MISCELLANY

THE United States civil service commission announces an examination on June 7, 1911, to secure eligibles from which to make certification to fill a vacancy in the position of medical interne, Goverment Hospital for the insane, Washington, D. C., at $600 per annum, with maintenance, and vacancies requiring similar qualifications as they may occur in that hospital, unless it shall be decided in the interest of the service to fill the vacancy by reinstatement, transfer, or promotion. Applicants should at once apply to the United States civil service commission, Washington, D. C., for application and examination Form 1312.

THE Waterbury Chemical Company, home office Des Moines, Iowa, exhibiting their products in Paris and Rome, have just received information from the Jury of Awards that they have been awarded two gold medals and diplomas of honor at the International Hygiene and Pure Food Exhibit, held in Rome, January and February, and a like exhibit held in Paris in April,

1911.

The above honors were bestowed on their two well-known specialties, Waterbury's Compound, made from cod liver oil, and Waterbury's Pinozyme, their pineapple digestant.

A NOVELTY in medical advertising is the announcement of Fellows' Syrup of Hypophosphites, published elsewhere in this issue of the JOURNAL. Instead of being an average, wordy advertisement it is artistic and elegant in its simplicity of construction and its brevity of speech. No less unusual is the fact of the use of Latin in the body of the advertisement. The elegance of the firm's announcement compares favorably with the elegance of the preparation which it then calls to the attention of the profession.

Additional Personals

DR. GROVER W. WENDE, of Buffalo, was elected president of the American Dermatological Association at its recent annual meeting held at Boston. This is a fitting recognition of Dr. Wende's standing and accomplishments in his special field of medicine.

Dr. A. B. MILLER, of Syracuse, has been appointed examiner in obstetrics and gynecology of the New York State Board of Medical Examiners in place of Dr. William Warren Potter, deceased.

VOL. LXVI.

JULY, 1911.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS

No. 12

Three Years with the Army of the Potomac-A Personal Military History

BY WILLIAM WARREN POTTER, M.D., BUFFALO, N. Y., BREVET LIEUTENANT COLONEL, U. S. VOLUNTEERS; SURGEON IN CHARGE OF FIRST DIVISION FIELD HOSPITAL SECOND ARMY CORPS; SURGEON 57TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS; ASSISTANT SURGEON 49TH REGIMENT NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS; RECORDER SECOND DIVISION HOSPITAL SIXTH ARMY CORPS, ETC., ETC.

T

PREFACE

HE following pages are, as their title indicates, a personal history of my military service in the civil war of 18611865, during which time I served three years as a medical officer with the Army of the Potomac. That army, as is well known, was one of the two chief armies of the Republic in that great struggle; it had, as equally well known, the most difficult field of operation, and, as a consequence, the most trying duties to perform of any of the Union forces. It was always required to protect Washington, while, at the same time, it was expected to destroy the most formidable army of the Confederacy, led by its greatest captain.

How well that mighty creation of the patriotism of a free people performed its duties, or how satisfactorily it accomplished its tasks, is not for me to say-these will be determined by that most impartial tribunal, History-but it is expedient that every man who can do so, should record what he did, and what he saw done, during his military service. Acting upon this conviction, I have attempted to carry out this purpose in my own case in a truthful manner, without any attempt at self-praise, or to embellish the pages with anecdote or eulogy.

It has, on the other hand, simply been my aim to bring together in a connected way the various scenes through which I passed, believing that possibly in future years if not now, my children, or theirs, will be interested to know just what part their paternal ancestor played in the great drama of war-that war waged for a mightier principle than other in the history of the world.

Lieutenant Colonel William Warren Potter, M.D., Assistant Surgeon, 49th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers; Surgeon, 57th Regiment N. Y. Volunteers.

