My Return to Newnan, Confederate Hospitals

Dustin P.

Cadet
Joined
Nov 1, 2016
Hi everybody. Im from Cleburne County Al, 26 years old, and i work in construction. shout out to the late, great George Jones! alright i got that out of the way,down to business. Ive always had a passion for history, especially historical places and artifacts and i assume thats why we are all here. Ive been on an adventure lately following as much of the Atlanta campaign as time allows me so yes i had to trade my ol' horse in for a nissan because he couldnt run 70 mph on interstate highways so the experience of riding towards Kennesaw in full gallop with guns-a-blazin was shot down by Georgia PD. But seriously, my last adventure led me to a beautiful town we know as Newnan Ga. i Carefully read all the historical info signs and maps while walking the trails as i always do. My favorite part of visiting these battle fields is when i learn the facts and locations of the events then realizing "wow, im standing where it all happened " I have became addicted to that cold chill, my friends. but visiting Browns Mill was so different. i usually try to act like an intelligent history buff when someone tags along. but not in Newnan. i had read about the confederate hospitals while there. im not saying a higher power was involved but something came over me that ill never forget. ive never been so touched like that. after all the tragedies of war and horror ive researched , how did this one location affect me? i was so desperate to know more on this subject i googled the local court house phone # almost begging for information on events there. Crazy right?? What is so significant about this place that ive got to go back. Ive had so many dreams about the place and its hospitals since that day. i can hardly find any info about this except for one pic. Something else that unnerves me is that i also have dreams of talking to the nurseses and with living relatives of the nurses that witnessed the horror. its so strange. its like i personally knew them and i need some kind of closure. my research has been non stop since then. i left work yesterday headed to books a million then grabbed as many civil war books i could find and after 5 hrs i was asleep, face down on a book with old maps scattered everywhere. i was asked to leave immediately after i was spotted asleep . So my fellow folks if you have any info about these hospitals please let me know. and i really would like to know the exact location where buildings stood at browns mill. one more thing guys, does anybody know if a hospital stood on browns mill battle field? if so please send me a map as accurate as possible before saturday. Again it sounds crazy but i feel the need to go back as if i left something there. all information will help me out. Sorry for the long story but ive researched so much trying to find where these structures stood and these nurses from 1864 and turned up with nothing. Thanks guys. I swear im not insane and saying its supernatural. With yalls help and research ill investigate Browns Mill battlefield from daylight til dark this satuday and keep everybody updated. again thanks
 
Hi everybody. Im from Cleburne County Al, 26 years old, and i work in construction. shout out to the late, great George Jones! alright i got that out of the way,down to business. Ive always had a passion for history, especially historical places and artifacts and i assume thats why we are all here. Ive been on an adventure lately following as much of the Atlanta campaign as time allows me so yes i had to trade my ol' horse in for a nissan because he couldnt run 70 mph on interstate highways so the experience of riding towards Kennesaw in full gallop with guns-a-blazin was shot down by Georgia PD. But seriously, my last adventure led me to a beautiful town we know as Newnan Ga. i Carefully read all the historical info signs and maps while walking the trails as i always do. My favorite part of visiting these battle fields is when i learn the facts and locations of the events then realizing "wow, im standing where it all happened " I have became addicted to that cold chill, my friends. but visiting Browns Mill was so different. i usually try to act like an intelligent history buff when someone tags along. but not in Newnan. i had read about the confederate hospitals while there. im not saying a higher power was involved but something came over me that ill never forget. ive never been so touched like that. after all the tragedies of war and horror ive researched , how did this one location affect me? i was so desperate to know more on this subject i googled the local court house phone # almost begging for information on events there. Crazy right?? What is so significant about this place that ive got to go back. Ive had so many dreams about the place and its hospitals since that day. i can hardly find any info about this except for one pic. Something else that unnerves me is that i also have dreams of talking to the nurseses and with living relatives of the nurses that witnessed the horror. its so strange. its like i personally knew them and i need some kind of closure. my research has been non stop since then. i left work yesterday headed to books a million then grabbed as many civil war books i could find and after 5 hrs i was asleep, face down on a book with old maps scattered everywhere. i was asked to leave immediately after i was spotted asleep . So my fellow folks if you have any info about these hospitals please let me know. and i really would like to know the exact location where buildings stood at browns mill. one more thing guys, does anybody know if a hospital stood on browns mill battle field? if so please send me a map as accurate as possible before saturday. Again it sounds crazy but i feel the need to go back as if i left something there. all information will help me out. Sorry for the long story but ive researched so much trying to find where these structures stood and these nurses from 1864 and turned up with nothing. Thanks guys. I swear im not insane and saying its supernatural. With yalls help and research ill investigate Browns Mill battlefield from daylight til dark this satuday and keep everybody updated. again thanks
Welcome to the forum from The Trans-Mississippi Department. Hopefully,some members here can provide you with some information.
 
