Robert Gray
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
On August 2, 1862, under the instruction of Jonathan Letterman, the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, General George B. McClellan issued General Orders 147 and created the United States Army's first full-time, Ambulance Corps. These orders determined the structure, training and role of the service; and crucially, they were a blueprint for the creation of the subsequent Ambulance Corps later in the war. Although the Ambulance Corps was dedicated, full-time, training was limited. These staged photographs show soldiers practicing the loading of an ambulance. However, this was a rare occurrence. Division Ambulance Corps Commander Lieutenant W.H. Whyte says that new recruits were only drilled, on two consecutive days, for a total of around six hours. Generally, ambulance-men learned on the job.
The date and location of these images are not recorded. The uniforms appear to be those worn by the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry (Collis' Zouaves). Significantly reduced in size, as a result of heavy casualties at Gettysburg, the regiment became part of an independent brigade after the III Corps was dissolved. During the remaining two years of the war the unit would often provide provost and guard duties at General Meade's headquarters in the field. As a result, they attracted the attention of several of the wartime photographers who would make them the most photographed Zouave unit during the war.
One thing I noticed in these images, is that the officer in charge of the drill is wearing his sword on the right side. Closer examination makes me believe he has an injured right arm. This could explain why it would be necessary for him to handle his sidearm with his good, left arm. Discovering little details like this make photo-sleuthing interesting.
Edited from FOLLOWING THE REAR: TRAVAILS OF THE UNION ARMY'S AMBULANCE CORPS by Benjamin Forrest, a fourth year medical student at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Images: Library of Congress (master-pnp-cwpb-00100-00101 and master-pnp-cwpb-0400-04905).
The date and location of these images are not recorded. The uniforms appear to be those worn by the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry (Collis' Zouaves). Significantly reduced in size, as a result of heavy casualties at Gettysburg, the regiment became part of an independent brigade after the III Corps was dissolved. During the remaining two years of the war the unit would often provide provost and guard duties at General Meade's headquarters in the field. As a result, they attracted the attention of several of the wartime photographers who would make them the most photographed Zouave unit during the war.
One thing I noticed in these images, is that the officer in charge of the drill is wearing his sword on the right side. Closer examination makes me believe he has an injured right arm. This could explain why it would be necessary for him to handle his sidearm with his good, left arm. Discovering little details like this make photo-sleuthing interesting.
Edited from FOLLOWING THE REAR: TRAVAILS OF THE UNION ARMY'S AMBULANCE CORPS by Benjamin Forrest, a fourth year medical student at the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.
U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Images: Library of Congress (master-pnp-cwpb-00100-00101 and master-pnp-cwpb-0400-04905).
Bringing the