Ohio: All for the Union! (Errrr, Not So Fast...) - The "Thomas B. Cox Collection"

"...he has caused divisions and dissentions in the party ever since he forced his rotten, filthy, corrupt Whig carcass upon us..."

You think political discussion is ugly now? Wait till you read some of the Civil War-era anti-war and anti-Republican Party letters below...from Ohio of all places!

Now, let's be clear: the state of Ohio has a magnificent record of patriotism during the American Civil War. The Buckeye State sent more than 300,000 soldiers to the Union ranks, was the home of powerful politicians and military officers, and was the site of some military action as well.

Still, it's no secret that there was a substantial Copperhead movement in Ohio, especially in the southern part of the state, led by Congressman Clement Vallandingham.

The Copperhead movement, local Democrat Party political machinations, and sentiment against the Lincoln administration and his war policies come to life in a group of wartime letters in my collection.

Readers of this blog will remember I have written recently (here) about another group of Cox letters in my collection, those of patent medicine-maker Thomas B. Cox, Jr.

It seems that Cox - like his father - was very much involved in local Democrat Party politics and - if the letters below are any indication - had strong anti-abolition and Copperhead sympathies and friends.

My collection consists of 7 letters, 1860-64, addressed to Cox. There are two additional letters, not listed , in Cox's own hand, in the same date range.

Their dates, a synopsis, and some sample text are below. I have not transcribed all the letters - that will be somewhat of a long-term project, but I will do it and hope to make some type of contribution to a local or regional Ohio history publication in the future.

The tone of the letters speaks to a pretty vitriolic discourse - at least in private - when Democrats are writing of Republicans.

May 14, 1860 - to Thomas B. Cox from C. W. Tector (?) - no cover - seems to concern local politics and a possible previous election contest between the correspondents.

August 13, 1860 - to Thomas B. Cox from S. Milton Teal - with stamped cover - seems to concern the state or local nominating conventions and dissatisfaction with some of the candidates in pretty sever terms...for example:

"...he has caused divisions and dissention in the party ever since he forced his rotten, filthy, corrupt Whig carcass upon us..."

September 30, 1861 - to Thomas B. Cox from E. Manning - no cover - talks of the county Democrat Party convention. He writes:

"I have repeatedly expressed myself in regard to this Black Republican war...that it never could produce anything but carnage and bloodshed and bankruptcy and ruin..."

February 5, 1862 - to Thomas B. Cox from Silas H. Wright - with cover - concerns Cox's advocacy for a bill which would prevent emigration of freed African-Americans into Ohio. Wright writes:

"..the people of Southern Ohio is likely to be overrun by refugee blacks while the northern or abolition counties of the state will be comparatively free from their terrible visitation owing to the natural dislike and repugnance which the negros have to that class of animal."








June 11, 1862 - to Thomas B. Cox from Jacob Costigan - with cover - Costigan supports Cox's intent to run for Congress. Costigan writes that he is:

"...a Radical Democrat of the deepest degree. Yes, so far as to endorse the much abused and villfied Clement Vallandingham believing him to be the very best man now in Congress."

June 15, 1862 - to Thomas B. Cox from William Parr - no cover - beginning of letter concerns Cox's interest in running for Congress and Parr supports him. The balance of the letter concerns Parr's strong feelings against abolition as a war policy. Compares the policies of Republicans to William the Conquerer. Rich!

July 26, 1864 - to Thomas B. Cox from Silas H. Wright - with cover - Wright defends himself against charges that he shared a private letter from Cox with an "enemy" newspaper.

If anyone is familiar with any of these names, or with Perry County, Ohio, politics in the war years, I would LOVE to hear from you! Thanks!

Texas Military Forces Museum - Camp Mabry - Austin, Texas

This past weekend, I had the great pleasure of visiting the Brigadier General John C.L. Scribner Texas Military Forces Museum at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas. We were in Austin to visit my daughter. While the rest of the family was out at a farmer's market on a Saturday morning, my daughter's "beau" and I went to the museum. He was great company and it was great fun!

The museum reminded me very much of one of my other favorite museums: the 45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City, OK, which I have written about before (here and here).

Indeed, just as the 45th was an Oklahoma National Guard unit activated for service in WWII, so was the 36th from the Texas National Guard. Both divisions can trace theor origins to the early 1900s (or before) and one of the 45th's regiments was actually attached to the 36th during WWI, so they actually share some heritage.

