1775, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4: 76; 

John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., The Diaries of George 

Washington, 1748-1799, 4 vols. (Boston: 

Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925), 2: 195; John 

Adams to James Warren, 18 Oct 1775, Burnett, Leiters, I: 234. 

20. John Adams to James Warren, 25 Oct 

1775, Warren-Adams Leiters, 1: 165. 

21. Bell, Morgall, p. 77. 

22. Barnabas Binney to Solomon Drowne, 

quoted in Gibson, 0110, p. 261. 

23. Bell, Morgall, pp. 143, 179. 

24. Quote from Washington to Joseph Reed, 

20 Nov 1775, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 4: 

104-5; James E. Gibson, "The Role of Disease in the 70,000 Casualties in the American 

Revolutionary Army/' Transactions and 

Studies of tire College of Physicians of Phila·· 

delphia, 4th ser. 17 (1949): 122; Bell, Morgall, pp. 180-81, 214; Solomon Drowne, 

"Original Letters," Pennsylvania Magazine 0/ 

History alld Biography 5 (1881): 112. 

25. John Morgan to Washington, quoted in 

Gibson, 0110, pp. 117-18; Francis R. Packard, 

"Editorial: Washington and the Medical Affairs of the Revolution," Annals of Medical 

His/ory, n.S. 4 (1932): 307-8; Frederick E. 

Brasch, "The Royal Society of London and 

Its Influence Upon Scientific Thought in the 

American Colonies," Scientific MOlllhly 33 

(1931): 459. 

26. Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 113 ; 

Washington to the President of Congress, 31 

Dec 1775, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4: 199; 

Bell, Morgall, pp. 183. 214-15; Packard, 

"Editorial," p. 310. 

27. Quote from Force, American Archives, 

4th ser. 6: 1714n-15n; Packard, "Editorial," 

pp. 307-8; Bell, Morgall, pp. 184-85, 192. 

28. General Orders, 3 Jul 1776, Regulations 

Agreed Upon Betwixt the Director-General of 

the American Hospital and the Regimental 

Surgeons and Mates at New-York, and Morgan to Washington, 18 Ju1 1776, Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 1271 ; 5th ser. 1: 

108-9, 416; Bell, Morgan, pp. 192, 194; 

Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, 

4: 188, 243, 332; 5: 568, 569; Griffenhagen, 

Drug Supplies, pp. 112-13. 

29. Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, 5: 568, 569, 570; Bell, Morgan, p. 199. 

30. Quote from Col W. Smallwood to 

Maryland Council of Safety, Oct 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 5th ser. 2: 1100; Ford, 

Journals of the Continental Congress, 5: 857, 

858; Bell, Morgall, p. 185. 

31. General Orders, 2 Aug 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 5: 366, quote from 

Washington to the President of Congress, 24 

Sep 1776, 6: 113; John Morgan, A Vindication of His Public Character . .. (Boston: 

Powars and Willis, 1777), xviii; Gen Na-
226 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

thanael Greene to Iohn Hancock, 10 Oct 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 5th ser. 2: 974. 

32. Ford, }oum ais oj the Continental COII -

gress, 4: 242-43; 5: 837. 

33. Washington to the President of Congress, 26 Apr 1776, Fitzpat rick, Washi1lg ton . 

4 : 52 1; Stri nger to Washington , 10 May 1776, 

and Washington to Congress, 15 May 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th sec. 4: 418; 6: 

469. 

34. Morgan to Samuel Adams, 25 JUIl 

1776, Force, American A rchives, 4th sec. 6 : 

1069-70, quote from 1069; Force, American 

Archives, 4th sec. 6: 17 1411. 

35. Horatio Gates to Egbert Benson, 22 Aug 

1776, with copy to Morgan, and General 

Orders, General Gates, 31 Aug 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 5th seT. 1: 1114, 1271, 

quote from Morgan to the President of Congress, 12 Aug 1776, I : 92 1; Bell , Morgan, 

p. 193; Ford, Journals 01 the Contineflfai 

Congress, 5: 673, 843. 

36. Virginia Convention, 2 1 May 1776, Virginia Convention, 15 lun 1776, and Continental Congress, 18 May 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 1533, 1572-73, 

1673. 

37. Thomas Heyward, Ir., to Morgan, 4 

Sep 1776, Burnett, Letters, 2: 69, quote from 

Oliver Wolcott to Matthew Griswold, 18 Nov 

1776, 2: 158. 

38. Quote from Congress to Sh ippen, 16 lui 

1776, quoted in Gibson, 0 1t0, p. 195 ; Bell, 

Morgan, p. 220; Caspar Wistar, Ell/ogium 0 11 

Dr. William Shippen (Philadelphia: Thomas 

Dobson and Son, 1818), pp. 9-12, 15-16; 

Beli , "Students," p. 3; Ford, Journals 0/ the 

Continental Congress, 5: 562; Middleton, 

"Shippen," p. 539. 

39. Ford, Jouma/s oj the COlllinental Congress, 6: 857-58, 989, quote from 857- 58; 

Shippen to Washington, 20 Oct 1776, and 

Shippen to the President of Congress, 9 Nov 

1776, Force, American Archives, 5th ser. 2: 

1280; 3: 6 18; Washington to Shippen, 3 Nov 

1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 6: 239. 

40. Washington to Iohn Morgan, 6 Ian 

1779, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 13 : 482 ; Morgan, Vindication, xvii- xviii; Ford, Journals oj 

the COlltinelllal Congress, 6: 99 1; Gen Nathanael Greene to the President of Congress, 16 

Dec 1776, Shippen to Lee, 17 Dec 1776, and 

Counc il of Safety to the President of Congress, 

22 D ec 1776, Force, American Archives, 5th 

ser. 3: 1246, 1259, 1358. 

41. Ford, Journals oj the COlJlinelltal COIIgress, 7: 24. 

42. Washington to Morgan, 6 Jan 1779, 

Fitzpat rick, Washingtoll , 13: 48 1, quotes from 

Washington to Morgan, 18 Jan 1777, and to 

President of Congress, 26 Ian 1777,7: 28, 64. 

43. Samuel Adams to John Adams, 9 Jan 

1777, Burnett, Leiters, 2: 2 11 ,212. 

44. Morgan, Vindication, pp. v, xviii, quote 

from pp. xxv-xxvi; Be ll, Morgan, pp. 207, 

2 14-1 5, 2 16, 217-18; Pennsylvania Packet, I 

lui 1779. 

45. Ford, Journals oj the COlJlillental Congress, 14: 724, quote from 8: 626; Statement 

of Henry Laurens, 3 Jun 1779, Burnett, Letters, 4 : 247-48; Bell, Morgan, pp. 2 13-14, 

2 19. 

46. Rush to Lee, 14 I an 1777, Butterfield, 

Lefl ers 0/ Rush, 1: 129; Corner, Rush, p. 13 1. 

47. Washington to Cochran, 20 I an 1777, to 

the President of Congress, 14 Feb 1777 and 

14 Mar 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 7: 45, 

149-50, 287-88, Washington to Shippen, 27 

Ian 1777, quoted in Gibson, Olto, p. 134; 

Ford, Journals oj the Continental COllgress, 

7: 162. 

48. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 7: 178, 193, 199-200, 206, 2 19, 225; 

Washington to Ioh n Warren, 23 Feb 1777. 

quoted in Gibson, 0110, p. 139. 

49. See Appendix D for the complete text 

of the law of 7-8 April and also Corner, 

nush, p. 13 1; Ford, Journals 0/ the COlltilIelllal COllgress, 7 : 162, 198-99. 

50. Adams, Letters to His Wife, I : 209; 

Roger Sherman to Jonathan Trumbull, 17 Apr 

1777, Burnett, Letters, 2: 329; Ford, Joumals 

oj the Continental Congress, 7: 178; Matthew 

Thornton to Ionathan Potts, 12 Apr 1777, 

Burnett, Lel/ers, 2: 320n- 21n; John Hancock 

to Washington, 9 Apr 1777, in Jared Sparks, 

ed., Correspondence oj the American Revolut;'on: Being Leiters 01 Eminent Men to George 

WashiflglOfI, From the Time 0/ His Taking 

Command 0/ the Army to the End of His 

Presidency, 4 vols. (Boston : Little, Brown and 

Co., 1853), 1: 364. 
Notes to Chapter 2 227 

51. Ford, !oumals 0/ the Continental Congress, 7: 162,257; 18: 878; William Shippen, 

"Text of Will iam Shippen's First Draft of a 

Plan for the Organization o[ the Military Hospital During the Revolution," Annals 0/ Medica/ Hislory 1(1 917-18): 176. 

52. Ford, JOllmals 01 the Continental Congress, 7 : 289-90. 

53. Quoted in Gibson, Otto, p. 138; Letter 

of 13 Apr 1777, Adams, Letters 10 His Wife, 

I : 213; Ford, JOllrnals 0/ the Continental Congress, 7: 253-54; Washington to the President 

of Congress, 14 Feb 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 7: 149; Butterfield, Letters of Rush, 

I: 121n. 

54. Wistar, Shippell , pp. 9-13, 28, 31 , 

quotes from pp. 15- 16, 36; Bell , Morgall, 

p. 220; Whipple, EVO/lIlioll, p. II; Bell, 

"Students," p. 3; Betsy Copping Corner, William Shippen, Jr.: Pioneer ill American Medical 

Education (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 195 1) , pp. 117- 18, 122, 123. 

55. Bell, M orgall, p. 220; Benedict Arnold, 

The Present State 0/ the American Rebel 

Army, Nal'Y and Finances, Transmitted to the 

British Governmellt, October 1780, ed. by Paul 

Leicester Ford (Brooklyn: Historical Printing 

Club, 189 1) , p. 10; Corner, Shippell, p. 112; 

Wistar. Shippen, p. 29. 

56. Washington to John Augustine Washington, 10 J un 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washingtolt, 

12: 43. 

57. Quote from letter of 13 Apr 1777, 

Adams, Letters 10 His Wife, I: 2 12- 13. 

58. Griffenhagen, Drug SlIpplies, pp. 121-

22. 

59. Washington to the President of Congress, 17 Nov 1777, and Washington to Gov 

William Livingston, 3 1 Dec 1777, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, to: 76, 233; Ford, Joumals 01 

the CominelllaJ Congress, 8: 608-9; 10: 94 1; 

John W. Jordan, "The Military Hospitals at 

Bethlehem and Lititz During the Revolution," 

Pennsylvania Magazine oj History and Biography 20 (1896): 147. 

60. Washington to Gov William Livingston, 

31 Dec 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 10: 

233. 

61. Corn'er, RIISh, p. 133, quote from p. 

13 5; Ford, JOllmals oj the Continental Congress, 10: 23. 

62. John Witherspoon to William Churchill 

Houston, 27 Jan 1778, James Lovell to John 

Langdon, 8 Feb 1778, and Henry Laurens to 

the Governor of Rhode Island, 3 J an 1778, 

Burnett. Leiters 3: 59, 97; 13: 11; Rush to 

John Adams, 2 1 Oct 1777, Rush to John 

Adams, 31 Oct 1777, and Rush to William 

Duer,8 Dec 1777, Butterfield, Letters oj Rush, 

I: 159- 62, 165, 171 , 172-73; Ford , JOllrna/s 

0/ the Continelltal Congress, 10: 9, 23, 93, 

128, 129; Applegate, "Hospital Department," 

pp. 301 - 2; Van Tyne, War, 2: 284; Potts to 

Medical Committee, 10 Apr 1779, in Washington, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Papers of Jonathan Potts. 

63 . Burnett, Letters, 5: 287-88, quote from 

Committee at Headquarters to President of 

Congress, 10 May 1780,5: 134. 

64. Cochran to Jonathan Potts, 18 Mar 

1780, in Thornton Chard, "Excerpts From the 

Private 10urnal of Doctor John Cochran," 

Ne .. Y ork Hislory 42 ( 1944) : 375. 

65. General Orders of 2 Jan, 20 Aug 1778, 

26 Mar, 6 May, 16 Jun, 23 Dec 1780, Washington to Committee of Conference, 8 Jan 

1779, Fitzpatrick. Washington, 10: 248; 12: 

338; 13 : 490; 18: 160, 337-38; 19: 17- 18; 

2 1: 9, quote from Washington to Committee 

of Congress, 29 Jan 1778, 10: 394. 

66. Ford, Journals 0/ the Contil/elllal Congress, 8 : 626. It is difficult to be precise about 

the position of Rickman in the years 1776-

80. He functioned independently of the Director of the Hospital Department and his principal "territory" during this period was Virgini a. It appears that he was never officially 

designated Deputy Director General for the 

Southern Department. Nevertheless, in July 

1780, Gen. Horatio Gates referred to Rickman as the "Director of the Hospitals in the 

Southern Department" (Gates to D irector of 

the Hospitals in the Southern Department, 19 

Jut 17 80, in Horatio Gates, "Letters of General Gates on the Southern Campaign," Magazill e oj American History 5 [1880]: 284) 

and as "Director to the General Hospital of 

the Southern Army," (Gates to President of 

the Board of War, Gates, "Letters," p. 288), 

which suggests that General Gates considered 

Rickman's authority to extend beyond Virginia. In February 1781, furthermore, in a 
228 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

communication from the Continental Congress 

to Thomas Bond, Rickman was referred to as 

the "late deputy director" (Ford, Journals 0/ 

the COlJlinelltai Congress, 19: 118). One can 

only conclude that in this instance, as in 

others, titles were used casually and the limits 

of the authority of the individual officer not 

always clearly marked. 

67. The terms used in the legislation and 

other documents of the period are often confusing to the modern reader. It should be 

borne in mind that although Army physicians 

were repeatedly referred to as "medical of· 

fleers" in legislation concerning the Hospital 

Department, they had no rank in the period 

1775-1818. 

68. Washington to Maj Gen Alexander 

McDougall, 5 Apr 1779, and Washington to 

Dr. Isaac Foster, 28 Mar 1780, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 14: 339; 18: 174; Ford, Journals 

o/Ihe COlllinefllal Congress, 15: 1214, 1216, 

1294-96; 18: 887. 

69. Burnett, Leiters, 5: 112n, also Nathaniel 

Scudder to Nathaniel Peabody, 6 Dec 1779, 

and Committee at Headquarters to President 

of Congress, 18 Jul 1780, 4: 533; 5: 275; 

Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 

16: 10-12; 19: 68-69; Washington to John 

Cochran, 6 Nov 1780, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 

20: 307; William T. R. Saffell, Records 01 

the Revolutionary War . .. (New York: 

Pudney & Russell, 1859), pp. 402-3. 

70. Ford, Journals 0/ tir e Cominental Congress, 10: 101; 14: 1,733; Washington to Morgan,5 Jan 1779, to Committee of Conference, 

8 Jan 1779, and to Council of General Officers, 

26 Jul 1779, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 13 : 

479, 489; 15: 488-89; James Lovell to John 

Langdon, 8 Feb 1777, Richard Henry Lee to 

Shippen, 18 Apr 1779, and John Fell Diary, 

entry for 16 Apr 1779, Burnett, Letters, 3: 

77; 4: 159, 163; Rush to John Adams, 8 

Feb 1778, Rush to Daniel Roberdeau, 9 Mar 

1778, and Rush to John Adams, 12 Feb 1812, 

Butterfield, Lellers, 1: 199-200, 204-7; 2 : 

1122. 

71. Shippen to Lee, 16 Apr 1780, and 

Cochran to Jonathan Potts, 18 Mar 1780, 

quoted in Gibson, OtlO, pp. 253-54, 256. 

72. Quoted in Gibson, 0110, p. 275; Bell, 

Morgan, p. 227. 

73. Quoted in Bell, "Students," p. 7; Rush 

to John Adams, 8 Aug 1777, and Richard 

Peters to Secretary of State Pickering, 7 Oct 

1797, Butterfield, Lellers, I: 153; 2: 1210. 

74. Pennsylvania Packet, 9 Dec 1780. 

75. Bell, Morgan , pp. 229, 230, 233. 

76. Quotes from Verdict of Court-Martial, 

27 Jun 1780, quoted in Gibson, 0110, pp. 

263-64; Ford, Journals 0/ the COlllinellwi Congress, 17 : 744-45. 

77. Penllsylvania Packet, 26 Jun 1779, 18 

Nov 1780, 25 Nov 1780, 6 Dec 1780, 9 

Dec 1780; Rush to John Adams, 8 Aug 1777, 

Rush to William Duer, 8 Dec 1777, Rush to 

Morgan, Jan 1778, and Rush to John Adams, 

12 Feb 1812, Butterfield, Leller", I: 153, 

173,226;2: 1121. 

78. Quoted in Ford, Journals 0/ the COlllinelltal Congress, 17 : 638 ; Washington to President of Congress, 15 Jul 1780, quoted in Gibson, 0110, p. 264. 

79. Corner, Rush, p. 137. 

80. John Mathews to Washington, 15 Sep 

1780, Burnett, Lellers, 5: 372-73; Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 16: 708; 

17: 879-88, 908. 

81. John Mathews to Washington. 15 Sep 

1780, Burnett, Lellers, 5: 372-73; Joseph 

Jones to Washington, 2 Oct 1780, in Joseph 

Jones, Letters 0/ Joseph Jones 0/ Virginia, 

1777-1787, ed. by Worthington Chauncey 

Ford (New York: New York Times, 1971 

reprint of 1889 edition, 1971), pp. 32-33; 

Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 

18: 878,885,887-88. 

82. Ford, Journals 0/ the COlllinelltal Congress, 18: 908-10; Washington to Joseph 

Jones, 9 Sep 1780, and General Orders, 19 

Oct 1780, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 20: 18-

19, 218; Jones to Washington, 2 Oct 1780, 

and to Madison, 17 Oct 1780, Jones, Letters, 

pp. 32-33, 36. 

83. Ford, Journais 0/ the Contjnelllai Congress, 19: 15, quote from 18: 1126; William 

Shippen to General Washington, 4 Jan 1781, 

in Washington, Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Papers of George Washington. 

84. Quoted in James Thacher, A Military 

Journal During the American Revo!lIIionary 

War, From 177510 1783 ... , 2d ed. (Boston: 

Cottons & Barnard, 1827), p. 252; Ford, 
NOles 10 Chapler 2 229 

Journals 0/ the Conlinentai Congress, 19: 48, 

56, 65 ; John Cochrane, "Medical Department 

of the Revolutionary Army," M agazine 0/ 

American History 12 (1884): 258. 

85. Quote from Cochran to Dr. Peter Turner, 25 Mar 1781, and Cochran to James 

Craik, 26 Mar 1781, Cochrane, "Medical Department," pp. 245, 246. 

86. Ford, Journals 0/ the Colltinental Congress, 19 : 68-69. 

87. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 19 : 292-94; 20: 506. 

88. Proceedings of the Board of War, Burnett, Lellers, 6: 146-47; Ford, Journals 01 

the Continental Congress, 20 : 570. 

89. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental COIlgress, 21: 1093; 22 : 4-6. 

90. Ford, Journals 0/ Ihe Continental Congress, 23: 408-12, 645; General Orders of 6 

Aug 1782, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 24: 479. 

9 1. Cochrane, "Medical Department," p. 

252, quote from Cochran to the President 

of Congress, 24 May 1781 , p . 248; John 

Cochran to Thomas Bond , 1781 , in Morristown, N.J., Morristown Historical Park, John 

Cochran Letter Book, microfilm 5168; Ford, 

Journals 0/ the Continental Congress, 21: 

103; Cochran to Abraham Clark, 28 Feb 178 1 

and Apr 1781, Chard, "Cochran," pp. 366-67, 

369; Washington to Cochran, 12 Feb 1781, 

and to James and Horace Hooker, 25 Feb 

1781, Filzpatrick, Washington, 2 1: 217, 292-

93. 

92. Fitzpatrick, WaslliJlcton, 24: 489D; 

Washington to President of Congress, 15 Dec 

178 1, 23: 392, quote from Washington to 

Gov John Hancock, 14 Jul 178 1, 22 : 380; 

Cochran to John Warren, 30 Jun 17 8 1, Chard, 

"Cochran," p. 370; Victor Leroy Johnson, 

"Robert Morris and the Provisioning of the 

American Army During the Campaign of 

178 1," Pennsylvania History 5 (1939): 11; 

Pennsylvania Packet, 14 Nov 1780, p. 2. 

93. Ltrs, Robert Morris to Thomas Bond, 

19 Feb 1782 and 19 Jun 1783, Xeroxes of 

letters held by Library of Congress, obtained 

from Miss Elizabeth Thomson. 

94. Cochrane, "Medical Department," p. 

251. 

95. Cochran to George Campbell and to 

Abraham Clark, 2 and 30 Apr, 8 May 1781, 

quote from Cochran to Robert Morris, 26 

Jul 178 1, Chard, "Cochran," pp. 368-69, 372; 

Cochrane, "Medical Department," p. 252; 

Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Concress, 

21: 1072-73 ; John Cochran to Peter Turner, 

25 Mar 1781, Cochran Letter Book. 

96. Cochrane, "Medical Department," p. 

254; Ford, JOllrnals 0/ the Continelllal COIIgress. 2 1: 8 1-82; John Cochran to Samuel 

Huntington, 24 May 1782, Cochran Letter 

Book. 

97. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental Corr. 

gress, 29: 208; Saffell, Records, pp. 406-7. 

98. Quote from Cochran to Hagen, 8 May 

1781, Chard, "Cochran," p. 370. 

99. Quote from Cochran to Hagen, 8 May 

1781, Chard , "Cochran," p. 370; John Cochran to Board of War, 4 Jul 1781, and to 

Robert Morris, 26 Jul 178 1, Cochran Letter 

Book; Washington to Maj Oen William Heath, 

1 Aug 1781 , and Washington to the Board of 

War, 5 Aug 178 1, Fitzpatrick, Washincton, 

22 : 441, 463; Ford, Journals 0/ the ContiIlental Congress, 20: 625; 2 1: 979. 

100. Ford, JOllrnals 0/ the Contil/elllal COl/-

gress, 21: 980. 

101. Ford, JOllrnals 0/ the Continental Congress, 22: 7; The President of Congress to 

Cochran, 25 Sep 178 1, Burnett, Lel/er .. , 6: 

225. 

102. Washington's letters to Secretary of 

War, 16 Aug 1782, to Sir Guy Carleton, 18 

Aug 1782, to Heath and Knox, 23 Sep 1782, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington, 25: 26, 38, 196. 

103. Richard Peters, by order to John 

Cochran, 10 Oct 178 1, Cochran Letler Book, 

with quote from Cochran to Binney, 22 Oct 

178 1; Cochran to President of Congress, 10 

Oct 1781, to James Craik, 10 Oct 178 1, and 

Cochran to John Warren, 10 Oct 1781 , Cha rd, 

"Cochran," pp. 363- 64, 365, 372; Cochran to 

Barnabas Binney, 22 Oct 1781 , Pennsylvania 

Magazine of History and Biography 5 (1881): 

230. 

104. John Cochran to Barnabas Binney, 22 

Oct 1781, and Cochran to John Warren, 22 

Feb 1781, Cochran Leiter Book; Cochran to 

Warren, 10 Oct 178 1, Chard, "Cochran," 

p.372. 

105. Report of Nov 1782, Cochran to Binney, 22 Oct 1781 , and Cochran to Richard 
230 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775-1818 

Peters, 20 Oct 1781, Cochran Letter Book; 

Cochran to Warren, 10 Oct 1781, Chard, 

"Cochran," p. 372. 

106. Quoted in Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, 25: 740; John C. Fitzpatrick, 

The Spirit 01 the Revolution (Boston: Houghton Mitllin Co., 1924), p. 211. 

107. Jones, Works, pp. 152-54. 

CHAPTER 3 

1. For the location of towns in the vicinity 

of Boston mentioned in the text, see Map 1. 

V nless otherwise indicated, the account of 

the Boston area is based upon these sources: 

Bell, Morgan; Brown, Medical Department; 

Cash, Medical Men; and Duncan, Medical 

Men. Except where otherwise indicated, statistics throughout this and subsequent chapters 

are based on Charles H. Lesser, ed., The 

Sinews 0/ independence: Monthly Strength 

Reports of 'he Continental Army (Chicago: 

University of Chicago Press, 1976). It should 

be noted, however, that, as Lesser himself 

points out, there arc many serious difficulties 

involved in any attempt to rely upon statistics concerning the rate of sickness in the 

Continental Army during the Revolution. Despite Washington's concern for the keeping of 

accurate records, care and precision with 

statistics were not generally characteristic of 

those submitting returns in this period, particularly before the winter of 1778-79, and the 

gathering of accurate figures was often impossible. Statistics obtained from different reports apparently covering the same units for 

the same period of time may, therefore, vary. 

A return of 29 June 1776 in Lesser, for example, lists strength and sickness statistics at 

variance with those cited in a strength report 

for the preceding day by Washington. as 

published in Fitzpatrick. Washington, 5: 19411. 

but the Fitzpatrick citation may not include 

all of the units included in the Lesser return. 

Attempts to use the returns published in 

Lesser in analyzing the work of the Hospital 

Department are complicated by the fact that 

the pertinent column headings appear somewhat ambiguous to the modern researcher; 

"sick present," used in the official army 

monthly reports, mayor may not include 

the figures for regimental and flying hospitals. 

while "sick absent" may include those in 

general hospitals. those sick or convalescent 

at home or in the care of civilians outside 

camp, and those who deserted after their 

discharge from these facilities but before returning to their units (see Fitzpatrick, Washington, 10: 526-27, for example). Hospital 

Department returns, on the other hand, often 

USe another ambiguous category, "sick in 

camp," or a similar term which, because of 

the manner in which it is used, clearly includes regimental and flying hospitals but may 

or may not include the sick of units stationed 

at some distance from the main body of the 

fOfmy. Figures given by the department's report are, with some exceptions, significantly 

smaller than those cited by Lesser, a situation which may reflect those inaccuracies in 

regimental returns sent directly to the Adjutant General which moved General Washington to angry comment in May 1778 

(Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 11 : 454--55). The 

number of officers sick. when available, is 

listed separately in Lesser, hut even when 

given, the figure is often partial, limited in 

many instances to the officers of the artillery. 

Percentages in this and following chapters 

concerning the Revolution have, therefore, 

been calculated from figures for the rank and 

file alone to establish a uniform basis for 

comparisons. 

Also consulted for the preceding paragraph 

were: Gibson, "Role of Disease"; and James 

Stevens, "Revolutionary Journal," Essex Institute Historical Collections 48 (1912): 53. 

2. Church to Samuel Adams, 23 Aug 1775, 

French, Gage, pp. 175-76. 

3. Quote from Morgan to Washington, 12 

Dec 1775, Force. American Archives, 4th 

ser. 4: 263; Church to Samuel Adams, 23 

Aug 1775, French, Gage, pp. 175-76. Most 

of the papers of the Board of War from the 

period of the American Revolution were destroyed in a fire on 8 November 1800 and 

the surviving records sustained further serious 

losses when the British looted the fireproof 

room which contained them in 1814. Washington, National Archives, Preliminary itlventories: War Department Collection 0/ 

Revolutionary War Records (Washington: 
Notes to Chapter 3 231 

N ational Archives and Records Service, 

General Services Administration, 1970), p. 1. 

4. Church to Samuel Adams, 23 Aug 

1775, F rench, Gage, pp. 176-77; Norwood, 

"Church," p. 82; John Warren to John Hancock, Oct 1775, Duncan, Medical Men, p. 67; 

Return of the Sick & Wounded in the General 

Hospital at Cambridge & Roxbury, 25 Nov2 Dec 1775, in Washingto n, National Archives, 

War Department Collection of Revolutionary 

War Records, Record Group 93, Revolutionary War Rolls 1775-83, Microfilm Publication M246. Miscellaneous, Hospital Department, roll 135, folder 3- 1, item 15. 

5. Quote from General Orders, 29 Aug 

1775, in Washington, National Archives, War 

Department Collection of Revolutionary War 

Records, Record Group 93, Miscellaneous 

Numbered Records, 1775-84, series 6, Microfilm Publication M859, roll 2, frame 154; 

Fitzpatrick, Washington, 3: 439-40. 

6. Gordon, Aesculapius, p. 241; Returns of 

26 Nov-2 Dec 1775, RG 93, M246, folder 

3-1, item 15. 

7. Morgan to Washington, 12 Dec 1775, 

Duncan, Medical Men, p. 80. 

8. Morgan to Washington, 12 Dec 1775, 

Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 80; Returns of 16 

Dec 1775- 30 Mar 1776, RG 93, M246, roll 

135, folder 3-1 , items 17-27. 

9. Returns of 16 Dec 1775-30 Mar 1776, 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, items 

17-27. 

10. Quote from Morgan to Washington, 

12 Dec 1775, Force, American Archives, 4th 

sec. 4 : 263; Washington's letters during the 

period. Fitzpatrick. Washington, 4: 11 8, 145-

62 ; Robert H. Harrison to Council of 

Massachusetts, 3 Dec 1775 , Force, American 

Archives, 4th ser. 6 : 168; Massachusetts Provincial Congress, quoted in Duncan, Medical 

Men, p. 53. 

11. Thacher, Journal, p. 35; Morgan, Vindication, p. 3; Returns of 13 Jan, 30 Mar 1776, 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, items 

20-27. 

12. Thacher, Journal, pp. 45-46; Gibson, 

Olio, pp. 90, 93; General Orders, 25 Mar 

1776, Fitzpatrick, Washillgtoll, 4 : 430; Morgan, Recommendation. 

13 . Morgan to a Committee of the Massachusetts Assembly, 11 Apr 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 4th ser. 5: 859; 6: 1760; 

Ephraim Eliot, "Account of the Physicians of 

Boston," Proceedings 0/ the Massachusetts 

His/orical Society 6 ( 1863-64): 178; Morgan 

to WaShington, 22 Apr 1776, Force, American 

Archives, 4th ser. 5: 1025 ; Griffenhagen, Dmg 

Supplies, pp. 114, 11 5, 121- 22; Deposition of 

Dr. John Warren, 9 Apr 1776, in Henry 

Barton Dawson, Battles of the United States, 

2 vols. (New York: Johnson, Fry and Co .. 

1858),2: 97. 

14. Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies. pp. 112-

13, 11 5; Washington to Morgan, 3 Apr 1776, 

Duncan, Medical Men , p. 11 4; Morgan to 

Washington, 22 Apr 1776, Force, American 

Archives, 4th ser. 5: 1024; Gibson, Duo. 

p. 93; Morgan, Vindicatiol! , p. 4. 

15. General Orders, 4 Mar 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4: 368-69; Gibson. "Role 

of Disease," p. 122. 

16. Morgan, VindicaJicll, pp. 3-4; Charles 

Lee to President of Congress, 9 Feb 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 4 : 965; 

Washington to Morgan , 3 Apr 1776, and Morgan to Washington , 22 Apr 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 4th ser. 5: 783- 84. 1024. 

17. Unless otherwise indicated, the section 

on the Northern Department is based on the 

fo llowing sources: Brown, Medical Department,' Duncan, Medical Men,' Gibson. Otto; 

and Henry B. Carrington, Battles of the Americall Revolution. 1775-1781,' Histodcal and 

Military Crilicism With To pographical llIustratiOll, 6th ed., revised (New York : A. S. 

Barnes & Co., 1968). The preceding paragraph 

is also based on Gibson, "Role of Disease," 

p. 122; and Schuyler to Samuel Stringer, 27 

Aug 1775, Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 

3: 443. 

18. Ford, Joumals 0/ the Continental Congress, 2: 249-50; Schuyler to Stringer, 27 Aug 

1775, Force, American Archives. 4th ser. 3: 

443. 

19. Arnold to Washington, 27 Feb 1776, 

Force, American Archives. 4th ser. 4: 1513; 

Lewis Beebe, ]oumal 0/ Dr. Lewis Beebe 

(New York Times & Arno Press, 197 1) , pp. 

325-27; Kenneth Lewis Roberts, ed., March 

to Quebec: Journals 0/ the Members 0/ Arnold's Expedition (New York: Doubleday, 
232 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Doran & Co., 1938), pp. 121 , 195; John 

Codman, Arnold's Expedition 10 Quebec (New 

York: Macmillan Co., 1902) , pp. 163, 186. 

20. Arnold to Schuyler, 10 May 1776, and 

Washington's General Orders, 20 May 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 452, 

525; Gibson, "Role of Disease," p. 123; Beebe, 

Journal, p. 328; Arnold to Washington, 8 

May 1776, Maj Gen John Thomas to Washington, 8 May 1776, and Arnold to commissioners in Canada, 15 May 1776, Sparks, 

Correspondence, I: 194, 197-99, 516; Timothy Bedel to Brig Gen Arnold, 10 May 1776, 

RG 93, M859, roll 101, frame 168. 

21. Stringer to Washington, 10 May 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 417-18; 

Washington to Congress, 15 May 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 5 : 46; Ford, Journals 

01 the Continental Congress, 4: 378. 

22. Quote from Beebe, JOllrnal, p. 330; 

Ford, Journals oj the Continental Congress, 

4: 344; Potts to Continental Congress, 29 Apr 

1776, Gibson, 01t0, p. 105; Washington to 

President of Congress, 26 Apr 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 4 : 520-21. 

23. Schuyler to Washington, 22 May 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 586. 

24. Arnold to Schuyler, 13 Jun 1776, Morgan to Samuel Adams, 25 Jun 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 1039, 1069, 

quote from extract of letter from John Adams, 

26 Jun 1776,6: 1083; Gates to John Adams, 

24 Jun 1776, in Bernard Knollenberg, ed., 

"The Correspondence of John Adams and 

Horatio Gates," Proceedings 0/ the Massachuselts Historical Society 67 (1941-44): 145; 

Arnold to Washington, 25 Jun 1776, and 

Arnold to Schuyler, 6 Jun 1776, Sparks, 

Correspolldence, I: 237-38, 526; Bell, Morgan, p. 189. 

25. Quotes from Beebe, Journal, pp. 333, 

334, 335-36. 

26. Stringer to Potts, 7 Jul 1776, in Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 

Manuscript Department, Papers of Jonathan 

Potts, 1766--80, I: 70; Morgan to Samuel 

Adams, 26 Jun 1776, and Gates to Moses 

Morse, 12 Jul 1776, Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 1069-70; 5th ser. 1: 238; 

Beebe, Journal, p. 343; John Trumbull, Autobiography, Reminiscenses and Letlers oj John 

Trtlmbllll, From 1756 to 1841 (New Haven : 

B. L. Hamlen, 1841), p. 28; Ltr, Dr. Meyrich, 

1835, and Joho. Trumbull to Governor of 

Connecticut, Trumbull, Autobiography, pp. 

