Page:A cyclopedia of American medical biography vol. 1.djvu/330

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York on horseback to take part in an expedition against Louisbourg, as his father before him had done. Upon his arrival he was nominated a surgeon of the Carpenters (a sort of corps of miners and sappers) and of three com- panies of Rogers' rangers on the salary of five shillings a day and rations.

Arriving at Halifax, time was wasted in councils of war, sickness broke out, a powerful French fleet arrived before Louisbourg for its protection and ulti- mately the ill-managed expedition set sail for Xew York having accomplished absolutely nothing .... Arriving home, Dr. Cutter rode with his troops to Fort Edward, fell ill and went on sick leave to Albany, and finally we find him once more in Xorth Yarmouth, when on January 14, 1758, his mother made him a present of some of his father's books, among which we note Blackmore "On Spleen and Vapors," Fuller's "Dispen- satory," and some classics in English, Greek and Latin.

Sir Ralph Abercrombie's and Wolfe's expedition against Louisbourg being finally ready in 1758, Dr. Cutter joined it as surgeon, sailing in a vessel called a scow and named the "Halifax," reached the rendezvous off Canso in fourteen days, on June 10, was off Louis- bourg, where he saw a hundred men drowned in attempting a landing, and remained on medical duty until the fortress surrendered.

Later on the small-pox became epi- demic, the Col. Meserve of his regiment died, George King, a friend from Ports- mouth, became totally blind in both eyes, and Dr. Cutter finally fell ill him- self.

After a long convalescence, Dr. Cutter reached Portsmouth, and on November 2, 1758. married Hannah, daughter of Charles and Mary Kelly Treadell of Portsmouth.

In 1759 Dr. Cutter was interviewed by Gen. Stark and Amherst and implored by Maj. Rogers to go out once more as surgeon, but he had had enough of war. From this time to the out-

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break of the Revolution we find him mostly at home, importing for one thing, Cortex Peruviana, from London, build- ing up an excellent practice, performing surgical operations and doing his share towards the settlement and improvement of New Hampshire. Thus we find him attending as physician-in-chief his old friend Sir John Wentworth at Wolfe- Borough when that town (named after his hero) was dedicated. Again, he was in evidence when this royal governor attended the first commencement at Dartmouth in 1771.

When the medical service of the United States was re-organized in 1777 Dr. Cutter was appointed physician-gen- eral of the eastern department with the charge of two hospitals containing some three hundred beds at Fish-kill and Peeks- kill-on-the-Hudson.

While on hospital duty Dr. Cutter fell ill and worried his family and associ- ates for a while, but he was soon at work again.

Returning at the end of a year from this army service, Dr. Cutter devoted the rest of his life to his patients and to his family of ten children, one of whom, William, worked with him when properly skilled.

In his time he was looked upon as a shade more skillful than any other physi- cian thereabouts. To occasional medical visitors from out of town he liked to show his interesting cases and was very proud of one particular case of pulmonary tuberculosis, in which metastasis into an eye occurred. The sight was lost but the patient never complained again of the constitutional disease.

He was elected an honorary member of the Massachusetts Medica Society in 1783. Harvard gave him the honorary degree of doctor of medicine in 1792. He served faithfully as president of the New Hampshire Medical Society more than once.

He passed away December 8, 1820, aged eighty-five. His widow surviving him until January 20, 1832, when she died, aged ninety-seven.