John Warren’s Revolutionary War surgical kit
John Warren was a noted surgeon and the younger brother of Joseph Warren. After studying medicine under his brother, John began a practice in Salem, Mass., and volunteered in a Massachusetts militia regiment as an army surgeon. He saw action at the battles of Lexington and Concord, but had returned to Salem by the time the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. Upon the death of his brother, John entered full-time army service as head of the hospital at Cambridge. He then followed Gen. George Washington’s troops throughout their campaigns in 1776–1777, tending to the wounded at the battles of Long Island, Trenton and Princeton. Retiring from active combat, Warren resumed practicing medicine in Boston and became a widely respected lecturer. He became a founder of Harvard Medical School in 1782, and he was elected as the new school’s first professor of anatomy and surgery.
The kit above apparently saw a lot of action in the American Revolution. It is covered in shark or ray skin (shagreen) and measures 19.5 x 7.75 x 3, according to RR Auction. The kit contains: bullet forceps with scissor handles; tissue forceps; a grooved director; a Petit-style tourniquet; bow-framed metacarpal saw; and an extra blade for a large amputation saw. Attached inside the hinged top cover is a 19th-century handwritten card tracing the provenance, reading: “Revolutionary Instruments given by Joseph Warren to John Warren to John C. Warren to Henry J. Bigelow. Copy of letter describing them in possession of J. Collins Warren.” A typed early 20th-century card reads, “Instruments. Revolutionary War. Surgical instruments used by Dr. John Warren in the war, and presented to him by his brother, General Joseph Warren. Dr. J. Collins Warren.”