New Haven's Civil War Hospital: A History of Knight U.S. General Hospital, 1862-1865

by Ira Spar M.D.

Overview

As the Civil War's toll mounted, an antiquated medical system faced a deluge of sick and wounded soldiers. In response, the United States created a national care system primarily funded and regulated by the federal government. When New Haven, Connecticut, was chosen as the site for a new military hospital, Pliny Adams Jewett, next in line to become chief of surgery at Yale, sacrificed his private practice and eventually his future in New Haven to serve as chief of staff of the new thousand-bed Knight U.S. General Hospital. The "War Governor," William Buckingham, personally financed hospital construction while supporting needy soldiers and their families. He appointed state agents to scour battlefields and hospitals to ensure his state's soldiers got the best care while encouraging their transfer to the hospital in New Haven. This history of the hospital's construction and operation during the war discusses the state of medicine at the time as well as the administrative side of providing care to sick and wounded soldiers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476614342
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	268
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ira Spar, M.D., is president of the Hartford Medical Society, a board member of the Society of Civil War Surgeons, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He served as a U.S. Army battalion surgeon in the Vietnam War and lives in Farmington, Connecticut.
Ira Spar, M.D., is president of the Hartford Medical Society, a board member of the Society of Civil War Surgeons, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. He served as a U.S. Army battalion surgeon in the Vietnam War and lives in Farmington, Connecticut.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Prologue
One. Nineteenth-Century Medicine
Two. The Early Lives of Pliny Adams Jewett and Jonathan Knight
Three. Dr. Timothy Beers Townsend
Four. Doctor’s Apprentice
Five. The War Governor and His Agents
Six. Regimental Surgeon
Seven. The Elm City
Eight. Building a Hospital
Nine. Medical Staff of Knight U.S. Army General Hospital
Ten. Hospital Steward
Eleven. Nurses
Twelve. Provost Marshal and the Patient
Thirteen. Medicine and Politics
Fourteen. Private Pliny Adams Jewett
Fifteen. The Hospital Closes
Sixteen. To South Carolina and Back
Epilogue
Appendices
I. Townsend’s Charges
II. Surgical Class of Timothy Beers Townsend Reported in MSHWR
III. Graduates of Yale Medical School Dying in Service
IV. Surgical Cases of Dr. Charles Lindsley Reported in MSHWR
V. Surgical Case of Dr. Timothy H. Bishop Listed in MSHWR
VI. Surgical Cases of Dr. William B. Casey Listed in MSHWR
VII. Surgical Cases of Dr. Henry Pierpont Listed in MSHWR
VIII. Surgical Cases of Frederick Levi Dibble Listed in MSHWR
IX. Reports from Hospital Steward
X. Knight U.S. Army General Hospital Statistics 1863–65
XI. Union Mortalities by Means and Race
XII. Mortality Statistics in Five Military Conflicts
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

gives the reader an excellent insight into the trails and tribulations of creating a national health care system on the local level and is highly recommended”—Journal of Civil War Medicine; “there is much excellent research on the medicine of the time. There is a superb bibliography that would be an excellent resource for scholars of the era. All Civil War historians have much to thank Dr. Ira Spar for his superb scholarship and interesting story of the Knight US General Hospital in New Haven. This excellent book can make Civil War enthusiasts of us all.”—Connecticut Medicine.

From the Publisher

"there is much excellent research on the medicine of the time. There is a superb bibliography that would be an excellent resource for scholars of the era. All Civil War historians have much to thank Dr. Ira Spar for his superb scholarship and interesting story of the Knight US General Hospital in New Haven. This excellent book can make Civil War enthusiasts of us all."

Connecticut Medicine

gives the reader an excellent insight into the trails and tribulations of creating a national health care system on the local level and is highly recommended

Journal of Civil War Medicine