Letter of the Secretary of War : communicating, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, copy of the proceedings of the general court-martial for the trial of assistant surgeon Webster : report of the general-in-chief of the Army on the management of general hospitals : general orders in relation to the medical department, and general orders and instructions relating to hospitals.
- Webster, Warren, 1835-1896.
- Date:
- [1864]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Letter of the Secretary of War : communicating, in answer to a resolution of the Senate of the 9th instant, copy of the proceedings of the general court-martial for the trial of assistant surgeon Webster : report of the general-in-chief of the Army on the management of general hospitals : general orders in relation to the medical department, and general orders and instructions relating to hospitals. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
15/62
![Question by court. State whether, under existing orders, regulations and in- structions, the general commanding the United States troops in the city and harbor of New York can remove by order a soldier undergoing treatment in any general hospital from that hospital without sending the order through the medical director 1 Answer. He can do so. He takes the responsibility. Question by court. Would not such an order be as imperative sent through the Adjutant General's department, as when sent through the medical director ? Answer. It would, but I hardly think it would be courteous to the general commanding the department to take a man from his command without hi a knowledge. Question by court. What is, from existing orders, instructions and regulations, the extent of the command of the general commanding the United States troops in the city and harbor of New York 1 Does it embrace the general hospitals in the city and vicinity of the harbor 1 Answer. To a certain extent it does. The control and management of the hospitals and the patients rests with the medical department. Assistant Surgeon E. H. Abadie, United States army, a witness for the de- fence, being duly sworn, says : Question by accused. What is your position in the military service, and how long have you been in the army] Answer. I am surgeon in the United States army; I entered the service in 1836 ; twenty-seven years in the service. Question by accused. How long have you known the accused? Please state if he has been on duty with you ; and if yea, when and where. Answer. Dr. Webster was ordered to report to me for duty, to assist in estab- lishing a hospital in Washington, early in December, 1861. From that time until the latter part of June, 1862, he remained on duty under me at the Doug- las hospital. Question by accused. State your opinion of the accused as a medical officer, and particularly whether you found him respectful and obedient to his superi- ors, or otherwise. Answer. I have the highest opinion of the doctor's qualifications as a medical officer; and the manner of performing his duties, the whole time that he served with me, I ever found him prompt and attentive to his duties, invariably subordinate to all authority over him; in fact, unusually so. Question by accused. Please state whether a wound rendered necessary by the surgical operation of removing a portion of the anterior and inferior surface of the clavicle, or collar-bone, which bone had been fractured by a musket ball, is of a dangerous character; and if so, for what reason ? Answer. The apex of the chest containing the lungs is closed immediately behind the seat of operation by a dense membrane from the neck and neigh- boring parts, strengthened by two loops, one on each side of the deep cervital fuscia, through which loop passes a tendon of a muscle which goes from the neck to the shoulder. These loops are attached immediately behind the articu- lation of the breast-bone and clavicle. This ceasing of the chest at this point sustains the whole weight of the atmosphere, and in case of destruction by inflammation or ulceration, or otherwise, would promptly destroy the patient's life. In addition to this, the danger of injuring the vessels that pass out of the chest to the neck and upper extremities. The sub-clavian, after passing out of the chest, ascends to pass over the first rib, just below the collar-bone, near the seat of the operation. The most important point to guard against in such an opera- tion is to avoid accumulation and burrowing of matter that might endanger by pressure or inflammation the important parts described. Question by accused. Please state whether, in your opinion, a soldier upon](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21163273_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
