Henry Palmer (July 30, 1827June 15, 1895) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

physician and educator. He served as a

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, and later became Surgeon General of the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He was also the 12th mayor of

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is the county seat and largest city in the county. It is a principal municipality of the Janesville, Wisconsin, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Madison–Jane ...

, and was professor of surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago.

Early life

Palmer was born in

New Hartford, New York New Hartford is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Oneida County, New York, United States. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the town population was 22,166. The name of New Hartford was provided by a settler fam ...

, in 1827. He graduated from

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

in 1854. Shortly after graduating, Palmer traveled to Europe for vacation and ended up volunteering as a surgeon in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. In 1856, Palmer moved to

Military career

Palmer joined the 7th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in 1861. The following year, he was named Brigadier Surgeon of U.S. Volunteers and remained in the position until the conclusion of the Civil War. Additionally, he was chief surgeon at

York U.S. Army Hospital The York U.S. Army Hospital was one of Pennsylvania's largest military hospitals during the American Civil War. It was established in York, Pennsylvania, to treat wounded and sick soldiers of the Union army. History The hospital was established ...

Post-war

Palmer would spend time as a member of the faculty at the

University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and formerly Champaign–Urbana metropolitan a ...

. From 1880 to 1890, he was Surgeon General of Wisconsin. Palmer was twice Mayor of Janesville. He died in 1895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Henry People from New Hartford, New York People from Janesville, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War Union Army generals Physicians from Wisconsin Mayors of places in Wisconsin University of Illinois Chicago faculty Albany Medical College alumni 1827 births 1895 deaths 19th-century American politicians