Soldiers stationed at Harpers FerryĮstimated there were as many as 5,000 contrabands living in and around town in Harpers Ferry resident Mary Clemmer Ames witnessed a group of formerlyĮnslaved African Americans who had sought refuge behind Federal lines, known asĬontrabands, “talking in incoherent terror” of what might happen to them ifĬonfederate soldiers occupied the town. Soldiers weren’t the only ones who felt fear as Confederate forcesĪpproached. Scared, weak-backed cowardly sneaks, who became suddenly afflicted withĬrickintheback, paininthestomach, weakness in the knees, etc – contracted inĪnticipation of a visit from Stonewall Jackson.” Hospital quarters were turned into barracks and occupied by some three hundred Nurse Abba Goddard recorded that “our empty The Confederate arrival prompted sudden “ailments” among Their mission: capture the 14,000-man US Army garrison that threatened toĭisrupt Confederate supply lines during the 1862 Maryland Campaign. On September 13, 1862, 28,000 Confederate soldiers under theĬommand of the famed “Stonewall” Jackson arrived in the vicinity of the town. Those first weeks of September brought word that a sizableĬonfederate force was moving toward Harpers Ferry. By the beginning of September, the hospital was almost empty.
Wounded in April, May, and June began to return to their units or head home in Courtesy of the Library of CongressĪs the summer wore on, more and more patients who were Patients would have had a similar view while they recovered. Clayton General Hospital was a stones throw behind the camera. Story balcony to look out at the view that Thomas Jefferson described soĮloquently. The patients reportedly found it “exhilarating” to be wheeled onto the second Presents that happy medium so conducive to health and enjoyment.” Beyond that, The other hand, the oppressive heats of more Southern localities. Harsh, severe weather of Northern latitudes is not experienced here nor, on States, having been much resorted to by invalids prior to this rebellion. That Harpers Ferry “is certainly one of the healthiest points in the United Times correspondent wrote favorably about the conditions there, stating In the early days of Clayton General Hospital, a New York Clayton General Hospital (also known as Lockwood House) today. Volunteer nurseĪbba Goddard who followed her hometown unit, the 10 th Maine, to theįront to care for them was another constant. Who volunteered their time and resources caring for soldiers there. Medical staff rotating frequently, the only constants were local townspeople The medical staff stayed in an adjacentīuilding (which used to belong to the Armory Superintendent’s Clerk) and wereĭrawn from surgeons assigned to regiments stationed at Harpers Ferry. They also housed wounded soldiers from the Shenandoah
Railroad (an important Federal supply line) from Confederate raiders. The Union garrison assigned to guard the nearby portions of the B&O
Initially, the hospital housed sick patients primarily from The hospital site would have been on the left side of the trees atop the hill. Lower Town Harpers Ferry is visible in the foreground with Camp Hill rising above the town. The houseĪnd grounds could accommodate a maximum of 370 patients at a time when tents Of 1862 – sometimes going by the name of Clayton General Hospital. The vacant two-story formerĪrmory Paymaster’s House was ultimately chosen as a hospital site in the summer Officials left the town and their mansions behind. US Armory by Confederate soldiers at the outset of the war, most Armory Where many of the town’s wealthy residents lived. The rivers is a large knoll, known as Camp Hill, which comprised the upper town Rising above the lower portion of Harpers Ferry adjacent to For both hospital patients and the soldiers However, Harpers Ferry proved time and timeĪgain to be a dangerous place. Jefferson’s description are usually disappointed”).Īmid the tumult of the Civil War, the natural beauty and central location made Harpers Voyage across the Atlantic” (although John Quincy Adams later said “those whoįirst see it after reading Mr. The view of the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers as “worth a Harpers Ferry Hospital during 1862 Surrender Posted on: March 23rd, 2020
0 kommentar(er)
