Chapter 2

... the state of the Army in Canada ... for a supply of medicines is truly deplorable. General Gates sets out to-morrow to take command of the Army in Canada. Dr. Potts will accompany him. I have therefore given orders to supply him from the General Hospital with a large chest of such medicines as I can best spare, and which can be got ready to-morrow before his departure.[76]

Until July 24, the only medicines to arrive at Fort George were the "few that Dr. Potts brought with him" even though Morgan had, according to Stringer, promised to send "by the first sloop twenty half-chests of medicines" put up at New York for ten battalions in the north. Stringer therefore asked permission of General Gates at Ticonderoga to "go forth to York and see the medicines forthwith forwarded by land, until they can be safely conveyed by water." Permission was granted on July 29 and Stringer departed for New York.[77]Meanwhile, Morgan had written Potts on July 28 that he had sent Dr. James McHenry to Philadelphia for drugs, and that he wassending Andrew Craigie to Fort George to "act as an Apothecary." Morgan also asked for an inventory of drugs on hand in the Northern Department.[78]

Stringer spent only a day or two in New York with Morgan—just long enough to intensify their personal feud over responsibilities and authority. Stringer determined that the "twenty half-chests" apparently were a figment of someone's imagination, because supplies in New York were almost as bad as they were in the north. Also, he learned that Morgan was sending a box of medicine northward "under the care of the Surgeon of Col. Wayne Regt."[79]that was undoubtedly intended to serve only as a regimental chest. Stringer then hurried on to Philadelphia just in time to intercept McHenry, who had obtained "an order from the Committee of Congress for 40 lb. Bark, 10 [lb.] Camphire and some other articles."[80]

Stringer wrote Potts on August 17 that at last he had obtained an order for medicines that would be packed in two days, but added "when you'll receive them God knows." He also reported that "there will also arrive another Box under the care of Doct. McHenry containing only 5 articles of which there is but 30 lbs. Bark and I think not a purgative except some few pounds of Rhubarb and a little Fol. Senae."[81]McHenry, however, only got as far as New York with his meager supplies, because Stringer discharged him from the service in an attempt to show both Morgan and Potts who had the most authority.[82]

Stringer's inexcusably long absence from his hospital post and failure to send the needed medicines so aroused General Gates that he wrote the President of the Congress on August 31 as follows:[83]

The Director of the General Hospital in this department, Doctor Stringer, was sent to New-York three and thirty days ago, with positive orders to return the instant he had provided the drugs and medicines so much wanted. Since then, repeated letters have been wrote to New-York and Philadelphia, setting forth in the strongest terms the pressing necessity of an immediate supply of these articles.

Finally, almost a month after his arrival in Philadelphia, Stringer set out for Albany with a small stock of drugs. On September 7 he wrote Potts from Albany that he hoped the small supply that he obtained and the chest of medicines that Morgan had just sent would hold out until he could obtain additional supplies in New England, where he was then headed "to ransack that Country of those articles we want."[84]

Meanwhile, Potts at Fort George had started making the desired inventory of medicines. It came as no surprise to anyone that the situation was deplorable—indeed, it was worse than that. On August 31 a committee of surgeons at Ticonderoga prepared at General Gates' order "A Catalogue of Medicines Most Necessary for the Army." This list, undoubtedly representing the minimum requirements of each battalion, called for 20 pounds of bark, 4 pounds of gum camphor, 2 pounds of gum opium, 3 pounds of powdered ipecac, 4 pounds of powdered jalap, 2 pounds of powdered rhubarb, 15 pounds of Epsom salts, and 3 pounds of tartar emetic among two dozen different medicines.[85]Instead of these minimum requirements, regimental surgeons at Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Mount Independence, and Fort George presented inventories (mostly dated September 8) that clearly emphasized their destitute condition.

The first New Jersey battalion at Ticonderoga reported "No Jallap, Rhubarb, Salts, or Ipecac"; while Colonel Whilocks' regiment at Ticonderoga reported "No medicines exclusive of private property." The five companies of artillery at Fort George reported "Medicines—None," as did the 24th Regiment at Mount Independence. Others reported small or "tollerable" assortments of medicine. A close examination of the inventory of the Pennsylvania 6th Battalion at Crown Point shows it to have beenlacking bark, ipecac, rhubarb, camphor, and salts; and only one-half ounce of jalap and 2 ounces of gum opium remained in the chest outfitted by Christopher and Charles Marshall on April 25 in Philadelphia. The 15th Regiment of Foot at Mount Independence claimed 2 ounces of bark and 1½ ounces of gum opium, while the 6th Regiment at Ticonderoga was as well off as any with one-half pound of bark and 4 ounces of gum opium.[86]Compared with the minimum need of 20 pounds of bark and 2 pounds of gum opium, even this was not of much comfort.

