Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

James Bolton. Medical daybook, 1862-1864. Accession 18791, Business records collection, The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Minnie Bolton, 9 June 1924.

Biographical/Historical Information

Dr. James Bolton (1812-1869) practiced medicine and surgery in Richmond, Virginia, where he operated a private hospital, "Bellevue," from 1855 to 1866. Active in local, state, and national medical associations, Bolton served as treasurer of the Medical Society of Virginia for several years and president in 1867. He published a medical book in 1842, edited a medical journal in 1854, and contributed essays to medical journals. During the Civil War, Bolton served both in the field at the Battles of Manassas (Bull Run) and Spotsylvania (accompanied by his wife, Anna Maria Harrison Bolton) and at Richmond as a surgeon in the Confederate Army in charge of officers in private quarters. He joined General Robert E. Lee's personal staff when the Confederates evacuated Richmond and stayed with Lee until he surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Bolton resumed his medical practice in Richmond after the war, residing on Grace Street.

For more biographical information, see Henry Carrington Bolton, THE FAMILY OF BOLTON IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA, 1100-1894 (New York: privately printed, 1895), pp. 397-99.

Scope and Content Information

The notebook is a daily record of patients seen, both private and military, often including rank, age, or address. Other sections of the book include more detailed notes of surgery and other treatments, a record of stimulants (alcohol) administered, vaccination procedures and records, and some medicinal preparations.