Jedediah Hyde Baxter | |
|---|---|
 Army Medical Department photo, circa 1885 | |
| Born | March 11, 1837 Strafford, Vermont, US |
| Died | December 4, 1890 (aged 53) Washington, D.C., US |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1861–1890 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Commands | Campbell General Hospital Chief Medical Purveyor, U.S. Army Medical Department Surgeon General of the United States Army |
| Battles / wars | American Civil War |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Tryon (m. 1876) |
| Relations | Portus Baxter (father) |
Jedediah Hyde Baxter (March 11, 1837 – December 4, 1890) was a career United States Army officer and doctor who attained the rank of brigadier general as Surgeon General of the United States Army.
Born in Strafford, Vermont, Baxter was the son of Portus Baxter and Ellen Janette Harris. He received his medical degree from the University of Vermont in 1860, completed his internship and residency at Bellevue and Blackwell's Island Hospitals in New York City, and enlisted in the Union Army for the American Civil War. Assigned initially as surgeon of the 12th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, he later became a brigade surgeon, commanded Campbell General Hospital in Washington, D.C., and then served as Chief Medical Officer of the Provost Marshal's Bureau. Baxter took part in the Peninsula Campaign, including the Battles of Yorktown, Hanover Court House, and Seven Pines, and attained the rank of major, in addition to receiving brevet promotions to lieutenant colonel and colonel of Volunteers, and a brevet as a colonel in the regular Army.
After the war, Baxter remained in the Army as a member of the newly-organized Medical Department, and was appointed Assistant Medical Purveyor with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1872, he was appointed Chief Medical Purveyor, and in 1874 he received promotion to colonel. In 1875, Baxter graduated from Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School) with an LL.B. degree. Baxter's duties as Chief Medical Purveyor included serving as personal physician to the President of the United States, and he attended James A. Garfield's family. Baxter was out of town when Charles J. Guiteau shot Garfield in July 1881, and was not able to examine Garfield following the shooting. Garfield's other physicians prevented Baxter from seeing Garfield, which generated controversy both immediately after the shooting and after Garfield's death several weeks later.
In August 1890, Baxter was named the Army's surgeon general and promoted to brigadier general. He soon afterwards became ill with uremia, which caused him to suffer a stroke. He died on December 4, 1890, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.