The inventory "of the Medicines in the Continental Store at Fort George" dated September 9 was not very comforting either. While the store included 137 different items, including equipment and containers of all the capital medicines, only Epsom salts appeared to be available in a sufficient quantity. Seven pounds of rhubarb were also on hand, but conspicuous by their absence were bark, ipecac, jalap, gum camphor, and gum opium.[87]

With their continuous requests and demands, the regimental surgeons made life miserable for Potts. Surgeon Mate of the Pennsylvania 1st wrote that the "Chest of Medicine ... is not yet arrived but expect it hourly...." Trumbull asked: "Have your Medicines arriv'd? Have Stringer or McHenry made their appearance yet? Our people fall sick by Dozens. I not a Pennys worth of Medicine have for them, even in the most virulent disorders." Surgeon Johnston begged: "Pray if possible send me 4 pounds Pulv. Cort. Peruv. [Bark] and 3 ounces Tart[ar] Emet[ic]. With those medicines I think I could restore a number of our best Men to perfect Health."[88]

In those instances where some drugs were on hand, the shortage of pharmaceutical equipment hampered, if not prevented, the preparation of proper dosage forms. Surgeon McCrea on board theRoyal Savagewrote on September 2 that he "found a great inconvenience for want of scales & waits,"[89]and the surgeon at Crown Point wrote on September 19 that "the Medicines which I rec'd a few days ago will be of very little Benefit as I have no fit Mortar &c. to prepare them with & must use them in Decoction."[90]

It wasn't until October that any relief arrived, and even then there were disappointments. Andrew Craigie, at Fort George, received a wagonload of herbs on October 3, but, as Craigie reported to Potts, "one half the load is entirely useless, containing Saffron, Pink flower, and whole H[eade]d Pennyroyal, &c. &c. Dr. Brown thinks his broad shoulders would carry all the articles that are worth anything." Craigie recommended to Potts that payment should not be made for all the useless articles.[91]

The long-lost Stringer finally arrived at Albany from Boston on October 5 and reported to Gates that he had met the greatest success in procuring £5,000 of medicines.[92]Ten days later, Stringer wrote Potts that he was now forwarding "by waggon two Barrels & 1 Box of Medicines ... [which] will suffice for the present, not thinking it prudent to send up the whole, especially as we can always get them up as they are wanted."[93]

Even after the long delay, most of the supplies were still held in Albany instead of being distributed among the surgeons who needed them. This infuriated Potts to a point that even Stringer found it necessary, on October 25, to explain:

I received yesterday a letter from you ... before this time you will have rec'd such of the articles you desired as we had to spare [from] the Medicines I purchased at Boston ... I thought [it] not proper to risque [them] up here; neither were any of them in powder, and all that were so at this place we sent you, and have two hands busy in preparing more for our own use. I hope that [the shipment] sent will be sufficient for your purpose.[94]

Andrew Craigie had sent three barrels and four boxes of supplies to Ticonderoga on October 22,[95]but the shipment obviously did not suffice. On November 7 Stringer wrote that "as soon as possible the Medicines you wrote for shall be prepared and sent, but they are chiefly to be pulverized." In his typical style he added, "I cannot conceive what use you will have for five sieves when you have no large mortar."[96]

The November 27 report of the committee of Congress on the conditions in the general hospitalat Fort George indicates that the supply situation was at last reasonably good,[97]but by this time the season was far advanced and the forces had to retire to winter quarters. Stringer was relieved of his command along with Morgan early the following year. Unlike that of Morgan, Stringer's dismissal appears to have been based on reasonably good grounds.

Privateers to the Rescue

Despite Congress' slow start in providing medical supplies, its members realized as early as December 1775 that additional sources of supply outside the Colonies would be required. On December 23 they heard that £2,000 of medicines, surgeon's instruments, and lint and bandages were required by the army, and on January 3, 1776, the Secret Committee reported to Congress that these supplies should be imported as soon as possible.[98]

In September 1775 Congress had created the Secret Committee to supervise the export and import of vital materials required for the war. Licenses to leave port were given shipmasters on the condition that they would return with vital military stores. Under this dispensation, American ships set out for Europe, Africa, and the West Indies in search of essential supplies.[99]Many months were required, however, to establish such importation as a significant source of supply, and this was especially true with regard to medical supplies.

