Hammond, William A.

Hammond, William A. (Alexander) (1828–1900) neurologist, army doctor; born in Annapolis, Md. As army surgeon general from 1862–64, he reformed and reorganized the army medical department to meet the burden of tens of thousands of wounded and sick Union soldiers; he supervised more than 230 army general hospitals. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton dismissed Hammond on trivial charges (1864), but a review board exonerated him in 1879. As a civilian, he taught at medical schools, started medical journals, wrote a great deal—including the pioneer text, Treatise on Diseases of the Nervous System (1871)—and generally advanced the treatment of nervous and mental diseases.