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Tag: Benjamin Rush

  • What To Do With Prisoners?–February 7, 1776

    Cover art for February 7, 1776: detail from "The Battle of Bennington" by Grandma Moses, 1953, depicting British prisoners being taken. Originally commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution but rejected because of some inaccuracies. Now at the Bennington Museum.
    Detail from “The Battle of Bennington” by Grandma Moses, 1953, depicting British prisoners being taken. Originally commissioned by the Daughters of the American Revolution but rejected because of some inaccuracies. Now at the Bennington Museum.

    When I mentioned in today’s episode that American prisoners were left to disease or neglect, I wasn’t telling you the half of it.

    The British used captured, damaged or obsolete ships as their prisons. Conditions were so bad that more Americans died as a result of disease than died on the battlefield. Over 10,000 men died that way, and their bodies were either dumped overboard or buried in shallow graves along the shoreline.

    At that time, supplies for combatants were expected to be supplied by their own side, or through the largesse of private resources. But when the prison is a ship off-shore, getting those supplies through was nearly impossible.

    British prisoners, on the other hand, were generally treated much better. This isn’t to say that there weren’t instances of them being abused, but it wasn’t the norm.

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  • Rush To The Altar–January 11, 1776

    Cover art for January 11, 1776: Portrait of Julia Stockton Rush by Charles Willson Peale, painted in 1776.
    Portrait of Julia Stockton Rush by Charles Willson Peale, painted in 1776. Sure, most of the episode is about Benjamin Rush, but who would YOU rather look at? Right.

    Although she was quite young when she married Benjamin Rush, Julia Stockton was probably as brilliant and opinionated as her husband was.

    Not long after they married on this day in 1776, Benjamin was appointed Surgeon General to his friend George Washington, and as the war got more intense and involved, and American losses began to pile up, Benjamin would occasionally hear soldiers complaining about them, and he would repeat that information to her in both letters and in conversation.

    But sooner or later, she warned him in early 1778, some of this backbiting was going to get back to General Washington. He did promise to take this advice to heart, but it was already too late. One of his letters did get back to Washington’s camp, and he was never forgiven for it.

    Benjamin Rush is perhaps more well-known for being America’s answer to Hippocrates, because of his popularity as both a doctor (especially for the poor) and as a teacher. But there’s so much more to him, and his relationship with Julia, than most might consider. If you get an opportunity and you enjoy reading about history, consider picking up a copy of Rush: Revolution, Madness & the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father, by historian Stephen Fried. It’s about $20 via Amazon, or the Kindle edition is under $5, quite the bargain.

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