Andrew Craigie
| Andrew Craigie | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1754 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | 1819 Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Burial place | John Vassal Tomb, Old Burial Ground, Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Doctor, Pharmacist, Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth "Betsy" Nancy Shaw |
| Parent(s) | Andrew and Elizabeth Craigie |
Andrew Craigie (1754-1819) is best known for serving as the first Apothecary General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The one-time owner of the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, Craigie developed much of East Cambridge, Massachusetts and was responsible for the construction of the Canal Bridge connecting East Cambridge and Boston, which later became known as the Craigie Bridge and later was rebuilt as the Charles River Dam Bridge, but which is still also referred to as Craigie's Bridge.
Born to Scottish ship captain Andrew Craigie and his Nantucket-born wife Elizabeth, Andrew Craigie, Jr. attended the Boston Latin School before being appointed by the Committee of Safety of the Province of Massachusetts on 30 April 1775 to take care of its medical stores. He was listed in a manuscript of "Medical Men in the American Revolution" deposited in the Library of Congress by Dr. J. M. Toner, who gave him the title of "Surg. Gen. Hosp." The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts Bay referred to Craigie as the "commissary of medicinal stores" and charged him with providing beds, linen, and other supplies necessary for patient care to the troops gathering around Boston. He is believed to have attended the wounded at Bunker Hill two months after his appointment.
On 27 July 1775, the Continental Congress created "an hospital" (the forerunner of the U.S. Army's medical department) for its army of 20,000 soldiers. An apothecary was among the personnel specified in the resolution, and in time Craigie assumed that duty. His legacy in defining what ultimately became the roles of U.S. Army Medical Service Corps pharmacists and medical logistics officers is commemorated by the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, which recognizes a federal government pharmacist each year with the Andrew Craigie Award.
After his work treating the wounded at Bunker Hill and building his practice at the hospital, he was recommended by Dr. John Morgan, director-general and chief surgeon of the army hospital, to become one of several Apothecaries General in 1777, responsible for the northern district. A subsequent reorganization of the military medical department in 1780 concentrated the authority for operations in all four districts in one medical staff. The title of "Apothecary" or "Apothecary General" was conveyed on Craigie at that time, and he became America's first official Apothecary General. Although he never met General George Washington, he came to Gen. Washington's attention, who mentioned Craigie in a letter written to "an influential member of Congress."
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