Description:

Buchanan James

J. Buchanan Nice ALS Re: Navy Surgeon

 

1p autograph letter inscribed overall by future 15th U.S. President James Buchanan (1791-1868), and signed by him as "James Buchanan" in the lower right corner. Written in "Washington City" on March 22, 1842. On watermarked cream bifold paper, with a blind embossed mark on the first page at upper left. The inner pages are blank and the last page is docketed. Expected paper folds, with vertical and horizontal lines affecting the "J" and "s" of "James" and the "B" and "h" of "Buchanan". Scattered holes along the gutter, probably resulting from past filing. Else near fine. 8" x 10".

 

James Buchanan, then a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, addressed this recommendation letter for a young doctor to "Dr. William P. C. Barton" of Philadelphia.

 

Buchanan wrote in part: "Permit me to introduce to you my friend Dr. William. S. Bishop who will be examined before your Board for admission as an assistant surgeon in the Navy. Dr. Bishop is a highly respectable gentleman of excellent character both personal + professional. As I entertain for him a warm regard, I shall be much pleased to learn that he has acquitted himself well on his examination…"

 

The historical records suggest that Buchanan's favorite passed the aforementioned examination. In Notes and Queries Historical and Genealogical Chiefly Relating to Interior Pennsylvania, edited by William Henry Egle (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Publishing Company, 1895), an endnote relates that "Dr. William S. Bishop, surgeon of U.S. Naval Hospital at Philadelphia, died in Lykens, July 4, 1869. He formerly practiced medicine at Halifax, Dauphin county" (p. 469).

 

Buchanan's correspondent was Dr. William Paul Crillon Barton (1786-1856), a naval surgeon and hospital administrator who was just six months away from a presidential appointment as Chief of Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (1842-1844). The John Tyler appointment acknowledged Barton's expertise in the field of naval medicine. Since the 1810s, Barton had lobbied for reforms like standardizing medicine and equipment (reserving alcohol for medicinal purposes only, but also championing citrus fruits to stave off vitamin deficiency); modernizing onboard medical facilities and naval hospitals; formalizing the organization and training of medical staff; and introducing health standards among naval recruits. Dr. Barton was involved in the establishment of the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. Was Buchanan's letter sent to Dr. Barton while the latter was there?

 

James Buchanan probably encountered both men through the trio's mutual Pennsylvania state connection. Buchanan, a trained lawyer, gained his first political experience in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Buchanan transitioned to the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 1820s, and later served as a minister to Russia, U.S. Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to Britain under the Jackson, Polk, and Pierce administrations respectively. A hardline Democrat, Buchanan opposed a federal banking system, supported western expansion, and lobbied for states’ rights. Buchanan was often accused of being a "Doughface", or Northerner with Southern sympathies. His inability to mitigate regionalism left his successor Abraham Lincoln to deal with the Civil War.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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