Touch the Elbow Reviews "Lincoln's Labels" and Interviews the Author (Me!)

I want to thank Donald Thompson for posting a very kind (and very interesting!) review of my first book, Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War, on his popular "Touch the Elbow" blog this week.

Excerpts:

"What is less familiar are the efforts undertaken by privately owned companies to ramp up and quickly meet the needs of Union troops by providing...all that makes an army go. James Schmidt tells that story and tells it well, by focusing on select businesses that not only aided the war effort, added to their own profit margin, but still survive into the twenty-first century...

"I could go on and on, but why spoil the fun and surprises that come from reading a book that is not only interesting, but so chock full of well researched facts and subplots it'll have you begging for a sequel. It'll also have you wondering why no one thought to write this story before. I know I felt that way."

Donald followed up the review with an interview with questions that were insightful and fun! Read the 2-part interview here and here.

Thanks, Donald!

By the way, while you are at "Touch the Elbow," also take time to read his great interview with Tom McGrath, author of Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign.

Donald Thompson is also a co-author of Civil War Research Guide: A Guide for Researching Your Civil War Ancestor.

"Small time, but in that small greatly lived This star..."

"Small time, but in that small most greatly lived
This star of England..."

So wrote Shakespeare in his Epilogue of Henry V. The same can be said of Col. Ulric Dahlgren, the subject of Eric Wittenberg's most recent book, Like a Meteor Blazing Brightly: The Short but Controversial Life of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren (Edinborough Press, 2009).

First, as a disclaimer, I'd suggest that it is hard for many people to provide a completely unbiased review of one of Eric Wittenberg's books in that there are many people who have benefited from his advice and scholarship...I happily count myself among that group, having received generous amounts of both. But I'll do my best.

Eric Wittenberg's Like a Meteor... is a tremendous story of natural qualities of daring, leadership, acumen, and other admirable qualities in a very young man: Ulric Dahlgren. He ably charts Dahlgren's life from restless youth to purpose as soldier in defense of the Union during the Civil War. He also describes the unprecedented access that Dahlgren had to the highest levels of political and military power in the country. The narrative drives towards the climax of Dahlgren's death on a raid into Richmond and the subsequent controversy surrounding papers found on his body. It may be that the casual Civil War enthusiast is not already aware of the so-called Kilptarick-Dahlgren raid, but once they are, they'll be compelled to learn more about this interesting story written by Eric Wittenberg and backed by very good research.

Some high points:

1) A good part of Dahlgren's early career as a soldier was under the command of Major General Franz Sigel. Sigel is often derided in the Civil War literature, but I find that Wittenberg treats him quite fairly.

2) The Gettysburg chapter - and Dahlgren's thrilling exploits in the campaign - are worth the price of the book. Wittenberg explains very well the importance of critical enemy intelligence that Dahlgren had a part in securing.

3) The Dahlgren Raid, of course, is well-covered. The loss and recovery of Dahlgren's body is an amazing story and is told very well by Wittenberg.

4) As if the Gettysburg chapter wasn't enough, Wittenberg "closes the deal" by providing a very honest assessment of Dahlgren's achievements, faults, vices, admirable qualities, lost promise, and more in the final chapter.

5) Excerpts from the letters and diaries of the younger and elder Dahlgren's are used to great effect throughout the book.

I have only a few critical comments, though they do not detract from my overall positive assessment of the book and a recommendation to read it:

1) I wish he would have developed a bit more the mistakes in Dahlgren's Fredericksburg Campaign exploits; he hints at them, it seems, but doesn't really develop a case for how detrimental they were.

2) I was somewhat put off by Wittenberg's quoting often from a sermon and memoir written by Dahlgren's minister and father after the death of the young hero as they are by definition hagiographic; that said, it's important to note that both Rev. Sunderland, and of course the elder Dahlgren, had been acquainted with "Ully" since his birth, and when they comment on his younger days, they compliment the text pretty well.

3) I wish the book had a closer touch of a copyeditor's hand...though not intrusive, the typos, etc., (esp. in the last chapters) could become distracting.

Nevertheless, this is a very fitting - and very honest - biography of an important personality and Mr. Wittenberg is to be congratulated.

Medical Department #30 - "Faces" (Civil War Surgical Photography)

Here is another "oldie-but-goodie" from my archive of Civil War News "Medical Department" columns. Enjoy!

"FACES"
by James M. Schmidt
The Civil War News
“Medical Department” – May 2001

In Josephine Tey’s classic novel, The Daughter of Time, detective Alan Grant solicited his visitors for opinions on the portrait of King Richard III that rested by his hospital bed. One thought it the face of a saint, another a judge. Of all the opinions, Grant felt that the hospital matron came nearest the truth: a face "full of the most dreadful suffering."