300, 304; Morgan, Vindication, pp. 50, 52; 

Ford, Journals oj the Continental Congress, 

5: 424; Washington to President of Congress, 

9 Jun 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 5: 111-

12; Griffenhagen, Drtlg Supplies, p. 118; 

Gibson, uRole of Disease," p. 124. 

27. Quote from Stringer to Gates, 24 Jul 

1776, Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 1: 

651; Beebe, Journal, p. 344; John Trumbull 

to Governor of Connecticut, 12 Jul 1776, 

Trumbull, Allfobiography, p. 302; Ltr, Lt 

Col Israel Shreve to Mary ShreVe>, 18 Jul 

1776, Shreve copybook in the family collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Simpson, 

Potomac, Maryland. 

28. Quote from Stringer to Potts, 7 Jul 

1776, Potts Papers, I : 70; Stringer to Gates, 

24 lui 1776, Force, American Archives, 5th 

ser. 1: 651-52; Return of the Sick of the 

General Hospital at Fort George From the 

12th to the 26th July 1776 Inclusive, RG 93, 

M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, item 53. 

29. Stringer to Gates, 24 Jul 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 5th sec. 1: 652. 

30. Morgan to Potts, 28 Jul 1776, Potts 

Papers, I: 77; Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, 

pp. 118-19; Morgan, Vindication, p. 20. 

31. Stringer to Potts, 2 Aug 1776, Potts to 

Morgan, 10 Aug 1776, and Stringer to Potts, 

7 Sep 1776, Potts Papers, 1: 84, 87, 98, quote 

from McHenry to Potts, 21 Aug 1776, I: 90; 

Gates to Congress, 29 Jul 1776, Force, Ameri~ 

can Archives, 5th sec. 1: 649; Griffenhagcn, 

Drug Supplies, pp. 118- 19; McHenry to Potts, 

21 Aug 1776, Gibson, 0110, p. 11 O. 

32. Quote from Potts to Samuel Adams, 

10 Aug 1776, Duncan, Medical Men, p. 101; 

Potts to Morgan, 10 Aug 1776, and Stringer 

to Potts, 17 Aug 1776, Gibson, 0110, pp. 107, 

109. 

33. Stringer to Potts, 17 Aug 1776, and 

Gates to Washington, 28 Aug 1776, Gibson, 

Otto, p. 109, quote from p. 103; James W. Gibson, "Smallpox and the American Revolution," 

Genealogical Magazine and Historiograph. 

ical Chronicle 51 (1948) : 56; Ltr, Richard 

Blanco to author, 22 Apr 1975, p. 2; S. 
Notes to Chapter 3 233 

Adams to J. Adams, 16 Aug 1776, in Samuel 

Adams, The Writings oj Samuel Adams, ed. 

Harry Alonzo Cushing, 4 vo1s. (New York: 

Octagon Books, 1965), 3: 310-11. 

34. Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 1: 

1271, quote and data from Gates to Egbert 

Benson, 22 Aug 1776, 1: 1114; Gates to 

President of Congress, 2 Sep 1776, Gibson, 

Olto, pp. 10 1-2. 

35. Schuyler to New York Committee of 

Safety, 9 Sep 1776, Force, American Archives, 

5th sec. 2: 68S; Gritfenhagen, Drug Supplies, 

p. 120; Beebe, Journal, pp. 345-46, 350, 356; 

Report of meeting of regimental surgeons of 

31 Aug 1776, Force, American Archives, 

5th ser. 1: 226. 

36. Quote from Beebe, Journal, p. 35S; 

Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 119. 

37. Trumbull to Schuyler, 10 Sep 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 2: 279-80. 

3S. Dr. Samuel Wigglesworth to New 

Hampshire Committee of Safety, 27 Sep 1776, 

and Resolve of Continental Congress, 25 Sep 

1776, Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 2: 

574, 137S; Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental 

Congress, 5: 622, S12; William Williams to 

Joseph Trumbull, 26 Sep 1776, Burnett, Letters, 2: 104. 

39. Quote from Elbridge Gerry to John 

Wendell, 11 Nov 1776, Burnett, Leiters, 2: 

149; Beebe, Journal, p. 357; Craigie to Potts, 

3 Oct 1776, and Stringer to Potts, 15 Oct 

1776, Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 120: 

Stringer to Gates, 6 Oct 1776, Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 2: 923. 

40. Stringer to Potts, 29 Oct 1776 and 3 

Nov 1776, Potts Papers, 2: 134, 135-3S; 

Thacher, JOllrnal, 5 Aug 1776, p. 53. 

41. Stringer to Gates, 3 Nov 1776, Force, 

American Archi.ves, 5th ser. 3: 506; John 

Trumbull to Potts, S Aug 1776, Potts Papers, 

I: S6. 

42. Quote from Report of 27 Nov 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 5th ser. 3: 1584; 

Ford, Journals 0/ the Continemal Congress, 

6: 990; Pennsylvania Infantry, 5th Regiment 

Orderly Book 0/ the Northern Army at Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence From October /7th 1776, to Jallllary 81h, 1777, With 

Biographical and Explanatory Notes and an 

Appendix (Albany: J. MUDsell, IS59), pp. 

19- 20, 22. 

43. Council of Safety to Potts, 6 Dec 1776, 

Thomas Tillotson to Potts, IS Feb 1777, and 

Schuyler to Potts, 22 Mar 1777, Potts Papers, 

2: 132, 148, 154; Jordan, "Hospitals," p. 143 ; 

Pennsylvania Infantry, Orderly Book, pp. 

111 n-12n; Anthony Wayne to Horatio Gates, 

1 Dec 1776, Force, American Archives, 5th 

ser. 3: 1031; Ford, Journals 0/ 'he Cominental Congress, 7: 34. 

44. Schuyler to Potts, 22 Mar 1777, Potts 

to Gates, 3 Apr 1777, and Potts to Medical 

Committee, 3 Apr 1777, Potts Papers, 2: 154, 

157, 15S; Report of 27 Nov 1776, Force, 

AmericalJ Archives, 5th ser. 3: 1584; Ford, 

Journals 0/ the COnlinemal Congress, 6: 990. 

45. Return of Stringer, 1 Apr 1777, and 

Potts to Gates, 3 Apr 1777, Potts Papers, 2: 

156, 157. 

46. Shippen's handwriting is difficult to decipher, but this physician may have been 

Forgue. 

47. Quote from Shippen to Potts, IS Apr 

1777, Potts Papers, 2: 162; Return of the 

officers of the General Hospital Northern Dcpartment, no date, Potts Papers, I: t 2. This 

document must date after April 1777, when 

the position of Assistant Director was first 

created, and before the end of the year, when 

Polts left the Northern Department (Duncan, 

Medical Men, p. lOS). The use of the term 

"Commissary General" is another example of 

the casual use of terminology characteristic of 

the period; Potts was referring to the chief 

commissary of the Hospital Department, not 

the Army's Commissary General. 

4S. Potts announcement of 7 May 1777, 

Return of the Sick in the General Hospital 

at Mount Independence, 21 May 1777, and 

Potts to Committee of Schenectady, 6 May 

1777, Potts Papers, 2: ISO, IS2, 196. 

49. Unless otherwise indicated, the section 

on New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania 

is based on Duncan, Medical M ell, and Gibson, Ouo. Also consulted for the preceding 

paragraph was Risch, Quartermaster Support, 

p. 11. 

50. Bell, Morgall, p. IS9; Morgan to New 

York Convention, 13 Aug 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 5th ser. 1: 499; Morgan, 
234 THE ARM Y M E D ( CAL D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Vindication, pp. 19, 96; Byron Polk Stookey. 

A History oj Colollial Medical Education: In 

the Province 0/ New York, Witll lis Subse· 

qllem Development (1767-1830) (Springfield, 

III.: Charles C Thomas, 1962), p. 74; Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. It 6. 

5 1. For the location of sites mentioned in 

this section, see Map 3. Morgan, Vindicatiol/, 

pp. 55, 11 6; W. R. Bett, "John Warren 

(1753-1815). Soldier, Anatomist and Surgeon," Medical Press 230 (1953): 137. 

52. Morgan, V jndication, Pi>. 108-9, 117. 

53. Morgan, Vindication, pp. 116- 17. 

quote from p. 118. 

54. Morgan, Vindication, p. 18; Carrington, Battles, pp. 211-12. 

55. Morgan, Vindication, pp. xxxi-xxxii, 

12, 20, 128; Griffenhageo, Drug Supplies, 

p. 117; Washington to New York Legislature, 

8 Sep 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 6: 35-36. 

56. Morgan, Vindicatioll, p. 93, quote 

from p. 124; Washington to New York Legislature, 12 Sep 1776, and Washington to President of Congress, 14 Sep 1776, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 6: 48, 54-55. 

57. General Orders, 18 Sep 1776, Fitzpatrick, W lIshil/gtoll. 6: 71. 

58. Morgan, Vindication, pp. xxxi- xxxii; 

Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 11 7; Was·hington to Shippen, 3 Nov 1776, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 6: 239. 

59. Morgan, Vindication, pp. xxii-xxiv, 

xxx, 16, 46-47, 142-43, quote from Morgan 

to Rush, 20 Oct 1776, p. 142; Bell, Morgan, 

p. 200; Washington's General Orders, 2 Sep 

1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 6: 8. 

60. Penllsy lvlInia Journal and Weekly Advertiser, 17 Jul 1776; Gordon, Aesculapius, 

p. 401; Bell, Morgan, p. 197; Van Swieten, 

Diseases. p. 7; Butterfield, Letters 0/ Rush 1: 

104n. Apparently fewer than 6,000 men ever 

reported to the flying camp. See also Chapter 

2. 

61 . Data and quote from Ford, Journals 

0/ the COlllinefltal Congress, 5 : 808; Mercer 

to Washington, 16 Jul 1776, and Shippen to 

Congress, 19 Sep 1776, Force, American 

Archives, 5th ser. 1: 37 1; 3: 1298. 

62. Shippen Report, 1 Nov 1776, William 

Paca to Maryland Council of Safety, 7 Dec 

1776, and Shippen to Washington, 8 Dec 

1776, Force, American Archives, 5th ser. 3: 

463- 64, 1094, 1119; Washington to Board of 

War, 4 Dec 1776, and Washington to Shippen, 

12 Dec 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 6: 

327-28, 362; Bell, Morgan, p. 195 ; David 

Freeman Hawke, Benjamin Rtlsh: Revolutionary Gadfly (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 

1971), p. 174; Gibson, "Role of Disease," 

pp. 124-25; Gibson, Otto, pp. 120, 123, 199; 

Rush to Shippen, 28 Nov 1776, Pennsylvania 

Packet, 18 Nov 1780. 

63. Gibson does Dot cite his source for this 

figure but it wou ld appear to be a week ly report. Gibson, "Role of Disease," pp. 124-25; 

Morgan, Vind;catiofl, pp. 19-20; Hawke, Rush. 

p. 174; Ford, Journals o/the Comillellial Congress, 7: 51 , 70, 143. 

64. Thomas Wharton to Richard Peters, 6 

Dec 1776, and Shippen to Lee, 17 Dec 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 5th sec. 3: 1094, 

1258; Ford, Journals 0/ the COII[inefllal Congress, 6: 1006; Jordan , "Hospitals," p. 141. 

65. Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 135-41. 

66. Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 135-4 1, 143; 

Gibson, Otto, p. 140. 

67. Jordan, "Hospitals," p. 142; General 

Orders, 29 Dec 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 

6: 453- 54. 

68. Butterfield, Lellers 0/ Rtlslt, 1: 121n, 

2: 11 98; Rush to Lee, 14 Jan 1777, I: 125, 

129; Bell, Morgan, p. 208; Corner, Rush. pp. 

128, 130; Hawke, RIISh, pp. 178-79. 

69. Morgan, Vindication, pp. 16, 17, 160; 

Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 11 7; Morgan 

to Rush, 20 Oct 1776, Morgan, Vindication . 

pp. 142-43. 

70. Morgan, V indication , pp. 17, 18; General Orders, 31 Oct 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 6: 235. 

71. Morgan, Vindication , pp. xxxvi-xxxvii, 

19. 

72. Morgan, Vindication, pp. 136, 137; 

William Eustis to General Heath, 10 Dec 

1776. Force, American Archives, 5th ser. 3: 

1161- 62. 

73. Morgan, Vindication, pp. xxiv, 133- 34, 

136, 137; Griffenhagen, Dmg Supplies, p. 116. 

74. Quote from James Tilton, Economical 

Observations on Military Hospitals and the 

PreVention ami Cure 0/ Diseases Incident to 

an Army . .. (Wilmington, Del.: I. Wilson. 
Notes to Chapter 4 235 

1813), p. 33; Morgan, Villdicatioll, pp. 45, 

129; Col Isaac Nicoll to John McKesson, 29 

Sep 1776, and Oen Nathanael Greene to 

President of Congress, 10 Oct 1776, Force, 

Americ(ln Archives, 5th seT. 2: 597, 973. 

75. Morgan, Vindicatioll, pp. xxxvii, 22, 

121-23; General Orders, 5 Nov 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washill glOn, 6: 241; Ford, i Ollrtlais 

of the COfllillelltai Congress, 5: 568 (see also 

Appendix C in this volume) ; Heath to Morgan, 19 Nov 1776, and Morgan to Heath, 

20 Nov 1776, Force, American Archives, 5th 

ser. 5: 769, 781; William Heath, Heath's 

Memoirs 0/ Ihe American War, ed. Rufus 

Rockwell Wilson (New York: A. Wessels 

Co., 1904), pp. 94-95. 

76. General Orders, 14 Apr 1776, 19 Apr 

1776, 20 May 1776, 26 May 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washillgtoll, 4: 477,492; 5: 63, 82-83, 

quote from p. 63; New York Provincial Council Resolution, 26 May 1776, and New York 

Provincial Congress, 24 May 1776, Force, 

American Archives, 4th sec. 6 : 635, 1330-3 1; 

Heath, Memoirs, pp. 55, 74. 

77. Council of Massachusetts to General 

Artemas Ward, 9 Jul 1776, and Gov Jonathan 

Trumbull to Washington, 4 Jul 1776, Gibson, 

Olto, pp. 91 -92, 99; Brig Gen William Thompson to Washington, 2 Jun 1776, Sparks, Correspondence, I: 209; Maryland Council of 

Safety to Lieutenant Bracco, 29 Jun 1776, 

Force, American Archives, 4th ser. 6: 1130-

3!. 

78. Lee to Washington, 27 Feb 1777, 

James Curtis Ballagh, ed., The Letters oj 

Richard Henry Lee, 2 vols. (New York: Da 

Capo Press, 1970 reprint of 1911- 14 ed.), 

1: 266; William Williams to Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., 6 Nov 1776, Burnett, Leiters, 2 : 

142; Washington to Ward, 11 Jul 1776, Fitzpatrick, Washington , 5: 256. 

79. Washington to Lt Col Robert Hanson 

Harrison, and to Cochran, 20 Jan 1777, to 

New York Legislature, and to Gov Nichol as 

Cooke, 10 Feb 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington , 

7: 38, 44-45, 129-30, 131-32, quote from 

Washington to Shippen, 28 Jan 1777, pp. 

75-76; Lee to Patrick Henry, 7 Apr 1777 and 

22 Apr 1777, Ballagh, Leiters, 1: 269, 283; 

Medical Committee to Washington, 13 Feb 

1777, Burnett, Leiters, 1: 250. 

80. Gibson, "Role of Disease," p. 125; 

Ford, Journals oj the Conlilleflla/ Congress, 

7: 139-40; Washington to Shippen, 6 Jan 

1777, and to President of Congress, 5 Feb 

1777, Fitzpatrick, W (fsllingron, 6: 473; 7: 

105. 

8!. Washington to Shippen, I Mar 1777, 

and to Foster, 18 Apr 1777. Fitzpatrick. 

Washington, 7: 220, 432. 

82. Washington to Henry, 13 Apr 1777, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington, 7: 409. 

83 . Ford, JOllmais 0/ the Contif/elllal Congress, 7 : 317, quote from 292; Nathan G. 

Goodman, Benjamin RIlSh, Physician and 

Citizen, 1746- 1813 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1934). p. 86. 

84. Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, 

20 Apr 1777, Ballagh, Leiters, 1: 279; Lynn 

Montross, Rag, Tag and Bobtail: The Slory 

0/ the COlltinental Army, 1775-1783 (New 

York : Harper & Bros., 1952), p. 184. 

85. Corner, Rllsh, p. 131 ; Victor Leroy 

Johnson, The Administraton oj the American 

Commissariat During the Revolutionary War 

(Philadelphia, 1941), p. 69. 

CHAPTER 4 

I. Peter Shindel, 20 Oct 1845, in C. H. 

Martin, "The Military Hospital at the Cloister 

(Ephrata. Pa. , 1777)," Lancasler County 

(Pa.) Historical Societ), Papers 51 (1947): 

127. 

2. Gibson, Otto, p. 140; Isaac Foster to 

Mary Foster, 31 Jul 1777, in Washington, 

Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. 

Papers of Isaac Foster, folder 1. 

3. Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 212. Duncan 

also refers to an army report for 5 August 

1777 and maintains that while it records 

14,204 fit for duty from a total of 17,949, it 

also lists 4,745 sick. It is not clear from the 

text whether the faulty arithmetic should be 

laid at the foot of the author or of his source. 

Lesser contains no report for August 1777 for 

Washington's army. 

4. General Orders, 2, 3, 9, 16, 17 Jun, 19 

Oct 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 8: 171 . 

175,210,255,256; 9: 404, quote from Washington to Philip Livingston, Elbridge Gerry, 

and George Clymer, 19 Jul 1777, 8: 44!. A 
236 THE ARM Y M E 0 I CAL D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

rather casual attitude was taken at this time 

toward official designations. General Washington used here the term "Surgeon General," by 

which he obviously meant the Physician and 

Surgeon General of the Army, Dr. John Cochran, who supervised the work of the regimental 

surgeons. 

5. General Orders, 1,9 Jul 1777, WashingIon to Maj Gen John Sullivan, 7 Jul 1777, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington , 8: 328,364,365,374; 

Sullivan, Leiters, 1: 404- 5. 

6. General Orders, IS, 16, 17 Jun, 4 Sep 

1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 8: 251, 255, 

256; 9: 178. 

7. Quote from Rush to John Adams, 8 Aug 

1777, Butterfield, Leiters of RIlSh, I: 153 ; J. 

P. Muhlenberg, "Orderly Book of Gen. John 

Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, March 26-December 20, 1777," Pennsylvmlia Magazine 01 History alld Biography 34 (1910) : 449. 

8. Howard H. Peckham, cd., The Toll of 

independence: Engagements & Battle Casualties 0/ the American Revolution (Chicago: 

University of Chicago Press, 1974), pp. 40, 

41 ; John W. Jordan, "Continental Hospital Returns," Pennsylvania Magazille 01 HislOry and 

Biography 23 (1899) : 36- 38. 

9. Unless otherwise indicated, material in 

the balance of this chapter is based on Brown, 

Medical Department; Duncan, Medical Men; 

and Gibson, Otto. Also consulted for the preceding paragraph were: quote from Tilton, 

Observations, p. 56; James E. Gibson, "John 

Augustus Otto," Historical Review 0/ Berks 

COil Illy 13 (1947) : 15; Gibson, "Role of 

Disease," p. 125; General Orders, 12 Sep 

1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 9: 209. 

10. Corner. RIlSh, pp. 132- 33; Washington 

to William Howe, 13 Sep 1777, Fitzpatrick. 

Washing/oil, 9: 217; Butterfield, Leiters 01 

Rush, I: 157n; William Shippen, "Just Account of Dr. Alison's Services to the Best of 

My Remembrance, 15 Dec 1780," io Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania. 

Manuscript Department, Society Miscellaneous 

Collection, case 19, box 2. 

11. Washington to Maj Gen Nathanael 

Greene. 25 Nov 1777, to William Shippen, 12 

Dec 1777, and to Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 

4 Apr 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 10 : 105, 

150; 11: 208; Shippen, Just Account; Shippen 

to John Ettwein, 19 Sep 1777, Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 144- 45, 148; Joseph Mortimer 

Levering, A H is/ory 0/ Bethlehem, Penllsylvania, 1741- 1892, With Some A CCOUIlI of lis 

Founders and Their Early Activ;ty in America (Bethlehem, Pa.: Times Publishing Co. , 

1903), p. 475; John Morgan, Gibson, Otto, 

p. 283; Report of Brig Gen Lachlan McIntosh, 

26 Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 

3- 1, item 10; George L. Heiges, "Letters Relating to Colonial Military Hospitals in Lancaster County," Lancaster County (Pa.) Historical Society Papers 52 (1948): 74. See 

Appendix G for data on many of the hospitals 

not discussed in detail in the text. 

12. General Orders, 9 Dec 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 10: 141 - 42; William Shippen 

to Jonathan Potts, 14 Dec 1777, Potts Papers, 

3: 383; Thomas Bond, Jr., to Col John Patten, 

t 3 Dec 1777, in Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Manuscript Department, 

Autograph Collection, case 19, box 15; Helen 

Burr Smith, "Surgeon Jonathan Potts Planned 

Innoculation [sic] at the Winter Camp," Picket 

Post, April 1947, p. 20. 

13. Gibson, "Role of Disease," p. 125 ; Benjamin Rush to William Shippen, 2 Dec 1777, 

Maj Geo Nathanael Greene, 2 Dec 1777, William Duer, 13 Dec 1777, and Washington, 26 

Dec 1777, Butterfield, Leiters of RIl.,h, 1: 

168- 69, 170, 175. 176, 180. 

14. Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 145, 146-47, 

150, quote from Shippen to John Ettwein, 19 

Sep 1777, pp. 144- 45; James A. Beck, Bethlehem and Its Military Hospital, An Address 

Delivered at the Unveiling oj a Tahlet Erected 

hy the Pennsylvania Society 0/ the Sons oj the 

Revolution June i9, 1897 . . . (printed by the 

Society), pp. 9, 11, 13. 

15. Quote from message of 22 Sep 1777, 

Ballagh, Letters, 1: 324; Jordan, "Hospitals," 

pp. 146-47; Beck, Bethlehem, p. 13; Levering, 

Bethlehem , pp. 465, 466, 474, 475. 

16. William Shippen to Congress, Oct 1777, 

Duncan, Medical M ell, p. 220; Report of Brig 

Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 27 Apr 1778, RG 93, 

M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, item 11. 

17. Samuel Stringer, report of 1 Apr 1777. 

Shippen to Potts, 7 Jul 1777, Cutting to Potts, 

16 Mar 1778, and Thomas Bond, Jr., to Jonathan Potts, 17 May 1778, Potts Papers, 2: 156, 

235; 4: 421 , 468; General Orders, 14 Apr 

1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, II : 260; Grif-
Notes to Chapter 4 237 

fenhagen. Drug Supplies. pp. 122. 127; Washington, National Archives, War Department 

Collection of Revolutionary War Records, 

Record Group 93, Numbered Record Books, 

1775- 98. series 5. Microfilm Publication 

M853. roll 12. pp. 18. 36; Nellie Protsman 

Waldenmaier, Some 0/ the Earliest Oaths of 

AJ/egiance to the United States 0/ America 

(Lancaster. 1944), pp. 22. 23; Bayne-Jones. 

Preventive Medicine, pp. 43-44. The relationship and status of the two apothecaries at this 

time are not clear. General Washington referred to Cutting as the Apothecary General of 

the Middle Department and Cutting signed two 

oaths of allegiance in this capacity in May 

1778, but other records of later origin list 

Cutting as Apothecary General of the Eastern 

Department during this period. 

18. Quote from James Craik to Jonathan 

Potts. 26 Apr 1778. Gibson. Olto. p. 164; 

Hatch, Administration. pp. 92- 93. 

19. General Orders. 12 Nov 1777. 28 Feb 

1778. Washington to the Officers Visiting 

Hospitals. January 1778. Washington to Col 

George Gibson. 21 Feb 1778. Fitzpatrick. 

Washington. 10: 47- 48. 406. 495-96. 526; 

George Weedon. Valley Forge Orderly Book 

0/ General George Weedon 0/ the Continental 

Army Under Command of Gen. George Washington, in the Campaign 0/ 1777- 8 (New 

York: New York Times & Arno Press, 1971 

reprint of 1902 edition). p. 128; William Shippen to President of Congress, 24 Nov 1777, 

Duncan, Medical Men, p. 240; Ford. Joumals 

01 the Continental Congress, 10: 23. 

20. General Orders. 15 Jan. 22 Feb. 17 

Apr. 29 Apr. and 12 Jun 1778. Fitzpatrick. 

Washington. 10: 306.499; II : 270.271.319; 

12: 50; William Bradford Reed. ed .• Life and 

Correspondence oj Joseph Reed, 2 vols. 

(Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston. 1847), 

I: 361; Johnson, American Commissariat, pp. 

107- 8; Risch, Quartermaster Support, p. 41; 

Ephraim Blaine to Jonathan Potts, 2 May 

1778. and James Craik to Jonathan Potts. 24 

May 1778. Potts Papers. 4: 461.471. 

21. GrifIenhagen. Drug Supplies. pp. 127. 

128; Invoice of Medicines Delivered to John 

Cochran, Esq., Surgeon and Physician General. for the Use of the Middle Department. 6 

Feb 1778. Shippen to Potts. 24 Feb. Cutting to 

Potts. 25 Mar. Craigie to Potts. 27 Mar. 4 Apr. 

1 May 1778. Potts Papers. 3: 400; 4 : 411. 

428. 429. 437. 458. 

22. William Browne to Potts, 11 Mar, and 

Craigie to Potts, 1 May 1778, Potts Papers, 

4; 419. 458; John D. Kendig. A Lependarv 

and Factual Review oj the Times oj Henry 

William Stiegei and the Early Days 01 Manheim (n.p .• 1957). p. 12; William Shainline 

Middleton, "Medicine at Valley Forge," Annals of Medical History 3d ser. 3 (1941); 481; 

James Hutchinson, "Notes: VaJley Forge," 

Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 39 (1915); 221. 

23. Quote from James Craik (to Jonathan 

Potts? ). 15 May 1778. Gibson. Otto. p. 177; 

J. B. Cutting to Jonathan Potts. 16 Apr 1778. 

Gibson. Otto. p. 166; General Orders. 14 Apr 

1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 11: 261. 

24. Quote from Andrew Craigie to Jonathan 

Potts. 1 May 1778. Potts Papers. 4: 458; 

James Craik to Jonathan Potts. 26 Apr 1778. 

Gibson. Otto. p. 164. 

25 . General Orders. 6 and 8 Jan 1778. 

Fitzpatrick, Washington. 10: 272. quote from 

p. 276; Hatch, Administration, pp. 92- 93; 

Baron de Kalb to Count de Broglio, 21 Dec 

1777. and James Craik to Jonathan Potts. 26 

Apr 1778. Gibson. Otto. pp. 150. 164; Gibson. 

"Role of Disease," p. 125; Reed, Joseph Reed, 

1; 362; Alfred Hoyt Bill. Valley Forge: The 

Making of an Army (New York: Harper & 

Bros .• 1952). p. 102. 

26. Quote from John Laurens. The Army 

Correspondence oj Colonel John Laurens in 

the Years 1777-8 ... (New York: Bradford 

Club. 1867). p. 135; William Bell to lonathan 

Potts. 22 Apr 1778. Potts Papers. 4; 447; 

General Washington to Gov George Clinton, 

12 Mar 1778. Fitzpatrick. Washington. 11: 68; 

Worthington Chauncey Ford, ed., General 

Orders Issued by Major-General Israel Putnam 

When in Command of the Highlands ill the 

Slimmer and Fall of 1777 (Boston : Gregg 

Press. 1972 reprint of 1893 edition). p. 28; 

Richard Henry Lee to Arthur Lee, 30 Jun 

1777. Ballagh. Letters. I: 306; "A Whitemarsh 

Orderly Book," Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 45 (1921); 217-18; Reed. 

Joseph Reed. 1; 361. 362; Weedon. Valley 

Forge. pp. 263-64; Albigence Waldo. "Yalley 

Forge. 1777-1778. Diary of Surgeon Albigence 

Waldo, of the Connecticut Line," Pennsyl-
238 TH E ARM Y M E Die A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

vania Magazine 0/ History and Biography 2 1 

(1897): 32 1. 

27. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continental COIlgress, 10 : 101 6; Blanton, Medicine, p. 252. 

28. James Craik to Jonathan Potts, 22 Mar 

1778, 26 Apr 1778, and Tilton to Potts, 8 

May 1778, Gibson, OliO, pp. 164, 169- 70, 

quote from p. 162; Washington to Officer 

Commanding at Alexandria, Virginia, 20 Mar 

1778, and General Orders, 17 Apr 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 11: 11 6, 27 1; John Cochran to Jonathan Potts, 22 Mar 1778. Gibson, 

OliO, p. 162; Francis Lightfoot Lee to George 

Weedon, 31 Mar 1778, Burnett, Letters, 3: 

147; James Tilton to Jonathan Potts, 22 Apr 

1778, Potts Papers, 4: 446. 

29. Weedon, Valley Forge, p. 294; Fraser 

Lewis, "Medicine in the Continental Army of 

the Revolutiona ry War: 1775-·1783," Philadelphia Medicille 55 (1959): 257-58; Norwood, "Med icine," p. 399; Shippen, "Plan," 

pp. 174n, 176; Tilton, Observations, p. 16. 

30. Waldo, "Va ll ey Forge," p. 316; General Orders, 9, J3 Jan 1778, Fitzpatrick, 

Washillgtoll , 10 : 284, 300; Edward W. Hocker, "Medical Men D eserve Tribute for Care of 

Washington's Men at Valley Forge nc mp~ 

ment," Picket Post 16 (January 1947): 8; 

Edward Hand, "Orderl y Book of General Edward Hand, Valley Forge, January 1778," 

Penllsylvania Magazine 0/ HiJfory ami Bjog~ 

raphy 4 1 ( 1917): 223. 

31. James Craik to Potts, 26 Apr 1778, and 

James Fallon to Potts, 22 Apr 1778, Potts 

Papers, 4: 450, 462, quote from p. 450; 

Waldo, "Vall ey Forge," p. 316; General Orders, 21 Jan 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 

10 : 333; Weedon, Valley Forge, p.204. 

32. Hand, "Orderly Book," p. 464; General 

Orders, 29 Jan and 20 Apr 1778, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, \0 : 403; II : 28 1; Hocker, "Medical Men," p. 9; Waldo, "Vall ey Forge," p. 316. 

33. General Orders, 26 Dec 1777, 22 Feb 

1778, Washington's Instructions to Officers 

Sent to Ihe Hospital, 28 Feb 1778, General 

Orders, 25 and 26 May 1778, Fitzpatrick, 

Washington, 10 : 207, 499, 526-27; II: 453, 

455; Hand, "Orderly Book," p. 200. 

34. James Craik 10 Potts, 7 Apr and 2 May 

1778, Gibson, Ouo, pp. 162, 173, quote from 

p. 173; General Orders, 12 Jun 1778, Filzpatrick, Washington, 12: 50. 

35. James Craik to Potts, 26 Apr 1778, 

Gibson, Olto, p. 164; Middleton, "Valley 

Forge," p. 472. 

36. Gibson, "Role of Disease," p. 125; 

James Sproat, "Extracts From the Journ al of 

Rev. James Sproat, Hospital Chaplain of the 

Middle Department, 1778," cd. John W. Jordan, Pennsylvania Magazine 0/ History and 

Biography 27 (1903) : 442 ; Cyrus T. Fox, ed., 

Readinc and Berks County Pennsylvania, A 

History, 3 vols. (New York: Lewis Historical 

Publishing Co., 1925), I: 166; Oaths of Allegiance, RG 93, M853, roll 12, book 165, pp. 

52,78. 

37. Sproat, "Extracts," p. 442. 

38. James Craik to Potts, 15 May 1778 , 

Potts Papers, 4: 467. 

39. Samuel Kennedy to Potts, 27 Apr 1778, 

and James Fallon to Potts, 27 Apr 1778, Gibson, Otto, p. 165, quote from Fallon to Potts: 

Sproat, "Extracts," pp. 443, 444; Samuel K ennedy to Pot Is, 22 Apr 1778, Potts Papers, 4: 

454. 

40. Quote from Bethlehem Diarist in Beck, 

Bethlehem, p. 13; Levering, Bethlehem, p. 

475; Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 147-48, 149, 

150; John Ettwein, quoted in Raymond Waltcrs, Bethlehem Long Ago and To-Day (Bethlehem, Pa.: Carey Printing Co., 1923), p. 52; 

John Ettwein, quoted in Levering, Bethlehem, 

p. 4 74; John Ettwein, "A Short Account of the 

Disturbances in America and of the Brethren's 

Conduc t and Suffering in This Connection," 

in Kenneth Gardiner Hamilton, John Ettwein 

and the Moravian Chl/rch During the Revolutionary Period (Bethlehem, Pa.: Times Publishing Co., 1940) , p. 180. 

41. Hamilton, ElIlVeill, pp. 180, 18 1. 

42. Various authors chose differing points 

during the course of the dispersal of the pa~ 

tients of the Bethlehem hospital as the official 

date of its closing. James Sproat, Journ al of 

James Sproat D.O., 1753, 1757, 1778, 1779, 

1780, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786, held by the 

Historical Society of Pennsylvania, AM1597, 

1778, pp. 1- 2,3-14; Walters, Bethlehem, p. 48; 

John Hill Martin, Historical Sketch 0/ Betltle~ 

hem ill Pennsylvania (New York: AMS Press, 

197 1 reprint of 1872 edition) , p. 3 I; Bethlehem 0/ Pennsylvania: Th e First Olle Hundred 

Y ears, 1741 to 184/ (Bethlehem, Pa., 1968), 

p. 100; Levering, Bethlehem, p. 482; Jordan, 
Notes to Chapter 4 239 

"Hospitals," pp. 150, 151 ; John Taylor Hamilton. A History 0/ the Church Known as the 

Moravian Church, or (h e Unital' Fratrum or 

the Ullify 0/ the Brethren During the Eighteenth alld Nine/eelll" Cel/wries, Transactions 

of the Moravian Histori cal Society, vol. 6 

(Bethlehem, Pa. : Times Publishing Co., 1900) , 

p. 252. 

