James Craik was Physician General (precursor of the Surgeon General

Surgeons General of the United States Army

The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department . By policy, the Surgeon General serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command as well as head of the AMEDD...

) of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, as well as George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

's personal physician and close friend.

Education and emigration to America

Born in Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, Craik was the illegitimate son of Robert Craik, a member of Parliament

Parliament of Great Britain

The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...

. He studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

, then joined the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 after graduation and served as an army surgeon in the West Indies until 1751. Craik then opened up a private medical practice in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, and shortly thereafter relocated to Winchester, Virginia

Winchester, Virginia

Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...

.

French and Indian War career

On March 7, 1754, Craik resumed his military career, accepting a commission as a surgeon in Colonel Joshua Fry

Joshua Fry

Colonel Joshua Fry was a surveyor, adventurer, mapmaker, soldier, and member of the House of Burgesses, the legislature of the colony of Virginia...

's Virginia Provincial Regiment. While with this force, he became good friends with George Washington, at that time a lieutenant colonel in the regiment. Craik saw a great deal of action in various battles of the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

. He fought at the Battle of the Great Meadows

Battle of the Great Meadows

The Battle of Fort Necessity, or the Battle of the Great Meadows took place on July 3, 1754 in what is now the mountaintop hamlet of Farmington in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. The engagement was one of the first battles of the French and Indian War and George Washington's only military surrender...

 and participated in the surrender of Fort Necessity, then accompanied General Edward Braddock

Edward Braddock

General Edward Braddock was a British soldier and commander-in-chief for the 13 colonies during the actions at the start of the French and Indian War...

 on Braddock's unsuccessful attempt

Braddock expedition

The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...

 to recapture the region in 1755, treating Braddock's ultimately fatal wounds. Craik then served under Washington in actions in Virginia and Maryland, during various engagements with Indians.

Inter War years

After the war's end, Craik opened another medical practice at Port Tobacco, Maryland, and on November 13, 1760, he married Marianne Ewell, daughter of Captain Charles Ewell of Bel Air, Prince William County, Virginia

Prince William County, Virginia

-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...

, a Virginia woman who would later become the great-aunt of Richard S. Ewell

Richard S. Ewell

Richard Stoddert Ewell was a career United States Army officer and a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He achieved fame as a senior commander under Stonewall Jackson and Robert E...

. They had six sons and three daughters. In 1760, he moved to Charles County, Maryland

Charles County, Maryland

Charles County is a county in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Maryland.As of 2010, the population was 146,551. Its county seat is La Plata. This county was named for Charles Calvert , third Baron Baltimore....

, where in 1765, he built La Grange

La Grange (La Plata, Maryland)

La Grange is a historic home located at La Plata, Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is a house built in the Georgian neoclassic style, and was the home of Dr. James Craik from 1765 to 1783....

 near La Plata, Maryland

La Plata, Maryland

La Plata is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,551 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Charles County.-History:...

. In both 1770 and 1784 he went on surveying expeditions with Washington, examining military claims in Pennsylvania and what is now West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

.

Revolutionary War career

With the outbreak of hostilities during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, Craik once more rejoined the army. He served as an army surgeon, ultimately advancing to the second-highest post in army medicine. Craik warned Washington about the plots of the Conway Cabal

Conway Cabal

The Conway Cabal refers to a series of events in late 1777 and early 1778 suggesting that George Washington be replaced as commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was named after Brigadier General Thomas Conway, whose letters criticizing Washington were forwarded...

, and treated the wounds of General Hugh Mercer

Hugh Mercer

Hugh Mercer was a soldier and physician. He initially served with British forces during the Seven Years War but later became a brigadier general in the Continental Army and a close friend to George Washington...

 at the Battle of Princeton

Battle of Princeton

The Battle of Princeton was a battle in which General George Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New Jersey....

 and Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette

Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette

Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...

 at the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

. Mercer died of his wounds, but La Fayette was more fortunate.

Washington persuaded him to move his practice to Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

, where he built his house Vaucluse (plantation)

Vaucluse (plantation)

Vaucluse was a plantation in Fairfax County, Virginia, three miles from Alexandria and from Washington, D.C., on a hill near the Virginia Theological Seminary, that was owned first by Dr. James Craik, and later by the Fairfax family, the first being Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.-...

, where he died. He also had a town house at 117 South Fairfax Street, 210 Prince Street, and then 210 Duke Street.

Washington summoned Craik out of private practice in 1798 in connection with the Quasi-War

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...

 against France, installing him as Physician General of the Army on June 19 of that year. After the conclusion of hostilities, Craik mustered out on June 15, 1800.

At Washington's death

As Washington's personal physician, Craik was one of three doctors to attend on him during his final illness on December 14, 1799. Washington complained of respiratory distress, described by Craik as "cynanche trachealis

Croup

Croup is a respiratory condition that is usually triggered by an acute viral infection of the upper airway. The infection leads to swelling inside the throat, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classical symptoms of a "barking" cough, stridor, and hoarseness...

". When Washington proved unable to swallow medicines orally, Craik and the other two physicians (Dr. Elisha C. Dick

Elisha C. Dick

Elisha Cullen Dick, M.D. was a mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, and attending physician at George Washington's death.- Family :...

 and Dr. Gustavus Richard Brown

Gustavus Richard Brown

Gustavus Richard Brown was a lifelong friend of George Washington, a physician, helped found the hospital department of the Continental Army, and a botanist. He is best known as one of the doctors summoned to attend to George Washington the night he died.Gustavus Brown studied medicine in...

) treated his condition with bloodletting

Bloodletting

Bloodletting is the withdrawal of often little quantities of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease. Bloodletting was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily fluid were considered to be "humors" the proper balance of which maintained health...

, the application of various poultice

Poultice

A poultice, also called cataplasm, is a soft moist mass, often heated and medicated, that is spread on cloth over the skin to treat an aching, inflamed, or painful part of the body. It can be used on wounds such as cuts...

s, and a rectal solution of calomel

Mercury(I) chloride

Mercury chloride is the chemical compound with the formula Hg2Cl2. Also known as calomel or mercurous chloride, this dense white or yellowish-white, odorless solid is the principal example of a mercury compound...

 and tartar. Washington's condition continued to deteriorate, but Craik and Brown decided against Dick's suggestion of a tracheotomy

Tracheotomy

Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...

 (which might have been lifesaving, but likely would have spread the infection and caused sepsis), and Washington died at 10:10 p.m. Brown and Craik co-published an account of their treatment in December 1800.
Craik died in Alexandria in 1814; he is buried in the graveyard of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House

Old Presbyterian Meeting House

The heritage of the in Alexandria, Virginia, dates from the early eighteenth century. Scottish Presbyterians were among the early European settlers of Northern Virginia and were involved in establishing Alexandria as a port in 1749...

in that city.