Civil War Surgeon - Biography of James Langstaff Dunn, MD

About the Book

This book is a Biography of James Langstaff Dunn, MD, Civil War Surgeon and unwavering Patriot, from Medical Student 1846 to War End 1865. A modern doctor, Paul B Kerr, MD, obtained 140 letters Dunn wrote to his dear wife, Temperance, and children, from his College and War years. Dr Kerr interprets the letters as relates to surgery, diseases, tent life, prisons, hospitals and logistics in the light of life and medicine today, and his own experiences in Army Medicine in WW II and Korea. Dr Kerr also discusses the knowledge of anesthesia in the 1800s, and how it evolved during 40 years of his own practice of anesthesia. Dunn was the Surgeon of the 109th PA Volunteers of Infantry for three years, a Batallion that carried many central assignments and battles. Fighting for 1 1/2 years with the Army of the Potomac, his unit did a second 1 1/2 years with the Army of the Tennessee. Dunn describes first-hand the Battles for Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Chattanooga, Atlanta and the occupancy of Savannah. You won't forget his exhausting personal help for women and babies in the fiery destruction of Columbia, South Carolina. Nor will his description of first entry into Atlanta be forgotten. Dunn personally names Clara Barton "The Angel of the Battlefield." He witnesses the amazing assault on Lookout Mountain, visits relatives in Cincinnati and Nashville. In Washington, he observes President Lincoln and the huge tent city with thousands of marching men there. We have from him a dateline Washington, DC on the very day Lincoln was shot. We meet his boss and friend, General John Geary, who from Mayor of San Francisco and Governor of Kansas, becomes his Commandant, and, after the War, Governor of Pennsylvania. We learn first hand about drunkenness, "Hospital Gangrene;" and Dunn's encounters with slaves, the aristocracy of Virginia and the primitive whites of the Tennessee Mountains. Throughout, Dr Dunn keeps his morals, his devotion to the Union and his disgust with pacifists at home in Pennsylvania and in Congress. He discusses the Conscription Laws and means of substitution. His letters are full of Military Information that in other wars were subject to censorship. His 140 letters are as a "War Correspondent."

About the Author

Paul B Kerr, MD is a Physician practicing in Northern Pennsylvania, near the border of Upstate New York, and west of the Pocono Mountains. His current medical interest is in Consulting with the elderly. He married a Registered Nurse, Donna Smith, while an intern at the Guthrie Clinic, Sayre, PA. They have 3 happily married children; there are 7 grandchildren. The entire family are active and practicing Christian believers. All live nearby. Many are in medical activities. His birth and growing up was in Titusville, PA, known for "Birth of the Oil Industry." Drafted into the US Army, he was in infantry, medics and basic engineering. Using the GI Bill for help, he completed college and Medical School - Northwestern University in Chicago. After specialty training in Internal Medicine he was again drafted into the US Army, serving as Commander of the Eighth Army Headquarters Dispensary in Seoul, Korea. There he gained a first-hand knowledge of Orientals, and of far-away travel. He, with Donna, later including children, began a lifetime of short travels to five continents, visiting many cultures, usually visiting in peoples homes, through relations with Rotary International Youths who had lived in the Kerr's home. Kerrs lead cultural missions to Philippines, Portugal and Malta. Dr Kerr has been an officer in Masonic Orders, Rotary International, Gideons International and Medical Societies. Dr Kerr helped to found Montrose General Hospital; delivered 3000 babies; and did anesthesia practice for 40 years; while also doing house calls, office, emergency and administrative work. Certified as a Specialist in Family Practice, he developed a keen interest in continuing medical education and evidence-based medicine. He also has an interest in his Scotch and Pilgrim ancestors.