43. Specific information on the origins of 

the Lititz pharmacopoeia is sparse. It is usually 

credited to Brown, who was probably aided by 

others. The first edition, dated 1778, was unsigned and apparently written in the winter and 

early spring of 1778, too late to have been 

used at Valley Forge, although 1110St of the 

medicines mentioned therein were undoubtedly 

familiar to the physicia ns caring for General 

Washington's men there. H amilton, Eaweill, 

pp. 184- 85; Jorda n, "Hospitals," pp. 153- 54; 

Middleton, "Valley Forge," pp. 480- 81; Griffenhagen , Drug SlIpplie.f, pp. 126-27; Lyman 

F. Kebler, "Andrew Craigie, the First Apothecary General of the United States," Journal 0/ 

the American Pharmaceutical Association 17 

(1928): 171 ; Heiges, "Letters," p. 78; Champe 

C. McCulloch, "The Scientific and Administrative Achievement of the Medical Corps of 

the United States Army," Scientific Matlfhly 

1 (May 1917): 412; Herbert H. Beck, "The 

Military Hospital at Lititz, 1777- 1778," Lallcaster County Historical Society Papers 23 

(1919): 57. 

44. Sisters' House Diary. Beck. "Lititz," 

pp. 7, 8, quote from p. 8; Jordan, "Hospitals," 

pp. 154, 155 ; Jordan, "Returns," p. 41; Return 

of the Sick and Wounded at Lititz Hospital 

From Jan. 12 to 22, 1778, in Philadelphia, 

Historical Society of Pen nsylvania, Manuscript 

Department, Alison Papers, Continental Hospital Returns 1777- 78; Samuel X. Radbill, 

"Francis Alison Jr., a Surgeon of the Revolution," Bulleti" 0/ 'he History 0/ Medicine 9 

(1941) : 247-48; Middleton, "Valley Forge," 

p.470. 

45. Middleton, "Valley Forge," p. 471; Martin, "Ephrata," pp. 127, 128, 132; Report of 

Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 26 Apr 1778, RG 

93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, item 10; "Monument at Ephrata to Brandywine Battie Vic~ 

tims," Magazin e oj American History 30 

(1902) : 75. 

46. Report of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 

26 Apr 1778, RG 93 , M246, roll 135, folder 

3- 1, itcm 10; Rev Petcr Miller to William 

Shippen, 15 Jul 1779, Gibson, 0110, p. 287: 

Martin, "Ephrata," p. 130. 

47. Quote from report of Brig Gen Lachlan 

Mcintosh, 26 Apr 1778, RG 93. M246, roll 

135, folder 3- 1, item 10; Sproat, 21 Jun 1778, 

Gibson, 0110, p. 329; RG 93, M246, roll 135, 

folder 3- 1, item II. 

48. Report of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 

26 Apr 1778, RG 93 , M246, roll 135. folder 

3- \, item 10; A Return of the Soldiers in the 

General Hospital at Reading March 30th 

1778, Potts Papers 4: 433; Jordan , "Returns," 

pp. 38- 39; Radbill, "Alison," p. 249 ; Gibson, 

"John Augustus," p. 16 ; "Elijah Fisher's Journal While in the War for Independence and 

Continued for Two Years After He Came to 

Maine, 1775- 1784," Magazine 0/ History, Ex~ 

tra No.6, entry for 19 Dec 1777, p. 17. 

49. Report of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh. 

26 Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135. folder 

3- 1, item 10; Gibson, 0110, pp. 159- 6 1; William Shippen to Potts, 24 Mar 1778, Potts 

Papers, 4: 426; Sproat, "Extracts," p. 441. 

50. Jordan, "Hospitals," pp. 155. 156, 157 : 

John Ettwein to George Washington, 25 Mar 

1778, Sparks, Correspondence, 2: 92: Hamil ~ 

ton, Ettweill, pp. 187- 89; William Shippen to 

Potts, 20 and 24 Mar 1778, Potts Papers, 4: 

422, 426; Report of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 26 Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135, 

folder 3- 1, item 10; Washington to Mcintosh, 

4 Apr 1778, Fitzpatrick, Wash ingtoll , 11 : 

206- 8. 

51. James Tilton to Potts, 8 May 1778, Gibson, 0110, p. 170; Tilton to Potts, 22 Apr 

1778, Potts Papers, 4: 446; Washington to 

Brig Gen William Smallwood, 25 Feb 1778, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington , 10: 511, 513 ; Report 

of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 26 Apr 1778, 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, item 10. 

52. James Craik to Potts, 10 May 1778, 

Gibson, 0/10, p. 176. 

53. General Orders, 14 and 27 May 1778, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington, 11: 387, 463; Asa 

B. Gardner, "The New York Continental 

Line" Ma gazine 0/ American HistOry 7 

(1881): 409- 10. 

54. General Orders, 30, 31 May, I and 29 

Jun 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, II : 487-

88,497; 12 : 4, 131. 
240 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT, 1775 - 1818 

55. Willi am Shippen to Potts, 16 Jun 1778, 

Potts Papers, 4 : 477. 

56. Quote from Samuel Adams to Richard 

Henry Lee, 22 J ul 1777, in Richard H. Lee, 

Memoir of the Life of Richard Henry Lee 

and His Correspondence With the Most Distinguished Men in America and Europe . .. , 

2 vols. (Philadelphia: H. C. Carey and I. Lea, 

1825), 2: 123; Samuel MacKenzie to Potts, 24 

Aug 1777, Potts Papers, 3: 290; Col John 

Banister to Col Thcodorick Bland, Jr. , 10 Jun 

1777, in Theodorick Bland , The Bland Papers, 

Being a Selection From the Manllscripts of 

Colollel Th eodorick Bland, Jr . .. . , ed. Charles 

Campbell, 2 vols. (Petersburg, Va.: E. & J. C. 

Ruffin, 1840-43), I: 55; Henry Sewall, "Letters," Historical Magazine, 2d ser. 2 (1867) : 

7, 8. 

57. Maj Gen Philip Schuyler to Congress, 

25 June 1777, in Philip John Schuyler, "Proceedings of a General Court Martial .. . ," 

Collections of the New Y ork Historical Society for tile Year 1879, p. 115. 

58. Quote from Sewall , "Letters," p. 7; 

Gen Philip Schuyler to Congress, 25 Jun 1777, 

Schuyler, "Court Martial ," p. 115; Lesser, 

Sinews, pp. 48, 49. Lesser gives no figures for 

June 1777 and no breakdown of figures for 

Ticonderoga and Mount Independence. 

59. Thacher, Jot/mal, pp. 83- 84, 86- 87; 

Walter Steiner, "Dr. James Thacher of Plymouth, Mass., an Erudite Physician of Revolutionary and Post-Revolutionary Fame," Bulletin of the Institute of the HislOry of Medicine 

I (1933): 160. 

60. Francis Hagan to Potts, 19, 2 1, 22 Aug 

and 21 Sep 1777, Nichol as Scull to Potts, 22 

Aug 1777, Potts Papers, 3 : 281, 285, 286, 

287. 

61. Samuel MacKenzie to Potts, 27 Aug 

1777, Potts Papers, 3: 298. 

62. John Bartlett to Potts, 18, 19, 21, 22 

Aug 1777, and A Return of the Number of 

Sick in the Hospital Belonging to the Several 

Regiments and Companies on the Ground at 

New York City, 22 Aug 1777, Potts Papers, 

3: 278, 280, 284, 288, 289. 

63. Maj Gen Philip Schuyler to General 

Washington, 14 and 28 Jul 1777, Schuyler, 

"Court Martial," pp. 167, 179; James Wilkinson, Memoirs of My Own Times, 3 vols. 

(Philadelphia: Abraham Small, 1816), I: 

265; Return of the Men Who Died Since 

March the 1st 1777, General Hospital Northern Department, 29 Aug t 777, Potts Papers, 

3: 304. 

64. Brig Oen Simon Fraser 10 Maj Oen 

Horatio Gates, I Sep 1777, Sparks, Correspondence, 2: 522- 23, quote from Maj OeD 

Horatio Gates to Brig Oen Simon Fraser, 2 

Sep 1777, p. 523; Wilkinson, Memo;rs, t : 230; 

James E. Gibson, "Captured Medical Men and 

Army Hospitals of the American Revolution," 

Annals 0/ Medical History , n.s. 10 (1938): 

385; Return of 15 Aug 1777, Return of the 

Men Who Died Since March the 1st 1777, 

General Hospital, N orthern Department, 29 

Aug 1777, a List of the Sick and Wounded 

of His Majesty's Troops Left in the Hospital 

Near Stillwater October the 19th 1777, and 

a General Return of the Persons of Different 

Regts Dead in the General Hospl Since the 

1st of March 1777 to the 12th Day Nov.r 

1777, Potts Papers, 3: 273, 304, 355, 373; 

Thacher, Journal, pp. 103, 11 2; John McNamara Hayes to Potts, 12 and 15 Oct 1777, 

Gibson, "Captured," p. 385; Gibson. Otto, 

p. 230. 

The report in Lesser for October 17 77 for 

Gates's forces, dated 16 October, indicates 

that the sick rate in Gates's army was 9 percent as of that date. The accuracy of this 

figure, however, must be questioned. In Gates's 

army of the summer of 1777, which was much 

smaller than that of mid-October, the percentage of the total number of rank and file 

which was under the care of physicians averaged more than 23 percent, according to the 

monthly reports for July and August in Lesser. 

Since during the Revolution the number of patients in the autumn tended to be essentially 

identical to or greater than that in the summer, 

a drop of 14 percentage points from summer 

to fall would have been most unusual; nevertheless, even the sickness rate among the men 

of the five brigades which were with General 

Gates during the entire period in question 

actually dropped almost 15 points, according 

to the Lesser figures. In absolute terms, furthermore, the number of men sick, despite marked 

increases in size for three of the five brigades 

in question, dropped by as much as half Of 

more from August to October, as reported in 

Lesser. Thus, for example, while Nixon's 
Notes to Chapter 4 241 

brigade grew from 1,454 rank and file in August 1777 to 1,48 1 in October, the number 

of sick among the rank and file fell from 306 

to 142. 

A figure of 9 percent sick and wounded for 

16 October, furthermore, for units which had 

very recently seen action is not compatible with 

a figure of 11 percent (see figures in text) 

confined to the general hospital alone only 

twelve days ear!ier, at which time it might be 

estimated that another II percent might have 

been under the care of regimental surgeons. 

The number of sick and wounded in Gates's 

army on 4 Oc tober. therefore, might easily 

have been as high as 22 percent of the total 

number of rank and file. It would seem highly 

unlikely that only 9 percent remained under 

the care of surgeons less than two weeks 

later. 

65. John McNamara Hayes to Potts, 12, IS 

Oct 1777, 10 Feb 1778, Potts Papers, 3: 360, 

363; 402; Thacher, JOllmal, p. 110. 

66. Thacher, Journal, p. J 03, quote from 

p. 103; Wilkinson, Memoirs, 1: 323; James 

Ripl ey Jacobs, Tarnished Warrior, MajorGeneral James Wilkinson (New York: Macmillan Co., 1938), pp. 70-276 passim, 296. 

67. Thacher, JOllmal, pp. 112, 113- 14, 

quote from p. 112. 

68. Malachi Treat to Potts, 20 Oct 1777, 

A Return of the Patients Now in the Gen. 

Hasp.! Who Have Been Examined by the 

Prescribing Physicians and Recommended for 

Furlows Albany November 13th 1777, A General Return of the Wounded in the Gen. 

Hospital at Albany in the Service of the 

United States, 14 Nov 1777, A Return of the 

Sick in Gen. Hospital Albany Novr 14th 1777, 

A General Return o f the Sick and Wounded 

in the General Hospitals at Albany and 

Schenectady December 16th 1777, and Andrew 

Downe to Potts, 27 Dec 1777, Potts Papers, 

3: 357, 374, 379, 380, 384, 389. 

69. Dirk Van Ingen to Potts, 16 Aug 1777, 

A Return of the Sick and Wounded Gen. 

Hosp.1 Schenactady [sic] Nov 10 1777, A 

General Re turn o f the Sick and Wounded in 

the General Hospitals at A lbany and Schenectady December 16th 1777, A General Return 

of the Sick and Wounded in the General Hospital Northern Department Albany Febry 16th 

1778, and Robert Johnston to Potts, 23 Feb 

1778, Potts Papers, 4: 276, 371, 384, 407, 

410. 

70. A General Return of the Sick and 

Wounded in the General Hospitals at Albany 

and Schenectady December 16th 1777 , Robert 

Johnston to Potts, 22 D ec 1777, Malachi Treat 

to Potts, 23 Dec 1777, A Return of the 

Present State of the Gener! Hospital N. De~ 

partment at A lbany & SChenectady January 

1778, and Robert Johnston to Potts, 15 Jan 

1778, Potts Papers, 3: 384, 386, 387, 39 1, 

394. 

7 1. Thacher, Journal, p. 120; Shippen report 

of 24 Nov 1777, Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 

239; Smith, "Potts," p. 19; Robert Johnston, 

Memorial to Congress, 3 1 May 1786, and 

Malachi Treat, Statement, 30 May 1786, in 

Washington, N ational Archives, Records of 

the Continental and Confederation Cong resses 

and the Constitutional Convention, Record 

Group 360, Papers of the Continental 

Congress, 1774-1789, Microfilm Publication 

M247, roll 38, items 129, 137. 

72. Thacher, JOllrnal, pp. 130- 31, quote 

from p. 121 ; Malachi Treat to Potts, 16 Feb 

1778, A General Return of Sick, Wounded, 

etc., in the General Hospital Northern ar ~ 

ment Albany March 16th 1778, Robert Johnston to Potts, 19 Apr 1778, Samuel Stringer to 

Potts, 20 Apr 1778, Potts Papers, 4: 405, 420, 

442, 443, 470. 

73. Thacher, Biography, p. 153; Joseph 

Meredith Toner, The Medical Men 0/ the 

Revolution With a Brief History 0/ the Medical Department of the Comillelllal Army 

(Philadelphia : Collins, 1876), p. 128; Gordon, 

Aesculapius, p. 127; Ford, PUlli am, p. 22; 

Washington, N ational Archives, List of Officers 

of the Medical Department U.S. Army 1775 

to Present Date, Record Group 112, entry 84, 

room 20 1. Shippen's report of 24 Nov 1777, 

Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 239. 

74. Charles B. Graves, "Dr. Philip Turner 

of Norwich, Connecticut," Annals 0/ Medical 

History 10 (1928) : 5, 7, 8; Ford, Plltnam, 

pp. 55- 56. 

75. Quote from Isaac Foster, 2 Oct 1777, 

Gibson, Otto, p. 286; Benjamin Rush to Willi am Shippen, 2 Dec 1777, Butterfield, Letters 

of Rush, 1: 170. 

76. Quote from Isaac Foster to Mr. Bartlet, 

21 Mar 1778, Foster Papers, fold er 1; Ford, 
242 THE ARM Y M E 0 I CA L D EPA R T M EN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Pltfllam, p. 21 ; S. Tenney to Peter Turner, 22 

Mar 1778, in Washington, Library of Congress, 

Manuscript D ivision, Papers of Peter Turner, 

1778- 1812. 

CHAPTER 5 

1. Unless otherwise indicated , passages concerning military operations in this chapter are 

based on the following : Maurice Matloff, ed., 

America" Military History (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1969); Spaulding, 

Army; Christopher Ward, The War of the 

Revo/lltioll, cd. John R. Alden, 2 vols. (New 

York : Macmillan Co., 1952; and Weigley, 

Army. 

2. Unless otherwise indicated, material concerning the Hospital D epartment in this chapter is based on Brown, Medical D epartment; 

Duncan, Medical M en; and Gibson, 0110. The 

preceding paragraph is also based on the following volumes: Quote from Henry Dearborn, 

Journals 0/ Henry Dearborn 1776-1783 

(Cambridgc: John Wilson and Son, 1887) , p. 

18; Charl es Albert More, Chevalier de Pontgibaud, A French Vollinteer 0/ the War 0/ 

/ndepem/ell ce, trans. and ed. Robert B. Douglas (New York: Benjamin Bloom, 1972), p. 

56; George Otto T revelya n, Saratoga and 

Brandywine, VafJey Forge, England ami 

France at War, T he American Revolution, vol. 

4 (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1929), 

p. 379; General Orders, 6 and 12 Jul 1778, 

Fitzpatrick, Washill grofl , 12: 160-6 1, 172; 

James Craik to Jonathan Potts, 29 Jul 1778, 

Potts Papers, 4 : 479. 

3. James Craik to Jonathan Potts, 29 Jul 

1778, Potts Papers, 4 : 479; General Orders, 7 

Aug 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 12: 289; 

A Return of the Sick and Wounded in the 

Army of the United States Commanded by His 

Excellency General Washington on September 

7, 1778, and Weekly Relurn of the Sick of Ihe 

Army of the United States, Commanded by 

His Excellency General Washington-White 

Plains August 24, 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 

135, folde rs 3- 3, items 54, 55. 

4. General Orders, 12 and 13 Sep 177 8, 

and \Vashington to President of Congress, 4 

Dec 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 12: 430, 

447; 13: 36 1; RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 

3- 3, items 54, 55. 

5. Quote from Washington to Dr. James 

Tillotson, 26 Jul 1778, Fitzpatri ck, Washillgton, 12: 235, James Craik to Jonathan Po tts. 

29 Jul 1778, Potts Papers, 4: 479. 

6. Peter Angelakos, "The Army at Midd lebrook 1778-1779," New Jersey Historical 

Society Proceedings 70 ( 1952): 98.99- 100, 

J 12, 11 6-17, and Barnabas Binney 10 Gen 

Nathanael G rcene, 18 May 1779, p. 11 7; 

General Orders, 10 Mar and 8 Apr 1779. 

Fitzpatrick , Washington, 14: 223, 347 . 

7. General Orders. I I Feb 1779. Fitzpatrick, WasliiflRtoll, 14: 100- 101. quote from 

p. 101; Angelakos, " Midd lcbrook," pp. \05 , 

107; Bayne-Jones, Prevelllive Medicine, pp. 

53-54, 58-59. 

8. Returns of the Sick in Camp Commanded 

by His Excellency General Washington, 13 

Jul 1779,2 Aug 1779. 10 Aug 1779, RG 93, 

M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, ilems 30. 31, 32; 

Weekly Return of the Sick in the Army of the 

Uniled Slatcs, Com. nded [sic] by His Excelly 

Genrl Washinglon , 4 Oct 1779, RG 93, M246, 

roll 135, folder 3-3, ilem 61: Angelakos, 

"Middleb rook," p. 96; General \-Vashington to 

General Knox, Jun 1779, Fitzpatrick, Wash -

ington, 15: 2140. 

9. Theodore G. Thaye r, "The War in New 

Jersey ; Battles, Alarllms, and the Men o f the 

Revolution," N ew Jersey Historical Society 

Proceedillgs, n. s. 7 1 ( 1953): 106: Ri cardo 

Torres-Reyes, M orrislowll Natio1lal Historical 

Park: 1779-/780 E1Ical1lpmenl: A Study 0/ 

M edical Services (Washington: Office of History al](I Historic Architecture, Easte rn Service Cenle r, April 1971) , pp. 4-5 ; Don Higginbotham, The War 0/ American Independence, 

Military Alliflldes, Policies, ami Practice, 

1763-1789 (New York: Macmillan Co., 

1971), p. 356. 

10. Unless otherwise indicated, the section 

concerni ng Morristown is based on TorresReyes, Study. The preceding paragraph also 

contains material from Thayer, "N ew Jersey," 

pp. 99, 106; Thachcr, lol/rl/o!, pp. 176-77; 

Journal of Lt Charles Nlikerck, in Frederick 

Cook, cd ., JOllrnals 0/ the Mililary Expedition 

0/ Major G eneral Jolm SlIlIivan A gainst the 

Six Naliolls 0/ In dians ill 1779 Wilh Records 

0/ Ce11lellflia/ Celebrations (Auburn, N.Y.: 

K napp, Peck & Thompson. 1887), p. 22 1. 

I I. Journal of Rudolphus Van Hovenbllrgh, 

Cook, JOI/rl/o!s, p. 284; S. Sydney Bradford, 
Notes to Chapter 5 243 

"Hunger Menaces the Revolution 

M ary/and Historical Magazine 6 1 ( 1966): 

5- 6; Risch, Quartermaster Support, p. 57; 

Thacher, Journal, p. 18 1; Reed, Joseph Reed, 

2: 191. 

12. Lesse r, Sillews, pp. 152- 53 ; RG 93, 

M246, roll 135, fo lder 3-1, item 2; T orresReyes, SlIId)" pp. 8- 9, 28- 30, 8 1, 82-84. The 

fi gures given by Lesser do not entirely agree 

wit h those of Torres-Reyes. The reader should 

also note that Torres-Reyes concludes that only 

4 16 men at Morristown were sick in February 

on the basis of a return which, he states, deals 

with the numbe r of men sick in hospita ls a nd 

therefore, of course, tiDes not deal with those 

sick in their own tents. The nature of the returns from this period makes this type of 

error all 100 casy. Torres-Reyes also uses the 

fit-for-duly figure as if it constituted the total 

enroll ment and on this basis gives 3.7 percent 

as the proportion of the army at Morristown 

which was sick. 

Torres-Reyes docs point out that although 

a reconstruction of a T ilton hut was erected 

at Jockey Hollow in the t 930's, late r investigation has revealed that there was no evidence 

that as la rge a building as a T ilton hospital 

was evcr erectcd therc. Tilton himself was 

stationed at Basking Ridge in the winter of 

t 779- 80, and a re ference drtted February 

1780 has been located which mentions that a 

hospita l was buill there for Tilton. 

13. Journal of Lt William McKendry, Cook, 

Jot/mals, p. 2 11 ; Heath, M em oirs, p. 240. 

14. James Craik , "A Letter Written by Jas. 

Cra ik to Andrew Craigie, Esq., Apy. Genl., 

August t 780, Rel ating to the Condition of the 

Army, Communicated by Nathaniel Paine," 

Massachflsetts His/orical Society Proceedings, 

2d ser. 15 ( 190 1-2 ) : 363. 

15. Dr. William Eustis called the unit at 

Robinson's H Ollse a fl ying hospital (Eustis to 

Benedi ct Arnold , 7 Aug 1780, Washington 

Papers, 4: 69). John Mathews to Medical 

Commi ttee, 10 Aug 1780, Burnett, Letters, 5: 

320-2 1. 

16. Shippen to Washington, 4 J an 178 1. 

Washingto n Pape rs, 4: 73. 

17. Reports of Mar, May, a nd Jun 178 1, 

Cochra n Lcttcr Book. 

18. General Orders, 20 J un 1781, Fitzpatrick, WWihington, 22: 238 . 

19. Reports of Jul , Aug, and OCI 178 1, 

quote from Aug 178 1, Cochra n Letter Book. 

20. Thomas Coffin Amory, Th e Mili/ary 

Services and Pt/blic Lile 01 Major-General 

Joh" SlIlIivan 01 the A merictll/ Re volt/tionary 

Army ( Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat 

Press, 1968 reprint of 1868 cd.), p. 152; R. W. 

Vail, ed ., Th e Revollltionary Diary 01 Liellt. 

Obadia" Gore, Jr. (New York: The New York 

Public Library, 1929), p. 20n; Order Book of 

Lt Col Fra ncis Barber. pp. 7, 8, in Louise 

Wells Murray, cd., NOles From Crall Colf ~ 

fioll in Tioga Point Milselllll 0 11 the SlIlIivan 

Expeditioll 0/ 1779 and Its Cem ellnial Celebratioll 011879, . .. (Athens, Pa .: 1929) . 

2 1. Quote fro l11 Orderly Book, 19 Jun-30 

lui 1779, Penllsylvania Archives, 6th se r. 14 : 

33; Shippen, Just Account; Journal of Lt John 

L H ardenburg, Cook, JOt/rnals, p. 122; Order 

Book of Lt Col Fra ncis Barber, p. 25. Murray, 

Notes. 

22. Journal of 1I William MeKendry, Cook, 

JOllmals, p. 200. 

23. Quote from Journal of Rudolphus Van 

Hovenburgh, Cook, Journals, p. 276: "Order 

of March of Hand's Brigade From Wyoming 

to Tioga," Penllsylvania Arc"ives, 6th ser. 14: 

112, 11 5, 11 6. 

24. Orderly Book, 19 Jun 1779, p. 52; 

"Order of Mareh," p. 76; Order Book of 1I 

Col Francis Barber, p. 61, Murray, Noles. 

25. O rder Book of Lt Col Francis Barber, 

p. 78, Murray, Notes; Journal of Sgt Maj 

George Grant, Cook, JOllmals, p. 110; labez 

Campfield, "Diary of Dr. Jabez Campfield, 

Surgeon in 'Spencer's Regiment .' While Attached to Sullivan's Expedition Against the 

India ns From May 23d to Oet 2d, 1779," 

New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings, 

2d sre. 3 (1873): 12 1. 

26. J ames Clinton to George Clinton, 30 

Aug 1779, in Henry Steele Commage r and 

Richa rd B. Morris, eds., T"e Spirit 01 SeventySix: The Story 01 the American Revoltltioll As 

Told by ParlicipalllJ (New York: Harper & 

Row, 1967), p. 101 6; Journals of James Norris, George G rant, Moses Fellows, Gookin, 

Van Hovc nburgh, McKendry, Adam Hubley, 

Burrowes, and Erkuri es Beatty, Cook, JOllrlIals, pp. 30, 34, 43, 47, 89, 106, 110, 160, 

166, 233-34, 270; Jou rnal of 1I Robert 

Parker, in New York (State) University, Divi-
244 THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPART MENT , 1775 - 1 8 18 

sicn of Archives and History, The SllllivGIlClinton Campa ign ill 1779. Chronology and 

Selected Documeflts (Albany: The University 

of the State of New York, 1929), p. 202; 

"Order of March," p. 100. 

27. "Order of Mareh," pp. 112, 11 5, 116. 

28. Journal of James Norri s, Cook, Jour-

/lals, p. 237; Albert Hazen Wright, The SlItfivall Expedition 0/ 1779, Th e Losses, Studies 

in History No. 33 of New York Historical 

Source Studies ( 1965), pp. 2-2 1, 28-29. 

29. Quote from Dr. James Falloo to Dr. 

Thomas Burke, 1 Apr 1779, in North Carolina, Th e State Records 0/ North Carolina, 26 

vols. (Goldsboro, N.C.: Nash Brothers, 1886-

1907), 14 : 50; William Shippen to General 

Washington, 5 Oct 1778, WaShington Papers, 

4: 32. 

30. Sproat, "Extraets," pp. 444, 445; Jordan, "Hospitals," p. 157; Hamilton, Moravian 

Church, p. 252; Hamilton, Etlwe;Il. p. 185; 

Sisters' House Diary, Beck, Medicine, p. 12; 

Return of Stores o n Hand in Reading General 

Hospital the First Day of May 1779, and 

Thomas Bond, Jr., to Potts, 16 Aug 1781, 

Potts Papers, 4: 504, 5 17. 

31. Bodo Otto to Medical Committee, 19 

May 1780, Gibson, Otto, pp. 18 1, 182, 183, 

quot e from Journal of the Rev. Dr. James 

Sproat, p. 333; Bodo Otto to Charles Pickering, 26 Aug 1780, RG 93, M859, roll 80; 

John Cochran to Thomas Bond, 1 Oct 1781, 

Cochran Letter Book; William Brown to General Washington, 3 lui 1780, Washington 

Papers, 4: 67; Gibson. "John Augustus," p. 

16; Sproat, "Ex.tracts," p. 445. 

32. Quotes from William Brown to General Washington, 3 Jul 1780, Washington 

Papers, 4: 67; Reports of Aug and Sep 1782, 

Cochran Letter Book. 

33. Sproat, "Extracts," p. 445; Thomas 

George Morton and Frank Woodbury. History 0/ the Penllsy lvania Hospital 1751-1895 

(New York: Arno Press, 1973 reprint of 1895 

edition), pp. 60, 6 1; Francis Randolph Packard, Some Account 0/ the Pennsylvania Hospital, From Its First Rise to the Beginning 0/ 

the Y ear 1938 (Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 

1938), pp. 72, 73; Francis Randolph Packard, 

History of Medicine in the United States 

(New York: Paul B. Hoeber, 1931), pp. 570, 

572, 573. 

34. M inutes of Board Meeting, Morton and 

Woodbury, History, pp. 61-62. 

35. Quote from Minutes of Board Meeting, Packard, History, pp. 574- 75; Morton 

and WOOdbury, History, p. 62; Packard , Hospital, pp. 74-75; A General Return of the Sick 

& Wounded in G. Hospitals of the U nited 

States, 6 Oct 1779, A General Return of the 

~ick and Wounded in the Several Hospitals, 

Belonging to the Army, Commanded by His 

Excell ency General Washington From March 

1 to April 1 1780, and A General Return of 

the Sick and Wounded in the General Hospital 

Belonging to the Army Under Com mand of 

His Excellency General Washington From 

Apri l I to May 1 1778, RG 93 , M246, roll 

135, folder 3-1, items 2, 3, 12; Shippen Report of 3 1 Dec 1779, Gibson, 0110, p. 180; 

Chard, "Cochran," p. 374; Thornton Chard, 

"Illustrations Pertaining to the Medical Life of 

Doc tor John Cochran," Blllletin ollhe History 

of Medicine 20 (1946): 83; Reports of Feb 

and Mar 178 1, Cochran Letter Book. 

36. Reports of Jul, Sep, Oct 178 1, Cochran 

Letter Book; Ford, JOllrnals 01 the Continental Congress, 14: 99. 

37. C. Weisenthal to Potts, 6 Sep 1778, 

Potts Papers, 4: 486. 

38. G ibbes, R. W., ed., Reminiscences, 

Documentary History 01 the American RevolIllion ... , 3 vols. (New York: D. Appleton 

& Co., 1853-57),2: 259- 60,263 ; Angelakos, 

"Middlebrook," pp. 116- 17; General Orders, 

10 Mar 1779, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 14: 

223; Shippen Report of 31 Dec 1779, Gibson, 

0110, p. 180; A General Return of the Sick 

and Wounded in the Several Hospitals, Belonging to the Army, Commanded by His 

Excell ency General Washington From March 

1 to April 1 1780, and From April 1 to May 

1780, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, 

items 2, 3. 

39. A Return of the Sick and Wounded in 

the Gen Hospital at Sunbury From the 31 

July to the 22 of Sept 1779, Weekly Returns 

of 1 Oct, 11- 18 Oct, 1-7 Nov, 7- 13 Dec 

1779, 7 Feb-13 Mar, 17 Apr 1780, Alison 

Papers; "Order of March," p. 11 2; Beatty, 

Cook, Journals, p. 35; Weekly Returns of 10-

17 Jan, 24- 31 Jan, 7-14 Feb, 2 1-28 Feb. 28 

Feb-6 Mar, 6- 13 Mar 1780, Jordan, ·'Returns," pp. 217-19. 
Notes to Chapter 5 245 

40. Quote from Jordan, "Returns," p. 210; 

Returns of 11-18 Oct, 1-7 Nov 1779, Alison 

Papers. 

41. Report of 17 Apr 1780, Alison Papers; 

"Order of March," p, 115, 

42, Angelakos, "Middlebrook," pp, 102-3, 

104- 5; General Washington to Director of the 

Military Hospitals, 3 Jun 1779, and to James 

Craik, 25 Juo 1779, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 

15: 220-21, 318; RG 93, M246, roll 135, 

folder 3-1, item 12, 

43, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, 

items 2, 3; Shippen Report, 31 Dec 1779, Gibson, 01t0, p. 180; Eliza Susan Quincy, "Basking Ridge in Revolutionary Days. Reprinted 

From Her Memoirs," The Somerset County 

Historical Quarterly I (1912): 35, There is 

some question about the location of the hospital, since Quincy gives the date of this hospital as 1776, a year when there is no other 

evidence to indicate that there was a hospital at 

Basking Ridge. She was, however, by her own 

account, an infant when the Revolution began 

and for this part of her story was relying upon 

the recollections of her mother, who was in 

her eighties at the time of the writing. The 

author describes Dr. James Tilton as "director 

of the medical department" when the hospital 

was located at Basking Ridge, but in 1776, 

Tilton was a regimental surgeon in New 

York; Trenton, New Jersey; and Wilmington, 

Delaware. (Eliza Susan Morton Quincy, 

Memoirs [Boston: John Wilson and Son, 

18611, introduction and p, 17; Phalen, Chiefs, 

pp, 22-23,) Thus it seems likely that the 

older woman's memory had misled her concerning the date. 

44. General Washington through Harrison 

to Capt William Reily, 21 May 1780, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 18: 40 I n. 

45 . Quotations from Malachi Treat to General Washington, 27 Jan 1781, Washington 

Papers, 4: 74; Reports of Mar, May, and Jun 

1781, Cochran Letter Book; James Tilton to 

Timothy Pickering, 3 Oct 1780, RG 93, M859, 

roll 88, item 25616; General Greene to James 

Tilton, 27 Sep 1780, in George Washington 

Greene, The Life 0/ Nathanael Greene, 3 vols. 

(New York : G, p, Putnam and Son, 1867-

1871),2: 229-30, 

46. Ford, Journals of the Continental Congress, 11: 787-88; Burnett, Leiters, 4: 249n; 

General Washington to Philip Turner, 24 Feb 

1780, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 18: 49- 50; 

Jabez Hatch to Timothy Pickering, 21 Dec 

1780; and Isaac Foster to Timothy Pickering, 

21 Dec 1780, RG 93, M859, rolls 82,. 85, 

items 23733, 24798; RG 93, M246, roll 135 , 

folder 3- 1, items I, 2, 3, 

47, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, 

items 1, 2, 3, and A Return of the Sick and 

Wounded in the Military Hospital Eastern Department, item 14; Isaac Foster to Mr. Peabody, 11 Mar 1780, RG 93, M859, roll II, 

item 3610; General Washington to James Wilkinson, 6 De.c 1779, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 

17: 221 ; Thacher, JOllrnal, p, 152, 

48, Reports of Mar, May, and Jun 1781. 

and John Cochran to Thomas Bond, 5 Jul 

1781 , Cochran Letter Book, 

49. Thacher, Journal, p. 131 j Shippen, Just 

Account; Radbill, "Alison," p. 249; General 

Washington to trustees of church at New 

Windsor, 31 Jul 1779, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 16 : 25; RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 

3-1, item 12; A Return of the Sick Sent From 

Robinson's House to New Windsor, 20 Oct 

1778, Alison Papers, 

50, A flying hospital and a general hospital 

could, of course, have shared the same facilities, but this confusion is, perhaps, more likely 

the result of the casual use of terms common 

at this time. William Eustis to Benedict Arnold, 

7 Aug 1780, Washington Papers 4: 69; Chard, 

"Cochran," p. 374. 

