In 1859 Post Surgeon John Fazier Head drafted plans for a new two-story hospital that was constructed in 1860-61. The building replaced the dilapidated 1828 hospital and provided an office/dispensary, examination room, kitchen, and quarters for the matrons and stewards on the first floor and three ward rooms with 10 beds on the second floor. Additional space became available in 1887 when the adjacent Steward’s Quarters was constructed.
Dr. John Frazier Head who served at Fort Mackinac in 1858-59 and designed the building that served as the Post Hospital from 1861until the post was abandoned in 1895. (Photo credit: Massachusetts Mollus Photograph Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA.)
While Mackinac was generally considered a healthy post, various illnesses and injuries tested the skills of the medical officers. Between 1885 and 1894 post surgeons treated 822 cases, 650 for disease and 172 for injuries. The physicians cared for 471 soldiers in the hospital while 351 men were treated in their quarters. The most common diseases were Influenza (104 cases), bronchial and respiratory ailments (92), stomach and intestinal disorders (78), rheumatism (56), and headache and neuralgia (41).
The two-story main section of 1860-61 Post Hospital. The antenna-like objects on the roof supported telegraph wires that connected the hospital with the island telegraph station which was added in 1883. (Photo Credit: Mackinac State Historic Parks).
While most injuries occurred in the line of duty, post surgeons also saw an interesting variety of “recreational” wounds. In May 1887, Dr. John R. Bailey treated several soldiers who were injured while playing baseball. After setting a dislocated finger, wrapping a sprained ankle, and bandaging a lacerated thumb, Bailey commented that the “modern way of playing baseball appears to result in ‘Cruelty to Animals.’” He added, “The game is manly and commendable but less objectional methods of playing could be devised; it should not be brutal.”
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