And although the museum is dedicated to Texas military forces and actions from Texan Independence through the modern day, the heart of the museum is dedicated to the 36th Infantry Division.

The museum is composed of several exhibits, including the "The Great Hall" which showcases the museum's large artifacts, with vehicles and weapons ranging from horse-drawn wagons used in the early 1900s through the World Wars and to the War on Terror.

The displays included vehicles such as tanks and jeeps to heavy weapons (machine guns, mortars, etc), rare enemy vehicles (including German armor from WWII) and aircraft (trainers and helicopters).

My daughter's boyfriend is an ex-Marine (thanks for your service, John!) and - as an expert - was abe to identify some of the weapons and tell me about their evolution compared to weapons that he used himself.

The "Main Gallery" covers the period from the Texas Revolution through the Spanish-American War. Among the highlights of the Main Gallery were the colors of the 10th Texas Cavalry, CSA, and some amazing and detailed dioramas, including the Alamo, the Civil War battles of Sabine Pass and The Wilderness, a WWI battle, and more.

Outside, there is a park of armor, self-propelled guns, artillery, helicopters, and jets.

It is a TERRIFIC museum and you can support their mission of improving and expanding the museum and its archival holdings by becoming a member ($20 annually) here.

Enjoy the photos below!

Photos of the Great Hall
Sherman Tank display in the Great Hall
WWII German Vehicles in the Great Hall
Cavalry Wagon Display in the Great Hall
Artillery Display in the "Great Hall" (Field Gun, 75mm Howitzer M1897 A4, 1917-1945)
"Battle of the Wilderness" Diorama
Civil War Colors of the 10th Texas Cavalry, CSA

That's the "Spirit"! (Civil War Ghosts) - Part II - A Soldier in the Spirit Land

As a follow-up to my previous post on "Civil War Ghosts" (here) I am pleased to share a summary of another rare 19th-century Spiritualist booklet/pamphlet in my collection, this one a bit more serious in its content and origin.

The relatively short (90 pages) monograph, published in 1885, is Interior Sight of the Spirit World as I See It.

Robbins is said to be a New Jersey soldier, mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862.

The book – in 32 short “chapters” – is a chronicle of “communications” from Robbins to one of his kin, Benjamin Rulon, through Sarah E. Patterson from January to June 1885, and covers topics relating to the Civil War, emancipation, archaeology, criticism of the Bible, and – in the main – life in the Spirit World as “experienced” by Robbins.

Patterson was a NJ/Philly medium who was the subject of investigation by the Seybert Commission for her purported talent in “tablet/spirit writing.”

It is actually an interesting “conceit” – Spiritualist publications such as the Banner of Light published purported “messages” from fallen soldiers, but – as it turns out – the names/identities were not authentic. In this case, Vanroom Robbins was a real man, and soldier. Indeed, I have also been in touch with a descendant of Vanroom Robbins and have seen a period photo of the young man who gave his life at Fredericksburg.

It does indeed seem to be a rare pamphlet; e.g., I do not see a listing for it in WorldCat, and an admittedly quick Google search did not find it in another collections.

It also has a twist of Lincolnia, as the book is heartily endorsed by Abraham Lincoln (via his spirit in a message to Sarah Patterson!).

I have had a preliminary discussion with a publisher in regards to publishing an edited version of the book...I do think it would be a contribution to modern studies on 19th-century Spiritualism.

That's the "Spirit"! (Civil War Ghosts) - Part I - A Ghost in the Machine

A Spiritual Invention

"Mr. Frank Chase, of South Sutton, N. H., states that the blind fastener, illustrated on another page of this number, was revealed to him through Emma Hardinge, a spiritual medium, by the ghost of his uncle, a worthy mechanic sometime deceased. Acting upon the hint of Miss Hardinge, he made the fastening, which is certainly a good one, and if done by the spirts, as Mr. Chase claims, is certainly no discredit to their inventive genius. People often dream of valuable inventions, but they do not always turn out so well as they dream they will." - Scientific American, April 28, 1866

I have written before (here, here, and here) on a growing fascination with the Spiritualist movement in the mid-19th century. I want to be clear: I am not a Spiritualist myself. As I understand it, my own faith prohibits trying to contact spirits but does not dismiss the possibility that they exist to bring messages to the living. In any case, I don;t hunt ghosts but I don't judge those that do. That said, I do have an interest in the movement itself, its personalities, its treatment in period literature (from Henry James to Mark Twain and everything in between), and - especially - its re-emergence after the Civil War, and more.

