William Alexander Hammond's Transformation of the Army Medical
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WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAMMOND'S TRANSFORMATION OF THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPATMENT DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR _____________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History Sam Houston State University _____________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts _____________ by Jessica M. Shiepko December, 2018 WILLIAM ALEXANDER HAMMOND'S TRANSFORMATION OF THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPATMENT DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR by Jessica M. Shiepko ______________ APPROVED: Brian Matthew Jordan, PhD Thesis Director Jeremiah Ross Dancy, PhD Committee Member Thomas Cox, PhD Committee Member Abbey Zink, PhD Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences DEDICATION For Gabriel Michael and Joshua Damien. iii ABSTRACT Shiepko, Jessica M., William Alexander Hammond's transformation of the Army Medical Depatment during the American Civil War. Master of Arts (History), December, 2018, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. The American Civil War represents the second real test of the United States Army Medical Department (AMEDD). Despite the necessity of medical providers in both the American Revolution and the War of 1812, a permanent medical department was not established until 1818. The first test of the department came during the US-Mexican War of 1846-1848. However, most experiences gained during the conflict did not translate into lessons learned in preparation for the Civil War. Historically, the department was woefully understaffed, and the manpower challenges were compounded when many surgeons left the army when their state seceded. These factors combined to result in a department that went through tremendous growing pains during the Civil War. Ultimately, the processes and procedures established during the Civil War laid the foundation for current operations. The Civil War also represents the AMEDD’s transition, under William Alexander Hammond’s leadership, from a pre-professional to professional, learning organization. KEY WORDS: Thomas Lawson, Clement Finley, William Alexander Hammond, Charles Tripler, Jonathan Letterman, Edwin Stanton, American Civil War, US-Mexican War, United States Army, Medical department, Medical logistics iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I must thank my family. My husband, Anthony, for his support on this endeavor; my parents, Janet and Anthony, for watching the boys during numerous multi-day trips to Washington, D.C.; and Grace for the peace of mind and assistance she provided. To Dr. Brian Jordan—thank you for all your feedback, guidance, and patience as the chair of the committee while I worked on this and moved halfway around the world. To Dr. Thomas Cox—thank you for your guidance and reading recommendations. Last, but not least, to Dr. Jerimiah Dancy—thank you for opening this door. Without your assistance, I would have graduated without realizing my goal of completing a thesis. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 Pre-1818: Frequent Structural Change................................................................... 8 1818 to 1865 ......................................................................................................... 13 II AMEDD DURING THE US-MEXICAN WAR AND INTERWAR YEARS .... 19 Personnel and Supply Challenges ......................................................................... 20 Mid-19th Century Medicine .................................................................................. 26 Combat Operations in Mexico .............................................................................. 29 Interwar Years ....................................................................................................... 41 III CLEMENT FINLEY AND THE WAR’S FIRST YEAR .................................... 46 Internal Organization ............................................................................................ 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 71 IV SCIENTIST, ADMINISTRATOR, INNOVATOR .............................................. 73 Leadership Style.................................................................................................... 78 Stanton and Hammond .......................................................................................... 81 vi Preventative Medicine .......................................................................................... 99 Building Institutional Knowledge ....................................................................... 102 Reshaping the Department .................................................................................. 104 V IMMEDIATE CHANGE .................................................................................... 108 Hospitals ............................................................................................................. 108 Supply ................................................................................................................. 116 Army of the Potomac .......................................................................................... 121 “Father of Battlefield Medicine” ........................................................................ 128 VI LASTING IMPACT ........................................................................................... 143 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 149 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 155 Secondary Sources .............................................................................................. 155 Published Primary Sources ................................................................................. 159 Archival Material ................................................................................................ 175 VITA ............................................................................................................................... 177 vii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1 AMEDD Positions, strength, appointment method, and type in 1861 and 1862 104 2 Organizational structure of the ambulance corps ................................................ 135 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 Organizational structure of the AMEDD, 1846. ................................................... 19 2 Mower Army General Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1864. ........... 58 3 Four-wheeled ambulance designed by Charles Tripler. ....................................... 67 4 Side view of the two-wheeled ambulance designed by Clement Finley. ............. 67 5 Surgeon General William A. Hammond. .............................................................. 73 6 Major Jonathan Letterman, seated left. ............................................................... 128 7 Surgeon General Joseph K. Barnes. .................................................................... 143 8 Surgeon General George Miller Sternberg. ........................................................ 145 ix 1 CHAPTER I Introduction On 12 April 1861, the bombardment of Fort Sumter in South Carolina heralded the American Civil War. Over the next four years, Union and Confederate forces collided on a massive scale that challenged the operational and logistical capabilities of both armies. At the onset of the conflict, the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) was less than 50 years old. During the American Revolution and the War of 1812, surgeons, physicians, and apothecaries actively cared for the Army’s population; however, there was no permanent medical department--nor medical member of the general staff--until an act of Congress established the AMEDD on 14 April 1818. Prior to 1818, medical personnel were called upon to serve during times of conflict and then dismissed during peacetime. As such, there was no formal mechanism or institutional infrastructure through which to convey knowledge gained in previous experiences. The US-Mexican War provided first real test of the AMEDD in combat. Unfortunately, the organization did not learn from the challenges it faced. At the end of the US-Mexican War, the department was largely the same as it was before the war--leaving it woefully unprepared for the impending Civil War. This thesis seeks to explore the AMEDD’s organizational structure prior to, during, and after the Civil War; its place within the larger army; and operational challenges in the fields of supply, evacuation, and personnel. It was not until Dr. William A. Hammond was appointed as Surgeon General of the Army in 1862 that the AMEDD moved from a pre-professional organization