Doctor's Orders

Doctor's Orders. . In December 1855, Courthouse-area tavern owner Joseph Sanford sold a tract across from the courthouse to Dr. James Edgar Chancellor, a Spotsylvania County native who had studied at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia., Chancellor operated a successful store and medical practice near the Spotsylvania Courthouse from 1855 until 1862, when his wife, Dorothea, died from typhoid fever., After her death, Chancellor sold his 235 acres and moved his family to Charlottesville., During the Civil War, Chancellor served as surgeon of the 55th Virginia Infantry and practiced at Charlottesville's Confederate States Army Hospital, which treated 22,000 wounded soldiers. As supervisor, he kept the hospital running despite limited staff and other wartime hurdles., After the war, he served as "Demonstrator of Anatomy" at the University of Virginia from 1865 to 1872. He married his second wife, Gabriella Garth, in 1867, and was an active and respected member of the medical community throughout his life. He died in 1896., (Photo Captions) , RIGHT: Dr. James Edgar Chancellor (seated in front row, far right) is photographed on the steps of the University of Virginia's famous Rotunda alongside fellow medical staff and students in 1867. Courtesy of University of Virginia Library, BACKGROUND: This A.H. Folsom photograph shows the Boston City Hospital operating theater, circa 1890. Dr. Chancellor would have worked in a similar fashion at UVA., LEFT: An 1865 image shows the building out of which Dr. James Edgar Chancellor ran a store and medical practice. It was located where the former Chewning's store sits today. Courtesy of Library of Congress