Volume 1

The medical and surgical history of the War of the Rebellion, (1861-65) / prepared, in accordance with the acts of Congress, under the direction of Surgeon General, Joseph K. Barnes, United States Army.

Date:
1870-1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The medical and surgical history of the War of the Rebellion, (1861-65) / prepared, in accordance with the acts of Congress, under the direction of Surgeon General, Joseph K. Barnes, United States Army. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    WAR DEPARTMENT, Surgeon General’s Office, November 12, 1870. In the first year of the War it became evident that the form of Returns of Sick and Wounded, then in use, were insufficient and defective; and, on May 21, 1862, measures were taken by the then Surgeon General of the Army, Wm. A. Hammond, to secure more detailed and exact reports of sick and wounded, by important modifications in the returns from medical officers. On June 9, 1862, the intention to prepare for publication a Medical and Surgical History of the Rebellion was announced to the Medical Staff, in a Circular from the Surgeon General’s Office. On July 1, 1863, a Consolidated Statement of Gunshot Wounds, by Surgeon J. H. Brinton, U. S. Volunteers, then in charge of the Surgical Records, and Curator of the Army Medical Musuem; and on September 8, 1863, a Report on Sickness and Mortality of the Army during the first year of the War, prepared by Assistant Surgeon J. J. Woodward, U. S. Army, in charge of the Medical Records, were published by this Office. The necessity for a thorough revision of the Returns of Sick and Wounded becoming apparent, a Medical Board was assembled for this purpose, in July, 1862, and subsequently the following order was promulgated: [CIRCULAR No. 25.] GENERAL ORDERS] WAR DEPARTMENT, [ Adjutant General’s Office. No. 355. J Washington, November, 4, 1863. Medical Directors of Armies in the field will forward, direct to the Surgeon General, at Washington, duplicates of their reports to their several Commanding Generals, of the killed and wounded, after every engagement. By order of the Secretary of War: (Signed:) E. D. TOWNSEND, Assistant Adjutant General. Surgeon General’s Office, Washington, I). C., Nov. 11, 1863. To carry out the intentions of the above order, Medical Directors of Armies in the field will detail suitable officers, who will, under their instructions, collate and prepare for transmission to this office, all obtainable statistics and data in connection with past and