Colonial North America: Countway Library of Medicine

Letter from the apothecary General, dated

Boston 6th Sept. 1814

Dear Doctor,

All requisitions handed you to be countersigned must bare the name of the Surgeon or mate so requiring; & that of the Commanding office of the Regt. Post - Battallion, or Station; and in this requisition a specific statement for what Reg. &c &c such supplies one wanted, and for what probable period of time. [e.g militia may be called out for 1,2, or 3 months]

I will thank you to give such direction for the medical gentleman of the army, & militia doing duty, within the military district wherein you act as "Medical Director"

You wil also please to instruct them to make their seperate requisition for their supplies: The first will comprize Medicine, Surgical Instuments, Furniture, & Hospital furniture & Stationary.

The record will comprise Hospital Stores, such as [??], muslin, filament, for bandages & other medical & surgical purposes, Bed socks, Blankets, Sheets, pillow cases & things.

To these seperate & distinct requisitions, you will address the post to Dr. Paul Spear Junr Druggist Boston.

The Second to Messrs Thomas & Greenleaf Mrch Boston; & the third Amaza Heston, Depy Com Gel Boston. I shall instruct these gentelmen sevrally to comply with your requisition, so countersigned by you, or on the requisition of yourself countersigned by the commanding officer of the district.

I wish you to use to utmost economy in the supply of all the articles conscripted in the above provision, but particularly in that of [?]

September 7th Supplied Medicien & Hospital Stores to Dr Goodhae Fort Constitula PortsmouthDr Eaton for Salent &[??] 8th Dr Dale for Fort Dephanea [?] Dr Thomas for Portland 12th Dr Freeman Perry Fair Haven For the Hospital at Charleston Hospital Stores - & Instruments & Sheets & Blanketts, cotton &c

To Dr Elliott Boston Sept 5th 1814 Sargetnt of 40th Regt of Infantry

Sir,

I am the opinion of the Commanding General, as well as my own of my opinion that the good of the Service will require that you repair without loss of time to Fort. Warren ^and take charge of the health of the troops stationed there, and that your mate Mr [??] should attend near the troos pat the General Rendezvous in West Boston.

Whatever instruments you may need will be immediately provided inelligible

R Waterhouse Director J Mores H West

Cambridge Sept 24 1814

Sir, Having occasion to constitute a Medical board for the examination of some candidates for mateships who have neverreceived Diploma, I write this to ask you to appoint some field officer to sit as Resident agreeably to the usage of our service as mentioned in the letter of the Physician General which we have seen.

I propose to have Dr Sargent & D Elliot as members of it if aggreable to you, & to meet on Thursday the 29th Inst. yesterday

Yesterday I recvd an answer to my letter of the 5th. inst. to the Secretary of war relative to the appointment of [Dr Jos.] Stevens, in which he says - "I have the honor to inform you that Dr Joseph L. Stevens, Hospital Surgeons mate is of Charleston S. Carolina & is on duty at that port. &c

Genl Dearborn

Canbridge 25 Sptr 1816]

To Lieut Col. Eustice

Command 32d Dept

As the Senior Hospital Surgeon of a Dept & ex office the advisory officer to the Commander in whatsoever relates to the health [deleted text] of the troops, I take the liberty most respectfully to state a peculiar case of a private at the Arterial in Charlestown under [deleted text] the command of Capt Falcot[deleted text]

The man is named Wm Jones, & is a confirmed Pox for which he has been salurated [deleted text]without removing the dressings [deleted text]. To save his life & retain his usefulness it is necessary that he should need so another couple of medicine & merely ^in such a debilitated subject cannot be pushed to a great length without great care & caution, & that too in an hospital, and there is no room at the arsenal in [deleted text] Charlestown [deleted text] feel to be appropriate to that purpose

The man is in the common barrack, a small room sujbect alternately to heat & cold. His besides filled with other men, who consider a man in the con dition of Jones a nuisance & will probably treat him as such accordingly. frm these two cases par ticularly the first, I give it in my opinion that he ought to be [deleted text] removed [deleted text] some suitable place provided for him close where, [deleted text] for Capt Fuleal appeases me that there is no room for him here as the room where he sas is [deleted text] It will be full a year before the room for a hospital annexed to the new arsenal will be fit to receive a patient. In the meant time, I presume that such peculiar cases as the one described^ & cases will be [unclear]

