Gideon Stinson Palmer was born in Gardiner, Maine, attended the Gardiner Lyceum, and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1838. He returned to Gardiner after graduation and was principal of the Lyceum for several terms. He then began to practice medicine in Gardiner and also served on the Gardiner city council and as a representative in the Maine legislature. At the beginning of the Civil War, he enlisted as a volunteer surgeon on the staff of Gen. O.O. Howard in the Army of the Potomac. He was in charge of Lincoln Hospital and St. John's College Hospital in Annapolis, Md., during the war, as well as doing active field duty. In 1869, at the request of Gen. Howard, he became chair of physiology and hygiene in the Medical Department at Howard University as well as serving for many years as dean of the faculty. During part of his time in Washington, he was also surgeon in charge of the Freedmen's Hospital. Dr. Palmer died in Washington on Dec. 8, 1891.
From the description of Papers, 1841-1890. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 75199743
