New York Hospital and Civil War: U.S. Sanitary Commission Members

New York hospital had four doctors who served with the U. S. Sanitary Commission, a civilian organization that was concerned with the health of the soldiers. The volunteers worked as medical inspectors visiting the camps and hospitals, operated soldiers' homes, and furnished medical supplies, food, clothing, and nursing care for soldiers in the camps and hospitals. The leaders of the U.S. Sanitary Commission were instrumental in lobbying the government for the need to reform the U.S. Medical Department, develop an effective transport ambulance system, and develop more sanitary hospitals and camps.

William Van Buren was an attending surgeon at New York Hospital from 1853-1860. He accompanied Henry Whitney Bellows, founder of the Commission, to Washington DC to lobby for Lincoln's and Congress' approval of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. After the war he continued to serve as a consulting surgeon at the hospital until his death in 1883. He was also a professor at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Cornelius Agnew was a house surgeon at New York Hospital from 1853-1854. He was a member of the U.S. Sanitary Commission in 1861. He served as the general surgeon for the New York State Militia during the Civil War. After the war, he became a prominent ophthalmologist. He was one of the founders of the Brooklyn Eye and Ear Hospital and the Manhattan Eye and Ear Hospital. He died in 1888.

James W. McLane served with the U. S. Sanitary Commission from 1861-1862. In 1862, he served as an acting assistant surgeon during the McClellan Peninsula Campaign. From 1864-1865, he was a house physician at New York Hospital. From 1867-1884, he was an attending at New York Hospital.

A. Brayton Ball served with the U.S. Sanitary Commission from 1862-1863 and also served with Robert Weirs at General Hospital, Frederick, MD. He returned to New York in 1864 where he served a year as a house surgeon at New York Hospital. From 1888-1905, he was an attending surgeon at the hospital.