Dr. Zabdiel Boylston Adams, Jr. (born October 25, 1829 – May 1, 1902) was a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

surgeon and 1853 graduate of

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

Biography

Adams, Jr. was the son of Zabdiel Boylston Adams and Sarah May Holland. His siblings included

Annie Adams Fields Annie Adams Fields (June 6, 1834 – January 5, 1915) was an American writer. Among her writings are collections of poetry and essays as well as several memoirs and biographies of her literary acquaintances. She was also interested in philanthrop ...

. He married Frances Ann Kidder and had two children. Zabdiel Adams initially attended Harvard College, but graduated from Bowdoin in 1849. He then entered Harvard Medical School and graduated with an M.D. in 1853. In May 1861, he was commissioned an Assistant Surgeon in the

7th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry The 7th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. It was formed on June 15, 1861, in Taunton. Its original commander was Colonel Darius N. Couch who would eventually be ...

. He served with the 7th at the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, and Fair Oaks. On May 26, 1862, he was commissioned as Head Surgeon for the 32nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Adams, according to his great-grandson Mitchell L. Adams, a former member of Harvard's Board of Overseers, labored so long in surgeries at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

— remaining on duty for two days and three nights — that he temporarily became blind with exhaustion. Although he regained his sight, he was discharged. He fought hard to get back into the surgical corps after being mustered out, to no avail. By 1864, Adams resorted to an unusual ploy to extend his service. He gave up battlefield medicine and rejoined the army as an infantry officer, a captain, with the 56th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Wounded at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

, and captured by

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces, he was eventually paroled and sent to the Union Hospital in

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Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Because of his wound, he was discharged from the army. However, he again reapplied, and rejoined the 56th in February 1865, in time for the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

. He was brevetted Major of the 56th, being promoted ''for gallantry and meritorious conduct in the assault before Petersburg, Va.'' on April 2, 1865. Adams took part in multiple battles, from the Peninsular Campaign to the

Battle of Second Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederat ...

Battle of Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Battle of the Wilderness, and, in 1865, the Siege of Petersburg,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, that ended the war. After the war, Adams opened a medical practice in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, Massachusetts. There he also established the public library and invited lecturers to town including his brother-in-law

James T. Fields James Thomas Fields (December 31, 1817 – April 24, 1881) was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston. Biography Early life and family He was born in ...

. He married Frances Kidder in 1870, but the two had a difficult marriage. Although he predeceased her, she noted in her will, "inasmuch as he has never done anything for my support and his treatment has been most upsetting and that he has tried to desert his family entirely, I have no wish to leave him anything that belongs to my estate". He died after falling over the Metropolitan Water Works dam in Southborough in 1902 and is buried in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

Memorial

There is a memorial plaque to Adams mounted on a boulder on the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Of over 2,000 memorials there, it is the only one dedicated to a physician. The text reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Zabdiel Boylston 1829 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American physicians Bowdoin College alumni Harvard Medical School alumni People of the American Civil War People from Boston Physicians from Massachusetts

Biography

Memorial

See also

References