51. Return of 20 Oct 1778, Alison Papers; 

Chard, "Cochran," p. 374; William Eustis to 

Benedict Arnold, 7 Aug 1780, Washington 

Papers, 4: 69; Fisher, "Journal," pp, 38-39, 

52, John Cochran to Colonel Hay, 10 Jul 

1781, and to Thomas Bond, 5 Jul 1781, 

Coch; an Letter Book, 

53, Reports of May- Oct 1781, Cochran 

Letter Book, 

54, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, 

item 12; The American Revo/wion 1775-

1783: An Atlas of 181h Century Maps and 

Charts: Theaters of Operations (Washington: 

Government Printing Office, 1972), 139D, 

55. General Washington to Dr. William 

Shippen, 9 Sep 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washing/on, 

12: 418; Graves, "Turner," pp, 8, 11; RG 93, 

M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, item 14, 
246 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

56. Isaac Foster to Mr. Peabody, 4 Mar 

1780, RG 93 , M859, roll 11 , item 36 10; RG 

93, M246, roll 135, items 1. 2, 3, 13; Cochra ne, "Medical Departlllent," pp. 25 0- 5\; 

General Vv'a shington to John Berrien, 25 Feb 

178 1, Fitzpatrick, Washing/oil , 2 1: 292. 

57. \Vhile no slate Was mentioned in this 

return , General Washington ordered Bedford 

patients moved east to D anbury, wh ich rul es 

Qut Bedford. Massachusetts, east of Danbury; 

Bedford, Pennsylvania , is 100 fa r away and in 

the Middle D epartment (Ge nera l Washington 

to Dr. William Shippen, 9 Sep 1778, Fi1zpatrick, Washillg/oll, 12: 4 18). William Eustis, 

26 A ug 1780, in Edward Warren , The Life 0/ 

John Warrell, M.D. (Boston: Noyes, 

Holmes, & Co. , 1874) , pp. 187-88 (Edward 

\Varren's assumption that Eustis's hospital 

was in Pennsylvania is obviously incorrect. 

The context of the letter makes it clear that 

the hospital was in the Eastern Department). 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, fo lder 3-1, item 14. 

58. RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, 

item 14; General \\lashington to Dr. 'William 

Shippen, 9 Sep 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 

12: 4 18. 

59. Turner to Dr. Timothy Hosmer, 16 Nov 

1778, and to Wi ll iam Shippen, 15 Mar 1779, 

Graves, "Turner," pp. 7 , II; RG 93, M246, 

roll 135, folde r 3- 1, it em 14; Ford, 101l1'lla/s 

0/ the COl/til/el/tal COl/gress, 17 : 447 ; Philip 

Turner to Hooker, 29 Aug 1780, RG 93, 

M859, roll 121 , item 034827; John Cochran 

to Peter Turner, 25 Mar 1781 , Cochran Letter 

Book; Thacher, JOllrnal, p. 163. 

60. Packard, History, p. 600; Norwood, 

Medical Edllcation, p. 43; John Warren to 

Governor and Council of Massachusetts, n.d., 

Warren, lollll Warren , pp. 193-94; John 

Cochran to Robert Mo rr is, 26 Jul 178 1, Chard, 

"Cochran," p. 372; John Cochran to Samuel 

Huntington, 24 May 1781, Cochrane, "Medical Department," p. 248; John Cochran to 

Thomas Bond, 1 Oct 178 1, Reports of Mar 

and May 178 1, Coch ran Letter Book; RG 93 , 

M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, items 1, 2, 3, 12, 

14. 

6 1. Malach i Treat to Jonathan Potts, 7 

May 1778 and 28 Jan 1779, Potts Papers, 4: 

442, 498, quote from 498; Washington to Brig 

Gen James Cl inton, 19 Jan 1779, to Malachi 

Treat, 19 Jan 1779, and to Lord Stirling, 26 

Jan 1779, General Orders. 2 Feb 1779, Fitzpat ri ck, Washinf,:10fl , 14: 23, 24, 25. 47, 67; 

Angclakos, "M iddl ebrook," p. 117 ; Thacher. 

JOllmal, p. 130; Ford, JOllrnals 01 the Colllinelltal COllgress, 7: 254. 

62. General Clinton to Mrs. Cli nton, 13 

Jun 1779, New York Universit y, Docllments. 

p.96. 

63. RG 93, M246. roll 135. folder 3-1, 

items 2, 7, 12; Wi ll iam Brown to General 

Washington, 3 Jul 1780, Washington Papers. 

4: 67; John Mathews to Medical Committee, 

10 Aug 1780, Burnett, Lelfers, 5: 320-2 1. 

64. Malachi Treat to Medical Committee. 

2 1 Aug 1780, Potts Papers, 6: 519. 

65. Reports of May- Oct 178 1. Cochran 

Letter Book, quote from May 1781. 

66. Quote from John Cochran to Samuel 

Huntington , 24 May 1781 , Cochra ne, "Medical Department." p. 248; Return of Medical 

Department, 23 Ju l 178 1, Dunca n. Merlieal 

M ell, pp. 344-45. 

67. Sproat Joumnl, Gibson, 01(0, p. 332; 

General 'Washington to Malachi Trea t, 19 Jan 

1779, Washington Papers, 4: 55: Washington 

to Brig Gen James Cli nton, 19 Jnn 1779, and 

General Orders, 3 Feb 1781 , Fitzpat ri ck. 

Washingtoll , 14: 23; 2 1: 174; Major Wylls to 

Samuel Blachley Webb, 4 Apr 178 1, in James 

Watson \\lebb, ed., R elllilliseellce.\· 01 Gen" 

Samllel B. Webb . .. , 2 vols. (New York: 

privately printed, 1882). 2: 3D: Heath, 

Memoirs, p. 296; General Orders, \Vnsh ington, 8 Jan 1782, RG 93 , M853. roll 9. book 

57, pp. 111- 12; Thacher, JO/lmo/, pp. 250-5 1, 

298. 

68. General \Vashington to James Craik, 

24 May 1780, Washington Papers, 4: 66; 

Packard, History, pp. 590-9 1, 594; Lafayette 

to Le Comte de Rochambeau, 19 May 1780, 

in Mar ie Joseph Paul Yves Lafayette, Memoires, eOl'respolldallee, el mam/serits du 

ge/l(!rof Lafayette pllb/ides par sa lamil/e, 2 

vols. (Brussels: Societe beige de Librairie, 

1837), I: 117; Phalen, Cilie/s, p. 19. 

69. Hall, "Beginnings," p. 123; \Villiarn 

Heath to Governor of Rhode Island, 18 Jun 

1780, Packard, History, pp. 592-93; Maurice 

Bouvet, Le Service de sallIe Iran~ai.'i pendalll 

la gue rre d'indepem/al1ce des ElafS-Un;s 

(Pa ris: Hippocrate, 1933), pp. 31-32, 56, 

58- 60, 91; Craik to Washington, 2 1 Jun 
Noles 10 Chapler 5 247 

1780 , Washington Papers, 4: 67; Ludwig von 

Closen, The Revo/lI1iolla ry Journal 0/ 8 aroll 

Ludwig vall Clasen, 1780-/783, ed. Evelyn 

M. Acomb (Chapel Hill: Uni versity of North 

Carolina Press, 1958 ), pp. 28, 28n, 37; Joh n 

E. Lane, "Jca n-Frant;ois Coste, Chief Physician of the French Expeditionary Forces in 

the American Revolution," Americana 22 

( 1928): 54-55; Packard, Hislory, p. 594. 

70. Unless otherw ise indicated, m1.derial in 

this chapter conce rning the care of military 

patients south of Virginia is based on Chalmers Gaston D avidson, Frielld 0/ 'he People: 

The Life 0/ Peter Fay.\'sol/X 0/ Char/estoll 

(Columbia, S,C.: South Carolina Medical Association, 1950). The preceding paragraph is 

also based on Ford, JOi/mals 0/ the Camille,,-

,al COllgress, 19: 292-94. 

7 1. Quote from David Oli phant to Gen 

Will iam Moultrie, 18 Jul 1778. Davidson, 

Fayssollx, p. 25; Benjamin Mather of the Office of Accounts, Hospital Department, 12 

Oct 1786, RG 360, M247, roll 38, item 153. 

72. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War in the 

Southern Department of the United Stafes, 3d 

ed., 2 vols. (Ph il adelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, 18 12) , I: 139; Gibson, "Role of Disease," p. 126; Hugh Williamson to Dr. Hay. 

24 Aug 1780, to Major England, 30 Aug 1780, 

to Hon Thomas Benbury, Aug and 1 Dec 

1780, and Maj William R. Davie to Governor 

Caswell, 29 Aug 1780, North Carolina, Slate 

Records, 15: 6 1-62, 166-67, 370; Gibson, 

"Captured," pp. 388- 89; Banastre Tarleton, 

A History 0/ Ihe Campaiglls oj 1780 lind 

1781 in the SOllthern Provinces 0/ North 

America (London: T. Cadell, 1787), pp. 3 1-

32; D avid Hosack, A Biographical Memoir 0/ 

Hugh Williamson, M.D., LL.D. (New York: 

C. S. Van Winkle, 1820), pp. 56, 57- 60; 

Henry Laurens to Benjamin Lincoln, 9 Oct 

1779, Burnett, Lelfers, 4: 479-80 ; Col Charles 

C. Pinckney to Moultrie, I lui 1778, Council 

of War at Camp at Fort Tonyn, II Jul 1778, 

Moultrie to Lieutenant Colonel Balfour , 22 

Nov 1780, David Oliphant to Moultrie, 14 

Nov 1780, and Peter Fayssoux. to David Ramsay, 26 Mar 1785, in Willi am Moultr ie, Memoirs of the American Revo/wiotl . . . , 2 vols. 

(New York: New York T imes & Arno Press, 

1968 reprint of 1802 ed.), 1: 229, 235-36; 

2 : 112, 11 4, 142, 143, 398. 

73. Quote from Horatio Gates to Director 

of the Hospitals in the Southern D epartment, 

Gates, "Letters," p. 284, and Gates to President of Board of War, 20 Jul 178 1, p. 288; 

Lyman C. Draper, King's ' Moulltain and Its 

Heroes: History of the Battle of Killg's Mountaill , October 7th 1780, ami the Events Wh ich 

Led 10 II (Cincinnati : P. G. Thomson, 188 1), 

p. 306; Joseph Graham, "N arrative of the 

Revolutionary War in N orth Carolina in 

1780 and 1781 ," in Papers 0/ Archibald D. 

Murph ey, ed. W. H. Hoyt, 3 vols. (Raleigh. 

1914), 2: 231n; Surgeon Browne to Major 

General Gates, 20 Aug 1780, and Gen R. 

Caswell to Gov Abner Nash, 3 1 Jul 1780. 

North Carolina, Slale Records, 14: 562; 15: 

11. See also Table I. 

74. Quote from Nathanael Greene to Continental Congress, 28 Dec 1780, in Allen 

Bowman, Morale of the American Revolutionary Army (Washington: Ameri can Counc il on Public Affairs, 1943); Graham, "Narrative," 2: 233, 234; Proceedings of the Board 

of War, Hillsboro, N.C., 17 Nov 1780, North 

Carolina, Stale Records, 14: 452. 

75. Gen Nathanae l Greene to Colonel Marbury. 16 Dec 1780, North Carolina. Stale Records, 15: 181; Theodore Thayer, Na lhanael 

Greene, Strategist of the American Re volutioll (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1960), 

p. 294; Gibbes, Reminiscences, p. 274. 

76. General Moultrie to Lieutenant Colonel 

Balfour, 12 Feb 178 1, Moultrie, Memoirs, I : 

159. 

77. Maj John Armstrong to General Sumter, I Jul 178 1, and General Sumter to Lt 

Col John B. Ashe, 14 Jul 178 1, North Carolina, Slale Records, 15 : 505, 533; Ford, 

Journals of the COlltinental Congre.u, 19: 292 -

94; Norwood, "Medicine," p. 399. 

78. Quote from Dr. Robert Wharry to Dr. 

Reading Beatty, 27 Jul 1781, in Joseph M. 

Beatty, Jr., "Letters From Continental Officers to Doctor Reading Beatty, 178 1- 1788," 

Pellllsylvania Magazine of History a"d Biography 54 (1930): 161; Maj John Armstrong 

to Gen Nathanael Greene, 1781, Greene, 

Greene, 3: 347; Lee, Memoirs of the War, 2: 

145. 

79. Gen Stephen Drayton to General Sumter, 29 Jun 1781, N orth Carolina, State Records, 15: 497. 
248 THE ARM Y M E DI e A L D EPA R T MEN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

80. RG 360, M247, roll 30, item 22; Lee, 

Memoirs 0/ the War, 1: 94n; Gibbes, Reminiscences, pp. 279, 281. 

81. Greene, Greene, 3: 407, 408, quote 

from Greene to President of Congress, n.d., 

3: 407; Nathanael Greene, "Report on the 

'Battle of Eutaw Springs,' It Magazine 0/ History , Extra No.3, pp. 8-10; Bowman, 

Morale, p. 23. 

82 Resolve of the Continental Congress, 25 

Ma· " I, RG 360, M247, roll 30, item 22; 

Davl... Jliphant to General Moultrie, 7 May 

1781, in David Ramsay, The History 0/ the 

Revollllion ill South-Carolina ... , 2 vots. 

(Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1785), 2: 526- 27; 

2: 288. 

83. Blanton, Medicille, p. 273; Robert B. 

Munford, Jr., "Military Hospital in Williamsburg, 1777," Virginia Magazine 0/ History 

30 (1922): 389-90. 

84. Ford, Journals 0/ the Continelltal Congress, 7: 292, 317; 9: 10 16; Blanton, M edicine, pp. 252, 274; Goodman, Rush, p. 86. 

85. A Return of the Sick & in Camp and 

Fredericksburg and the Vicinity Under the 

Command of His Excellency George Washington, Oct 25 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135, 

folder 3-1, item 29. 

86. Quote from General Washington to 

Wi lliam Shippen, 10 Oct 1779, Washington 

Papers, 4 : 61; William Shippen to T. Bland, 

27 Nov 1780, Duncan, Medical Mel!, p. 322; 

General Washington to General Scott, 27 

luI 1779, and to William Brown, 22 Apr 

1780, Fitzpatrick, Washillgtoll, 15: 492- 93; 

18: 291. 

87. Report of Mar 1781, Cochran Letter 

Book; William Rickman to Brig Gen John 

Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, 16 May 1780, 

and William Brown to Washington, 3 Jul 

1780, Washington Papers, 4 : 66, 67; Bowman, Morale, p. 22. 

88. Blanton, Medicille, pp. 248, 276; William O. Owen, cd., The Medical Department 

0/ the United States Army. Legislative and 

Administrative History . .. (New York: P. 

B. Hoeber, 1920), pp. 164, 165; Commager 

and Morris, Seventy-Six, p. 1230. 

89. Blanton, Medicine, p. 8; Davidson, 

Fayssollx, pp. 52, 53; Thomas Tudor Tucker 

to Saint George Tucker, 27 luI 1781, in Williamsburg, Va., The College of William and 

Mary in Virginia, Earl Gregg Swem Library, 

Special Collections Division, Tucker-Coleman 

Papers, 1780-82, microfilm roll M- I3 . 

90. Quote from lohn Davis, "The Yorktown Campaign: Journal of Captain John 

Davis, of the Pennsylvania Line," Pennsylvania Magazine 0/ History ami Biography 5 

( 1881) : 293; Josiah Atkins, Diary and Letters in Joseph Anderson, cd., The Tawil and 

City 0/ Waterbury, Connecticut, From the 

Aboriginal Period to the Year Eighteen HUll· 

dred and Ninety-Five, 2 vols. (New Haven: 

Price & Lee Co. , (1896), I : 476; William 

Feltman, "The Journal of Lieut. William 

Feltman, of the First Pennsylvania Regiment, 

From May 26, 1781 , to April 25, 1782, Embracing the Siege of Yorktown and the Southern Campaign," Pennsylvania Historical Society Col/ectioll I (1853): 303-5. 

91. Davis, Journal, p. 295 ; William McDowell, "lou mal of Lieut William McDowell 

of the First Penna Regiment, in the Southern 

Campaign 1781-1782," Pennsylvania Archives, 2d ser. 15: 301. 

92. Atkins, Diary, Anderson, Waterbury, 

pp. 476, 477, 478, 479; Bouvet, Service de 

same, pp. 83, 85; Feltman, "lournal," p. 309. 

93. Reports of Sep and Oct 1781 , Cochran 

Letter Book; Blanton, Medicille, pp. 275-76; 

Bouvet, Service de same, p. 88 ; Thacher. 

JOllrnal, pp. 281- 82. 

94. Bouvet, Service de sante, p. 94, and JeanFran~ois Coste to Dr. Cornette, 3 Feb 1786, 

p. 95; Ebenezer Denny, Military Journal 01 

Major Ebenezer Denny . . . (Ph iladelphia: 

Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1859), p. 

39. 

95. General Orders, 2 Oct 1781, and Washington to Jean-Fran~ois Coste, 7 Oct 1782, 

Fitzpatrick, Washington, 23: 168 ; 25: 244; 

Bouvet, Service de sallie, pp. 51, 96- 97; Packard, History, p. 590; Hall, "Beginnings," p. 

] 23; General Gregory to Governor Burke, 22 

Aug 1781, North Carolina, State Records, 15: 

618, Blanton, Medicille, pp. 259, 275- 76. 

96. Blanton, Medicille, p. 275; Report of 

Oct 1781, Cochran Letter Book; Thacher, 

Journal, pp. 286, 293; Bouvet, Service de 

sante, p. 97; James Cralk to General Washington, 21 Sep 1781, Washington Papers, 4: 81. 

97. More, French Voitmleer, pp. 88-89. 

98. General Washington to Col Stephen 
Notes to Chapter 5 249 

Moylan, 31 Oct 1781 , Fitzpatrick, Washingtall, 23: 312; General Washington to Gcn 

Arthur St. Clair, 29 Oct 1781 , in Wi ll iam 

Henry Smith, ed. , Tile St. Cla;r Papers. The 

Lile and Public Services 0/ Arthllr St. Clair 

. . . . 2 vets. (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co., 

1882). I : 562; General Washington to James 

Cra ik, 23 Oct 178 1, Washington Papers 4: 

81; Denny. JOllrnal, p. 45; Blanton, Medicine, 

p. 276; Heath. Memoirs, p. 340. 

99. Reports for Nov and Dec, 178 1, Cochran Letter Book. Duncan suggests that Tilton 

preceded Treat and that Tilton's term of service was quite brief (Duncan, Medical Mell. p. 

355), but on 2 Janu ary 1782, General Washington referred to Tilton as Treat's successor 

(General Washington to Lt Col Francis Menlges, 2 Jan 1782, Fitzpatrick, Washing ton, 23: 

423- 24) . A letter from Tilton to a friend 

from Williamsburg is dated 16 December 

1781 (Tilton, 16 Dec 1781, Thacher, Biography, 2: 140), but onc of General Washington's correspondents wrote in a letter dated 

29 November 1781 as if Treat were in charge 

at Williamsburg at that time (Colonel Mentges to General Washington , 29 Nov 1781, 

Chard, "Cochran." pp. 372- 73). A logical assumption would seem to be that Treat directed the hospital at Williamsburg until some 

time in early December 1781, at which time 

he was succeeded by Tilton. 

100. Washington to Rochambeau, 8 Jan 

1782, and to Colonel Mentges, I Mar 1782, 

Fitzpatrick. Washington, 23: 435; 24: 34; 

Colonel Mentges to Washington, 29 Nov 1781, 

Cochran to Tilton, I Jan 1782. and Report 

of Jan 1782, Cochran Leller Book; Blanton. 

Medicine, pp. 277, 283; Closen, ] oumal, p. 

169; Quartermaster General Pickering to Virginia Governor Nelson, 8 Nov 1781 , Duncan, 

Medical Men, p. 355. 

101. General Greene to General Washington, 25 Oct 1781, Sparks, Correspondence, 3: 

430. 

102. Quotes from Feltman, "Journal," pp. 

325. 326, 334; William Addleman Ganoe, 

The History of the United States Army (New 

York: D. Appleton and Co .• 1924) , p. 19. 

103. Quote from Denny, ] oumal, p. 46; 

John Bell Tilden, "Extracts From the Journal 

of Lieutenant John Bell Tilden, Second Pennsylvania Line, 1781- 82," Pennsy lvania Magazine of History and Biography 19 ( 1895): 

226; Doctor Wharry to Dr. Reading Beally. 

12 Mar 1782, Beatty, "Letlers," p. 166; McDowell, "Journal," pp. 312- 20 . 

104. McDowell. "Journal," p. 323. 

105. McDowell, "Journal." pp. 326- 31. 

quote from p. 328; Tilden , "Journal," p. 227; 

Grecnc, Greelle, 3: 456; Denny, ] ournal, p.47. 

106. McDowell, "Journal." pp. 329- 31. 

332, quote from p. 331. 

107. Quote from General Wayne to Benjamin Rush, 24 Dec 1782. in Charles J. Stille, 

Major·Gefleral AllthollY Wayne alld the Perl1lsylvania Line ill the Colltillelltal Army (Philadelphia : J. B. Lippincott Co .• 1893). p. 301; 

General Harmar to SI. Clair. 29 Sep 1782, 

Smith, St. Clair, 1: 569; Feltman, "Journals," 

p. 334. 

108. Edward McGrady, The History 01 

South Carolina jn 'he Revolutioll 1780- 1783, 

2 vols. (New York: Russell & Russell. 1969 

reissue of 1902 publication). pp. 676. 701. 

702; William Seymour, "Journal of the Southern Exped ition. 1780- 1783. by Willi am Seymour, Sergeant-Major of the Delaware Regiment," Penllsylvania Magazine of H;'ftory and 

Biography 7 (1883): 394. 

109. Quote from Thacher, JOI/rl/al. p. 281; 

Heath, Memoirs. pp. 341 - 42, 343, 361; Reports of Feb, May, and Jun. 1782. and Cochran to Thomas Bond, 4 Dec 1781, Cochran 

Leiter Book. 

110. General Washington to Pres John 

Dickinson, 3 Dec 178 1, Fitzpatrick, Washing-

(On, 23: 368-69; Rerort of Dec 178 1 and 

Cochran to Bond. 4 Dec 1781 . Cochran Letter Book; Ltr, Robert Morris to Thomas Bond, 

19 Feb 1782, Library of Congress; Daniel 

Shute, "The Journal of Dr. Daniel Shute. Surgeon in the Revolution 1781- 1782," New 

England Genealogical Register 84 (1930): 

387, 388. 

Ill. General Orders, 6 Sep and 14 Nov 

1782, Fi tzpatrick, Washington. 25: 132. 345; 

Samuel Adams to General Heath, 9 Dec 1781, 

RG 93, M859. roll 101, item 29275. 

112. Reports of Dec 1781-Ju1 1782. Cochran Letter Book. 

113. Reports of Aug, Sep, Nov. Dec 1782. 

Cochran Letter Book. 
250 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L DEI' ART MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

114. Reports of Nov 178 1, Feb and Mar 

1782, Cochran Letter Book; Genera l Washington to William Duer and Daniel Parker, 29 

May 1783, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 26: 460; 

Lists of Officers in the Mil. Hostls of the U.S. 

Excl usive of the Southern Department, J 2 

Nov 1783, RG 93 , M246, roll 135, fo lder 3-3, 

item 59. 

11 5. Reports of May- hil, Sep, Nov, Dec 

1782, Cochran Letter Book. 

11 6. Quote from James Craik to Timothy 

Pickering, 1 May 1782, RG 93, M859. roll 

95, item 27685; General Washington to Sec~ 

rClary at War, 18 May 1782, Fitzpatrick, 

Washingtoll, 24: 263. 

11 7. Quote from General Washington to 

Maj Gen Henry Knox, 11 Nov 1782, F itzpatrick, Washingtoll , 25: 330; William E ustis 

to Timothy Pickering, 3 Oct and 11 Dec 

1782, RG 93, M859, roll 81, items 23505, 

23506; Bouvet, Service de sallIe, p. 84; Thacher, JOllrnal, pp. 307, 324. 

11 8. General Washington to Maj Oen Henry Knox, 11 Nov 1782, Fitzpatri ck, WashingtOil , 25: 330; Reports of Aug- Dec 1782, 

Cochran Letter Book, 

119. Reports of Nov and Dec 178 1, Cochran Letter Book. 

120. Packard, History, p. 575; Reports of 

Nov, Dec 178 1, Jan- May 1782, and Cochran 

to Bond, 4 D ec 1781 , Cochran Letter Book. 

12 1. Packard, History, p. 575; Reports of 

Aug, Oct, Nov 1781, Jan, Feb, Jun- Sep, Nov, 

Dec 1782, Cochran Letter Book. 

122. Ford, JOllmals of the Continental 

COllgress, 25: 740; RG 93, M246, roll 135, 

folder 3- 3, item 59; Reports of Feb, Mar, 

Nov 1781, May-Sep, Nov 1782, Cochran 

Letter Book; Cochran to James Cra ik and to 

John Warren, 10 Oct 1781, Chard, "Cochra n," pp. 365, 372; Gibson, OliO, p. 3 14; 

Cochran, Letters to Binney, 22 Oct 1781, p. 

230. 

123. General Washi ngton to John Cochran, 

18 Jun 1782. Fi tzpatrick, Washington, 24: 

357. 

124. Quote from Genera l Orders. 18 May 

1782, Fitzpatrick. Washington, 24: 265; Ford, 

Journals of the Continental Congress, 25: 740. 

125. Gene ral Orders, 4 Aug 1782, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 24 : 464. 

CHAI'TER 6 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the sections of 

this chapter concerni ng the U.S. A rmy's 

stre ngth and organi za tion are based on John 

F. Ca ll an, The Military Laws of the United 

States Relatillg 10 the A rmy, Volunteers, 

Militia, and to BOl/llly Lands alld Pensions, 

From the FOllndation of the GOllel'llmem 10 

tlte Year 1863 (Philadelphia: George W. 

Childs, 1863); and Weigley, A rilly. Also consulled for the preced ing paragraph was Leonard 

D. White, Th e Federali.\'ls: A Study ill Administrative History, 1789- 180/ (New York: Macmillan Co., 1948), p. 236. 

2. Harry M. Ward. The Departl1lellf of War, 

/781 - 1795 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1962), p. 187. 

3. U nl ess otherwise indicated, mate ri al in 

this chapter re lat ing to military campaigns is 

based on Ganoe, U.S. A rmy; Spaulding. Army; 

and Weigley, A rilly; while materi al describing 

the work of Army surgeons is based on Brown, 

l\lfedica/ Departmenl. The preceding paragraph 

a lso cont ains material from Lurto n Dunham 

I ngersoll , A History oj the War Department of 

the United States, With Biographical Sketches 

oj the Secretaries (Washington: F rancis D. 

Mohun, 1880), p. 212. 

4. U.S. Congress, American State Papers: 

DOC/lmenIS, Legislative and Exec/ltive of the 

Congress of the Un ited States. Class V: Military 

AfJairs, 7 vols. (Washington: Gales and Seaton, 

1832- 6 1), I : 147- 5 1. 

5. Quote from J. W. Daniels to Secretary of 

War, 12 Feb 1810, in Washington. Nat ional 

Archives, Records of the Office of the Secretary 

of Wa r, Record Group 107, Leiters Rece ived 

by the Secretary of War, Main Series, 180 1-

1870, Microfilm Publication M22I , roll 36; 

American Stale Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 

209. and Henry D earborn to HOllse of Representatives, 9 Dec 1807, I: 225; Bernard Devoto, cd., The Journals oj Lewis and Clark 

(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1953), pp. 489-91. 

6. Washington to John Cochran, 10 Aug 

and 4 Nov 1783 , and Washington to Secretary 

of War, 4 Nov 1783, Fitzpatrick, WashillRron , 

27: 95, 230- 31; Orderly Book RG 93 , M853, 

roll 9. book 60, pp. 112- 15 ; Ford. JOllmals 0/ 

the Continental Congress, 25: 740; List of 
Notes to Chapter 6 251 

Officers in the Mil Hostls of the U.S. Exclusive 

of the Southern Department, 12 Nov 1783, RG 

93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 3, item 59. 

7. Quote from Oliver Spencer, quoted by 

Virginius Hall, Forman, Physicians; U.S. Congress, Senate, ]oumal 0/ rile Execlltive Proceedillgs 0/ tlte SCllate of the United States, 1789-

1901 ,32 vols. (Washington: Govenrnent Printing Office, 1828- 1909), I: 46- 47. 

8. Quote from Richard Al1ison to Brig Gen 

1. Harmar, 16 Apr 1789, quoted by Virginius 

C. Hall, "Richard Allison-Surgeon to the 

Legion," Foreman, Physicians; U .S. Congress, 

Senate, ExeclIlive Proceedings, I: 46-47; Josiah 

Harm ar, The Proceet/illgs of a COllrt 0/ 111· 

quiry. Held at the Special Request 0/ Brigadier 

General Josiah Hannar .. (Philadelphia, 

1791), p. 12. 

9. U.S. Congress, Senate, Executive Proceedings, 1: 84, 87; Winthrop Sargent, "Winthrop 

Sargent's Diary While With General Arthur St. 

Clai r's Expedition Against the Indians," Ohio 

Archaeological ami Historical Quarterly 33 

(1924) : 264, 268; Ri chard C. Knopf, 

"Biographical D ata," Forman, Physicians; 

Smith, St. Clair, 2: 200n. and Arthur St. Clair 

to Secretary of War, 17 Nov 1791,2: 267n; 

Frazer E. Wilson, Arthllr St. Clair (Richmond, 

Va. : Garren and Massie, 1944), p. 4. There is 

some confusion concerning the position of 

Victor Grasson. Brown and both Tobey and 

Ashburn, who appear to lean heavily on Brown, 

classify Grasson as a Regular Army surgeon's 

mate, one of those whom the President could 

assign as he saw fit. Grasson is not mentioned 

in Heitman, however, and contemporary records do not specify his status. It should be 

noted that volunteer units did, at least on 

occasion, provide their own surgeons. Brown, 

Medical Department, pp. 73, 271; James Abner 

Tobey, The MuJical D epartment ollhe Army 

(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 

1927), p. 8; Ashburn, Medical Departmenl, 

p. 24; and Francis B. Heitman, Hi.ftorieal 

Register and Dictionary 01 the United States 

Army From Its Organization, September 29, 

1789, to March 2, 1903, 2 vols. (Washington: 

Government Printing Office, 1903). 

10. Sargent, "Diary," pp. 237, 254, quote 

from p. 242; Cyrus Townsend Brady, American 

Fights and Fighters: Stories 01 the First Five 

Wars 01 the United States From the War oj 

the Revolution to the War of 1812 (New 

York: McClure, Phillips & Co., 1900), pr. 

166- 67; Extract from the Diary of Maj 

Ebenezer Denny, 26 Oct 1791, Smith, St. Clair, 

2: 255. 

11. St. Clair Journal , Wilson, SI. Clair, p. 

7 1; Frazer E. Wilson, ed., JOllrnal of Capt. 

Dal/iel Bradley : All Epic oj the Ohio Frontier 

(Greenvi lle, Ohio: Frank H. Jobes & Son, 

1935), p. 26; Testimony of Major Zeigler in 

House Committee In vestigation, Smith, St. 

Clair, 2: 2900. 

12. Quote from Michael McDonough to 

Patrick McDonough, 10 Nov 1791, in Washington, Library of Congress, Manuscript Divi~ 

sion, Peter Force Collection, Arthur St. Clair 

Papers, series 7E, box 60, folders 1782, Ag24-

1793, Ju16; Sargent, "Diary," pp. 253, 264, 

268; Knopf, "Biographical Data," Forman, 

Physicians; RandOlph Greenfield Adllms and 

Howard H. Peckham, cds., Lexington to Fallen 

Timbers 1775- 1794 (ADn Arbor; University 

of Michigan Press, 1942), p. 37; Wilson, 

Bradley, p. 24. 

13. Quote from Michael McDonough to 

Patrick McDonough, 10 Nov 1791, SI. Clair 

Papers; Wilson, St. Clair, p. 82; Extract from 

the Diary of Maj Ebenezer Denny, Smit h, St. 

Clair, 2: 261; Wilson, Bradley, p. 34. 

14. Wilson, Bradley, p. 34. 

15. Sargent, "Diary," p. 265, quote from p. 

254. 

16. Anthony Wayne to Henry Knox, 3 Aug 

1792, in Richard C. Knopf, ed., A Campaign 

II/to the Wilderness; The Wayne~Kl/ox-Picker~ 

ing-McHellry Correspondence, 5 vols. (Columbus, Ohio: Anthony Wayne Parkway Board, 

1955), 1: 45; U.S. Congress, Senate, Executive 

Proceedings, I: 117; Harmar, Inqu iry. pp. 9, 

23; Louis Smith, American Democracy and 

Military Power: A Study of Civil Control oj 

Military Power i/l the UI/ited States (Chicago: 

Unversity of Chicago Press, 1951), p. 177; 

White, Federalists, p. 148. (See also Table 7.) 

17. Wayne, "Orderly Book," p. 350, quote 

from p. 361. 

18. Quote from Anthony Wayne to Henry 

Knox, 3 Aug 1792, Knopf, Campaign, I: 45; 

Wayne, "Orderly Book," p. 350. 

