J. D. Stevens
Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2016
- Location
- Deep In The Heart of Texas
William Marcellus McPheeters was born on December 3, 1815 in North Carolina. He was educated at the University of North Carolina and completed his studies at the University of Pennsylvania College of Medicine in Philadelphia where he graduated in 1840. Dr. McPheeters began his practice in St. Louis, Missouri and in 1842 he was also teaching therapeutics and pharmacology at the St. Louis Medical College. In the years prior to the Civil War had become a prominent physician, surgeon, professor, and president of Medical Association of Missouri. In 1849 he married Miss Sallie Buchanan and by 1860 they had three children.
The McPheeters family was among numerous prominent St. Louis families with Southern sympathies. They were forced to pay fines and furniture from their home was commandeered by military authorities. Refusing to take the oath of loyalty to the Union, Dr. McPheeters left his family and his practice in June 1862 and made his way to Richmond to tender his services to the Confederacy.
Dr. McPheeters was commissioned a Major, Surgeon and Medical Inspector. At his request, he was assigned to General Sterling Price's command at Tupelo, Mississippi, arriving shortly after the Battle of Corinth. He found Price's medical staff overwhelmed with sick and wounded. Dr. McPheeter's rolled up his sleeves and went to work. In April 1863, General Price and his staff, including Dr. McPheeters, was transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas where he took command of two divisions of Arkansas and Missouri infantry. On June 1, 1863, Dr. McPheeters began keeping a journal which chronicles in intimate detail the wartime ordeals of this steadfast and decent man who became part of the unsuccessful effort for the Confederacy west of the Mississippi River. Daily entries were made into the journal until June 20, 1865 after returning to St. Louis where he rejoined his family and resumed his practice and teaching.
Cynthia DeHaven Pitcock and Bill Gurley edited the journal and published the book, "I Acted From Principle: The Civil War Diary Of Dr. William M. McPheeters, Confederate Surgeon In The Trans-Mississippi during the Civil War."
This book provides an absorbing look into the war from a medical doctor's perspective. It is not a battle book, but it does provide several maps showing Trans-Mississippi troop movements as Dr. McPheeters followed Price's troops from Little Rock to the Battle of Helena, through the Red River Campaign, Jenkin's Ferry, and Price's Missouri Raid.
The McPheeters family was among numerous prominent St. Louis families with Southern sympathies. They were forced to pay fines and furniture from their home was commandeered by military authorities. Refusing to take the oath of loyalty to the Union, Dr. McPheeters left his family and his practice in June 1862 and made his way to Richmond to tender his services to the Confederacy.
Dr. McPheeters was commissioned a Major, Surgeon and Medical Inspector. At his request, he was assigned to General Sterling Price's command at Tupelo, Mississippi, arriving shortly after the Battle of Corinth. He found Price's medical staff overwhelmed with sick and wounded. Dr. McPheeter's rolled up his sleeves and went to work. In April 1863, General Price and his staff, including Dr. McPheeters, was transferred to Little Rock, Arkansas where he took command of two divisions of Arkansas and Missouri infantry. On June 1, 1863, Dr. McPheeters began keeping a journal which chronicles in intimate detail the wartime ordeals of this steadfast and decent man who became part of the unsuccessful effort for the Confederacy west of the Mississippi River. Daily entries were made into the journal until June 20, 1865 after returning to St. Louis where he rejoined his family and resumed his practice and teaching.
Cynthia DeHaven Pitcock and Bill Gurley edited the journal and published the book, "I Acted From Principle: The Civil War Diary Of Dr. William M. McPheeters, Confederate Surgeon In The Trans-Mississippi during the Civil War."
This book provides an absorbing look into the war from a medical doctor's perspective. It is not a battle book, but it does provide several maps showing Trans-Mississippi troop movements as Dr. McPheeters followed Price's troops from Little Rock to the Battle of Helena, through the Red River Campaign, Jenkin's Ferry, and Price's Missouri Raid.
Bringing the