Army's Fort Sam Houston renames road for Maj. Jonathan Letterman, the 'Father of Battlefield Medicine' and a Civil War surgeon

Maj. Letterman (seated) was an innovator in battlefield medical care (Library of Congress)

Fort Sam Houston -- home of the prestigious Brooke Army Medical Center and the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence – is removing the name of a Confederate general from a street and designating it Letterman Road, a tribute to a Civil War pioneer in the treatment of trauma patients.

Joint Base San Antonio officials made the announcement Wednesday, saying Army Maj. Jonathan Letterman is receiving the honor as the “Father of Battlefield Medicine.”

William Hardee Road is being renamed after the recommendation of a congressional commission set up to remove Confederate names from military bases. Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee was a senior commander in the Confederate army. Earlier in his career, after the Mexican-American War, he was posted in Texas, including a stint in San Antonio.

Letterman, a surgeon and administrator with the Union Army of the Potomac, established the first ambulance corps, reorganized hospitals and devised the system of triage treatment, saving the lives of thousands. His ambulance system was successfully tested at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.

“Before Letterman’s innovations, wounded men were often left to fend for themselves. Unless carried off the field by a comrade, or one of the regimental musicians doubling as a stretcher bearer, a wounded soldier could lie for days suffering from exposure and thirst,” said a news release this week about the road renaming.

Demonstration of the Army of the Potomac's ambulance corps (Library of Congress)

Letterman put in place field dressing station near the battlefield for initial treatment and wound dressings. A field hospital, usually in homes or a barn, provided emergency surgery and more treatment. Large hospitals away from the hospital provided long-term care, according to the American Battlefield Trust.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, Md., offers a medical excellence award in Letterman’s honor, recognizing innovation in treatment. It was pleased by the road renaming at Fort Sam Houston.

David Price, executive director of the museum, says the venue tells the story of Letterman and his leadership in bringing about profound changes in the health of a fighting force. "He simply brought order out of chaos. The system he put in place on Civil War battlefields is the same system used today around the world. His innovations were quickly adopted into civilian medicine - specifically the ambulance system, which we all are familiar with today.”

The Pry House Field Hospital museum at Antietam National Battlefield details Letterman's command of the medical response on the bloodiest day in American history in September 1862. 

“His system was in its infancy and proved invaluable in evacuating the nearly 23,000 casualties within 24 hours of the battle,” said Price in an email.

Letterman's desk is on display in Frederick, Md. (Courtesy NMCWM)

The museum’s Frederick location includes some Letterman items, including his desk, which is on loan from Gordon Dammann.

The first floor focuses on echelons of care, triage, logistics, nutrition and more.“Modern medical military leaders come from all over the world to see the birth of the systems they command today,” said Price.

The museum recently purchased a reproduction Rosecrans/Wheeling-style ambulance from a seller in New Hampshire. It and a Rucker-style reproduction are on view at the Pry House. 

Reproduction ambulances at Pry House at Antietam (Courtesy NMCWM)

Letterman's ideas remain foundational to trauma care.

“I often wondered whether, had I been confronted with the primitive system which Letterman fell heir to at the beginning of the Civil War, I could have developed as good an organization as he did. I doubt it,” said Maj. Gen. Paul Hawley, chief surgeon of the European Theater in WWII. “There was not a day during World War II that I did not thank God for Jonathan Letterman.”

The innovator has been honored before. The now-closed hospital at the Presidio in San Francisco was named Letterman Army Hospital.