Drilling Deeper into Historical Fact; or Who was the Navy's First Dentist?

Thomas Oliver Walton, DDS (1834-1900) served as an "Acting Assistant [Dental] Surgeon" at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1873 to 1879. Should he be considered the first Navy dentist?
BUMED Library and Archives

As we march toward the centennial of the Navy Dental Corps (on 22 August 2012) some may begin to wonder "who was the Navy’s first dentist?” Such a query seems fair and easily remedied by referring to the outstanding Dental Corps Anniversary book produced to mark the 75 years of Navy dentistry (in 1987) or Joseph Kane's Famous First Facts. Most sources will tell you that Dr. Emory Bryant holds the distinction of being the “first” Navy dentist. However, here in the Navy Medical History Office we feel the need to dig deeper into this accepted truth and offer you several other possible candidates who could arguably be considered the Navy’s first dentist.

Candidate 1:
The Naval Academy Dentist

Born 24 September 1834 in St. Mary’s County, MD, Dr. Thomas O. Walton was a graduate of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery (1856). Soon after graduation Walton moved to Annapolis where he became one of its more prominent citizens. He lived on the corner of King George Street and Maryland Avenue just outside of what is now Gate 1 of the Naval Academy. Owing to his proximity to the Academy, many of his patients were in fact Navy midshipmen. What type of dentist was he? Apparently, he was an expensive one. In 1858, he received a letter of reprimand from Academy Superintendent George S. Blake on his practice of overcharging midshipmen for dental care. As Blake would write, “As I find that in several cases your charges for dental operations at the Naval Academy amount to more than the young gentlemen have due them. I would request that hereafter you do not allow them to incur a greater expense than five dollars for such attentions, unless they produce written authority to that effect from the superintendent.” Walton’s non-discretionary dental fees did little to sever his relationship with the Navy though. On 23 April 1873, Dr. Walton was appointed as an “Acting Assistant Surgeon” to the Naval Academy. The term “acting” refers to temporary appointments given to civilians and “volunteer” personnel. On 30 June 1879, Walton was honorably discharged as an “Acting” dental officer at the Naval Academy. Walton continued to services as a dentist to the Naval Academy, albeit from a purely civilian capacity, until 6 November 1899.

Candidate(s) 2:
The Hospital Steward Dentists

Even before the establishment of the Dental Corps, and not long after Dr. Walton’s tenure at the Naval Academy, the Navy saw trained active duty dentists in its ranks (albeit the enlisted ranks). In 1904, Edward Ewel Harris (1884-1933), a graduate of the Chicago College of Dental Surgery (1904), enlisted in the Navy Hospital Corps as a Hospital Steward. Dr. Harris continued to serve as a Hospital Steward performing dentistry exclusively until 11 August 1914 when he passed the examination to become an “acting assistant dental surgeon” in the U.S. Navy. Another Hospital Steward, Harry Edward Harry graduated from the Hospital Corps School of Instruction (Norfolk, VA) on 20 September 1905 and served at Navy hospitals Chelsea, MA, and Washington, DC. In 1912 he earned a DDS from Georgetown Dental College and was among the first individuals to take the entrance examination into the Navy Dental Corps. On 18 December 1912, he was one of four out of fifteen individuals to pass the examination. Owing to his placement on the alphabetical listing he is listed as the first active duty dental surgeon in the Navy. Dr. Harvey would later serve as the BUMED Chief of the Dental Division (equivalent to "Chief of the Dental Corps") from 1933 to 1940.

Candidates 3:
The District Dentists

Even though the Navy Dental Corps was not established by law until 22 August 1912, the first appointment did not take place until two months afterwards. On the 23rd and 24th October 1912, respectively, Drs. Emory Bryant (1866-1935) and William N. Cogan (1856-1943) were appointed as temporary Navy dentists or “Acting Assistant Dental Surgeons.” By 1912, both were already well-established dentists in Washington, DC. As a civilian dentist, Dr. Bryant's patient pool consisted of presidents, congressmen and ambassadors. Prior to entering the Navy, Dr. Cogan was the dean of Georgetown Dental School. Ostensibly, Bryant and Cogan were appointed to help select candidates for the first officers in the Dental Corps. Cogan and Bryant were ordered to “active duty” on the 30th and 31st of October 1912. Naval Registers list both as serving in the “Medical Reserve Corps” in 1912 and afterward 1913 as officers in the “Dental Reserve Corps.”