The delay in initiating importation can hardly be charged as the only or even the main reason for medical supply shortages in 1776. For example, in August of that year, when at least a half-dozen medical supply officers were pleading for drugs from Congress in Philadelphia, John Thomson of Petersburg, Virginia, advertised that he had for sale "Rhubarb and Jalap, Glauber and Epsom Salts, Jesuits Bark" and a host of other supplies.[100]Whether or not Thomson's supplies constituted any significant amount, the very fact that he had to advertise them indicates a lack of coordination and communication between those urgently seeking supplies and those selling them.

Even more frustrating were those suppliers right under Congress's nose advertising essential drugs. Suppliers like Dr. Anthony Yeldall at "his Medicinal Ware-House" were still advertising "Bark, Camphire, Rhubarb, &c" in July of '76.[101]Philadelphia was second only to New York for Loyalists, and Yeldall was later proven to be a strong Tory. Then there were those who were neither Patriot nor Loyalist; they were just indifferent to the cause for American independence, and thus insisted on cash, even though six months' credit was the common practice just prior to the war. In 1771 in Philadelphia one druggist regularly gave a 15 percent discount on all purchases if paid within six months and 7½ percent discount was allowed for payments between six and nine months, but interest was expected on all debts over a year's standing.[102]

The business-minded members of Congress tried to follow prewar methods by seeking credit. Merchants who sold on credit found that, when they finally were paid, they received paper money backed only by a promise to exchange for gold and silver at some future time. Furthermore, they were caught in a spiraling inflation, and often found that when they finally received their money from Congress it then would cost them twice as much to replenish their stocks. Medical supply officers therefore found it necessary to pay ready cash for merchandise out of their own pocket, and sometimes they had to wait six months for reimbursement from Congress.

As we have noted, by the fall of 1776 Boston had become a better source of supply of drugs than Philadelphia, although it had been occupied by the British for nine months and Morgan had removed most of the drugs left there the previous May. This was primarily due to a single factor—the American privateer. British shipping was vulnerable to the American privateers, which were fast vessels well suited to this kind of enterprise. Well over 1,000 captures were made during the war by Massachusetts privateers alone, and the arrivals of rich prize ships at New England ports became frequent.[103]

The Greenleaf ledger confirms that drugs were included in some of these prize ships. On December 14, 1776, Greenleaf records the receipt of £62 from the Massachusetts government in payment for "an invoice of Druggs taken from the prize ship Julius Caesar." Greenleaf received an even larger stock "of druggs taken in the prize Brig Three Friends" inMarch 1777. This was valued at over £170, and was also used by Massachusetts to pay on its account with Greenleaf, largely for outfitting its privateers.[104]

On June 30, 1777, J. G. Frazer of Boston wrote Dr. Potts, still at Ticonderoga, as follows:[105]

I have the pleasure to give you this Early notice of a prize ship being sent into Casco Bay last week with four tons of Jesuits Bark on board for one valuable article besides a great quantity of other stores for the British Army at New-York.

Brisk Business in Boston

A series of letters to Director General Potts from Apothecary Andrew Craigie, who was on a purchasing trip through New England, gives us an interesting glimpse into the situation. On August 29, 1777, Craigie wrote Potts from Springfield[106]that he had just arrived from Wethersfield where he purchased 222 pounds of bark of excellent quality. He saw it weighed and repacked, and left the necessary instructions for shipment to Albany. Having heard that "a quantity of Bark & other articles are arrived at some eastern ports" Craigie took off for Boston where he wrote Potts on September 1 as follows:[107]

I wrote you from Springfield aquainting you that I had engaged 222 lb. Bark at the Price [£5 per pound] Mr. Livingston mentioned to you; it being very dear induced me to engage a less quantity than you proposed 'til I should make enquiry here. I find to my great mortification that it is 40/[shillings] less than that in Wethersfield. I wish we could get clear of that engagement, and at least think some adjustment should be made as I am informed it cost Mr. Livingston who bought it at publick sale only 3 Pounds at which price I expect to engage 1 or 200 lb. tomorrow.... In the morning I go to Cape Anne about 40 miles from this, after medicines that have lately arrived....

Recalling Stringer's long absence of the previous year, Craigie concluded:

I shall pay particular attention to, and if to be had, procure the articles, but everything is very dear. I hope not to exceed the time you have limited.