19. Wayne, "Orderly Book," p. 390, quote 
252 T 1/ EA R M Y M E Di e A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

from p. 363; Henry Knox to Anthony Wayne, 

27 Jul and 7 Sep 1792, Knopf, Campaigl/, 1: 

38,76-77. 

20. Quote from Wayne, "Orderly Book," p. 

403; Richard C. Knopf, ed., "A Surgeon's Mate 

at Fort D efiance: The Journal of Joseph Gardner Andrews for the Year 1795," Ohio Historical Qllarterly 66 (1957) : 37; Thomas Taylor 

Underwood, Journal March 26, 1792, /0 March 

18, 1800. An Old Soldier in Wayne's Army 

(Cincinnati, Ohio: Society of Colonial Wars in 

the State of Ohio, 1945), p. 3n. 

2 t . Underwood, Journal, p. 5; Anthony 

Wayne to Henry Knox, 2 Jul 1793, and Knox 

to Wayne, 27 Jul 1793, Knopf, Campaigl/ , 2: 

105- 6, 114- 15; U.S. Congress, Senate, Executive Proceedings, 1: 117, Knopf, "Andrews," 

pp. 61, 170, 170n; John Boyer, "Daily Journal 

of Wayne's Campaign," American Pioneer 1 

( 1842): 320. 

22. Quotes from Boyer, "Journal," p. 320; 

Dwight L. Smith, ed ., "From Greene Ville to 

Fall en Timbers," ["diana Historical Society 

Publicatiol/s 16 (1951 - 52) : 307; Return of the 

Kill ed, Wounded and Missing of the Federal 

Army Commanded by Major General Wayne 

... , in Washington, National Archives, Records of the Office of the Secretary of \Var, 

Record Group 107, Copies of War Department 

Correspondence and Reports, 179 1- 96, Microfilm Publication T982, p. 454; Richard C. 

Knopf, ed., "Two 10urnals of the Kentucky 

Volunteers, 1793 and 1794," Filsol/ Club Historical Quarterly 27 (1953): 266. (See also 

Table 7 011 organization 0/ the Legion.) 

23. Quote from Smith, "Greene Ville," p. 

278; Richard Allison to Anthony Wayne, 23 

Jun 1794, cited by Virginius Hall, "Richard 

Allison-Surgeon to the Legion," Forman, 

Physicians. 

24. Boyer, "Journal," pp. 351 , 352. 

25. Quote from William Clark, "William 

Clark's 10urnal of General Wayne's Campaign," Mississippi Valley Historical Review 

1 ( 1914- 15): 431 ; Wayne to Knox, 17 Oct 

1794, and Wayne to Timothy Pickering, 2 

Sep 1795, Knopf, Campaigl/, 3: 73- 74; 4: 88. 

26. Anthony Wayne to Timothy Pickering, 

18 Nov 1795, Knopf, Campaigl/, 4: 88- 89, 

107, quotes from p. 88, and from Wayne to 

Timothy Pickering, 5 Oct 1795, p. 106; Wayne, 

"Orderly Book," p. 6 19; Charles Whittlesey, 

"General Wadsworth's Division, War of 1812," 

Western Reserve and Norlhem Ohio Historical 

Society Tracts 2 (1879): 11 9. 

27. James McHenry to Anthony Wayne, 16 

Jul 1796, and Wayne to McHenry. 28 Aug 

and 28 Oct 1796, Knopf, Campaign, 5: 26, 

45,71 , 72. 

28 . Francis F. Beirne, War 0/ 1812 (New 

York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1949), pp. 60- 61; 

David A. Durfee, ed., William Henry Harrison 

1773- 1841. Joh" Tyler 1790- 1862. Chrol/ology-D 0 c um e n I s-Bib/iographical Aid s 

(Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. : Oceana Publications, 

1970) , p. 7. 

29. William Henry Harrison to Secretary of 

War, 10 Jul 1811 , General Orders, 20 Sep 

18 11 , Harrison to Secretary of War, 13 Oct 

and 18 Nov 1811, Log of the Army to Tippecanoe, 18 Nov 1811 , Report of the Sick, 

Wounded and Invalids . .. , n.d., in William 

Henry Harrison, Governors' Messages and Letlers, Messages and Letters 0/ William Henry 

Harrison, ed. Logan Esarey, 4 vols. (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Commission, 1922), 

1: 532, 532n, 586, 602, 629, 634, 642- 43; 

Certificates signed by Josiah D . Foster and 

Hosea Blood, 1811, in Richard C. Knopf, ed., 

Document Transcriptions 0/ the War 0/ 1812 

ill the Northwest, 8 vols. (Columbus, Ohio: 

Anthony Wayne Parkway Board, 1957-62). 

5: part I, p. 47. 

30. Josiah D . Foster to George Cheyne 

Shattuck, Jan 1812, Shattuck Papers, 3, Massachusetts Historical Society, quoted in Leonard 

K. Eaton, "Military Surgery in the Battle of 

Tippecanoe," Bulletin 0/ the History 0/ Medicine 25 (1951) : 460. 

3 1. Quote from Adam Walker, A Journal 

0/ Two Campaigns 0/ tlte Fourlh Regiment 0/ 

U.S. In/aI/try . . . 1811- 1812 (Keene, N.H.: 

privately printed, 1816), p. 11 ; General Orders 

20 Sep 181 1, Harrison to Secretary of War, 25 

Sep 1811, and Report of 17 Dec 1811, Harrison, Messages, 1: 586, 589, 641. 

32. Field Report, Harrison's Army, 12 Oct 

1811 , and Harrison to Secretary of War, 29 

Oct 1811, Harrison, Messages, 1: 597- 98, 

605; Marvin A. Kreidberg and Merton G. 

Henry. History 0/ Military Mobilization in 

lite United Slates Army 1775- 1945, Department of the Army Pamphlet 20- 212. June 
Noles 10 Chapler 6 253 

1955, p. 42; John K. Mahon, The War 01 

1812 (Gainesville : University of Florida Press, 

1972), pp. 20, 21; Walker, JOllmal, p. 18. 

33. Harrison to Secretary of War, 18 Nov 

1811, Harrison, Messages, 1: 630, 631; Beirne, 

War 01 1812, p. 62; Walker JOllmal, p. 85; 

Eaton, "Tippecanoe," p. 461. 

34. Harrison to Secretary of War, 18 Nov 

1811, and Log of the Army to Tippecanoe, 13 

Nov 1811, Harrison, Messages, 1 :630, 633. 

634, quote from Harrison to Secretary of War, 

4 Dec 1811; Walker, JOllmal, pp. 36- 37; 

James Ripley Jacobs, The Beginning oj the 

U.s. Army 1783- 1812 (Port Washington, 

N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1947, reissued 1970), 

p. 362. 

35. Henry Knox to Speaker of the House, 

28 Nov 1794, RG 107, T982, pp. 505- 15. 

36. Francis Paul Prucha, A Guide to the 

Military Posts 01 the United States, 1789-

1895 (Madison: State Historical Society of 

Wisconsin, 1964), p. 81; Henry Dearborn to 

Lyman Spaulding, 9 Apr 1802, in Washington, 

National Archives, Records of the Office of the 

Secretary of War, Record Group 107, Letters 

Sent by the Secretary of War Relating to Military Affairs, 1800- 89, Microfilm Publication 

M6, roll I, p. 188; Testimony of Capt Christie, 

Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: 414. 

37. Henry Dearborn to Thomas Cushing, 23 

Feb 1803, and Dearborn to John Carmichael, 

31 Aug 1803, RG 107,. M6, roll I, pp. 373- 74; 

roll 2, p. 54; quote from Dearborn to James 

Wilkinson, 7 Mar 1803, roll I, p. 380; Capt 

John Bowyer and other officers to Secretary 

of War, 13 May 1804, RG 107, M221, roll 1; 

U.S. Congress, Senate, Executive Proceedings, 

1: 414; Knopf, "Biographical Data," Forman, 

Physicians,' Thomas H. S. Hamersly, Complete 

Army and Navy Register 0/ the United States 

01 America, From 1776 to 1887 (New York: 

T. H. S. Hamersly, 1888), p. 51; Disposition 

of Dr. 1. F. Carmichael, Wilkinson, Memoirs, 

2: app. 21. 

38. Wilson, St. Clair, p. 71; American State 

Papers: Military ADairs, 1: 67; Wilson, Brad~ 

ley, p. 76n; Frazer Ells Wilson, Fori Jefferson: 

The Frontier Post 0/ the Upper M fam; Valley: 

A Fascinating Tale 01 Border Lile Gleaned 

From Authentic Sources and Retold by Frazer 

Ells Wilsoll (Lancaster, Pa., 1950), p. 7; 

John Heckwelder, "Narrative of His Iourney 

to the Wabash in 1792," Pennsylvania Magazille 01 History alld Biography 12 (1888): 

12, 42. 

39. Prucha, Guide, p. 71; Knopf, "Andrews," pp. 57, 60, 69, 75; Henry Dearborn to 

Jonathan Sparhawk, 18 Oct 1803, RG 107, 

M6, roll 2, p. 83; Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 30 Sep 1810, RG 107, M221, 

roll 38. 

40. All material on Andrews, unless otherwise indicated, is based on Knopf, "Andrews," 

pp. 60-262, and the quotes in the following 

paragraphs are from pp. 176, 241, 244, 248, 

260, 261, and 262. 

41. Unless otherwise indicated, the section 

on Wilkinson is based on Jacobs, Wilkinson. 

General Wilkinson later wrote a lengthy defense of his conduct at this time, but his 

memoirs must be considered in the light of the 

author's reputation for "deviousness" (Weigley, Army, p. 107) . 

42. James Wilkinson to William Eustis, 19 

Aug 1809, Report of William Upshaw, Surgeon 5th Infantry, 20 Jul 1809, and Report 

of Alfred Thruston, Surgeon 7th Infantry, 29 

Jul 1809, American Stale Papers: Military 

Affairs, I: 270, 292- 93; Hamersly, Register, 

p. 55; Kreidberg and Henry, Mobilization, 

p. 41; "Sickness in the Army at New Orleans. 

in 1809," Medical Repository 14 (181 1): 85-

87; Deposition of Dr. Theodore Elmer, Orders 

to Brig Gen James Wilkinson from H. Dearborn, 2 Dec 1808, and William Eustis to Dr. 

Oliver Spencer, Surgeon, Aug 1809, Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: 342,450-510, app. 109. See 

also other material, 2 : 4 14, 431, 506, and app. 

109. 

43. Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2 : 408- 9, 410, 

414,425, and Testimony of Col Electus Backus, app. 108; Hamersly, Register, p. 55. 

44. Wilkinson, Memoirs 2: 346-47, 506, 

Testimony of Col Electus Backus, app. 108, 

Deposition of Lieutenant-Colonel Beall, app. 

111, and James Wilkinson to Secretary of 

War, 19 Apr 1809, 2: 349, quote from p. 

350; William Eustis to James Wilkinson, 30 

Apr 1809, American Slale Papers: Military 

Affairs, 2: 269. 

45. Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: 371, 375- 76; 

William Eustis to James Wilkinson, 30 Apr 

1809, American Slate Papers; Military ADairs, 

I: 269; "Sickness in the Army," p. 86. 
254 THE ARM Y M E DI e A L 0 EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

46. Jacobs, The Begillllillg, pp. 346, 347; 

J"mes Wilkinson to Secreta ry of War, 20 May 

1809, Al1Ieric(lI1 Sr(l/e Papers: Military AOairs, 

I : 269; Wi lkinson, M em oirs, 2 : 367- 68, 390; 

"Sickness in the Army," p. 85; Jabez W. Heustis, "Observations o n the Disease Which Prevailed in the Army at Camp Tcrre-aux-Bocufs, 

in June, July, and August of the Year 1809," 

Medical Repository , 2d ser. 3 ( 18 17): 38, 

47. Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: 372. 

4 8. "Sickness in the Army, " p. 87; James 

Wilkinson to William Eustis, 19 Aug 1809, 

and William Upshaw Report, 20 Jul 1809, 

American SWle Papers: M iUtary Affairs, I : 

220, 292- 93; Heustis, "Observations," p. 38; 

Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: app. 108. 

49. Jacobs, Th e Begil/I/il/g, pp. 349, 352-

53; Wilkinson, M emoirs, 2 : 430,483- 84, 485, 

Eustis to Spencer, Aug 1809, pp. 450- 51; 

Eustis to Dr. John M. Da ni el, 1809, p. 479, 

50. Wilkinson to Eust is, 18 Iun 1809, and 

Eustis 10 Wilkinson, 22 Jun 1809, America" 

State Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 269 ; Wilkinson, M em oirs, 2: 386. 

5 1. Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2 : 406,407, 4 17; 

Jacobs, Th e Beginning, p. 35 1; Report of Alfred Thruston , 29 Jul 1809, American State 

Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 293. 

52. Wilkinson, M emoirs, 2: 4 17, Testimony 

of Col Eleclus Backus, app. 108, and D eposition of Capl ain D ale, app. J 11. 

53. Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2 : 480 and app. 

108. 

54. William Eustis to J ames Wilkinson, 10 

Sep 1809, Wilkinson, M emoirs, 2: app. 110, 

data and quote fro III Deposition of Doctor 

Dow, app. 109, 

55. Quote from William Upshaw Report, 20 

Jul 1809, A mericall State Papers: Military 

Affairs, I: 292- 93; Heustis, "Observations," 

pp. 34, 36; "Sickness of the Army," pp, 86-

87; Deposition of Lieutenant-Colonel Beall, 

Wilkinson, Memoirs, 2: app. Ill . 

56. Med ical Department, United States 

Army, Commullicable Diseases, Preventive 

Medic ine in 'World War II, vol. 6 (Washington : Governmcnt Printing Office, 1963), chart 

I, p. 14, and table 9, p. 112; Wilkinson, 

Mem oirs, 2: 427. 

57. Wilkinson. M em oirs, 2: 347; Depositions of Captain Dale and Lieutenant-Colonel 

Beall, app, III ; dat a and quote from John 

Smith, for Secretary of War, to Abraham D . 

Abrahams, 20 Aug, 1808,2: 435. 

58. Hcustis, " Observations," pp. 33, 37, 

qllote from pp. 33- 34. 

59, Heustis, "Observations/' pp, 35, 36. 

60. Heustis, "Observa tions," pp. 35. 36, 39, 

quotes from pp. 37, 38, 4 1. 

6 1. Heust is, "Observations," pp. 36,40. 4 1, 

quote fro III p. 40. After st udying contemporary 

accounts of the condition of Wilkinson's men 

at this time, Col Robert J, T, Joy, MC. in 

1976 Director of the Walter Reed Arm y Institute of Research in Washington. D ,C., commented that "these troops were the victims of 

a combination of events- anyone or two of 

which would have been enough to cripple a 

force; in combination. the force was destroyed," Colonel Joy bel ieved that thcir condition resulted from "A combination of vitamin deficiency, starvation, and malaria as the 

commo n substrate upon which diarrhea. dysentery, hepatitis, typhoid, and pneumonia were 

laid, all bein g helped along by poor housing, 

poor clothing, and demands for hard physical 

labor, with a shortage of moderat ely effective 

medi cine and the overuse of a useless. or dangerous therapy. Anyone man didn't have to 

have everything- just a few wou ld kill him." 

The only effective medi cines available to these 

men were opium for diarrhea and bark for 

malaria. The oral lesions, Colonel Joy noted, 

resulted from the overuse of mercury and possibly from scurvy as well . (Letter to the author, 

II Jun 1976,) 

62. Risch, Quartermaster SlIpport, pp. 76-

84; General Orders, Harrison, M e:f.mges, 1: 

586; Clark, "Journal," p. 431 ; White, Federalists, p. 148; Boyer, "Journal," p. 35 1; Wayne 

to Henry Knox, 2 Jul 1793, Timothy Pickering, 2 Sep and 5 Oct 1795, and J ames McHenry, 28 Oct 1796, Knopf, Campaign, 2: 

105- 6;4: 88,106, 107; 5: 71; Dittrick, "Medical Agents," Forman, Physicians; Francis LeBaron to Secretary of Wa r, 20 Jun 1802, 30 

Sep 18 10, and Will Stewart to Secretary of 

War, 30 Mar 1812, RG 107, M221, rolls 38 

and 40; Dearborn to Maj Constant Freeman, 

27 Jun 1801, Wilkinson, 17 Jul 180 1, Thomas 

Cushing, 20 Mar 1802, Israel Whelen, 27 

Mar 1802, and Secretary of War to Smith 

Cutler, 14 Jan 1809, RG 107, M6, roll I, pp, 

91,95, 165- 66, 171-75; roll 4, p. 12. 
Notes to Chapter 7 255 

63. William Eustis to Benjamin Rush, 2 Jan 

18 10, 31 May 1810, Eustis to Dr. James 

Mease, 31 May 1810, RG 107, M6, roll 4, pp. 

254, 363, quote from Secretary of War to 

Smith Cutler, 14 Jan 1809, p. 12; Dittrick, 

"Medical Agents," Forman, Physicians; James 

Mease to Secretary of War, 28 Jan and 28 

May 1810, RG 107, M221, roll 38. 

64. Quote from Secretary of War to Tench 

Coxe, 12 Feb 1812, RG 107, M6, roll 5, p. 

27 3; Francis LeBaron to Adjutant General, 30 

lun and 4 Dec 18 12 . in Washington, National 

Archives, Records of the Adjutant General's 

Office, 1780s- 1917, Record Group 94, Letters 

Received by the Adjutant General 1805- 21, 

Microfilm Publication M566, roll 12 ; Francis 

LeBaron to Secretary of War, 26 Feb 1812, 

RG 107, M22 1, roll 46. 

65. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 13 

Feb and Apr 1812, RG 107, M221, roll 46. 

66. Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 

14 Jul and 24 Aug 1812, quote from Secretary 

of War to Francis LeBaron, 20 Aug 18 12, RG 

107, M6, roll 6, pp. 25, 95, 96, 100; LeBaron 

to Secretary of War, 26 Feb 18 12, RG 107, 

M221, roll 46. 

67. \VilIiam Atherton, Narrative 0/ rhe Suffering & De/eat of the Nor/lovestern Army 

Under General Winchester . . . (Frankfort. 

Ky. , 1842), p. 39. 

CHAPTER 7 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the material 

in this chapter is based on Beirne, War oj 

18/2; Brown, Medical Departmelll, pp. 8 1-

100; James Ripley Jacobs and Glenn Tucker, 

The War oj 1812: A Compact History (New 

York : Hawthorn Books, 1969); Weigley, 

A rmy, pp. 97- 133, 566; and Charles Maurice 

Wiltse, The New Nation, 1800-1845 (London: 

Macmillan, 1965). 

2. Secretary of War to Henry Dearborn, 26 

Aug 1812, RG 107, M6, roll 6, p. 100, quote 

from Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 24 

Aug 1812, p. 95. 

3. Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 29 

Aug 18 12, RG 107, M6, roll 6, p. 104. 

4. LeBaron to Secretary of War, 17 Oct 

1812, RG 107, M22I , roll 46; Secretary of 

War to LeBaron, 25 Aug 1812, RG 107, M6, 

roll 6, p. 96. 

5. Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 4 

and 9 Oct 18 12, RG 107, M6, roll 6, pp. 181, 

188; Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 17 

Oct 18 12, RG 107, M221 , roll 46. 

6. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of \Var, 13 

Nov 1812, RG 107, M221, roll 46; Secretary 

of War to Francis LeBaron, 16 Oct 1812 and 

12 May 1813, RG 107, M6, roll 6, pp. 195. 

413- 14. 

7. Francis LeBaron to Adjutant and Inspector, Washington City, 8 Dec 1812, RG 94, 

M566, roll 12, quotes from Francis LeBaron to 

Adjutant General, 5 Oct 1812. 

8. Unless otherwise indicated, Callan, Military Laws has forrned the basis of discussions 

of the laws governing the activities of the 

Medical Department. 

9. American State Papers: Military ADairs, 

I : 428, 432- 33, 435, quote from p. 434; 

Thornas H. Palmer, ed., Historical Register oj 

the United States, 4 vols. (Phi ladelphia , 1814-

16 ), 3: 7; Marguerite McKee, "Service of 

Supply in the War of 1812," Qllartermaster 

Review 6 (1927): 51. 

10. Niles' W eekly Register (Baltimore) 6: 

36; American State Papers: Military A Dairs, I: 

384- 85; Wolfe, "Genesis," pp. 842- 43. 

II. James Mann, Medical Sketches oj the 

CampaigllS 0/ 1812, 13, 14. . (Dedham, 

Mass.: H. Mann and Co., 1816) , p. 75; Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 6 Aug 1813 

and 6 Jul 1814, RG 107, M6, roll 7, pp. 31, 

252. 

12. Regulations for the Medica l Department, 

Dec 1814, Brown, M edical Department. pp. 

94- 98; Palmer, Historical Register, 3: 709; 

Tilton to Assistant Inspector General, 4 Jun 

18 14, RG 94, M566, roll 59. 

J 3. Quote from T. R. Adams, "The Medica l 

and Political Activities of Dr. James Tilton," 

Allllllal Report oj tlte JOltll Carter Brown 

Library (Providence, R.T.: The John Carter 

Brown Library, Brown University and the 

Colonial Society of Massachusetts) 7 (1972): 

30; Tilton, Observations. 

14. Quote from James Til ton to Secretary of 

War, 23 Aug 1814, RG 107, M22I , roll 66; 

Benjamin Waterhouse to Secretary of War, 12 

Jul 18 15, RG 107, M22I , roll 67. 

15. Quote from James Tilton to Secretary of 

War, 19 Sep 1814, in Washington, National 
256 THE ARM Y ME DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Archives, Records of the Office of the Secretasy 

of War, Record Group 107, Letters Received 

by the Secretary of War, Unregistered Series, 

1789- 1861, Microfilm Publication M222, roll 

10. Brown states that the leg was amputated in 

IS14 but Phalen maintains that the operation 

was performed 7 December 1815 (Chie,s, p. 

25). Neither his letters nor those of his colleagues in late ]S14 and IS15 refer even 

obliquely to his having undergone major surgery (see letters of Tilton for this period in RG 

94, M566, rolls 59 and 82; RG 107, M221, 

rolls 66 and 67; and RG 107, M222, roll 10; 

as well as Benjamin Waterhouse to Secretary of 

War, 12 Jul 1815, RG 107, M221, roll 67). 

Thus it seems safe to assume that Brown was 

mistaken as to the date of the amputation (see 

p. 9S in Medical Department). Tilton's frequent presence in Wilmington is established by 

the many letters he sent from that city (see 

James Tilton to Adjutant General, 5 Feb, 4, 7, 

9, 30 Jun, 15 Aug, 19 Sep, 4, 15 Oct, 3, 

8 Nov, and 5 Dec 1814, RG 94, M566, roll 

59). 

16. American State Papers: Military AUairs. 

1: 591 ; Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

17 Jun 1813, and to Adjutant General, 20 Dec 

1814, RG 94, M566, roll 12; Francis LeBaron 

to Secretary of War, 2 June 1814, RG 107, 

M221, rol1 63; McKee, "Service of Supply," 

p. 51. 

17. Office of Adjutant General to James 

Tilton, 29 May 1814, in Washington, National 

Archives, Records of the Adjutant General's 

Office, 1780s- 1917, Record Group 94, Letters 

Sent by the Office of the Adjutant General, 

Main Series, 1800-1890, Microfilm Publication 

M565, rol1 4, vol. 3, p. 547. 

IS. Quote from James Tilton to Assistant 

Inspector General, 4 Jun 1814, RG 94, M566, 

roll 59. 

19. James Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 

Feb 1815, RG 107, M221, roll 66. 

20. Quote from James Tilton to Secretary of 

War, 20 Aug 1814, RG 107, M221 , roll 66; 

Statement of Dr. Catlett, 1814, American State 

Papers: Military ADairs, 1: 584; William M. 

Marine, The British Invasion of Maryland. 

1812-1815 (Baltimore: Society of the War of 

1812 in Maryland, 19 13), p. 174; Office of 

Adjutant General to Dr. John R. Martin, 26 

Jun 1813,21 and 23 Feb, 15 Mar, and 26 Jun 

1814, RG 94, M565, roll 4, 3: 216, 373, 379. 

412, 543. 

21. James Ewell, The Medical Companion 

. . . , 3d ed. (Philadelphia: privately printed, 

1817), pp. 69(}-91. 

22. Tilton to Secretary of War, 27 Oct 1814, 

RG 107, M221 , roll 66, quotes from roll 59: 

Mann, Sketches, pp. 255-56. 

23. James Mann to James Tilton, 14 Feb 

1814, Brown, Medical Department, p. 93. 

24. Benjamin Waterhouse to Tilton, 13 Aug 

1814, RG 107, M221, roll 82, quotes from 

Waterhouse to Secretary of War, 13 Aug 1814, 

roll 67; A. Hays to James Tilton, 2 Oct 1814 

and 2 Jan 1815, RG 94, M566, rolls 59, 82; 

Tilton to Secretary of War, 19 Sep 1814, RG 

107, M222, roll 10. A black cockade, worn on 

the hat, was a part of the Army's uniform 

(American State Papers: Military AUairs, 1: 

434). 

25. Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 Aug 1814 

and 10 Feb 1815, RG 107, M221, roll 66; 

Charles Smart, The Connection 0/ the Army 

Medical Department With the Development 0/ 

Meteorology in the United States, U.S. De~ 

partment of Agriculture, Weather Bureau, Report of the International Meteorological Congress held at Chicago, III., 2 1- 24 Aug 1893, 

Bulletin No. 11, part 2 (1895): 208; Palme .. , 

Historical Register, 3: 8. 

26. Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 Aug 

1814, RG 107, M221, roll 66; Palmer, Historical Register. 3: 7- 8. 

27. Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 Feb 1815, 

RG 107, M221, roll 66. 

28. McKee, "Service of Supply," p. 51; 

Kreidberg and Henry, Mobilization, pp. 58-

59; Jabez W. Heustis, Physical Observations 

and Medical Tracts and Researches on the 

Topography and Diseases oj" Louisiana (New 

York: T. and J. Swords, 1817), pp. 105n106n; Brereton Greenhous, uA Note on Western Logistics in the War of 1812," Military 

ADairs 34 (1970): 43. 

29. Office of Adjutant General to Members 

of the General Staff, 29 Oct 1814, RG 94, 

M565, rol1 5, vol. 3'->; Secretary of War to 

LeBason, 21 Jun 1813, RG 107, M6, roll 6, 

pp. 468-69; LeBaron to Secretary of War, 28 

Jul 1813, RG 107, M221, roU 54. 
Notes to Chapter 8 257 

30. Secretary of War to LeBaron, 24 Mar 

1813, RG 107, M6, roll 6, p. 336. 

31. Quotes and data from Secretary of War 

to LeBaron , 16 Oct 1813, RG 107, M6, roll 

7, pp. 93 , 94; LeBaron to Secreta ry of War, 

29 Jun 1814, RG 94, M566, roll 12; LeBaron 

to Secretary of War, 18 Sep 1814, RG 107, 

M221, roll 63. 

32. LeBaron to Secretary of War, 30 Mar 

1813, RG 107, M22I, roll 54, quote from Dr. 

Shaw to Secretary of War, 21 Apr 1813, roll 

57; Secretary of War to LeBaron, 24 May 

1813, RG 107, M6, roll 6, p. 336. 

33. Joseph Lovell to Secretary of War, 18 

May 1813, LeBaron to Secretary of War, 30 

Mar and 9 Jun 1813, RG 107, M221, roll 54; 

Secretary of War to Francis LeBaron, 12 May 

and 25 Jun 1813, RG 107, M6, roll 6, pp. 

413- 14,474. 

34. LeBaron to Secretary of War, Dec and 

30 Mar 1813, 21 Mar 1814, RG 107, M221, 

roll 54, quote from Dec 1813; James Mann to 

LeBaron. n.d., Mann, Sketches, p. 259; Secretary of War to LeBaron, 12 May 1813 and 

II Apr 1814, RG 107, M6, roll 6, pp. 413- 14; 

roll 7, p. 160. 

35. James Cutbush to Adjutant General, 31 

Dec 1814, RG 94, M566, roll 4. 

CHAPTER 8 

I. Except where otherwise noted, all military 

and political material is based on Beirne, War 

of 1812; Harry L. Coles, The War of 1812 

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965); 

Jacobs and Tucker, The War of 1812; Kreidberg and Henry. Mobilization; and Mahon, 

The War of 1812. 

2. James Mann to Secretary of War, 17 Aug 

1812, RG 107, M221, roll 47; Mann, Sketches, 

p. vi. 

3. Mann, Sketches, pp. vi, 12,45- 46; James 

Mann to Secretary of War, 17 Aug and 5 Oct 

1812, RG 107, M221, roll 47; William Beaumont, William Beaumont's Formative Years: 

Two Early Notebooks, 1811- 1821, ed. Genevieve Miller (New York: Henry Schuman, 

1946), p. 10. 

4. Mann, Sketches, p. vi; James Mann to 

Secretary of War, 17 Aug and 5 Oct 1812, RG 

107, M221, roll 47. 

5. James Mann to Secretary of War, 5 Oct 

1812, RG 107, M221 , roll 47. 

6. Mann, Sketches, pp. 13, 14, 15, 19, 20; 

James Mann to Secretary of War, 5 Oct 1812, 

RG 107, M221, roll 47. 

7. Mann, Sketches, pp. 15-16. 

8. Mann, Sketches, pp. 13-14, 20, 34, 

quotes from p. 13. 

9. Mann, Sketches, pp. 15, 19, quote from 

p. 14. 

10. Beaumont, Notebooks, pp. xii, II, 

quotes from p. 11; Secretary of War to Mr. 

Leib, 27 Nov 1812, in Washington, Library of 

Congress, Manuscript Division, William Eustis 

Papers, U-33-N.H.; Ashburn, Medical Department, pp. 50-53. 

11. Mann, Sketches, pp. 4, 14, quotes from 

pp. 14, 35-36. 

12. Mann, Sketches, pp. 25, 44, quote from 

p.44. 

13. Mann, Sketches, pp. 43, 45 ; Brown, 

Medical Department, p. 83; Phalen, Chiefs, 

p.27. 

14. Mann, Sketches, pp. 45, 47, quote from 

p.45. 

15. Louis L. Babcock, The War of 1812 Oil 

the Niagara Frontier (Buffalo, N.Y.: Buffalo 

Historical Society, 1927), pp. 64-65, letter of 

11 Nov 1812, published in the New York Evening Post of 25 Nov 1812, quote from letter 

of 8 Nov 1812, published in the New York 

Evening Post of 25 Nov 1812; John Brannan, 

Official Letters of the Military and Naval Officers of the United States During the War 

With Great Britain (Washington: Way & 

Gideon, 1823), p. 100. 

16. Report of the State of the 14th Regiment of Infantry, Babcock, Niagara, pp. 62-

63; Amos Stoddard, Maj 1st Regt. Artillery, to 

Secretary of War, 16 Sep 1812, Knopf, Documents, 6, part 3: 160; Brannan, Leiters, p. 95. 

17. Elijah D. Efner, "The Adventures and 

Enterprises of Elijah D. Efner," Publications 

of the Bllffalo Historical Society 4 (1896): 

44; John C. Parish, ed., The Robert Lucas 

JOllmalof the War of 1812 (Iowa City, Iowa: 

The State Historical Society of Iowa, 1906), 

p. 18; Extract of letter of Dr. James Reynolds 

from Detroit, 7 Jul 1812, Knopf, Documents, 

5, part 1: 112; William Stanley Hatch, A 

Chapter oj tire History oj the War oj 1812 in 
258 T H " ARM Y ME 0 I CAL DE P AR T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

the NorthwesT . .. (Cincinnati: Miami Printing and Publishing Co., 1872), p. 25. 

18. William Hull, Memoirs of the Campaigll of the Northwestern Army of the 

V I/ited Stales, 1812 (Boston : True & Greene, 

1824), pp. 3, 10; Parish. Lucas JOllmal, p. 19; 

Walker, JOllm al, p. 48; Samuel R. Brown, A" 

Allthemic History of the Secolld War for 111-

dependellce . .. ,2 vols. (Auburn, N.Y. : J. G. 

Hathaway, 18 15), I: 37n; Efner, "Adventures," p. 44. 

19. Pa rish, Lllcns JoumaJ, pp. 19, 63-64; 

Walker, JoumaJ, p. 48; Brown, Authen,ic Histo.ry, 1: 37n; John Miller to Gcn Thomas 

Worthington , 24 Nov 1812, Knopf, Documef1ls, 3: 123; William Kennedy Beall, "Journal of William K. Beall , July-August 1812," 

reprinted from American Historical Review 

17 ( 19 12): 785- 86; Clarence Stewart Peterson, KilOII''' Miliwry Dead During the War of 

1812 (Baltimore, April 1955 ), p. 55; G. M. 

Fairchild, Jr., ed., Joumal of all American 

Prisoner lit Fort Malden and Quebec in 'he 

War of 1812 (Quebec: privately printed, 

1909), p. 304. 

20. William Hull to Secreta ry of War, 26 

Aug 18 12, Bran nan, Letters; Fanny J. Anderson, "Medical Practices Du ring the War of 

18 12," BlIlletill of the flistory of Medicine 16 

(1944): 268 ; Brown, A uthelllic History, 1: 

68; U.S. Congress, Senate, Executive Proceedillgs, 1: 473; Orders, Brig Gen William Hull, 

7 Aug 1812, in Milo Milton Quaife, ed., War 

on the Detroit, The Chronicles of Th omas 

Vercheres de Boucherville and the Capitlllalion by a" Ohio Volilnteer (Chicago: Lakeside Press, 1940), pp. 195n- 196n, 275-76; 

Abraham W. Belh to Gen Thomas Worthington, 8 Jan 1812, H. Johnso n to Secreta ry of 

War, 16 and 18 Aug 1812, and A. Edwa rds 

to Secrelary of War, 17 Scp 1812, Knopf, 

Docllmellls, 3: 37; 6, part 3: 36, 39, 162; 

Fairchild, JOllmal, p. 7. 

21. Coles, 1812, p. 55. 

22. Letter from Captain Heald, 23 Oct 

18 J 2, and T. Forsythe to Governor Howard, 

7 Sep 1812. Knopf, Documents, 5; part 1: 

269; 6, 11 8; Pelerson, Dead, p. 68; Will iam 

Jay, "Table of the Killed and Wounded in 

the War of 1812. Compiled During the War," 

Collections of the New York Historical Society, 2d scr. 2 ( 1849) : 449; John Kinzie, 

"Narrative of the Ft. Dearborn Massacre," 

Illinois Stale Historical Society 46 ( 1953): 

349. 