References
1. Blake to Walton. Naval Academy Correspondence. Superintendent Letters 9 November 1858 – 5 September 1860. #34. Naval Academy Special Collections.
2. Dental Corps Examining Board Records, 1912-1951. BUMED Library and Archives
3. The Dental Corps of the United States Navy: A Chronology, 1977-1987. The 75th Anniversary Committee, Inc. 1987.

Today's Monitor and Merrimack battle anniversary and BUMED's connection

A century and a half ago, one of the most epic naval battles in history took place during the Civil War. That event was closely connected to BUMED's Building Two--the Old Naval Observatory.

In 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy had just been established at Annapolis, and many of its graduates came to the Naval Observatory as their first assignment. The practice made sense. These would become the officers who would command their own vessels. Some would be navigators. And whether captain or navigator, celestial navigation would, by necessity, become second nature. What better place to learn the rudiments of celestial navigation than the Naval Observatory with its telescopes, chronometers, and sextants--and astronomers to be their teachers?

When the Civil War came in 1861, these officers would find themselves commanding ships in two navies--Union and Confederate. One such officer, a Floridian named John Brooke, became a protégée of Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Observatory's superintendent, and developed a deep-sea sounding device while at the facility. Following the attack on Fort Sumter, Brooke would resign his U.S. Navy commission and join the Confederate Navy.

His most famous assignment was to raise USS Merrimack where fleeing Union forces had burned and scuttled it at the Gosport Navy yard in Norfolk, Virginia. After removing what remained of her burned masts and decks, Brooke would convert the former steam frigate into an ironclad and rename her CSS Virginia.

Working beside Brooke under the Observatory's roof was John Worden. Hailing from New York, Worden would remain loyal to the Union. His most famous assignment in the Union Navy was as commanding officer of USS Monitor, the so-called "Yankee cheese box on a raft." One hundred fifty years ago today, both ironclads would fight it out in Hampton Roads. Even though the battle ended several hours later with no clear victor, the age of wooden warships was over.

--Jan Herman

Navy otolaryngologist Lajos Balla

Lajos Balla

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=lajos-balla&pid=156096778

 

LAJOS "LOUIS" BALLA  

On Wednesday, February 22, 2012 Ash Wednesday LOUIS. B. BALLA, M.D. of Washington, D.C. died after a long and courageous battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis. He was born in a small town in Hungary on October 17, 1928 and escaped on foot from his communist-occupied country in 1949 at the young age of 20. He travelled almost 1,000 miles to his planned destination, Brussels, Belgium where he successfully concluded his medical studies. While studying there he met his future wife of 55 years Josephine. After receiving his medical degree he immigrated to the U.S. in 1954 and did his residency training at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He and Josephine were married on January, 25, 1957 in New York City. In 1958 he was drafted in the Navy and was a practicing Otolaryngologist at the Naval Aviation Base in Pensacola, FL. He retired two years later as Lt. Cmdr. and returned to Bellevue to complete his residency training. In 1961 he settled in Washington, DC and was a successful practicing Otolaryngologist and Plastic Surgeon for almost fifty years. He was also an Associate Clinical Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology at Georgetown University School of Medicine. In addition to his work in his private practice he was proud of his active membership in two Catholic organizations; The John Carroll Society and the Hungarian Knights of Malta. As a member of both these groups he was able to combine his love of medicine with charitable works. Beloved husband of Josephine Balla and loving father of Brigitte Engleman, Louis Balla and Stephane Balla. He is also survived by his son-in-law, Tom and daughters-in-law, Rosemarie and Pam; and six grandchildren, Philippe, Louis, Lauren, Pierre, Christopher and Claudia. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, March 3 at 12 noon at Little Flower Parish at 5607 Massachusetts Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20816. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Hungarian Knights of Malta, P.O. Box 241, Mt. Vernon, VA 22121.

 

Archives: Bulshefski Collection

Bulshefski Collection
Personal papers
1943-1973
1 box, unarranged, unrestricted

Records, especially diplomas and certificates of ADM Veronica
Belshefski, USN Nurse Corps. Includes artifacts including Lyndon
Johnson's signing pen for Nurse Corp legislation. 1 oversize piece in
mapcase. Other objects donated to NNCA and WIMSA.

