Hunter McGuire

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Hunter McGuire
Confederate Army
Signature

Hunter Holmes McGuire (October 11, 1835 – September 19, 1900) was an American soldier,

McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center was named in his honor until 2023 when the Veterans Administration changed the name to Richmond VA Medical Center.[1]

Biography

Youth and education

Hunter Holmes McGuire was both born and died in the family house at Braddock and Amherst Streets in

Confederate Army in 1861.[1]

Civil War

McGuire joined "The Winchester Rifles", Company F of the

Barnard E. Bee Jr.
(who himself was killed during the battle).

Stonewall Jackson's deathbed

In 1862, McGuire was promoted to the chief surgeon of Jackson's Corps, serving in the

Battle of Groveton.[4] In May 1863, Jackson was gravely wounded by friendly fire while performing a reconnaissance during the Battle of Chancellorsville. The severity of the wounds required McGuire to amputate Jackson's left arm.[5] Jackson died of pneumonia a few days later. His last words were recorded by McGuire as: "Let us cross over the river and rest beneath the shade of the trees".[6]
The death of Jackson affected McGuire greatly. He would always remember Jackson with the deepest reverence and served as a pallbearer in Stonewall's funeral. During the Second Battle of Winchester, which was part of Robert E. Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, McGuire served under Richard Ewell (who by this time had returned to field command).[7] At the Battle of Gettysburg, McGuire amputated the leg of General Isaac R. Trimble after Pickett's Charge. He later served under General Jubal Early.

McGuire was captured at the

surrender at Appomattox Court House.[3]

McGuire's home in Winchester, Virginia
Statue of Hunter McGuire behind the Virginia Capitol

In May 1862, Jackson's army captured Winchester, Virginia. Among their captured prisoners were seven U.S. army physicians (then called "surgeons"). McGuire wished to see medical personnel treated as non-combatants, so he convinced Jackson to set a precedent by releasing the captured surgeons. With Jackson's approval, McGuire drafted an agreement (known afterwards as the "Winchester Accord", which the Federal surgeons signed, saying: "We surgeons and assistant surgeons, United States Army, now prisoners of war, do give our parole of honor on being unconditionally released to report in person, singly or collectively to the Secretary of War in Washington City as such and that we will use our best efforts that the same number of medical officers of the Confederate States Army now prisoners or may hereafter be taken be released on the same terms. And furthermore we will on our honor use our best efforts to have this principle established – the unconditional release of all medical officers taken prisoners of war hereafter." The released surgeons honored their agreement to take the message to Washington and almost immediately it had the desired effect. On June 6, 1862, the United States immediately and unconditionally released all Confederate surgeons being held as prisoners of war. Thereafter, for the remainder of the war, all captured medical personnel were immediately released so as not to impede their live-saving work, saving an untold number of lives. As the National Museum of Civil War Medicine puts it on its website: "Thanks to Dr. Hunter McGuire's idea…the safety of medical personnel drastically improved. With the safety and quick release of doctors, assistants, and nurses ensured, care of the wounded progressed. It could be argued (that) Dr. McGuire revolutionized American battlefield medicine by humanizing the battlefield and giving injured men a better chance to receive the care they needed to survive."[8]

After the War, McGuire contributed to the original (first) of the Geneva Conventions, which is why the Boston Medical Journal said in his obituary that he had "humanized war."

Post-Civil War

McGuire married Mary Stuart of Staunton. Her father, Alexander Hugh Holmes Stuart, was a U.S. Congressman and Secretary of the Interior before the Civil War. Mary was a cousin of General Jeb Stuart. She and Hunter had nine children.

McGuire wrote the introduction of the 1901 book The Old Plantation: How We Lived in Great House and Cabin before the War, written by James Battle Avirett.[9] He remained a pro-slavery advocate his entire life. In the introduction cited above he lamented the freeing and enfranchisement of former slaves, and lauded the supremacy of the Caucasian race.[9] His name has been consequently slated for removal from the medical school he founded.

He lived at 5th and Grace St. in downtown Richmond, had a summer residence in

Henrico County.[10]

After the war, McGuire served as president of the American Medical Association.[11]

A statue of McGuire sits behind the Virginia State Capitol.[12]

Writings

  • McGuire, Hunter; Christian, George L. (1907). The Confederate Cause and Conduct in the War Between the States; As set forth in the Reports of the History Committee of the Grand Camp, C.V., of Virginia, and other Confederate Papers. Richmond, Virginia: L.H. Jenkins.
  • McGuire, Hunter (1901). Introduction to James Battle Avirett, The Old Plantation. pp. v–x.

References

  1. ^ a b "Doctor Hunter Holmes McGuire | eHISTORY". ehistory.osu.edu. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  2. ^ "Hunter Holmes McGuire and Lewis M. Allen". Journal of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. 7: v. 1993.
  3. ^ a b c "Doctor Hunter Holmes McGuire, MD CSA". ehistory.osu.edu. Ohio State University. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  4. ISBN 0-517-66204-3
    .
  5. ISBN 0-517-66204-3
    .
  6. ISBN 0-517-66204-3
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-618-48538-3
    .
  8. ^ ""Unconditional Release": Dr. Hunter McGuire's Precedent in American Military Medicine". May 24, 2018.
  9. ^ a b The Old Plantation: How We Lived in Great House and Cabin before the War. New York: F. Tennyson Neely. 1901. p. X. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  10. ^ Notable Bon Air Residents - Bon Air Historical Society Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  11. ISBN 0-517-66204-3
    .
  12. ^ "Statue of Hunter Holmes McGuire". www.wfrjr.com. Retrieved May 20, 2022.

Further reading (most recent first)

  • Breeden, James O. (1995). "Rehearsal for Secession? The Return Home of Southern Medical Students in 1859". In
    ISBN 0813915368
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hunter Holmes McGuire.
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