MEDICAL  PURVEYING  DEPARTMENT  OF  U.  S.  ARMY.  91 
THE  MEDICAL  PURVEYING  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  ARMY. 
By  Hennell  Stevens,  Medical  Storekeeper,  U.S.  A. 
The  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  Medical  Department,  of 
an  army  like  that  of  the  United  States,  engaged  in  a  conflict  so 
vast,  and  scattered  over  so  large  an  extent  of  territory,  must 
necessarily  be  varied  and  important.  In  point  of  numbers  it  is 
the  largest  of  the  Staff  Corps.  Upon  it  devolve  the  measures 
necessary  for  the  prevention  of  disease,  as  well  as  its  treatment 
and  cure ;  the  hygienic  and  sanitary  regulations  of  the  army ; 
the  planning  of  hospitals,  and  their  superintendence ;  the  pur- 
chase or  manufacture,  and  distribution  of  medical  supplies,  as 
well  as  their  administration  to  the  sick.  It  is  of  the  last  class  of 
duties  alone  of  which  I  shall  treat  in  the  present  paper,  in  which 
I  propose  to  give  some  account  of  the  operations  of  the  Medical 
Purveying  Department  of  the  United  States  Army,  believing  it 
will  be  of  interest  to  the  readers  of  the  Journal. 
The  duties  of  procuring  and  issuing  the  medical  supplies  of 
the  army  are  devolved,  under  the  direction  of  the  Surgeon 
General,  upon  the  Medical  Purveyors,  who  are  Medical  Officers, 
detailed  for  that  duty,  there  being,  in  our  army,  no  officers  ap- 
pointed for  that  specific  purpose.  In  May,  1862,  Congress  passed 
an  Act,  adding  six  Medical  Storekeepers  to  the  army,  who  were 
required  to  be  skilled  Apothecaries  or  Druggists ;  and  who  were 
appointed  under  the  following  regulations,  published  May  24th, 
1862. 
1st.  A  board  of  not  less  than  three  Medical  Officers  will  be  assembled 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  examine  such  applicants  as  may,  by  him,  be 
authorized  to  appear  before  it. 
2d.  Candidates,  to  be  eligible  to  examination,  shall  be  not  less  than  25 
years  nor  more  than  40  years  of  age  ;  shall  possess  sufficient  physical 
ability  to  perform  their  duties  satisfactorily;  and  shall  present  with  their 
applications  satisfactory  evidence  of  good  moral  character. 
3d.  Candidates  will  be  required  to  pass  a  satisfactory  examination  in 
the  ordinary  branches  of  a  good  English  education,  in  Pharmacy  and 
Materia  Medica ;  and  to  give  proof  that  they  possess  the  requisite  business 
qualifications  for  the  position.  m 
4th.  The  board  will  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  the  relative  merits 
of  the  candidates  examined,  and  they  will  receive  appointments  accord- 
ingly. 
