FOOTNOTES:

John Clarke, 20th Regiment.Jan.1. Fever.Jan.1. V. S. unc. x.—H. salin. cum pulv. contrayerv. 4r. die.—2. Emplast. vesicat. dorso, &c.Discharged or deadJan.28.

John Clarke, 20th Regiment.Jan.1. Fever.

Jan.1. V. S. unc. x.—H. salin. cum pulv. contrayerv. 4r. die.—2. Emplast. vesicat. dorso, &c.

Discharged or deadJan.28.

3. That every Mate make up himself the Physician’s Prescriptions for his own Patients, and afterwards go round and administer them, or give them to his Patients with proper Directions; that he bleed his own Patients, and dress any slight Sores they may have, which do not require their being sent to the Surgery Hospital.

4. That every Mate go round amongst his Patients in the Evening, to see that every Thing is well conducted, and to report to the Physician or Apothecary if any Thing extraordinary happens.

5. That two of the Mates attend all Day at the Apothecary’s Shop to receive any Sick that may arrive, and to place them properly; to make up what Medicines they may immediately want; to order each of them a Mess of Water Gruel; and if any Thing extraordinary occurs, to send an orderly Man to acquaint the Physician or Apothecary with the same. The orderly Mates to make up likewise for Officers, or others, all Prescriptions sent to the Apothecary’s Shop through the Day.

A Joint of Meat, roasted or boiled, for Dinner, and a Bottle of Wine, was allowed to the orderly Mates, by LordGranby’s Order, that they might not absent themselves from their Duty.—Where there was Conveniency for it, a Mate lodged in the Hospital.

The Apothecary ought to take Care of the Medicines; to go round the Hospitals in the Morning before the Time of the Physician’s visiting; to see that the Wards are in proper Order; that the Nurses and other Servants have done their Duty; to examine into the State of the Sick, and to see that the Provisionsare good; and make a faithful Report of all these Things to the Physician when he arrives.—To take Care that the Mates prepare in the Morning the Medicines that are commonly wanted for the Day; and that they afterwards make up faithfully the Prescriptions of the Physician; to go round the Hospital again in the Evening, to see that the Sick have got their Medicines regularly; and to make the same Enquiries as in the Morning.

The Apothecary should always be lodged near the Hospital, to assist in Case of any Accidents happening, or of Sick arriving at the Hospital.

When there are any strong infectious Disorders in Military Hospitals, the physical Gentlemen may use the following Precautions to guard themselves against Infection.

1. Never to visit the Sick with an empty Stomach; but to eat Breakfast before they go into the Hospital.

2. To have a Suit of Cloaths reserved for visiting the Hospital, and a waxed Linen Coat to wear above them in going round the Wards;and as soon as they have come out of the Hospital, to wash and change their Linen and Cloaths.

3. Before they go into the Wards, to order that they be well cleaned out, and sprinkled with Vinegar, and afterwards fumigated, and aired by opening the Windows, or by Working the Ventilators.

4. If the Infection be very strong, to take a Glass of the spirituous Tincture of the Bark just before they go into the Hospital.

5. To put small Rolls of Lint, dipped in camphorated Spirits, up the Nostrils, and to direct a Vessel, with warm camphorated Vinegar, to be carried round, and held near the Patients they are examining.

6. In examining Patients affected with the Petechial Fever, or any other malignant Distempers, to stand at some little Distance, and ask what Questions they may think proper; and when they come near, to feel the Pulse, and examine the Skin, not to inspire while their Head is near the Patient’s Body; but after being fully satisfied in these Points, to retirea little, and ask what other Questions may be necessary.

It would be right to establish some military Rank for every commissioned Officer of the Hospital on Service, and to settle the same Subordination in the physical as in the military Department. By these Means, the Service would be carried on with greater Order, and more Advantage to the Sick.

And it would be right, in Times of War, to add a Clause in the Mutiny Bill to allow any military Officer on convalescent Duty to call in the commissioned physical Officers to assist in making up a Court-Martial, when there are not a sufficient Number of military Officers in a Place, to try convalescent Soldiers guilty of Crimes. For in Times of Service, very often a sufficient Number of military Officers cannot be spared to be on Duty at the different Military Hospitals; and at all such Places the Convalescents are generally very disorderly, when they know that there is not a sufficient Number of Officers to form a Court-Martial for punishing them. Where-everthere are a sufficient Number of military Officers, no physical Officer ought ever to be called upon as a Member of a Court-Martial.

