Preface.
The following work on the Early History of Medicine in Philadelphia was found among the papers of my Father after his death in March, 1875. The notes and memoranda which accompany the manuscript show that it was for the most part written in 1845, but laid aside for a time, owing to press of active work as a surgeon, while in later years failure of health prevented the finishing touches necessary to its completion. Believing that the picture which its pages present of our early medical men and institutions, as well as of the customs and manners of our colonists, and the concise but vivid description of the privations of our Revolutionary Army, and of the struggles and necessities of its Medical Department, would be interesting to all antiquarians as well as to the Medical Profession, I have decided to print it, and have deemed it best to leave it exactly as it stood, well knowing that my own imperfect acquaintance with the subject would ill enable me to fill any gaps in it.
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