Letter from Dr. William Shippen, Continental Army Director of Hospitals, appointing David Townsend, MD, to command the Army Hospital at Fishkill, New York, in 1780

Autographed letter signed William Shippen, dated October 29, 1780, and written from General Knox’s quarters. Dr. Shippen was the first systematic teacher of anatomy, surgery and obstetrics in Colonial America and founded the first maternity hospital in America. He was the 3rd Director General of Hospitals of the Continental Army, and he co-founded the first medical school in the 13 American colonies, the College of Philadelphia (University of Pennsylvania), in 1765 with Dr. Morgan. Dr. David Townsend (b. 1753; d. 1829) graduated from Harvard College in 1770 and received his honorary M. D. in 1813. Townsend accompanied General Warren as surgeon in Bunner's regiment to the Battle of Bunker Hill (where General Warren was mortally wounded by a British gunshot to the head). Dr. Townsend was commissioned surgeon to the sixth regiment of foot, commanded by Colonel Asa Whitcomb, January 1, 1776; was senior surgeon to the General Hospital, Northern department, in March, 1777, and was with the army under Washington during the winter at Valley Forge.On October 9, 1781, he was made surgeon-general of the hospital department.

Fishkill was a small town approximately 60 miles north of Manhattan. The Fishkill Supply Depot was the major logistical center for the Revolutionary War in the North and contains a vast Continental Army Burial Complex, located in the Hudson River Valley, New York. Fishkill played an important role in the Revolutionary War when a vast military encampment was established one mile below the village to guard the mountain pass to the south. Signal fires lay in readiness on tops of the surrounding mountains. The Fishkill encampment became the main supply depot for the northern division of the Continental Army. The first 1,000 copies of the New York State Constitution were turned out on Samuel Loudon's press at Fishkill in 1777. Trinity Episcopal Church became a hospital for soldiers recovering from smallpox, and the Dutch Reformed Church was used as a military prison. One of the most important parts of the history of this location and its military facilities is the value this location served as a medical depot and hospital for the Northern Department. Established by General George Washington and serving at varying times as a headquarters and nexus point for General Israel Putnam, General Alexander McDougall, General Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and General Lafayette, it played an essential role in the Continental Army’s victory over British forces.

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