the Sick Report of the Northern Division for the Year ending June 30, 1817, in which he discussed not only the cause of disease in the army, but also gave his views upon the duties of medical officers and their responsibility for the sickness occurring among the troops. Army reorganization During the winter and spring of 1818, Congress was engaged on a bill for the reorganization of the staff of the army. This bill, passed April 14, 1818 (3 Stat. 426), repealed certain previous legislation in regard to the medical department and carried the following section: Section 2. And be it further enacted, That there shall be one Surgeon General, with a salary of two thousand five hundred dollars per annum, one assistant surgeon general with the emoluments of a hospital surgeon * * * and that the number of post surgeons be increased not to exceed eight to each division. Pursuant to this legislation, Lovell was appointed Surgeon General to date from April 18, 1818, with Hospital Surgeons Tobias Watkins and James C. Bronaugh, assistants, one for each of the two divisions of the army. Apothecary General Le Barron was retained in his old position. Though only in his thirtieth year, his services in the hospitals on the northern frontier during the war and his appreciation of the needs of the service as evidenced by his reports made Lovell the logical choice for head of the service. Thus was established for the first time a permanent medical department organization. For the first time a career medical officer was made chief of the service. All of the former chiefs had been appointed to meet the emergency of war, real or expected, with an organization to serve the forces in the field. Again, for the first time was bestowed upon the service chief the title of surgeon general, which has survived to the present day. Immediately following Lovell's appointment the following order was issued by the War Department: All reports, returns and communications connected with the Medical Department will hereafter be made to the Surgeon General's Office in Washington. All orders and instructions relative to the duties of the several officers of the Medical Staff, will be issued through the Surgeon General, who will be obeyed and respected accordingly. The Assistant Surgeon Generals will forthwith commence the inspections of the Medical Department in their respective divisions agreeably to the instructions they