Frontier Medicine ~
the hospital at Fort Davis
Story and photography by Donna G. Smith
S
tep back in time to when Fort Davis was an active edema or fluid build-up was dropsy; kidney stones, grav-
military post. The community surrounding the fort el; tuberculosis, consumption.
Consumption was a major killer of adults in America
was a bustling town, especially in the 1880s when
garrison strength was over 600 soldiers. Serving the in the 19th century, and Fort Davis was not spared. In
needs of the military and settlers’ families was a smorgas- 1881, a Fort Davis officer was accused by his fellow offi-
cers of being “intoxicated” while serv-
bord of businesses – mercantile stores,
ing
on a court martial board. The offi-
saloons, brothels, hotel, bakery, milliner,
The average lifespan of
cer was Post Surgeon Harvey Brown,
newspaper, attorneys, realtors, meat
markets, clock repair, saddler/harness a white male in America age 45. His rebuttal was that he was
maker, barber/tonsorial parlor and was 48; for a black male merely treating his illness – consump-
tion or TB, which caused him to cough
druggist. But the only medical doctor it was 33. Children died
was at the fort, and in his off-duty hours of measles, typhoid fever, violently and expel blood. Common
treatment at the time for TB was ½-to-
he treated townsfolk.
diphtheria, whooping
1 ounce of whiskey or brandy every
Medical records kept by the U.S. cough or other illnesses
two or three hours – or opium in com-
Army during its stay at Fort Davis, the we hardly worry about
bination with alcohol! Because of his
years 1854 to 1891, teem with
today.
debilitating illness, Dr. Brown request-
heartrending tales that reflect the state
ed to retire early. But the surgeon gen-
of the art of medicine and daily perils
of life. Almost all the deaths among military personnel at eral in Washington, D.C. denied the petition – there was
Fort Davis were due to disease, sickness, injury and acci- no vacancy on the U.S. Army’s retired list. The army
dents, or even homicide – not wounds received in battle. transferred Brown to Jackson Barracks, La., where eight
In fact, very few deaths can be attributed to combat years later the ailing doctor still on active duty died of
phthisis pulmonalis – the disease he had had at Fort
engagements with the enemy.
Capt. James Patterson died at age 30 of acute peri- Davis. One wonders how many soldiers he infected in
cardites in 1873. Lt. and Mrs. George A. Dodd buried the meantime. But that was before TB was known to be
their 15-month-old son to cholera infantum in 1885. All contagious.
In the mid- to late-1800s, U.S. Army physicians were
seven children of ex-soldier George Bentley and wife
died when a diphtheria epidemic hit Fort Davis in 1891. among the best-trained in America. They had to be
(No one knew yet to boil fresh milk to kill bacteria.) Pvt. graduates of allopathic (mainstream) medical schools
John S. Mitchell was kicked in the abdomen by a horse and had to pass a rigorous exam to enter the Army
in 1881 and died from internal bleeding. Cpl. Richard Medical Department. Yet, at the time, what caused dis-
Robinson, age 31, was killed by his sergeant while sleep- ease was unknown, so all that doctors, or anyone, could
ing in bed in the barracks in 1878. A young child died do was treat the symptoms. For TB, they treated patients
after drinking from a bottle of laudanum or tincture of with medicinal alcohol or brandy. For diarrhea, they pre-
opium. (There were no child-proof caps then.) Lightning scribed opium, ipecac or nux vomica (strychnine). For
struck and killed 20-year-old John Drinkwater and the headache, they ordered quinine. For venereal disease,
the best treatment was mercury – they figured a power-
horse he was riding in August 1885.
Diseases and medical conditions had some strange ful disease required a powerful treatment. For diseases of
names, and Army archival records are filled with them. the digestive tract, two popular patent (over-the-counter)
Ten cavalry soldiers were sick in February 1882 with medicines contained arsenic: Fowler’s Solution and
parotitis (mumps). In 1886, former Cpl. John H. Mason, Donovan’s Solution (which was arsenic and mercury).
No one knew about bacteria, viruses or parasites such
age 40, died of “softening of the brain” (hemorrhage).
The common cold was known as catarrh; apoplexy as intestinal protozoa. The average lifespan of a white
meant unconsciousness, usually caused by a stroke; male in America was 48; for a black male it was 33.
Children died of measles, typhoid fever, diphtheria,
whooping cough or other illnesses we hardly worry about
A real human skeleton was an important reference tool
for 19th-century physicians in the days before X-rays
and other diagnostic aids like MRIs.
4
Cenizo
Fourth Quarter 2012
continued on page 23