Autograph letter. [Washington, D.C.], [August 1864]. 1 page, 7 7/8 x 4 7/8 in.

A doctor's treatment notes for his now-deceased patient, Lieutenant George W. Pope (ca 1829-1864) of Company G, 29th Massachusetts Infantry. The report reads in part: "Lt. Pope - resetting of lower third of radius + ulna / on the field. Taking tonic and stimulants. Did well from admission until the night of July 26th when he was taken with a fever (which he says was not preceded by a chill) attended with a slight cough and symptoms of pleurisy. The nurse applied mustard poultices + flannel wrung out in hot whiskey before I saw the patient which treatment relieved the pain." 

The physician continues with specifics of medications that he applied and the onset of chills and fevers with specific times and dates. Despite his ministrations, however, he writes the final lines of treatment (switching to pencil): "Sat. in the 3rd he continued to sink - chills recurring at irregular intervals - until the morning of the 5th when he died." 

Pope was a 32-year-old butcher from North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, when he enlisted on 28 October 1861 as a sergeant. He was mustered into Company G of the 29th Massachusetts Infantry on the same day. In early 1862, the regiment witnessed the sinking of the USS Cumberland and USS Congress by the ironclad CSS Virginia. It was then attached as the only non-Irish regiment in the Irish Brigade, with whom it fought in several of the battles in the Seven Days before Richmond and Antietam, in which it fought at the Sunken Road. On 6 December, Pope was promoted to second lieutenant before his regiment fought at Fredericksburg. 

In 1863, the regiment moved west and participated in the Siege of Vicksburg before joining Burnside's Campaign in East Tennessee. Pope was promoted, again, to first lieutenant on 29 July. In 1864, it returned east and joined the Siege of Petersburg. It was here that Pope was wounded on 17 June. He was moved to Washington, D.C., for treatment, where an unknown doctor did his best to treat his wounds and illness, unfortunately, to no avail. 

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