23. Brown, Allthelltic History, 2: 85,87-88; 

Atherton, Narrative, pp. 18- 19; Samuel Hopkins to Governor Shelby, 27 Nov 18 12, and 

Lt Col John B. Campbell 10 Gen W. H. Harrison, 25 Dec 1812, Brannan, Lellers, pp. 97, 

115-16. 

24. Elias Darnell , " A Jou rnal Contai ning 

an Accurate and Interesting Account of the 

Hardships, Sufferings, Battles, Defeat. and 

Captivity of Those Heroic Kentucky Volunteers and Regulars, Commanded by General 

Winchester, in the Years 18 12-13 ... ," 

Magazine of History. Extra No. 3 1 (New 

York: W. Abbatl, 19 14 repri nt of 1854 ed.), 

p. 203. quote from p. 2 10; Winchester's General Orders, Camp Defia nce, 1 and 9 Oct 

1812, James Winchester, " Papers and Orderly 

Book of Brigad ier Ge neral J. Winchester," 

A1ichigan Pioneer ami Historical Society Coliecliolls 31 (190 I ): 259, 264-65; Harrison's 

Orders, 3 Oct 1812, in Washington , Library of 

Congress, Manuscript Division, microfilm of 

William Henry Harrison Pape rs, roll 1. series 

1; Charl es E. Slocum. "Some Errors Corrected: Fort Winchester, at Defiance, Ohio," 

Ohio Archeological alld fI istorical Qllarterly 

10 (190 1-2): 483; Atherton, NarrMive. pp. 

18-19. 

25. Atherton, Narrative , p. 19. 

26. Hull, Memoirs, p. 3; Willi am Henry 

Harrison to J ames Winchester, 4 OCI 1812, 

and to Secretary of War, 20 Jan 18 13. Harrison, Messages, 2: 162, 316. 

27. Brown, Authelltic History. I: 89-90; 

Thomas P. Dudley, "Battle and Massacre at 

Frenchtown, Michigan, January 18 13, by Rev. 

Thomas P. Dudley, One of the Survivors," 

We.Hem Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Society Plibli ari lJ.~ No. 1 ( 1870): 1- 2, 

3; J ames Winchester to Will iam Henry Harrison, 17 and 19 Jan 1813, William Lewis to 

J ames Winchester, 20 Jan 1813, and McClanahan 10 William Henry Harrison, 26 Jan 1813, 

Harrison, Messages, 2: 314, 315, 321. 339; 

Atherton, Narrative, p. 39 ; Statement of Capt. 

R. Malson of 13 Feb 1813, and Stalement of 

James Garrard, Jr., Brigade Inspector, 11 Mar 

1813, Knopf, DoclImellls, 5: part 2: 27, 40; 

Garrett Glenn Clift, Remember the Raisin; 
Notes to Chapter 8 259 

Kentllcky alld Kentllckians ill (he Balfles alld 

Massacre at Frenchtown, Michigan Territory, 

in the War 0/1812 (Frankfort: Kentucky His~ 

torical Soc., 196 1), pp. 127, 128, 129, 131-

32, 134-35. 

28. Atherton, Narrative, pp. 53-54, 6 t ; 

Darnell , "Journal," pp. 220, 222, 223; Brown, 

Authentic History, 1: 92. 

29. William Henry Harrison to Governor 

Meigs, 24 Jan 1813 ; Harrison, Messages, 2: 

329-30. 

30. Register of the Army for 18 13, American Stare Papers: Military Affairs, I : 39 1. 

31. William Henry Harrison to Secretary of 

War, 9 lui 1813, Harrison, Messagel', 2: 485, 

quote from p. 486. 

32. Jay, "Table," p. 452; Eleazer D . Wood, 

"Journal of the Northwestern Campaign of 

1812-13 Under Major-General William Harrison," in G. W. Cullum, cd., Campaigns of 

the War 0/ 1812-15 (New York: Miller, 

1879), p. 402, quotes from pp. 402,403. 

33. Cullum, Campaigns, p. 403, quote from 

p. 40 1; William Henry Harrison to Secretary 

of War, 5 May 1813, Brannan, LellNs, p. 158. 

34. \Villiam Henry Harrison to Secretary of 

War, 5 May 1813. Brannan, Leiters, p. 158. 

35. Cullum, CtllllpaigllS, p. 402 . 

36. Robert Yost, "His Book," Ohio Arc/weologicnl alld fJ iSlOrical Q{/arterly 23 (1914): 

154-55; Dunca n McArthur to Secretary of 

War, 6 Oct 1813, Brannan, Lellers, p. 230. 

37. Yost, "Book ," pp. 156-57, quote from 

p. 157; Anderson, "Medical Practices," p. 269; 

William Henry Harrison to Secretary of War, 

9 Oct 1813, Brannan, Lellers, p. 238. 

38. James Wilkinson to Secretary of War, 

16 Nov 1813, American SWfe Papers: Military A Dairs, I : 476; Wilkins Report, 3 Nov 

18 i 3, and Major Birdsall Statement, 6 Nov 

1813, in John Armstrong, Notices of the War 

0/1812,2 vols. (New York: Wi ley & Putnam, 

1840),2: 9,21 1- 12. 

39. Register, Rules and Regulations of the 

Army for 1813, American Slate Papers: Military A ffairs, I : 384-85; James Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 Aug 18 14, RG 107, M221, 

roll 66. 

40. Mann, Sketches, pp. 64-65, 248, 249, 

quote from p. 248. 

4 1. Jesse S. Myer, Life of William BeaumOil/ (51. Louis: C. V. Mosby Co., 1939 ), pp. 

44-45, 53-54; Mann, Sketches, pp. 94, 95, 

126, quote from p. 250; Beaumont, Notebooks, 

pp. 16, 47, 48; 'IN. E. Horner, quoted in 

Brown, Medical D eparlmelH, p. 92: G reenhous, "Logistics," p. 43. 

42. Winficld Scott, Mellloirs of Lielll.-Gefleral SCOff, LL.D., 2 vols. (New York : Sheldon 

& Co., 1864), 1: 145. 

43. Mann, Sketches, pp. 24 1, 242, 246-47; 

Brown, M edical Departmell t, p. R9. 

44. Register of the Army for 18 13, Americall State Papers: Military Affairs, I : 391; 

Mann, Sketches, p. 45. 

45. Quote from Beaumont. NOf('books, p. 

44; Mann, Sketches, p. 11 7; Secret.HY of Wa r 

to Major General Hampton, 25 Sep 18 13. in 

Ernest A. Cruikshank, Documentary History 

of the Campaign Upon the Niagara Frollfier, 

4 vols. (Weiland, Ont.: Arno Press & New 

York Times, 1971 reprint of 1896- 1908 edition), 2: 107. 

46. Beaumont, Notebooks. pp. IS , 43, 44; 

Mann, Sketches, p. 58. quot e from p. 57. 

47. Beaumont, Notebooks, p. IS. 

48. Mann, Sketches. pp. 57, 58: I.ewis Pottcr Bush, Tlt e Deltllvare Stale Medical Society 

alld Its FOllnders ill the Eighteenth Celltllry 

(New York, 1886), p. 9. 

49. Secretary of Wa r to Dr. Ross, 22 Jun 

18 13, RG 107, M6, roll 6, p. 472 ; Wilkinson, 

M emoirs. 3: app. 9 #2 and 26, and Remarks 

on the Weekly Sick Report Made by Order of 

Brigadier Genera l Brown , Commanding at 

Sackett's Harbor, Saturday, September 18, 

18 13, app. 9 #2 (there arc two appendixes 

9 in this volume); American State Papers: 

Military A/Jairs, 1: 387; Jay, "Table," p. 452. 

50. Mann, Sketches, pp. 62-63, 89; Armstrong, War of 1812, 2: 22. 

51. Maon, Sketches, p. 70, Joseph Lovell 

quoted in Mann, p. 67, quotes from pp. 65-

66, 7 1; Colonel Scott to Wilkinson, II Oct 

1813, American State Papers: Military AfM 

fairs, 1: 483. 

52. Colonel Scott to James Wilkinson, 11 

Oct 18 13, American State Papers: Military 

A Dairs, 1: 483; Francis LeBaron to Secretary 

of War, 12 Sep 1813, RG 107, M221, roll 54; 

Mann , Sketches, pp. 62-63, 66. 

53. Mann , Sketches, pp. 62-63, 64- 65, 252; 

Beaumont, Notebooks, p. 51; Francis LeBaron 
260 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

to Secretary of War, 6 May 1813, RG 107, 

M221, roll 54. 

54. Mann, Sketches, pp. 64-65, 93-94, 241, 

quote from p. 64; Scott, Memoirs, 1: 136. 

55. Mann, Sketches, p. 63, quote from p. 

89. 

56. Colonel Scott to James Wilkinson, 11 

Oct 1813, American State Papers: Military 

Affairs, 1: 483; Mann, Sketches, pp. 94, 95, 

quote from p. 94. 

57. Secretary of War to Major General 

Hampton, 25 Sep 1813, Cruikshank, Documents, 2: 107; Mann, Sketches, pp. 95, 96-97, 

117, quote from pp. 96-97. Joseph Lovell's 

report of the summer of 1814 states that a 

hospital was established at Williamsville on 1 

August 1814, implying that for some time 

before that date, there was no hospital in 

operation there (Lovell report, Mann, 

Sketches, p. 162). 

58. Beaumont, Notebooks, pp. 16, 46, 47, 

quotes from pp. 16, 46; Stephen H. Moore to 

his brother, 5 May 1813, Brannan, Lellers, 

p. 151. 

59. Beaumont, Notebooks, pp. 16, 47, 48, 

51. 

60. Quote from Colonel Purdy's Report, 

fall 1813, Brannan, Leiters, 277- 78; Mann, 

Sketches, p. 119; Dr. Ross to Inspector General, 8 Dec 1813, Wilkinson, Memoirs, 3: 

app. 9 #1. 

61. Dr. Ross to Inspector General, 8 Dec 

1813, Wilkinson, Memoirs, 3: app. 9 # 1. 

62. Joseph Lovell quoted in Mann, Skelches. 

p. 119. 

CHAPTER 9 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, material concerning military activities in this chapter is 

based upon Beirne, War 0/ 1812; Coles, 

1812; Mahon, The War 0/ 1812; Matlo/!, 

Military History; and Spaulding, Army. 

2. Unless otherwise indicated, material concerning the Medical Department in this chapter is based on Brown, Medical Department. 

The preceding paragraph is also based on 

Henry Huntt, "An Abstract Account of the 

Diseases Which Prevailed Among the Soldiers, 

Received into the General Hospital, at Burlington, Vermont, During the Summer and 

Autumn of 1814," Medical Recorder 1 

(1818): 179; Register of the Army for 1813, 

American State Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 

391; Mann, Sketches, pp. 127, 144, 246-47, 

256- 57. 

3. Mann, Sketches, p. 261, Mann to General Smith, Apr 1814, and to Colonel Smith, 

21 Apr 1814, quote from Mann to Brigadier 

General Smith, 28 Apr 1818, pp. 261, 265-

66, 267; George Izard to Secretary of War, 19 

Jul 1814, in George Izard, OOicial Correspondence With the Department 0/ War Relative 

to the Military Operations 0/ the American 

Army Under the Command 0/ Major General 

Izard on the Northern Frontier 0/ the United 

States ill the Years 1814 alld 1815 (Philadelphia: Thomas Dobson, 1816), pp. 54- 55. 

4. Data and quote from Huntt, "Burlington," p. 177; Purcell report, Mann, Sketches, 

p. 153. Comments by Mann, in an essay written several years before the war, suggested 

that in the early nineteenth century physicians believed that the difference between 

diarrhea and dysentery Jay in the fact that the 

latter was characterized by cramps and tenesmus, even though the "evacuations are small," 

while the former involved copious bowel movements without tenesmus (Mann, Sketches. p. 

280, quote from p. 279). 

5. Data and quote from Huntt, "Burlington," pp. 177-78; Report of the Killed, 

Wounded and Missing at Plattsburgh, From 

the 6th to the 11th of September 1814, Brannan, Letters. p. 419; Mann, Sketches, p. 153. 

6. Quote from George Izard to Secretary 

of War, 25 Jun 1814, Izard, Correspondence. 

p. 38; Mann, Sketches, pp. 116,267, 270, and 

James Mann to Adjutant General, 17 Aug 

1814, p. 267. 

7. MaDn, Sketches, pp. 145, 271. 

8. James Mann to James Tilton, Nov 1814, 

Brown, Medical Department, pp. 99- 100, 

quote from p. 100. 

9. James Mann to Elbridge Gerry, 6 Nov 

1814, Mann, Sketches, p. 272; James Tilton 

to Secretary of War, 10 Feb 1815, RG 107, 

M221, roll 66. 

10. Mann, Sketches, pp. 125, 262-63, 

J ames Mann to Major General Brown, 1 Feb 

1814, p. 266. 

11. Mann, Sketches, p. 126; James M. Phalen, "Surgeon James Mann's Observations on 
Notes to Chapter 9 261 

Battlefield Amputations," Military Surgeon 87 

(1940): 464. 

12. Mann, Skelches, pp. 125, 144, quote 

from p. 125. 

13 . James Tilton to Secretary of War, 7 

Jun 1814, RG 94, M566, roll 59; Report of a 

Case of Amputation, by 1. B. Whitridge, M.D., 

Hospital Surgeon's Mate, 28 Jun 1814, Mann, 

Sketches, p. 215 ; LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

8 Jan 1814, and Tilton to Secretary of War, 

20 Aug 1814, RG 107, M221 , rolls 54 and 

66; A List of Deaths ... at Sackett's Harbor 

From 23d October 18 I 3 to the 20th January 

1814 and at Brownville From the Last to the 

Present Date, in Washington, National Archives, Post Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 98, book 566. 

14. Tilton to Dr. William M. Ross, 7 Jun 

1814, and to the Secretary of War, 10 Feb 

18 I 5, RG 94, M566, rolls 59, 66; Mann, 

Skelches, p. 56; RG 98, book 566. 

15. A. Hays to Tilton, 7 Mar 1814, and 

Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 Aug 1814 and 

10 Feb 1815, RG 107, M221 , rolls 59 and 66; 

Mann, Ske,ches, pp. 94, 179; U.S. War Department, Subject Index, G eneral Orders. p. 

99. 

16. Major General Izard to Secretary of 

War, 8 Nov 1814, Cruikshank, Documents, 

4: 298. 

17 . Quote from Major General Izard to 

Secretary of War, 26 Nov 1814, Izard, Correspondence, p. 121; Major General Izard to 

Secretary of War, 8 Nov 18 14, Cruikshank, 

Documents, 4: 298. 

18. Quote from Eber D. Howe, "Recollections of a Pioneer Printer," Buffalo Historical 

Society Publicatiolls 9 (1906): 398; Clayton 

Tiffin to Major General Izard, 6 Dec 1814, 

RG 94, M566, roll 59; Scott, Memoirs, I: 

147, 148; Report of Hospital Surgeon Lovell, 

1 Aug 1814, Cruikshank, Docwnellls, 4: 452-

53; Louis L. Babcock, The Siege 0/ Fort Erie, 

AT! Episode 01 'he War 01 1812 (Buffalo: 

Peter Paul Book Co., 1899), p. 44n; W. E. 

Horner, "Surgical Sketches," Medical Examiner and Record 0/ Medical Science, new ser. 

8 (1952): 761,764,768,791; Jacob Brown 

to Secretary of War, 6 Jul 1814, in Herman 

Allen Fay, Collection 0/ the OOicial ACCOll ntS, 

in Detail, 0/ A/J the Batlles FOllghl by Sea and 

Land Between the Navy and Army 0/ Ihe 

United States ami the Navy and Army 0/ 

Great Britain During the Years 1812 , / 3, 14, 

& 15 (New York, 18 17) , p. 210. 

19. James Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 

Aug 1814, RG 107, M22I, roll 66; Major 

General Jacob Brown reported that 249 were 

wounded at the Battle of Chippewa ("Report 

of the Killed and Wounded of the Left Division Commanded by Majo r Genera l Brow n in 

the Action of 5th July 18 I 4, on the Plains of 

Chippewa, Upper Canada ," Brannan, Leiters, 

p. 372). 

20. Effner, "Adventures;' pp. 5 I-52, quote 

from p. 52; E. P. Gaines to Secretary of War, 

7 and 23 Aug 1814, Brannan, Leiter." pro 384, 

399; Mann, Sketches, pp. 70. 111. 

2 I. E. W. Ripley to Brigadier General 

Gaines, 17 Aug 18 14. Brannan, Letters. p. 

392. 

22. James Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 

Feb 1815, RG 107, M21 I, roll 66. 

23. Nathan Boulden to James Tilton, 9 

Oct 18 14, RG 94, M566. roll 59. 

24. A. Hays to Tilton, I I Dec 18 I 4 and 2 

Jan 1815, RG 94, M566, roll 82, quote from 

II Dec 1814. 

25 . Tilton to Secretary of War, 17 Jan 

1815, RG 94, M566, roll 82. 

26. Mann, Sketches, p. III. 

2? Report of Hospital Surgeon Lovell on 

the State of Diseases Among the Troops on the 

Niagara Frontier During the Ca mpaign of 

1814, Cruikshank. Docllments, 4 : 452. 

28. Tilton to Secretary of War. 10 Feb 

1815, RG 107, M22I, roll 66. 

29. Hamersly, Regi.,ler, pp. 133-34; Register, and Rules and Regulations of the Army for 

1813, American Stale Papers: Military A Dairs, 

I: 386-87. 

30. Emory Upton, Military Policy 01 'he 

United States (Washington: Government 

Printing Office. 1904) , p. 126; Albert Kimberley Hadel, "The Battle of Bladensburg," 

Maryland Historical Magazine 1 (1906): 157, 

160, 167; Marine, British Invasion, p. 76, and 

Report of Lieutenant Colonel Armistead to 

Secretary of War, pp. 167, 169; Statement of 

General Walter Smith, in John S. Williams, 

The Invasion and Capture 0/ Washington 

(New York: Harper & Bros., 1857), p. 346; 

William H. Winder to Secretary of War, 27 

Aug 1814, Brannan, Leiters, p. 402; Statement 
262 THE ARM Y ME DI e A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

of Dr. Catlett, American State Papers: Military Affairs, I: 584 ; John M. Stahl. The 111-

vasion 0/ 'he eily 0/ Was/iiflRlolI, A Disagreeable Study ill afld 0/ Military Unpreparedness 

(Argos, Ind .: Van Trump Co., 191R), p. 224; 

Jay, "Table," p. 456. 

31. Tilton to Secretary of War, 23 Aug 

1814, RG 107, M221. roll 66; Office of Adjutant General to W. N. Miner. Esq, 24 Nov 

1814. RG 94, M565. roll 5. vol. 3V2, p. 208; 

A Requisition of Medicine Inst ruments &c 

Wanting for the Military Post & Hospital at 

Washington, City, 6 Nov 1813, RG 107, 

M222, roll 7; James Blake to Tilton, 5 Nov 

1814, and J. O. Tyler to Secretary of War, 19 

Oct 1814, RG 94, M566. roll 4S, frame 0619, 

and roll 54, frame 0166; Office of Adjutant 

General to Dr. W. Jones. 19 Jul IS14, RG 94, 

M565, roll 5, vol. 3'1,. p. S5 ; Consta nce 

McLaugh lin Green, Washington, Village alld 

Capital, 1800-1878 (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1962), p. 3; Register, 

and Rules and Regulations of the Anny for 

1813, American State Papers: Military ADairs. 

1: 386. 

32. Register, and Rules and Regulations of 

the Army for ISI3, and Statement of Dr. Catlett, Americal/ State Papers: Military Affairs, 

1: 396, 585, quote from Report of R. M. 

Johnson to the House of Representatives, 1: 

530; Hamersly, Register, pp. 95, 147. 

33. Statement of Dr. Catlett, American 

State Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 583. Catlett's status at this time is not clear. He wished 

to resign as surgeon of the 1 st Infantry and, 

although his resignation appears to have been 

rejected initially, it was accepted in mid-June 

1814. By early August, however, Catlett had 

not yet been notified of this fact and by the 

time he received the notice, he had begun to 

believe that his reputation had been blackened 

and asked to be kept in the Army until he 

could clear his name. In September he accepted another appointment with the Army. 

Hanson Catlett to Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas, 4 Jun 1814, to Secretary of War, 9 Aug 

18 14, and to Acting Secretary of War, 9 Sep 

1814, RG 94, M566, roll 39, frames 0634-

0635, 0638, 0640-0642, 0648; Office of Adjutant General to Catlett, 15 Jun 1814, RG 

94, M565, roll 5, vol. 3V2, p. 35. 

34. Catlett to Adjutant and Inspector General, 2 Sep IS14, RG 107, M221, roll 60; 

Catlett Statement, American Stare Papers: 

Military Affairs, 1: 584; Marine, British 111 -

vasion. p. 174; Catlett to Secreta ry of War, 30 

Aug 1814, RG 94, M566, roll 39, frame 0646; 

Statement of Dr. Catlett. Armstrong. War oj 

1812, 2: 226; Hadel, "Bladensburg," p. 167; 

Office of Adjutant General to Catlett, 12 Sep 

ISI4. RG 94, M565, roll 5, vol. 3 V2 , p. 145. 

35. Green, Washingtoll, p. 5 1; Albert Aile· 

man, "Experiences of an American Physician 

at the Capture of Washington by the British in 

1814," Medical Library alld Historica! JourlIal4 (1906): 187; Ewell, Medical Compal/iol/, 

pp. 690-91. 

36. Office of Adjutant General to Dr. A. 

Elzy, 17 Jan 1815, RG 94, M565, roll 5, vol. 

3'Il, p. 295, quote from Office of Adjutant 

General to H. Huntt, 13 Jan ISI5, p. 292; 

Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 Feb I R 15, RG 

107, M221, roll 66. 

37. Register, and Rules and Regulations of 

the Army for IS13, and A Report of the Army, 

Its Strength and Distribution, Previous to the 

1st of July 1814, American State Papers: 

Military Affairs, 1: 3S7, 535; Nathaniel Claiborne, Notes 011 the War in the SOllth (New 

York: Arno Press & The New York Times, 

1971 reprint of 1819 edition). p. 47. 

38. Andrew Jackson to Secretary James 

Monroe, 27 Dec 1814, in John S. Bassett, ed., 

Correspondence 0/ Andrew Jackson . 7 vols. 

(Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1926-35). 2: 127; Stanley Clisby Arthur, 

The Story 0/ the Battle 0/ New Orleans (New 

Orleans: Louisiana Historical Society, 1915), 

p. 248; William McCarty, History 0/ the 

American War oj 1812, From the Commencement Until the Final Termination ... , 2d 

ed. (Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries 

Press, 1970 reprint of 1816 edition) , p. 229; 

A. S. Colyar, Lije and Times 0/ Andrew JackSOli, Soldier, Statesman, President , 2 vols. 

(Nashville, Tenn.: Marshall & Bruce Co., 

1904), 1: 239; Arsene Lacarriere Latour, 

Historical Memoir o/the War ill West Florida 

and Louisiana in 1814-15, trans. H. P. Nugent 

(Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 

1964 version of 1816 original), p. 45. 

39 . Latour, Memoir, p. 148; Andrew Jack· 

son to Secretary of War, 19 Jan 1815, Bassett, 

Jacksoll, 2: 148. 
Noles to Chapler 9 263 

Reports on American casualties vary. but 

from 55 to 62 were killed and from 175 to 

185 wounded. Report of the American Loss 

in Several Actions Below New Orlea ns, Brannan, Leiters. p. 461; Bassett, Jackson, 2: 

1430; Arthur, New Or/ealls, p. 247; Latour, 

Memoir, pp. li x, 122-23, 13 5; Howell Tatum, 

Major Howell Tat um's JOllmal ... • ed. John 

Spence r Bassett (No rthampto n, Mass.: Smith 

College St udies in History, 1922), pp. 117-1 8, 

122, 130. 

40. Hamersly, Register, pp. 84, 133, 134; 

Register, and Rules and Regulations of the 

Army for 18 13, American SWle Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 387, 39 1. 

41. Register, and Rules and Regulations of 

the Army for 18 13. American Stale Papers: 

Military Affairs, I : 4 18. 

42. Quotes from A. G. Goodlet to Secretary 

of War, Jun 18 15, RG 107, M22 1, roll 61; O. 

H. Spencer to Secreta ry of War, 10 May 1814, 

RG 107, M22 1, roll 66. 

43 . Secretary of War to Commanding Officers at New Orleans, 17 Jun 1815, RG 107, 

M6, roll 8, p. 166. 

44. Quote from Statement of David C. Kerr, 

Hosp. Surgeon, Basse tt, Jackson 2 : 203; James 

Parton, Life of A"d rew Jackson. 3 vols. (Boston : Fields, Osgood & Co., 1870), 2: 12 1; 

American Slate Papers: Claims,S Feb 1790-3 

Mar 1823, p. 752 ; Arthur, New Orlealls, pp. 

81,240-4 1; Alcee Fortier, A History 0/ LOllisiana, 4 vols. (New Yo rk: Manzi, Joyant, & 

Co., 1904),3: 167. 

45. Bassett, Jackson, 2: 163n; Office of Adjutant General to Dr. David C. Ke rr, 4 Feb 

1813, RG 94, M565, roll 4, vol. 3, p. 93; 

Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 Feb 18 15, RG 

107, M221 , roll 66. 

46. Quote from Stephen Simpso n to George 

Simpson, 9 Jan 18 15, A merican Historical Review 2 ( 1896) : 268; Daniel Patterson to Secretary of Navy, 27 J an 18 15, and General 

Orders, 2 1 Jan 18 15, Bran nan, Letters, pp. 

462-63, 480; Andrew J ackson to Secretary 

Monroe, 27 Dec 18 14, Bassett, Jackson, 128; 

Colonel Bartholomew Shaumburg to William 

C. C. Claiborne, 30 Oct 1815, in W. C. C. 

Claiborne, OOidal Lett er Books 0/ W . C. C. 

Claiborne, 1801-1816, ed. Dunbar Rowl and, 

6 vols. (Jackson, Miss.: State Dept. of Archives and History, 1917),6: 380; Eron Opha 

Rowl and, A "drew Jackson's Campaign Against 

the British, or the Mississippi Territory in the 

War 0/ 1812 ... (Freeport, N.Y .: Books 

for Libraries Press, 197 1 reprint of 1926 edition) , pp. 8 1, 81n; Latour, Memoir. p. 184; 

Office of Adjutant Gene ral to Dr. O. H . Spencer, 10 lui 18 14, and Francis LeBaro n to Adjutant and Inspector General, 20 Dec 18 14, 

RG 94, M565, roll 5. vol 3 !I.! , p. 82: M566, 

roll 12; H amersly, Register, p. 272; Jane Lucas 

de Grummond, The Baratarialls alld the Baffle 

0/ New Orleans (Baton Rouge: Louisiana 

State Un iversity Press, 196 1), p. 100. 

47. Latour, Memoir, pp. 163, 177, 225, 

quot e from p. 225 ; Parto n, Jackson, 2: 22 1, 

229-30; L'Ami des Lois, 16 Jan 18 15, in Reed 

Adams, "New Orleans and the War of 18 12," 

Louisiana Historical Quarterly 17 ( 19 34): 

362; Arthur, New Orlealls, pp. 2 19- 20; Alexander \Valker, Jackson and New Orleans . .. 

(New York : J. C. Derby, 1856). p. 347; John 

Henry Cooke, A Narrative 0/ Events in the 

South 0/ France and 0/ the Attack 0 11 Nell' 

Orlealls, ill 1814 alld 1815 (London: T. & W. 

Boone, 1835 ), pp. 263-64; Resolution of the 

Legislature of Louisiana, Fortier. Louisiana, 

3: 167. 

48. Andrew Jackson to Major-General 

Lambert, 8 Jan 18 15 , Bassett, Jackson. 2: 134. 

49. Quote from Andrew Jackson to Col 

Robert Hays, 17 Feb 18 15, Bassett, Jackson 

2: 172; Parton, Jackson 2: 226; General 

Orders, D. Parker, Adjutant and Inspector 

Gene ral, 6 Jan 18 15, NileJ' Weekly Register 

(Baltimore) 7: 317. 

50. General Orders, Headquarte rs 7th Mil itary Distric t, 21 Jan 18 15, Brannan, Letters, 

p.480. 

5 1. Prucha. Guide, p. 94; Hamersly, Register, p. 134; Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 

Aug 18 14, RG 107, M22 1, roll 66. 

52. Quo te from Tilto n to Secre tary of War , 

20 Aug 18 14, RG 107, M221, roll 66; Joseph 

Wheaton, A ppea/ to the Senate and HOl/se 0/ 

Representatives o/ the United Stales 0/ America ( District of Columbia, 1820 ), p. 29. 

53. Wheaton, Appeal, pp. 19-20, 2 1- 22, 

quote fro l11 p. 19. 

54. Tillon to Secre tary of War, 20 Aug 

18 14, RG 107, M22 1. roll 66; Register, Rules 

and Regulations of the Army for 18 13 , Americall State Papers: Military AOairs, 1: 386. 
264 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

CHAPTER 10 

1. William Eustis to Secretary of War, 21 

Mar 18 15, RG 94, M566, roll 12. 

2. Quote and data from Crawford to Chairman of Military Committee, 27 Dec 1815, 

American State Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 

636; Army Register for 1816, American State 

Papers: Military ADairs, I: 628, 635; Ingersoll, War Department, p. 216; Henry C. Corbin and Raphael P. Thian, eds., Legislative 

History 0/ the General StaD oj the Army 0/ 

the United States (Washington: Government 

Printing Office, 1901), p. 409; Francis LeBaron to William Eustis, 16 Mar 1815, Eustis 

Papers; James Mann to James Tilton, 18 Mar 

1815, Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War. 

18 Mar 1815, James Tilton to Secretary of 

War, 28 Apr 1815, James Mann to President 

Madison, 7 Sep 181 5, and James Mann to 

Colonel Conner, 14 Dec 1815, RG 94, M566, 

rolls 75, 82. 

3. Unless otherwise indicated, all material in 

this section is based on Ganoe, U.S. Army ; 

Spaulding, Army; and Weigley, Army . Also 

consulted for the preceding paragraph were 

John Caldwell Calhoun, The Papers 0/ }ohll 

C. Calhoun, ed. W. Edwin Hemphill, 2 vols. 

to date (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press for the South Carolina Society, 

1963), 2 : Ixi; Corbin and Thian, Legislative 

History, p. 409; . Army Register for 1816, 

American State Papers: Military Affairs. 1: 

635. 

4 . Quote from "Review of Circular Letter 

of Benjamin Waterhouse to His Surgeons in 

the 2nd Military District, September 1817," 

Medical Repository 19 (1818): 395-96; Corbin and Thian, Legislative H iSlory, p. 410; 

Bayne-Jones, Preventive Medicine , pp. 79-80. 

5. Tilton to Secretary of War, 28 Apr and 

8 May 1815, quote from Joseph Eaton to 

James Tilton, 22 Apr 1815, RG 94, M566, 

roll 82; Office of the Adjutant General to J. 

H. Sackett, 13 Jan 1816, RG 94, M5 65, roll 

5, vol. 3!h, pp. 491-92; Register for 1816, 

American Slate Papers: Military Affairs, 1: 

627-28, 631-32, 633, 634, 635. 

6. Quote from James Tilton to Secretary of 

War, 28 Apr 1815, RG 94, M566, roll 82; 

James Mann to President Madison, 7 Sep 

1815, Mann to Secretary of War, 14 Apr 1815, 

Mann to Colonel Conner, 14 Dec 1815, 

Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War , 18 Mar 

1815, Morgan Lewis and Jabez C. [illegible] 

to Secretary of War, 21 Mar 1815, RG 94, 

M566, roll 75; Office of Adjutant General to 

T. Watkins, II May 1816, RG 94, M565, roll 

5, vol. 4, p. 30. 

7. Francis LeBaron to Adjutant and Inspector General, 18 Apr 1815, RG 94, M566, 

roll 12; Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

5 and 10 Feb, 3 Apr, and 6 JlIn 1815, RG 

107, M221 , rolls 63, 64; George Graham to 

Francis LeBaron, 27 Jul 1815, RG 107, M6, 

roll 8, pp. 243-44. 

8. Quotes from Francis LeBaron to Adjutant and Inspector General, 28 May 1816, 

RG 94, M566, roll 12; and to Secretary of 

War,8 May 1817, RG 107, M221, roll 74. 

9. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 7 

Mar 1815, and Benjamin Waterhouse to Secretary of War, 12 Jul 1815, RG 107, M221, 

rolls 63, 67; Joseph Lovell to Adjutant General, 30 Oct 1817, RG 94, M566, roll 98; 

Office of Adjutant General to Henry Huntt, 

IS Jun 1815, RG 94, M565, roll 5, vol. 3!h, 

p.386. 

10. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

13 Jan 1816, to Adjutant and Inspector General, 31 Mar 18 17, and to Inspector General, 

19 Jun 1817, RG 94, M566, roll 12; LeBaron 

to Secretary of War, 26 Jul 181 6, RG 107, 

M221, roll 70. 

11. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

28 May and 26 Jul 1816, RG 107. M221 , roll 

70; Secretary of War to Dr. W. P. Jones, 14 

Jan 18 15, RG 107, M6, roll 8, pp. 25-26. 

12. Quote from Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 14 Sep 1816, RG 107, M221 , 

roll 70; LeBaron to Secretary of War, 6 Jun 

18 15, and to Adjutant and Inspector General, 

28 May 1816, RG 107, M221 , rolls 12, 64; 

James Cutbush to Adjutant General, 5 Jun 

1816, RG 94, M566, roll 41. 

13. Quote from Francis LeBaron to Adjutant and Inspector General, 7 Nov 1816, 

RG 94, M566, roll 12; LeBaron to Secretary 

of War, 26 Jul and 14 Sep 1816, RG 107, 

M221, roll 70. 

14. Secretary of War to LeBaron, 5 Feb 

1817, RG 107, M6, roll 8, p. 243. 