thank you. im glad i found you folks. what makes this even more weird is that it seems that photos, records, and any kind of structural remains have disappeared. ive never researched a subject this deep in my life lol! maybe by Saturday ill have some old maps of the site before Shermans rampage
 
Hello and welcome to the forum from Michigan. You do not state why you have a particular interest in hospitals. The subject of Civil War hospitals has a few books on the subject, but people seem to find hospitals a bit disturbing.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum from Michigan. You do not state why you have a particular interest in hospitals. The subject of Civil War hospitals has a few books on the subject, but people seem to find hospitals a bit disturbing.
 
honestly i have no interest in hospitals in any way. Especially ones as primitive as the hospitals of that time. And again i am not superstitious. And its strange i feel a strong need to go back. there really is nothing there but a trail and an open field, but i would like to know if a hospital stood on those grounds but i asked several people around town and nobody knows. so who do i go to?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum from Michigan. You do not state why you have a particular interest in hospitals. The subject of Civil War hospitals has a few books on the subject, but people seem to find hospitals a bit disturbing.
b
honestly i have no interest in hospitals in any way. Especially ones as primitive as the hospitals of that time. And again i am not superstitious. And its strange i feel a strong need to go back. there really is nothing there but a trail and an open field, but i would like to know if a hospital stood on those grounds but i asked several people around town and nobody knows. so who do i go to?
 
Hi @Dustin P. Welcome to CivilWarTalk. Maybe I can help. My 2x g grandfather, Dr. William Cordwell Cross was one of the surgeons at Newnan.

Dr Wm Cordwell Cross of Cherokee, AL (Franklin now Colbert County) received his BA from Princeton in 1836 and his MD from the Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1838. Enlisted as Asst Surgeon 16th Alabama; promoted to regimental surgeon for the 16th Alabama; left behind with the wounded and captured at Beech Grove KY; brigade surgeon SAM Wood's Brigade and served as such at the Battle of Shiloh; transferred to Hospital service and served the rest of the war in AoT hospitals.

He was Surgeon of the 'Bragg Hospital.' Its locations included the Cravens House at Chattanooga, TN, Cherokee Springs at Ringgold, GA; Coweta House at Newnan, GA (where he succeeded Dr Gore as Medical Officer in Charge); Fort Valley, GA; Americus, GA; Gainesville, AL; and Meridian, MS... not necessarily in that order. So you can see it was the norm for the hospitals to move from town to town. He survived the war and returned to NE Alabama where he engaged in the medical profession and farming.