Archives: Pray Journal

Pray Journal
2012.0002
1861-1862
Personal papers
No finding aid, unrestricted, scanned, transcribed.

Surgeon Ezra Pray's Journal aboard US Bark Fernandina, 1861-1862. Donor
provided historical background about Dr. Pray, and a transcription of
the journal, as well as a CD with these documents and the scans of the
journal's pages.

The Naval Historical Foundation's background notes, ""With his
appointment effective 21 October 1861, Pray was designated an "acting
assistant surgeon" and ordered to report to the U.S. Bark Fernandina in
New York City, where he arrived a week before that ship was commissioned
on 16 November 1861. This wooden sailing vessel had started commercial
life as the Florida, built in New Jersey in 1858, with an overall length
115 feet, beam 29 feet, draft 10 feet, and displacement of 297 tons.
Purchased by the Navy on 29 July 1861 for $14,000 and renamed Fernandina
(a town in Florida), she was refitted for naval service, sailed with a
complement of 86 men, and was armed with six 32-pounder muzzle loading
cannon. She was commanded by Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George W.
Browne, who was coming to this assignment with limited previous naval
experience in the young Civil War.

Pray's 154-page journal begins with his application for appointment in
September and his service in Fernandina from November through 18 April
1862; however, he actually began to write his account in late January
through early February 1862, using the ship's official logbook to remind
himself of the key events of his first few months on board. Thus the
journal begins retrospectively until going "live" in February.

Sailing from New York City on 27 November 1861 for duty with the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron, Pray and his ship arrived on station off
Wilmington, NC on 14 December (after stopping off in Hampton Roads,
Virginia briefly to receive orders from the squadron commodore). Pray
described the experience of going to sea for the first time from his
landlubber's perspective, including observations about the sea, the
ship, and his sea-sickness.

The first few months revealed the monotony of blockade duty, punctuated
with occasional threats not so much from rebel forces but more from the
rough winter weather at sea and the ever-present danger of running
aground on the lee-shore and shoals of the "Graveyard of the Atlantic"
coast. While Pray was a conscientious doctor who looked after his
shipmates with compassion and professionalism, he was clearly hoping for
the excitement of combat and the opportunity to share in prize money for
capturing blockade runners. Christmas day, 1861, brought Fernandina's
first success in this area, as she took blockade runner William H.
Northrop as a prize with a cargo of drugs and coffee.

Within the first few weeks of his five month service in the bark, Pray
began to clash with his commanding officer, Lieutenant Browne. As he
became more familiar with Navy life, Pray came to the conclusion that
Browne was a martinet, incompetent to command, and incapable of keeping
his crew safe and motivated to accomplish their wartime mission."

When Browne shot a sailor in April 1862, the ship was recalled for a
court of inquiry which disrated Browne in May.

"Having filled up all available pages, Pray concluded his journal by
announcing his intention of sending it home for the benefit of friends
and family. Reassigned in June 1862 to the US steamer Cambridge, Dr.
Pray continued his medical service in that and several other Union
warships until his honorable discharge on 1 March 1866.

Pray married Martha J. Hanson of Somersworth, NH on 16 Aug 1865 and
they had two sons. Pray, having returned at some point to farming,
received a pension for his military service, as did his widow some years
later. Fracturing his femur in a fall on ice, Pray died 4 Apr 1918, age
86, at Rochester, NH."

U.S. Navy Ships Named after Navy Medical Personnel

To date, there have been 43 U.S. Navy ships named after Navy medical personnel--i.e., dentists, hospital corpsmen, nurses, and physicians. Of these ships, 20 are named after hospital corpsmen, 18 after physicians (including three World War II ambulance ships), 4 dentists, and 1 destroyer is named after a Navy nurse, Superintendent Lenah Higbee. For your interest, we have listed these ships below and included a very brief overview of the respective namesake.

Ships named after Navy medical personnel.

USS Benfold (DDG-65)
Commissioned 30 March 1996. Named after Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Edward C. Benfold, USN, KIA Korea, 5 September 1952. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Blackwood (DE-219)
Commissioned in December 1943. Named after CDR James D. Blackwood, MC who was KIA while serving in USS Vincennes during the battle of Savo Island, 9 August 1942.

