Reminiscences of Field-Hospital Service With the Army of the Potomac (Classic Reprint) PDF Download

Author: William Warren Potter
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9781330937594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 40

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Book Description
Excerpt from Reminiscences of Field-Hospital Service With the Army of the Potomac It is the purpose of the writer in these pages, kindly allotted to the consideration of this interesting phase of army life, to give a succinct account of the field-hospital system of the Army of the Potomac, based upon his experiences of three years service as a medical officer in that army. Minute detail cannot, of course, be entered into within the necessarily narrow limits of a magazine article, - only distinctive features grouped and portrayed in outline. If it were necessary to seek a raison d'etre for the appearance of such an article at this time, when so much is being written about the war and its conduct, it could readily be found in the fact that, so far, only officers of the line have figured in conspicuous prominence, as having achieved renown in the military service. It is an undeniable fact that the medical department of the army was very near the hearts of the millions of patriotic people who, while compelled to remain at home, contributed, with lavish hands, their means and substance toward the successful prosecution of the war. It is presumed that many of these will be interested to know something more of the manner of caring for the sick and wounded, in active service and on the field, than can be gleaned from ordinary or even official sources. The writer served in the various capacities of Assistant Surgeon, and Surgeon on duty with the troops, and as Recorder of the Second Division Hospital, in the Sixth Army Corps; also, as assistant to Chief Operator, as Chief Operator, and as Surgeon-in-Charge of a division field hospital in the Second Army Corps, holding the latter place for more than a year. This statement is made that his opportunities for knowledge as to the working of the system may be understood, and the value of his judgment thereupon properly estimated. An army in the field is, at once, confronted with the difficult problem of properly caring for its sick and wounded, - a question second only in importance to the ever-present one of feeding it. The difficulties increase in a manifold degree if, as was chiefly the case with the Army of the Potomac, the field of operations lies in an enemy's country. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.