Spotlight on new purchases in the Genealogy Division

The Genealogy Division at the Indiana State Library recently acquired some new materials. A portion of the new materials are a selection of books by Thomas P. Lowry. These books deal with Civil War Army officers and doctors behaving badly.

The material in these books is drawn mainly from records held at the National Archives, Court Martial Case Files 1800-1894 and from materials in Record Group 94.

“Bad Doctors; Military Justice Proceedings Against 622 War Surgeons” (G 973.7 A11L) is a listing of doctors who went AWOL, were drunk on the job and who were subjected to courts-martial, among other things, as was the case with George H. Mitchell, a surgeon with the 88th Pennsylvania. “He went AWOL whenever he felt like it; he got into fistfights; he stole food; he stole building supplies. He was court-martialed three times. Was denounced by Lincoln’s judge advocate general, dismissed by Lincoln, reinstated by the governor of Pennsylvania…” There are sections on Navy and Confederate surgeons as well as a chapter on ten surgeons who were notable for their exploits as well as the documentation surrounding them.

“Utterly Worthless; One Thousand Delinquent Union Officers Unworthy of a Court-Martial” (973.7 A11Luw) is similar to “Bad Doctors,” because it lists offenders by last name with a short description of the offence. One of the noteworthy listings is for Maj. Henry Roessle of the 15th NY Cavalry, who was dismissed on May 25, 1864 “for gross neglect while in charge of the pickets, causing the loss of 11 men and 45 horses.”

“Tarnished Scalpels: The Court-Martials of Fifty Union Surgeons” ( 973.7 A11 Lts) and “Tarnished Eagles : The Courts-martial of Fifty Union Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels” (973.7 A11 Lte) both contain 50 cases that go into more detail than the previous books mentioned. Each person has a chapter detailing to their actions and the outcomes using the materials found in the National Archives, some of the chapters even include images.

All of these materials are available for use in the genealogy area.

Blog written by Sarah Pfundstein, genealogy librarian, Indiana State Library. For more information, contact the Indiana State Library at 317-232-3689 or “Ask-A-Librarian.”