HX641 08457 R154.H182N48 Record ol a memorial RECORD OF RECAP A MEMORIAL MEETING In Honor of the Late Surgeon-General WILLIAM A. HAMMOND iihi •• a i i HE new York Posi Graciuat? mescal School and fiospital. February 23, 1900. In Memory of Dr. William A. Hammond, a Poem. A. E. LANCASTER. Hammond, The Man, D. B. ST. JOHN ROOSA, Hammond, The Physician and Jeurologist, . JOSEPH COLLINS, Hammond, The Teacher, ... CH, RLE! L. DAJ4A, Hammond, The Surgeon-General, COLONEL JOSEPH R. SMITH, U.S.A. Dr. Hammond, The Litterateur, ... A. E. LANCASTER. Hammond 's Professional Career, . . . ANDREW H. SMITH, Reprinted from THE POST-GRADUATE, May, J900. Km.Hl&i (EDlumbta Hmttrrattg ttt % (Ettg of Nrro fork (Cnllegp nf ipijysirtana anb £>urgrmt0 PWUS Sfcfmnr? library , / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Open Knowledge Commons http://www.archive.org/details/recprdofmemorialOOnewy * ^B' ^W "fifa£ Neurol. St. Louis, 1883. On the proper method of using the Iodide of Potassium in Syphilis of the Nervous System. New Eng. Med. Monthly. Sandy Hook, Conn., 1884. Miryachit, a Newly Described Disease of the Nervous System and its Analogues. N. Y. Med. Jour. Translated into French, published in London and Naples. 1884. Also in the Esculapian. N. Y., 1884. Also in the British M. J. London, 1884. The Relations between the Mind and the Nervous System. Popular Science Monthly. N. Y., 1884. Unilateral Hallucinations. Med. News. Phil., 1885. The same (abstract) in the Boston M. &> S. J. 1886. Rabies in the Human Subject. Quart. Bull. Clin. Soc. N. Y. Post- Graduate Med. School and Hospital. 1885. A Case of Convulsive Tremor cured by Arsenic Administered Hypodermi- cally in large doses. Quart. Bull. Clin. Soc. N. Y. Post-Graduate i 9 oo] HAMMOND, THE PHYSICIAN. 23 Med. School and Hospital. N. Y.. 1885-86. Tetany. New Eng. Med. Month. Bridgeport, Conn., 1885-86. Writer's Cramp. Facsimile of Three Attempts of a Victim of Writer's Cramp to Sign his Name. From Diseases of the Nervous System. Certain Railway Injuries of the Spine in their Medico-Legal Relations. Papers, Med. -Leg. Soc. N. Y , 1886. Also in Jour. Nat. Asso. Railway Surg. Fort Wayne, Mo., 1888-90. Canned Tomatoes and Chloride of Lime. A r . Y. Med. Jour. 1886. Thomson's Disease. Gaillard's Med. Jour. N. Y., 1886. Glonoin in Migraine or Sick Headache. Med. Brief. St. Louis, 1886. Thalamic Fpilepsy. Vir. Med. Monthly. 1S86-S7. Abnormal Condition of Uncertainty. N. Y.Med. Jour. 1886. Athetosis, its Treatment and Pathology. Jour. Nerv. and Men. Dis. N. Y., 1886. Remarks on Cocain and the so-called Cocain Habit. Jour. Nerv. and Men. Dis. N. Y., 1886. Also in A". Y.Med. Jour. 1886. Brain Forcing in Childhood. Popular Science Monthly. 1886. Insanity of .Malarial Origin, (case) Quart. Bull. Clin. Soc. N. Y. Post- Graduate Med. School and Hospital. 1886. Also in Neurological Contributions. 1886. Mysterious Disappearances (Double or Alternate Consciousness) Cutting from the Forum. 1887. The Medico-Legal Relations of Hypnotism or Syggignoscism. N. Y. Med. Jour. 1887. Coca, its Preparation and their Therapeutical Qualities with some Re- marks on the so-called Cocain Habit. Read before the Medical Society of Virginia. Oct. 20th. 1887. Also published in the Vir. Med Month. Richmond, 18S7-88. A Clinical Lecture on the Differential Diagnosis of Antero-lateral Sclerosis and Posterior Sclerosis of the Spinal Cord. Jour. Nerv. and Men. Dis. N. Y.. 1888. Madness and Murder. North Am. Rev. N. Y., 1888. The Treatment of Locomotor Ataxia and other Diseases of the Nervous System by Suspension. N. Y.Med. Jour. 1889. The Elixir of Life. North Am. Rev N. Y., iSSq. Sexual Impotence of Man and Woman. St. Petersburg, translated into Rus- sian 1889. Experiments Relative to the Therapeutical Value of Expressed Juice of the Testicles when Hypodermically introduced into the Human Sys- tem. N. Y. Med. Jour. 1889. False Hydrophobia. North Am. Rev. N. Y., 1890. Weak Heart and its Treatment. Therap. Gas. Detroit, 1890. A Case of Brain Surgery and its Relations to Cerebral Localization. .V. Y. Med. Jour. 1890. Can We Diagnosticate Hyperemia or Anemia of the Brain and Cord. Vir. Med. Monthly. Richmond, 189-91. 24 HAMMOND, THE PHYSICIAN. [May A New Substitute for Capital Punishment and Means for Preventing the Propagation of Criminals. N. Y. Med. Exam. ]8qi. Seven Recent Cases of Brain Surgery. Med. News. Phil., 1891. How to Rest. North. Am. Rev. 1891. Hebephrenia, Mental Derangement of Puberty. Vir. Med. Monthly. Rich- mond, 1892-93. On Certain Organic Extracts; their Preparation and Physiological and Therapeutical Effects N. Y. Med. Jour. 1893. Mr. Ernest Hart and the American Medical Profession. N. Y. Med. Jour. 1893. The ^phygmograph as an Instrument of Precision. NY. Med. Jour. 1893. On Certain Animal Extracts, their mode of preparation and physiological and therapeutical effects. Med. Jour. Toronto, 1892-93. On Certain Animal Extracts, their mode of preparation and therapeutical effects. A lecture delivered at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital. Jan. 16, 1893. (typewritten copy). Also published in the N. Y. Med. Jour. 1893. Also published in the Post-Graduate Med. Jour. A Further Contribution to the Subject of "Animal Extracts." N. Y. Med. Jour. 1 893. Cardine, the Extract of the Heart. Its Preparation and Physiological and Therapeutical Effects. N. Y.Med. Jour. 1893. The Fetichism of Antisepsis. Am. Med. Surg. Bull. N. Y., 1894. "What should a Doctor be Paid. North Am. Rev. 1894. A Few Practical Remarks on some of the so-called Reflex Diseases of the Nervous System, Peculiar to Women. Am. Jour. Surg. &* Gynec. Wellston, Mo., 1895-96. Animal Therapeutics in the Treatment of Cerebral Hyperemia. Char- lotte, N. C. Med. Jour. 1896. A LIST OF MEDICAL WORKS OF DR. WILLIAM A. HAMMOND. The Physiological Effects of Alcohol and Tobacco upon the Human System. Reprinted from Am. Jour. Med Sc. Philadelphia, 1856. Experimental Researches Relative to the Nutritive Value and Physiologi- ical Effects of Albumen, Starch and Gum when Singly and Exclusively used as a Food. Being the prize essay of the American Medical Asso- ciation for 1857. T. K. &P. G. Collins. Phila. On the Action of CertainVegetable Diuretics. Reprinted from Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil., 1858. On the Alterations Induced by Intermittent Fever in the Physical and Chemical Qualities o£ the Urine and on the Action of the Disulphate of Quinin. Reprinted from Am. Jour. Med. Sc. Phil. 1858. On the Injection of Urea and other Substances into the blood. Reprinted from N. Am. Med. Chir. Rev. 1858. On Uremic Intoxication. Reprinted from Am. Jour. Med. Sc Phil., 1861. A Treatise on Hygiene with Special Reference to the Military Service. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila., 1863. Physiological Memoirs. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila., 1863. igoo.] HAMMOND, THE PHYSICIAN. 25 Lectures on Venereal Diseases. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila., 1864. Military, Medical and Surgical Bssays Prepared for the United States Sanitary Commission, J, B. Lippincott & Co., l'hila., 1864. A Statement of the Causes which led to the Dismissal of Surj^eon-Ceneral William A. Hammond from the army; with a Review of the Evidence Adduced before the Court. X. Y., 1864. On Sleep and Insomnia. Reprinted from the .V. J . Med. Jour. X. Y., 1S65. Insanity in its Medico-Legal Relation. < >pinion Relative to the Testamen- tary Capacity of the late James C. Johnston. Baker Voorhis & Co., N. Y., 1866. On Wakefulness. With an Introductory Chapter on the Physiology of Sleep. J. B. Lippincott & Co., Phila., 1866. The Physiology and Pathology of the Cerebellum. D. Appleton & Co., X. Y.. 1869. Reprinted from the Quart. Jour. Psych. Med. N. Y., 1869. A Medico-legal Study of the Case of Daniel McFarland. D. Appleton & Co., N. \ r ., 1870. Spinal Irritation. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1870. Reprinted iromjour. Psych. Med. N. Y., 1870. The Physics and Physiology of Spiritualism. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y. 1871. A Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1871. Medico-legal Points in the Case of David Montgomery. 1871. Papers, Med. Leg. Soc, N. Y. 1882. Insanity in its Relations to Crime. A Text and a Commentary. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1873- Climcal Lectures on Diseases of the Nervous System. Reprinted, edited and the histories of the cases prepared with notes by T. B. M. Cross. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1874. On the Cause of Vice-Fresident Wilson's Death. Cambridge, Riverside Press. Reprinted from the Boston Med. and Surg. Jour. 1875. On Pigmentary Deposits in the Brain Resulting from Malarial Poisoning. S. W. Green, X. Y., 1875. Reprinted from Tr. Am. Neurol. Soc. N. Y., 1875- Spinal Irritation, its pathology and treatment. G. P. Putnam's Sons, N. Y., 1876. A Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System, with 109 Illustrations. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1876 Neurological Contributions. I. The Odor of the Human Body as Devel- oped by Certain Affections of the Nervous System. II. On a Hitherto Undescribed Form of Muscular Inco-ordination. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1877. Reprinted from Tr. Am. Neurol. Ass. N. Y. Cerebral Hyperemia. G. P. Putnam's Sons. N. Y., 1878. Second edi- tion, enlarged and improved, published by Brentano's, Washington, D. C. iSgs. 26 HAMMOND, THE PHYSICIAN. |May An Open Letter to Eugene Grissom. Trow Print. Co., N. Y.. 1878. The same, second edition with a Preface and a Postscript. N. Y., 1878. A Second Open Letter to Dr. Eugene Grissom. Trows Print. Co., N. Y. t 1878. Fasting Girls; their Physiology and Pathology. G. P. Putnam's Sons, N. Y., 1879. Insane Asylum Reforms. I. The Non-asylum Treatment of the Insane. G. P. Putnam's Sons, N. Y., 1879. Reprinted from Tr. M. Soc. Syracuse, N. Y. , 1879. To the Medical Profession, Jan. 15, 1879. (Being the third communica- tion in his controversy with Eugene Grissom.) The same. Relative to the Address of E. Grissom delivered in Washington), May, 1878. A Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System. Seventh edition, rewrit- ten, enlarged and improved. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., i88r. A Treatise on Insanity in its Medical Relations. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1883. Sexual Impotence in the Male. J. R. Bermingham & Co., 1883. Pub- lished also in 1886 by J. R. Bermingham & Co. Published also by Wm. M. Warren, Detroit. Medical Publisher. The Official Correspondence between Surgeon-General William A. Ham- mond, U. S. A , and the Adjutant-General of the Army, Relative to the Founding of the Army Medical Museum and the Inauguration of the Medical and Surgical History of the War. D. Appleton & Co. , N. Y., 1883. Spinal Irritation, (Posterior Spinal Anemia) G. S. Davis, Detroit, 1886. A Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System. Eighth edition with cor- rections and additions. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1886. Tales of Eccentric Life. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1886. Sexual Impotence in the Male and Female. G. S. Davis, Detroit, 1887. A Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System. Ninth edition by Wil- liam A. Hammond and G. M. Hammond. D. Appleton & Co., N. Y., 1891. WRITTEN IN CONJUNCTION WITH DR. S. WEIR MITCHELL. Experimental Researches Relative to Corroval and Vao, two new Varie- ties of Woorara, the South American Arrow Poison. Reprinted from Am. Jour. Med. Sc. Phil., 1849. EDITOR OF The Quarterly Journal of Psychological Medicine and Medical Jurispru- dence. N. Y., 1867-1872. The Psychological and Medico-legal Journal oj N. Y. 1874-1876. Neurological Contributions. N. Y., 1 879-1881. Co-editor of The Maryland and Virginia Medical Journal. 1861. The New York Medical Journal . 1 867-1 869. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases. Chicago and New York, 1876-1883. See also United States Sanitary Commission publications. Report of a Committee of the associate members of the— On the subject of scurvy. Washington, D. C, 1863. I goo. HAMMOND. THE TEACHER. 27 Dr. Hammond's Trans, from the German. Meyer's " Electricity in its Relations to Practical Medicine." N. Y., 1869. BIOGRAPHY. See Medical and Surgical Reporter. S. W. Francis, Phila., 1867. New England Medical Monthly. Sandy Hook. Conn., 1883-84. TRANSLATIONS. De l'epilepsie Thalamique. Am. df Psychial. et d' Hypnol. Paris, 1894. De 1' Organization du Service Medical dans 1'Armee Americaine. Arch. Gen. de Med. Paris, 1865. Miryachit. Nouvelle Maladie du Systeme Nerveaux. (Trans, from Med. Contemp. Naples.) Union Med. Paris, 1884. L'Odore del corpo umano in Alcune Malattie del Sistema Nervoso. Giov. Internaz. d. Sc. Med. Napoli. 1883. Biografia del Prof. Guglielmo Allessandro Hammond. Dr. A. Rubino. Naples. 1884. Sexuelle Impotenz beim Manne u Weibl Geschlechte Deutsch, von L. Sal- inger, Berlin, 1889. L'impuissance sexuelle chez l'homme et la femme. Lecrosnier & Babe. Paris. 1890. Manuale Clinico Terapeutics sulla Impotenza Sessuale nell'nomo. Riduz- ione fall Inglese del Dottor A. Rubino. Naples, 1884. De la Paralysie du Bras chez les Nouveau Nes. Paris Med., i88r. WRITTEN ABOUT DR. HAMMOND. United States Congress Senate Report 1. To accompany bill 5607 for the relief of Dr. William A. Hammond, late Surgeon-General of the Army, 45th Congress, 2nd session, submitted by Mr. Spencer, Feb. 19, 1878. Reviews of the Statement of the late Surgeon-General of the United States. Reprinted lrom the Boston Med. &= Surg. Jour. 1864. HAMMOND, THE TEACHER. HY DR. CHARLES L. DANA. "It is not wisdom alone. Oh, Aspasia, but the way in which it is imparted, that affects the soul and constitutes true eloquence." The words of Pericles apply with particular force to those who devote themselves to the art of teaching. They especially must have the skill to present knowledge in such a way that the student not only understands, but is interested, and is filled with zeal and zest to pursue further his subject. Dr. Hammond had this faculty above most men. He was a teacher incidentally, and this was not the field in which he 28 HAMMOND, THE TEACHER. [May sought and found his greatest triumphs. But he had the talent and the love for it, and in the broadest sense he was a teacher all his life. He was made Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the University of Maryland in i860 when he was only 32. He lectured in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1866, and he became Professor in Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1867 when he was 39. He taught there for six years, in the University Medical College for nine years more, 1873-82. He lectured also at the University of Vermont, and finally taught in the Post-Graduate School from 1882 till he left for Washington. Thus he was lecturing and teaching almost continuously for 26 years. I remember very well the first time that I ever heard him deliver a lecture. He was then a professor in the University Medical College. He lectured that day on the subject of epilepsy. Most of us, when we are dealing with this subject, feel that it would be an appreciation on the part of Providence if the patient beside us would drop into some expressive spasm, so as to help us out pictorially in the description of the disease. With Dr. Hammond this rarely attained incident was not necessary. I remember to this day his vivid description of the series of events that form an epileptic convulsion. He gave it with every detail clinically correct and artfully and convincingly por- trayed. I recall also his description of the treatment of the dis- ease, which he illustrated with a story, enforcing the now well recognized importance of attending to the diet and to the condi- tions of fermentation in the intestine, and he ended with pre- scribing the famous black mixture, whose inky trail has followed the wake of neurological therapeutics in New York ever since. Of the adjutants to the use of bromid in epilepsy, pepsin is one of the best, and it was this fact that Dr. Hammond had the merit to show three decades ago. The next time I heard Professor Hammond he was more modestly located in one of the rear rooms of a former tenement house on East Twenty-third street, now consecrated to the use of a grocer's hall, but then the little acorn out of which the present oak of the Post-Graduate has grown. At that time the maximum audience was not more than six, and the neurological clinic was largely dependent upon the man with the "wrist-drop" who attended the front door. But Professor Hammond lectured with the same force and interest and apparent personal enjoy- ment that he had when he stood before the hundreds who igoo.] HAMMOND, THE TEACHER. 