JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
This has always been baffling. We tend to see " Hospital ship Red Rover " and less commonly " Hospital Ship Nashville "- behemoths reminiscent of Noah's Ark, by way of illustrations. Many storied gentle monsters of healing, Lousia May Alcott remembers their constant docking less fondly, grisly cargo delivered far too regularly to Washington hospitals during her well documented ( and nearly fatal ) service as nurse to wounded.
Hospital Ship Red Rover at Vicksburg. Red Rover saw service to some of our first African American nurses as well as a veritable fleet in themselves amongst Civil War nurses. Her battered condition tells of a long, long war, perhaps is eloquent of each soul carried on board and the other battles stubbornly waged within.
Two photographs from City Point show a Sanitary Commission ' barge ', so far unnamed. Constant references to nurses serving in the Hospital Transport Services plus Confederate records referencing hospital ships beg the question " Where in heck were the other hospital ships? " Predictably, one terrific answer lies in a great entry from the Civil War Women blog. http://civilwarwomenblog.com/civil-war-nurses-on-hospital-ships/
" Civil War Nurses On Hospital Ships " . She is so good. I'm not using any of her research on purpose. It's a great article and must have taken many hours both researching and posting.
This thread would be far too long if each ship's history is given. This is Hospital Ship Nashville, the ' other ' well-known hospital ship shown here as a hive of activity. As well it should.
" On the Pamunkey, 19 ships moved 700 wounded each day " :. That's from Wiki, not a direct quote, paraphrasing. Nineteen! These would be hospital transport ships, I'm not sure how they compared to each other. They would still require nurses and cots and staff- and a name. Who were they?
" A second force of ships, inland, moved 600 a day. These 16 ships brought them north, to Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky " ( again, paraphrasing from Wiki ) All ships could, in emergency, by wildly overloaded. This would overload the waiting hospitals hence was extremely frowned on- it sometimes occurred. 35 ships moving 1,300 wounded daily. Included in these numbers doesn't seem to be those hospital ships the Sanitary Commission transferred to the army.
Red Rover (Mississippi River) later transferred to Navy
City of Memphis (Ohio River)
City of Nashville
City of Louisiana, Renamed R. C. Wood (Ohio River)
D. A. January*
It was a massive endeavor- with a huge amount of staff- nurses, doctors, naval men who of course made the endless loops on behalf of wounded. And the ships. Wiki gives a list, am unsure if it is complete. Would love to find all the nurses but that is impossible without the nurses themselves. Perhaps they will slowly appear, attracted by old deeds, names not heard for a century and a half, patients cared for and lost or won.
Hospital Ship " Nellie Baker ", had her autograph book go up for auction not long ago. Speaking of war and wounded and terrifying nights, hopefully the purchaser will share the rest of the entries with us.
Steamer " America ', refitted post war became elegant again.
Steamer Hospital Ship Ben Campbell
A nameless Sanitary Commission barge docked on the waterfront, to the right,- there are 2 other photos, wish we had the names.
The Daniel Webster was also a hospital ship.
Steamer Elm City, hospital ship
Here's Steamer John Brooks at home in Boston, not sure if there are other images.
" State of Maine ', has to be a favorite hospital ship, transport.
This is sketch of " DA January, one of the big hospital ships. It is very tough t believe there would not be other photographs containing this ship. Bet the January is in a photo somewhere and just hasn't been identified.
Inside the Red Rover, Hospital Ship. We've see how massive these rooms were in peace time, must have made incredible hospitals.
Some ships of the Sanitary Commission, obviously not the entire fleet above.
Hoping to come up with nurses serving on specific ships for this thread, too, it's just extremely time consuming. They deserve the recognition. if anyone knows of ship and nurse, or wounded and ship, please feel free to add? Union or Confederate, all are needed, please.
Hospital Ship Red Rover at Vicksburg. Red Rover saw service to some of our first African American nurses as well as a veritable fleet in themselves amongst Civil War nurses. Her battered condition tells of a long, long war, perhaps is eloquent of each soul carried on board and the other battles stubbornly waged within.
Two photographs from City Point show a Sanitary Commission ' barge ', so far unnamed. Constant references to nurses serving in the Hospital Transport Services plus Confederate records referencing hospital ships beg the question " Where in heck were the other hospital ships? " Predictably, one terrific answer lies in a great entry from the Civil War Women blog. http://civilwarwomenblog.com/civil-war-nurses-on-hospital-ships/
" Civil War Nurses On Hospital Ships " . She is so good. I'm not using any of her research on purpose. It's a great article and must have taken many hours both researching and posting.
This thread would be far too long if each ship's history is given. This is Hospital Ship Nashville, the ' other ' well-known hospital ship shown here as a hive of activity. As well it should.
" On the Pamunkey, 19 ships moved 700 wounded each day " :. That's from Wiki, not a direct quote, paraphrasing. Nineteen! These would be hospital transport ships, I'm not sure how they compared to each other. They would still require nurses and cots and staff- and a name. Who were they?
" A second force of ships, inland, moved 600 a day. These 16 ships brought them north, to Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky " ( again, paraphrasing from Wiki ) All ships could, in emergency, by wildly overloaded. This would overload the waiting hospitals hence was extremely frowned on- it sometimes occurred. 35 ships moving 1,300 wounded daily. Included in these numbers doesn't seem to be those hospital ships the Sanitary Commission transferred to the army.
Red Rover (Mississippi River) later transferred to Navy
City of Memphis (Ohio River)
City of Nashville
City of Louisiana, Renamed R. C. Wood (Ohio River)
D. A. January*
It was a massive endeavor- with a huge amount of staff- nurses, doctors, naval men who of course made the endless loops on behalf of wounded. And the ships. Wiki gives a list, am unsure if it is complete. Would love to find all the nurses but that is impossible without the nurses themselves. Perhaps they will slowly appear, attracted by old deeds, names not heard for a century and a half, patients cared for and lost or won.
Hospital Ship " Nellie Baker ", had her autograph book go up for auction not long ago. Speaking of war and wounded and terrifying nights, hopefully the purchaser will share the rest of the entries with us.
Steamer " America ', refitted post war became elegant again.
Steamer Hospital Ship Ben Campbell
A nameless Sanitary Commission barge docked on the waterfront, to the right,- there are 2 other photos, wish we had the names.
The Daniel Webster was also a hospital ship.
Steamer Elm City, hospital ship
Here's Steamer John Brooks at home in Boston, not sure if there are other images.
" State of Maine ', has to be a favorite hospital ship, transport.
This is sketch of " DA January, one of the big hospital ships. It is very tough t believe there would not be other photographs containing this ship. Bet the January is in a photo somewhere and just hasn't been identified.
Inside the Red Rover, Hospital Ship. We've see how massive these rooms were in peace time, must have made incredible hospitals.
Some ships of the Sanitary Commission, obviously not the entire fleet above.
Hoping to come up with nurses serving on specific ships for this thread, too, it's just extremely time consuming. They deserve the recognition. if anyone knows of ship and nurse, or wounded and ship, please feel free to add? Union or Confederate, all are needed, please.