Craigie returned to Albany on September 20 and advised Potts that he "succeeded in procuring medicines as expected" and that he had "on the road 2 covered waggons of capital medicines &c."[108]The shipment included 200 pounds of bark that Craigie bought at £3 a pound, and waiting for him in Albany were also the 222 pounds of bark, for which he was billed at £5 a pound plus £23/10 "Carting and Expenses."[109]Payment had not been made by November 10,[110]nor was there any evidence of an adjustment.

At the same time that Craigie was in Boston purchasing supplies for the Northern Department, Apothecary Jonathan B. Cutting of the Middle Department was also there, competing with him.[111]Furthermore, several agents for the Congress (Thomas Cushing, Daniel Tillinghast, and John Bradford) were purchasing drugs for the Continental Navy. Greenleaf's ledger records that between January 23 and May 28 over £500 worth of medicine chests and sundry medicines were sold to "The United American States" for the Continental frigatesBoston,Hancock,Providence, andColumbus.

This competition among various branches of the army and navy led to a brisk business in Boston. Druggists in nearby communities chanced the British blockade to send supplies which they had on hand. For example, Jonathan Waldo, an apothecary at Salem, Massachusetts, recorded in his account book[112]on April 8, 1777, that "13 packages and 4 cases of medicines are ship'd on Board the Sloop called the Two Brothers Saml West Master. An Account and [illegible word] of Mr. Oliver Smith of Boston Apothecary and to him consigned." Evidence of the war appears in the footnote to the entry, however. It reads: "The cases are unmarked being ship'd at Night. Error Excepted. Jon. Waldo."

The Situation Improves

Oliver Smith, advertising in a Boston newspaper in October 1777, clearly emphasized the fact that "A Large and Valuable Assortment of Drugs and Medicines" were on hand. Included in the listing were bark, gum camphor, gum opium, jalap, rhubarb, and salts.[113]

Back in Philadelphia, the supply situation was also improving. William Smith, Continental Druggists, received over $5,000 from Congress for drug purchases,[114]and the Marshalls also continued to furnish Congress with a variety of medical supplies in amounts upwards of $4,000.[115]Drugs were occasionally being imported into Philadelphia despite the British blockade. In January 1777, Robert Bass, an apothecary in Market Street, advertised[116]"A Quantity of Peruvian Bark, just imported ... together with Drugs and Medicines of most kinds." Bass was supplying the Northern Department with drugs in February 1777, but, according to a letter from John Warren to Potts, "he is determined not even to pack them untill he shall receive the money in payment for them."[117]In March, Bass wrote Potts directly that

... if in future you want any compositions let me know in time that I may have them ready. I cou'd not send a full quantity [of] fly Plasters, but am this week making a large quantity of most kinds and shall send of deficiency in your next order.[118]

In June, Christopher and Charles Marshall also received "a small assortment of valuable medicines, just imported and to be sold"[119]to replenish their stock. Even Congress purchased directly certain of the importations, on May 28, 1778, for example, ordering that "755 42/90 dollars be advanced to the Committee of Commerce, to enable them to pay Andrew and James Caldwell, the freight of sundry medicines imported in their sloop from Martinico."[120]Many of the British prize ships were carried to the French island of Martinique in the West Indies for trans-shipment of their cargoes.

These shipments however did not meet with the requirements for medical supplies. In March, Apothecary Cutting, then stationed at the "Continental Medicine Store in Fourth-Street," Philadelphia, advertised that "any price will be given for old sheets, or half worn linen proper for lint and bandages," while, in May, Commissary Hugh James advertised that "a handsome price will be given for Vials and Corks."[121]The problems of medical supplies were often brought to the attention of the public. Thomas Carnes, "Quarter Master and Steward" of the American hospital in New England, advertised in several papers that he

is authorized to make known in this public manner, that no Expense shall be spared in future in making the most ample Provision for the sick and wounded of the Army.... Proper medicines will be prepared, not only by General Hospitals, but by Regimental Surgeons. The Difficulties the Sick and Wounded met with the last Campaign arose from the unsettled State of the Army, and the Distance Medicines, and other Necessaries used to be sent.[122]

The reorganization of the medical department by Congress, including the establishment of "two Apothecaries" and their duties, was published in thePennsylvania Packeton April 15, and a front page account presenting "directions for preserving the Health of Soldiers" was featured in the next issue.[123]

Dr. Potts wrote the Medical Committee in Congress on April 3, 1777:

I have the Honour to enclose you a Return of the Medicines & Stores belonging to the General Hospital in the Department, which I have received from Doctor Samuel Stringer, these with what I brought with me from Philadelphia & some few I expect from Boston will be quite sufficient for this campaign.

