218 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



violence, in this case, was precipitated by transient sailors, rather 

 than by the solid citizenry of Philadelphia; for that reason, it 

 has been labeled the "Sailor's Mob." At other times, Shippen had 

 to flee his own dwelling (Hartwell, 1881b; Middleton, '32; Nor- 

 wood, '44). 



Shortly before he started his anatomical courses under the 

 auspices of the College of Philadelphia, which was on November 

 14, 1765, Shippen felt it in order to put a notice in the Pennsyl- 

 vania Gazette on October 31st. 



"It has given Dr. Shippen much pain to hear that notwith- 

 standing all the caution and care he has taken to preserve the 

 utmost decency in opening and dissecting dead bodies, which he 

 has persevered in chiefly from the motive of being useful to man- 

 kind, some evil-minded persons, either wantonly or maliciously, 

 have reported to his disadvantage that he has taken up some| 

 persons who are buried in the Church Burying Ground, which 

 has distressed the minds of his worthy Fellow Citizens. The Doc- 

 tor, with much pleasure, improves this opportunity to declare 

 that the Report is absolutely false, and to assure them that the 

 bodies he dissected were either of persons who had wilfully 

 murdered themselves, or were publickly executed, except now 

 and then one from Potter's Field, whose death was owing to 

 some particular disease, and that he never had the body from 

 the church or any private Burial Place" (Middleton, '32). 



Shippen moved into new quarters in 1765, at Anatomical 

 or Surgeon's Hall, on North Street, which were quite an im- 

 provement on the ones previously occupied. The building was 

 100 by 70 feet and belonged to the College of Philadelphia. He 

 taught there from 1765 to 1806, except for the Revolutionary 

 War years of 1776-1777, when he served as Director-General of 

 the Military Hospitals. His classes increased in number from 

 12 to 250, the greatest numerical growth being between 1769 

 and 1775. The charter of the College of Philadelphia was re- 

 voked due to Tory activities. At the time when the school was 

 reorganized and taken over by the University of Pennsylvania, 

 1791, there were 104 students in attendance. These figures show 

 that his course was an exceedingly popular one. 



I 



d 