29 applauded him in the university on Twenty-sixth street. His lecture at that time was on convulsive tremor, and the patient in this case had happily gotten into a state of real pathological agitation for the benefit of the class. The lecturer described this disease, which it was his honor to be the first to observe and give to neurology, but which was later re-discovered in Germany, adorned with the ear-marks of a modern neurological "status," and imported to America under the name of Paramyoclonus Multiplex. Dr. Hammond's popularity as a teacher was due to the sin- cerity and directness of his language, his clearness of thought and his evident mastery of the subject which he presented. He did not dogmatize or theorize in any undue sense, but he had certain facts which he knew and certain views which he be- lieved. These he stated logically and convincingly. He was not at all ashamed to confess ignorance or to admit therapeutic helplessness. He had no therapeutical fads or obsessions in the domain of pathology. He did not win his audience because he had any exclusive method of interpreting disease, or any favor- ite system of treatment, or any peculiar pathological hypothe- sis, or any pet disease which he loved forever to exploit. He was not the exponent of any cult; he won his listeners by his power of telling things consecutively and well; by his apt illus- tration and his skill in narrative. There was something always essentially interesting and attractive in his manner, no matter what the topic was which he brought up. I have heard him dis- cuss and argue upon subjects of all kinds and I never knew him to be dull and never knew him to talk without saying something which was fresh, suggestive and instructive. The didactic lecture will always survive in a degree as long as there are teachers who can talk as he did and who have, as he had, great stores of learning from which to draw. They are those who "impart wisdom in such a way that it affects the soul." The words of the text book and the questions of the quiz master are necessary, for they grind out the raw material; but it needs the quickening words of a true teacher to help it to life. These words are like the emphasis upon the notes which makes the levers of the piano strike out real music. Dr. Hammond represented also the modern type of didactic teacher which came in perhaps a quarter of a century ago, and was a type that was very much needed. Teaching neurology 3 o HAMMOND, THE TEACHER. [May to medical students in those times consisted measureably in tell- ing that of which we knew little to those who could not possibly know anything. Neurology was unripe, but the medical stu- dent was still more so. A new style of instruction was needed. Dr. Hammond had none of the rounded periods of Sir Thomas Watson, or the familiar lecturers of early days, who spoke in the language of the forum, whose lectures were works of rheto- rical art and who aimed to be witty, eloquent and interesting as orators and reconteurs The modern lecturer has a story to tell, and certain facts to present; he has to show the student what things are true and what are false, to give him a proper perspective and turn his enthusiasms in the right path. I do not know of anyone who did this more effectively for his time and generation than did Dr. Hammond. His teachings thirty years ago presented neurology correctly to a vast number of American students. His text book at that time was a vivid and correct teaching of neurology as it was then known. He at once gave to the American physicians an opportunity to put themselves abreast of those of Germany and France and to put themselves much ahead of those of England in this special branch. I do not know of any special department of medicine which was so fortunate. It gave the stamp of a distinct field of labor to neurology and one most worthy to be pursued. For my own part, I must make the personal confession that my interest in neurology was first awakened by the teachings of Hammond. As a student I was much impressed with the force of this assertion in the dedication of his work to Weir Mitchell that " Neurology is the most important department of medical science." I have, therefore, beside my feeling of friendship for our old colleague, a sense of genuine obligation for the stimulus which he gave me, and for the direction in which he turned my work. Many others have doubtless had the same interest aroused and the same stimulus given. And I still feel such a sense of personal gratitude that this occasion to-night comes not alone as an opportunity, but a privilege most warmly welcomed and appreciated, of paying my tribute to one of the most attractive personalities and one of the most powerful and effective forces in American Neurology. iqoo.I HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-f ) EN KRAL. 31 2300 De Lancev Street, Phh idelphia, Peb. 19, 1000. Directors New York Post-Graduate Medicai School \m> Hospital: Gentlemen — I have received your invitation to attend a memorial meeting in honor of my distinguished friend, General Hammond. 1 am truly sorry that crippled feet (from chilblains; have laid me up and will prevent my attendance. I have, however, prepared an account of General Hammond's doings in the office of Surgeon-General, or rather a portion of them, which I have sent to Dr. G. M. Hammond to be read at said memorial meeting. Of course you will see that time would permit mention of but a little of what he did deserving of mention. Very sincerely, Joseimi R. Smith, Colonel and Assistant Surgeon-General U. S. A. HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GENERAL. IJV DR. JOSEPH R. SMITH, U.S.A. (This address was read by Professor Ramon Guiteras.) I shall speak as succinctly as possible of the career of General Hammond as Surgeon General. I feel that some claim to speak about him belongs to me, because I am a corporator of the Post- Graduate Medical School and Hospital, in which he was so much interested and to which he gave so much valuable time and service, and because I was with him in the Surgeon-General's office in Washington, where I was called by him to duty in July, 1862, and where I was his chief assistant until after he was relieved by Mr. Stanton from duty in his office. During all this time my relations' with him were as close as they could possibly be. Upon taking charge of his office Dr. Hammond at once set out to remedy the evils and defects that he discovered in the Medical Bureau. One of the first subjects receiving attention was the Report of the Sick and Wounded made by medical officers. In the lapse of years these reports had become meagre and perfunctory. On May 1st, 1862, General Hammond specified to medical officers some of the subjects to be embraced in their reports, but on May 21st he announced his intention to establish an Army Medical Museum, and instructed medical officers in their reports to give details in surgery of certain subjects as follows: 32 HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GENERAL. [May Fractures, the date, situation, character, direction, treatment and results. Gunshot wounds, the date, situation, direction and character, foreign matters extracted and results. Amputations, the period and nature of the injury, the character of the operation, the time, place and result. Exsections, the injury demanding them, the date of injury, of operation, the joint or bone involved and the result. In medicine he desired statistics of certain diseases as fol- lows : Fevers, the character, symptoms, plans of treatment found most efficient, and remarks on location and sanitary conditions of camps and quarters. Diarrhea and dysentery, the grade and treatment,with remarks on the character of the rations and modes of cooking. Scorbutic diseases, the character and symptoms, causation and means employed to procure exemption. Respiratory diseases, the symptoms, severity and treatment, the sheltering of the troops and the atmospheric conditions. Similar reports were required as to other preventable dis- eases, and accounts of the pathological results of all post mortem examinations. Medical officers were at the same time directed " to collect and forward to the Surgeon- General's office all specimens of morbid anatomy (surgical or medical) which might be regarded as valuable, together with projectiles and foreign bodies re- moved," and "such other matters as might prove of interest in the study of military medicine or surgery." Soon afterwards, viz., early in June, 1862, General Hammond formally stated to the medical officers his intention to publish the Medical and Surgical History of the Rebellion, of which the medical portion was committed to Assistant Surgeon J. J. Wood- ward, U. S. A., and the surgical part to Brigade Surgeon J. H. Brinton, U.S.V. Medical officers were requested to co-operate by forwarding " such sanitary, topographical, medical and surgical reports, details of cases, essays and results of investigations and inquiries as might be of value for the work." Very soon after his appointment the need of a library to the Surgeon General's office forced itself upon General Hammond's attention. When he took possession of his office the only library iqoo.] HAMMOND. THE SURGEON-GENERAL. 