In 1862 Surgeon General William Hammond proposed a medical history of the war to serve as a comprehensive reference work. He founded the Army Medical Museum (now the National Museum of Health and Medicine) to gather case histories, statistics, and specimens and to prepare illustrations. This volume was a preparatory study for the congressionally funded publication.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
Circular No. 7, A Report on Amputations at the Hip-Joint in Military Surgery, War Department, Surgeon General's Office, Washington, D.C., July 1, 1867
Civil War Medicine
To provide for the nation’s welfare, Congress acts to promote health and prosperity. In 1866 Congress authorized publication of the Medical and Surgical History of the War of Rebellion. Compiled by the Army Surgeon General’s staff from Union and Confederate records of military medicine, it was the United States’ first major federal contribution to medical research. Soldiers who survived the war had a significant presence in Congress. Many senators and representatives served in the Union and Confederate Armies, and Congress employed Civil War veterans as staffers into the 20th century.
In 1862 Surgeon General William Hammond proposed a medical history of the war to serve as a comprehensive reference work. He founded the Army Medical Museum (now the National Museum of Health and Medicine) to gather case histories, statistics, and specimens and to prepare illustrations. This volume was a preparatory study for the congressionally funded publication.
National Museum of Health and Medicine
