James Buchanan Appoints A Naval Surgeon Who Would Serve In The U.S. Navy During The Civil War - : Benjamin F. Gibbs was with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay, and also wrote a medical treatise

12/11/1858. James Buchanan

Document signed, picturing nautical scenes and Neptune, Washington, November 12, 1858, appointing Benjamin F. Gibbs “an assistant surgeon of the Navy from the 12th of November 1858.” He became a full surgeon in 1862 and finished his career as a medical inspector.

During the Civil War, Gibbs served on the USS Sloop John Adams in 1861; the Steamer Hartford in 1862; the USS Sloop Ossipee in 1863 and 1864; and the USS Sabine in 1865. Gibbs was with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay. He also wrote “Account of the Epidemic of Yellow Fever Which Visited Pensacola Navy Yard in the Summer and Autumn of 1863.” A photograph of him in uniform is in the Library of Congress.

An uncommon Buchanan naval appointment.