Men, in Time of Service, are often apt to saunter in and about Hospitals, and there learn all Manner of Debaucheries, and lose all Sense of Discipline; and therefore, to keep up Order and Decorum, there ought to be, at every Fixed and every large Military Hospital, a military Inspector or Commander, an Officer of known Activity and Probity; and a Number of Officers on convalescent Duty sufficient to form a Court-Martial whenever required.

The Duty of the Military Inspector, or Commander, should be, to take Care of all Convalescents on Billet; to see that the Officers under him do their Duty, and maintain the same Regularity and Discipline among the Men belonging to their respective Corps, as if they were with their Regiments; and that the Men attend the Parade and Roll-calling; and that they always appear neat and clean.

He ought, from Time to Time, to visit the Hospitals; to see if they are kept clean; toenquire if the Men behave well, if the Diet is good, and the Officers, Nurses, and Servants, do their Duty; and if he finds any Thing amiss, to report the same to the Physicians and Surgeons of the Hospital, or to the Purveyor or Commissary, or others, under whose Department it may be, that the same may be immediately rectified; and if he finds that the superior Officers of the Hospital overlook such Abuses, notwithstanding his Representations, to report the same immediately to the Head Quarters.

He ought to order one of the Officers on convalescent Duty to visit the Hospitals daily, to make the Enquiries above-mentioned, and to give him a Report of the same in Writing.

The Purveyor or Commissary ought to make a Return to him twice or thrice a Week of every Man admitted into, or discharged from, the Hospitals, or who dies in them; marking in the Return the Name of every Man, and the Company and Regiment he belongs to; that he may report the same to the Officers of the different Brigades or Regiments.

The Military Inspector ought to have the Power of providing Billets for all Officers and Soldiers about Hospitals; and the Names of all Men to be discharged from Hospitals should be sent to him the Day before they are discharged, that he may provide Billets for them; and next Day the Men ought to march from the Hospitals to the Parade, to receive their Billets, and the Orders of the Military Inspector, and of the Officers of the Corps they belong to.

The Military Inspector ought to see that the Arms of the sick Men, and the Arms and Cloaths of those who die and are lodged in the Magazines, be properly taken Care of; and that the Stores of the different Regiments be properly looked after.

As the Service often makes it necessary at Military Hospitals, where the Number of Sick is great, to employ the convalescent Soldiers[163]as orderly Men and Servants about Hospitals, all Men thus employed ought to have a special Leave from the Military Inspector for so doing; and no Man should be employed in any Capacity as a Servant about an Hospital, who at that Time is on the Books as a Patient. And all Men employed about the Hospital ought to be reviewed once a Week by the Military Inspector, and likewise whenever a Party of Convalescents is going to join the Army, or their Regiments; that no Man may be allowed to remain with the Hospital, after he is fit to do Duty in his Regiment.

When the Military Inspector is absent, the eldest Officer on convalescent Duty ought to act in his Place.

Every Officer sent on convalescent Duty ought, as soon as he arrives at the Place where the Hospital is, to wait on the Commandant, or Military Inspector; to acquaint him of his Arrival, and to receive his Commands. He ought then to go to the Purveyor or Commissary’s Office, to get a List of all the Soldiers who are in or about the Hospital, and belong tothe Regiment or Brigade he is employed for, wherein those on Billet are distinguished from those in Hospitals. The next Day he ought to parade all those marked on Billet, to see if the Number of Men agrees with the List given him, and to examine in what State each Man is, and how he is employed; and then he ought to go round the Hospitals, attended by an orderly Serjeant, to see all the Men in the Hospitals, and to know if the List given him at the Purveyor’s Office was right; and afterwards he ought to send every Day a Serjeant or Corporal to see the Men in Hospitals, and to report to him when any Men are discharged or die.—And he ought to procure from the Military Inspector a Return of all the Men of his Corps, who are either admitted into, or discharged from Hospitals, on the Days when such Returns are made. He ought to make all his Men on Billet appear regularly on the Parade at Roll-calling, and to oblige them to keep themselves clean and their Arms in good Order, and to endeavour to preserve the same Regularity and Discipline as when they arewith their Regiments. And whenever a Party is to be sent to join their Regiments, he ought to have all his Men particularly examined; and those Men who are found to be perfectly recovered, should be sent to their Regiments.

