The Tompkins Stretcher

[kyle.dalton]

Here at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine we hold the only surviving example of this deluxe stretcher from the final days of the conflict. It is a heavily altered original, but nonetheless a fascinating and rare piece.

Developed by Brigadier General Charles Henry Tompkins very late in the war, his model boasted bonnet to shade the wounded and detachable wheels with springs to make the ride smoother for the wounded and less onerous on the bearers.

In 1866, Tompkins patented his invention and managed to earn positive reviews from many of his fellow Union army veterans. The image below is from "Improvements in Stretchers," Charles H. Tompkins, United States Patent Office, August 7, 1866, via Google Patents.

After the war, Tompkins launched a major advertising push to encourage wider adoption of his model. This included piece in The Scientific American and a pamphlet entitled "The Topkins Stretcher, or, Wheeled Litter," a copy of which is in the collection of the National Library of Medicine and available digitally through their website.

The Tompkins Stretcher (though not identified as such) also makes an appearance in The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion's treatment of medical evacuation (Volume II, Part III, page 926).

A scale model of the stretcher is on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine, probably submitted with the patent application in 1866, and possibly misidentified in this photograph as submitted in 1862.

I'll be posting more about stretcher types of the Civil War era, with a focus on those in our collection, as our research progresses!

 

[lelliott19]

Hello @kyle.dalton and welcome to CivilWarTalk! Thanks for posting in the Medical Care forum. So happy you have joined us.

Thanks for this fantastic thread on the Tomkins stretcher. @elk11060 was just asking the other day about the Satterlee litter. Others who were involved in that thread were @captaindrew James N. @ucvrelics and @Zella. Im tagging them so they wont miss this great information.

What were the main differences between the Tomkins stretcher and the Satterlee?

Looking forward to seeing more pictures from the collection of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and more threads about the items. Thanks again for joining us!

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

I've never come across one of these, thanks for posting!

Were these on the field or used when transporting wounded en route to hospitals? What a vast improvement for both passenger and carrier.

 

[Seduzal]

Welcome @kyle.dalton to CWT from the Smoky Mountain side of North Carolina. Just jump right in and enjoy..
That's for sharing this awesome article and photos. Never seen this before.

 

[kyle.dalton]

Thanks for the welcome, @lelliott19

I'll be posting a new thread about the Satterlee stretcher soon, so everyone stay tuned. In short, the difference is that the Satterlee is a much, much simpler stretcher. No bonnet, no wheels, and it did not fold at any point. The Satterlee stretcher needed to be completely deconstructed for transport.

To your question, @JPK Huson 1863, the Tompkins was intended to be used on and off the field. Its performance in the former was not exemplary. Below is an excerpt from Albert Henry Buck, "A Reference Handbook of the Medical Sciences," Volume 7, 1894, pages 235-236, via Google Books.

Given the cost and complexity of the Tompkins, compounded by the limited use it would have in military serivce, it is unsurprising it did not see wider service.

 

[FarawayFriend]

Great post, great articles, thanks for sharing! That must have been a Deluxe stretcher indeed, compared to what was standard at the time. Only recently I did discover a mid-19th century ambulance and it obviously offered much less comfort to the wounded. In fact, being wounded and transported in such an ambulance must have held horrors of its own.

I just hope that lots of Tompkins stretchers had been in use!

 

[JOHN42768]

Sort of a modified rickshaw with removable wheels. Neat usage

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Welcome @kyle.dalton from New Hampshire! I didn't see the Tompkins Stretcher at Frederick. Where is it kept in the museum?

 

[kyle.dalton]

Welcome @kyle.dalton from New Hampshire! I didn't see the Tompkins Stretcher at Frederick. Where is it kept in the museum?

It is in our collections room and not currently on display. We have just installed a Coolidge stretcher in our galleries, and I'll be posting about that soon, as well.

 

[James N.]

Welcome to the forums from the host of the Stonewall Jackson Forum and an occasional medical reenactor! I can easily see why this saw little use - although it LOOKS like a great idea, I can't imagine litter bearers attempting to manipulate it over rough terrain typical of most Civil War battlefields. Can anyone picture this being used in the Crater, for example?

 

[Mike Serpa]

His photo from the Library of Congress

His Medal of Honor citation:
"Twice charged through the enemy's lines and, taking a carbine from an enlisted man, shot the enemy's captain."

Captain John Quincy Marr was the first Confederate soldier killed in combat during the Civil War.

 

[James N.]

Great post, great articles, thanks for sharing! That must have been a Deluxe stretcher indeed, compared to what was standard at the time. Only recently I did discover a mid-19th century ambulance and it obviously offered much less comfort to the wounded. In fact, being wounded and transported in such an ambulance must have held horrors of its own.
View attachment 328604

I just hope that lots of Tompkins stretchers had been in use!

Okay, Andrea - exactly what and where is this? (I presume it's European?)

 

[FarawayFriend]

Okay, Andrea - exactly what and where is this? (I presume it's European?)

You are right James N., it is European, but probably not much different from what was used everywhere back then, that's why I thought I could post it here although it is not American. It is an original mid 19th century ambulance, used by the Bavarian army. I found it during my summer vacation in a private open air museum in Tittling near Passau, Bavaria. Here is the link:

Startseite: Museumsdorf bayerischer Wald

www.museumsdorf.com

(I do apologize for the deviation. Mods, if you find the above pic I posted inappropriate, please feel free to delete it. I just thought it interesting to see an ordinary ambulance in contrast to that luxurious stretcher from the OP).

 

[James N.]

You are right James N., it is European, but probably not much different from what was used everywhere back then, that's why I thought I could post it here although it is not American. It is an original mid 19th century ambulance, used by the Bavarian army. I found it during my summer vacation in a private open air museum in Tittling near Passau, Bavaria. Here is the link:

Startseite: Museumsdorf bayerischer Wald

www.museumsdorf.com

(I do apologize for the deviation. Mods, if you find the above pic I posted inappropriate, please feel free to delete it. I just thought it interesting to see an ordinary ambulance in contrast to that luxurious stretcher from the OP).

Thank you, Andrea - just remember the famous quote (repeated frequently throughout) of John Wayne's as Captain Kirby Yorke in John Ford's Fort Apache: "Don't apologize - it's a sign of weakness."

 

[Steph-GB]

thanks for posting.. have enjoyed reading this