In contrast to the time when stores were short in '76, the chairman of the Medical Committee, M. Thornton, was quick to reply on April 12 that

... we are highly pleased with your having the prospect of a sufficient supply of medicines in your Department for the ensuing Campaign, & approve of the returns you have made us.[124]

Valley Forge

Washington's forces were defeated at Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and on September 25 the British army occupied Philadelphia. Washington, after trying without success to dislodge them by a sudden attack at Germantown on October 4, retreated to Valley Forge.

Business in Philadelphia under British occupation continued much as it had under American control, except for a few missing suppliers and a few new ones.One druggist who was little in evidence after the war commenced was back in business advertising withintwo weeks after the British occupied Philadelphia. It was William Drewet Smith (not to be confusedwith William Smith) who advised "friends and customers ... that they can be supplied with Medicine and Drugs as usual, at his shop in Second-Street." To indicate that he was expecting an active business, Smith also advertised for "a person who can be well recommended for honesty and sobriety ... to attend a Druggist's Shop."[125]

Figure 3.—Page from the Waste Book manuscript of the Christopher Marshall, Jr., and Charles Marshall apothecary shop in Philadelphia. This is the first page of the contents of a medicine chest furnished on order of the Continental Congress for the Pennsylvania 4th Battalion. Preserved at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

Figure 4.—Page from the ledger of the Greenleaf apothecary shop in Boston, showing the accounts between September 3, 1776, and May 28, 1777, with "the United American States" for outfitting ships of the Continental Navy. Preserved at the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.

During the British occupation there was a large number of thefts and losses—perhaps aided by the American patriots who remained in Philadelphia—that included drugs and surgical instruments. In November an advertisement reported the loss of "a sett of Surgeons Pocket instruments in a crimson chequered covering, with a silver clasp. Whoever will bring them to the bar of the coffee-house or to Mr. Allman, surgeons mate of the Royal Artillery, shall have a Guinea reward, and no questions asked." In April an unidentified druggist advertised: "Stolen yesterday afternoon out of an apothecary's shop Three Specie Glasses, with brass caps; one contained two pounds of native cinnabar. Whoever discovers the thief and goods shall have Twenty Shillings reward from the printer."[126]

A sign of the times is evident from the advertisement by Dr. Anthony Yeldall, who offered his "Anti-Venereal Essence at only Two Dollars." This nostrum, it was claimed, would not only cure the disease, but would "absolutely prevent catching the infection." Each bottle came with printed instructions "so that no questions need be asked." The fact that the advertisement appeared no less than 10 times from January through April speaks for its success.[127]It is interesting to note that, after the British evacuated Philadelphia, "Anthony Yeldall, Surgeon, late of the city of Philadelphia," was included among those who were charged as having "knowingly and willingly aided and assisted the enemies" and who would be brought to trial for high treason.[128]

While the British forces rested, well nourished, warm, and relatively secure in Philadelphia, Washington's troops, hardly more than 20 miles away, were tortured by cold, hunger, and disease. On December 23 there were 2,898 men at Valley Forge reported sick or unfit for duty because of lack of clothing.[129]Even so, the lack of medical supplies was nowhere near as bad as the conditions that existed in '76. Under the command of Director General Shippen and Purveyor General Potts,[130]the medical department operated a series of hospitals in such Pennsylvania communities as Easton, Bethlehem, Lancaster, Ephrata, and Lititz. The principal hospital for Valley Forge was established 10 miles away at Yellow Springs (now Chester Springs).

The largest drain on medical supplies appears not to have been during the height of winter but rather in the early spring when the medicine chests of various regiments and hospitals were being restocked for the expected spring offensive. The first step was to supplement the supply of medical supplies on hand. In late February or early March, Dr. William Brown sent Purveyor General Potts a list of needs of the entire medical department that included £20,000 worth of medicines, vials, corks, etc.[131]Dr. Brown supplemented this list with a letter to Potts dated March 11 in which he itemized the following equipment:[132]

3 doz. Boxes Small Apothecary's Weights & Scales3 doz. Bolus knives3 doz. Pot Spathulae2 doz. Marble Mortars, of one pint, & Pestles2 doz. Setts Measures, from ½ ounce to 1 [pint?]6 doz. Earthen Vessels (deep) with handles—of different sizes, from 2 quarts to 2 galls, for boiling Decoctions, or 2 doz. copper Do. of one gallon—for that purpose.6 doz. Delft Ware Tiles, for mixing Boluses &c. on.

