Jedediah Hyde Baxter
Jedediah Hyde Baxter | |
---|---|
Born | Strafford, Vermont, US | March 11, 1837
Died | December 4, 1890 Washington, D.C., US | (aged 53)
Place of burial | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1861–1890 |
Rank | Brigadier General |
Commands held | Campbell General Hospital Chief Medical Purveyor, U.S. Army Medical Department Surgeon General of the United States Army |
Battles/wars | American Civil War
|
Spouse(s) | Florence Tryon (m. 1876) |
Relations | Portus Baxter (father) |
Jedediah Hyde Baxter (March 11, 1837 – December 4, 1890) was a career
Born in
After the war, Baxter remained in the Army as a member of the newly-organized Medical Department, and was appointed Assistant Medical Purveyor with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1872, he was appointed Chief Medical Purveyor, and in 1874 he received promotion to colonel. In 1875, Baxter graduated from Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School) with an LL.B. degree. Baxter's duties as Chief Medical Purveyor included serving as personal physician to the President of the United States, and he attended James A. Garfield's family. Baxter was out of town when Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield in July 1881, and was not able to examine Garfield following the shooting. Garfield's other physicians prevented Baxter from seeing Garfield, which generated controversy both immediately after the shooting and after Garfield's death several weeks later.
In August 1890, Baxter was named the Army's surgeon general and promoted to brigadier general. He soon afterwards became ill with uremia, which caused him to suffer a stroke. He died on December 4, 1890, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Early life
Jedediah H. Baxter, the son of
Civil War
On June 26, 1861, Baxter enlisted for the
Baxter later served as head of Campbell General Hospital in
Post Civil War
After the war the Army's health care professionals were organized as the Medical Department, and Baxter was appointed Assistant Medical Purveyor with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Regular Army.[11] In 1871 he received a Master of Arts degree from UVM.[12]
In March, 1872 Baxter was appointed Chief Medical Purveyor, and in 1874 he was promoted to colonel.[13] In 1875 Baxter graduated from Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School) with an LL.B. degree.[14]
Baxter's duties included serving as personal physician to the
Army Surgeon General
In August 1890, Baxter was named the Army's Surgeon General and promoted to brigadier general, appointed by President Benjamin Harrison, who was a longtime patient. Baxter's appointment had been championed by Secretary of War Redfield Proctor, a fellow Vermonter and Civil War veteran.[23][24]
Death and burial
Baxter became ill with uremia soon after assuming his new duties.[25] He suffered a stroke as a result and died in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 1890.[26] Baxter was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2, Grave 1000.[27]
Marriage
In 1876 Baxter married Florence Tryon (November 11, 1845 – February 12, 1914) of
Other
Baxter was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.[31]
He was the author of 1875's Statistics, Medical and Anthropological, of the Provost-Marshal-General's Bureau. This invaluable reference work contains records and analysis of physical examinations and other medical data for more than one million men who served the Union in the Civil War.[32]
The Army hospital in Spokane, Washington, was named for Baxter.[33]
References
- ^ Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, Journal of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, 1905, page 59
- ^ William Arba Ellis, Norwich University, 1819–1911, Volume 2, 1911, pages 582-584
- ^ University of Vermont Alumni Association, University of Vermont Obituary Record, Volume 1, 1895, page 121
- ^ Erik S. Hinckley, Tom Ledoux, They Went to War: A Biographical Register of the Green Mountain State in the Civil War, 2010, page 43
- ^ Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.). . . Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.
- ^ Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Charles Webster Wilson, Florence Wyman Jaques, editors, Massachusetts in the Army and Navy During the War of 1861–65, Volume 2, 1895, page 400
- ^ Ellis, Norwich University, page 583
- ^ James Evelyn Pilcher, The Surgeon Generals of the Army of the United States of America, 1905, page 74
- ^ United States Army Medical Department, Army Medical Bulletin, Issues 57–64, 1941, page 124
- ^ Higginson, et al., Massachusetts in the Army and Navy During the War of 1861–65, page 400
- ^ D. Appleton and Company, The American Annual Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events, 1891, page 632
- ^ University of Vermont, Catalogue of University of Vermont, 1791–1890, 1890, page 66
- ^ Vermont Historical Society, Vermont History, Volume 43, 1975, page 240
- ^ Columbian University, Historical Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of the Columbian University, 1891, page 141
- ^ James C. Clark, The Murder of James A. Garfield, 1993, page 42
- ^ Martin S. Nowak, The White House in Mourning: Deaths and Funerals of Presidents in Office, 2010, page 99
- ISBN 9781466827929. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ISBN 9780767929714. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ Rutkow, James A. Garfield, page 93
- ^ Gloria Moldow, Women Doctors in Gilded-age Washington: Race, Gender, and Professionalization, page 98
- ^ Candice Millard, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, 2012, page 163
- ^ New York Homeopathic Medical Society, Documents of the New York Homeopathic Medical Society, Volume 5, 1872, page 926
- ^ New York Times, Col. Baxter Promoted, August 17, 1890
- ^ Ludwig M. Deppisch, The White House Physician: A History from Washington to George W. Bush, 2007, page 54
- ^ Indiana University School of Medicine, Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Author's biography, Jedediah Hyde Baxter, accessed August 8, 2013
- ^ Chicago Tribune, Surgeon-General J.H. Baxter Dead, December 5, 1890
- ^ Arlington National Cemetery, accessed August 8, 2013
- ^ Stanstead Journal, Florence Tryon Baxter, February 26, 1914
- ^ Association of Military Surgeons, The Military Surgeon magazine, Volume 34, 1914, page 480
- ^ Joseph Nickerson Baxter, Memorial of the Baxter Family, 1879, page 79
- ^ U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Civil War Photographs Database, entry for Jedediah Hyde Baxter, accessed August 8, 2013
- ^ J. H. Baxter, Statistics, Medical and Anthropological, Volume II, 1875, title page
- ^ Milwaukee Journal, Hospital Takes Name From Another Baxter, December 17, 1942