author
Augustus C. (Augustus Choate) Hamlin
1829–1905
A Civil War surgeon, Maine physician, and vivid chronicler of nineteenth-century life, he turned firsthand experience into books that still draw readers interested in medicine, war, and rare books. His writing moves easily from the battlefield and Andersonville Prison to old libraries and literary treasures.
2 Audiobooks
Martyria; or, Andersonville Prison
by Augustus C. (Augustus Choate) Hamlin
Leisure hours among the gems
by Augustus C. (Augustus Choate) Hamlin
About the author
Born in Columbia, Maine, in 1829, Augustus Choate Hamlin studied at Bowdoin College and later graduated from Harvard Medical School. After further study in Europe, he returned to Bangor to practice medicine, building a career that joined medical work with a lasting interest in history and writing.
During the Civil War, he served with the 2nd Maine Infantry as an assistant surgeon and later surgeon, and his wartime experience shaped some of his best-known books, including works on Chancellorsville and Andersonville. He was also active in Maine public life and medicine, serving as surgeon-general of Maine.
Hamlin wrote on a surprisingly wide range of subjects. Along with medical and war-related works, he became known for bookish, curious volumes such as The Battle of Chancellorsville, Martyria, and A History of the Tragedies of the Medici Family, as well as his much-loved book The Ivory King, a study of old carved ivories and collecting. He died in 1905, remembered as both a physician and an engaging man of letters.