Cambridge Having received the orders of Brig.r Genl. Miller to examine rigidly all the Hospitals at the several ports in this the 2.d Dept. of the Northern division, I proceeded on this duty on the 29th of Oct. to Newbury Port, where I was joined by Mr. [Allanson?] the Genl [?], + on the 30th was joined by Genl Miller + Col. Fenwick, when we all together proceeded to the bay of Penobscott + from thence to Castine [w. c = which?] is situated at the head of this magnificent bayThis farfamed spot naturally called forth all our attention. General, Engineer, + Physician have viewed with the [territorizing?] eyes of each profession, and it seems as it it were left to the pen of the latter to give the result. About 140 years ago A French colonel, by the name of Castine son in law a Penobscot chief [crossed out] made this spot the headquarters of his excursions against the English. This French gentleman married a Squaw (sic) the daughter of the King so called, in order more effectually to distress the English. Col. Castine gave his name not only to the peninsula but to a town -ship, as well as to the town built on the [wiseside?] of the inclined plain between the fort + the water. The town contains abt. 800 inhabitants. It's difficult to say what supports them, for they have neither saw-mills, distilleries, or any kind of manufactures. The people generally date the decay of the town from the

Lect 2 1783

Gentlemen,

In my introductory lecture to the Anatomy of human Body I gave you a history of the origin and [progress?] of this Art down to the present State of anatomical Improvement, we [??]- that not only the Students in this Branch of Physic but every friend and wellwisher to his fellow Creatures might learn to whom they are indebted for the important Discoveries that have been made in the different Ages of the World in the healing Art We then adverted to the Utility of a Knowledge in Anatomy to the various learned Professions [?] as several mechanical Occupations, and observed how indispensably requisite it is to some and how to each of them, and that considered as a Branch of General Education many Arguments might be urged in its favor, upon the whole how how large a of Satisfaction our [sublime?] Entertainment it must prove to men of all Employments, and Conditions to investigate the Structure

the admirable Structure and beautiful Harmony of the [?] c[??]onent Parts of the animal Machine, and the ^various Lifes to which this exquisite Workmanship is intended to [?] in the Animal Aconomy.

As few Arguments were requisite to prove the Usefulness of this thing to practitioners in Physic and Surgery the most obvious only were mentioned and were [contented?] [?] with a Recital of those Authors which had treated the most sucessfully on the Subject of Anatomy and Physiology; amongst these were mentioned the Names of Haller Boerhaave [?] Fleming in Physiology, and [Neil?] Cheselden and [?] in Anatomy, with Cowper Eustachio & Albinus in Anatomy, the three last of which are [these?] [?] for the Best Delineation of the parts in their Anatomical Plates - but an Observation they made und which cannot be too often repeated may be again of [?] that in the Opinion of all the greatest Anatomists of the present Ages, the reading of anatomical Authors previous to attendance on actual Demonstrations is by all means to be avoided because No Description can a perfect Idea

of the Parts let them be never so accurate, and anatomical Plates often convey very erroneous ones along very imperfect ones of their forms and structure and I need not observe how difficult it must be to correct Errors so early imbibed in and so deeply impressed on

There first exhales from the Blood when fresh drawn a volatile vapour with a [?] of fetid odour,^{between [several?] [?]} being catched and condensed it appears of a watery Nature with a small Degree of an alcaline Disposition

Diameter 1/5240 Inch

The last part of our Introductory Lecture contained the General Plan intended to be pursued in the Course of our Anatomical Demonstrations and we divided our Subject into [??] Osteology Myology, Splanchnology, Angeiology, Adenology, Neurology taking a [?] View of the component treats of the human Body as [?] under several Divisions here enumerated We shall ^might now Gentleman proceed to a particular Enumeration of the [??] Parts which con- [?] into the Composition of each ^organ respectively,

But as it may not perhaps be easy for such of our Attendants who are just entering upon the first [Princip.?] of this Brands to comprehend the Nature of particular Parts it will be useful as a preparatory to ^{a minute} an [signing?] into these to form another Arrangement which will begin with the most simple Parts and [such?] as enter into the Composition of almost every part of the Animal Body, a Number of the first Lecture then will claim for their Subject simple inorganical parts which being generally made Use of in [?] [?]amation of the [??] parts make up the complete the Construction of Organs destined to the performance of the complicated Actions in ^the animal System. By these Means we shall be enabled to pursue our Inquiry into the form and situation of each particular part without descending minutely into the internal structures of each [portion?] belonging to it, the latter will consider the parts in a [?] [se?]perate and independent View, the former in a dependent and [connected ?] View