Reviews for Agent of Mercy – “It receives my highest recommendation for those interested in battlefield medicine and civilian relief work.” – Civil War News (April 2016). “Agent of Mercy is well written and well documented and will be a valuable part of anyone’s Civil War library…” - The Annals of Iowa (Spring 2016). Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell's biography of his Civil War service is an exciting true account of the efforts to provide medical aid to Union soldiers 1862-63, and the fierce political battles fought over how the soldiers' aid would be distributed and whether a woman would lead the effort. When the Civil War began, Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell was a city doctor and surgeon in Davenport, Iowa. After the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862, he volunteered to provide his medical services to the sick and wounded Union soldiers, kicking off an active two years of service. In that two-year period, few Civil War surgeons and doctors played as many different roles as Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell. During those two years, Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell was also drawn into the center of the political battle surrounding soldiers' relief in Iowa. When Reverend Kynett and his Iowa State Army Sanitary Commission attempted to compel Annie Wittenmyer's Keokuk Ladies Aid Society network to submit to his authority, Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell had to pick a side. What were the consequences for Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell's decision to support Annie Wittenmyer? You will have to read the book to find out. The book also provides for the first time in print Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell's hospital disease statistics and information gathered on Iowa regiments along the Mississippi river in the fall of 1863. During the Civil War, Dr. Archibald S. Maxwell’s statistics were not published in the Adjutant General’s annual report and were left to gather dust in the archives. The statistics reveal interesting details about the health of the soldiers including rates of diarrhea and dysentery in the ranks.
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