33 there consisted of a small number of modern medical books ranged on a few shelves in the front room of the office in Rigg's bank and some old, mostly useless books packed in boxes in the garret, and such search as he was able to make failed to show that effort had been made to obtain money to buy books or per- mission to form a suitable library. Surgeon Brinton had knowledge of books, and few men in the country were more familiar than he with the literature of the profession; so General Hammond concluded it would be best to establish together the museum and library. Secretary Stanton had consented to the museum, but did not share General Hammond's opinion as to the necessity of the library. Senator Fessenden was Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and in the fall of 1862 came to the office of the Surgeon-General to consult with the latter as to the items of the medical appropriation. To this conference I was summoned. When the item for the museum was reached Senator Fessenden assented to it, but did not think it wise to go counter to Secretary Stanton's views as to the purchase of books. Looking around the office, he asked how those had been bought. General Ham- mond said he did not know; that some seemed to have been bought from the contingent fund and some by the purveyor. The Senator then asked why part of the appropriation for the museum could not be expended for books, and was informed that said appropriation was hardly enough for the needs of the museum; that such a library as was needed would require about $25,000 each year. Senator Fessenden thought that out of the question, and so the matter rested temporarily. During the winter, though, Dr. Hammond did not fail to press the library question on both the Secretary of War and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations until the act appropriating money for the support of the army, passed soon after and ap- proved February 9th, 1863, contained the item of $5,000 for the museum, but no item for purchase of books. The several next succeeding annual appropriation acts gave no money for either museum or library, and not till the act approved March 2d, 1867, was General Barnes able to have items inserted of $10,000 for the museum and $10,000 for the library, since which date money has been habitually granted for the purchase of books for the library for which General Hammond labored. 34 HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GttNERAL. [May The outcome of these projects is known to you all. The Museum, the Medical and Surgical History of the War, and the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, while reflecting credit on Woodward, Brinton, Otis, Billings and Fletcher, are im- perishable monuments to the wise foresight and broad views of their projector, Dr. Hammond. With the question of the care of the sick and wounded was inseparably connected the question of a hospital or ambulance corps and nursing in general. Dr. Hammond early brought the question before Secretary Stanton, to whom the matter appeared in less than its true proportions. However, by constant urging, the Honorable Secretary was brought to give a limited approval in June, 1862, at w T hich time he authorized the employment of civilian cooks and nurses in general hospitals, which permission scarcely met the expressed views of the Surgeon-General. About the middle of June, 1862, Dr. Letterman was assigned as Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, and as soon as he had familiarized himself with the needs of that army, General Hammond summoned him to Washington to receive instructions and for consultation, at which time the ambulance corps question received full consideration. Letterman had already studied the subject, and his views and General Hammond's harmonized. It seemed probable that General McClellan, commanding the Army of the Potomac, might be brought to see the necessity of such a corps, and Letterman returned to the army, proposing to bring the matter to the notice of the commanding General. He did so, and soon wrote up that General McClellan would authorize a corps. Some time was needed to perfect plans, and in the beginning of August the ambulance corps of the Army of the Potomac came into existence — the prototype of the corps which later was authorized for the whole army. In the latter part of August General Hammond again asked the Secretary to sanction the organization of an ambulance corps, and shortly after, when the Medical Inspector sent to the battle- field of the second Bull Run reported the condition of the wounded, suffering there from lack of organized system to care for them, Dr. Hammond again asked the aid of the Secretary in an exceedingly forcible letter, but once more his appeals met with an unfavorable response. In March, 1864, the seed sown by General Hammond bore fruit, and Congress passed an act establishing an ambulance igoo ] HAMMOND, THE SURGEdN-GENERAL. 35 corps on a plan essentially the same as the one that had been matured in the office of the Surgeon-General. In this connection one thing more must be mentioned. In August, 1 36 1, Congress authorized the substitution of female for soldier nurses in general hospitals, when deemed expedient by the Surgeon-General or surgeon in charge, the number to be in- dicated by them. Female nurses had been employed in many of the hospitals in 1861, but their employment was not perfectly systematized. General Hammond decided to give full trial to the experiment. He conferred freely, not only with Miss Dix, who was the Superintendent of Female Nurses, but with others particularly interested in the matter, notably with Mrs. Russell of New Bedford, Mrs. Ames of Boston, Mrs. General Lander and Miss Kate Chase, and in July issued regulations governing the employment of these nurses, their proportion being one to two males. The question of medical supplies had also been under con- sideration and partially acted on. The act of Congress of April r6, 1 S6 2, contained a section aiming to simplify the procurement of supplies in emergencies. General Hammond ordered a board of medical officers to meet at his office for the purpose of revising the supply table of the Medical Department. He conferred freely with the board, giving his views as to the greater number of articles needed and the changes required to keep the table abreast with the progress of medical science. The board re- ported, and after considering their report the Surgeon-General, on September 20th, 1862, issued a new supply table, liberal as to the number and amount of articles allowed, facilitating their issue in time of emergency and enforcing a strict accountability. Further orders were issued May 7th, 1863, charging purveyors to buy the best, and declaring them "responsible for the quality of the medical and hospital supplies purchased by them." As an additional safeguard the Surgeon- General established laboratories where army medical supplies were prepared. Thus, not only good articles were supplied, but at a moderate expense. The following will show the effect of this: In 1863 the price of quinin in the market was very high, and continued to rise until it reached a point which, in the opinion of Dr. Hammond, was extortion. He accordingly considered the feasibility of its manufacture at an army laboratory. One day the reporter of a New York paper came into the office asking news. General 36 HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GENERAL. [May Hammond told him that the price of quinin was now so high that it seemed as if the Medical Department would have to make its own quinin. This item was duly published. At once the price of quinin came down, and the army laboratory made no quinin. Dr. Hammond promptly studied the question of hospital con- struction. The first large general hospitals were established in cities, as buildings large enough to receive the sick could here be found already built, and because the water supply and sewer- age were already provided. In these hospitals a large mortality quickly appeared, due to erysipelas, gangrene and fevers, which carried off many patients. General Hammond was firmly con- vinced that proper ventilation would greatly decrease this mor- tality, and the experience in the Crimea and elsewhere, in his judgment, showed that this could best be attained by ridge ven- tilated pavilions. These pavilions were to be lighted abundantly by windows, which were also ventilating apertures; were to be as free as possible from nooks and corners where foul air could lodge, and to be provided amply with wash-rooms and water- closets. The largest hospitals were to be an aggregate of such pavilions, with the necessary buildings for offices. These prin- ciples being recognized, many pavilions were brought together under one management, until more than three thousand patients were cared for in a single hospital. This number of patients, with those needed to care for them, including surgeons, nurses, cooks and mechanics, constituted a good sized town; a laundry, stable, chapel and dead-house, dining-rooms, kitchens and store- rooms, operating-rooms, guard-houses, and quarters for male and female nurses and the employees, were all supplied. In such hospitals, adoption of which throughout the army was due to General Hammond mainly, the immense number of sick and wounded treated from 1862 to 1866 showed a mortality less than had ever been before known under similar circumstances. General Hammond also elaborated a scheme for an Army Medical School. In the ranks of the brigade surgeons and sur- geons of volunteers were to be found some of the best medical and surgical talent of the country, while in the regular army were to be found a number of men who have since attained the highest distinction as teachers, surgeons and practitioners. Some of these were consulted, and consented to teach in the army school, while the choice of others was deferred until the plan iqoo.l HAMMOND, TI11C SURGEON-GENERAL. 