Assistant Surgeon Samuel W. Field
Assistant Surgeon Samuel W Field
Phillips Legion Infantry Battalion
Dr Samuel W Field was born in Atlanta, Georgia August 4th 1839 to Samuel and Martha Bagwell Field. The 1860 Census (taken in July 1860) shows him as a medical student living in his mother's household in Dalton, Georgia. Interestingly two of his brothers, James H and William T, were soldiers in Company B of the Legion's Infantry Battalion. This may explain his later affiliation with the Legion. After graduating from the University of Louisiana (later renamed Tulane University) at New Orleans he entered Confederate service as an Assistant Surgeon. Records show his appointment August 16th 1862 to be effective June 16th 1862. During 1862 he served at a number of hospitals in Virginia. He is shown at Warrenton in September, Winchester in October and November, and Staunton in December. In early 1863 he was assigned to Danville. There are no entries in his service record for 1863 but he then shows up in the Infantry Battalion of the Phillips Legion in 1864 as an Assistant Surgeon and served until he fell ill and was furloughed home in November of 1864. There is a notation in his Legion records which states that he was assigned to the Legion on October 20th 1862 but this may be an error since other records show him working at various Virginia hospitals during late 1862. We know that he returned to the unit late in the war as he is listed as being surrendered at Appomattox April 9th, 1865.After the war, Dr Field moved to Dallas, Texas with his mother where he practiced medicine specializing in obstetrics, surgery and treatment of chronic eye disease.He served two terms as City Health Officer during the 1880s and, after resigning this position, became the surgeon of the Gould Railroad. In 1898 he was appointed a State Inspector in Beaumont, Texas during the yellow fever epidemic. He moved to Houston and lived there until returning to Dallas in 1910. He contracted pneumonia during the winter of 1911/1912and died on May 16th 1912. His first wife was Vienna Johnson of Fort Worth and his second wife was Margaret Parker of McKinney. He is buried in Dallas at Pioneer Park Cemetery.
Photo courtesy of Ms Carol Rowark, Dallas Public Library, Texas Historical Division
Written by:Kurt Graham
