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Manuscripts
M. K. (Morse K.) Taylor letter to Ira Bartholomew
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- Description
- Letter from Dr. Morse K. Taylor to his colleague Dr. Ira Bartholomew, in which Taylor seeks to establish his claim over Dr. Jacob Da Costa as the physician who first described a condition of "heart diseases in the military service" (later called "military heart" or Da Costa's Syndrome). Taylor describes his service as a field surgeon during the Civil War, noting that his "investigation" into heart diseases began "in the field" at Cornith, Mississippi, in May 1862. In August of that year he was transferred to the general hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, and he describes furthering his research and quotes the number of admissions, deaths, and autopsies during his time at the hospital. He goes on to outline how his further research has verified his earlier conclusions, and that it is a "great satisfaction" to him that other surgeons had subsequently come to similar conclusions. Regarding Da Costa, Taylor writes that he had altered his views to be more in line with Taylor's in an 1871 article, and Taylor concludes that there was "now but little difference between us - no more...than might be expected to arise from different standpoints, civil and military." Taylor concludes by saying he is writing an article on "Heart Strain in the Military Service" for Wood's Reference Handbook. In a postscript, Taylor clarifies that he does not intend to "antagonize" Da Costa, conceding that "we were working simultaneously in the same direction unknown to each other." But he is firm in noting that "I do claim precedence" for having described the condition, and cites various correspondence and published papers to support his claim. The letter also mentions doctors by the names of Keeney, Woodward, Seitz, Myers, and Franzel.
