Letter of the Day: September 5

U.S.A. Post Hospital,
Fort Niagara, N.Y., September 5, 1879.

Asst. Surg. G.A. Otis, U.S.A.
Washington, D.C.

Sir:

In looking through one of the old volumes of the Medical History of the Post, I found this memorandum. These old relics are now in the Hospital Dead House. If you would like to have them sent on for the Army Medical Museum I will have them packed and turned over to the Post Quartermaster for transportation to you.

Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
William Wilson
Asst. Surgeon, U.S.A.
Post Surgeon

^^^^

Shot and Shell!
--+--

Relics of the Siege of Fort Niagara, N.Y., in 1759, -- fired by the forces of General Prideaux, and Sir William Johnson, --the Fort being held by the French.

These missiles were picked out of the old walls of the Fort when those walls were taken down, preparitory (sic) to the building of the present ones in 1843 and immediate subsequent years. The walls were of logs, set upright and with pointed logs or timbers projecting over the top.

These articles, several hundred points in weight in all, were in the keeping of the Engineer, Brevet Colonel Wilson, and Asst. Engineer, Mr. J. Lawrance, until sold at auction with other engineer property in the spring of 1874:

I procured these pieces of the purchaser at the time of sale.

John H. Bartholf,
Captain & Asst Surgeon, U.S.A.

Fort Niagara, N.Y.
September 1, 1874

The pieces alluded to above are pieced selected by Dr. Bartholf from those sold at auction + will weigh say about 40 to 50 lbs.
W. Wilson.

^^^^

The specimens were assigned number 1001, Sect 4, but then “These specimens were turned over to the Ordnance Department, October 3, 1879.”