Booth's Body

[Houmes]

(04-11-2014 02:21 PM)RickBeaver Wrote:  I've always wondered why the pieces of vertebrae were removed and kept.

On June 9, 1862, the U.S. Surgeon General's office issued a circular announcing an intent to publish a medical and surgical history of the war. Medical directors were instructed to send copies of their records to Dr. Joseph Janvier Woodward and surgical records were to be sent to Dr. John H. Brinton. The Surgeon General's office also planned the development of the Army Medical Museum, with the intent of improving medical and surgical care. The museum needed specimens with case reports to study. Specimens were often sent to Washington preserved in barrels of whiskey, and Dr. Brinton eventually went on an extended "collection" tour for more material. The museum began needing a large supply of alcohol, and the Washington police supplied them with confiscated brandy and liquors. Brinton is believed to have taken along a supply of both during his travels, with the brandy being an "incentive" for field officers to cooperate. Booth was captured by Federal troops, was autopsied by Federal surgeons, and there you have it.