Description:

(UNION NAVY) SURGEON'S APPLICATION FOR SERVICE AND MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT
A very fine group of documents related to the service of assistant surgeon Thomas H. Whitney, submitted as part of his application to join the U.S. Navy at the beginning of the Civil War, includes: a very interesting A.L.S., 1p. legal folio, Blackwell's Island, NY, [n.d. but June 1861], to the ‘Medical Examining Board of the United States Navy', providing Whitney's biography and qualifications as a medical practitioner, in part: ‘I was born August 7th 1837 in Peekskill Westchester County New York state… I attended two full courses of lectures at the New York Medical College and graduated at that institution… I have been occupied over three years in the study of medicine. My opportunities for acquiring a knowledge of Pharmacy and the physical properties of drugs have only been such as are usually enjoyed by medical students. For witnessing the practice of medicine and surgery I have been for three months Junior asst. Physician at Bellevue Hospital, and for nearly a year House Physician and surgeon to Island Hospital Blackwell's Island…' He signs at the conclusion, giving his mailing address at Blackwell's Island. This letter is accompanied by Whitney's written medical knowledge assessment, 3pp. legal folio, including his answers to such questions as ‘What are the various forms of Syphilis, and how treated?', ‘What is Creosote, and what are its medical uses?', ‘What are the uses of saliva, and what are its consistents?', etc., again signed at the conclusion. The group is completed by an A.D.S., 1p. 4to., Brooklyn, June 15, 1861, Whitney's ‘Certificate of Physical Capacity', in which he declares his physical fitness for naval service, in full: ‘I declare on Honor, that my health at this time is good and robust; and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I am free from constitutional defects, and without any predisposition to Epilepsy, Phthisis Pulomnalis [tuberculosis], Gout or chronic disease of any kind. I have neither Circocele, stricture of the Urethra, Hemorrhoids, nor Hernia. Each and all of my organs and sense are without imperfection.' Whitney signs again at the conclusion, adding ‘Candidate for the office of Assistant Surgeon in the Navy of the United States'. All pieces show slight damage or discoloration at top, presumably where removed from a file, not at all affecting legibility. Three pieces. Whitney's service record shows that he was appointed assistant surgeon aboard the steam frigate USS COLORADO, which saw blockade duty throughout the war and participated in the capture of Fort Fisher on Jan. 15, 1865.

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March 27, 2026 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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