Hospitals of Richard H. Anderson's Division

Tom Elmore

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Five brigades representing five Confederate states composed Major General Richard H. Anderson's Division: Alabamians of Wilcox's brigade, Georgians of Wright's brigade, Mississippians of Posey's brigade, Virginians of Mahone's brigade, and Floridians of Perry's (Lang) brigade.

Most of the division's wounded were clustered around the Adam Butt farm and schoolhouse near the Fairfield road, two miles west southwest of Gettysburg. (To pinpoint the spot, see 1stMN's recent post - First overlay attempt: 1863 Hospital locations) The "S. Hebst" [Herbst] place (shown as a hospital), was actually Adam Butt's stone house and barn, which Butt is thought to have acquired from Samuel Herbst around the time of the battle. Butt also ran the nearby schoolhouse on the Fairfield Road, which bears his name. The wounded in the immediate vicinity were under the care of Surgeon Henry Augustine Minor (of the 9th Alabama).

Wilcox's wounded were concentrated in Butt's barn, but burials from the brigade were also recorded around the house and in the woods closer to the Fairfield Road. The wounded remained in the barn for at least ten days following the battle; Adam Butt claimed the hospital continued in operation on his property for five to six weeks. Those who were not sent on directly by train to Federal hospitals further east were temporarily moved to Camp Letterman.

Wright's wounded were also in this vicinity, but perhaps concentrated at Butt's schoolhouse, where at least one burial was recorded.

Posey's wounded were also here, as one burial was recorded south of the Butt house. It also appears that a field hospital closer to the front was established at the Emanuel Pitzer farm, as a burial from the brigade is recorded in the latter location.

The placement of Mahone's wounded is not as clear. One burial was at the John Edward Plank farm on Willoughby Run, while another was at John Horting's place on the Fairfield Road near Willoughby Run.

The clear exception was Lang's wounded. Eight known burials of Floridians were recorded at the hospital established at Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College), north of town. About 700 wounded occupied this hospital at one point, so there were many others besides Floridians. The Pennsylvania College hospital was under the direction of a Surgeon Frazier, who I believe was Henry D. Fraser, Surgeon-in-Charge of the CSA Third Corps hospitals at Gettysburg.

(principal sources: Greg Coco's, A Vast Sea of Misery and also Gettysburg's Confederate Dead; I Saw the Elephant, Bailey George McClelan's (10th Alabama) reminiscences)
 
Thank you so much for posting this. I have tried to locate the approximate locations for the hospitals of Hood's Brigade. One of my TX relatives was left when the retreat began and later is shown on Union records to have died but I cannot get a good idea of where he was taken/treated during the battle. For people with relatives in Anderson's brigade I would think you have done them a great service.
 
Thank you so much for posting this. I have tried to locate the approximate locations for the hospitals of Hood's Brigade. One of my TX relatives was left when the retreat began and later is shown on Union records to have died but I cannot get a good idea of where he was taken/treated during the battle. For people with relatives in Anderson's brigade I would think you have done them a great service.

I will get around to Hood's Division, but as for his former brigade (led by Jerome Robertson at Gettysburg), nearly all of their wounded who were brought off the field were initially sent to the John Edward Plank farm on Willoughby Run, about a mile south of the Fairfield Road.

Those who fell into Federal hands were sent to Federal hospitals to the southeast, most to the Jesse Worley farm, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Two Taverns. Some were delivered to hospitals closer in, namely at the Jacob Schwartz farm and the adjacent Michael Fiscel farm.

With the establishment of Camp Letterman, the wounded of both armies who were still left were consolidated there, which included a number of Texans (and at least one from the 3rd Arkansas).
 
Great thread @Tom Elmore !!! :bounce::dance::bounce: Thanks for providing this info. Something I am very interested in.

For those who have trouble with locating the thread Tom referenced above, here is a link to @1stMN 's overlay map http://civilwartalk.com/threads/first-overlay-attempt-1863-hospital-locations.121495/

Thank you, @lelliott19 ! I'm currently working on combining an overlay of the hospitals and also a burial map to see if anything interesting turns up. Will post results as it comes along :smile:
 
I will get around to Hood's Division, but as for his former brigade (led by Jerome Robertson at Gettysburg), nearly all of their wounded who were brought off the field were initially sent to the John Edward Plank farm on Willoughby Run, about a mile south of the Fairfield Road.

Those who fell into Federal hands were sent to Federal hospitals to the southeast, most to the Jesse Worley farm, about 3/4 of a mile southwest of Two Taverns. Some were delivered to hospitals closer in, namely at the Jacob Schwartz farm and the adjacent Michael Fiscel farm.

With the establishment of Camp Letterman, the wounded of both armies who were still left were consolidated there, which included a number of Texans (and at least one from the 3rd Arkansas).
Thank you for this. I will be waiting for your post on Hood's Division. I should have said Division in my earlier post instead of Brigade. I really have more interest in the 5th TX but any information on Hood's men is welcome. This is great information.
 
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