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Books and Documents

The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War 

During World War I, at the direction of Major General William Gorgas, The Surgeon General (1914-1918), the Office of The Surgeon General initiated an extensive historical program based on its previous experience with the monumental six-volume The Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion (1870-88) after the Civil War.  Between 1921 and1929, the Surgeon General`s Historical Division published 15 volumes (17 books) that fully captured the Army Medical Department`s experience both in the United States and Europe during the war (See Preface to the series for additional background). The official history series, The Medical Department of the United States Army in the World War  was the most comprehensive account that any military medical service in the world had produced up to that time.  In time, large parts of these volumes will be posted on the AMEDD History website so that a complete appreciation of the AMEDD`s role in World War I will be more readily available to a wider audience.