General Hospitals and Medical Officers in Charge
NEWNAN, GA Hospitals -
Dr Andrew J Foard, Army Medical Director Western Dept. (until Feb 1864)
Dr. Samuel H. Stout, Army Medical Director Department of Tennessee supervising
Dr Samuel M Bemiss, Asst Army Medical Director
Buckner Hospital- Dr. William Thomas McAllister, Surgeon.
Bragg Hospital - 1863 Dr. Joshua Allen Gore, surgeon; 1864 Dr. William Cordwell Cross,Surgeon.
Bragg Hospital Asst Surgeons: Dr. Wallace W. Estell (Estill) (d Nov 1864), Asst Surgeon; Dr. H.D.E. Redwine, Asst Surgeon; Dr. Colvin B Adams, Asst Surgeon
Foard Hospital - 1863 George Turnbull Pursley, surgeon; 1864 J. N. Hughes, Surgeon
Gamble Hospital - 1863 Dr Cary Breckenridge Gamble, surgeon; 1864 K. C. Devine, Surgeon

NURSES at Bragg Hospital @ Newnan: Fannie Beers, Kate Cumming, Patty Perry (wife of Dr. Wm T McAllister)

Here is a link that will take you directly to the page where Kate Cumming identifies my gg grandfather, along with the Assistant Surgeons serving at the Bragg Hospital, Newnan GA. The cite is page 239 in case the link does not work.

http://books.google.com/books?id=e4...e&q="Cross" surgeon Bragg confederate&f=false

According to Kate Cumming's Journal:
"Dr. (Joshua) Gore. formerly surgeon of the Bragg Hospital, was an eminent physician in Bloomfield, Kentucky. He gave up everything for the cause, and since entering the army has been devoted to his country. Dr. Cross, his successor, (Dr Cross succeeded Dr Gore as Medical Officer in charge of the Bragg Hospital) was one of the wealthiest men in North Alabama, and is a high-toned gentleman. He joined the army at the outbreak of the war, and has nobly done his duty." ~ From "A Journal of Hospital Life in the Confederate Army of Tennessee" by Kate Cumming, page 153.

To answer your question, I am not aware of a hospital on the Browns Mill Battlefield. Keep in mind that Field Hospitals (areas where the wounded were gathered for initial treatement) were typcially located at least a mile, and usually further, behind the lines of battle. At Browns Mill, we know that many of the wounded who died later wound up in the cemetery at Newnan, so once the fighting ended, the wounded were probably transported back to the hospitals in the town of Newnan.

Here are links to a number of posts here on CWT that should fill you in on a lot of info about the hospitals in Newnan.
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/confederate-states-of-america-cemeteries.99188/page-8#post-1377672
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/confederate-states-of-america-cemeteries.99188/page-8#post-1377874
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/william-brandon-weatherford-help.109866/#post-1058771
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/four-hospitals-in-tiny-cassville.104215/#post-988085
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/mrs-fannie-a-beers.82404/
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/fannie-beers-newnan-nurse.102661/
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/kate-cumming-nurse.102615/#post-922163
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/battle-of-browns-mill-new-battlefield.102500/#post-919718
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/confederate-hospitals-newnan-georgia-kate-cumming.93933/
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/shermans-march-to-the-sea.91985/#post-752096
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/bro...ed-up-for-grand-opening-ga.87697/#post-690604
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/what-is-your-take-on-kate-cummings-journal.120521/#post-1257816

Dr Cross CSR Summary
Dr. William Cordwell Cross, enlisted Surgeon of the 16th Alabama. He was left with the wounded at Beech Grove, KY, attended wounded of the battle of Shiloh in Corinth and Meridian,MS. Then served at the Confederate Hospital at Gainesville, AL. On April 25, 1863 he was ordered to report to Surg S H Stout Supt Hospital at Chattanooga. On April 25, 1863 Chattanooga he was ordered to report to Surg C B Gamble in charge of hospitals at Ringold, GA. On April 28, 1863 at Ringold, GA he was ordered to report to Surg Gore in charge at Bragg Hospital. He succeeded Surg Gore as Head Surgeon for the Bragg Hospital at Newnan, GA. upon Surg Gores departure. Relieved from duty at Newman, Ga.. August 16/18, 1864, and ordered to report to Bragg Hospital at Americus, Ga. for duty, posted to an Army of Tennessee hospital at Meridian, Mississippi February 1865, gave his Parole of Honor to the United States May 12, 1865 at Meridian, Mississippi
 