Blair Rogers, M.D., gives a rare glimpse into the faces and suffering of the Civil War’s wounded soldiers in his recent article, "Reed B. Bontecou, M.D. - His Role in Civil War Surgery and Medical Photography" (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 2000, Vol. 24, pp. 114-129).

In the article, Dr. Rogers (once managing editor of the journal and now deceased), describes the career of Bontecou, a New York surgeon who contributed greatly to the use of photography to document Civil War casualties. The most interesting, and emotive, part of the article is the inclusion of more than forty photographs of wounded soldiers taken by Bontecou and his staff.

Reed Bontecou was born April 22, 1824, in Troy, New York. During his schooling, he demonstrated an exceptional aptitude for the natural sciences. His work was so expertly done that he was often entrusted with the teaching of botany and zoology, even though a student himself.

In 1842, Bontecou began the study of medicine under the tutelage of several prominent Troy physicians and surgeons, and from 1844 to 1845, he attended lectures at the Medical Department of the University of the City of New York. He finished his studies in Vermont at Castleton Medical College, receiving his M.D. in 1847.

When the Civil War broke out, Bontecou was commissioned a surgeon with one of the Union infantry regiments supplied by the Troy area, and performed his first field operations after the Battle of Big Bethel in June 1861. He was present at the famous battle between the Monitor and the Virginia, the capture of Yorktown, and was placed in charge of hospitals at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and Beaufort, South Carolina.

In late 1863, Bontecou was ordered to Washington, DC, to take charge of the Harewood General Hospital, and was on duty there until it was disbanded in 1866. It was during his tenure at Harewood that he made his most important contribution: he is credited with being the largest contributor to the Army Medical Museum. The thousands of specimens and hundreds of photographs that Bontecou contributed became a major foundation of the museum, which subsequently developed into the National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM), in Washington, DC.

Bontecou’s photographs, however, had a more immediate impact than the museum’s mission. Dr. Rogers credits him with being the first to apply photography for clinical purposes, showing the condition of the wounded when the soldiers were first admitted to the hospital, and many times when they were discharged. Indeed, the photographs were invaluable in qualifying disabled veterans for pension payments.

Forty of the photographs taken under Bontecou’s direction are reproduced in the article; four per page over ten pages. Each is identified with the name of the subject, their state, and the nature of the wound. The photographs are divided almost equally among injuries to the head and face, the arms, the abdomen, and the hip or legs.

Dr. Rogers offers little comment on the individual photographs, even though they make up the bulk of the article. Instead, he invites the reader to study them carefully and reflect on the emotions they elicit. What is most immediate is a sense of the personal tragedy facing these men: going home blind, crippled, or deformed.

The article is actually the third in a series describing the earliest results of mid-19th century reconstructive surgery performed by pioneering surgeons, especially on wounded Civil War soldiers. The first was "The First Pre- and Post-Operative Photographs of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Contributions of Gurdon Buck (1807-1877)" (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 1991, Vol. 15, pp. 19-33). In it he describes the contributions of Buck, a New York City surgeon, and a pioneer in reconstructive surgery. The article includes more than thirty "before and after" photographs showing the results of these early attempts to improve the appearance of patients with severe injuries or birth defects. A few of the photographs are of wounded soldiers.

The second article, "The First Civil War Photographs of Soldiers with Facial Wounds" (Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 1995, Vol. 19, pp. 269-283), includes photographs of nearly forty wounded soldiers, all with scalp or facial injuries, many of which had not been published since the Civil War. All three articles are superbly documented, offering opportunities for further research and study.

What did you see the last time you studied a photograph of a Civil War soldier (or citizen)? Bravery? Fear? Or just a face "full of the most dreadful suffering?"

A New Book Project...and a New Blog!

I'm pleased to announce that I have signed a contract with The History Press (Charleston SC) for a book on the interesting and important role that the University of Notre Dame played in the American Civil War! Tentatively titled: Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory, the book is scheduled to be published in late 2010!

You'll be able to follow along with my research and writing (and maybe even help me!) by following my new blog, Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory! Add it to your blogrolls and tell your friends (especially if they are Notre Dame fans!).

Here is a synopsis:

Even the casual Civil War enthusiast can probably point to one or more colleges or universities that played a role in the American Civil War; a few that come to mind are the graduates of West Point and the Naval Academy who fought on both sides; the 20th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, also known as the “Harvard Regiment,” as it was largely under the leadership of young Harvard grads; and Company A of the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, also known as the “University Greys,” composed entirely of students from Ole Miss at Oxford.

