Civil War Veterinarians?

[major bill]

With so many horses and mules to care for did either side use Veterinarians? I am not sure they even existed at the time of the Civil War. The U.S. Army still have many Veterinarians and they are very useful.

 

[donna]

Veterinary care was just starting in U.S. during the Civil War. One of the first Veterinary surgeons during the Civil War was George F. Parry. He graduated from Boston Veterinary Institute in 1859. He served as veterinary surgeon for the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

See George F. Parry's "Diaries of Civil War Veterinary Surgeon".

There is also photo of his gravestone at:
http://pennsylvaniagravestones.org/view.php?id=34799

 

[donna]

Another interesting article on George F. Parry and veterinary medicine and practice in U.S. at:

http://www.raabcollection.com/george-parry-archive-vet

 

[major bill]

Be in the National Guard from 1972 to 2004 I had the opertnity to see how often the Army used Veterinarians. The current Army has Vererinarian file several rolls.

 

[nitrofd]

Another interesting article on George F. Parry and veterinary medicine and practice in U.S. at:

http://www.raabcollection.com/george-parry-archive-vet

Wow,what a fascinating article and diary.never thought about veterinary medicene during the Civil war.I quess this is a subject that never has really been touched on.his diary during the Civil war is a real treasure,especially liked how he described Chickamauga and then later how his regiment gave their horses to Wilder aka Lightning Brigade.

 

[RebYell64]

How do y'all know this stuff....y'all never cease to amaze me in the knowledge about the War.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Joel S. Yarbrough of Company F, 8th Georgia, wrote of the retreat from Gettysburg: "Old Dr. Pettus, afterwards connected with Jones' Livery Stable, was there also as the Veterinary Surgeon."

I have seen a couple of mentions of Glanders being found in a horse and a mule - they were immediately shot.

The Confederate Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia maintained a horse hospital where injured or sick animals were sent to be rehabilated for field use. It was staffed by detailed cavalrymen like Private N. Thomas Hilton of Company K, 6th Virginia Cavalry and Private John T. Brown of Company D, 11th Virginia Cavalry. The hospital may have been in the Luray Valley of Virginia, where Sgt. Thomas J. Billups of of Company K, 11th Virginia was sent for two months in the summer of 1863.

 

[major bill]

The fact that the Armies lacked trained Vertriaarians did not mean they had no one with knowledge of horses. However a school trained Verterinain would have been very handy to treat the horses.

 

[USS ALASKA]

Journal Article
The Great Glanders Epizootic, 1861-1866: A Civil War Legacy
G. Terry Sharrer
Agricultural History
Vol. 69, No. 1 (Winter, 1995), pp. 79-97
Duke University Press

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3744026

Full article on JSTOR with Google sign-in (In the upper right-hand corner of the linked page, there is a 'Log in' button. If you have a Gmail account, you have a Google sign-in and this will allow for free reading of 100 articles a month).

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[Salterr]

He has a horse shaped insignia on his arm

 

[donna]

Great to see this older thread.

 

[Ben Ford 987]

The fact that the Armies lacked trained Vertriaarians did not mean they had no one with knowledge of horses. However a school trained Verterinain would have been very handy to treat the horses.

There were plenty of farm boys in the western theater who had tons of experience with horses, including how to diagnose and treat many medical problems. There were few "vets" in these rural areas and farmers had few people to rely on.

Horses were used for riding, plowing, pulling wagons and carriages, as well as other farm tasks. Most farms had horses among the many animals kept.

 

[John Hartwell]

Confederate Horse Infirmary, Laurens County Georgia, 1864 | Four Footed Friends

[Macon Telegraph, January 30, 1864]

civilwartalk.com

 

[LincolnHarlan]

Just personally, I think one the greatest horrors of the civil war was the killing and injury of all the poor horses on the battlefield...the photographs of Gardner et al., shows them and it's horribly heartbreaking. I find it more tragic than some of the soldiers.

 

[LincolnHarlan]

The fact that the Armies lacked trained Vertriaarians did not mean they had no one with knowledge of horses. However a school trained Verterinain would have been very handy to treat the horses.

Vertriaarians...did you mean Veterinarians?

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Veterinary care was just starting in U.S. during the Civil War. One of the first Veterinary surgeons during the Civil War was George F. Parry. He graduated from Boston Veterinary Institute in 1859. He served as veterinary surgeon for the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

See George F. Parry's "Diaries of Civil War Veterinary Surgeon".

There is also photo of his gravestone at:
http://pennsylvaniagravestones.org/view.php?id=34799

Good show, @donna!

 

[CWdiaryPA]

Just personally, I think one the greatest horrors of the civil war was the killing and injury of all the poor horses on the battlefield...the photographs of Gardner et al., shows them and it's horribly heartbreaking. I find it more tragic than some of the soldiers.

Completely agree for the most part. They were innocent creatures totally baffled, frightened, & used like machines. Even as a vegan I'm not going to privilege horses over humans, but, well, I guess it depends on the human. Very troubling part of the war for me. But for the men who brought their own horses, for these men & horses with bonds to each other, well, that sheer pain I can't put myself in a place to imagine because it's just too heartbreaking. It must have been hell on the more sensitive soldiers. Just horrific.

 

[donna]

Was glad to see this thread again. Thought check again on Veterinarians during war.

Did find Samuel Drew. He was veterinary surgeon for the 17th Pa. cavalry.

Another was William Downing. He didn't have veterinary degree but was farmer who worked with horses and took care of many. He created Wheeling House Hospital. He was assistant quartermaster during war.

Some who came later were John Honsinger (1821-1873) surgeon for 7th cavalry. He was killed by Indians. Another was John Tempany who was first junior veterinarian appointed in 7th cavalry.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Was glad to see this thread again. Thought check again on Veterinarians during war.

Did find Samuel Drew. He was veterinary surgeon for the 17th Pa. cavalry.

Another was William Dowing. He didn't have veterinary degree but was farmer who worked with horses and took care of many. He created Wheeling House Hospital. He was assistant quartermaster during war.

Some who came later were John Honsinger (1821-1873) surgeon for 7th cavalry. He was killed by Indians. Another was John Tempany who was first junior veterinarian appointed in 7th cavalry.

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Way to go Again, @donna.