In Celebration and Commemoration

[Laurie Verge]

No sooner had I made mention of E. Pliny Bryan in a previous thread and the fact that a descendant of his is President of the Maryland State Senate than I received a packet from said Senate President (Mike Miller) containing correspondence that he had received from the Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Surgeon-in-Chief at the University of Maryland Medical System. The politician and the doctor had previously discussed President Lincoln's wounds compared to those of Congresswoman Gifford of Arizona.

The doctor expressed his opinion that "There is no doubt that President Lincoln would have survived with some neurological deficit had he been brought to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, just as Congresswoman Gifford survived her gunshot today." [Expect discussion here?]

More importantly, however, the doctor included materials written by Dr. Charles Leale regarding Lincoln's last hours. I'm sure that most of our participants on this forum are familiar with these records and Leale's 1909 speech before the Loyal Legion. They may be found online at http://www.gutenberg.lib.md.us/2/4/0/8/2...088-h.htm.

Near the end, however, is something that Dr. Leale said that I think is appropriate for our 4th of July commemoration: "...Many reported, anxious in any way to be of service. I accepted their offers to the extent of abundantly filling every want. Of all the people I have met in different parts of the world, I have found that as a class, good Americans are not to be excelled when occasions demand, in strength, endurance, calmness, good judgment, ardent loyal devotion, and self-sacrificing love."