Hammond was less successful in his efforts to drag the army pharmacopoeia into the modern era. His order to eliminate dangerous and useless mercury compounds, like the ever popular but much abused drug calomel, aroused the indignation of many surgeons. In the ensuing “Calomel Rebellion” his enemies saw an opportunity. Large, loud, and forceful, Hammond had accumulated no shortage of such enemies, including Secretary of War Stanton, who never forgave him for being appointed by Lincoln against his wishes. (“I’m not used to being beaten,” Stanton told a confidant at the time, “and I don’t like
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