3 doz. Boxes Small Apothecary's Weights & Scales

3 doz. Bolus knives

3 doz. Pot Spathulae

2 doz. Marble Mortars, of one pint, & Pestles

2 doz. Setts Measures, from ½ ounce to 1 [pint?]

6 doz. Earthen Vessels (deep) with handles—of different sizes, from 2 quarts to 2 galls, for boiling Decoctions, or 2 doz. copper Do. of one gallon—for that purpose.

6 doz. Delft Ware Tiles, for mixing Boluses &c. on.

While Dr. Brown was completing his report on medical supplies, he was also concluding his compilationof an emergency military hospital formulary which has become known as theLititz Pharmacopoeia, so named because Brown was making Lititz his headquarters at the time. The preface is dated "Lititz, March 12, 1778." The actual title (translated from Latin) reads: "Formulary of simple and yet efficacious remedies for the use of the military hospital, belonging to the army of the Federated States of America. Especially adapted to our poverty and straitened circumstances, caused by the ferocious inhumanity of the enemy, and the cruel war unexpectedly brought upon our fatherland." This formulary was published by Styner & Cist of Philadelphia in 1778, which means that it was not actually printed until sometime after June 18, when the British evacuated Philadelphia.

In the preface Brown explained that there were two types of formulas contained in theLititz Pharmacopoeia; one was the "medicaments which must be prepared and compounded in a general laboratory; the others are to be mixed, as needed, in our hospital dispensaries."

The main store of drugs was housed at Manheim until late March, when Shippen ordered Apothecary Cutting to pack the medical stores there and proceed on to Yellow Springs.[133]Cutting wrote Potts on March 30 that

... the articles that we have in store are now ready to put on board the waggons excepting the want of cases to contain them.... Paper, Twine, Square Snuff Bottles & Corks are so essentially necessary to take with us, to fit up the Regimental Chests that I wish your order to buy them at Lancaster immediately. I never heard what place in the vicinity of Camp has been chosen for our temporary Medicine Shop, nor what quantities the Regimental Surgeons are to be supply'd when we get there....[134]

On April 16 Cutting[135]wrote that the

... dispensing store is open'd here [at Yellow Springs] and we have begun to supply the Regiments in Camp.... Dr. Cochran has given orders to the Division on the left to bring their Chests first, and we propose going through the whole Army in the order in which they lay.... The best method I can think of is to act immediately about preparing new Chests upon the Northern Plan at some convenient place for all such Battallions as did not get chests from Dr. Craigie [in the] last campaign. When these new parcels are ready, let us call all the large chests into the Stores ... which are too compleat & capacious for Field Service, & in lieu of them give out our smaller ones. By this exchange, the Genl. Hospital will be well supplied with standing Chests & acquire a great variety of useful articles which are not essential in Camp.

Apothecary Cutting was concerned, however, over supplies and

... very apprehensive that the several Hospitals in this vicinity will render a further reinforcement necessary before we shall be able to compleat the whole.... To give only a few of the Capitals to each will be a work of Time, & a much more intensive piece of business than I at first imagined.

Meanwhile, Potts had sent Apothecary Craigie to Baltimore to obtain a fresh stock of drugs, and probably to prevent further friction between Craigie and Cutting. This feud started early in 1777 when Apothecary Cutting, serving with Shippen in Philadelphia, was named, over his preceptor Craigie, to head the newly organized "Apothecary department" of the army.[136]On March 27 Craigie wrote from Annapolis advising Potts that he had been in Baltimore

... not long since and waited on Messrs. Lux & Bowly. The medicines were not come to hand but were expected.... I have engaged the whole invoice which contains several important medicines not mentioned in your list. I think the prices are full high, tho' somewhat less than Dr. Shippen affixed, and it was not in my power to procure them at a cheaper rate. They were offered £20 per lb. for all the Cantharides and much higher price for the Bark. They are not yet arrived from some place in Virginia where they were first landed. I shall examine them immediately on their arrival, and if good forward them on to Manheim, if they prove not good shall reject them, as the engagement is conditional.[137]

Then on April 4, Craigie wrote from Chester Town:[138]

I this day received a letter from Messrs. Lux & Bowley informing me, the waggons were arrived, but to their great surprise with only two packages of medicines, the others being seized near Williamsburg for the use of Virginia State. Those arrived contain but a very small share of any of the articles mentioned in your list and I believe none of the Bark and Cantharides. I shall immediately proceed to Baltimore and examine those two packages & if good send them on to Manheim, provided the price is agreeable.... I shall inquire into the circumstances of the seizure and endeavor to find out if there has been any unfair play which I can hardly suspect from the character of the Gentlemen.