I have a few period Spiritualist-related pamphlets in my collection. One pretty "fun" - which I share below, and another more "somber" which I will share soon.

So, first for the fun!

The pamphlet (1867) is The Spiritual Invention by Frank Chase. It seems to be a pretty rare pamphlet as I could find only one holding in WorldCat, so I'm pretty excited to have it in my collection. It is 36 pages, with additional front and end papers.

Basically, it's the story of how inventor Frank Chase, of South Sutton, NH, was given the idea for an invention by his dead uncle through Emma Hardinge, one of the prominent Spiritualist mediums of the era. I say basically, because - in fact - the story is much more than that: as delightfully told by Chase, it's also a story of how Spiritualism was viewed in a small New England town in the Civil War years (the story also features a local soldier who had died in a hospital but whose body had just arrived in town).

Chase used the idea and secured the invention through the Scientific American Patent Agency, which - as it happens - is another strong interest of mine! (here, here, here, here, and many more posts!), and Chase happily endorses their services in the pamphlet. And - as you can see in the excerpt that began this post - the Scientific American magazine featured (only half tongue-in-cheek?) Chase's invention in their pages! Indeed, Chase held several patents for improvements in window blinds and blind fasteners.

Emma Hardinge (1823-1899) - the other principal "character" in the booklet - was a leading voice of the American Spiritualist movement and author of two important and detailed books on the subject, based on her experiences: Modern American Spiritualism (1870) and Nineteenth Century Miracles (1884). (She writes herself of her influence on Chase). She proves to be a lightning rod of criticism from some of the locals described in Chases's account. There is an excellent website devoted to Emma Hardinge here.

I'm working on some other writing projects right now, but eventually I hope to fond a publisher for an edited version of the booklet, publish it as an e-Book myself, or use it as the basis for my first novel...or all of these...or none of them...I don't know.

And now, the "Spiritual Invention": (!)

Dr. T. B. Cox's Stomach Restorative - A Handwritten Civil War Soldier Testimonial

I have written before (here, here, and here) about how Civil War-era patent medicine manufacturers eagerly solicited and happily accepted testimonials from soldiers who used their medicines to their (supposed) great benefit. The manufacturers then published the testimonials in their advertisements, especially the "giant" enterprises of the day, such as "Holloway's Pills and Ointment," "Herrick's Pills," “Hostetter’s Celebrated Stomach Bitters,” “Brandreth’s Pills,” “Ayers Sarsaparilla,” “Radway’s Ready Relief,” and others.

However, for every Holloway, Hostetter, and Radway, of national - and even international - fame, there was one (nd probably more) almost-anonymous patent medicine inventor known for his "healing powers" and product(s) mostly in his own locale.

Below I share an actual, handwritten, soldier testimonial, in my collection.In this case, the patent medicine proprietor was Thomas B. Cox, Jr. The soldier who provided the testimonial was Maj. W. G. Williams of the 126th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

According to A Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Ohio, Illustrated (S.J. Clarke, 1902):

THOMAS B. COX...Honored and respected by all, there is no man in Fairfield county who occupies a more enviable position in business circles than Thomas B. Cox, not alone on account of the brilliant success he has achieved but also on account of the honorable, straightforward business policies which he has ever followed. He possesses untiring energy, is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and is determined in their execution. It is true that he inherited much property, but in controling this and enlarging his business interests he has shown excellent judgment, industry and keen sagacity, and his career demonstrates the truth of the saying that success is not the result of genius but the outcome of a clear judgment and experience.

Mr. Cox is numbered among the native sons of Fairfield county, his birth having occurred in the village of Greencastle on the 4th of March, 1826. He comes of a Scotch-Irish ancestry, although the family has long been established in America. His father, Thomas B. Cox, was born in the vicinity of Gettysburg. Pennsylvania, in 1797, and in 1807 came with his father, James Cox, and the family to Fairfield county...

(More on the elder Mr. Cox in a future post!)

In the village schools of Greencastle Thomas B. Cox began his education, which he continued in a select school of Lancaster, prosecuting his studies for six years and thereby winning that broad mental culture and discipline which is the foundation of all business success. After leaving school he became superintendent of a grain business and also conducted a store in Greencastle. In 1857 he established a store in New Lexington, Perry county, and while there was elected a member of the city council, in which he served for six years, so that he was actively concerned with the government and control of that municipality.

