George Gilmer Replaces Jefferson and Declares Independence
George Gilmer was Thomas Jefferson’s personal physician.
Gilmer also played a small but important role in Revolutionary Virginia, notably as a member of the Fifth Virginia Convention.
George Gilmer
George Gilmer met Thomas Jefferson when they were students at the College of William and Mary.
Though Gilmer was studying medicine, and Jefferson law, the two became fast friends.
Shortly after graduation, Gilmer moved closer to his friend, just outside Charlottesville, Virginia.
Making Introductions
George became Jefferson’s personal physician and gave him a letter of introduction of Dr. John Morgan on the future President's first trip north to Philadelphia.
It was on this journey that Jefferson was inoculated from smallpox, though there is some debate as to whether Morgan performed the procedure or Dr. William Shippen.
Fifth Virginia Convention
When the Revolutionary War began, Gilmer joined the local militia as a surgeon.
When Jefferson went to the Continental Congress, Gilmer replaced him in the Fifth Virginia Convention.
Called together after the Royal Governor dissolved the House of Burgesses, the Fifth Virginia Convention officially threw off British rule.
Essentially, Virginia declared its independence, and George Gilmer signed that document.
Furthermore, this Convention recommended its Delegates at the Continental Congress resolved to write and sign the Declaration of Independence.
Afterward
Gilmer spent several more years as a member of the Virginia Government before he returned to his practice of medicine.
George played a small role in the rest of the framing of the United States, though he continued to correspond regularly with his good friend Thomas Jefferson.
Notably, Jeffersons regularly wrote Gilmer from France lamenting his distance from the Virginia Countryside.
Gilmer’s son, Francis, would later help Jefferson establish the University of Virginia by travelling to London in search of professors for the young college.
Do you want to learn about other Physicians in the American Revolution?
Great!
Enjoy this article:
Founding Physicians - The Top 10 Doctors of the American Revolution
Although George Gilmer does not have a biography, we touched a bit on disease during the Revolutionary War.
‘An American Plague’ is a fascinating look at how one sickness, yellow fever, almost changed the course of history forever.
Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
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