Research

Custodial History

Neither the general order issued by the State's Adjutant General nor that issued by the U.S. War Department stipulated that this specific type of record was to be compiled by each examining surgeon (in practice, however, this was usually the case). Due to this omission, no provision was made for the final disposition of the reports created by each county examining surgeon. Somehow, all of these reports except for fourteen counties and parts of two others were acquired by Dr. Sylvester D. Willard of Albany. According to the 1864 Annual Report of the Bureau of Military Statistics, these reports were donated to the bureau by Dr. Willard sometime during the year. The location of the reports of the other county examining surgeons is not known.