The
following is a dictated translation of the hand-written application to
the U. S. Navy Examination Board during the Civil War by a civilian
physician/surgeon for a position as a medical officer in the Federal
Navy or for promotion to Assistant Surgeon by an Acting Assistant
Surgeon. The actual
applications are in the possession of the author and presented to
enlighten the general public and other researchers as to the education
process before and during the Civil War, the personal history of the
applicants, as well as to show their personal level of medical knowledge
in answering the questions asked by the Navy Board of Examiners.
(Some applicants failed to pass and did not serve or served in the Union
Army.)
This written presentation was first of a part of a two-part exam consisting of a written
exam and an oral exam.
Many of these applications are rich
with highly detailed medical content offering an interesting perspective
on the medical knowledge and practices of the period.
A broad sampling of these exams is presented to
give you a 'picture' of the type of applicant being examined and
admitted to or rejected by the Federal Navy in 1863. Much more detail
on the individuals and their personal and naval history will be
presented in a forth-coming book by Dr. Herman.
(The actual written exam photos are available, but not presented on
these pages due to the size of the files. An
example
of a hand-written exam is on the
'List of all Applicants' page)
If you have additional information or images for any of these
doctors, please
contact us.
A list with links to
all applicants in this survey of U.S. Navy Applicants for 1863
Example of a handwritten exam given by the Navy Examination Board
Applicant: Edward J. O'Callaghan, M.D.
Navy Yard
Boston
December 21st 1863
Sir:
I, Edward J OCallaghan was born on a
third of May 1839 (in Listowel Ireland): up to the age of 12, I
studied under a tutor at home, I then went to a boarding school called
St Marys College in Kingston Island near Dublin, where I remained two
years. I then went to the College des Josphites, in Louvain in Belgium
where I remained two years a student in arts.
I commenced the study of Medicine in
1858 at Stevens Hospital in Dublin where I remained for 3 years after
which I attended one session at the Queens College in Cork of which I
was a matriculated pupil. during vacation I had a good deal of
dispensary practice at home, and have compounded medicine at the
District Dispensary. I have been a Surgeons Steward in the U.S. Navy
for one year during which time I had an opportunity of seeing several
gun shot wounds and two postmortem examinations trusting that this
account of my studies and experience in medicine will prove satisfactory
I have the honour to be
Yours most Respectfully
Edward J. OCallaghan.
WSW Ruschenberger Esq
Surgeon
Questions by the Board:
Mr. Edward J. O’Callaghan is
requested to write answers to the following questions.
1. From what
sources or by what vessels does the liver received blood?
2. What is the
origin, course and distribution of the femoral artery?
3. Name the
officinal preparations of opium and state the dose of each? [sic]
4. What are the
diagnostic symptoms of delirium tremens?
5. What are the
physical properties of oxygen, and how may it be procured for
experimental
purposes?
6. Define the terms “latent heat”, “temperature,” and
“specific gravity”? [sic]
1. The liver is supplied with blood
by the Hepatic Artery.
2. The Femoral artery is the
continuation of the external Iliac artery it commences just below
pouparts ligament and running down the inside of the thigh passes in the
lower third thru an opening in the adductor magnus after which it
becomes the Popliteal and divides into the anterior and posterior Tibial
arteries
3. The officinal preparations of
opium are as follow
Opii Pulv
dose from gr ss to gr i
Tinctura opii
" " m xxv
Camphorata "
" "
Morphoria sulph
" " gr 1/8
4. The symptoms of delirium Tremens
are flushed fall [sic] quick hard pulse infected Conjunctiva delirium
and sleeplessness
5. Oxygen is a colorless gas It
exists larjely [sic] in the air it may be procured for experimental
purposes by passing electric sparks thru water which is thus reduced to
its component parts ie Hydrogen & Oxygen.
6. Latent heat means that heat which
exists in every substance and which may be elicited by friction as in
rubbing two pieces of wood together
Temperature means the degree of heart
[sic] or cold in the atmosphere
Specific gravity means the weight of
any object as compared with another whose weight is ascertained.
E. J. OCallaghan
Boston
Navy yard
December 23rd 1863