Few institutions of higher education, though, can boast of the sacrifices made by the University of Notre Dame (UND). Over the course of four years, Notre Dame gave freely of its faculty and students as soldiers, sent its priests to the camps and battlefields as chaplains, and its sisters to hospitals as nurses. Though far from the battlefields itself, the war was still ever-present on campus, as Notre Dame witnessed fisticuffs among the student body, provided a home to the children of a famous general, responded to political harassment, and tried to keep at least some of its community out of the fray. When the war was over, a proud Notre Dame welcomed back several bona fide war heroes, mourned the loss of some who made the ultimate sacrifice, and became home to a unique veteran's organization.

While sketches of UND’s role in the Civil War have appeared in published school histories, memoirs, and/or biographies, they are usually brief or limited to one personality or aspect of the experience. Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory will be the first book to incorporate this interesting story into a comprehensive and unified narrative.

A number of personalities will be introduced and their roles discussed, but a few deserve special mention:Fr. Edward Sorin, the founder of UND, who shepherded the school through its wartime crises; Orville T. Chamberlain, a UND student who rose through the ranks of the 74th Indiana – from private to captain - and earned the Medal of Honor for bravery under fire at Chickamauga; Frs. William Corby and Peter Cooney, two UND priests who served with special distinction as chaplains in the war, one in the east and one in the west; the family of William T. Sherman, whose children attended UND during the war; and Schuyler Colfax, an Indiana Congressman seeking re-election during the war, who put political pressure on UND.

At the same time, larger issues – anti-Catholic prejudice, the draft, regional politics, the general experience of institutions of higher education in the period, etc. – will be addressed.

In addition to memoirs, school histories, biographies, and period newspapers, the book will rely heavily on material – much of it unexplored and unpublished - in the UND archives.

Civil War Medicine Conference Wrap-Up!

This past weekend (Oct 2-4, 2009), I had the great pleasure and privilege of attending the 17th Annual Conference on Civil War Medicine organized by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and held in Towson, MD. I had a terrific time and thought I would provide a summary of the weekend in this post.

It was all the more special for me as I got to see old friends, meet some new ones, give one of the lectures, and launch a new book!

On Friday afternoon, there were two very good lectures on prison conditions and medicine practiced in the prisons, with one speaker concentrating especially on Fort Delaware; a terrific lecture about John Allan Wyeth, M.D., a Confederate soldier who had a very distinguished post-war career in medicine. The last lecture was by C. Craig Caba, Chief Curator of the outstanding "J. Howard Wert Gettysburg collection." He brought with him a wonderful selection of Revolutionary War- era and Civil War-era medical artifacts, some of which are shown in the photographs here.

Friday evening's social hour was a special event as co-editor Guy Hasegawa, Pharm.D., and I were able to launch our new book, Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine! It wasliterally "hot off the press" having shipped from the printer just the night before! I also signed copies of my first book, Lincoln's Labels: America's Best known Brands and the Civil War, now available in softcover!

On Saturday, Dr. Stephen Goldman gave an amazing lecture on post-traumatic stress syndrome in Civil War veterans, made some excellent points about the mental health challenges beings faced by soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen in Iraq and Afghanistan (they are not the same challenges in the two countries or among the various services), and - most important - discussed the ethical responsibilities of psychiatrists-as-historians (and vice versa). I followed with a well-received (thankfully!) talk on phrenology and the Civil War. The final lectures were on Civil War hospitals in "Mountain Maryland" and artificial eyes in the Civil War era, given byMike Hughes, one of a small group of practicing ocularists in the United States, that is - people who specialize in making and fitting artificial eyes!

Saturday afternoon was spent on a bus tour taking us to the National Museum of Dentistry in downtown Baltimore and then a short visit to Federal Hill, overlooking Baltimore Harbor.

Sunday saw three more lectures: a wonderful talk give by Bonnie Brice Dewhart about the medical education of her relative, Walter Brice, M.D., who served as asurgeon with 9th Tennessee Infantry, CSA...My good friend and collaborator Guy Hasegawa, Pharm D., gave an excellent presentation on "Preparation and Dispensing of Civil War Prescriptions" which included photographs from items in his collection and excellent advice for some of the living historians in the audience. Another lecture by Robert E. Mallin on women's health in the mid-19th century was also very interesting.

I can't say enough about the dedication of the staff at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. They are all wonderful, from founder Dordon Dammann, D.D.S., to Executive Director and Deputy Director George Wunderlich and Karen Thomassen, to everyone else.

If you are not a member of the NMCWM, you should be!