Coolidge Field Case or Surgeon's Companion

In the early part of 1863 Medical Inspector R. H. Coolidge, U. S. A.. arranged a field case or companion  (FIG. 1) to take the place of the knapsack. It was based on the plan of the one used in the British service, and was intended to be carried by the Surgeon himself, if necessary.   The Surgeon's Field Companion is one variation used during the Civil War.

Source for this article:  "The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65.)  Part III, Volume II, Chapter XIV.--The Medical Staff and Materia Chirugica" 

Fig 1  Surgeon's Field Companion with corked bottles

The "companion" is a leather case 13 inches long, 6 inches wide, and 7½ inches deep; it is supported by a strap passing over the shoulder, and is provided with a waist strap to steady it when carried.
 

The hospital medicine chest, mess-chest, and bulky hospital supplies were transported in wagons of the supply train and were often inaccessible when required.

To obviate this, the contents of the knapsack were:

One piece of white wax, 8 oz. simple cerate, 12 oz. chloroform, 5 yds. adhesive plaster, 2 yds. isinglass plaster, 1 oz. persulphate of iron, 100 compound cathartic pills, 150 blue mass pills, 150 opium pills, 100 opium and camphor pills, 150 quinine pills, 8 oz. aromatic spirit of ammonia, 16 oz. brandy, 4 oz. laudanum, 10 bandages, 10 binder's boards, 4 oz. charpie, 2 medicine glasses, 1 (spirit) lamp, 12 oz. lint, 1 box matches, 1 paper of pins, 1 spool of surgeons' silk, 4 pieces of sponge, 4 (Dunton's) field tourniquets. 2 spiral tourniquets, 1 piece of tape, 1 spool of lead wire, 1 spool of silver wire, and 1 spatula.

The contents of the Surgeon's Companion were;

6½ oz. chloroform, 2 oz. fluid extract of ipecacuanha. 2 oz. fluid extract of ginger. 2 oz. solution of persulphate of iron, 24 oz. of whiskey, 2 oz. tincture of opium, 144 compound cathartic pills, 144 colocynth and ipecacuanha pills, 144 sulphate of quinine pills, 144 opium pills, 1 yard isinglass plaster, a medicine cup, scissors, teaspoon, pins, thread, 4 oz. lint, a towel, 2 doz. bandages, muslin, and corks.

(Note: in the drawings, all tins and bottles are shown with corks and not metal screw tops.)
 

At the beginning of the war each regimental Surgeon was furnished with suitable equipment for his regiment for field service, consisting of medicines, stores, instruments, and dressings, in quantities regulated by the Standard Supply Table.

(See Standard Supply Table for Field Service, in Revised Regulations for the Army of the United States, 1861, p. 304.)

In action he was accompanied by a hospital orderly, who carried a knapsack containing a limited supply of anaesthetics, styptics, stimulants, and anodynes, and material for primary dressings. This hospital knapsack had been recommended for adoption by an army board in 1859; it was made of light wood, 18 inches in height, 15 inches wide, and 7½ inches deep, but subsequently wicker-work, covered with canvas or enamelled cloth, was substituted for the wood; its weight when filled was 18 pounds. This knapsack (FIG. 425) was in general use in the first year of the way and served an excellent purpose. In 1862 it was changed for what was known as the new regulation knapsack, in which the arrangement and character of the supplies were modified. The new pattern was 16 inches high, 12½ inches wide, and 6 inches deep; the contents were packed in drawers, which were more accessible than in the old style and less liable to become disarranged or broken.(1) The weight when packed was nearly 20 pounds. (FIG. 2). Not withstanding its convenience and general adaptability it was too heavy and cumbrous to be carried by the Surgeon himself, and, when entrusted to other hands, was liable, in the vicissitudes of battle, to be lost.

Left: Fig. 2  Hospital Knapsack of Wicker-Work, Covered With Enamelled Cloth.  Right: Fig. 3 Regulation Hospital Knapsack of 1862

Apparently  there were four military field medicine carrying cases used by the Union army during the Civil War.  In 1861, a large wicker and tarred-cloth knapsack was the regulation case (Fig. 2).   This was superseded by a heavy wood-framed and leather-covered backpack (Fig. 2) 1862.   In 1863, the Coolidge Field, or Surgeon’s Companion, which was worn on the hip became the regulation case.  There was a final version, also worn on the hip, but it is not shown in the illustrations of the Medical and Surgical History data.

Reference:  The Medical Staff and Materia Chirugica" from the Med. & Surgical History