A visitor to Portici, Fannie Ricketts described the scene: One house called Portici was on the battlefield and converted into a hospital early on the afternoon of the 21 st. Homes close to the battlefield were also converted into hospitals. William Croffut, a local reporter who was present at the battle recorded “it was a sickening spectacle… pulpit had the appearance of a drug store…the church floors were so overcrowded with wounded that it was difficult to get across by stepping carefully”. Blankets and straw were laid down on the church floor for bedding. The pulpit was turned into an operating table and pews removed to make room for the wounded. The experiences for many soldiers in field hospitals were chaotic and frightening, like after the first major engagement at First Manassas or after battles with large amounts of wounded like Gettysburg or Antietam.ĭuring the First Battle of Manassas, Sudley Church was converted by Union forces into a field hospital. Surgeons often had limited amounts of supplies and had to try to treat as many patients as possible. Often in homes, churches, barns, and other local buildings that were taken over to be converted into rudimentary hospitals, surgeries took place on dining tables or doors removed from hinges. Photo of soldiers convalescing outside a hospital in Fredericksburg, VA in May 1864.įield hospitals were located near the front lines and served as an initial treatment center for those soldiers evacuated from the battlefield. In 1861, there were two types of hospitals that surgeons operated in: field hospitals and general hospitals. At the beginning of the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate Medical Departments were unprepared for the number of causalities unleashed.
Soldiers’ experiences in a Civil War hospital varied depending on its location and what kind of hospital they were treated in. While the traditional focus has often been about the battles, often overlooked is the daily life in hospitals where soldiers spent weeks, and sometimes even months, recovering. The vast majority of these men were treated in hospitals scattered throughout both sections of the country. Over the course of the Civil War, at least 600,000 soldiers died from wounds or sickness. Saved Land Browse Interactive Map View active campaigns.Protect Virginia Battlefields from Massive Data Centers.Speak Out to Protect Wyse Fork Battlefield.Save 170 Threatened Acres at Lookout Mountain, Mill Springs and Fort DeRussy.Help Save 52 Hallowed Acres at Three Virginia Battlefields.Help Preserve 177 Acres at Buffington Island.Help Protect 52 Threatened Acres in Virginia, Georgia and Mississippi.Phase Three of Gaines’ Mill-Cold Harbor Saved Forever Campaign.Send Students on School Field Trips to Battlefields – Your Gift Tripled!.Virtual Tours View All See Antietam now!.
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