Prescription Book. Manuscript ledger. [Mississippi?], 1 February-March 1863.  WITH Contraband Hospital Records manuscript ledger. Milliken's Bend, Louisiana, 15 June-6 July 1863. 

Slim 4to, 7 1/2 x 12 in. Prescription ledger approx. 58 pages with writing. Contraband Hospital ledger 6 pages. Arranged in dos-à-dos binding. One-quarter morocco with marbled boards.

A fascinating medical ledger from the Western front during the first half of 1863. The first portion is a prescription ledger from a hospital, probably somewhere in Mississippi or Louisiana. The medical officer meticulously recorded patients' names, ranks, regimental designations, and ailments, followed by their treatments arranged on a calendar grid. The ledger records all of February and the first few days of March before abruptly ending, possibly indicating it was in use at a field hospital that quickly moved locations. 

The second portion, though shorter, covers specifically the Contraband Hospital at Miliken's Bend in June and early July 1863. A table records "Provisions Issued to Contraband Hospital from the 5th to the 25th of June" and further entries record more provisional requests by the hospital. 

Fought during the Vicksburg Campaign, the Battle of Miliken's Bend commenced when Confederates mistakenly believed that Grant's supply lines passed through the town which was held by a newly-recruited regiment of Black soldiers. One of the first engagements where Black soldiers fought, the Union was successful in repelling the Confederate advance. 

A fascinating medical ledger from the Western Theater.   

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