If every Officer on convalescent Duty conform to these Directions, no Man can ever be detained without his Knowledge in or about Hospitals, as he must always know where every Man is, in what State of Health, and how he is employed; and may at any Time be able to make a Return to the Brigade or Regiment for which he is employed, of every Man who is admitted, discharged, or dies in the Hospital.

FINIS.

FOOTNOTES:[148]Some of the regimental Surgeons inGermany, when they took the Field, had always some spare Tents carried along with their Medicine Chests; and when any of their Men fell sick in Camp, and they could get no House for a regimental Hospital in Villages, they ordered these Tents to be pitched, and had the Ground within well covered with Straw and Blankets, and then put the Sick into them, and there took Care of them till they found an Opportunity of sending them to the Flying Hospital.[149]HomermentionsPodaliriusandMachaon, sons ofÆsculapius, as two excellent Physicians or Surgeons in theGrecianArmy. Vid.Iliad, lib. ii. Physic and Surgery were antiently exercised by the same Persons.[150]Vid.Xenophon. de Institut. Cyri.lib. i. et viii.[151]Tacitus, after giving an Account of 50,000 People being killed by the Fall of an Amphitheatre atFidena, during the Time of a Shew of Gladiators, has these Words: “Ceterum post recentem cladem, patuere procerum domus, fomenta & medici passim præbiti; suit urbs per illos dies, quanquam mæsta facie veterum institutis similis, qui magna post prælia saucios largitione & cura sustentabant.”Vid. lib.iv.Annal.§ 63.[152]InLivywe find the following Passage: “Neque immemor ejus quod initio consulatus imbiberat, conciliandi animos plebis, saucios milites curandos dividit patribus. Fabiis plurimi dati, nec alibi majore cura habiti.”Vid. lib.ii. cap. xlvii.[153]Justinmentions the same Thing of theSpartansafter their Defeat atSellasia—“Patentibus omnes domibus saucios excipiebant, vulnera curabant, lapsos reficiebant.”Vid. lib.xxviii. cap. iv.[154]When Parties of Sick or Wounded are to be sent from Camp, or from one Hospital to another, Care ought to be taken that they are placed properly in the Waggons; that they have proper physical People, Nurses, &c. to attend them; as well as Provisions, and other Necessaries, so as to be in no Danger of wanting any Thing while they are on their Journey.[155]TheRomanGenerals seem to have sent their Sick and Wounded into Towns, in the same Manner as is done by those of the present Time. For we read inCæsar’s Commentariesof this Method having been practised on more Occasions than one. In the sixty-second Chapter of the third Book,de Bello Civili, we have the following Passage: “Itaque nulla interposita mora, sauciorum modo & ægrorum habita ratione, impedimenta omnia silentio prima nocte ex castrisApolloniæpræmisit, ac conquiescere ante iter confectum vetuit. His una legio missa præsidio est.”—And immediately after, in chap. lxv. “Itaque præmissis nunciis ad Cn. Domitium Cæsar scripsit, & quid fieri vellet ostendit: præsidioqueApolloniæcohortibus iv.Lissii. tresOricirelictis; quique erant ex vulneribus ægri depositis; per Epirum atque Arcarniam iter facere cæpit.”And in the twentieth chapter,de Bello Africano, we read: “Labienussaucios suos, quorum numerus maximus fuit, jubet in plaustris deligatosAdrumentumdeportari.”It would be a right Measure, in the Beginning of every War, to settle by a Cartel that military Hospitals on both Sides should be considered as Sanctuaries for the Sick, and mutually protected; as was agreed upon between the late Earl ofStairs, who commanded theBritishTroops, and the Dukede Noailles, who commanded theFrenchin the Campaign inGermanyin the year 1743. SeeDr. Pringle’s Preface.[156]Every military Hospital ought to have a Number of Shirts belonging to it, for the Use of the Sick who arrive without having clean Linen with them. As soon as their own Shirts are washed and dried, or that new ones are provided by their Regiments, the Hospital Shirts ought to be taken from them.[157]In Wards which are too close, it has been found that one or two square Holes (of about six or eight, or ten Inches diameter), cut in the Cieling, and a Tube made of Wood fitted to it, and carried up into the Chimney of the Ward above, so as to enter above the Grate, is one of the best Contrivances for procuring a free Circulation of Air; as the foul Air, which is lightest, and occupies the highest Part of the Ward, finds a free Exit by these Tubes: We have such Tubes now fixed in several of the Wards inSt. George’s Hospital. A Hole cut above the Door of the Ward, or in the upper Part of the Windows, and one of what are called theChamber Ventilatorsfixed in it, will answer, where Holes cannot be conveniently cut in the Cieling.[158]Dr.Lindtells us, that the Ships of War in his Majesty’s Service are purified by Fire and Smoke, and gives the Process by which it is done; and he says, that he never heard of any Ship, which, after being carefully and properly smoked, did not immediately become healthy for the Men.—SeeFirst Paper on Fevers and Infection.—And he observes, that these Steams and Smoke, which are inoffensive to the Lungs, besides correcting the bad Quality of the Air, produce another good Effect; which is, to make both the Patients and Nurses desirous of opening the Doors and Windows for the Admission of fresh Air.Ibid.p. 51.[159]TheFrench, and many other Nations, give their Patients Meat Soops in acute Diseases, and after capital Operations; and they allow them but little Bread or other Preparations of Vegetable Substances: But these Meat Soops without Bread do not nourish the Patient sufficiently, and tend too much to the Putrescent; and this is one Reason why more Sick die in theFrenchthan in theBritishHospitals.[160]On Expeditions where a Siege is expected, a Quantity of Flour ought to be carried out, and a Number of portable Ovens for baking bread for the Sick, which may be put up after the Troops have made good their Landing.[161]If there be no Ship fitted up for the Reception of sick Officers, those who are taken ill on Expeditions must be in a most miserable Situation; as there is no Place to receive them in the common Hospital Ships, they must remain almost without Assistance in a crowded Cabin amongst People in Health; as was the Case in some of our Expeditions during the late War.[162]At every Hospital there ought to be a Number of printed Tickets lying ready to be filled up and signed by the Physicians and Surgeons, and no Man ought to be allowed to go out without a Ticket so signed.[163]In theFrenchHospitals there are always a Number of Men who attend their Sick who belong to the Hospital, so that they have no Occasion to employ their Convalescents, as we are often obliged to do, where the Sick are attended by Nurses, who are commonly Soldiers Wives, and not so capable of doing such laborious Work as the Men.