15 . Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

7 Mar 1815, RG 107, M221, roll 63, quote 
Notes 10 Chapter 10 265 

from James Tilton to Secretary of War, 10 

Feb ISIS, roll 66; Office of Adjutant General 

to Dr. J. H. Sackett, 23 Oct ISI7, and to Dr. 

F. Swift, 22 Oct ISI7, RG 94, M565, roll 5, 

vol. 4, p. 262. 

16. James Tilton to Secretary of War, 17 

Jan ISI5, RG 94, M566, roll S2, quote from 

James MaDn to Secretary of War, 14 Apr 

ISI5, roll 75; Office of Adjutant General to 

Henry Huntt, 7 Feb and 15 Jun ISI5, RG 94, 

M565, roll 5, vol. 3V2, pp. 31S, 3S6. 

17. Remarks on the Sick Report of the 

Northern Division for the Year Ending 30 Jun 

1817, Brown, Medical Department, p. 102. 

IS. I. M. McKay to Maj Perrin Willis, 30 

Oct ISI7, RG 94, M566, roll 9S. 

19. Remarks on the Sick Report of the 

Northern Division for the Year Ending 30 

Jun 1817, Brown, Medical Deparimelll, p. 102. 

20. Francis LeBaron to Secretary of War, 

25 Apr and 4 May ISI3 , RG 107, M221, roll 

54. 

2 1. Quote from George Izard to Secretary 

of War, 1 Jun 1814, Izard, Correspondence, 

pp. 21-22; James Tilton to Secretary of War, 

12 Jul ISI3, RG 107, M221, roll 57. 

22. General Committee of Defense, Obser~ 

vatioflS; Heustis, Diseases 0/ Louisiana, pp. 

130-31; James Mann to Secretary of War, 14 

Apr IS IS, RG 94, M566, roll 75; Brown, 

Medical Department, p. 105. 

23. Brown, Medical Department, p. 104. 

24. James Tilton to Secretary of War, 20 

Aug ISI4, RG 107, M221, roll 66. 

25. Mann, Sketches, pp. 122, 124. 

26. Quote from RG 9S, vol. 6S3, 1st and 

9th Regiments; Brown, Medical Deparrment. 

p. 102; RG 9S, vols. 6S0, 6S3; Samuel Akerly, 

"Medical Topography of the Military Positions in the Third United States Military District: Together With a Summary Report on the 

Diseases of the Anny ... ," Medical Reposilory, 2d ser. 3 (ISI7): 294. 

27. Heustis, Diseases 0/ Louisiana, p. 138. 

28. Brown, Medical Department, pp. 88, 

102, 103, quote from p. SS; Mann, Sketches, 

p. 76; Heustis, Diseases oj Louisiana, p. 136; 

Benjamin Waterhouse, Circular Letter From 

Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse to the Surgeons 0/ 

the DiDerelll Posts ill the Second Military 

Department (Cambridge, Mass., 18 17), pp. 

12- 13. 

29. Waterhouse, Leller, pp. 8- 9, 10, IS, 

quotes from pp. 10, 15; Heustis, Diseases 0/ 

Louisiana, pp. ] 36, 137. 

30. Mann, Sketches, pp. 130-31. 

3 1. Waterhouse, Leiter, p. 16. 

32. Quote from Waterhouse, Lefler, p. 14; 

Heustis, Diseases oj Louisiana, p.' 136. 

33 . Heustis, Diseases 0/ Loui.-.iarw, pp. 138. 

139, quote from p. 139 (Heustis's preferences 

in fruit may seem exotic, but, of course, he 

was writing of his experience in Louisiana); 

Waterhouse, Leller, pp. 12, 17, 19-20. 

34. Mann, Sketches, p. 76. 

35. Quote from Heustis, Diseases 0/ Louisiana, p. 114; Warren, Mercurial Practice, pp. 

45-46, 92. The term typhoid has apparently 

often been used to mean "resembling typhus" 

(see first definition of typhoid in Dorland's 

Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 24th ed. (Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Co., 1965), p. 1640] 

and the two diseases were not clearly distinguished until 1837. (See Hume, Victories, pp. 

99-100; and Leonard G. Wilson, "The Clinical Definition of Scurvy and the Discovery of 

Vitamin C," Journal 0/ fhe History 0/ Medieille alld Allied Sciellces 30 (1975) : 59.] 

36. Purcell Report, Mann, Sketches, p. 153. 

Sordes is "The dark-brown, foul matter which 

coll ects on the lips and teeth in low fevers" 

(Dor/alld, p. 1406). 

37. Data and quote from Waterhouse, Letter, p. 5; Brown, Medical Departme1ll, p. 105; 

James Thacher, American Modem Practice; 

Or, a Simple Method oj Preve1l1iOll alld Cure 

oj Diseases . . . (Boston: Ezra Read. 1817), 

p. 173. 

3S. Joseph Lovell Report, Mann, Sketches, 

pp. 163-64. 

39. Quote from Joseph Lovell Report, 

Mann, Sketches, p. 103 ; Warren, Mercurial 

Practice, p. 98. 

40. Thomas, Modem Practice, p. 43. 

41. Mann, Sketches, pp. 6S, 12S, 160- 61, 

quote from p. 90. 

42. Brown, Medical Department, pp. 102, 

104-5, quote from p. 102; Army Register for 

1816, American State Papers: Military Affairs, 

I: 635. 

43. Mann, Sketches, p. 129. 

44. Hanson Catlett to Major McClelland, 

17 Jan ISI5, RG 94, M566, roll 67. 

45. Waterhouse, Leller, p. 22. 
266 THE ARM Y M E DIe A L D EPA R T MEN T , 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

46. Mann, Sketches, pp. 186-98. 

47. Waterhouse, Letter, pp. 14, 15. 

48. Mann, Sketches, pp. 130-3 1, 134, 136, 

quotes from pp. 134, 136. 

49. Mann, Sketches, pp. 80-8 t. 

50. Quotes from Waterhouse, Letter, pp. 6-

7; Mann, Ske tches, pp. 88-89. 

51. Mann, Sketches, p. 206; "Diseases of 

the Army of the Third United States Military 

District," Medical Repository, new ser. 3 

(1817): 407; John Shaw, "Narrative of John 

Shaw: Dictated to Lyman C. Draper," Wisconsin State Historical Society Publicatiolls 2 

(1855):217. 

52. Horner, "Surgical Sketches," 9: 1,2. 

53. Horner, "Surgical Sketches," 9: 3, 71, 

quote from p. 7t. 

54. Horner, "Surgical Sketches," 9: 78. 

55. Horner, "Surgical Sketches," 9: 7. 

56. Barton became the first Surgeon-General 

of the Navy in 1842. William Paul Crillon 

Barton, A Treatise Con tailling a Plan lor the 

' nternal Organization and Govemmem 01 

Marine Hospitals ill the UI/ited States; Together Willi Observations 011 Military and Flyjng Hospitals ... , 2d ed. (Philade lphia, 

1817), pp. 131, 132, quotes from pp. 131, 132; 

Mann, Sketches, pp. 240-4t. 

57. Mann, Sketches, p. 240. 

58. Mann, Ske tches, pp. 238- 39, 243, quote 

from p. 238. 

59. Mann, Sketches, p. 250. 

60. Mann, Sketches, pp. 244, 246; Brown, 

Medical Department, p. 106. 

61. Mann, Sketches, pp. 235-36; Office of 

the Adjutant General to James Mann, 16 Jul , 

14 Nov 1816, and to Dr. W. P. C. Barton, 15 

Oct 1816, RG 94, M565, roll 5, vol. 4, pp. 66, 

117, 124. 

ApPENDIXES 

1. Unless otherwise indicated, material in 

this appendix is based on Gibson, 0110. Wash· 

ington's General Orders, 20 Nov 1777, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 10: 88; Weedon, Val· 

ley Forge, p. 135; Robert Kirkwood, The 

Journals and Order Book 0/ Captain Robert 

Kirkwood 0/ the Delaware Regiment 0/ the 

Continemal Lille, ed. Joseph Brown Turner 

(Port Washington, N .Y.: Kennikat Press, 

1910), p. 248; Shippen report of 24 Nov 1777, 

Duncan, Medical Men , p. 239. 

2. Quote from Sproat, "Extracts," p. 443, 

Rev Henry Melchior MUhlenberg to Halle 

Fathers in Germany, Gibson, Olto, pp. 153-54. 

3. Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 226; Jordan, 

"Returns," pp. 36- 38; A Return of the 

Wounded Belonging to Different Regiments 

and Their Respective Companies, Lancaster, 

I I Oct 1777 , Alison Papers; Gen George 

Washington to Lt Col William Stephens Smith, 

27 Jan 1778, Fitzpatrick, Washingtoll, 10: 

356-57; Ebenezer David, A Rhode Island 

Chaplaill ill the RevolutiOIl, Leiters 0/ EbelIezer David to Nicholas Brown, 1775-1778, 

eds. Jeannette D. Black and William Greene 

Roelker (Providence : The Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati, 1949), p. 75; Report 

of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 26 Apr 1778, 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, item 10. 

4. Butte rfield, Letters 0/ Rush. I : 158. 

5. Griffenhagen, Drug Supplies, p. 127; 

James Cra ik to Jonath an Potts, 7 Apr 1778, 

Gibson, 01t0, p. 162; Heiges, "Letters," pp. 

74, 77; Shippen report of 24 Nov 1777, 

Duncan, Medical Mell, p. 239. Duncan's book 

contains neither footnotes nor bibliography 

and the original of this report has not been 

located. His ve rsion of the document lists 

"Mendham" rather than Manheim, but be· 

cause it is not likely that the Mendham hos· 

pital was still open, because, although no state 

is mentioned, the hospital is listed with those 

in Pennsylvania, and because Duncan has been 

known to misread the city names in eighteenth 

century reports, it seems obvious that Man· 

heim is the name intended by Shippen. 

6. Weedon, Valley Forge, pp. 109-10; Shippen report of 24 Nov 1777, Duncan, Medical 

Mell, p. 239. 

7. Middleton, "Valley Forge," p. 485. 

8. Jordan, "Returns," p. 40; Radbill, "Alison," p. 252; A Return of the Sick & Wounded 

in the Hospital at Plumstead, 10 Dec 1777, 

Alison Papers; Shippen, Just Account. 

9. Sproat Journal, Gibson, 0110, p. 329. 

10. Sproat Journal, Gibson, OttO, p. 326; 

Report of Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 27 

Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3- 1, 

item 11. 
Notes to Appendixes 267 

11. Report of Brig Ge n Lachlan Mcintosh, 

26 Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 

3- 1, item 10. 

12. Quote from Report of Brig Gen Lachlan 

Mcintosh, 25 Apr 1778, RG 93, M246, roll 

135 . folder 3- 1, item 10 ; He iges, "Letters," 

p.77. 

13. Matthew Irwine to Jonathan Potts, 22 

Mar 1778, Potts Pape rs, 4: 423; Report of 

Brig Gen Lachlan Mcintosh, 27 Apr 1778, 

RG 93, M246, roll 135, folder 3-1, item II ; 

Sproat Journal . G ibson, OliO, p. 328. 

14. Washington's General Orders, 17 Jun 

1777, Fitzpatrick, Washington, 8: 25 1; Accou nts of John Dunn, 1777- 78, RG 93. M859, 

roll 124, frame 989, item 03550 I. 

J 5. Washington's General Orders, 17 Jun 

1777, Fitzpat rick, Washingtoll, 8: 257; Ella W. 

Mockridge. 0111' Mendham (Ann Arbor, Mich., 

196 1) , p. 56; Mendham, N ew Jersey, Mayor's 

Tercentenary Comm ittee, The Melldlullns, 

(Brookside, N.J., 1964) , p. 32. 

16. Butterfield, Letters oj REali, 1: 167n; 

Benjamin Rush to Julia Rush. 10 Nov 1777, 

and Benjamin Rush to James Searle, 19 Nov 

1777, Butterfield, Lel/ers 0/ Rush, I : 166. 
\ 
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Index 

Ackland (Acland ). Maj . John Dyke, 96 

Adams. John. 28- 29. 35. 37. 39. 60. 82 

Adams, Samuel , 28, 35, 44, 60, 62, 82 

Adams, Samuel, Jr., 5 1. 52, 66, 72. 74, 92 

Adjutant General, 81. 152, 155 , 230 

Alabama. 18 J 

Albany. N.Y .• 48. 57. 63- 64. 94- 97. 106. 

114. 127. 133. 144. 148- 49. 155. ~O 91 

Alcoholic beverages. Sec' Wine and spi rits. 

Alexandria, Va., 75, 84, 120 

Alison, Francis, 107, t 12 

Allentown, Pa., 70- 7 1, 81 , 9 1 

Allison, Ri chard, 133, 134, 136- 37 

Amboy. N.J .• 69. 77 

Ambul ances, 167 

Amputations, 7, 15- 18,84. 138, 151, 195- 96 

Andrews, Joseph Gardner, 139- 40 

Annapolis, Md., 148 

Anthrax, lS I 

Apotheca ri es, 8. 33. See a/.w Hospit al Department; Medical Department. 

Armstrong, John , 148 

Army. Revolutiona ry Wa r. See Continent al Army. 

Army. 1783- 18 12. See (//so Regiments. 

coastal and interior forts. 138-40 

Indian campaigns. 13 1. 133- 38 

Louisiana Territory ope rations. 140- 43 

organization of, 129- 32. 134- 35 , 137- 38. 140. 

144 

Army, War of 18 12 

Milita ry Districts. 150-51. 154. 166- 67. t 72. 

177- 85. 190. 195- 96 

Northern operat ions, 148, 157, 159- 7 1, 172- 78 

organization and strength, 148-49, 153 , 157. 

159. 16 1- 63. 172. 178, 180- 81 . 184- 85 

SOllthern operations. 164, 178- 85 

Army, post-War of 18 12, 186- 87 , 190 

Army medical organization, 197 . See also Hospital 

Department: Medical Department ; Medical 

personnel. 

Arnold, Maj . Gen. Benedic t, 59- 60, 64, 96 

Articles of Capitulation , 123 

Ashley, S.c.. 124 

Aspinwall, William, 5 1 

Asthma, 65, 96, 1 I I 

Aucnbrugge r, Leopold, 3 

Auto psies, 19, 140, 194- 95 

Backus, Christopher, 184 

Baltimore. Md .• 70. 75. 110. 172. 178. 180. 188 

Bard, John, 15 

Bard, Samuel, 8 

Bartlett, John, 38, 95 

Barton, William, 196, 266 

Bas king Ridge, N.J., 103, III, 243, 245 

Beaumont, William, 160, 167, 170 

Beaverdam, Va., 120 

Bedford. N.Y .• 11 2- 13 

Bell, Whitfield Jenks, Jr., 29, 42 

Benedict, Md ., 178 

Bennington, Vt., 94- 95 

Belhlehem. Pa .• 42. 70- 7 1, 80-83, 88- 89. 91. 238 

Bettering House (Phil adelphia), 70, 109 

Binney, Barnabas, 29, 44, 48, 67 

Black Rock. N.Y .• 165. 169 

Bladensburg, Md ., 180 

Blaine, Ephraim, 83 

Bleeding. 1- 2. 14- 18. 159-60. 193- 95 

Blistering, I, 5, 7, 17- 18, 159- 60, 192. 194 

Blood, Hosea, 175 

Bloomfield, Moses, 44 

Board of Treasury, 3 1, 40, 43 

Board of Wa r, 25, 45, 48, J 18, 230 

Boe rhaave, Hermann, 1 

Bond, Na thaniel, 75 

Bond. Thoma s. Jr .. 40. 42-44, 46. 82, 109- 10. 228 

Bordentown, N.J., 72, 8 1 

Boston, Mass., 26- 28, 30, 48, 50- 57, 74, 114, 

144. 152. 154. 188. 193 

Boswell, J ames, 29 

Boulden, Nathan, 177 

Bound Brook, N.J., 102 

Brandywine Creek, 79- 80, 90 

Bristol, Pa., 79, 81 

British Army, 3- 4. See also Prisoners of war. 

commanders, 28. 40, 47, 80, 94- 95, : 20- 21 

Medical Depa rtrnent. 8, 20- 21, 36- 37, 46- 47, 

82. 95 

in Revolutionary War, 33. 50, 56- 57, 59, 67, 

71 - 73. 77- 80. 92. 94. 97. 99. 109. 11 7- 19. 

120- 25 

in War of 18 12. 148. 153 . 16 1- 62. 164- 65. 168. 

172- 73, 177- 8 1 

British Navy, 57, 64, 77, 181 

Brocklesby. Richard, 4, 6, 20 
290 THE ARM Y M E D i e A L D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

Brodhead, Col. Daniel, 106. 108, 11 0 

Brookline, Mass., 51 

Brown, Maj. Gen. Jacob, 172, 175 

Brown, William, 69. 82, 89, 102,239 

Browne, James, 11 8 

Brownville, N.Y., 175, 188, 190, 196 

Brunswick, N .J., 69, 77, 99, 102, 110 

Buckingham, Pa., 8 1 

Buffalo, N.Y., 152, 161, 164- 65, 169, 175 

Bull, E. W .. 177 

Burgoyne, Maj. Gen. John, 40, 94- 95 

Burlington. N.J ., 81 

Burlington, VI., 156, 157, 161, 167, 172- 74. t88. 

190, 194, 197 

Burnet, William, 38, 44. 67, 98. 99, 102 

Burr, Aaron, 140 

Calhoun, John, 186- 87 

Cambridge, Mass., 22, 27, 29, 51. 52- 53 

Camden, S.C., 117 

Canada 

Revolutionary War, 20, 32- 33, 50, 57, 59- 60 

War o[ 1812, 148, 153, 157, 159- 67, 170. 172 

Canajoharie, 'N.Y., 106 

Capitol Hill hospital, D.C., 180 

Carleton, Sir Guy. 47 

Carlisle. Pa., 84 

Carmichael, John F., 135- 36, 139 

Carolinas, 75, t03, liS, 120, 185 

Casualties 

Indian campaigns, 134, 136, 138 

ratio of disease vs. wounds, 3, 8, 39, 108 

Revolutionary War, 67, 69, 7 1-72. 108. 119. 

121- 23 

War o[ 1812, 163- 65, 168, 170, 172, 175, 177, 

180 

Catlett, Hanson. 180, 194, 262 

Chadd's Ford, Pa., 79 

Charleston, S.C., liS, 117- I 9, 121, 123- 24, 152 

Charlotte, N.C" 118- 19, 123 

Charlottesvill e, Va., 120 

Cheraw, S.C., 118 

Cherry Valley, N.Y., 106 

Chesapeake Bay, 79 

Cheselden, William. IS 

Chesterfield Court House, Va., 120 

Chippewa, battle of, 175, J 77 

Chippewa River, 172 

Cholera, 96 

Church, Benjamin, 26- 28, 30, 35, 38, 46, 51, 52, 

56 

Cincinnati, Ohio, J 34, 136- 37 

Claiborne, Governor, 183 

Clark, James. t 7 

Clinton, Brig. Gen. James, 106, 108, 11 4 

Clothier General, 40, 83 

Clothing, 9-10, 40, 66, 73, 160, 19 1-92 

Clothing shortage, 3, 22, 30, 39, 62, 77, 82- 83, 

85, 88, 92, 99, 103, 109, 11 4, 124, 134, 

169- 70 

Cochran, John, 14 

Director Gene ral of Hospital De partment. 

44-48, 105- 6, 11 2, 121, 125- 27 

and Hospital Department reform, 36- 37 

Physician and Surgeon General, Middle Depart· 

ment, 38, 40, 42, 71 - 72, 74 

Physician and Surgeon Gene ral of the Army, 

43-44, 77-79, 82, 84- 87, 92, 102, lOS, 120, 

236 

Colchester, Va., 75 , 120 

Coll ege of William and Mary. 120, 122 

Committee of Correspondence (Boston), 26 

Committees of Safety, 26 

Conanicut Island, R.1., 115 

Congress. Revolutionary War, 82 

and Hospital Department fund ing, 30, 39-41, 

44, 11 9 

Hospital Department legislat ion and regulation, 

22, 25- 4 1, 43, 45, 48, 74-75, 109, 115- 18, 

127, 228 

and Hospital Department staff, 34- 35, 4 1- 44, 

46-49, 59- 60, 64, 69 

Medical Committee, 14, 25, 35, 37, 40, 43-45, 

72, 75, 77, lOS, 110, 114 

Secret Committee, 224 

and supply problems, 39- 40, 42, 46, 57, 59, 

62- 65, 83 

Congress, 1783- I 812, 131 , 135 

Congress, War of 1812, 149, 156 

Congress, 1815- 1816, 187 

Connecticut, 57, 103, 113, 150. See also Hospital 

patients. 

Connecticut Provincial Congress, 28, 56 

Continental Army. See also Hospital Department; 

Washington, George. 

Boston operations, 50, 56- 57 

commanders, 37, 50, 57, 59- 60, 67, 98, 119- 20 

desertions, 59, 9 1, Ill, 119 

disbandment of, 48, 99, 133 

enlistment problems, 27, 33, 59, 74-75, 84 

mut inies, 3 1, 46. 103, 105, 124 

New Jersey and Pennsylvania operations, 39, 50, 

67- 72, 92, 103, 110 

New York area operations, 45, 50, 57, 65- 67, 

69, 72- 74, 99 

Northern Army operations, 50, 57, 59- 60, 98, 

108 

smallpox and inoculation, 56, 62, 74- 75, 84 

strength 0[, 33, 50, 59- 60, 65, 70, 75, 77, 87, 

95, lOG, 121, 124 

at Valley Forge, 81- 82, 84-87, 92 

Yorktown operations, 46, 11 2, 120- 23. 127 

Coosa Rive r, 181 

Cornwallis, Lt. Gen. Charles, 121 
Index 29 1 

Council of War, 28 

Crab Island, N.Y., 174 

Craigie, Andrew, 44, 60, 63. 82- 84 

Craik, James, 40, 43- 44, 82, 87, 92, lOS, 115, 

121- 22, 126 

Crawford, William H., 187 

Creek Indians, 164, 18 1 

Croton River, 73 

Crown Point, N.Y., 60 

Cullen, Wi ll iam, 1- 2, 19, 54 

Cunningham, Cornelius, 165 

Cupping, 194 

Cutbush, Edwa rd, II , 220 

Cutbush, James, 156 

Cutter, Amm i Ruhamah, 38, 98 

CUlling, John Brown, 67, 82- 84, 237 

Cuyahoga, 162 

Danbury, Conn., 98, 102, 112- 13 

Dartmouth medical school, 20 

Dayton, Ohio, 162 

Dearborn, Maj. Gen. Henry, 129, 148, 157, 16 1, 

165, 167 

Delaware, 91 - 92, 125, 150 

Delaware Indians, 140 

Delaware River, 73, 92 

Detroit, Mich., 137, 148, 162- 63, 165, 190, 194 

Diarrhea,S, 7- 8, 73, 96, I I I , 114, 122, 125, 

127, 139, 142- 43, 157, 167- 70, 173, 178, 

192- 93, 195, 254, 260 

Dimsda le, Baron, 56 

Diphtheria, 4 

Director Gene ral and Chief Physician, Hospital 

Department. See also Church, Benjamin ; 

Coch ran, John; Foster, Isaac; Morgan, John; 

Shippen, Wi lli am, Jr. 

appointments and dismissals. 26, 28- 29, 35- 37, 

43-44, 75, 77 

authority of, 22, 23, 27, 29, 32, 36- 37, 4 1, 

45,98,1 15,1 17 

supply powers, 37, 39- 40, 43 

Disease. See also Casualties; Disease rates; 

Diseases. 

diagnosis of, I, 3-6 

theories of cause and spread, 1-4, 77, 14 1, 

186, 192- 93 

treatment of, 1,5- 11, 14, 159- 60,191- 95 

Disease rates 

Indian campaigns. 132, 134-37 

Louisiana Territory, 14 1- 43 

Northwest Territory forts, 139--40 

Revolutionary War, 59- 60, 63, 70 75, 77. 84, 

88- 92, 94-·97. 102- 3, 105- 6, 108. 128, 230, 

240-4 1 

War of 18 12, 157, 159- 62, 165 , 17U. 173 

Diseases, 7- 8, 10, 65. 96, 114, 127·-28. 140- 42, 

160, 192. 254. See also Fevers; and spec ific 

name of disease. 

District of Columbia, 178 

Doctors' Mob riol, 19 

Downingtown. Pa., 109 

Draper, George, 44 

Dropsy, 7, 96, 193, 195 

Drugs, 29, 57, 187- 88. See also Medical and 

hospita l supply; Medic ine chests; Medi:ines. 

imported and purchased, 26, 39- 40, 46, 82 

lists of requ irements, 6- 7, 63 

shortages, 22, 25- 26, 30, 56, 60, 62- 64, 82- 84 

Dumfries, Va., 75, 120 

Dunkards, 90- 9 1 

Dunkerstown, Pa., 90 

Dysentery, 3- 5, 7, 9, I I, 56, 60, 63, 84, 96, 108, 

I I I, 113- 15, 123, 125, 139, 142- 43, 157, 

159- 61, 168, 170, 173, 178, 184, 192- 93, 

195, 260 

Eastern Department ( Hospital Department) 

hospitals, 48, 50, 53, 57, 66- 67, 72- 76, 97- 98, 

108, 11 4, 125- 26 

medical staff, 36- 38, 40, 69, 74, 97- 98, 99, 102, 

112, 230 

slIpply, 56,66- 67,70- 73,81,98,99 

Easton, Pa .• 70- 71, 81- 82, 9 1, 106- 8 

Edwards, Abraham, 162 

Eli zabe th, N.J., 69 

Elliott, John, 133, 134 

Ephrata, Pa., 8 1, 90- 9 1 

Epilepsy, 194 

Erie, N.Y., 152 

Ettwein, John, 70, 81 , 88, 9 1 

Eustis, William, 44, 72- 73, 113, 126, 129, 134. 

14 1- 42, 144, 148- 50, 243, 246 

Eutaw Springs, S.c., 119, 123 

Evacuation of patients, 2 1. 87- 89 

land transport, 72, 77, 8 1, 11 8, 136, 167, 169 

wale I' transport, 67, 94, 102, 108, 123, 125, 

138, 142, 162, 167, 170, 173- 75 

Evansburg, Pa., 81 

Ewell, J ames, 180 

Fall en T imbers, battle of. 13 1, 136 

Faulkne r Swamp, Pa., 81 

Fayssoux, Peter, 45, 118- 19, 123 

Fever 

callses and diagnosis of, 2, 4, 7, 193 

incidence of, 52, 60, 76, 96, 190, 192 

treatment of, 2, 7- 8, 63, 194 

Fevers, by type 

aut umnal. 56, 137 

biliolls, 3,63,96, I I I , 120, 126- 27, 137, 142-43 

bilious putrid, 112- 13. 127 

camp. 69 

hospital , 4, 218 

infl am matory. 125, 127, 143 , 193- 94 

intermittent, 4, 63, 96, 103, 106, 111 , 113-14, 
292 THE ARM Y M E D J CAL D EPA R T MEN T, I 7 7 5 - 1 8 I 8 

Fevers, by Iype-Continued 

120, 122, 125- 26, 138- 40, 142-43, '57, 

159- 60, 167- 68, 178, 193- 94 

jail, 4, 218 

malignant, 4 

pernicious, 184 

putrid, 4, 61 , 77, 79, 81 , 84- 85, 88, 90-91, 

95- 96, 103, 113, 126- 27, 137, 218 

remittent, 4, 63, 106, 113- 14, 120, 122, 125- 26, 

140, 142-43, 193 

scarlet, 4 

spotted, 159 

,yphoid, 4- 5, 84, '43, 160, 193,218, 265 

typhus, 4-5, 7, 21, 84, 110, 140, 157, 159, 163, 

168-70, 173, 193- 94, 218, 265 

ye llow, 3-4, 7, 143, 193 

Fishkill, N.Y., 73- 75, 97- 98, 102, 112 

Flood, (Doctor), 184 

Florida, West, 164, 18 t 

Food shortages, 3, 22, 39- 40, 42, 46, 63- 64, 7 1, 

82- 83, 91, 99, 103, 105, 114, 11 7, 124, 134 

Food supply 

barley, 7, 159 

bread, 63, 77, 83, 103, 137, 159, 165, 168 

chocolate, 7, 83, 142, 155, 159, 170 

coffee, 7, 83, 114 

cornmeal, 63, 83, 149 

flour, 83, 103, 141 , 170 

fruit, 8, II, 14,97, 193 

meat, 11 ,63, 65, 83, 91 , 115, 126, 137, 159- 61, 

193 

milk, 91 , 108, 160, 169, 193 

mo1.sses, 7, 63, 85, 114, 124, 159 

rice, 7, 63, 83, 114, 159 

salt, 6, 83 

sugar, 7, 11 , 42. 64, 83, 114, 124, 140, 142, 

159 

tea, 83, 114, 124, 142, 159 

vegetables, II, 14, 39, 64- 65, 77, 92, 94, 113, 

115, 136- 37, 193 

vinegar, 7, 39, 77, 83, 149 

Forgue, Francis, 38, 233 

Fort Adams, Miss., 139, 141-42 

Fort Anne, N.Y., 94 

Fort Constitution, 166 

Fort Dearborn, 111., 162- 63 

Fort Defiance, Ohio, 136- 37, 139-40, 163 

Fort Erie, 177 

Fort Fayette, Pa., 162 

For. George, N.Y., 59- 60, 62- 65, 94, 165, 168- 69 

Fort Harrison, Ind., 138 

Fort Independence, 166 

Fort Jay, N.Y., 138 

Fort Jefferson, Ohio, 134, 140 

Fort Knox, 138 

Fort Lee, N.Y., 69, 73 

Fort Malden (Canada), 162- 64 

Fort McHenry, Md., 180 

Fort McNair, D.C., 180 

Fort Meigs, Ohio, 6, 164- 65 

Fort Nelson, Va., 185 

Fort Niagara, 161 - 62, 165, 168 

Fort Pitt, Pa., 106, 110, 133 

Fort Preble, 166 

Fort Schlosser, N.Y., 169 

Fort Seam mel, 166 

Fort Stephenson, Ohio, 177 

Fort Stoddert, Ala., 181 

Fort Strother, Ala., 18 1 

Fort Sullivan, N.Y., 108, 110, 166 

Fort Sumner, 166 

Fort Washington, N.Y., 72- 73 

Fort Washington, Ohio, 134, 136- 37, 139 

Fort Wayne, Ind., 133, 139 

Forts and garrisons 

coastal, 138 

Northwest Territory, 131, 136, 139 

Foster (Forster), Isaac, 28, 38, 46, 51, 57, 66- 67, 

74- 75, 97- 98, 99, 102, 112 

Foster, Josiah, 137- 38, 162 

France. See also French forces. 

fear of war wi.h (1791), 131, 138, 148 

funds and supply from (Revolutionary War) , 

26, 30, 46, 49 

Franklin, Benjamin, 6-7, 54, 192 

Fraser, Brig. Gen. Simon, 95 

Fredericksburg, Va., 120, 194 

French and Indian War, 20, 44, 64, 75 

French Creek, Pa., 109 

French forces, 40, 46, 106, 115, 121- 23 

French Mills, N.Y., 156, 166, 170, 174 

Frenchtown, Mich., 163 

Frostbite, 84, 163, 167 

Frothingham, Ensign, 140 

Gage, General Thomas, 28 

Gangrene, 16 

Gates, Maj. Gen. Horatio. 54, 60, 62- 65, 95-97, 

117, 227, 240- 41 

Genesee, N.Y., 106, 108 

Georgia, 43, 115, 117, 150, 185 

Germantown, Pa., 79, 81 - 82 

Gould, David, 120 

Governors Island, N.Y., 138 

Grasse, Rear Admiral de, 106 

Grasson. Victor, 134, 25 1 

Great Britain, fear of war with (1791), 131, 138, 

140 

Green Spring, Va., 121 

Greenbush, N.Y., 157, 159- 61, 169, 171, 175, 

188 

Greene , Maj. Gen. Nathanael, 66- 67, 81, 83, 

118- 19, 123- 24 

Greenleaf's Point, D .C., 180 
Index 293 

Greenville, Ohio, 134, 137 

Gregg, Captain, 114 

Hackensack, N.J., 69, 72 

Hagan, Francis, 44, 94 

Hampton, Maj. Gen. Wade, 142, 166, 170 

Hancock, John, 82 

Hanover, Va., 120- 21, 123 

Harmar, Brig. Gen. Josiah, 131- 33 

Harrison, Maj. Gen. William Henry, 6, 131, 

137-38, 152, 156, 163- 65, 177 

Hartford, Conn., 98, 113 

Harvard medical school, 20 

Hays, Adam, 177 

Hayward, Lemuel, 51 

Hayward, Nathan, 133, 136 

Head of Elk, Md., 125 

Heath, Maj. Gen. William, 47, 73- 74, 103 

Heerman, Lewis, 184 

Henry, Patrick, 54, 75 

Hessian troops, 71 - 72, 94- 96 

Heustis, Jabez, 143, 192- 93 

Heyward, Thomas, Jr., 33 

High Hills of Sanlee, S.C., 199, 123 

Highlands of tbe Hudson, N.Y .. 103 

Hillsboro, N.C., 118 

Horner, W. E., 196 

Hosack, David, 3 

Hospital Department. See also Director General 

and Chief Physician; Eastern Department; 

Middle Department; Nortbern Department; 

Southern Department. 

