s left
by the British on the wharfs and in the scuttled ships in the
harbor,[37] it appears that most of these drugs obtained in Boston
were confiscated from the homes, offices, and shops of the Loyalists
who fled when the British evacuated. Morgan reported that he had taken
possession of the medicines and furniture of Dr. Sylvester Gardiner's
shop, and a small stock of drugs from the office of Dr. William
Perkins, a private practitioner.[38] No inventory of these supplies
has been located thus far, but a contemporary biographer of Sylvester
Gardiner records that the confiscated drugs from his shop "filled from
20 to 25 wagons."[39] This is not unlikely because Gardiner's
apothecary shop was one of the largest and most prosperous in the
Colonies prior to the Revolution.[40]

Soon after the British evacuated Boston, the Greenleaf apothecary shop
in Boston was again supplying medicines to the Continental Army. The
Greenleaf ledger[41] shows that on May 25 the shop sold nearly L4
worth of "Sundry Medicines ... [to] the Committee of War, State of
Massachusetts Bay." Then, on June 20, the Massachusetts Assembly
resolved that "Dr. John Greenleaf of Boston be requested to supply the
Chief Surgeon of ... Colonels Marshall's, Whitney's and Craft's
Regiments ... with medicines as may be necessary...."[42] A short
time later the Assembly advanced "up to L50 to Greenleaf for
purchasing such medicines as he cannot supply from his own store."[43]

The Greenleaf ledger shows that over L32 worth of medicines were sold
for Colonel Whitney's regiment and over L36 worth for Colonel
Marshall's regiment between June 13 and November 20, 1776. Thus, drugs
were available; but until the fall of '76, Greenleaf was having
difficulty in obtaining an abundant supply.

From Bad to Worse

General Washington, correctly foretelling that New York City would be
the next British objective, marched there from Boston with as much of
his army as could be induced to stay under the colors. Had it not been
for the presence of Washington's forces in New York, that colony would
certainly have remained Loyalist; as it was, the Patriot committees
had the greatest difficulty in keeping the Tories quiet by strong-arm
methods.[44]

The availability of drugs in New York prior to the arrival of
Washington's forces did not seem to be particularly affected by the
war. Thomas Attwood "at his store in Dock-Street" offered for sale a
wide assortment of drugs and med