[148]Some of the regimental Surgeons inGermany, when they took the Field, had always some spare Tents carried along with their Medicine Chests; and when any of their Men fell sick in Camp, and they could get no House for a regimental Hospital in Villages, they ordered these Tents to be pitched, and had the Ground within well covered with Straw and Blankets, and then put the Sick into them, and there took Care of them till they found an Opportunity of sending them to the Flying Hospital.

[149]HomermentionsPodaliriusandMachaon, sons ofÆsculapius, as two excellent Physicians or Surgeons in theGrecianArmy. Vid.Iliad, lib. ii. Physic and Surgery were antiently exercised by the same Persons.

[150]Vid.Xenophon. de Institut. Cyri.lib. i. et viii.

[151]Tacitus, after giving an Account of 50,000 People being killed by the Fall of an Amphitheatre atFidena, during the Time of a Shew of Gladiators, has these Words: “Ceterum post recentem cladem, patuere procerum domus, fomenta & medici passim præbiti; suit urbs per illos dies, quanquam mæsta facie veterum institutis similis, qui magna post prælia saucios largitione & cura sustentabant.”Vid. lib.iv.Annal.§ 63.

[152]InLivywe find the following Passage: “Neque immemor ejus quod initio consulatus imbiberat, conciliandi animos plebis, saucios milites curandos dividit patribus. Fabiis plurimi dati, nec alibi majore cura habiti.”Vid. lib.ii. cap. xlvii.

[153]Justinmentions the same Thing of theSpartansafter their Defeat atSellasia—“Patentibus omnes domibus saucios excipiebant, vulnera curabant, lapsos reficiebant.”Vid. lib.xxviii. cap. iv.

[154]When Parties of Sick or Wounded are to be sent from Camp, or from one Hospital to another, Care ought to be taken that they are placed properly in the Waggons; that they have proper physical People, Nurses, &c. to attend them; as well as Provisions, and other Necessaries, so as to be in no Danger of wanting any Thing while they are on their Journey.

