Medical book unlocks piece of NC history

The recent discovery of the family library of John Gray Blount Meyers has uncovered a piece of North Carolina Civil War History. The very first nondescript book that Stephen Farrell, curator of special collections at the Brown Library, would open from the dust-laden wooden crate in the smokehouse of the Myers House, was the Manual of Military Surgery, prepared for use by the Confederate States Army, dated 1863.

“I immediately knew this was a rare find as I had never heard of such a manual, nor that they even existed,” said Farrell. “The fact that it was printed during the war made it even rarer. I went on to discover that in the right corner of the title page, inscribed in pencil, was what appeared to be the name John or James King, which was dated 1864.”

This immediately set the wheels in motion for Farrell as he began looking online through countless Confederate Army records, but no matching name was found. He then thought perhaps King may have been in the Navy. He immediately pulled out the Roster of North Carolinians in Confederate Naval Service, written by his friend and colleague, Sion H. Harrington III. And as luck would have it, he found the name. “Much to my excitement, I found the name Joel G. King from Franklin County, North Carolina, and I knew we had a match based on a second look at the signature in the book.”

King was born in 1841 in Franklin County, North Carolina. After graduating from Richmond Medical College in 1863, he was appointed from North Carolina in the Confederate States Navy as an Assistant Surgeon for the war. In 1864, he served at the naval hospital in Richmond, Virginia, was transferred to Kinston, North Carolina, and then assigned to the CSS Neuse, one of only two Confederate ironclad vessels from North Carolina. “Based on the date located near his signature, he would have had this book in his possession while aboard the Neuse,” said Farrell. “It is remarkable that of all of the historic Civil War documents that exist, one of this historical significance fell into our possession, thanks to the current owner of the Myers House, Dr. John Carbone. By all guesses, this is probably one of the last books of its kind to be found in the “wild.” Especially a medical book that can be attached to a significant piece of North Carolina history, such as the CSS Neuse.”

The Manual of Military Surgery, as Farrell explained, was a complete field manual that not only talked about basic medicine and cleanliness but included “very gruesome” sketches and drawings on the proper ways to amputate limbs. 

Farrell said that after exhausting his search to find a connection between Myers and King or a direct connection with Washington, he and the owner of the book, Dr. Carbone, concurred that the book would be best served to be on display at the CSS Neuse Civil War Museum in Kinston. In 1865, the boat was deliberately sunk by its crew in the Neuse River near Kinston, to prevent it from being captured by advancing Union troops. The ship was raised in the 1960s and is now on display at the museum. “As much as I want to keep local history local, I do see the need for North Carolinians and others to make the connection between life on the vessel and this historic artifact,” said Farrell. “This find needs to go where it can better serve the greater public at large.”

Working as an intermediary between the owner and the museum, Farrell has secured a space where it will be a featured item of the museum and remain on loan for many years to come. “My hope is this will raise awareness of our efforts here in Washington, the vast amount of history we have here, and that it will reciprocate back to us in the future, both in physical and intellectual property,” said Farrell. “If something like this can be found right here in downtown Washington, it tells me there is more to be found.”

Farrell urges anyone with old photos, books, historical artifacts, military uniforms, etc., and is not sure if they should be saved or not to reach out directly to him. “Before tossing anything that could be of historical significance, I will be more than happy to take a look at it,” said Farrell. “If you don’t know where it needs to go, I will try and find a location for it either here at the history center or elsewhere.”

This post was originally published on here