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Civil War Medicine in Washington at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

May 30, 2019 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm EDT

| Pay-What-You-Please

Event Navigation

  • « Frederick’s Civil War Hospitals – Walking Tour
  • “Not Respectable” – The Enterprising Women of Civil War Frederick Walking Tour »

Washington’s Civil War hospitals played host to a wide range of characters from President Abraham Lincoln to Walt Whitman.

Buildings of Armory Square Hospital with the Capitol in the background. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Buildings of Armory Square Hospital with the Capitol in the background. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

As the Civil War roared to life in April 1861, Washington was a city completely unprepared for war. With thousands of soldiers descending on the Union capital, minimal defensive fortifications, housing, and other vital military amenities became a major problem. But by the summer of 1861, the lack of large hospitals pushed Washington into near crisis. With battles and campaigns occurring nearby on an almost daily basis, the city needed its first hospital system.

On Thursday, May 30 at 6 PM, public historian Jake Wynn will discuss the fascinating role played by Washington’s military hospitals in the Civil War. Tens of thousands of wounded and sick soldiers were cared for in hospitals established across the District of Columbia. From the National Mall, to Georgetown, and dotting the hills north of the city, these medical facilities became an integral part of war-time Washington and played host to a wide range of characters from President Abraham Lincoln to Walt Whitman, from Louisa May Alcott to Clara Barton.

The medicine practiced in these hospitals was not the butchery often credited to Civil War medicine. Instead, Washington’s hospitals hosted some of the most skilled surgeons in the world, utilizing new techniques and ensuring that countless lives were saved. This talk will explore the establishment of the hospitals, the men and women who worked in them, the patients treated within their walls, and the hospital system’s impact on Washington.

This is a pay-what-you-please presentation. This event is part of the Walt Whitman 200 Festival, sponsored by HumanitiesDC. The festival runs from May 23 – June 3, 2019.

Jake Wynn is the Director of Interpretation at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office.

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Details

Date:
May 30, 2019
Time:
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Pay-What-You-Please
Event Categories:
Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, Evening Program, Pay What You Please
Event Tags:
Abraham Lincoln, Armory Square Hospital, Civil War Medicine, Clara Barton, Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum, HumanitiesDC, Louisa May Alcott, Walt Whitman, Walt Whitman 200 Festival, Washington DC

Organizer

Jake Wynn
Phone:
301-695-1864

Venue

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum
437 7th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
(202) 824-0613
Website:
www.clarabartonmuseum.org

Event Navigation

  • « Frederick’s Civil War Hospitals – Walking Tour
  • “Not Respectable” – The Enterprising Women of Civil War Frederick Walking Tour »

Quick Links

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National Museum of
Civil War Medicine
48 East Patrick Street
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 695-1864
Regular Hours
The Museum will be open for appointments only starting February 1, 2021
Last admittance to the galleries at 4:15 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 will be open for reservations only beginning on February 15
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 for the 2020 season due to NPS guidelines
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