37 had been approved by Secretary .Stanton. Dr. Hammond pre- sented his plan to the Secretary and urged it with all his eloquence, but in vain. The Secretary disapproved of it, and the plan was reluctantly dropped. In these more peaceful times the Secretary of War has approved such a plan, and such a school is now in operation in Washington, though much more limited than that elaborately planned by Hammond. The above are but a few of the many improvements in the Army Medical Department which originated in Dr. Hammond's active mind. Something must now be said about Dr. Hammond's dismissal from the army. The appointment of General Hammond had been opposed by Secretary Stanton, who had a candidate of his own. Not- withstanding this, however, President Lincoln appointed Ham- mond. Stanton and Hammond were both positive men and deter- mined. Many of the views of one regarding the administration of the Army Medical Bureau were opposed to those of the other Each persisted, but Secretary Stanton was the controlling power and concluded that it was best for him to get rid of the Surgeon-General. He had gotten rid of the former Surgeon- General, Finley, without a court, by simply ordering him away from Washington to Boston and keeping him there until he asked to be retired. The fame and influence of Hammond for- bade such a course. Consequently charges were brought against him and he was tried by a court-martial. Before this the Secretary had ordered him away from his post in Washington, so that in December 23d, 1S63, General Hammond appealed to the President, stating his wrongs and asking that he might be restored to his proper official position or brought to trial in case any charges of malfeasance or unfitness were entertained against him. July 19th, 1864, the court proceeded with Dr. Hammond's trial on three charges. Eleven specifications supported these charges, which naturally come under three heads: first, those alleging acts in excess of his legal authority; second, those dis- tinctly charging personal corruption and intent to aid others to defraud the Government; third, wilful falsehood. 38 HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GENERAL. [ Ma y The specifications in the first and second category regarded purchasing or not purchasing supplies for the Medical Depart- ment. To fully treat of these matters would take much time, so in brief I will state that as the majority of the transactions em- braced in the specifications took place while I was in the office of the Surgeon-General I had official cognizance of them. Further, after Dr. Hammond's conviction I spent many days in reading the evidence contained in the proceedings of the court. I found there no attempt to show personal profit by General Hammond or acts in themselves corrupt, but corrupt intent was inferred from the acts of buying or ordering to be bought by purveyors, which acts it was claimed were an usurpation of authority by the Surgeon- General and not in accordance with the former customs of his office. After careful examination of the evidence before the court, with personal knowledge of the most of the acts charged as crimes and with the knowledge of the character of General Hammond acquired by intimate association with him for more than forty years, I must record my belief that his conviction and SENTENCE WERE NOT WARRANTED BY THE EVIDENCE. The court, however, convicted General Hammond and sen- tenced him to dismissal, to which he had to submit. As further refutal of the charge of corruption I will state what many of you do not know, viz., that he was unable to move his family and household effects irom Washington to his new home until he had received a purse which was presented to him by a most eminent gentleman of our profession still living in Philadelphia, and who knew him to be innocent. Dr. Hammond promptly took steps to obtain redress, and on Christmas Day, 1864, petitioned the Senate "to inquire into all the circumstances connected with his recent trial and dismissal," but not until 1879 did he secure a vindication — a vindication not only stronger than my opinion, but which was final and complete. Congress passed a bill authorizing the President " to review the pro- ceedings of Getter al Hammond's court," and to annul and set aside the findings and sentence of said court " if after such review he shall deem it right and proper," and. " in the event of the findings and sentence of said court being set aside" the President is " further authorized to place Dr. Hammond on the retired list of the army as Surg eon- General." lyno | llAM.MUNU, TI1K SURGEON-QEN^RAL 3 g The Congressional Record shows that House bill 2108, for Hammond's relief, was reported back from the Committee on Military Affairs to the House by Mr. McCook, of New York, with a recommendation that it pass. In its report the Military Committee recites the charges and findings, and then says: " The Committee makes special reference to some of the extracts from the finding of the court for the purpose of showing that in many of the in- stances at least it failed to find that corrupt intent with which General Hammond was charged, and which, as before stated, he solemnly denies. ." The bill in substance, as aforesaid, then passed the House. In the Senate the bill was ordered printed February 1 9th, and the report of the Committee on Military Affairs accompanying the bill after reciting the charges, etc., says (page 4), "a careful unbiased and searching scrutiny of the evidence adduced upon the trial, as presented and reviewed by Dr. Hammond, as well as mature con- sideration of the argument of the distinguished counsel who represented Dr. Hammond on the occasion of his trial, forces irresistibly the con- clusion that the gravamen of all the charges, save one, was either disproved by the defense, abandoned by the prosecution, or eliminated by the findings of the court. The single charge of which the gravamen was not found wanting by the court, was in itself trifling if not frivolous, and certainly insufficient in character and importance to arraign, try, convict, and pronounce sentence thereupon, in the manner and form as are in the records of the court martial set forth." The report further says (page 14) "your Committee believe this to be a case wherein the constitutional prerogative of Congress to redress grievances maybe safely, justly, and fairly exercised, especially since the President is invested by the provisions of the bill, with wise discretion. If he finds against the merits and equities of the case, then the relief sought must be denied. If he find otherwise and hence fav- orably, Dr. Hammond will then receive the reparation to 7(>hich he is entitled " March 7th, the bill was debated in the Senate. Senator Conk- ling advocated the bill and eulogized General Hammond. Senator Cockrell desired a short delay, having some doubts as to the consitutionality of the action proposed; but he said "I am not disposed to throw any obstruction in the way, and I do not dis- sent from anything the Senator from New York has said in regard to the character of Dr. Hammond. 4 o HAMMOND, THE SURGEON-GENERAL. [May Senator Maxey said " / am a member of the Committee of Mili- tary Affairs which reported the bill, and I have never voted for the re- port of a bill with a more perfectly clear conviction that the bill was entirely equitable and right." Randolph of New Jersey endorsed the Senator from New- York. Senator Bayard pronounced in favor of the constitutionality of the bill. Senator Plumb alone opposed; but even he said (see Congres- sional Record of March 12th) "Now it is a part of the outside his- tory of this bill before Congress, that Secretary Stanton had a spite against General Hammond and that he gratified his spite by bringing him before his court-martial and procuring him to be unlawfully and unwarrantably dismissed. March 12th the Senate voted — Fifty-six Senators were present voting. Of these 55 voted in favor of the bill, and only one, Sena- tor Plumb, voted nay. The case was then considered in due course by Secretary of War, McCrary, himself a lawyer of the highest rank, who re- ported that in his opinion "the evidence did not establish the charge of corruption," " that the charge of falsehood was not sustained," and that in construing the act of Congress (under which he had purchased supplies) "Dr. Hammond was guilty of no crime." " The construction he placed upon that act, whether erroneous or not, was entirely consonant with an honest purpose." With all the foregoing and the proceedings of the court before him, the President only did his duty in restoring General Hammond to the army, vindicated. I must here add the following extract from a personal letter of Secretary McCrary written to General Hammond after his restoration, which reads as follows: " Upon reaching the con- clusion after a thorough examination of your case that a great wrong had been done you, and that you were clearly entitled to vindication, it was with great pleasure that I recommended your restoration to the army. I can say to you, with the ut- most sincerity that I have never performed an official act with a clearer conviction that I was doing simple justice. I am glad to note that the country, with scarcely a dissenting voice, ap- proves and applauds the act, and I beg most heartily to con- gratulate you upon your long delayed, but complete vindication." igoo.] HAMMOND, THE SURGEON GENERAL. m I quote farther the testimony of the president of the United States Sanitary Commission, the Reverend Doctor Bellows. In a letter to Senator Wilson he says: "The Surgeon-General has brought order out of chaos in his department, and efficiency out of imbecility. The sick and wounded owe a hundred times over more to the Government and the Medical Department, than to all the outside influences and benevolences of the country combined, in- cluding the Sanitary Commission. The Surgeon- General is the best friend the soldier has in this country, because he wields the benevolence of the United States Government ; and for God's sake don 7 thwart his zeal and wisdom," What vindication could be more complete / The Executive and Legislative departments of the United States Government united in proclaiming Dr. Hammond's in- nocence. He occupied the highest place in the community, attained, first in the commercial metropolis of the nation, and next in its capital. A status reached — professional, literary, scientific, and social, that is not surpassed by that of any other man. A death deplored by his country and the press. Not long after General Hammond's death, I had an inter- view with President McKinley. Speaking of General Hammond, the President said, " he was a great man, the country has lost a very great man." General Hammond became Surgeon-General in the most troublous times the Medical Department of the Army had ever known. As its guide and leader at this time he encountered problems the solution of which had no precedents. He was thrown upon his own resources. He proved himself an eminently capable and a successful ad- ministrator, and now that the jealousies and ill feelings of those days have disappeared, it will be hard to find anyone to deny that his career as Surgeon-General reflected lustre, both on the Medical Department of which he was the chief, and on himself as its leader. In closing I wish to express my pride and pleasure in the warm friendship that existed between Dr. Hammond and my- self for so many years. JOS. R. SMITH, Col. and Assistant Surgeon-General U. S. Army. 42 HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. [May DR. HAMMOND THE LITTERATEUR. BY A. E. LANCASTER. It was with all the equipments of maturity that Dr. Ham- mond, in the year 1884, gave to the world a novel bearing the brief and euphonious name, " Lai." It met with immediate and wide success — a success so definite and emphatic as to provoke, in some quarters, the resentful question as to what right so prosperous a practitioner of medicine had to stray from physic to fancy, and from surgery to sentiment. The reply might have been that his right consisted in his ability to do so. It is the same right which any literary or artistic workman has to enter the realm of medicine and surgery, the right depending solely upon compliance with the conditions that govern that field. There is this difference, however — it is the first duty of the novelist to interest us. If he does not do that, whatever merits he may have to set off that initial defect will count as nothing. The physician may administer a sedative or a sleeping draught; but if the novelist does so, he had better never have been born. The surgeon may amputate a limb, and receive our thanks. The novelist may only amputate superfluous chapters and cut away unnecessary sermonizing. Both doctor and surgeon may cause us anguish, and we bear them no ill-will; but if the novel- ist pains us in any other sense than that of a sympathetic grief, amounting to a sentimental luxury, his career — if he ever had any — is closed. It was with a clear perception of these facts that Dr. Ham- mond addressed himself to the task of novel-writing. It might have been surmised that one who so well knew how to " minister to a mind diseased," would have got his pen so entangled in the meshes of pathology, that the shadow of the sick room, or the gleam of the scalpel, or the morbid secrets of psychology would be found haunting his plots. But such is not the case. One of the chief characteristics of his romances is their healthiness of tone, the legitimate manner in which they deal with the nor- malities instead of the abnormalities of life, their avoidance, as a rule, of those types in which nature seems to have been un- faithful to herself by producing what is commonly recognized as unnatural. The course which Dr. Hammond followed in creating the plots and characters of a series of six romances, between the igoo.] HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. 43 years 1 8X4 and 1899, can be approximately indicated by consid- ering what his novels are not. They do not implicate any at- tempt to explain the universe, or to justify the ways of God to man — they are not philosophical. None of the characters is a mouthpiece intended to inculcate the views of the author on political, social, or scientific questions — they are not didactic. They do not, with the exception of the final one, "The Son of Perdition," deal with great events in the history of mankind — they are not historical. They do not analyze the strange sins and startling crimes which, taken all together, constitute the blackest tragedy of human life —they are not psychologic. They are not sprinkled with new words wrenched from foreign and dead languages — for the author had wisely no desire to sacrifice everything to the quest of originality in a tortured and artificial style — they are not ultra-classical. They are not steeped in that sensuous sentimentality which delighted so many of us in our early youth — for they are not Bulwerian. They are not so intricate of plot as to be inscrutable up to the last paragraph — they are not melodramatic. On the other hand, they do not cynically inform us that the youthful hero and heroine are at present a middle aged couple, happily married, and living on Fifth avenue — they are not Thackerayan. They do not make the great mistake, committed by more than one novelist whom the world names master of his craft, of causing their dramatis personam to share the verbal characteristics of the author — they do not imitate Balzac or George Meredith. And, finally, they do not largely deal with fashion's pleasures and palaces, of which many romancers note so much and know so little — they are not "society" novels. And now, having taken a negative look at Dr. Hammond's imaginative writings, let us acquire a more direct knowledge of them by contemplating them from the positive side. In certain respects " Lai." the first of the series, is typical of all the rest. It is so in the healthiness of its handling and the tonicity of its atmosphere. The Polish patriot, Tyscovus, is broadly repre- sentative of an old and illustrious civilization, and is powerfully antagonized with Jim Bosler, the horse-thief and murderer of Hellbender, Bill Dodd's Canon, and Wild Cat Creek. But its dominant motif is to show how a young girl, brought up from infancy amid the rudest and roughest surroundings, may, by virtue of those latent essentials found in a naturally good brain 44 HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. [May and a naturally fine character, triumph over the disadvantages of a most lamentable environment as soon as an adequate oppor- tunity appears. To those who look deeply into the story its main interest consists in the manner in which it depicts the development of a soul, first through external events which change the environment, and afterward through the influences that dawn with love and affect the spiritual nature. As the author himself says of his heroine: " She had grown up like a garden weed, untutored and uncared for. Yes, even worse; for the good points which Nature had put into her had not even been allowed to develop after their own way, but had been dwarfed, and twisted, and deformed and crowded out of place, by the circumstances under which she had lived as a child and expanded into womanhood." But while this is the case, the author did not ignore the opportunity of painting a companion picture in Theodora Willis, the woman who studied medicine, not in order to practice it as a profession, but because she loved it as a science to be made use of for the good it enabled her to do. In his portrait of Theodora Willis, Dr. Hammond was as successful as in that of Lai; for, while the former revealed that quality of mind which the world calls masculine, united with that quality of temperament which is essentially feminine, com- bined with talent and training unusual in degree and kind, the other displayed a totally ignorant and uncultivated soul, with all its finest tendrils ready to thrill responsive to the sunlight of love and the rain and dew of culture. The soul and the body are so dependent upon each other that they might, perhaps, be not inaccurately described as interpenetrative twins, the psychical and the physical having reciprocal relations which cannot be permanently suspended if life is to endure; and in each of the female characters just mentioned, those relations are shown, symmetrically developed in the one case, and reaching after symmetry, and finally obtaining it, in the other. The romance entitled " A Strong-Minded Woman; or, Two Years Later,"was called " A Sequel to Lai," but the character which had most charmed the public in the first novel, held a secondary place in this one, and though some of the leading problems of the day were ably discussed, and a woman with a strong mind was skilfully shown to be capable of possessing all the fascinations of femininity and none of the foibles, yet the wild heroine of the West, as first presented to us, eclipsed her culti- igoo.] HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. 45 vated rival, just as a prairie flower may sometimes find favor above the conservatory rose. In " Dr. Grattan," the only one of the series in whose baptismal name Dr. Hammond inserted a professional prefix, the interest lies largely in the question whether Lamar, the heroine's father, has really been a slave- holder, or only morbidly imagines himself to have been one. The dramatic force arising out of a struggle between the ob- jective and the subjective, strong as it is conceded to be, was surpassed in the climax with which the reader of " Mr. Old- mixon," one of Dr. Hammond's most versatile and brilliant efforts, was confronted on almost the last page. It is there that the villian Hogarth makes his final exit, to the unexpected ac- companiment of "The Rogue's March," a particularly pertinent and happy conceit, which might be utilized upon the stage with emphatic effect. But it is the self-unconscious humor of Mr. Oldmixon's character that breathes an atmosphere of geniality from first to last. A notable instance of this is what may be called the gastronomical chapter — that in which Mr. Oldmixon discourses, with Epicurean eloquence, on the pleasures of the table, and announces, as with the auchority of an axiom, that the only wines fit to drink with oysters are Chablis and Montra- chet. It is at this dinner that an unfortunate man named Par- tridge commits the solecism of asking for currant jelly in order that he may spread it over two choice slices of canvas-back to which he has just been helped. From that moment Mr. Par- tridge becomes, in the eyes of Mr. Oldmixon, an offender of the deepest dye, to whom remorse or even penitence would be im- possible. For his guilt consists in his culpable ignorance, inex- cusable and inexpiable in one whom his host had "mistaken for a gentleman." All the accompaniments of this episode are dealt with in the spirit of genuine comedy, and, in striking contrast as the3' are with the serious dramatic movement, furnish a lively illustration of the lighter graces that loitered around Dr. Ham- mond's pen. His Tragic and his Comic muse were on the best of terms. Each did her duty throughout his pages, neither in- terfering with the other. Or, to vary the simile, whenever the Muses and the Graces were assembled together, his knowledge of them and himself informed him he was welcome; but he preferred to meet them in smaller clusters rather than feast with the total twelve at once. If we turn from these volumes to the last of the series, we shall see Dr. Hammond bringing into play, in the latest years 46 HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. [May of his life, that mixture of audacity and caution which had long- ago helped to secure for him a unique place in his profession; for, to be audacious without recklessness, and cautious without timidity, and to be both of these at the same time, so that each tempers the other, is to be blessed with a successful wisdom which is the lot of comparatively few. In the romance named, "The Son of Perdition," which, as its title implies, has for its subject the character and conduct of Judas Iscariot, these quali- ties manifest themselves with equal force. Any novelist who selects for his dramatis persona? such characters as Christ, Judas, Satan, Herod, Herodias, Pontius Pilate, Pilate's wife and son, Mary Magdalen, Simon Magus, Sapphira. and the disciple Peter, to mention no others, and combines them into a narrative of 500 pages, inventing, in many cases, events, motives, behavior, and inter-relations, of which history gives no hint, performs a task the intrepidity of which is manifest; and unless the brilliancy of the attempt is attuned by the prudence suggested by judg- ment and good taste, failure is imminent. Such a book could not be written unless preceded by a vast deal of drudgery in collecting and massing together the knowledge which gives an accurate view of innumerable minutiae connected with the daily life, public and private, of rich and poor, great and small, noble and plebian, Jew and Samaritan; and after all these materials have been co-ordinated, it remains for the creative imagination to breathe upon them the vraisemblance of reality and the at- mosphere of the antique. All who have read this romance will remember the picture presented of Christ, differing as it does in many points, from the conventional ideal, and from the traditional standard which originated no one knows how, and descended no one knows whence. The long, black hair hanging straightly down the back, and as low as the shoulders; the eye-brows, strongly-marked, black as His hair and joined together — these are physical char- acteristics as strangely contradictory of the vision engendered by education, as was the celebrated anthropomorphic portrait which years ago attained celebrity as Page's " Head of Christ." But Mr. Page indulged in what most people regarded as a rather fleshly and sensuous imagery. Dr. Hammond's restrained des- cription imputes intellect of the highest order and a capacity for expressing the strongest emotion; while his entire treatment of iqoo.] HAMMOND, THE LITTERATEUR. 47 Christ, as regards His especial mission in the work of salvation, reveals Him as one " Who tried each art. reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and Ay/ the way." But perhaps a still more difficult work was the introduction of the character of Satan. It is safe to claim that to-day Satan has lost much of that horrible reality he had for most people in Christian countries 100 or even 50 years ago. Then, people who fell into sin ascribed their guilt to his ubiquitously infernal hypnotization rather than to their own tendencies, spurred by sudden opportunity. Dr. Hammond boldly tackles him as a supernatural being who has, or who ha J, power to assume human shape at will, in order to lure man into sin by promising pleasure or prosperity as the reward, and solicitous to speak truth when evil can better be served thereby than by telling lies. This last touch is a particularly artistic one; for liars are dangerous, less because of their lies than because of the truths they sometimes tell; and the Prince of Darkness, who has been declared on good authority to be a liar from the beginning, would be the more dangerously deceptive for sometimes telling the truth. In this respect Dr. Hammond comes much nearer to nature than the celebrated author of " The School for Scandal." It will be remembered that in that unique comedy, (which may be described as being in five acts and 50 epigrams), Mr. Snake, a transcendent liar, tells the truth on one important occasion, but begs that it may never be made generally known, inasmuch as he lives by the badness of his character, and if it were once known he had been betrayed into an honest action, he would lose every friend he had in the world! This may be amusing, in an atmosphere laden with wit; but Dr. Hammond's Satan, who makes truth the slave of evil, possesses the last refinement of an infinite liar. In this brief resume no effort has been made to do entire justice to Dr. Hammond's capacity in the field of fiction, be- cause entire justice were impossible within the limitations nec- essarily imposed. Enough has been said, however, to show that he used his imagination, his humor, his geniality, his con- structive skill, and his knowledge of life as gained by personal and professional experience, on the side of moral purity, mental strength, and physical well-being. His unobtrusive philosophy abounds with the health that sustains hope, and the hope that 48 HAMMOND'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER. [May conduces to health. The steed that he was fond of mounting- was neither a Pegasus nor a hobby-horse. The star to which, as Emerson would sa)?