A magnificent primary source
for the history of medicine and surgery during the Civil War. This
manuscript hospital register documents thousands of soldiers, mostly
in the 6th Army Corps, who were wounded in 1864 at the Wilderness,
Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, the Siege of Petersburg, Winchester, and
Cedar Creek. It records their names, rank, company and regiment, the
wounds (mostly gunshot) and surgeries (amputations and resections).
This hospital register is a government issued lined blank book with
a preprinted heading on the left hand pages that reads, "Register of
the Sick and Wounded at..." The boards are leather bound; the spine
is worn but intact; and the pages are clean, with their signature
binding solid. There is some remote water staining on the inside
front board. The register measures 11 x 16.5 inches. Affixed to the
cover is a gold embossed black leather label that reads, "U.S.A.
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. REGISTER." All entries for the sick and wounded
soldiers are in ink. The register was owned and used by Dr. James A.
Hall, the Surgeon of the 49th New York Volunteer Infantry, also
known as the 2nd Buffalo regiment. Dr. Hall enlisted as Surgeon of
the 49th in August 1861 and mustered out in mid-October 1864. The
initial inside page of the register is inscribed in ink: "Register
of the Sick & Wounded of the 49th N.Y.S.V. James A. Hall Surgeon
1862-63." In 1864 Dr. Hall was appointed Surgeon-in-charge of the
2nd Division Hospital of the 6th Army Corps.
The initial few pages record
the sick soldiers almost entirely from the 49th New York, while in
"Camp Near White Oak Church, Virginia" from April 1863 onwards. The
next few pages record entries for soldiers at "Camp Near Sulphur
Springs, Virginia" from September to October 1863, mostly for
members of the 49th. The next pages record soldiers, again mostly of
the 49th New York while at "Camp Near Warrenton" October to December
1863 and into February 1864. These pages all reflect a time when the
register was used by Dr. Hall as a regimental surgeon for the men of
the 49th New York. The remaining, and majority, purpose for the
casebook for the rest of 1864 was when Dr. Hall was in charge of the
2nd Division Hospital of the 6th Army Corps. He used it as a
register for his Division Hospital. These pages include thousands of
entries for soldiers from various regiments of the 6th Corps who
were wounded in the Virginia campaigns of that year. This book is
largely a register of the wounded of the 6th Corps, including the
49th New York, for 1864. Men from many other regiments of the 2nd
Division are listed in this manuscript register. The next section is
a register of 1,263 soldiers wounded at the Wilderness May 5 and 6,
1864 and who were surgically treated at the "2nd Division Hospital
6th Army Corps". The next two sections record soldiers who were
treated at their Division Hospital and who were wounded at the
Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. In two
sections the soldier entries in total number 789 and 1,052.
Following this there are 414 soldiers treated at the hospital for
wounds at the Battle of Winchester Sept. 19, 1864. The final
sections are for 442 soldiers wounded at Cedar Creek, and finally
492 wounded and sick soldiers treated at the Division Hospital at
Patrick Station, Virginia. LOT #210 in this auction is the Inscribed
6th Corps badge of John N. Henry, hospital steward of the 49th New
York. He worked closely with Dr. Hall during the war. Henry was
active as a hospital steward with the 2nd Division Hospital 6th AC
in 1864. It is even possible he may have recorded many of these
entries in this register. In a letter home from Cold Harbor, June 4,
1864, Henry wrote to his wife about the hospital: "A large train of
wounded men left here yesterday...the 1st and 2nd Division Hospitals
of the 6th Corps are near each other & the burial of their dead is
going on every hour about a dozen rods on each side. These are the
men who die in the Hospital. Those who die on the field are buried
there." The majority of the entries are for soldiers of the 6th Army
Corps wounded by gunshot and artillery shells. The early entries are
almost exclusively for the sick of the 49th. There are even a few
records for some Confederate soldiers treated at the Division
Hospital. In all there are approximately 4,500 soldiers listed in
the hospital register, making this manuscript an excellent primary
source for information about not only the 49th New York but also the
6th Army Corps. Upon muster out in October 1864 James A. Hall
returned to his home in Chautauqua County in western New York. He
died there in April 1865, just a few days before the war ended. The
pension and service records of Dr. Hall are included with this item.
