Support
National Museum of Civil War Medicine
  • 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
    • Ongoing and Upcoming Series
    • Annual Conference
    • Letterman Award
  • Support
    • Become a Member
    • Donate
    • Volunteer

An amputee’s search for the nurses that cared for him during the Civil War

Posted on: January 10th, 2017
Museum members support scholarship like this.

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

In exploring newspapers from the post-war years in Frederick, I stumbled across this entry from August 1884. Written by Civil War veteran Lewis H. Roth to the editors of the Frederick News, the letter enquires about two Frederick women who assisted in nursing him following his wounding at the Battle of South Mountain.

Roth's Missed ConnectionWashington, D.C., Aug. 26, 1884

Editors News –

I was wounded in the right arm at the Battle of South Mountain, Md., September 14, 1862 and in a day or two afterwards I was placed in a hospital in Frederick, Md., where my arm was amputated.

The hospital was in a large building owned, I believe, by the Catholics.

Opposite the hospital building was a Catholic Church which I visited on several occasions after being strong enough to go out. While in said hospital I was carefully nursed and watched, both by day and by night by a lady, I think a widow, and her daughter.

They used to feed me with a spoon like a child is fed. One or both of them remained with me the entire night after the amputation and gave me brandy every fifteen minutes.

When I left the hospital for my home in Pennsylvania in December, the lady presented me with a book, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” with her name on the fly leaf, but in my moving from place to place I lost the book and forgot the lady’s name. I have a slight recollection that her maiden name was Polly. If the ladies are still living or either of them I would very much like to ascertain their present post office address.

L.H. Roth,

Pension Office, East Div.

 

Private Lewis H. Roth served in Company E, 12th Pennsylvania Reserves. He suffered a compound fracture of his right arm courtesy of a Confederate bullet during the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862. He was evacuated from the field and taken to Frederick where he was admitted to the Novitiate hospital on 2nd Street on September 18.

His recovery slowed and the arm was amputated at the shoulder by Dr. Henry S. Hewitt on October 2, 1862. The mystery nurses assisted him following this major operation, and successfully nursed him back to health. He was discharged from the hospital on December 15, 1862.

Private Roth was far from the only surgical patient at the Catholic Novitiate. Dr. Cyrus  Bacon, a surgeon at the Noviate who had just arrived at the Noviate, described  the scene in his diary:

September 29.

Operations nearly every day.

Oct. 2nd 1862

[Cadet] Morgan goes home tomorrow. [I] relieve him from assisting me in dressing injuries. I excise nearly all the Carpal & part of [the] Metacarpal bones of [the] right hand of one of my patients.

Oct. 3rd

Amputate a leg, Dr. Hewitt says it is the best stump that yet has been made. It is very nice… Operations at [the] Hospital again this afternoon at our own building. When we do not operate ourselves, we assist the Doctor [Hewitt]in all his operations. Our patients are almost without exception, surgical patients

Lewis Roth returned to Pennsylvania and began his life as an amputee. In 1866, Roth entered William Oland Bourne’s penmanship contest for soldiers who had lost their right arms during the course of the American Civil War. The contest encouraged young soldiers to write in with their left hands to show their progress in recovering from their war experiences. It also raised the profile of the plight of disabled soldiers from the conflict. Roth didn’t win the contest, but his participation showed his entrance into a distinct community of veterans immediately following the Civil War.

Roth settled down, married, and in the early 1880s, moved to Washington, DC to work in the Pension Office where decisions were made about veterans’ government allowances. In the aftermath of the American Civil War, the Federal government divvied up small pensions for soldiers disabled by wounds or disease during the conflict. Soldiers received different amounts based upon the injury they suffered.

Roth returned to the Keystone State and died in 1916.He is buried in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

From the newspaper records, it does not appear that he ever recovered his missed connection with the two women in Frederick that helped save his life.


Want to learn more? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to discover more stories from Civil War medicine!

FACEBOOK     TWITTER

Become a museum member and support our educational programs and research like this.

BECOME A MEMBER


Additional Resources

This story utilized the Frederick Patient Database here at civilwarmed.org.

You can learn more about what happened at Frederick’s many Civil War hospitals in these videos.


About the Author

Jake Wynn is the Program Coordinator at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. He also writes independently at the Wynning History blog.

Tags: After the War, Frederick, Jake Wynn, Nurses, Nursing Posted in: Uncategorized

Quick Links

Plan your Visit Group Tour Support the Museum Learn Online
National Museum of
Civil War Medicine
48 East Patrick Street
Frederick, MD 21701
(301) 695-1864
Regular Hours
The Museum will be closed December 26-January 31, 2021
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 closed at least until January 15, 2021
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
Keep in Touch
  • About
  • Visit
  • Explore
  • Contact
  • Support
In Affiliation With
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
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine on Facebook
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine on Twitter
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine on Instagram
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine Feed
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine on Trip Advisor
  • The National Museum of Civil War Medicine on YouTube
© 2021 The National Museum of Civil War Medicine - CivilWarMed.org.
All Rights Reserved.  |  Sitemap  |  Login

Website Design & Hosting by 270net Technologies, Inc.
MENU
  • 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
    • Ongoing and Upcoming Series
    • Annual Conference
    • Letterman Award
  • Support
    ▼
    • Become a Member
    • Donate
    • Volunteer