MACLEOD (George H. B.) M.D., F.R.C.S.
Notes on the Surgery of the War in the Crimea, with Remarks on the Treatment of Gunshot Wounds.
PRINTED FOR USE IN THE CIVIL WAR & OWNED BY A UNION SURGEON
It’s hardly a surprise that Macleod’s 1858 publication appeared in America in the early years of the Civil War. It was printed both in the Union (as here) as well as in the Confederacy (Richmond) in the same year as both parties sought to equip their medical staff with the latest information. Indeed, this copy was owned by a Union surgeon.
Macleod (1828-1892) studied medicine at the University of Glasgow and at Paris and Vienna before serving as a surgeon at a hospital in Smyrna in Turkey during the Crimean War, the first war to use rifled and breech-loading cannons. These had both longer ranges, greater accuracy, and a faster rate of fire than smooth bore cannons. Macleod notes “it has shown us wounds of a severity, perhaps never before equaled; it has enabled us to observe the effects of missiles introduced for the first time into warfare.” It also includes description of geography, climate, military hygiene, the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic, and treatment of gunshot wounds and other afflictions in the field.
This copy is particularly desirable for having belonged to Assistant Surgeon A.C. Hamlin who served in the 2nd Maine Infantry during the first Bull Run campaign, the Battle of Williamsburg, and Cross Keys. He was promoted to Chief of the Flying Hospital in Virginia, advanced to Medical Inspector of the Regular Army during the war, and was made Surgeon-General of the State of Maine afterwards. His work, The Battle of Chancellorsville, was published in 1896.