In 1865 he removed to Lancaster to take charge of his father's affairs, and upon his father's death, in 1871, he was appointed administrator of the estate, which was valued at one hundred and seven thousand dollars. The farms comprise five hundred and fifty acres in Fairfield county and another farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Missouri, which is owned by our subject. He also owns twenty-five lots and a number of dwellings in Lancaster, which he rents. His own substantial brick residence was erected in 1879 and is one of the attractive homes of the county seat, being celebrated for its gracious hospitality.

Although the property and business interest of Mr. Cox demands much of his time, he has yet found opportunities to devote some time to literary matters and is a writer of interest and force, his publications in some of the principal journals throughout Ohio attracting widespread attention.

He is also interested in medical remedies and has compounded a medicine which he claims as an infallible cure for rheumatism. He is a man of scholarly attainments and broad general culture, reads, widely and is well versed on the topics of the day. He is courteous and affable in manner, always approachable, and those who know him personally have for him a warm regard.

The letter below from Williams is typical of a soldier testimonial: unflattering words for army physicians, dubious credentials for the proprietor (Cox was *not* a doctor), and a recommendation that the army use the medicine to save more lives.

The letter is actually one of a collection of several handwritten testimonials from other soldiers, all with acclaim for Cox's medicine, which I hope to publish in some form in the future. Given the biography above, I expect that Cox simply sold the medicine in his store as I have not been able to find advertisements in period newspapers.

Enjoy!

To the public:

This is to certify that I was afflicted with Dysentery, or Diharrhea, in August 1863, while serving in the United States Service at Culpepper, Virginia. I tried the skills of several eminent physicians but without success. The disease seemed to be immovable and assumed a chronic form which rendered me wholly unfit for the service. Consequently, not prefrring a final discharge, I obtained leave of absence to go home to my friends in Ohio in February 1864. During my stay at home, Dr. T. B. Cox, seeing my emaciated form and feeble condition, kindly tendered his service (free of charge) to prescribe to me. I accepted, and I'm now happy to inform the public that his Stomach Corrector, or Restorative, restored me to good health, in a very short time. I'm now in the United States service in the enjoyment of better health than I have experienced for years. I was sick over six months and I cordially recommend Dr. Cox's Stomach Restorative to the public and most especially do I commend it to my fellow soldiers, believing as I do that it's general use in the army would save the lives of thousands of our brave boys.

Somerset, Ohio January 23, 1865
William G. Williams
Maj. 126th O.V.I.

1842 Medicine - "One day he flies to one remedy, next day to another"

An 1842 letter in my collection, from a mother to her son, contains timeless family chit-chat, but also reveals the panoply of medical choices available to a typical antebellum city-dwelling family in the East: the physician, the town druggist, homemade remedies, and a neighbor’s advice.

My own dear Charlie,

How you must be wondering at my long silence but we are all dependent upon circumstances even in this land of independence. Your letter with cash ($20) enclosed did not reach me until Monday afternoon and then I had just returned from the city unwell and much fatigued. I therefore determined to write the following day but on Tuesday I was worse but still hoped by evening to be better. I took the cholera remedy but without removing my distress. Afternoon came, your father had staid in the city, therefore I gave up all thoughts of writing, for never again will I trust a letter by any hand but those belonging to me…[Your father's] leg troubles him much but he will take no one's advice. One day he flies to one remedy, next day to another. Last Sunday he took the advice of a physician here and after taking the medicine for one day and bandaging his leg as directed he went to the city on Monday but neglected to get the oiled silk. Started again on Tuesday; left his medicine behind. Went to a druggist, got some other nostrum. Came back Friday with his leg unbandaged, no oil silk purchased. Oh he is so trying, I have lost all patience with him …Our old neighbor Mr. Platt recommended me to take some vinegar salt which I have done and think it has done me some service, though I feel excessively weak.”

Women's History Month 2011 - Civil War "Mothers of Invention"

In celebration of this year's Women's History Month - March 2011 - I thought I would highlight some "Mothers of Invention" from the Civil War; that is, some interesting patent activity among females from 1861-65.

As noted in my chapter, "A Multiplicity of Ingenious Articles: Civil War Medicine and Scientific American Magazine," in Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine (Edinborough Press, 2009):

Especially noteworthy is the fact that women significantly increased their patenting activity during the Civil War. Women accounted for fewer than eighty U. S. patents for all the years up to 1861 but were responsible for nearly ninety patents in the war years alone. To be sure, a good number of these were for household innovations or for items like “Improvements in Corsets,” but they also included an “Improved War Vessel” and many medical inventions, including bandages, salves and ointments, and ambulances.

