178 BULLETIN OF THE * 



Museum, to make reports on the extent and nature of the materials 

 collected for the purpose in question. These reports were published 

 by the Surgeon General November 1, 1865, as "Circular No. 6," for 

 the year 1865. This circular was widely distributed, attracted 

 great attention at the time, and satisfactorily attained the object 

 which led to its publication. It formed a quarto volume of 166 

 pages, with a number of illustrations intended to indicate the char- 

 acter of those regarded as desirable for the Medical and Surgical 

 History. The first half of the volume was occupied by the Surgi- 

 cal Report prepared by Otis. It was a thoughtfully prepared docu_ 

 ment, which excited the universal admiration of military surgeons 

 in Europe as well as in America. 



It became necessary after the close of the war to retain many of 

 the staff surgeons of volunteers in the service for duty in the general 

 hospitals or other purposes after the great armies had been dis- 

 banded, and Otis was, of course, retained with that rank as long as 

 possible; but it was foreseen that the great work he had com- 

 menced would occupy a number of years, and he was induced to 

 make arrangements for entering the army as an assistant surgeon. 

 Accordingly he passed the examination prescribed by law, and 

 February 28, 1866, received an appointment as Assistant Surgeon, 

 U. S. Army, but he was not finally mustered out of service as 

 surgeon of volunteers until June 4, 1866, and hence did not accept 

 his commision as Assistant Surgeon U. S. A., until the 6th of that 

 month. 



Meanwhile Otis was devoting himself to the study and arrange- 

 ment of the materials collected for the Surgical History with 

 indefatigable energy, and while engaged upon that work received 

 authority to publish two preliminary studies on special subjects 

 connected therewith, which greatly increased the reputation he had 

 won by his report in Circular No. 6. The first was A Report on 

 Amputation at the Hip-joint in Military Surgery, published as Cir- 

 cular No. 7, Surgeon General's Office, July 1, 1867. In this he 

 not merely presented and analyzed the histories of the several am- 

 putations at this joint reported to the Surgeon General's Office during 

 the civil war, but discussed with the critical abilities of a master the 

 whole literature of the subject so far as it was at the time accessible 

 to him. An examination of this monograph shows that he had 

 already pretty well begun to emancipate himself from the leading- 

 strings of the French school, and had fully acquired the desire, so 



