402  Beginnings  of  Pharmacy  in  America.    { A^pfembe?,hi907?" 
do,  or  can  do,  the  business  of  an  apothecary  in  this  place  them- 
selves. They  have  apprentices  for  the  purpose.  After  visiting  the 
sick,  do  not  their  apprentices  make  up  their  prescriptions  ?  I  should 
ask,  is  not  an  apothecary  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  art  of 
compounding  and  making  up  medicines  as  skilful  in  it  as  an  appren- 
tice ?  Is  not  a  man  educated  in  the  profession  to  be  trusted  in 
preference  to  one  who  is  only  learning  the  business  ?  " 
Dr.  Morgan,  on  his  return  from  Europe,  was  accompanied  by  Mr. 
Leighton,  an  accomplished  apothecary,  who  had  been  educated  in 
Great  Britain,  and  who  brought  with  him  a  large  assortment  of 
medicines,  largely  from  Sylvanus  and  Timothy  Bevan,  in  London, 
and  was,  therefore,  prepared  to  fill  all  prescriptions  that  should  be 
presented.  Of  how  long  this  first  prescription  pharmacy  existed  or 
of  how  the  innovation  was  received  by  the  apothecaries  and  drug- 
gists of  Philadelphia,  we  have  no  record,  as  no  mention  is  made  of 
Mr.  Leighton  by  the  annalists  of  the  times,  and  his  name  does  not 
appear  in  the  known  lists  of  apothecaries  or  of  medical  practitioners. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  he  did  not  continue  long  in  business, 
particularly  as  other  Philadelphia  physicians  did  not  take  kindly  to 
Dr.  Morgan's  practice  of  writing  prescriptions,  despite  the  fact  that 
he  soon  had  the  best  and  most  remunerative  practice  in  the  city. 
At  the  close  of  the  American  Revolution  there  were  but  three 
medical  practitioners  in  Philadelphia,  who  confined  their  practice 
entirely  to  the  writing  of  prescriptions,  John  Morgan,  Abraham 
Chovet  and  John  Jones. 
There  are  no  authentic  records  that,  during  the  Revolutionary 
War  or  during  the  War  of  1812,  the  dispensing  of  such  medicines 
as  were  available  was  done  by  others  than  the  surgeons  or  surgeons' 
mates  directly  in  charge  of  the  patients.  While  it  is  true  that  a 
number  of  apothecaries  are  mentioned  in  the  several  published  lists 
of  the  medical  men  that  served  in  the  Continental  Army,  it  would 
appear  from  the  following  extract  from  the  Journal  of  Congress, 
dated  July  27,  1775,  that  they  were  engaged  in  the  capacity  of 
general  practitioners  rather  than  pharmacists : 
"  It  is  recommended  that  for  the  establishment  of  an  hospital  for 
an  army  consisting  of  20,000  men  the  following  officers  and  other 
attendants  be  appointed,  with  the  following  allowance  or  pay,  viz.: 
One  director-general  and  chief  physician,  his  pay,  per  day,  four 
dollars.    Four  surgeons,  each  ditto,  one  and  one-third  of  a  dollar. 
