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Surgeon In Blue

Page 34

by Scott McGaugh


  Congress enacts Letterman’s, 234

  criticism of Letterman’s allocation of personnel, 195–196

  and dead soldiers, 146

  at Fredericksburg, 145–147

  general hospitals established, near battlefields, 115

  at Gettysburg, 183–184, 187–189

  Larrey’s “flying ambulance,” 41, 154

  Letterman’s restructuring of, 86–90, 93–95, 270

  smell of decay, 189–190

  “victory” of medical department at Fredericksburg, 147

  battlefield medical reforms. See also military hospitals

  ambulance corps established by Letterman. See ambulance system

  and camp sanitation. See Sanitary Commission; sanitation issues

  Congressional bill in support of, 62

  first aid/triage stations implemented, 130, 131–132, 134, 182, 183, 270–271

  foundation of standards, by Special Orders, 79–80

  Fredericksburg as first test of, 148

  General Orders enabling, 80, 84, 88, 198–199

  Letterman’s philosophy of military medicine, 240–241, 273

  need for chain of care for wounded, 124

  battlefield medical (continued)

  realized by Letterman, 208–209

  recognition of Letterman’s, 214– 216, 241–242, 249, 279–280

  regimental affiliations eliminated in, 130–131

  tiered supply chain plan. see supply chain

  Bellows, Henry, 50, 77–78

  Billings, John Shaw, 264, 290

  Bowditch, Henry, 210–211

  Brewer, William, 234–235, 237

  Brinton, John H.

