Philon Currier Whidden

(1839 - 1900)
Home State: Massachusetts
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 13th Massachusetts Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He was a 21 year old medical student in Charlestown (Harvard, Class of 1865) when he enlisted in July 1861 as Private, Company B, 13th Massachusetts Infantry.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He was wounded in action - a flesh wound in the calf of the leg - on 17 September 1862 at Antietam.

The remainder of the War:
Transferred to the Veterans Reserve Corps in November 1863. Discharged 11 December 1863 to accept commission in the US Navy. Was Acting Assistant Surgeon, US Navy December 1863 - October 1865.

After the War:
He completed medical school at Harvard in 1866, and in August of that year moved to Chicago. He practiced in that city for more than 30 years.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic information from Commonwealth of Massachusetts1, with details from Brown2, and his 1863 application to the Navy. Life dates and events from his obituary in the journal The Chicago Medical Recorder, Vol. 18 (June 1900). His wounded leg was amputated at some time after his service.

Birth Date: 11/21/1839    Place of Birth: Rockford, IL
College: Harvard Medical School    Graduating Year: 1866
Death Date: 03/07/1900    Death Place: Chicago, IL    Burial Place: Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, IL

Notes

1 Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Adjutant General, Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines in the Civil War, 8 Vols, Norwood (MA): Norwood Press, 1931-35, Vol. 2, pp. 79 - 84 [AotW citation 6897]

2 Brown, Francis H., Roll of Students of Harvard University who Served in the Army or Navy of the United States During the War of the Rebellion, Cambridge: Harvard University, 1866, pg. 42 [AotW citation 6903]

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