Hospital stewards Training and Arms

[Old Owl]

Hello all, I have been doing some preliminary research on Hospital stewards at the Regimental level, and I have several Questions.

1). Were Hospital stewards armed (side arms, Musket, Carbine) I have seen some with dress swords and I understand a lot of them came from Line companies, batteries or troops. and I understand they were there to assist in saving lives and comfort.

2). Did they receive any actual training as Hospital Stewards I Know they Had a manual, and I'm sure there was all kinds of Civilian medical texts around, but was there any formal training.


Thank you
Old Owl

My Apologies if this is not in the right forum or thread.

 

[RedRover]

Regimental hospital Stewards:

From the US Army regulations 1861/63:

Hospital Stewards detailed from line units were to be detached from their companies for the purpose.

The regulation full dress uniform of US Army hospital stewards included a non-commissioned officers sword. However this would have been for full dress, on parade, etc.

US Army hospital Stewards in common or fatigue dress...

The Confederate Army uniform regulations did not specifically require a sword for hospital stewards, etc.


From the Confederate Army regulations of 1864:

The Confederate Army regulations sought to supply stewards etc. at the following ratios to hospitals.

If a soldier from a line unit was transferred to hospital steward work, they would have left their arms and accoutrements with their company (these being company/regimental property). If enlisted directly to serve as a hospital steward, they would not have been issued any arms particularly.

 

[Old Owl]

Thank you for the Information that was very Helpful and informative.

Old Owl

 

[John Hartwell]

The hospital steward's manual, 1863:

The hospital steward's manual; for the instruction of hospital stewards, wardmasters, and attendants, in their several duties; prepared in strict accordance with existing regulations and the customs of service in the armies of the United States of Am

archive.org

 

[7thWisconsin]

Love the look of that guy on the left of the seated image with the do so big his kepi won´t fit over it. I didn´t know they could do that before Aquanet. I want his volumizer.

 

[CWdiaryPA]

Hi, below are links with HS info., research at my site.

There's also the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in Maryland for info.

My grandfather-- age 32-- was HS of the PA 110th, 1862, during Jackson's Valley Campaign. I imagine he was armed, as he was very close to battle at times. His training for the position I do not know. I suspect they chose him because he was at least a decade older than the rest of "the boys" (as he refers to them all), plus he owned his own farm (though many did back then, too; perhaps he had medical experience with animals?). And he likely knew Dr. Hays-- surgeon of the 110th-- from their same hometown prior to outbreak of war. He worked directly under Hays (the JCCW forces Lincoln to boot Hays out of the Army, then allows him back in. Long sordid tale. If interested, I'll post the link).

My grandfather's diary he kept on the field each night, 3/1--7/5/62, got passed down to me, so I put it all online. He wrote his 21,429k words on the pages while smoke was still on the air at night, so nothing retrospective here.

Sorrowful entries about amputating, leftover human carnage on the ground after battles, how close the shells came to him at the tent during engagements. And he was quite blunt about observing various doctors not doing their duty. He asks his God for help in many of his entries.

For specific topics or words, you can do a search on the home page, & whatever's relevant will come up. There's roughly a million words to comb through, as I added primary sources + contemporary writings. Lots of era diaries, political writings, after-action reports, all that.

Day 26. March 26, 1862. – We Saw a Grate Smoke Raise Up: Letters, Diaries, Wires from the Valley of the Late Rebellion

jacksonsvalleycampaign.com

Day 25. March 25, 1862. – We Saw a Grate Smoke Raise Up: Letters, Diaries, Wires from the Valley of the Late Rebellion

jacksonsvalleycampaign.com

Day 68. May 7, 1862. – We Saw a Grate Smoke Raise Up: Letters, Diaries, Wires from the Valley of the Late Rebellion

jacksonsvalleycampaign.com