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National Museum of Civil War Medicine
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    NMCWM Open Thursday - Sunday



    The Museum is open for walk-ins Thursday - Sunday, and by appointment only Monday - Wednesday.



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    Weekend Walking Tours



    Join Museum Docents for walking tours of Downtown Frederick every Saturday and Sunday April-October at 2:00.



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    The Confederate Army Medical Department



    Dr. Guy Hasegawa presents his latest book "Matchless Organization: The Confederate Army Medical Department."



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    Save an and Arm and a Leg



    Donate to help restore and preserve prosthetic limbs in our collection. Click for details.



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    Missing Soldiers Office Open For Appointments



    The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office is open by appointment only. Click for details.



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Divided by Conflict. United by compassion.

Three sites, thousands of stories.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

Pry House Field Hospital Museum

Upcoming Programs

Dr. Guy Hasegawa and his latest book "Matchless Organization: The Confederate Medical Department"
Book Talk – The Confederate Army Medical Department with Dr. Guy Hasegawa
August 14 @ 12:30 pm

On August 14, join Dr. Hasegawa for an in-person presentation on his latest book “Matchless Organization: The Confederate Medical Department”

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Frederick MD 1862-Civil War Medicine & Clara Barton Museum
One Vast Hospital – Civil War Walking Tour in Downtown Frederick
August 14 @ 2:00 pm

Walk in the footsteps of doctors, nurses, and civilians who cared for 8,000 wounded soldiers in Downtown Frederick with Museum docents

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Frederick MD 1862-Civil War Medicine & Clara Barton Museum
One Vast Hospital – Civil War Walking Tour in Downtown Frederick
August 15 @ 2:00 pm

Walk in the footsteps of doctors, nurses, and civilians who cared for 8,000 wounded soldiers in Downtown Frederick with Museum docents

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View Full Calendar
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Whether students or seniors, our unique group tour experiences are for you.

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Discover History Firsthand

Take a closer look at artifacts that reveal how history was made.

From Our Blog

Medical Care on the Gettysburg College Campus
August 2, 2021

Read about the role of Gettysburg College in the treatment of the wounded after the Battle of Gettysburg.

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A Q&A with Dr. Guy Hasegawa About His Latest Book on the Confederate Medical Department
July 28, 2021

Dr. Guy Hasegawa does a Q&A about his latest book “Matchless Organization: The Confederate Medical Department.”

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civilwarmed

Inside Fort Delaware, Confederate prisoners-of-war Inside Fort Delaware, Confederate prisoners-of-war attempted to make life in captivity bearable. Amid the fort's squalid conditions, they formed clubs, staged entertainment, and published their own handwritten newspaper - "Prison Times."

Read the full story: https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/06/confederate-pows-produced-handwritten-newspaper-at-fort-delaware.html

(Image: J.W. Hibbs, Geo. S. Thomas, Wm. H. Bennett, A. Harris. Prison Times, 1865. Four-page manuscript newspaper, 12 1/4 x 7 3/4 in. Misc.MSS.Fort Delaware. The collections of the New-York Historical Society.)

#AmericanCivilWar #CivilWar #Medicine #MedicalHistory #HistMed #MilitaryMedicine #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #MilitaryHistory #CivilWarMedicine #MedicineMuseum #MedicalMuseum #Museum #Museums #NonProfit
Marvin Lincoln, a staunch abolitionist, agent of t Marvin Lincoln, a staunch abolitionist, agent of the underground railroad, and former associate of John Brown, patented this prosthetic on this day in 1863 for soldiers who lost their arm in battle.

The U.S. Army soon adopted the "Lincoln Arm" as their preferred choice for disabled veterans. It remained in use into the First World War.

We are lucky enough to have an original Lincoln Arm in our collection.

Image credits:
Original Lincoln Arm, National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 2010.26.2.

Advertisement, "The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal," Vol. CLXXIII, No. 1, July 1, 1915, page v, via Internet Archive.

M. Lincoln, Artificial Arm, No. 39,487, Patented Aug 11, 1863, United States Patent Office.
This detail from an Edwin Forbes sketch shows an o This detail from an Edwin Forbes sketch shows an old farmhouse turned into a US Army hospital near the Cedar Mountain battlefield on the evening of August 9, 1862. Near the farmhouse, dozens of wounded soldiers lay awaiting medical treatment. 

US military surgeons worked amid chaotic conditions to treat more than 1,400 wounded soldiers. 

