Information
Sheet
R Taylor, George W.
158 Medical
examinations, 1901-1920.
Two volumes.
These are records of medical examinations
of Union Civil War veterans in Ozark, Taney, Howell, and Douglas counties,
Missouri, and Baxter and Boone counties, Arkansas, performed for the U.S.
Bureau of Pensions. Each “Surgeon’s
certificate” includes a medical history of the claimant, descriptions of
wounds and disabilities, and recommendations for pension payments.
Dr. George W. Taylor was the secretary of
the Board of U.S. Examining Surgeons at Gainesville in Ozark County,
Missouri. The Board, made up of three
local physicians, conducted medical examinations of United States veterans who
had applied for military pensions or who were requesting increases of
benefits. Other physicians who served
on the board at Gainesville at various times with Dr. Taylor were J. T.
Arnold, George W. Ebrite, and R. S. Small.
Most of the applicants examined by the
Board were residents of Ozark County, Missouri, but a few came from adjacent
counties in Missouri and Arkansas.
Nearly all were veterans of federal service during the Civil War. Former soldiers of Missouri units were the
most common, especially from the 15th and 16th Missouri Cavalry regiments and
the 46th Missouri Infantry. Veterans
who came to Missouri in the postwar period represented many other states.
Each certificate of examination indicates
whether the application was an original or an amended claim. After a general review of the claimant’s
physical condition, the doctors made specific investigations of former wounds
and any disabilities noted by the applicant.
The physicians certified that disabilities were not the result of
“vicious habits,” and made recommendations for monthly pension payments.
An index to the records has been filed in
the Information Folder.
This collection was formerly entitled
“Veterans’ medical examinations.” It
was re-cataloged in April 1993.
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