USS Boone (FFG-28)
Commissioned 15 May 1982. Named after Vice Admiral Joel T. Boone, White House physician and pioneer in Navy medicine. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Bronstein (DE-189)
Commissioned 13 September 1943. Named after LTJG Ben R. Bronstein, MC, who was KIA while serving aboard the USS Jacob Jones which was sunk by German submarine U-578 off the New Jersey coast, 28 February 1942. There were less than 30 survivors. In 1952, USS Bronstein was transferred to the Republic of Uruguay and renamed the Artigas (DE-2)

USS Caron (DD-970)
Commissioned 1 October 1977. Named after Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Wayne M. Caron, USN, KIA Quang Nam, South Vietnam, 28 July 1968. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Crowley (DE-303)
Commissioned 25 March 1944. Named after LCDR Thomas Crowley, DC, who was KIA while serving aboard USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.

USS Dewert (FFG-45)
Commissioned 19 November 1983. Named after Hospitalman Richard Dewert, USNR, KIA Woju, Korea, 5 April 1951. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Durant (DE-389)
Commissioned 16 November 1943. Named for Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd Class Kenneth Durant.

USS Frament (DE-677/APD-77)
Commissioned 15 August 1943. Name after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Paul Stanley Frament, USNR, KIA Guadalcanal, 19 November 1942.

USS Grayson (DD-435)
Commissioned 7 August 1940. Named after RADM Cary Travers Grayson physician to President Woodrow Wilson.

USS Gendreau (DE-639)
Commissioned 17 March 1944. Named after CAPT Elphege A. M. Genreau, MC, who was KIA while aboard the LST-343 when it was hit by a Japanese dive-bomber, 21 July 1943.

USS Hammond (DE-1067)
Commissioned 25 July 1970. Named after Hospitalman Francis C. Hammond, USN, KIA Sanee-Dong, Korea, 26 March 1953. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Halyburton (FFG-40)
Commissioned 7 January 1984. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate William D. Halyburton, Jr, USNR, KIA Okinawa, 10 May 1945. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Heerman (DD-532)
Commissioned 6 July 1943. Named after Surgeon’s Mate Lewis Heermann who was put in command of the ketch Intrepid during the hospitalities with the Barbary States in 1804. Help to authorize the establishment of Navy hospitals.

USS Higbee (DD-806)
Commissioned 13 November 1944. Named after the second Navy nurse superintendent and first woman to receive the Navy Cross while still living.

USS Jobb (DE-707)
Commissioned 4 July 1944. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Richard P. Jobb who was KIA on Guadalcanal, 26 January 1943.

USS Joy (DE-585)
Commissioned 28 April 1944. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Daniel Joy, USNR, KIA Guadalcanal, 5 October 1942.

USS Kane (DD-235)
Commissioned 11 June 1920. Named after Elisha Kent Kane, the naval officer, physician and explorer who pioneered the American route to the North Pole.
Recommissioned 25 September 1939.

USNS Kane (AGS-27. Redesignated APD-18)
Commissioned 20 November 1965. Named after Elisha Kent Kane, the naval officer, physician and explorer who pioneered the American route to the North Pole.


USS Lester (DE-1022)
Commissioned 14 June 1957. Named after Hospital Apprentice Fred F. Lester, USN, KIA Okinawa 8 June 1945. (Medal of Honor Recipient)

USS Litchfield (DD-336)
Commissioned 12 May 1920. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate 3rd Class John R. Litchfield, USN, KIA France, 15 September 1918.

USS Liddle (DE-206)
Ship was laid down and named Liddle, but never commissioned in the U.S. Navy. She was launched 31 May 1943 and transferred to the United Kingdom as HMS Bligh (K-467). Ship was to be named after Hospital Apprentice First Class W.A. Liddle, Jr., KIA in Guadalcanal, 19 August 1942.

USS Longshaw (DD-559)
Commissioned 4 December 1943. Named after William Longshaw, Jr., a 25-year-old Assistant Surgeon who was killed in action during the Civil War while administering to the wounded in an attack on Fort Fisher, NC, 15 January 1865.

USS Miles (DE-183)
Commissioned 4 November 1943. Named after LTJG Samuel S. Miles, MC, KIA on Tulagi, Soloman Islands, 7 August 1942.

