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- HENRY PALMER, M.D. One of the most distinguished and
- successful physicians and surgeons of Wisconsin; is a native
of New Hartford, Oneida Co., N.Y., where he was born July 30,
1827. His father, Ephraim PALMER, who, at this writing, is living
at Edgerton, in this State, was a farmer, and from early boyhood
until he reached the age of 19, Henry worked on the farm with
unceasing industry, the only relaxation being his attendance
at the district school in the winter season. At 19, he began
an academic course at the Whitestown and Cazenovia Seminaries,
and from these he entered upon a course of teaching, and the
money he obtained from this source was judiciously used in paying
the cost of his early medical studies. By the time he was 21,
his health gave way, and, as a means to restore it, he took passage
on a vessel which accompanied the GRINNELL expedition to the
Arctic Regions, in 1849, and was absent six months, and during
the time touched at many points in Greenland and Hudson Bay.
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- In 1851, with good health, powerful energy, and well-directed
ambition, he entered the office of
- Drs. MARCH & ARMSBY, at Albany, N.Y., who, at that time,
were eminent physicians, and Professors in the Albany Medical
College. In this year, he was married to Miss Edna A. HOYT. He
was graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1854, and so
conspicuous was he in high standing in the graduating class,
that he was immediately appointed resident surgeon at the MARSHALL
Infirmary at Troy, N.Y., a position which he had the honor of
filling for two years. He decided to enter a broader field, however,
and with his family, he came west in 1856, and settled in Janesville.
His ambition did not slumber, and his zeal for his profession
did not abate; and, of course, prosperity attended him from the
start, not only pecuniarily, but in his treatment of complicated
diseases, and in successfully performing the most difficult surgical
operations. His reputation soon became State-wide, and every
year increased the demand for his services, and added laurels
to his professional career.
- Soon after the war broke out, in 1861, Dr. PALMER was commissioned
Surgeon of the 7th
- Wisconsin Infantry, and joined the Army of the Potomac. His
prominence in the profession gave him a commanding influence,
but without seeking the position, he was commissioned a Brigade
Surgeon by President LINCOLN on the 4th of April, 1862, and assigned
for duty to the famous "Iron Brigade." But he did not
stop here. He was next placed on duty at York, Penn., when the
construction and superintendency of the largest hospital in the
United States was placed in his hands. Mrs. D. L. DIX, a distinguished
hospital nurse, who was appointed Superintendent of hospital
nurses by a special act of Congress, in 1861, pronounced York
Hospital, as conducted by Dr. PALMER, the best in the United
States.
- In the summer of 1863, and only a few days before the battle
of Gettysburg, Gen. EARLY, with
- a force of several thousand rebel raiders, made an attack
on York for the purpose of capturing the Government stores and
taking the convalescent prisoners. This movement of the rebels
met with prompt resistance on the part of Dr. PALMER, who was
in command of the post. He quickly armed his convalescents -
several hundred in number - and gallantly defended the post until
the Government stores and the hospital supplies were removed
beyond the reach of the Confederates. It was at this time that
Dr. PALMER was taken prisoner, but, during the battle of Gettysburg,
he successfully made his escape, took command of the York post
and the charge of the hospital, which was soon filled with the
wounded from Gettysburg.
- In July, 1864, rebel Gen. GILMORE made a devastating raid
into Maryland and Pennsylvania,
- and threatened to inflict considerable damage in and about
York. Appreciating the necessity of prompt action, and the importance
of protecting the railways, Dr. PALMER armed his convalenscents
and organized a force of several hundred citizens, and with these
and a few regular troops, he proceeded into Maryland to protect
the roads and to hold the rebels in check. This movement proved
eminently successful; for, by the wisdom and promptness of his
judgement, and by his energy and courage, he saved a large amount
of property from being destroyed, besides securing to the Government
other important military advantanges. The valuable services rendered
by Dr. PALMER, in this instance, were made the subject of a well-deserved
and congratulatory letter from Maj. Gen. D. N. COUCH, then in
command of the Department of the Susquehanna, to Surgeon General
BARNES, of the United States Army.