-, he " hitched his wagon," was neither one of those blazing meteors that dazzle by their splendor and as- tonish by their flight, nor one of those incalculably distant orbs which the eye can scarce discern. On the contrary, it shone hospitably near the earth, so that all who saw it could bask beneath its light, and fancy in it just enough of heaven to be thankful it was there. HAMMOND'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER. Professor Andrew H. Smith made some extemporaneous remarks on this subject. He said: I had not the slightest idea of saying anything when I came here this evening, but as I sat and listened to the things that have been said about my old friend and benefactor, Surgeon- General Hammond, I feel desirous of saying a word of my pro- fessional relations with him. I well remember my first introduction to General Hammond. I was then Assistant Surgeon in one of the New York regiments, and had occasion to report at Washington for duty, my regiment being just across the river. Those of you who have ever seen Hammond will realize that when he entered the room he filled the room. He certainly filled the Surgeon-General's office; there can be no question about that. I remember well the impresssion which he made upon me. He was neatly dressed in the uniform of a Brigadier- General. His vast proportions were gracefully borne; his step was firm and elastic, his form erect, his voice gentle, yet firm and penetrating. He received me with the utmost kindness, although he knew nothing whatever of me. He made me feel at home imme- diately, and detailed one of the staff about the office to induct me into my new position. For some considerable time after that I knew him only as I came in contact with him occasionally in my official capacity. After a year of service in the volunteer forces, I conceived the idea of coming up for examination to en- ter the regular army, and I was ordered for examination before a board, of which General Hammond was president. I had been in the field right up to the very moment of the assembling of igco.J HAMMOND'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER. 49 the board, and had had no opportunity whatever to prepare my- self for the ordeal which was before me. I think any one who went through that will lo >k back upon it as probably the hardest experience of his life. The examination lasted a week. It was for the most part a written examination. We were placed in rooms, with writing material and a list of questions, and we had no opportunity of refreshing our memory in any way with regard to the subjects before us. Preceding that had been a general examination calculated to elicit a man's general knowledge, memory and readiness. Unless a man passed the latter satis- factorily he was not permitted to come up for the real profes- sional examination. A great many were weeded out in this way. I was very much struck by the shrewdness of the questions which were put. General Hammond was the instigator of the whole thing, and he asked all sorts of questions calculated to test a man's general information, his self-possession, readiness and general fitness outside of his professional attainments. Dr. Hammond said, for example, that a medical officer would come in contact more or less with the medical men of the world; that he was the representative of the army of the United States, and that besides an exact knowledge of his profession it was neces- sary, for the credit of the army ot the United States, that he should be a man of general parts; hence, the preliminary exami- nation was of the most diverse character, running, for instance, over a knowledge of the Constitution of the United Slates, the composition of the various parts of the United States Govern- ment, together with an examination into history and into Biblical literature. One of the questions was " Where was St. John when he wrote the Book of Revelations ? " I happened to remember that it was the Island of Patmos, very much to my satisfaction. At the last only 17 out of 70 received commis- sions. Time went on and I was fortunate enough to receive a com- mission in the regular army, and was stationed at Nashville, Tennessee, and had charge of a hospital there. Then came out an order from the Surgeon-General's office that produced more of a tempest in a very large teapot than anything that perhaps could have emanated from that office. This was an order that calomel should be stricken from the supply table of the army. I was in contact at that time with Western men, surgeons of the army, to whom calomel was almost a fetich; they began with 5 o HAMMOND'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER. [May calomel, they continued with calomel, and they ended with calomel, and the results were sometimes very disastrous. Such a multitude of cases came to be reported finally to the Surgeon- General at Washington, of extreme salivation, and the baneful consequences of such medication, that he determined to strike at the root of the matter, and he therefore ordered that calomel should not be furnished longer to the army. The commotion whichfollowed that order would be difficult to describe. I at- tended a meeting called by the medical officers, the meeting being held in the lecture room of the Nashville Medical College. You might have imagined from the warmth of expression on the part of some of the speakers that the question was as important as those involved in the Declaration of Independence. Remon- strances were framed on every side, and indignant protests were sent to Washington, but they did not disturb Surgeon- General Hammond. It so happened that after a comparatively brief service in the regular army my wife was seized with tuberculosis, and I felt called upon to provide a different climate, and I therefore ten- dered my resignation from the army with the intention of seek- ing another climate for her. My resignation was accepted through the various channels up to and including the Surgeon- General, and in due course it came before the Adjutant- General at Washington. And just here comes the wonderful thing about Hammond. Though he had charge of the medical service of the army, and had 300,000 men on his mind, he remembered one particular man, myself, with whom he had not had much to do, and he took the trouble to write me a personal letter, saying that if I would withdraw my resignation he would send me to the best possible climate for my wife, i. e., New Mexico. I ac- cepted his kind offer, and with the most satisfactory result. This was one of the characteristics of the man, his facility in remembering individuals, even with such large matters on his mind. The amount of reading that Hammond could digest always excited my admiration. I have been told that while persons generally see each word and take in the meaning, word after word, Hammond took in whole sentences at once— in other words, instead of seeing words he saw and read by sentences. He read with wonderful rapidity, and had a wonderful memory. His colossal frame was a fit setting for his capacious mind. igoo.l HAMMOND'S PROFESSIONAL CAREER. 51 I have a very grateful recollection of what the Surgeon- General did for me, not only in the army, but after my resigna- tion, some seven years later. When I returned to Vew York, a school was to be started — now the Long Island College Hos- pital — and without any solicitation from me I was asked to take a Chair there. I was made professor of materia medica and ther- apeutics — my first launching in medical teaching. It was certainly a very happy thought that organized this gathering to night in the school for which Dr. Hammond had done so much. If we had had such postgraduate teaching- before the Civil War we would never had such terrible work in surgery in that war, nor would it have been necessary to issue that remarkable order removing calomel from the supply table of the armv. $& R154.H182 N48 New York (City) $ m York post- graduate medical school and hospit al , t> 3 ~ w-