The account is made up from letters which I wrote to my wife from the field that were always in the nature of bulletins, from memoranda made at the time, and from an undimmed recollection of every event narrated. The dates are believed to be absolutely accurate, and the impressions (where any are given), are such as obtained at the time. It is probable that, in the light of subsequent history, some of them may appear erroneous, or ill-conceived; but I prefer to let them stand as recorded at the time, as simply a reflex of the then accepted opinions of passing events.

In such a purely personal narrative the constant employment of the first person is unavoidable; yet, as it is not intended for publication, but merely for the eyes of relatives, or intimate. friends, this will, I trust, be considered pardonable.

Finally, the consciousness of having performed my duty faithfully and to the utmost of my ability, even though humbly, during the period embraced in this record, has always been to me a comforting reflection, compensating in a full measure for "the dangers I had passed;" and if any one should, perchance, enjoy a moiety of the pleasure in the perusal of these pages that I did in preparing them, I shall be more than gratified.

March 23, 1888.

W. W. P.

THREE YEARS WITH THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC.

On the 15th day of April, 1861, three days after the fall of Fort Sumter, the President called for 75,000 men and, in apportioning the number from each state, New York's quota under this call and a second one made May 3, was fixed at 38 regiments of infantry. To raise, arm, equip, officer and get this force ready for the field, became the duty of the Governor (Morgan) and his military staff. His Surgeon General, Dr. S. Oakley Vanderpoel, at once issued a notice to medical men throughout the state who might desire to serve as surgeons and assistant surgeons, to assemble in Albany on the 25th and 26th days of April, 1861, for examination as to their fitness for these positions in the volunteer forces then raising.

At this time I was residing in Cowlesville, Wyoming Co., where I had been practising medicine in partnership with my uncle, Dr. Milton E. Potter, for about two years. I went to Albany on the 25th of April, presented myself for examination before the board of examiners in the assembly chamber next morning, completed my duties at two o'clock P. M., and left for home that night. In about two weeks I received notice that I had passed the examination, and would be appointed an

assistant surgeon upon my nomination as such by the colonel of a regiment. It appears that under an old militia law rule this function was vested in the colonels of regiments, and this practice prevailed during the organisation of the first 38, or two years' regiments that the state of New York furnished. In all regiments subsequently raised the appointment of the regimental staff was made by the Governor direct, without the intervention of any preliminary nomination.

During the few weeks next following my successful examination, I made energetic though futile endeavors to obtain an appointment; but the numbers seeking places were so great, and the openings so few, that I soon began to despair of success. Most of these early appointments were obtained by men of influence with the several colonels, men much older and more experienced in affairs than I; for, be it known, I was at this time but 22 years of age.

Finally came the Bull Run disaster of July 21, 1861, and immediately thereafter followed a requisition upon our governor for 25,000 men for three years, under the authority of congress vesting power in the President to accept the services of 500,000

Buffalo had already, under the first call, sent out the 21st regiment for two years, and soon after the second call authority was vested in a coterie of patriotic citizens, under the name of the Union Defense Committee, to raise another regiment. This committee numbered among its members the Mayor, Hon. F. A. Alberger, James Adams, Dr. Edward Storck, Alderman A. A. Howard, Isaac Holloway, and others whose names I do not now recall.

Recruiting for the new regiment began on the 30th of July under the direction of this energetic committee. Fort Porter was selected as the rendezvous, and Major D. D. Bidwell appointed to command the post and superintend the recruiting. Major Bidwell was at the time an experienced officer in the State Militia, and, as Commandant of company "D" had attained a reputation as an efficient drillmaster, as well as a disciplinarian of an unusal order in civil life; and it was expected that he would be chosen to command the regiment whenever it should take the field. He selected for his assistant, George W. Johnson to act as major, with Henry D. Tillinghast as quartermaster, William Bullymore as adjutant, and the usual non-commissioned staff.

FORT PORTER.

Early in August I sought Major Bidwell's acquaintance, through his brother, Charles, whom I knew very well, and was authorised to obtain recruits for the command. I visited a