Civil War Federal Navy Physicians
Author: John S. Lynch, Msc.
Military Medicine,
Dec
2003 by
Lynch, John S
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_200312/ai_n9332582?tag=content;col1
"The Federal Navy's Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery experienced a substantial loss of officers during 1861. It
responded to the loss and the increased demand for its services by
augmenting its regular medical officers with volunteer physicians. The
medical corps more than doubled in size between 1861 and 1865 as a
result of the recruiting efforts. Navy physicians were involved in
blockade duty, anticommerce raider cruises, amphibious assaults,
riverine duty, and staffing naval facilities ashore. Their services are
virtually unknown despite their involvement in most naval activity
during the war. This article illuminates their efforts. It does so by
analyzing individual service records and reports compiled in the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies during the War of
the Rebellion. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery successfully met the
demands made upon it during the American Civil War.
The Federal Navy's Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery receives little attention in American Civil War-related
publications and discussions. Its medical officers are even more
ignored. Answers to basic questions like how the bureau was affected by
the war; what was the physician rank structure, how experienced were
navy physicians, what was the physician attrition during the war, what
assignments were available, what maladies did they treat, and how were
they recognized for meritorious service are not readily available. This
article attempts to answer these questions by analyzing service records
and official war-time naval reports.
The Bureau of
Medicine and Surgery Expands
Dr. William Whelan was Chief of the
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BMS) during the war years.1 He was a
senior surgeon, having joined the Navy as an assistant surgeon on
January 3, 1828. (He was promoted to surgeon on February 9, 1837.) His
physician corps on January 1, 1861 included 61 surgeons, 25 passed
assistant surgeons, and 45 assistant surgeons.2 BMS lost 41% of its
January 1861 physician complement by the end of the year. A massive
recruiting effort soon began, and BMS rapidly grew as a result. Many
civilian physicians volunteered and entered the service as acting
assistant surgeons. The volunteer physicians comprised 56% of BMS'
medical officer strength by 1865.2 The majority of the volunteers either
resigned or received honorable discharges soon after the war ended. The
strength of the BMS peaked in 1864 with an average of 463 physicians
present that year. Table I details the wartime growth of BMS.
See an original
signed letter by William Whelan, Secretary of the Navy, Bureau of
Medicine & Surgery
The 1864 Navy Register, which surveyed the
Navy for 1863, showed the following statistics for all Navy
medical staff:
Regular Navy
Surgeons: 80
Passed Assistant Surgeons:
7
Assistant Surgeons: 108
Resigned Assistant Surgeons for
'63: 11
Death for '63: 4
Dismissed in '63: 1
__________
Total: 211
Volunteer Navy
Acting Assistant Surgeons:
197
Resigned in '63: 20
Revoked in '63: 9
Dismissed in '63: 3
Death for '63: 9
__________
Total: 238
Medical Officer Ranks
and Years of Experience
There were three ranks for Civil War
era naval medical officers. These were (in reverse order of seniority):
assistant surgeon, passed assistant surgeon, and surgeon. BMS physicians
in January 1861 were experienced officers. On average, assistant
surgeons had 6 years in grade (range, 1-23 years); passed assistant
surgeons had 14 years of service (range, 6-32 years) with 6 years as
assistant surgeons and 7 years as passed assistant surgeons; and
surgeons had 27 years of service (range, 2-49 years) with 8 years as
assistant surgeons, 7 years as passed assistant surgeons, and 17 years
as surgeons.2
Promotion was rapid at the war's
outset. All of the passed assistant surgeons were promoted to surgeon by
August 1, 1861. Six of the assistant surgeons were promoted to passed
assistant surgeon (four of these newly promoted passed assistant
surgeons were soon thereafter promoted to surgeons) by December 1861.
Nine assistant surgeons were promoted directly to surgeons by the end of
1861.
(See a set of
documents
showing how civilian physicians were recruited by the Navy for full-time duty
in the Navy.
(See
examples
of the written exam questions and answers for Union Navy applicant,
Dr. George Snow including his biography.)
The application by civilian
doctors was required to provide
responses to a variety of medical related questions in order for the
Naval Board to determine qualifications for the position. The responses are rich
with highly detailed medical content offering an interesting perspective
on the medical knowledge and practices of the period.
Because of the
rapid loss of officers to the Confederacy and expansion of the Federal
Navy during 1861, the Federal Navy quickly recruited
civilian physicians into service. During the course of the war, three
ranks existed for naval medical officers; assistant surgeon, passed
assistant surgeon, and surgeon.
The prospective surgeons made application in writing
to the Navy and then were vetted by a board or individual as to their
ability to serve and their experience.)
Medical Officer
Assignments
Medical officers were assigned to
either shore or sea duty. Many of them served aboard vessels on blockade
duty. An important operational assignment was searching for enemy
commerce raiders.