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i felt like i lost a good friend when george passed. the funeral directors and family menbers were afraid he was gonna try and pull another no show for the funeral. He made it tho. the night he died i sat out in my truck and drank a whole quart of some stump liquor, cry a little bit, then misplace the mason jar and swear id been robbed. but im at peace with it. i went to see him about 9 months before he died and got his signature
 
2882576231_e917de065e.jpg


This is one from Campaign for Atlanta by the late great William Scaife. His book is worth picking up.
 
@Dustin P. ,
I beg you to check this book out: Sherman's Horsemen by David Evans.
This is probably my favorite book on the war. It is extremely detailed down to roads and all. It covers the entire raid leading up to Brown's Mill as well as the frantic retreat of the feds through your neck of the woods.

And welcome to the forum, neighbor! I am just across the Georgie line in Bowdon.

$_35.jpg
 
@Dustin P. ,
I beg you to check this book out: Sherman's Horsemen by David Evans.
This is probably my favorite book on the war. It is extremely detailed down to roads and all. It covers the entire raid leading up to Brown's Mill as well as the frantic retreat of the feds through your neck of the woods.

And welcome to the forum, neighbor! I am just across the Georgie line in Bowdon.

$_35.jpg
i will definately buy that book.
@Dustin P. ,
I beg you to check this book out: Sherman's Horsemen by David Evans.
This is probably my favorite book on the war. It is extremely detailed down to roads and all. It covers the entire raid leading up to Brown's Mill as well as the frantic retreat of the feds through your neck of the woods.

And welcome to the forum, neighbor! I am just across the Georgie line in Bowdon.

$_35.jpg
we should meet up
@Dustin P. ,
I beg you to check this book out: Sherman's Horsemen by David Evans.
This is probably my favorite book on the war. It is extremely detailed down to roads and all. It covers the entire raid leading up to Brown's Mill as well as the frantic retreat of the feds through your neck of the woods.

And welcome to the forum, neighbor! I am just across the Georgie line in Bowdon.

$_35.jpg
we should meet up. i want to check out the cemetary thats near kennesaw mountain. i had relatives on both sides. and im gonna order that book today. Jesus man i didnt mean to reply that man times lol! im still figuring this forum out.
 
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newnan courthouse hospital.png

This painting shows the Newnan GA Court House, along with several of the "Hospital sheds" which were built in Newnan. The sheds were reportedly 12 feet wide x 100 feet long. I have not found any record of exactly how many such sheds were constructed, but have seen the requisitions for nails and materials.

Although it was intended that only five or six hundred wounded be accommodated in Newnan, its geographic location and proximity to Atlanta greatly increased the number and more than ten thousand Confederate sick and wounded were brought there for treatment in seven hospitals known as Bragg, Buckner, College Temple, Coweta House, Foard, Gamble, and Pinson Springs... They took over ... all large buildings and stores on the Court Square... Sheds were built around the court house.~ Byron H. Mathews, "To Do A Man's Work."​

Meantime, the wounded of several battles had filled and crowded the wards. As before, every train came in freighted with human misery. In the Buckner Hospital (at Newnan) alone there were nearly a thousand beds, tenanted by every conceivable form of suffering. An ambulance-train arrived one night, bringing an unusually large number of sick and wounded men, whose piteous moans filled the air as they were brought up the hill on "stretchers" or alighted at the door of the hospital from ambulances, which, jolting over the rough, country road, had tortured them inexpressibly. Occasionally a scream of agony would arise, but more frequently suppressed groans bespoke strong men's suffering manfully borne. In the ward where those badly wounded were placed, there was so much to be done, that morning found the work unfinished.
~
Fannie A. Bears, Memories: A Record of Personal Experience and Adventure During Four Years of War http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15829/15829-h/15829-h.htm page
 
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