Apothecary General, 30, 40, 44- 45, 67 

Apothecaries General, 37, 60. 65, 69, 82, 84, 

237 

British system as model for, 20, 36 

close of, 48, 99, 127, 133 

conflict with regimental system, 8, 26- 27, 29- 32, 

40, 45, 48, 72 

Deputy and Assistant Directors General, 36-40, 

43 , 45, 65, 82, 97, 112, 114, 118, 120, 233 

internal staff disputes, 19- 21, 26, 29, 32- 35, 

38-39, 41- 43, 48- 49, 62, 67, 69-70, 112 

legislation and reform, 22-41, 43, 48, 74-75, 

77, 109, liS, 117- 18, 127 

Physician and Surgeon General , 43- 45, 77, 82, 

236 

Physicians and Surgeons General, 36- 37, 40, 

43- 45, 60, 65, 69, 82, 89, 95, 97- 98, 102, 

108, 114, 118 

Purveyor, 39-40, 43-46, 82, 118 

staff education and experience, 1- 2, 9, 19-2 1, 

22, 38 

staff pay and allowances, 27, 41, 43, 45-49 

staff selection and promotion, 22- 26, 43, 45, 47, 

60 

Hospital patients. See also Evacuation. 

care of, 9, 15- 18, 151 

Hospital patients-Continued 

civilian, 91, 97, 106, 112, 11 4- 15, 125, 127, 

139, 177 

diel, 2, II, 15,66, 85, 119, 141 , 159- 60, 170, 

193 

new recruits, 3, 10,69, 102, 159, 168, 178 

prisoners of war, 80, 94-96,110,113,121,127, 

153, 164, 175, 177, 180- 81, 184- 85, 190 

segregation and isolation of, 9, 37, 51, 56, 64- 65, 

74-75, 106, 109, 120, 123, 197 

Hospital patients, Revolutionary War 

Connecticut, 72-73, 98, 113 

Delaware, 91, 125 

Maryland, 125 

Massachusetts, 22, 26, 27, 51 , 52- 57, 98, 114 

New Jersey, 67, 69, 71- 72, 75, 81, 99, 102-3, 

126-27 

New York City and Long 1sland, 66- 67,74 

New York Siale, 57, 59- 60, 62-65, 72- 74, 92, 

94- 98, 102-3, 105- 6, 108, 110, 112- 14, 

125-27 

Pennsylvania, 69- 71, 76, 77, 80- 84. 86, 88-92, 

106- 12, 127 

Rhode Island, 98, II 5 

South Carolina, 117- 19, J 23- 24 

Vermont, 94-95 

Virginia, 84-85, 120- 23 

Hospital patients, 1783-1812 

Louisiana Territory, 141 - 43 

Northwest Territory, 133, 134-40 

Hospital patients, War of 1812 

District of Columbia, 180 

Louisiana, 183- 84 

Massachusetts, 190 

New York Stale, 157, 159- 62, 167- 71, 173-75, 

178 

Northwest Territory, 162- 65. 177- 78. 194 

Vermonl, 167, 172-74, 178 

Virginia, 185 

Hospitals. See also Medical personnel. 

closings of, 48, 64, 91, 94, 108- 9, 113, 123, 

127, 133 

convalescent and invalid, 5 J, 52-53, 88, 133, 

188 

design and siting of, 9, 65, 86, 87, 115, 126, 

154, 167- 69, 175, 196- 97 

discipline, 9, 39, 50-52, 54, 66, 81, 87, 91, 102, 

lOS, 109- 11, 129, 136, 154, 178, 180, 190- 91 

European, 8, 48 

funds for, 30-31 , 35, 39- 41, 44, 110, 114, 119, 

ISS 

guards, 9, 20, 52, 69-70, 122, 138, 159 

huts and tents, 86, 92, 94, 102-3, 106, 111- 12, 

135, 137, 141, 157, 163, 166, 168- 70, 175, 

195-97, 243 

inspector general, 9, 36- 37 

management of, 8- 9, 66-67, 128, 171, 185, 197 
294 THE ARM Y M E DI e A L 0 EPA R T MEN T , I 7 7 5 - I 8 I 8 

Hos pitals-Continued 

matrons, 45, 135 

nurses, 8, 3 1, 45 , 64 , 66- 67, 70- 7 1, 9 1- 91, 

94- 96, 109, 11 7, 119, 12 1, 135, 150, 154, 

159, 183 , 185, 197 

in public and priva te bui ldings, 48, 65. 70- 72. 

8 1,86,94,96- 97, 99, 102, 112, 11 5, 120- 24, 

163 , 165 , 167, 174, 18 3 

reporting req uirements, 3 1, 4 1, 53, 66, 77, 8 1, 

87, 105- 6, 125, 15 1, 154, 172, 175- 77, 

184- 85 , 197, 230 

sanitation, 3, 8- 10, 20, 73, 92. 120, 122, 151. 

154, 167- 68, 17 3, 196- 97 

for small pox and inoculation, 56, 64, 74- 75 . 

106, 120, 123 

stewards, 31, 40, 45, 65, 149, 15<) 

storekeepers, 3 1, 39, 66 

ward masters, 40, 15 1, 159 

Hospilols, fl ying, 8, 34, 44, 69- 70, 85- 87, 92, 95, 

99, 102, 105- 8, 11 2, 11 9- 2 1, 125- 26, 169, 

177, 230,243, 245 

Hospita ls. ge nera l, Louisiana Territory, 140 

Hospitals, genera l, Revolutio nary War, 8, 26- 27. 

3 1, 36- 37, 43, 64- 67, 86- 88, 9 1- 92, 95 , 

102, 106- 8, II I, 11 4, 117, 120- 2 1, 126, 230, 

245 

Hospit als, general, War of 18 12, 150, 153- 54, 

164, 167- 69, 172- 75, 177, 180 

Hospit als, regimenta l, Revolutionary War, 8. 

22- 27,3 1,35- 37,40, 43,45,63- 64,85- 86, 

102, 105- 6, 125, 230 

Hospitals, regimental, War of 1812, 170. 172- 74, 

177 

Howe, Genera l William, 77, 80 

Hudson River, 34- 36, 73- 75, 77. 96- 97. 103, 

105- 6, 112- 13, 126, 138, 160 

Hull, Brig. Gen. Willi am, 148, 162- 63, 165 

Hunter, Jo hn, 5, 7, 14- 19, 54 

H unter, William, IS, 19 

Huntt, Henry, 172, 190, 195 

Hygiene, persona l, 9- 11 , 22, 50, 82, 154, 19 1 

Ind ian-Loyalist forces, 106, lO8, 114 

Indiana Territory, 137 

Indians, 106, 108, 110, 114, 129, 131, 133- 38, 140, 

148, 162- 65, 18 1, 190, 197 

Infection. See also Hospital patients; Hospita ls. 

3, 8, 17- 18, 109, 167, 186 

Inoculation, 14, 23, 32, 56, 59, 62- 64, 74-75. 

84- 85, 97- 98, 102, 11 5, 120, 125 -27, 135 

Invalid Corps, 127, 133 

Izard, Maj . Gen. George, 172- 73, 175, 191 

Jackson, Maj. Gen. Andrew, 164, 181 , 183- 84 

Jackson, David, 44 

Jaundice, 21, 63, 96, 168, 178 

Jenner, Edward, 14 

Jockey Hollow, N.J., 103,243 

Joh nston, Robe rt, 97, 114 

Johonot, William, 44 

Jones, John , 10- 11 , 14- 20 

Jones, Walter, 38 

Jones. Wi lli am, 180 

Journal de Mhlicill e Mili(aire, 20 

Kalb, Baron de, 84 

Kennedy, Samuel, 87- 89 

Kentucky, 150 

KelT, David, 183- 84 

Kerr, John, 184 

King's College medi cal school, 20, 65 

King's Mountain. batt le of, 1 J 8 

Kin gsbridge, N.Y., 73 

Knox, Brig. Gen. Henry, 47, I II 

Lafayette, Ma rquis de, 112, 115, 12 1 

l afayette, Ind ., 138 

Lake Champlain, 37, 64, 94, 157, 166, 172, 174, 

190 

Lake Eri c, 16 1- 62, 164- 65 

Lake George, 59, 63 

Lake Ontario. 161 , 174, 190 

Lancaster, Pa .. 81 

Larrey, Dominique, 196 

Latimer, Henry, 44, 89, 125 

LeBaron, Francis, 144, 148- 49, 152, 155- 56, 

187- 88, 190- 91 

Le Dran, Henri F ran90is, 20 

Ledga rd , Isaac, 44 

Lee, Maj. Gen. Charl es, 51. 57, 73 

Lee, Richard Henr y, 35- 36, 70, 72, 82 

Leeches. 194 

Leesburg, Va., 121 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, 133 

Lewiston, N.Y .. 16 1, 168- 70, 175, 195 

Lexington, battle of. 28 

Lincoln, Maj Gen. Benjamin, 45, 117, 120 

Lind, James, II 

Litilz, Pa., 8 1, 83, 89- 9 1, 109, 239 

Lockjaw, 165 

London, 19, 26, 38 

Long Island, N.Y., 65- 67, 69 

Louisiana, 140, 150, 18 1. See also Hospital patients. 

Lovell, Joseph, 16 1, 167, 187, 190- 92, 194, 197, 

260 

Lower Sandusky, Ohio, 177 

Lundy's Lane, bailie of, 172, 175 

MacKenzie, Samuel, 70, 75, 95 

Mad ison, James, 149 

Maggols, 60, 96,119 

Malaria, 3- 5, 122- 25, 137, 142, 194, 254 
Index 295 

Malone, N.Y., 167, 169- 70, 174 

Manheim, Pa ., 83- 84 

Mann, James, 157, 159- 61, 167- 69, 171-74, 187. 

190, 192- 97 

Martin, John R.t 152- 53 

Maryland, 31 , 70. 72, 74- 75. 125, 150. See also 

Hospital patients. 

Massachusetts, 26- 28, 48. 50- 5 1, 74, 150, 166. 

See also Hospital patients. 

Massachusetts Provincial Congress, 26- 28, 56 

Maumee River, 162- 64 

McClurg, James, 120 

McCrea, Doctor, 108 

McDowe ll , Ephra im, 15 

McHenry. James, 52, 60. 62, 129. 137 

McIntosh, Brig. Gen. Lachlan, 91 - 92 

McKnight, Charles, 43- 44, 51, 52, 66, 72, 74, 81, 

11 2 

Mease , James, 144 

Measles, 65, 96, 126, 159- 61 

Medical Department , 1783- 1812, 129- 33, 155, 

157 

Medical Department, War of 1812, 149- 50, 153, 

156- 57, 159, 174- 75, 177- 78, 181, 184-86, 

191 

Apothecary Gene ral, 149- 50, 152, 155- 56, 174 

Physician and Surgeon General, 149- 52, 170-

71, 186 

Medi cal Department , post-J8 12 

Apothecary Gene ral, 184, 186- 88, 190- 91 

permanent department, 186- 88, 190- 91, 198 

Surgeon General, 187 

Med ical and hospital suppl y, Revolutionary War. 

Sec also Drugs; Medic ine chests; Medicines. 

Commissary Gene ral, 40, 65- 66, 83, 233 

imported, 26, 30, 40, 46, 49, 75 

purveyors, 8, 36-37. 39- 40, 43- 46, 82, 118 

shortages, 25, 29- 32, 38- 42, 44- 46, 48, 56- 57, 

59- 60, 62- 64, 66- 67, 70- 73, 82- 84, 88, 94-

96,98,99, 103, 109, 113- 14, 117- 19, 121 -

23, 125- 26, 197 

sou rces. 25- 26, 30, 39-40, 46, 49, 56- 57, 69, 

75, 82- 83, 110 

Medical and hospital supply. 1783- 18 12 

attempts to improve , 144 

depots, 139, 144, 148 

fo rts and garrisons, 139- 40 

Indian campaigns, 132, 134- 37 

Louisiana Territory, 141- 42 

purveyor, 129, 144 

Medical and hospital supply, 1812-1816 

Apothecary General, 152, 155, 187 

Commissary General, ISO, 155 

depots, 148, 155- 56, 159, 188 

purchasing of, 149- 50. 154- 55 

purveyor and inspector, 148 

reform, 188, 190 

Medical and hospit al su pply. 18 12- 18 16-Continued 

shortages, 155, 162- 65, 170, 172, 174, 184, 197 

Medical literature. 20. 186, 19 1, 196 

Medical personnel, I, 129, 144, 170- 72, 185, 186, 

190- 98. See (llso Hospit al Department; Hospitals: Medical Department: Physicians; 

Surgeons. 

Army su rgeons and males, Revolutionary War, 

27, 32- 33, 36, 44- 45, 65- 66, 72, 90, 92, 95, 

108, 114 

garrison surgeons and mates, 1783- 18 12, 13 1, 

138- 39 

garrison surgeons find mates, War of 18 12, 

15 1- 53. 166, 177- 78, 181, 185- 87 

hospit al surgeons and mates. Revolutionary War, 

27, 30- 33, 40, 43- 44, 47. 59, 66- 67, 69, 

87, 92 

hospital surgeons and mates, 1783-1812, 133. 

140, 148 

hospital surgeons and mates, War of 18 12, 150-

52. 159, 170, 174, 177- 78. 180- 81, 185- 87 

and line officers, 37, 4 1, 47, 49, 79, 129. 133 , 

159. 173. 228 

militia surgeons and mates, 137, 148, 15 3. 164 

pay and allowances, 27, 32. 36-37, 4 1, 46-48. 

64- 67, 109. 133. 150- 54 

regimental surgeons and males, Revolutionary 

VVar, 26- 27, 30- 32, 37, 40- 41, 45, 59- 60, 

63- 64, 66- 67, 69, 72, 77- 79, 80- 81, 94-95, 

98- 99, 102- 3, 106- 8, 11 7, 125 

regimental surgeons and mates, 17 83- 18 12, 129, 

131 - 35, 140 

regimental surgeons and mates, War of 18 12, 

148. 150- 5 1, 153, 164, 169- 70, 172- 74. 177, 

180- 8 1,186 

Medical Sketches (Mann ), 197 

Medical societies, 20 

Medical training, I. 102, lSI , 164, 198- 99 

American medical colleges, 18- 20 . 

by apprenticeship, 19, 38, 44 

European. IS, 18- 20,26, 38 

examination boards, 26, 45, 47, 129, ISO, 154 

Medic ine. I. 128, 186, 197. See also Medical personne l. 

Medicine chests, 30- 31, 57, 83- 84, 135, 148-49, 

155- 56 

Medicines, 234. See also D rugs, 

antimony, 6. 14, 169, 195 

arsenic. 57. 194 

bark, 6, 9, 16- 17, 57, 62- 63, 119, 124, 137, 

144, 160, 194, 254 

calomel, 2, 6- 7, 17, 159- 60, 192, 195 

camphor, 6, 9, 63 

castor o il, 7, 192 

corrosive sublimate, 6- 7 

cream of ta rtar, 57 

digitalis, 160 
296 THE ARM Y M E 0 I CAL D EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

Medicines- Continued 

emetics, 5- 6, 124, 160, 192 

ipecac, 6, 57, 63, 192 

jalap, 2, 6, 62- 63, 160, 192 

manna and senna, 6, 192 

mercury, 6- 7, 14, 18, 143, 194- 95, 254 

nitrate of sil ver, 194 

nitre, 6, 63 

opium, 5- 6, 8, 16- 18, 62, 122, 137, 159- 60, 

192- 93, 195, 254 

purgatives, 6- 7, 159- 61 , 192- 93 

quinine, 3, 16 

rhubarb, 6, 192 

salts, 7, 62, 192 

sugar of lead, 193, 195 

sulfur, 6, 83- 84 

tartar emetic, 6, 63, 192 

vegetable remedies, 63, 66, 143, 144 

Merce r, Brig. Gen. Hugh, 33, 34, 69, 72 

Miami Indians, 134, 163 

Michilimackinac, Mich., 190 

Middle Department (Hospital Department) 

hospitals, 67, 69- 72, 74, 77, 79- 92, 97- 99, 108, 

110 

medical staff, 36- 37, 39- 40, 44, 82, 84, 89, 102, 

108, 112, 11 5, 237 

supply, 67, 70- 72, 81 - 84, 98, 99, 109-10, 114 

Middlebrook, N.J., 102, 110- 11 

Middleton, Peter, 9 

Military Journal (Thacher), 114 

Mississippi River, 141- 42 

Mississippi Territory, 150, 164, 181 

Mobile, Ala., 164 

Mohawk River, 106, 188 

Monmouth, N.J., 92, 99, 110 

Monro, Donald, 4, 6, 8, II, 54, 80 

Monroe , Mich., 163 

Montgomery, Brig. Gen. Richard, 59 

Montreal, 59- 60, 157, 159, 165, 170 

Montresor's Island, N.Y ., 66, 74 

Moravian Order, Bethlehem, Pa., 70- 71, 80-83, 

88- 91 

Morgan, John, 20, 44 

as Director General, Hospital Department, 

29- 32, 36, 38- 39, 51 , 54- 57, 60, 62, 66- 67, 

69- 70,72- 74, 83 

dismissed, 29, 74- 75 

feud with Shippen, 19- 20,29, 33- 35,42- 43 ,67, 

224 

power struggle with Stringe r, 32- 33, 62 

Morris, Robert, 45- 46, 110 

Morristown, N.J., 50, 69, 71 , 75, 99, 103, 111-

12, 243 

Mortality rate 

Louisiana Territory, 141-43 

Revolutionary War, 3, 48, 53, 57, 82, 86, 88, 9 1, 

95,99, 103, 124 

Mortality rate-Continued 

from smallpox and inoculation, 14,75, 115 

from surgery, 17- 18, 196 

VVar of 1812, 161 - 63, 169- 70, 172- 75, 184 

Mosquitoes and nets, 4, 124, 139, 142-43 

Mount Holly, N.J., 81 

Mount Independence, N .Y., 64- 65, 92 

Mumps, 194 

Napoleonic Wars, 2 1, 167 

Narragansett Bay, 115 

Natche z, Miss., 139, 141 - 43 

Natchitoches, La., 181 

Navy, American, 129, 155, 164, 170, 172, 174 

Negroes, 117, 125 

New Boston, N .Y., 126 

New England, 37, 50, 72, 113, 122, 138, 166 

New Hackensack, N.Y., 113 

New Hampshire, 56, lO6, 150, 166 

New Jersey, 34, 50, 67, 69- 73, 75, 77, 79, 108, 

110- 11 , 150. See also Hospital patients. 

New London, Conn., 98, 11 3, 152 

New Orleans, La., 140-42, 152, 155- 56, 172, 181 , 

183- 84, 188, 263 

New Windsor, N.Y., 103, 11 2- 13, 125- 26 

New York City, 33- 34, 50, 56- 57, 60,65- 67, 72-

73,99, 106, 113, 13 8, 144, 152, 188 

New York State, 47, 72, 105- 6, 121 , 150, 164- 66. 

See also Hospital patients. 

Newark, N.J., 67, 69 

Newark, N.Y., 169- 70 

Newport, Del., 92 

Newport, R.I., 98, 102, 115 

Newtown, Pa., 71, 74, 108 

Niagara, N.Y., 148, 157, 159, 190 

Niagara River, 162, 165, 169, 172, 175, 177, 194 

Norfolk, Va., 152, 185 

North Anna River, Va., 121 

North Carolina, 43, 115, 117- 19, 150 

North Castle, N .Y., 72 

Northampton, Pa., 8 1 

Northern Department (Hospital Department) 

hospitals, 59- 60, 62- 65, 94- 97, 108, 114 

medical staff, 27, 32- 34, 36- 38, 40, 57, 59- 60, 

62- 65, 81 - 82,95,97,102,114,233 

supply, 22- 26, 30, 57, 59- 60, 62- 64, 83- 84, 

94- 96 

Northwest Territory, 133- 38, 150, 157, 163- 66, 

170, 177. See also Hospital patients. 

Norwalk, Conn., 72-73 

Nottingham Meeting House, Del., 92 

Ohio, 137, 150, 152, 162- 63 

Oliphant, David, 45, 117- 19 

Ophthalmia, 96, III 

Otterkill, N,Y., 1\3 

Otto, Bodo, 44, 69-70, 75, 79, 87, 92, 109 
Index 297 

OUo, Frederick, 79, 87 

Otto, John Augustus, 79, 87 

Paoli, Pa., 79 

Paralysis, 96, 170 

Paramus, N.J., 102, III 

Paris, 19 

Patuxent River, 178 

Peekskill, N.Y., 73- 74, 98, 102 

Pennsylvania, 20, 47, 64, 70, 75, 77- 92, 103, 108-

II, 121, 125, 150. See also Hospital patients. 

Pennsylvania Evening Post, 38 

Pennsylvania Packet, 43 

Pennypacker Mills, Pa., 81 

Perkins, Elisha, 5 1 

Perry, Commander Oliver Hazard, 164 

Petersburg, Va., 120 

Petit, Jean Louis, 16, 20 

Pharmacopoeia, 89, 239 

Philadelphia, 105 

hospitals, 70-7 1, 74-76, 80, 89, 91, 109- 10, 

125, 127, 133 

medical supply from, 30, 57. 60, 67, 69, 144, 

149, 152, 188 

military operations, 77- 79, 80, 92, 99, 109 

Philadelphia Hospital, 109- 10, 127 

Physicians, I, 8- 10, IS, 18-20. 37. See also Medical personnel; Surgeons. 

Pike, Brig. Gen. Zebulon, 167 

Pittsburgh, Pa., 134, 148, 152, 156, 162 

Pittsfield, Mass., 159, 190 

Plague, 115, 143, 193 

Plattsburg, N.Y., 157, 159, 161, 166- 67, 173- 74, 

190 

Plattsburg Bay, battle of, 172- 74 

Pleurisy, 6- 7, 96, 160, 194 

Pluckemin, N .J., 103, III 

Pneumonia, 6- 7, 159, 161, 167, 169- 70, 174, 195 

Potomac River, 36, 180 

Potts, Jonathan, 32, 38-40, 59-60, 62- 65, 70, 72, 

81- 85, 94- 97, 109, 233 

Pottsgrove, Pa., 81 

Poundridge, N.Y., 112- 13 

President, U.S., 129, 13 1, 149- 50 

Preventive medicine, 10, 14, 160, 191 - 92 

Princeton, N.J., 7 1- 72, 79- 81, 91- 92, 99, 110 

Princeton College, 72, 81 

Pringle, Sir John, 3, II, 19- 20,54,80,2 17,2 18 

Prisoners of war 

American, 80, 113, 117, 119, 121, 153, 164, 

170, 180 

British, 47, 94-96, 110, 119, 127, 175, 177, 

180-8 1, 184-85, 190 

Hessian, 94-95 

Providence, R.I., 98, 114, 11 5 

Purging, 1- 2, 5- 6, 14- 15, 18 

Purveyors. See Medical and hospital supply. 

Putnam, Maj. Gen. Israel, 5 1, 52, 56, 98 

Quartermaster, 40, 66, 73, 83, 135. 149, 155, 175, 

185 

Quebec, 59 

Queenston, Canada, 161 

Ramsay, David, 7 

Ranby, John, 16 

Rand, Isaac, 56 

Ravaton, Hugues, 8 

Read, Williiam, 118- 19 

Reading, Pa., 81, 91, 109 

Reamstown (Rhe imstown), Pa., 81, 91 

Regiments, 133, 140 

1st, 180, 262 

2d, 134 

4th, 137 

5th, 142 

7th, 142 

14th, 162 

17th, 163 

18th, 153 

28th, 177 

39th, 181 

54th, 163 

Regulations lor the Order and Discipline 0/ the 

Troops 0/ the Ullited Slates, 82 

Reporting and data collection, 154, 186, 193- 94, 

198 

Respiratory illness, 4, 6, 8, 65, 96, 136, 160, 167, 

192, 194 

Reynolds, James, 162 

Rheims, 19 

Rheumatism, 7, 96, 106, 111 - 12, 11 4, 120, 139, 

152, 157, 159 

Rhode Island, 56, 98, 11 4, 115, 150 

Rhode Island College (Brown University), 115 

Richmond, Va., 121, 185, 188 

Rickman, William, 33, 41, 84- 85, 11 7, 119- 20, 

122, 227, 228 

Robinson, Col. Beverly, 97 

Robinson's House, 97, 105- 6, 112, 243 

Rochambeau, Cornie de, 115 

Roxbury, Mass .• 51, 53 

Rush, Benjamin, 2- 3, 6- 7, 17- 20, 124, 144 

member of Medical Committee, 23, 35- 37, 72, 

75-76, 79 

Physician and Surgeon General in Middle Department, 37- 39, 72, 80- 82. 98 

and Shippen controversy, 39, 41-43. 69- 70, 224 

Sackett, J.H., 187 

Sackett's Harbor, N.Y., 152, 156, 164-68, 173- 75, 

177, 190 

S1. Clair, Maj. Gen. Arthur, 123-24, 131-34 

SI. Johns, Canada, 59- 60 
298 THE ARM Y M ED 1 CAL 0 EPA R T MEN T, 1 7 7 5 - 1 8 1 8 

5t. Lawrence River, 157, 166, 174 

Salisbury, N.C., 118- 19 

Sandusky. Ohio, 163 

Sanitation, 3- 4, 9- 11 , 50, 77, 102, 129 

Saratoga, N.Y., 75, 83, 95-96 

Scabies, 3- 4, 6, 84, 96, 197 

Scalping, by Indians, 96, 114, 134-35 

Schaefferstown, Pa .. 91, 109 

Schenectady, N.Y., 65, 96- 97 

Schuyler, Maj. Gen. Philip, 32, 57, 59, 63-65, 92, 

94 

Schuylkill River, 79, 81 

Scott, Brig. Gen. Charles, 120 

Scott, Daniel, 52 

Scott, John M., 133 

Scott, Moses, 44 

Scolt, Brig. Gen. Winfi eld , 172, 175 

Scurvy, 4, II, 14, 63, 84, 96, 11 5, 142-43, 254 

Secretary of the Army (18 IS), 187 

Secretary of War, 45, 124, 126, 129, 133, 137, 

139, 141- 42, 144, 148, 154- 55, 180-81, 186-

88, 190 

Senter, Isaac, 59 

Seven Years' War, 6, 8 

Shawnee Indians, 131, 137- 38 

Sh ippen, William, Jr., 54, 65, 233 

acquitted in cou rt-martial, 42-43 

and Army hospitals, 34, 69- 71, 80- 81, 84, 88, 

91- 92, 97, 108, 110, 113, 120 

Director General, Hospital Department, 37-39, 

4 1-44, 105 

and Hospital Department reform, 35- 37, 77 

medical training and teaching, 19- 20, 38, 44, 

11 4 

and rivalry with Morgan and Rush, 19-20, 29. 

33- 35, 38, 42-43, 67, 70, 224 

Skenesboro, N.Y., 94 

Skippack, Pa., 81 

Smallpox, 3- 4, 7, 14, 62- 63, 65, 92, 115, 125- 27, 

135, 195. See also Inoculation. 

epidemics, 53- 56, 59- 60. 74-75, 98, 122, 191 

hospitals, 56, 74, 106, 120, 123 

Smallwood, Brig. Gen. William, 31, 91-92 

Smith, Captain, 134 

Sorel, Canada, 59 

South Carolina, I IS, 117- 19, 150. See also Hos~ 

pital patients. 

Southern Department (Hospita l Department) 

hospitals, 117-25 

medical stalf, 36, 45, 47, 99, 115, 117-18, 120-

21, 227 

supply, 117- 19, 121 

Spencer, Oliver, 18 1, 184 

Springfie ld, Mass., 11 2 

Springfield , N.J., 99 

Sproat, James, 109 

Stamford, Conn., 72- 73, 98 

Steuben, Baron von, 82 

Stringe r, Samue l, 27, 32- 35, 57, 59- 60, 62- 65 

Sullivan, Maj. Gen. John, 27, 60, 67, 79, 106- 8, 

110, 114 

Sunbury, Pa., 107, 110- 11, 114 

Superintendent of Finance, 45 

Supply. See Medical and hospital supply. 

Surgeon General, 161 , 187 

Surgeons, 14-17, 197- 98. See also Hospital e~ 

partment: Medical Department; Medical per~ 

sonnel; Physicians. 

British, 3- 6, 8, IS, 20, 174, 196 

French, 8, IS, 19, 196 

Hessian, 72, 94, 96 

Surgery, I, 14-18, 96, 170, 174, 191, 196. See 

also Amputations. 

Surgical instruments, 7, 29- 31 , 46, 67, 72, 82- 83, 

121 , 162, 188 

Susquehanna River, 106- 7 

Swieten, Gerhard van, 4- 6. II, 16- 18, 20 

Tarleton, Lt. Col. Banastre, 11 9 

Tarrytown, N.Y., 102 

Tecumseh, 131, 137- 38, 165 

Tennessee, ISO, 164, 181 

Terre aux Boeufs, La., 141-43 

Terre Haute, Ind., 138 

Tetanus, 17- 18 

Thacher, James, 56, 94, 96- 97, 114, 123, 126 

Thames River, battle of, 165 

Thomas, Maj. Gen. John. 60 

Thomas, Robert, 17 

Three Oaks mansion, New Orleans, 183- 84 

Thruston, Alfred, 142 

Ticonderoga, N.Y., 59- 60, 63- 65, 92, 94 

Tillotson, Thomas, 102 

Tilton, James, 245 

hospital hut design, 103, Ill , 196-97, 243 

Physician and Surgeon General of the Army 

(1813), 152- 54, 170- 71, 175, 177- 78, 180, 

184- 85, 187, 191- 92, 256 

as surgeon in Revolutionary War, 44, 47, 75, 

80-81, 122- 23, 249 

Tioga, Pa., 106, 108, 110 

Tippecanoe River, 138 

Toledo, Ohio, 136-37 

Toronto, 165, 167-68, 170 

Townshend, David, 44, 125-26 

Trappe, Pa., 81 

Treason, 27- 28, 46 

Treat, Malachi, 38. 43-44, 65, 95, 111-12, 114, 

123, 249 

Treaty of Ghent, 181 

Treaty of Paris, 48, 99, 128, 133 

Trenton, N.J., 69- n. 74- 75, 79- 81, 87, 99, 110-

II, 125-27 

Trepanning, 7, 18, 96 
Index 299 

Trumbull, Jonathan, 63, 73 

Tuberculosis, 7, 159 

Tucker, Thomas Tudor, 11 8, 121 

Turner, (Doctor), 152 

Turne r, Philip, 38, 44, 72- 73, 98, 114 

Typhoid. See Fevers. 

Typhus. See Fevers. 

Ulcers, 125 

University of Ed in burgh, 2, 15, 19, 38 

Uni ve rsity of Pennsylvania Medical School, 19-

20, 137 

Upshaw, William, 142 

Ursuline convent, New Orleans. 183 

Vaccination, 14, 191 

Valley Forge, Pa., 75, 8 1- 89, 92, 98, 102, 239 

Van Ingen, Dirk, 65. 96 

Van Voorhis, lsaac, 163 

Venereal disease, 3- 6, 8-9, 39, 96, 106, 111 - 12, 

125, 135, 190, 195, 197 

Vermont, 150, 166. See (llso Hospital patients. 

Vincennes, Ind., 137- 38 

Vineyard Hospital, Va., 120 

Virginia, 33, 41, 75, 84, 103, 106, 11 5, 119- 2 1, 

150, 178, 227. See also Hospital patients. 

Wabash River, 138 

War Department, 129, 135, 137, 144 

War Office, 45 

Ward, Maj. Gen. Artemas, 53, 74 

Warren, James, 28 

Warren, John, 7, 44, 48, 51, 52, 56- 57, 66- 67, 

69, 11 4, 193 

Warwick, Pa., 81 

Washington, George. 37, 50, 85, 126. See also 

Continental Army. 

and Army medical organization, 22, 36, 38, 133 

and Boston hospitals, 53, 56- 57, 127 

and general vs. regimental hospitals, 27- 28. 

31- 32,40-41 

and Hospital Department senior staff, 28- 29. 

32, 34- 37, 42-43, 60, 63, 69, 102, 133 

and hospital reporting requirements, 40-41, 53, 

77- 79, 87, 105, 230 

and medical pe rsonnel, 40- 4 1, 47. 51, 67, 77-

80, 87, 92, 102 

and medical supply, 30, 39, 46, 56-57, 84, 11 4 

and Middle Department hospitals, 72-74, 81, 

91,99, 11 5, 125 

New York area operations, 57, 67, 69, 72- 73, 

75-76, 77, 99, 102, 106 

Washington, George- Continued 

at Philadelphia, 70, 77- 79, 92 

and smallpox inocul ation, 56, 62, 74·-75, 84 

at Valley Forge, 77, 83, 86- 87, 92 

Yorktown operations, 112, 120-2 1, 123, 125 

Washington, D.C., 152- 53, 172, 178, 180 

Waterhouse, Benjamin, 153-54, 187-88, 191- 93, 

195 

Watertown, Mass., 51 

Watertown, N.Y., 167 

Watkins, Tobias, 187 

Wayne, Maj. Gen. Anthony, 79, 12 1, 123- 24, 

131, 135-37 

Weather, climate, and terrain, 154, 157, 168, 191, 

193, 195 

cold, 4, 10- 11 , 38, 84, 94, 103, 139, 159, 163, 

165, 167, 170, 173- 74, 192, 194 

heat, 4- 5, 10- 11 , 99, 118- 19, 124, 142- 43, 184, 

192, 196- 97 

swamps and stagnant water, 3- 5, 10-11, 124, 

14 1, 177, 183, 192 

West, (Doctor), 156 

West Indies, 26, 28, 40 

West Point, N.Y., 73, 97, 102, 105, 11 2- 13, 126, 

133, 138 

Wheaton, Joseph, 185 

Wheaton, Walter W., 167, 173 

White Plains, N.Y., 69, 72-73, 99, 11 3 

Whit ridge, Joshua, 169 

Whooping cough, 96 

Wilkinson, Maj. Gen. James, 96, 140-43, 156, 

164- 65, 167, 169- 70, 172, 181, 190,253,254 

Williamsburg, Va., 33, 120- 23, 249 

Williamson, Hugh, 117- 18 

Williamsville, N.Y., 152, 169, 175, 188, 249 

Wilmington, Del., 80, 85, 92, 125, 152 

Wilson, Goodwin, 120 

Winchester, Brig. Gen . James, 163-64 

Winder, Brig. Gen. William H., 178, 180 

Wines and spirits 

medicinal purposes, 6- 8, II , 17- 18, 114. 159-

60, 170, 193- 94 

shortage of, 4 1-42, 57, 83, 88, 114, 134 

supply of, 64, 136- 37, 139- 42, 155 

Wolcott, Oliver, 33 

Wooster, Brig. Gen. David, 59 

Wounds, 3, 15- 18, 138, 175, 177, 196. See also 

Amputations; Casualties. 

Wyoming, Pa., 106-8. 

Yellow Springs, Pa., 48, 84, 87, 89, 92, 109 

Yorktown, Va., 4, 46-48, 99, 106, 109, 112, 

120- 23, 125, 127 

1) U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 2004 305-778 

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PIN 080254- 000