The navy undertook many littoral raids,
often to flush out Confederate units that periodically attacked Union
naval forces. During the night of April 8-9, 1864, the USS Minnesota at
Norfolk, Virginia was damaged during a daring attack by a Confederate
Navy torpedo boat (which escaped). On April 9, the navy arranged a
combined operation with the army against the area from which the torpedo
boat was suspected to be operating. The expedition left on April 14 and
returned the next day. The riposte was unsuccessful in finding the
torpedo boat and caused two federal naval casualties-one man was killed
and one was severely wounded.4
BMS physicians ashore were found in
hospitals, a laboratory, a naval asylum, naval rendezvous (recruiting
centers), and navy yards. Naval hospitals were located in Washington,
DC, Boston (Massachusetts), New Orleans (Louisiana), New York (New
York), Norfolk (Virginia), and Pensacola (Florida). Physicians assigned
to these hospitals in January 1865 were: Surgeon Joseph Beale, Assistant
Surgeons Robert T. Edes and William K. Van Reypen (Boston); Surgeon
Samuel J. Jones, Assistant Surgeons Thomas H. Land and Heber Smith (New
Orleans); Surgeons Thomas L. Smith and Benjamin Vreeland, Assistant
Surgeons Josiah H. Gunning, Joseph Huge, and William F. Plant (New York)
; Surgeons A.A. Henderson and William Johnson Jr., Passed Assistant
Surgeon Walter K. Scofield, and Assistant Surgeons N. H. Adams and J.
Wesley Boyden (Norfolk); Surgeon Thomas J. Turner (Pensacola); and
Surgeon F. M. Gunnell (Washington, DC).
Navy yards with medical officers were
Baltimore, Boston, Mound City (Illinois), New York, Norfolk, Pensacola,
Philadelphia, Portsmouth (New Hampshire), San Francisco (California),
and Washington, DC. Physicians assigned to these facilities in January
1865 were: Surgeons Daniel Egbert and Robert T. Maccoun (Baltimore);
Surgeon Samuel Jackson, Assistant Surgeon Charles T. Hubbard (Boston);
Surgeon William T. Hord, Acting Assistant Surgeon Vincent H. Gaskill
(Mound City); Surgeons Benjamin F. Bache (naval laboratory) and J. M.
Browne, Passed Assistant Surgeon Newton L. Bates (naval laboratory), and
Assistant Surgeon J. J. Allingham (New York); Acting Assistant Surgeon
James Kinnear (Norfolk); Assistant Surgeons John H. Austin and James R.
Tyson (Pensacola); Surgeons Thomas Dillard, J. S. Dungan (naval asylum),
and David Harlan (naval asylum), and Assistant Surgeons George H. Cook
and A. A. Hoeling (naval asylum) (Philadelphia); Surgeon M.G. Delaney,
Assistant Surgeon John H. Clark (Portsmouth); Surgeon J. A. Lockwood
(San Francisco); and Surgeon M. Duvall, Assistant Surgeon D. R. Brannon
(Washington, DC).
Naval rendezvous with medical officers
included Boston, Chicago, Illinois, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia,
and Portsmouth.5 Physicians at these recruiting facilities in January
1865 were: Surgeons J. Brinckerhoff and J. Winthrop Taylor (Boston);
Assistant Surgeon Frank L. DuBois (Chicago); Acting Assistant Surgeon D.
McLean (New Orleans); Surgeons Charles Chase, Edwin R. Denby, S.W.
Kellogg, John Thornley, Robert Woodsworth, and Assistant Surgeon D. F.
Ricketts (New York); Surgeons G.R.B. Horner and Philipe Lansdale and
Assistant Surgeon Henry C. Eckstein (Philadelphia); and Assistant
Surgeon E.C. Ver Meulen (Portsmouth).
Injuries, Diseases,
and Wounds
The doctors' professional services
mainly consisted of attending to the sick or those injured during the
course of performing the ship's mundane duties. Common illnesses were
malaria, yellow fever, dysentery, scurvy, and sexually transmitted
diseases. One surgeon faced 24 men injured when the ship's anchor chain
surged during weighing of the ship's anchor. The loss of tension caused
the capstan to spin uncontrollably, thus injuring the sailors.6 Combat
injuries were caused by gunshot, cutlasses, shrapnel, cannon shot, and
steam.
Recognition of
Service
Medical officers were rewarded in
several ways. Officers aboard the blockading vessels gained prize money,
often substantial sums, if their ship captured a blockade runner.
