Thomas Attwood returned from Newark to open "his 

 store of Druajs and Medichies in Dock-Street." To 

 touch upon the sympathy of the Loyalists, Donald 

 McLean, "'.Surgeon of the late Sevent\-Seventh Regi- 

 ment," reported in January 1777 that he was ''now 

 hap|)il\ delivered from his late capiti\it\'" and again 

 opening a shop in Water-Street for drugs and medi- 

 cines. ■' 



Importations from London commenced as early as 

 December 1776 when "the Brig Friendship lying at 

 Beaches Wharf offered for sale "An Assortment of 

 Drugs, Consisting of Bark, Opium, Rhubarb, &c." 

 In April 1777 Speaight ad\ertised "a fresh Importa- 

 tion . . . from the original ware-houses in London," 

 and, in June, Attwood advertised "A large and general 

 Assortment of Drugs and Medicines freshly im- 

 ported .... Several Medicine Chests complete, 

 fitted up in London, with printed Directions." '- 



Imi^ortation by the British was not without its 

 problems, however. Joseph Gurney Bevan, owner 

 of the Plough Court Pharmacy in London, wrote 

 Dr. Traser in Jamaica on October 25, 1777: 



I hope thou will be pleased with the Bark. It is ver\' good 

 and the best I have seen this year, but I do not think an\ 

 Bark in town is equal to what I have seen in former years. 

 Thou wilt note the snake root to be very dear. The cause 

 is the stoppage of the .'\merican trade. Opium is also much 

 higher than I ever knew it. The insurance is raised on 

 account of the ,'\merican privateers. 



Answering a letter from William .Stewart of New 

 York, Be\an wrote on March 5, 1777: 



I wish it were yet in my power to . . . forward the medicines 

 and utensils thou hast written for. But on inquiry I am 

 informed that it is not permitted that anything shall yet 

 be sent to New York in a merchantile way. Therefore I 

 must defer till the wanted intercourse between us and \ou 

 is re-established .... I want to advise thee to buy what 

 snake root thou cans't pick up which I believe if sent hither 

 at the first opening of tlie trade, will turn to good Account." 



Bevan was still reluctant to make any shipments 

 in April because the "ships and cargoes on their 

 arrival at New York will be at the mercy of the 

 persons in commaitd there," but on .September 4 he 

 shipped a large order to McLean. '■' During the 



n New-Tork Gazette, .September 30, December 16, 23, 1776, 

 January 20, 1777. 



" Ibid., December 9, 1776, .-^pril 28, June 9, 1777. 



"^ Plough Court Pharmacy letterbook dated April 7, 1778, 

 thi-ough December 8, 1779, in possession of .Allen and Hanburys, 

 London. See also Chapman-Huston and Ernest C. Gripps, 

 Through a City Archway: The Sinry of Allen and Hanhurys, 1715- 

 1954, London, 1 954. 



remainder of the war, the Plough Court Pharmacy 

 continued regular shipments to McLean as well as 

 to .Stewart and to Browncjohn. 



' "Medicines — None' ' 



Morgan's chaotic situation at New York was mild 

 compared to the conditions at Fort George and 

 Ticonderoga in the Northern Department. Dr. 

 Samuel Stringer, medical director of the Northern 

 Department, wrote General Washington on May 10, 

 1776. that the majority of the regimental surgeons 

 had neither medicines nor instruments, and that 

 there was no possibility of getting them in Canada 

 Washington replied that he would direct Dr. Morgan 

 to send the required supplies, and ask for additional 

 help from Congress. '^* Howe\cr, until early in June, 

 Morgan was in no position to outfit medicine chests 

 for any of the troops at New York, much less for the 

 army in the north; and Congress didn't even get 

 around to directing "the committee appointed to 

 pro\'ide medicines ... to send a proper assortment 

 of medicine to Canada" until June 17.'^ 



After Morgan had established the general hospital 

 at New ^'ork, he wrote to .Samuel .\dams on June 

 25 that 



. . . the state of the Army in Canada . . . for a supply of 

 medicines is tridy deplorable. General Gates sets out to- 

 morrow to take command of the Army in Canada. Dr. 

 Potts will accompany him. I have therefore given orders 

 to supply him from the General Hospital with a large chest 

 of such medicines as I can best spare, and which can be got 

 ready to-morrow before his departure. "'' 



L'ntil July 24, the onl\' medicines to arri\e at Fort 

 George were the "few that Dr. Potts brought with 

 him" even though Morgan had, according to Stringer, 

 promised to send "by the first sloop twenty half-chests 

 of medicines" put up at New York for ten battal- 

 ions in the north. Stringer therefore asked per- 

 mission of General Gates at Ticonderoga to "go forth 

 to York and see the medicines forthwith forwarded 

 by land, until they can be safely conveyed by water." 

 Permission was granted on July 29 and .Stringer 

 departed for New York. ''' Meanwhile, Morgan had 

 written Potts on July 28 that he had sent Dr. James 

 McHenry to Philadelphia for drugs, and that he was 



'* Duncan, op. lit. (footnote 2), p. 97. 



"■'• Owen, op. cit. (footnote 2), p. 39. 



"« American Archives, ser. 4, vol. 6, p. 1069. 



"'American Archives, ser. 5, vol. 1, pp. 651-652, 1114. 



118 



BULLETIN 225: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY .AND TECHNOLOGY 



