Jonathan K. Letterman
Dr. Jonathan Letterman
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| Born |
December 11, 1824 Canonsburg, Pennsylvania |
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| Died | March 15, 1872 (aged 47) San Francisco, California |
| Buried | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | Union |
| Service/branch | Army of the Potomac |
| Years of service | 1849–1864 |
| Rank | Major |
| Relations | Mary Digges Lee Letterman (wife) |
| Other work | Coroner in San Francisco |
Major Jonathan Letterman (December 11, 1824 – March 15, 1872) was an American surgeon credited as being the originator of the modern methods for medical organization in armies or battlefield medical management. Dr. Letterman is known today as the "Father of Battlefield Medicine." His system of organization enabled thousands of wounded men to be recovered and treated during the American Civil War.
Letterman was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, the son of a well-known surgeon. His studies were directed by a private tutor until he entered Jefferson College. Soon after he graduated from Jefferson College in 1845, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, and Jefferson Medical College in 1849. That same year he was given the position of assistant surgeon in the Army Medical Department.
Letterman served in Florida during military campaigns against the Seminole Indians until 1853. He then spent a year in Fort Ripley, Minnesota. He was then ordered to Fort Defiance in New Mexico Territory to aid the campaign against the Apache. He was transferred to Fort Monroe in Virginia. From 1860 to 1861 he was engaged in California against the Utes.
His younger brother, William Henry Letterman, co-founded the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity with Charles Page Thomas Moore in Canonsburg after tending to sick classmates in the Fall of 1850. After graduation from Jefferson College, William followed his brother into Jefferson Medical College.
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