Memoir of the late Dr Robert Jackson, inspector of army hospitals / read by Dr Borland at the Anniversary Meeting of the Officers of the Medical Department, 12th May 1827.

  • Borland, James, 1774-1863.
Date:
1827
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Memoir of the late Dr Robert Jackson, inspector of army hospitals / read by Dr Borland at the Anniversary Meeting of the Officers of the Medical Department, 12th May 1827. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    o?. MEMOIR of the late Dr Robert Jackson, Inspector of Army Hospitals. Read by Dr Borland at the Anniversary Meeting of the Officers of the Medical Department, 12th May 1827- A V-'V XX/X. 1/6. (From the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, No. 94.) Gentlemen, J. N this appropriate place of our annual meeting, surrounded by : several senior officers of the department, to whom the inestimable i qualities of a distinguished member, now no more, the venerable Dr Robert Jackson, were well known, I proceed, at the request of (the Director-General, to perform the duty assigned to me, of offer- iing the tribute, justly due from us all, to the memory of a man ■ whose useful labours must always be highly appreciated, not only Ibv this department of which he was an ornament, but by the mem- !bers of the medical profession in every quarter of the globe. * The Island of Jamaica was ffijjdjn which Dr Jackson com- nnenced his professional careeFA'Themedical charge of a detach- iment of the 1st battalion of the 60th regiment, quartered at Savan- ma-la-mar, in the year 1774» was the first duty on which he was • employed with the army; and his records of the cases of disease which occurred during his medical superintendence of this detach- :ment, which comprised a period of several years, have been pre- : served, and exhibit specimens of accuracy in clinical description i never surpassed. They are the first fruits of a rule (carefully to re- gister every occurring symptom,) which he then laid down for his : guidance ; to the undeviating observance of which afterwards, in i every condition of service,—in camp or in quarters,—ashore or afloat—may be ascribed the high reputation he attained. As this rule offers an instructive lesson and example, the junior officers of the department who are now present, will, I am sure, readily per- i mit me to draw their attention to the circumstances which led him to adopt it. When Dr Jackson entered upon his duties with the 1 60th regiment at Savanna-la-mar he tells us he had already seen •' something of common practice, under common practitioners ; but the results did not correspond with his expectations. Desirous to know what is truth, and disposed not to be satisfied with less than truth, he proceeded to seek for it in his own experience. He had studied anatomy, and considered the laws of the animal economy with care and attention. With this preliminary information he be- lieved that the knowledge of the correct history of disease, and of the most effectual manner of removing it, would be best attained by writing down at the bedside of the sick, military or others, a summary *\ \ • Dr Borland was requested by the Director-General to prepare the above sketch, in consequence of having passed many years of service with Dr Jackson, and enjoy- ing more intimate friendship with him than any other officer of the department. The hasty manner, however, in which it was drawn up, only a day or two before the an- nual meeting, renders it unavoidably more meagre than Dr Borland would have wish- ed, and the merits of Dr Jackson may seem in the eyes of his friends to demand.