Persons interested in learning more about inventive activity by women in the 19th century should consult the publications below, which I have found very helpful myself:

Zorina B. Khan, “’Not for Ornament’: Patenting Activity by Nineteenth-Century Women Inventors,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, 31 (2000): 159-95.

Women Inventors to Whom Patents Have Been Granted by the United States Government, 1790-1895 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1895).

Given the general theme of this blog - I want to highlight some of the medical patents secured by female inventors that seemed to be borne of wartime service or perceived needs:

#37,697 - “Improved Nitrated Mercurial Ointment” - Caroline Learned - Columbus, OH - for "the destruction of vermin which become so exceedingly annoying to soldiers while in the field or camp." (Read full patent here)

#39,460 - "Improvement in Ambulances" - Clarissa Britain - St. Joseph, MI - "This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in ambulances for the removal of the wounded from the field of battle to safe quarters, where they may receive immediate surgical aid." (Read full patent here)

#47,831 - “Improved Table for Hospitals" - Sarah J. A. Hussey - Cornwall, NY - "long experience as a nurse in the United States Army hospitals." (Read full patent here)

#39,667 - "Improvement in Military Caps" - Sarah Mossman - Cleveland, OH (Read full patent here)

And the most surprising(?!)

#41,167 - "Improved War-Vessel, the Parts Applying to Other Structures for Defense" - Mary Jane Montgomery - New York, NY (Read full patent here)

(In fact, not so surprising: Ms. Montgomery was recognized as one of the few women of her day that devoted her life to invention, and she held no less than four patents among several inventions!)

Medical Department #38 - Civil War Anesthesia

Here's an oldie-but-goodie...one of my earliest medical columns for The Civil War News...but it's on a topic that's always timely and myth-busting: anesthesia in the Civil War. Enjoy!

“An Infinite Blessing”
"Medical Department"
The Civil War News April 2001
by James M. Schmidt

In an earlier column, I alerted readers to an upcoming issue of the journal, Pharmacy in History, dedicated to Civil War pharmacy. I am pleased to inform you that the issue has been published (Volume 42, No. 3 and 4, 2000), and is available now at a nominal price from the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP, website here).

The AIHP is a non-profit national organization devoted to advancing knowledge and understanding of the place of pharmacy in history. (At this writing, Dr. Gregory Higby, executive director of the AIHP, and editor of Pharmacy in History, assured me that they had extra copies printed to meet the expected needs of Civil War medicine enthusiasts. Please feel free to contact the AIHP to make arrangements to purchase a copy of the journal.)

The special issue contains three very good articles. The first is “Pharmacy in the American Civil War” (pp. 67-86), by Guy Hasegawa, Pharm.D. a reprint of his outstanding American Journal of Health Systems Pharmacy article that I reviewed in the December 2000 column (here).

The second is “The Life of a Hospital Steward: The Civil War Journal of Spencer Bonsall” (pp. 87-98), by Michael A. Flannery, Associate Director for Historical Collections, Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Spencer Bonsall was from Philadelphia, had some training as an apothecary in the 1830’s, and served as hospital steward with the 81st Pennsylvania during the Civil War. His journal consists of sixty pages covering the dates 6 May 1862 through 22 June 1862, and 4 December 1862 through 26 March 1863, and includes Bonsall’s activities during the Peninsula and Fredericksburg campaigns.

Flannery admits that Bonsall unfortunately did not reveal much in the way of his actual practice. In excerpts from the journal and in accompanying photographs, however, the article does capture the general responsibilities of a hospital steward.

The final article in the special issue is “The Use of Anesthetics During the Civil War, 1861-1865” (pp. 99-114), by Maurice S. Albin. M.D. The paper is an excellent survey of the employment of anesthetics during the war period. It is superbly illustrated with more than a dozen photographs of anesthesia equipment or important personalities. An extensive list of references, many of them from period sources, provides opportunities for further research and reading. The article includes discussion of the first surgical uses of ether and chloroform, their manufacture and procurement during the Civil War, the techniques of their use, and clinical reports of their use.