USS O’Reilly (DE-330)
Commissioned 28 December 1943. Named after Edward J. O’Reilly, DC, who was KIA while serving aboard USS Astoria, off Guadalcanal, 26 August 1942.

USS Osborne (DD-295)
Commissioned 17 May 1920. Named after LTJG Weedon Osborne DC, who was KIA in the Chateau Thierry area, France while attending to the wounded, 8 May 1917. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Parker (DE-369)
Commissioned 25 October 1944. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Thaddeus Parker, USN, KIA New Georgia, 20 July 1943.

USS Pinkney (APH-2)
Commissioned November 1942. Named after Medical Director Ninian Pinkney, who is best known for his service as Fleet Surgeon in the Mississippi River Squadron, during the Civil War (1861-1865). In September 1946, Pinkney was transferred to U.S. Army Transportation Service and renamed Private Elden H. Johnson.

USS Rall (DE-304)
Commissioned 8 April 1944. Named after LTJG Richard R. Rall, MC, who was KIA while serving aboard the USS Pennsylvania at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.

USS Ray (DD-971)
Commissioned 19 November 1977. Named after Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class David R. Ray, USN, KIA An Hoa, Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, 28 July 1968. (Medal of Honor recipient)

USS Ringness (DE-590. Redesignated APD-100)
Commissioned 25 October 1944. Named after LT Henry R. Ringness, MC, KIA Guadalcanal, 17 October 1942.

USS Rixey (APH-3)
Commissioned February 1943. Named after former Navy Surgeon General, and medical inspector, RADM Presley M. Rixey. In March 1946, Rixey was transferred to U.S. Army Transportation Service and renamed Private William H. Thomas.

USS Tatum (APD-81)
Commissioned on 22 November 1943. Named after LCDR Laurice Aldridge Tatum, DC, USNR who died aboard the USS Wasp (CV-7) after the ship was hit by an enemy torpedo on 29 May 1942.

USS Tucker (DD-875)
Commissioned on 12 March 1945. Named for Pharmacist’s Mate Third Class Henry W. Tucker (1919–1942) who was killed in action during the battle of the Coral Sea on 7 May 1942 and posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.

USS Tryon (APH-1)
Commissioned 30 September 1942. Named after COMMO James R. Tryon, MC, who served as Navy Surgeon General 1893 to 1897. In 17 July 1947, Tryon was transferred to U.S. Army Transportation Service and renamed Charles E. Mower.

USS Valdez (DE-1096)
Commissioned 27 July 1974. Named after Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Phil I. Valdez, USN, KIA Danang, South Vietnam, 29 January 1967.

USS Walter Wann (DE-412)
Commissioned 2 May 1944. Named after Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Walter C. Wann, USN, KIA, Guadalcanal, 7 August 1942.

USS Jack Williams (FFG-24)
Commissioned 19 September 1981. Named for Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd Class Jack Williams, USNR, KIA Iwo Jima, 3 March 1945. (Medal of Honor Recipient)

USS John Willis (DE-1027)
Commissioned 21 February 1957. Named for Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John Harlan Willis, USN, KIA Iwo Jima, 28 February 1945. (Medal of Honor Recipient)

USS Wood (DE-287)
Construction of this vessel was cancelled before completion. Ship was to be named after COMMO William M. Wood, the first Chief of the Medical Corps to hold the title of Surgeon General (1871).

USS Wood (DD-317)
Commissioned 28 January 1920. Named after COMMO William M. Wood, the first Chief of the Medical Corps to hold the title of Surgeon General (1871).

USS Wood (DD-715)
Commissioned 24 November 1945. Named after COMMO William M. Wood, the first Chief of the Medical Corps to hold the title of Surgeon General (1871).

USS Woods (DE-721. Redesignated APD-118)
Commissioned 28 May 1945. Named after Hospital Apprentice 1st Class Don O. Woods, KIA in Gavutu, Solomon Islands, 8 August 1942.

Archives: Pinckney Chemistry Manuscript

Pinckney Chemistry Manuscript
Personal papers
WO 7 PM 1861
1844
1 volume, no finding aid, unrestricted.

1844 notebook on chemistry by Naval assistant surgeon Ninian Pinckney. Missing initial pages, and rebound at National Archives in 1946. Transferred from Stitt Library.