  mission to discover casualties at Chancellorsville, 170–171

  report of Fredericksburg, edited by Letterman, 147

  role in redefining battlefield hospitals, 154, 155–156

  on Stanton, 222

  and supply chain, 172, 177

  transfer of, out of surgeon general’s office, 221–222

  Broadhead, Sarah, 189

  Brooke, George M., 29

  Buckingham, Catharinus, 134

  Buford, John, 178, 179

  Bull Run, 42–45, 48, 49–50, 63

  burial detail, 146

  Burnside, Ambrose

  at Antietam, 109, 112–113

  career, post–Civil War, 288

  at Fredericksburg, 140, 142, 145, 146, 147

  internal attack against, 152

  lack of leadership ability in, 136, 138, 272

  “Mud March” toward Lee abandoned, 150, 153

  physical appearance of, 136–137

  removed from command by Lincoln, 153

  replaces McClellan as commanding officer, 134, 136–138, 151

  resignation of, refused by Lincoln, 152–153

  Butterfield, Daniel, 166, 169

  California Petroleum Company, 230, 233, 244–245

  Cameron, Simon, 65, 226

  Camp Letterman, 194–195, 196

  Canon, John, 4–5, 7

  Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, 3–6, 9

  Carleton, James Henry, 38–40, 239, 284–285

  casualties

  at Antietam battle, 103, 123

  Antietam battle vs. Revolutionary War, 126

  at Battle of Chancellorsville, 167, 170–171

  death on the battlefield, 114, 146, 190

  at Fredericksburg, 143, 145, 146

  at Gettysburg, 180, 182, 183, 185, 186–187, 188, 193

  hospital recovery, suffering in, 116, 133

  of Letterman’s first four battles, 203

  wounded on the battlefield, 94–95, 96

  Chancellorsville. See Battle of Chancellorsville

  Chatham House, 143–144

  Child, William, 116

  Chinese immigration issues

  anti-Chinese sentiment, in political parties, 250–251, 258

  and employment in San Francisco, 248–249

  Letterman’s sympathy for, 256–257

  cholera, 27

  Christian Commission, 176, 184

  Civil War. See also specific battles

  ailments suffered by veterans of, 255, 274

  Antietam. See Battle of Antietam

  case history of patient suffering, in recovery, 275–276

  casualties of. See casualties

  first spring campaign in Virginia, 69–72

  global attention paid to medical improvements during, 273

  lethality of battles, 126. See also Antietam, battle at

  Mine Run, 207–208

  outbreak of, at Manassas Junction, 42–45

  Second Battle at Bull Run, Union defeat at, 91–95

  South Mountain battle, 102–105

  walking wounded, after defeat of Union Army, 46–48

  weaponry of increased lethality, 84–86

  civilian doctors, 53–54, 59, 155–156, 191, 193, 194

  civilian relief organizations, 50–51, 61, 192–193. See also Sanitary Commission

  Clemens, Samuel, 251

  Clements, Bennett Augustine, 239, 263, 266

  Confederate army. See specific battles

  Congress

  ambulance law enacted by, 218–219

  basic army ration established by, 129

  emancipation legislation passed by, 248, 258

  Letterman’s battlefield evacuation plan enacted by, 234

  medical department and surgeon general’s office legislation, 67–68

  medical department reform bill passed by, 62

  National Academy of Sciences established by, 228

  Cook, Benjamin, 1–2

  coroner’s office, 249–251, 254–255

  Couch, Darius, 212–213, 214

  Crimean War, 41, 50, 55, 75

  Cuyler, John, 52

  Daily Alta California, 233, 234

  Davis, Benjamin Franklin, 39, 239–240

  Delafield Commission, 55

  Democratic Party

  Letterman runs for office of coroner, 249–251

  loss to Taxpayers Union Party, 260

  peace platform of, 222

  racist platform of, 250–251, 258–259

  Department of the Susquehanna, 212–214, 217–218

  deserters, 132, 147, 149–150, 153, 269

  doctors. See military medical corps Dodge Commission, 278

  Dunglison, Robley, 283

  Dyer, J. Franklin, 268

  dysentery, 21, 79, 231–232, 255, 273

  early America

  education in, 6, 7–8, 10–11

  expansion of, 8–9, 22

  medical beliefs and practices in, 16–17

  medical schools, 12–15, 16, 17

  pioneering lifestyle in, 3–4, 9

  politics in, 2–3, 8

  Edmonds, Emma, 44–45, 56–57

  European ambulance systems, 41, 132, 211

  European military medicine, 41, 50, 62, 75–76, 153–154, 273

  Ewell, Richard, 179, 180, 183

  farmer “profiteering,” 192

  Finley, Clement Alexander, 51–52, 54, 58, 59, 62, 68

  food rations. See also nutrition and dietary concerns

  established by Congress, 129

  hardtack, 82

  lack of vegetables in diet, 157

  Letterman’s improvements to, 157

  nutrition concerns with, 33, 82–83

  winter camp, 217

  Fort Defiance, Arizona, 31–33

  Fort Meade, Florida, 23–24, 25–26, 27–29

  Fort Monroe, Virginia, 37, 69

  Fort Ripley, Minnesota, 29–30

  Fort Tejon, California, 37–38, 239

  Fort Union, New Mexico, 35–37

  Franklin, William, 140, 142, 143, 152

  Frederick, Maryland, 99–102, 116, 117–118, 176–177

  Fredericksburg. See Battle of Fredericksburg