- His health being considerably impaired by overwork, Dr. PALMER
attempted to resign in
- August, 1864, but the General commanding, in forwarding the
resignation to the War Department, indorsed it with the request
that a leave of absence of sufficient length of time to recruit
his health be granted, "as the interests of the service
demanded that officers of his ability and disposition should
be retained." In the fall of 1864, he was appointed Medical
Inspector of the Eighth Army Corps, with headquarters at Baltimore.
He held this position until June, 1865, when he was ordered to
take charge of Camp DOUGLAS, Chicago, Ill., and close up the
affairs of that hospital. This he did, and, at last, was mustered
out on the 7th of October, 1865. For faithful and meritorious
services, which were frequently brought to the notice of the
War Department, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel by brevet,
by President JOHNSON, on the 13th of March, 1866, the rank to
date from March 13, 1865.
- In 1877, Dr. PALMER carried out his long-fixed purpose of
visiting Europe. The war then
- raging between Russia and Turkey made it an auspicious time
for such a visit, as it would afford him an opportunity to examine
the hospitals of the Russian army. He left Janesville during
the latter part of May, and returned the following August. During
his stay abroad, he visited Liverpool, London, Paris, Berlin,
Vienna, Leipsic, Dresden, Antwerp, Brussels, Munich, and many
other places of historic interest. He was with the Russian army
at Bucharest and through Roumania [Romania], and also when it
crossed the Danube, and saw the engagement at Nicopolis, and
witnessed the ever-memorable battle, which resulted in the downfall
of Plevna. He also visited the chief art-galleries of Europe,
and returned home with the finest art collection to be found
in Southern Wisconsin. While in Europe, he wrote several very
interesting and graphic letters concerning persons, places, and
things, of that country, which were published in the Janesville
Gazette, and were widely read, and universally praised. On
his return, he was urgently requested to address public audiences
on what he saw in Europe. Amid his arduous professional duties,
he prepared a lecture describing his trip to the Old World, and
what he saw in the principal cities of the continent; and especially
noted the habits and the customs of the people in Roumania [Romania],
Turkey, and that portion of Europe. The lecture was intensely
interesting, and, as a literary production, it commanded the
admiration of all intelligent hearers. It was first delivered
in Janesville, in August, 1877, to an audience composed of over
one thousand persons. The interest in the lecture became wide-spread,
and calls for its delivery in the principal towns of Southern
Wisconsin were numerous and urgent. He delivered it a number
of times to crowded houses always, and never charged for his
time and trouble.
- It is not often we find in one man such a devotion to his
profession and to science, and, at the
- same time, such an undaunted public spirit, as we find in
Dr. PALMER. In his profession, he is possessed of a firmness
and dexterity of hand, a calm, cool brain, a quick, unfailing
eye, a steady nerve, a strength of will, and a physical endurance,
which give him so much distinction as a surgeon. These qualities
enable him to successfully perform some of the most difficult
and dangerous operations known to his profession. He has also
won an enviable reputation as a physician, his practice being
chiefly confined to the best class of people, and the calls for
his services come from far and near. On the other hand, he stands
among our most prominent public men. There is no local enterprise
of any consideration that he is not called upon to assist. He
performs a prodigious amount of professional labor - enough to
bankrupt the physical system of any man of ordinary endurance
- but yet he finds time to attend scores of enterprises of a
local but important character. Everything he undertakes bears
the unmistakable impress of his energy, sound judgement and genius.
In addition to all this, he is a thorough scholar, and a true
gentleman, and enjoys the abiding confidence and respect of the
people for his manly character and unimpeachable integrity.
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-
- Taken from "The History of Rock County, Wis."
(c)1879, pp. 716-718; lithograph p. 711.
-
- Courtesy of Carol
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