(Sketch: Edwin Forbes - Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/2004661434/)
Amid the chaos and carnage of a Civil War battle, Amid the chaos and carnage of a Civil War battle, there was little time for reflection on the sights, sounds, smells, and emotions that overwhelmed the senses. 

But after the battle was over, the survivors could take a moment to review the events they had just participated in. They often continued ruminating on those hellish moments of combat for years after the conflict. 

The historian for the 10th Maine Volunteer Infantry provided such a reflection in the regiment's history published six years after the conclusion of the Civil War. In his remembrance of the Battle of Cedar Mountain, fought on August 9, 1862, Major John M. Gould took time to remember the scenes he witnessed on that bloody day. He noted particularly about how soldiers reacted in the horrific seconds when they were struck by bullets and artillery. 

His writing provides a modern reader with a fleeting glimpse into the cauldron of Civil War combat and the devastating toll taken by the weaponry of the day: 

"The behavior of those who were hit appeared most singular, and as there were so many of them, it looked as if we had a crowd of howling dervishes dancing and kicking around in our ranks. 

The bullet often knocks over the man it hits, and rarely fails by its force alone to disturb his equilibrium. Then the shock, whether painful or not, causes a sudden jump or shudder. 

Now as every man, with hardly an exception, was either killed, wounded, hit in his clothes, hit by spent balls and stones, or jostled by his wounded comrades, it follows that we had a wonderful exhibition. Some reeled round and round, others threw up their arms and fell over backward, others went plunging backwards trying to regain their balance; a few fell to the front, but the force of the bullet generally prevented this, except where it struck low down and apparently knocked the soldier’s feet from under him. 

Many dropped their musket and seized the wounded part with both hands, and a very few fell dead.”

The 10th Maine suffered heavy casualties at Cedar Mountain: 39 men killed, 134 wounded, and 6 captured. 

Source: "History of the First - Tenth - Twenty-ninth Maine regiment" by John M. Gould, 1871.
"The Virginia Quickstep" "The Tennessee Trots" "The Virginia Quickstep" 

"The Tennessee Trots"

Civil War soldiers came up with a variety of amusing names for the condition that most plagued them. But the disease was deadly serious. Doctors in the Union Army diagnosed more than 1.5 million cases of diarrhea during the American Civil War. 

In the Confederate Army, diarrhea and dysentery were the most common ailments reported by soldiers in the field. These diseases were worsened by poor diet, food poisoning, and contaminated drinking water. 

(Illustration: A Confederate camp. Library of Congress)
Mount Pleasant Hospital in Washington was one of t Mount Pleasant Hospital in Washington was one of the capital's first hospitals built for the purpose of treated sick and injured soldiers. 

It was established in the spring of 1862 and treated patients until August 1865. 

(Lithograph: Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

#AmericanCivilWar #CivilWar #Medicine #MedicalHistory #HistMed #MilitaryMedicine #AmericanHistory #USHistory #History #MilitaryHistory #CivilWarMedicine #MedicineMuseum #MedicalMuseum #Museum #Museums #NonProfit
National Museum of
Civil War Medicine
48 East Patrick Street
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 695-1864
Regular Hours
Thursday - Saturday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday - Wednesday By Appointment
Last admittance to the galleries at 4:00 pm
Closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and at 2 pm on New Year's Eve.
Clara Barton
Missing Soldiers Office
437 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 824-0613
The Museum is open Wednesday - Friday by appointment only
Last admission at 4:30 pm
Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Closing early on New Year's Eve.
Pry House Field
Hospital Museum
18906 Shepherdstown Pike
Keedysville, MD 21756
(301) 432-6352
Regular Hours
11:00am - 5:00pm
The Pry House is closed indefinitely due to NPS guidelines
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American Alliance of Museums (AAM) National Parks Service (NPS) General Services Administration (GSA) City of Frederick MD U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area Visit Frederick Maryland
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  • Visit
    ▼
    • National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Frederick, MD
    • Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum in Washington, DC
    • Pry House Field Hospital Museum on Antietam National Battlefield
    • Group Tour
  • Remote Learning Resources
  • Explore
    ▼
    • Primary Sources
    • Artifacts Revealed
    • The Blog
    • Health Care Heroes
    • Videos and Digital Exhibits
    • Museum Publications
    • Bring the Museum to You
    • Ask A Question
  • Events
    ▼
    • Calendar
    • Walking Tours
    • Annual Conference
    • Letterman Award
  • Shop
  • Support
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    • Become a Member
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    • Volunteer