Just prior to May 1, Craigie returned to Carlisle, where the "Elaboratory and Stores for the reception of the medicines &c. belonging to the military hospitals" was established,[139]and complained that he did not find the medicinal store in the order which he expected to find it:

We have many important medicines but by no means an assortment sufficient for the Army. I speak only of what is now in store. There are Medicines in different places of which I have no list.

Craigie further noted that Cutting had come up from Yellow Springs on May 1 to confer regarding plans for completing medicine chests, and would leave the following day for Baltimore where he obviously was going to try to purchase more drugs.

Craigie was puzzled by the establishment of a dispensing store at Yellow Springs, and asked whether or not the plan was

... to have the principle Store at Carlisle, where all the medicines shall be prepared, and the Chests compleated supposing the Genl. Hospitals will be more collected, and the number lessened. I would propose that an Apothecary attend each with a compleate Chest of Medicines; that the Surgeon & Physician Genl of the Army be attended by an Apothecary with good Chest, and the Regiments supply'd upon the Northern Plan. I would have an Issuing Store established at a convenient distance from the Army, from which the Hospital and Regimental Chests might occasionally be replenished.[140]

A sizable stock of drugs was finally received from Baltimore,[141]and a fairly good stock was brought down from the stores in the Northern Department, which were left well supplied by Craigie and Potts.[142]An improved plan for obtaining lint from the Moravian Sisters at Bethlehem and Lititz was proposed by Dr. Brown,[143]and "the propriety of setting the glass works at Manheim agoing" was offered as a solution by Craigie for obtaining much needed vials.[144]Local manufacturing at Carlisle[145]and "in the Jersies"[146]was used as a source of volatile and purging salts.

Gibson records[147]that between April 19 and May 3, 1778, the commands of Generals Patterson, Leonard, Poor, Glover, Scott, and Woodward turned in their medicine chests to Apothecary Cutting at Yellow Springs, and that every regiment received a standardized field box containing a definite list and quantity of necessary drugs and supplies. However, it appears likely that the project started by Cutting and continued by Craigie was not completed until late June at the earliest.[148]The "invoice of those things thought essential for the protection and health of soldiers in the field or camp" presented by Gibson[149]is actually an "Invoice of a Chest of medicines &c. compleated in the medicinal Store, N[orthern] D[epartmen]t for Thos. Tillotson Esq."[150]Inasmuch as the plan used in the Northern Department was employed by both Craigie and Cutting, the items on this invoice may serve as a reasonably good picture of the medicine chests of '78 as compared with those of '76 (see page 130).

One of the reasons for better supplies at a time when other conditions were even worse than they were in 1776 is the fact that Congress was advancing sizable, if not always completely adequate, amounts of money for the cash purchase of supplies instead of seeking credit or expecting those responsible to procuresupplies by using their personal money and waiting on Congress to reimburse them. During 1778, Congress advanced some $940,000 to Purveyor General Potts alone for the exclusive use of the hospital department, and these funds were in turn distributed to the proper medical procurement officers, including the apothecaries. It is significant to compare the sum of $1,095,000 provided by Congress in 1778 with £10,000 (about $27,000) which, according to Morgan, was the limit for medical and hospital supplies in 1776.[151]True, inflation had set in by 1778, and the value of money had declined greatly. For example, cantharides purchased from the Marshalls' apothecary shop in Philadelphia in 1776 cost 10 shillings per pound as compared with the cantharides Craigie purchased in Baltimore in 1778 at £20 per pound. However, the worst of the inflation was yet to come.[152]

In Summary

Initially the drug supplies for the American Revolutionary Army had come from stocks largely in the hands of private druggists. However, this source of supply was totally inadequate for a war that attained such proportions as the Revolution. Even if stocks of drugs in the Colonies had been far greater than they were, there is little reason to believe that shortages would not have developed. After all, a good many of the suppliers were Loyalists, and others were indifferent to the cause of American liberty. Even the most patriotic pharmacists were faced with a complete financial suicide, caught between a spiraling inflation and a Congress that had no money and only a promise for the future.

As if all these problems were not bad enough, the internal organization of the medical department of the army was so chaotic that, even if adequate supplies were available and if the almost insurmountable problems of communications and transportation were solved, it is almost certain that shortages would have developed at least during the campaign of 1776. Add to this the fact that any retreating army is subject to loss of supplies and the reasons for the shortages become very obvious.

