Freeman McGilvery Day

[NH Civil War Gal]

From the National Museum of Civil War Medicine (with permission)

Today is Freeman McGilvery Day.

Anesthesia was still an emerging field during the Civil War. Though nearly every major surgical operation was conducted under some form of general anesthesia, there was still a risk.

The artillerist Freeman McGilvery was a hardened veteran who saw combat at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, and Petersburg.

On this day in 1864 he was undergoing a metacarpal (finger) amputation for a seemingly minor wound that had not healed properly for nearly a month. To the shock of the surgeons and his fellow officers, McGilvery "died suddenly...from the effects of chloroform."

Today is the anniversary of Freeman McGilvery's death and a holiday in his homestate of Maine:

"The first Saturday of September of each year is designated as Colonel Freeman McGilvery Day. The Governor shall annually issue a proclamation urging the people of the State to observe the day with appropriate celebration and activity."

Sources:
Major General D.B. Bierney, letter to Brigadier General S. Williams, September 3, 1863, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records, Series I, Vol. XLII, Part 2, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893, page 680.

Maine Public Law, Title I, Sect 5, 141.

Image credit:
"Colonel Freeman McGilvery, Stockton, ca. 1862," via Maine Memory, Maine Historical Society, accessed June 21, 2022,
<https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/35583>.

 

[Sheltowee]

From the National Museum of Civil War Medicine (with permission)

Today is Freeman McGilvery Day.

Anesthesia was still an emerging field during the Civil War. Though nearly every major surgical operation was conducted under some form of general anesthesia, there was still a risk.

The artillerist Freeman McGilvery was a hardened veteran who saw combat at Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Gettysburg, and Petersburg.

On this day in 1864 he was undergoing a metacarpal (finger) amputation for a seemingly minor wound that had not healed properly for nearly a month. To the shock of the surgeons and his fellow officers, McGilvery "died suddenly...from the effects of chloroform."

Today is the anniversary of Freeman McGilvery's death and a holiday in his homestate of Maine:

"The first Saturday of September of each year is designated as Colonel Freeman McGilvery Day. The Governor shall annually issue a proclamation urging the people of the State to observe the day with appropriate celebration and activity."

Sources:
Major General D.B. Bierney, letter to Brigadier General S. Williams, September 3, 1863, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records, Series I, Vol. XLII, Part 2, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893, page 680.

Maine Public Law, Title I, Sect 5, 141.

Image credit:
"Colonel Freeman McGilvery, Stockton, ca. 1862," via Maine Memory, Maine Historical Society, accessed June 21, 2022,
<https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/35583>.

View attachment 450328

Wow….

 

[eBrowne]

He is buried in Searsport, Maine.

Freeman McGilvery (1823-1864) - Find a Grave...

Civil War Union Army Officer. Entered the Civil War in January 1862 as Captain and commander of the 6th Battery, Maine Light Artillery, which he commanded at the Battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Promoted from Captain to Lieutenant Colonel, he assumed command of the 1st...

www.findagrave.com

 

[lupaglupa]

I'm trying to figure out what, exactly, the appropriate "celebration" is for this holiday...

 

[rpkennedy]

I'm trying to figure out what, exactly, the appropriate "celebration" is for this holiday...

Making sure your chloroform is kept in a cool, dark place.

Ryan

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I'm trying to figure out what, exactly, the appropriate "celebration" is for this holiday...

I know, right? What is an "appropriate activity" for the day?

 

[lupaglupa]

I guess we should take time to remember Freeman. Was he a significant person in his life before the War?

 

[BronxYankee]

Cool name and he had a great interlocking beard and stache.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

I found this on Wikipedia: He evidently played a crucial role at Gettysburg.

McGilvery was born in Prospect, Maine. Born with a love for the sea, he was a sailor and then a ship master. He was in Brazil at Rio de Janeiro when the Civil War erupted. He soon returned home and raised the 6th Maine Battery, which first saw action at the battles of Cedar Mountain and Sulfur Springs in Western Virginia. At the Battle of Antietam, McGilvery's battery supported the attack of the XII Corps. On February 5, 1863, he was promoted to major and given command of the First Volunteer Brigade in the Artillery Reserve in the Union Army of the Potomac, which he commanded during the Chancellorsville Campaign.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, on June 23, 1863, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. On July 2, the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, McGilvery discovered a wide and undefended gap in the Union line along the southern end of Cemetery Ridge, north of Little Round Top. McGilvery patched together a line of artillery from various commands to fill the gap. Initially without infantry support, McGilvery's "Plum Run line" of fieldpieces was instrumental in halting the final Confederate advance toward the Union center. On July 3, the lengthy artillery line assisted in the repulse of Pickett's Charge, and in particular stopped the supporting attack of Confederate brigades under Cadmus Wilcox and David Lang.

Promoted to colonel in September 1863, he continued to command his Artillery Reserve brigade until May 1864. He replaced Robert O. Tyler in command of the army's reserve artillery and its ammunition train. He served with distinction in this role during the Overland Campaign and the Siege of Petersburg. On August 9, 1864, he was promoted to Chief of Artillery for the X Corps, commanding fifteen batteries. Only a week later, at the Battle of Deep Bottom, he was slightly wounded in a finger. The wound did not heal properly, and surgeons performed an amputation, during which McGilvery died from an overdose of chloroform being used as an anesthesia. His body was returned to his native Maine and buried in the Village Cemetery in Searsport.

 

[eBrowne]

I was in Searsport 10-15 years ago looking for the Cemetery where he is buried. The Town employees didn't seem to know him. but eventually I was directed to the correct cemetery. There is some signage for the McGilvery House on the main street but I think that is for his brother's house. I doubt much happens on McGilvery Day in Maine besides a Governor's Proclamation. Searsport should probably do a better job in promoting their "Gettysburg hero." Maybe others can comment if Searsport has rectified recently that situation.

 

[eBrowne]

Here is a Gettysburg Seminar Paper on him.

National Park Service: Gettysburg Seminar Papers Unsung Heroes of Gettysburg

 

[rpkennedy]

McGilvery's aide witnessed the operation and his statements indicate that McGilvery may not have overdosed on the chloroform. When chloroform is exposed to sunlight and heat, it changes into phosgene and it's possible that he was dosed with a batch that had turned.

Ryan

 

[kyle.dalton]

McGilvery's aide witnessed the operation and his statements indicate that McGilvery may not have overdosed on the chloroform. When chloroform is exposed to sunlight and heat, it changes into phosgene and it's possible that he was dosed with a batch that had turned.

Ryan

I heard this too and was looking for a source! Do you know where to find this account?

 

[rpkennedy]

I heard this too and was looking for a source! Do you know where to find this account?

I heard it on the Battle of Gettysburg Podcast episode when 2 medical professionals were talking about medicine during the Civil War. They were talking about how anesthesia works and how it can go wrong. Sorry about not getting back to this response; I didn't see it until just now.

Ryan