568 ARMY VETERINARY DEPARTMENT. 
veterinary knowledge flowed, and by whom all veterinary sur¬ 
geons were created; reasons that rendered it very natural that 
the army (as soon as it became desirous for veterinary aid) should 
resort to him for such assistance. And of great and permanent 
service might the Professor, at this day, have been, not only to the 
army, to his country, but to veterinary surgeons—nay, to him¬ 
self! Instead of which—instead of looking widely and sagely 
around him, at such a moment, upon all these important interests, 
what did he do ?—what has he effected 1 Why, Ill tell you 
what he did. 
Instead of uniformly recommending* such persons for appoint¬ 
ments as would have reflected credit upon himself and upon the 
College, and have proved themselves of real and essential ser¬ 
vice to the army, he occasionally gave preferment very im¬ 
proper characters, and introduced into more regiments than 
one, grooms and farriers, under the imposing title of veteri¬ 
nary surgeons, which he himself had dubbed them with at a 
prior examination, under his own immediate controul. If, gentle 
reader, you have any doubt of what I assert, take up an old 
army list, look at the names of the different veterinary surgeons, 
and make inquiries concerning them, and you will then be satis¬ 
fied that I am speaking neither without reason nor with injustice. 
Nay, take up an army list for the present month, and you 
will find still enough of* the old stock to make my affirmation 
true. 
Originally, Professor Coleman, the “Principal Veterinary 
Surgeon,’'' exercised unopposed authority in the recommendation 
and appointment of veterinary surgeons to regiments: he used, 
whenever vacancies occurred, to receive official notification 
thereof from the War Office; and the name of the individual 
which he returned w as a sufficient guarantee for his being com¬ 
missioned. At this period, it w r as no very uncommon occurrence 
for an army appointment literally to “go a begging.” This 
pow er of appointment continued uninterrupted in Mr. Coleman’s 
hands until it w r as discovered in some of the regiments that their 
veterinary surgeons w r ere anything but what they ought to have 
been—that the service was not only not benefited, but really 
disgraced by them. This opened the eyes of some of the 
lieutenant-colonels commanding, and they determined, on any 
change taking place, to try if they could not obtain the appoint¬ 
ment for some individual recommended by some one else but 
Mr. Coleman. Accordingly, several respectable practitioners 
had applications made to them by these colonels, for veterinary 
surgeons for their regiments; and in various instances these 
efforts were crowned w 7 ith the desired success: h e. competent 