The encouragement which Congress, through its Secret Committee, gave to private shippers for the importation of vital war materials offered little relief in the field of medical supplies. Importation was, of course, cut off from England, and France did not directly export any quantity of medical supplies, at least until 1778. American privateers found it much more profitable to prey on British shipping than initiating trade channels with countries which prior to the Revolution were prohibited from shipping directly to the Colonies. These channels of commerce did not develop extensively until well after the Revolution.

Hence the most immediate relief from medical supply shortages was provided by the American privateers. Drug cargoes from British prize ships, many of which were en route to New York, served as a most important source of supply, particularly in 1777 and 1778.

However, even with the most adequate supplies, competition between different branches of the army and navy and the confiscation of supplies destined for Continental troops by state militias further encouraged inflationary trends.

The number of individual drugs mentioned in various inventories was considerable, as evidenced by the listing on page 130. However, of these, only about a dozen constituted the really critical shortages. Heading the list of these "capital articles" was Peruvian or Jesuits' bark, the same cinchona from which quinine was later discovered. Tons of bark were used during the Revolutionary War, and the price more than quandrupled between June 1776 and September 1777.

The most prominent group of drugs on the list of capital articles consisted of cathartics and purgatives. Jalap, ipecac, and rhubarb were the botanical favorites, while bitter purging salts (Epsom salts) and Glauber's purging salts were the chemical choices for purging. Tartar emetic (antimony and potassium tartrate) was the choice for a vomit, and cantharides (Spanish flies) was the most important ingredient of blistering plasters. Gum opium was administered for its narcotic effects, while gum camphor, nitre (saltpetre or potassium nitrate), and mercury (pure metal as well as certain salts) were employed for a variety of purposes. Lint, a form of absorbent material made by scraping or picking apart old woven material, also often was short in supply.

Equipment shortages included surgical instruments and mortar and pestles for pulverizing the crude drugs. Glass vials for holding compounded medicines were also a supply problem, especially after essential drugs were again available.

Some of the shortages were eased, if not solved, by local manufacture. Lint was produced in large quantities in the Colonies, and glass vials were manufactured in numerous glasshouses. Even local manufacture of the purging salts and nitre aided in eliminating shortages of these essential items, and at the same time initiated the first large-scale pharmaceutical manufacturing in America.

Numerous botanicals indigenous to the Colonies were widely employed in medicine of the period, and certain ones such as snakeroot (seneka), which was widely found growing in Virginia, would have been very scarce had not an adequate supply been immediately at hand. However, attempts to substitute other indigenous plants for scarce drugs like Peruvian bark were largely unsuccessful. There is no indication that hysop, wormwood, and mallows called for during the New York crisis were ever found to be suitable replacements for any of the capital articles. Wine apparently was more useful as a substitute for bark than the bark of butternut recommended by theLititz Pharmacopoeia. Peruvian bark, jalap, ipecac, camphor, opium, cantharides—these are the drugs which the American army physicians wanted, and these constituted the most serious shortage problems.

The medical supply problem was placed on relatively firm ground by the summer of 1778, having been established on the principles proven in the Northern Department under the guidance of Drs. Potts and Craigie. Furthermore, the turning point in the war had been reached. Even before Washington's forces went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Burgoyne[153]had surrendered at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777; and, before the cold bleak winter at Valley Forge was over, the treaty of French alliance was signed on February 6, 1778. The torments at Valley Forge proved to be the birth of a new Continental Army.

The War was still a long way from being over, and a variety of problems were yet to face the Continental Army. Inflation was yet to deal its hardest blow to the supply problem, but not even this could produce the chaos of 1776. The worst of the drug supply problem was over.

Contents of Army Medicine Chests

The following listing is an example of the contents of medicine chests ordered by the Continental Congress. The chest for the Pennsylvania 4th Battalion was filled for "Samuel Kennedy Surgeon" by the pharmacy of Christopher Jr. and Charles Marshall of Philadelphia in May 1776. The medicines are listed on an invoice in the Marshalls' waste book in the possession of The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. The contents of the Northern Department chest, compiled in the Northern Department's "Medicinal Store" for "Thos. Tillotson Esq. Surgeon & Physician General to the Army," probably was filled by Andrew Craigie at Fort George in 1778. (Italicsdenote capital article; asterisk indicates that the drug is mentioned inLititz Pharmacopoeia. Contemporary English names are in parentheses following the Latin listings.)

U.S. Government Printing Office: 1961

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing OfficeWashington 25, D.C.—Price 25 cents

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