College of Pharmacy

History of Pharmacy

22

22. CRAIGIE - AMERICA'S FIRST APOTHECARY GENERAL

First man to hold the rank of a commissioned pharmaceutical officer in an American army was the Bostonian apothecary, Andrew Craigie. First appointed commissary of medical stores by Massachusetts' Committee of Safety, April 30, 1775, he was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, and probably assisted in taking care of the sick and wounded there in a makeshift station back of the lines. When Congress reorganized the Medical Department of the Army in 1777, Craigie became the first Apothecary General. He duties included procurement, storage, manufacture, and distribution of the Army's drug requirements. He also developed an early wholesaling and manufacturing business.

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