[155]TheRomanGenerals seem to have sent their Sick and Wounded into Towns, in the same Manner as is done by those of the present Time. For we read inCæsar’s Commentariesof this Method having been practised on more Occasions than one. In the sixty-second Chapter of the third Book,de Bello Civili, we have the following Passage: “Itaque nulla interposita mora, sauciorum modo & ægrorum habita ratione, impedimenta omnia silentio prima nocte ex castrisApolloniæpræmisit, ac conquiescere ante iter confectum vetuit. His una legio missa præsidio est.”—And immediately after, in chap. lxv. “Itaque præmissis nunciis ad Cn. Domitium Cæsar scripsit, & quid fieri vellet ostendit: præsidioqueApolloniæcohortibus iv.Lissii. tresOricirelictis; quique erant ex vulneribus ægri depositis; per Epirum atque Arcarniam iter facere cæpit.”And in the twentieth chapter,de Bello Africano, we read: “Labienussaucios suos, quorum numerus maximus fuit, jubet in plaustris deligatosAdrumentumdeportari.”It would be a right Measure, in the Beginning of every War, to settle by a Cartel that military Hospitals on both Sides should be considered as Sanctuaries for the Sick, and mutually protected; as was agreed upon between the late Earl ofStairs, who commanded theBritishTroops, and the Dukede Noailles, who commanded theFrenchin the Campaign inGermanyin the year 1743. SeeDr. Pringle’s Preface.

And in the twentieth chapter,de Bello Africano, we read: “Labienussaucios suos, quorum numerus maximus fuit, jubet in plaustris deligatosAdrumentumdeportari.”

It would be a right Measure, in the Beginning of every War, to settle by a Cartel that military Hospitals on both Sides should be considered as Sanctuaries for the Sick, and mutually protected; as was agreed upon between the late Earl ofStairs, who commanded theBritishTroops, and the Dukede Noailles, who commanded theFrenchin the Campaign inGermanyin the year 1743. SeeDr. Pringle’s Preface.

[156]Every military Hospital ought to have a Number of Shirts belonging to it, for the Use of the Sick who arrive without having clean Linen with them. As soon as their own Shirts are washed and dried, or that new ones are provided by their Regiments, the Hospital Shirts ought to be taken from them.

[157]In Wards which are too close, it has been found that one or two square Holes (of about six or eight, or ten Inches diameter), cut in the Cieling, and a Tube made of Wood fitted to it, and carried up into the Chimney of the Ward above, so as to enter above the Grate, is one of the best Contrivances for procuring a free Circulation of Air; as the foul Air, which is lightest, and occupies the highest Part of the Ward, finds a free Exit by these Tubes: We have such Tubes now fixed in several of the Wards inSt. George’s Hospital. A Hole cut above the Door of the Ward, or in the upper Part of the Windows, and one of what are called theChamber Ventilatorsfixed in it, will answer, where Holes cannot be conveniently cut in the Cieling.

[158]Dr.Lindtells us, that the Ships of War in his Majesty’s Service are purified by Fire and Smoke, and gives the Process by which it is done; and he says, that he never heard of any Ship, which, after being carefully and properly smoked, did not immediately become healthy for the Men.—SeeFirst Paper on Fevers and Infection.—And he observes, that these Steams and Smoke, which are inoffensive to the Lungs, besides correcting the bad Quality of the Air, produce another good Effect; which is, to make both the Patients and Nurses desirous of opening the Doors and Windows for the Admission of fresh Air.Ibid.p. 51.

[159]TheFrench, and many other Nations, give their Patients Meat Soops in acute Diseases, and after capital Operations; and they allow them but little Bread or other Preparations of Vegetable Substances: But these Meat Soops without Bread do not nourish the Patient sufficiently, and tend too much to the Putrescent; and this is one Reason why more Sick die in theFrenchthan in theBritishHospitals.

[160]On Expeditions where a Siege is expected, a Quantity of Flour ought to be carried out, and a Number of portable Ovens for baking bread for the Sick, which may be put up after the Troops have made good their Landing.

[161]If there be no Ship fitted up for the Reception of sick Officers, those who are taken ill on Expeditions must be in a most miserable Situation; as there is no Place to receive them in the common Hospital Ships, they must remain almost without Assistance in a crowded Cabin amongst People in Health; as was the Case in some of our Expeditions during the late War.

[162]At every Hospital there ought to be a Number of printed Tickets lying ready to be filled up and signed by the Physicians and Surgeons, and no Man ought to be allowed to go out without a Ticket so signed.

[163]In theFrenchHospitals there are always a Number of Men who attend their Sick who belong to the Hospital, so that they have no Occasion to employ their Convalescents, as we are often obliged to do, where the Sick are attended by Nurses, who are commonly Soldiers Wives, and not so capable of doing such laborious Work as the Men.

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