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"
(The following are the personal edited research notes of
Michael Echols, the source of which may or may not be
completely documented)
Fig 1 Surgeon's Field Companion with corked
bottles
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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
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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
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