By the beginning of the Civil War, a sizeable body of knowledge existed on the use of anesthetic agents. Ether (more properly “diethyl ether”) has been known since medieval times, and was prepared by distillation of a mixture of alcohol and sulfuric acid. It was not until the mid 1840’s, though, that ether gained wide acceptance as a surgical anesthetic. The manufacture and use of ether was complicated by its ready flammability, and from the toxic byproducts of its synthesis.

Chloroform was discovered in the 1830’s, and its anesthetic properties first described in the late1840’s. It was originally prepared by the distillation of alcohol treated with bleaching powder. Chloroform may have been safer to produce, but it still resulted in a number of impurities, and its potency resulted in dozens of deaths when first used.

American military surgeons first used anesthetics during the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. Dr. Edward Barton holds the honor of giving the first anesthetic during a war, using ether during an amputation on March 29, 1847. A few weeks later, at the Battle of Cerro Gordo, about a dozen wounded soldiers were given ether during surgery. French and British surgeons used chloroform extensively during the Crimean War (1853-56).

Dr. Albin notes that not all surgeons were enthusiastic about anesthetics. Some felt that their use hastened hemorrhage and prevented proper healing. Others, recognizing that men seemed to be less disposed to the effects anesthesia, felt that their use was not “manly.”

With a major manufacturing base and control of the high seas, the Union Army had little difficulty in procuring ether and chloroform during the Civil War, either by importation or from domestic manufacturers such as E.R. Squibb and Company. Indeed, records show that more than a million ounces of each agent was purchased during the war.

Confederate procurement of anesthetics was complicated by the Union’s naval blockade, and a lack of an established manufacturing base. All the same, the Confederates were able to meet their needs by producing the agents at their own laboratories, through blockade-runners at sea, or by capturing supplies from the Union armies.

Dr. Albin points to several factors requiring a simple approach to delivering anesthesia during the war, not the least of which was the lack of expertise and experience among both Union and Confederate volunteer surgeons. Though more than thirty masks and inhalers had been developed to deliver ether and chloroform, including a nasal inhaler invented by the distinguished Confederate surgeon John J. Chisolm, anesthetics were generally applied by pouring the agent on linen, holding it at some distance from the patient’s nose and mouth for the first inhalation, then gradually moving the cloth closer until the desired effects were produced.

Dr. Albin explains that most of our knowledge about the use of anesthetics during the war comes from data in the Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (MSH). A special chapter on anesthetics in the MSH (Volume II, Part III) mentions at least 80,000 instances where ether or chloroform were employed. These numbers are based primarily on Union records, but accounts from notable Confederate surgeons such as Chisolm and Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire indicate that thousands more Confederate patients also were relieved by surgical anesthesia. The article includes a number of firsthand accounts describing the use of anesthesia, especially in field hospitals.

Dr. Albin is especially qualified to write this article. He earned his M.D. in 1957, has been a practicing clinical anesthesiologist at several hospitals, and has taught at a number of schools. He has been on the faculty of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center, San Antonio, for more than twenty years.

Dr. Albin is also past president of the Anesthesia History Association, and remains active in association activities. Indeed, at the AHA’s annual meeting last October, he delivered a talk on “The Wounding, Amputation, and Death of Stonewall Jackson: Anesthetic Implications.” In addition to dozens of scientific papers in anesthesia journals, Dr. Albin has published historical pieces on William Morton, whom he dubs the first “dedicated military anesthetist,” and on narcotic abuse during and after the Civil War.

“My interest in Civil War history dates back to my childhood, when my Dad, a history buff, took me on a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield,” Dr. Albin told me. He believes that the most important advance in anesthesia during the Civil War was that for the first time, thousands of medical officers (Union and Confederate) learned how to properly deliver an anesthetic. He points to the better understanding of the physiological effects of anesthetics and the utilization of more sophisticated delivery systems (for example, inhalers and vaporizers), as important post-Civil War advances.

For those wanting to learn more about the history and development of anesthesia, Dr. Albin recommends Keys’ The History of Surgical Anesthesia (1978) or Pernick’s A Calculus of Suffering: Pain, Professionalism, and Anesthesia on Nineteenth-Century America (1985).

From the standpoint of the soldier on the operating table, the relief from pain provided by anesthesia was inestimable. In a poignant end to his article, Dr. Albin quotes Confederate surgeon Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire in his account of the amputation of “Stonewall” Jackson’s arm: “Chloroform was then administered, and as he began to feel its effects, and its relief to the pain he was suffering, he exclaimed, ‘What an infinite blessing,’ and continued to repeat the word ‘blessing,’ until he became insensible.”