National Museum of Civil War Medicine - National Museum of Civil War Medicine

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is Closed

The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is undergoing maintenance for historic preservation. The house is closed for the season but the barn will be open for scheduled programming from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, October 19.

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Haunted History at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Hear ghostly tales while touring the “most haunted building in Frederick." Tickets are available now!

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After Hours at the Museum: New Artifacts, New Stories

November 15 at 5:00 PM - Join us for a "Members only" behind-the-scenes look at items related to soldier Thomas Conant Jr.’s wounding at the Battle of Antietam and more!

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PRY HOUSE HOURS UPDATE

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Divided by Conflict.

Three sites, thousands of stories.

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

Pry House Field Hospital Museum

Upcoming Programs

Carty- Civil War Medicine Museum

Haunted History at The National Museum of Civil War Medicine

October 12 @ 5:00 pm

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Hear ghostly tales from the past while touring the darkened galleries of the “most haunted building in Frederick.”

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“Commanders of Antietam” Speaker Series: Brig. Gen. Max Weber

October 19 @ 2:00 pm

Historian Jim Smith will discuss Brigadier General Max Weber during our “Commanders of Antietam” speaker series sponsored by the Antietam Institute.

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Field Hospitals were often located in barns near a battlefield. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Strange Tales of Civil War Medicine at the Pry House

October 19 @ 4:00 pm

Collections Manager Rachel Moses will talk about grisly, gross, and ghoulish cases from Civil War medicine at the Pry House.

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Discover History Firsthand

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

From Our Blog

Sex for Sale: Prostitution and the Civil War

October 7, 2024

Learn the details about the “Oldest Profession” during the Civil War.

In the Can: Civil War Food Preservation

September 2, 2024

The Civil War was responsible for popularizing canned goods.

Vaccination and African Americans During the Civil War

August 1, 2024

African Americans were used to further the practice of vaccination during the Civil War

Surgeon Rat and Other Strange Tales from Civil War Medicine

July 8, 2024

Strange and unusual Civil War medical stories

civilwarmed

Learn the details of the "oldest profession" durin

Learn the details of the "oldest profession" during the Civil War, in this blog by the Museum's Collections Manager, Rachel Moses.

Image: Prostitute’s License (National Archives)

https://www.civilwarmed.org/sex-for-sale-prostitution-and-the-civil-war/

The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum wi

The Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum will be CLOSED for a private event this Saturday, October 12th. We apologize for any inconvenience. The Museum will be OPEN to the public on Friday, October 11th from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

#MuseumMonday From our collections - this prosthe

#MuseumMonday

From our collections - this prosthetic arm is called a “Lincoln Arm." Marvin Lincoln, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, was an organizer of the Massachusetts Anti-Man Hunting League and an agent of the Underground Railroad. In 1844, Lincoln began working as a carpenter with the famous prosthetic leg designer Benjamin Franklin Palmer. Too old to fight by the time of the Civil War, Lincoln instead used his skills to invent this prosthetic arm to help disabled veterans. His artificial arm featured, among other innovations, a detachable hand with a spring thumb that could grasp objects and an interior mechanism that allowed a jointed elbow to lock in place for easier lifting and clutching. “My aim has been to so construct an arm as to give increased holding and grasping powers, while it is much more simple and less expensive than those now in use,” he wrote in his patent application for the arm, which was quickly approved on August 11, 1863.

Private Henry W. Palmer, a veteran of the 31st Maine Infantry, was one of the beneficiaries of Lincoln's invention. “I am again at home—an artificial Lincoln arm is doing what it can to supply the place of my right arm—it is somewhat awkward, and tho’ it is the mate of the remaining arm, yet it seems to be destitute of a ‘fellow feeling’—I chide it not,” he wrote.

‘O Captain! My Captain!’ If you’re looking

‘O Captain! My Captain!’

If you’re looking for unique #CivilWar themed gifts and accessories, our #museumstore is stocked full of exceptional items, including these Walt Whitman coasters, just one in a series that highlights notable personalities! Whitman worked in the Washington, D.C., army hospitals during the war, tending to the wounded. He later wrote about his experiences in several published works, including "Drum Taps" and "Memoranda During the War." The Museum has on display several items related to Whitman, including a signed carte-de-visite photograph he gave to a wounded soldier. Visit the store in person or online at the link in bio.

October is #ArchivesMonth! Check out this unique i

October is #ArchivesMonth! Check out this unique item from ours! General Orders No. 39, "Order concerning Embalmers." Dated March 1865, it required all who embalm or remove bodies of deceased officers or soldiers to obtain a special license. It's Accession# 2010.023 at the Museum!

#onthisday Fought on October 3-4, 1862, the Battl

#onthisday
Fought on October 3-4, 1862, the Battle of Corinth, Miss., was Union General William Rosecrans' second victory over the Confederate Army. Confederate General Earl Van Dorn attacked Corinth in an attempt to take the critical railroad junction, and was initially successful in storming two Union batteries, where vicious hand to hand combat occurred. However, a Union counterattack soon re-took the batteries, and Van Dorn was forced to retreat.

Kate Cumming, one of the Confederate nurses who worked in the hospitals at Corinth is a featured “Health Care Hero” on our web site. Check the link in bio to read more!

Image: Rosecrans, W. S. (October 1886). "Corinth". The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine