Gettysburg Campaign
Report of Surg. Jonathan Letterman on Surgeons
Report of Surg. Letterman on civilian doctors
(edited)
From the M. and S. History: O.R.--SERIES I--VOLUME XXVII/1 [S# 43] --
Gettysburg Campaign
No. 16. -- Report of Surg. Jonathan Letterman,
U.S. Army, Medical Director, Army of the Potomac.
HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
MEDICAL DIRECTOR'S OFFICE,
Camp near Culpeper Court-House, Va., October 3, 1863.
GENERAL: I have the honor to submit the following report on the
operations of the medical department of this army at the battle of
Gettysburg, July 1, 2, and 3:
Over 650 medical officers are reported as present for duty at that
battle. These officers were engaged assiduously, day and night, with
little rest, until the 6th, and in the Second Corps until July 7, in
attendance upon the wounded. The labor performed by these officers was
immense. Some of them fainted from exhaustion, induced by over-exertion,
and others became ill from the same cause. The skill and devotion shown
by the medical officers of this army were worthy of all commendation;
they could not be surpassed. Their conduct as officers and as
professional men was admirable. Thirteen of them were wounded, one of
whom (Asst. Surg. W. S. Moore, Sixty-first Ohio Volunteers, Eleventh
Corps) died on July 6 from the effects of his wounds, received on the
3d. The idea, very prevalent, that medical officers are not exposed to
fire, is thus shown to be wholly erroneous.
The greater portion of the surgical labor was
performed before the army left. The time for primary operations had
passed, and what remained to be done was to attend to making the men
comfortable, dress their wounds, and perform such secondary operations
as from time to time might be necessary. One hundred and six medical
officers were left behind when the army left; no more could be left, as
it was expected that another battle would within three or four days take
place, and in all probability as many wounded thrown upon our hands as
at the battle of the 2d and 3d, which had just occurred.
No reliance can be placed on surgeons from civil
life during or after a battle. They cannot or will not submit to the
privations and discomforts which are necessary, and the great majority
think more of their own personal comfort than they do of the wounded.
Little more can be said of those officers who have for a long period
been in hospitals. I regret to make such a statement, but it is a fact
and often a practical one. Dr. [Henry] Janes, who was left in charge of
the hospitals at Gettysburg, reports that quite a number of surgeons
came and volunteered their services, but "they were of little use." This
fact is so well known in this army that medical officers prefer to do
the work rather than have them present, and the wounded men, too, are
much better satisfied to be attended by their own surgeons.
I, however, asked the Surgeon-General, July 7, to
send 20 medical officers to report to Dr. Janes, hoping they might prove
of some benefit, under the direction of the medical officers of this
army who had been left behind. I cannot learn that they were ever sent.
The number of our wounded, from the
most reliable information at my command, amounted to 14,193. The number of Confederate wounded who
fell into our hands was 6,802, making the total number of wounded thrown
by that battle upon this department 20,995. The wounded of July 1 fell
into the hands of the enemy, and came under our control on the 4th of
that month. Instruments and medical supplies belonging to the First and
Eleventh Corps were in some instances taken from the medical officers of
those corps by the enemy.
The conduct of the medical officers was admirable. Their labors not only
began with the beginning of the battle, but lasted long after the battle
had ended. When other officers had time to rest, they were busily at
work--and not merely at work, but working earnestly and devotedly.
I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JON A. LETTERMAN,
Medical Director.
Brig. Gen. S. WILLIAMS,
A. A. G., Army of the Potomac.