  French, William, 27–29

  General Orders

  ambulance regulation, 88, 198–199, 218 />
  battlefield evacuation, 88

  medical department reorganization, 80

  sanitation recommendations, 84

  geologists

  criticism of Silliman’s oil samples by, 242

  Josiah Whitney, 234, 237–238, 244, 292

  William Letterman, 253, 282

  George Spangler’s farm, 185

  Gettysburg. See Battle of Gettysburg Gorham, George, 251

  Grant, Ulysses S., 287, 288–289

  Gross, Samuel, 201

  Guild, LaFayette, 169–170, 290–291

  Haight, Henry H., 250, 259, 260

  Halleck, Henry, 90, 91–92, 138, 173, 221, 249, 272, 289

  Hamilton, Frank H., 45–46

  Hammond, William

  Army Medical Museum created by, 276

  arrest of, 216

  assessment of Gettysburg medical situation, 196

  banning of two routine drugs by, 200–201

  career of, 285

  dietary self-experiments by, 33–34, 51

  feud with Stanton, 68–69, 95, 149, 200–202, 210, 216, 221–222, 286

  investigative committee, 201–202, 210, 216

  joins U.S. Army as assistant surgeon, 22

  Kansas real estate scheme, involvement in, 200, 201

  and Letterman alliance, 22, 64, 66, 67, 68–69, 77, 91, 151, 199, 271–272, 285

  medical library established by, 264

  medical specialty hospitals established by, 276

  pavilion hospital design by, 66–67, 132–133, 274

  on poor hospital conditions, 66

  supported by Sanitary Commission, 62, 64, 200

  surgeon general, promotion to, 68

  trial and prosecution of, 220–221

  Hancock, Cornelia, 189

  Hancock, Winfield, 182

  Hardie, James, 173

  hardtack, 33, 62

  Harris, Elisha, 51

  Harris, Stephen Randall, 251

  Hawley, Paul R., 267

  Herriott, George, 7

  Hewitt, Henry, 154

  Holman, Sam, 265–266

  Holt, Daniel, 115–116, 120, 124, 140

  Hooker, Joseph

  appointed commanding officer, 153

  at Battle of Antietam, 108–110

  battle plans for spring 1862, 160–161, 162

  caution allows enemy advantage at Chancellorsville, 163–164, 165, 166

  de-prioritizing of medical department by, 162–163, 167–168, 171, 172–173, 240

  endorsement of Letterman’s nutrition improvement, 157, 159

  feud with Halleck, 173, 272

  knocked unconscious at Chancellorsville, 166

  popularity with troops, 153, 272

  post–Civil War, 288

  removed from command, 288

  requests concealment of casualty numbers at Chancellorsville, 170–171

  Horsey, Outerbridge, 206

  hospital inspector, post of, 213–214

  Hough, Franklin, 144–145

  Indian “affairs”

  Carleton expedition against Paiute Indians, 38–40, 284

  Loring expedition and Apache groups, 34–35, 284

  Navajos, forced relocation, 284–285

  war against Seminoles, 23

  Irwin, Bernard, 155, 291

  Jackson, Andrew, 2–3

  Jackson, Thomas. J. “Stonewall,” 27–29, 92, 105, 111, 137, 142, 284

  Janes, Henry, 191, 193, 194–195

  Jefferson College, 6, 9–10, 13

  Jefferson Medical College, 7, 12–15, 169, 281–282, 283, 290

  Johnston, G. K., 189

  Journal of the American Medical Association, 277

  Keedysville field hospital, 109, 114, 116, 118

  Keen, William W., 94–95, 290

  Kimball, Gilman, 52

  King, William S., 44, 46, 47, 49–50, 196

  Larrey, Dominique-Jean, 41, 154

  Lawson, Thomas, 24–25, 26, 40–41, 51

  Leatherman, Anna (née Ritchie), 7, 12

  Leatherman, Jonathan, 6–7, 9, 12

  Lee, Charles Carroll, 204, 253, 264

  Lee, Mary Digges. see Letterman, Mary Digges (née Lee)

  Lee, Robert E., 91–92, 99, 100, 105, 116, 163–164, 168, 177, 185

  Lee, Thomas Sim, 204, 205, 236

  Letterman, Ann Madeline, 243, 253, 264, 265

  Letterman, Craig, 253

  Letterman, Jonathan in California

  candidate as oil exploration organizer, 230–231

  Commissioner of Lunacy, 261

  invests in Philadelphia & California Petroleum, 232

  lawsuit against Philadelphia & California Petroleum, as stockholder, 245

  medical practice in San Francisco, 249, 253, 254

  oil exploration, failure of, 233–238, 242, 291–292

  character of

  accountability, importance of. See accountability

  compassion for human life, 257, 269

  highly regarded by fellow officers, 206, 214–215

  and Hooker’s concealment of Chancellorsville casualties, 170–171

  supporters of, and memorial presented to Senate’s Military Committee, 214–215

  tributes to, 262–263

  as coroner

  causes of death determined, 258

  Democratic Party, 289

  Democratic Party election, 249–251

  night inquests, 254–255

  report to Board of Supervisors, 256–257

  request for morgues, 257

  role of, 253–260

  friendships of

  Hammond alliance, 22, 64, 66, 67, 68–69, 77, 151, 271–272, 285

  with McClellan, 68, 73–74, 135, 222, 271–272

  wedding gift from fellow officers, 206

  as medical director

  appointment of, 73–74, 151

  authority of, 76–77, 79

  battlefield assessment for medical needs, 181

  battlefield care reforms of. See battlefield medical reforms battlefield evacuation preparation at Antietam, 106–109

