US Army Surgeon, Jonathan Letterman, Two Civil War Letters Regarding Camp Letterman 

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Nov 21, 2014 - Nov 22, 2014

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• Lot Description
  US Army Surgeon, Jonathan Letterman, Two Civil War Letters Regarding Camp Letterman 
  
  Dr. Jonathan Letterman, Medical Director for the Army of the Potomac, 2 ALsS regarding matters at Camp Letterman, Gettysburg, PA, addressed to Dr. Henry Janes, who was in charge of the camp, dated August 29, 1863 and October 29, 1863. Each with letterhead, "Head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac, Medical Director's Office."
  
  Jonathan Letterman is credited as the father of modern battlefield medicine. In developing the “Letterman Plan” he laid the foundation for not only military medical treatment, but also civilian emergency medicine and disaster relief. His system enabled thousands of wounded men to recover and be treated during the Civil War and after.
   
  Letterman, the son of a well-known surgeon, was born December 11, 1824 in Canonsburg, PA. He attended and graduated from Jefferson College in 1845 and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1849. Dr. Letterman joined the Army Medical Department that same year. At the beginning of the Civil War, he was assigned to the Army of the Potomac and later named Medical Director. After the Second Manassas, General George McClellan gave Letterman full authority to significantly improve the deplorable medical treatment provided to the wounded. He was extraordinarily successful in his efforts. 
  
  Dr. Letterman resigned from the Army in December 1864 and moved to San Francisco, CA, where he served as the city’s coroner. His wife, Mary Digges Lee Letterman, died in November 1867, causing Letterman to fall into deep depression and illness. He died in San Francisco on March 15, 1872. He and his wife are buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
  
  Camp Letterman was the largest field hospital built in North America. Its mission was to treat the severely wounded from the Battle of Gettysburg. Shortly after the battle, Assistant Adjutant-Gen. Seth Williams directed Dr. Letterman to care for the fallen soldiers who “cannot be moved with the army.” He appointed members of his command headed by Dr. Henry Janes to comply. They faced the daunting task of treating 20,995 wounded, 14,193 Union and 6,802 Confederate. Those who recovered sufficiently enough to travel were sent home or to more permanent military hospitals. The 4,200 remaining were moved to Camp Letterman’s hospital tents, being in no condition to travel. Hundreds of tents were constructed for surgery, housing the wounded, and supplies. A morgue and cemetery were established and saw the burial of over 1200 men. The Camp operated until November 20, 1863, the day after Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
  
  Perhaps the finest legacy of Camp Letterman was that both Union and Confederate soldiers were treated equally with the best care that could be provided under the circumstances. Those who did not survive were buried side by side without regard to their allegiances. 
   
  The 2 letters cover a follow up on a request from Dr. Janes: I had requested…to send you twenty (20) surgeons—will you please inform me if they were sent and if so what time they arrived and reported to you. How does Camp Letterman flourish[?] Have you got all the wounded into Camp [?]. The second letter is a request for information on a Confederate soldier named W. O. Marshall of Company G, 4th Alabama.

  Condition

  Both are handwritten in ink and signed by Dr. Letterman. Both are on 8” X 10” paper with the heading 'Head-Quarters, Army of the Potomac, Medical Director's Office'. They are each on one page folded to four sheets. They are in excellent condition.
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