Officers advanced up the seniority list as a result of meritorious
performance. Deeds of valor or exceptional work were commonly mentioned
in commanders' reports ("mentioned in dispatches"). Medical officers
were mentioned in dispatches and some came to the Secretary of the
Navy's attention as a result of their gallantry. William Longshaw was
one such physician. Longshaw was aboard a monitor that grounded off
Morris Island, Charleston, South Carolina, during the November 16, 1863
bombardment of rebel batteries at Cumming's Point. Rear Admiral Dahlgren
noted in his official report of the engagement that Longshaw volunteered
twice to take a towing line to another vessel despite being under heavy
fire. Dahlgren asked that Longshaw receive appropriate recognition for
his bravery. Whelan endorsed the recommendation and suggested that
Longshaw be allowed to sit for his passed assistant surgeon examinations
and, if he passed, be promoted to passed assistant surgeon to date from
the examination day and without regard to others in his class or
promotion date.13 The Secretary of the Navy concurred and had the
recommendation read around the fleet.14
Medical Officer
Attrition
BMS lost 491 physicians to resignation,
sickness, or combat during the war. There were 229 resignations for
various reasons, 62 dismissals, 27 retirements, and 52 deaths 2. One physician who died was Assistant
Surgeon William Longshaw. (Doctor Longshaw joined the Navy on June 25,
1862 as an acting assistant surgeon. He became an assistant surgeon on
November 9, 1862.) By January 1865, Longshaw was aboard the USS
Minnesota on blockade duty off of Wilmington, North Carolina. Longshaw
was part of the USS Minnesota's 241-man contingent assigned to the Naval
Brigade that participated in the January 15, 1865 assault that captured
Fort Fisher (Wilmington, North Carolina). Longshaw was killed by
grapeshot during the assault. The USS Minnesota's landing party suffered
a nearly 14% casualty rate during the attack. Of the 33 casualties it
suffered, 8 were killed and 25 were wounded in action. Other naval
physicians who participated in this action were Acting Assistant Surgeon
John Blackruer, who was also killed during the assault, and Assistant
Surgeon B. H. Kidder, who commanded the naval field hospital established
approximately 1 mile from Fort Fisher. This hospital initially treated
the 200 sailors and marines who were wounded during the assault. The
commander of the ship's landing party commented in his official report:
I regret to report the death of
Assistant Surgeon William Longshaw, Jr. He was always near the front
with instruments and tourniquets, and was bending over a wounded and
dying man when he was shot in the head and instantly killed. Their
bodies were found together after the battle. His bravery was
conspicuous, and he nobly discharged the duties of his office.18
Longshaw's remains were transported to
the Norfolk hospital for final disposition.19
Twelve Civil War veterans eventually
headed the BMS. These men were: Phineas J. Horwitz, William M. Wood,
Jonathan M. Foltz, James C. Palmer, Joseph Beale, William Grier, J.
Winthrop Taylor, Philip S. Wales, Francis M. Gunnell, John M. Browne,
James R. Tryon, and William K. Van Reypen.2 Only James Tryon began his
naval career as an acting assistant surgeon (March 19, 1863), but he was
soon accepted into the regular Navy as an assistant surgeon (September
22, 1863).20
BMS responded well to the challenges
presented by the American Civil War. Its physicians succored their
patients as best they could, often under less than ideal conditions.
Some of them sacrificed their health, even lives, while defending the
Union. They gained valuable experience that served BMS well over the
succeeding years. This experience proved helpful for the planned (but
ultimately truncated) expansion of the service at the beginning of the
Spanish-American War. This article is a tribute to the men who served in
the Civil War-era Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
|
U.
S. Navy Assistant Surgeon
Name: Benjamin Addison
Sawyer
Cause of death: heart disease
Death date: May 28, 1920
Place of death: Haverhill, MA
Birth date: 1843
Type of practice: Allopath
Practice specialities: GS General Surgery
States and years of licenses: MA, 1894
Places and dates of practices: Haverhill, MA, Nov 5, 1913,
Bradford, MA, Sep 16, 1913, Oct 14, 1915
Medical school(s): Harvard Medical School, Boston, 1865, (G)
|
Additional information
for Benjamin
Addison Sawyer |
U. S. Navy Hospital
Steward Whitting's U.SS Virginai documents and surgical set
U. S. Navy Medical
Department admissions test
U. S.
Navy 1863 Wade and Ford Civil War Surgical Set
Owned by:Josiah Howell Culver,
M.D.
References
1.
Callahan E (editor): List of Officers of the U.S. Navy and of the Marine
Corps 1775-1900, p. 581. Gaithersburg, MD, Old Soldiers Books Inc, 1901.
2.
Callahan E (editor): List of Officers of the U.S. Navy and of the Marine
Corps 1775-1900. Gaithersburg, MD, Old Soldiers Books Inc, 1901.
3.
Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies during the War of
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ORN).
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118.
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Surgeon Longshaw, U.S. Navy. ORN, Series I, Vol 15, Serial 15. pp 120-1.
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20, Serial 20, pp 543-7.
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Grattan JW: Under the Blue Pennant, or Notes of a Naval Officer
1863-1865, p 172. Edited by Schneller RJ. New York, John Wiley and Sons,
1999.
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pp 494-7.
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p 603.
20.
Callahan E (editor): List of Officers of the U.S. Navy and of the Marine
Corps 1775-1900, p 552. Gaithersburg, MD, Old Soldiers Books Inc, 1901.
Guarantor: John S. Lynch, MSc PA-C
Contributor: John S. Lynch, MSc PA-C
PSC 276,
Box 56, APO AP 96548.
Civil War
Confederate Navy Office of Medicine and Surgery