  casualty contingencies, planned by at Fredericksburg, 139–140

  criticism of, 149

  editing of Brinton’s report, 147, 150

  head of chain of command, 104

  hospital system restructured by. See military hospitals

  housing orders issued by, 158

  leave requested by, 209–210

  legacy of, 279–280

  medical examination board created by, 156

  overhaul of battlefield care by, 79–81. See also battlefield medical reforms

  praise for accomplishments of, 214–216, 241–242, 265–267

  pre-battle assessment of medical set-up, 178–179

  resignation of army commission by, 223–225

  restructuring of medical supply chain by. See supply chain

  supply trains organized as patient transfer, 123

  supply trains organized as patient transfer by, 117–118

  military career

  expeditions against Indians, 34–35, 38–39, 239, 284

  final campaign of, at Mine Run, 207–208

  final year of army life, 224–225

  as general superintendent of Philadelphia & California Petroleum Company, 233–238, 242

  hospital inspector postings, 70, 212–214, 217–218

  joins U.S. Army as assistant surgeon, 22

  in New York City, as medical purveyor, 58–59

  outpost medicine assignments, 21–24, 27–33, 35–38, 40

  surgeon general of California’s militia, 255–256, 260

  at West Point, 219, 220

  personal life of

  birth and family of, 3, 6, 7

  burial at Arlington National Cemetery, 264–265

  daughters of, 232, 234, 243, 253, 264–265

  death and funeral of, 261–262

  early years of, 2, 7, 9–10

  education, 7, 10–12, 14–15, 21

  health pr
oblems, 231, 255, 259, 261

  loss of wife and depression suffered by, 253–255

  marriage to Mary Digges Lee, 205–206, 208, 219–220, 242–243

  move to California, 232–233

  move to San Francisco, 243, 247

  private nature of, 202–203, 224, 238

  and Silliman’s oil samples, 237–238

  writings of

  on battlefield injury, xviii–xix

  on Bennett Augustine Clements, 239

  on civilian doctors, 193–194

  on deserters, 147

  on friendship with B. F. Davis, 239–240

  on Hooker’s hampering of medical department, 172, 240

  on medical accountability in preventive health care, 159

  Medical Recollections of the Army of the Potomac written by, 238–241, 249

  on military medicine, 240–241

  on plight of Chinese immigrants, 256–257

  on preparedness of army at Fredericksburg, 138

  on reality of medical supply availability in wartime, 127

  Letterman, Mary Catherine “Cassie,” 232, 234, 243, 253, 264–265

  Letterman, Mary Digges (née Lee) burial at Arlington National Cemetery, 264–265

  California living conditions, 235–236, 237

  children of, 232, 236, 243

  death of, 252–253

  family of, 204–205, 225, 232

  illness of, 235–236, 243

  on Letterman’s election as coroner, 251–252

  marriage to Letterman, 205–206, 208, 219–220, 234

  Letterman, William, 253, 281–282

  Letterman General Hospital, 266

  libraries, 264, 290

  lice infestations, 84

  Lincoln, Abraham

  appoints Hooker to replace Burnside, 152

  assassination of, 233

  on Hooker’s defeat at Chancellorsville, 167

  and McClellan, 62, 77, 94–96, 125, 133–135

  re-election as president, against McClellan, 221

  refusal of Burnside’s resignation, after internal plotting, 151–153

  replaces Hooker with Meade as commanding officer, 172

  and Stanton, mutual dislike of, 63–65, 285

  surgeon generals appointed by, 50–52

  volunteers called for by, 41

  Longmore, Thomas, 273

  Longstreet, James, 92, 111, 137, 140, 182–183

  Loring, William W., 34–36, 262, 284

  Lovell, Joseph, 18–20, 24–25, 33

  malaria, 16, 24, 27

  Manassas Junction. See Bull Run

  Manual of the Medical Officer of the Army of the United States, 56, 287

  Marye’s Heights, 141, 142, 143, 144, 151

  McClellan, George B.

  Antietam battle plan, and delay aids evacuation plan, 107, 108–109

  career, post–Civil War, 288

  cautious military tactics of, 289

  as commanding officer, 56–57, 62–63

  criticism of, 126

  Democratic nomination for president, 222

 

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