JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
" If Walls Could Talk ". Would like to continue snapshots found inside our iconic photographs. We're so familiar with so, so many images from the war they tend to lose their place in Time. Who passed through their halls of horsehair plaster, what small moments a soldier took away with him, what shattered life ended there or how many lives were stubbornly wrestled back from Death's yawning brink? Some we know, a doorstep at Appomattox through which stepped a pair of boots carrying the fate of an army and a nation- to a table, in a room on an April day.
Fredericksburg, John L. Marie built his home on the heights in 1824. A Virginia businessman, Marie 's mansion reflected the fact that he would later, inevitably play his part in Virginia leaving the Union. As war crept closer Marie fled to safety, leaving the lovely home to become part of History.
Helen Gilson, niece of Massachusetts governor Frank Fay marked a long stint as Civil War nurse by becoming best known for her compassion. It was due to her efforts the hospital for black soldiers at Petersburg underwent massive change, having been little more than a roof, dirt and bugs. Encountered by a shocked and horrified Gilson, she not only advocated for change but stuck around to make them. 900 men eventually ate meals served from the kitchen there. " Angel of Mercy " was applied to an awful lot of Civil War nurses- Helen Gilson wore it well.
She came to Fredericksburg.
https://archive.org/details/womansworkincivi5900broc
There are other photographs of Marie's House, various people around it, rifle pits and camps. Like anything with a roof it was a hospital. Once in a great while we get a glimpse behind crazed panes a riddled brick. By great good fortune to untold numbers of wounded Dr. Reed was here. He chose to grace History with a snapshot of another Angel of Mercy, here also, Helen Gilson. So lucky he did.
Maybe medical staff? Making no claims. Makes you wish walls really could speak to us.
Fredericksburg, John L. Marie built his home on the heights in 1824. A Virginia businessman, Marie 's mansion reflected the fact that he would later, inevitably play his part in Virginia leaving the Union. As war crept closer Marie fled to safety, leaving the lovely home to become part of History.
Helen Gilson, niece of Massachusetts governor Frank Fay marked a long stint as Civil War nurse by becoming best known for her compassion. It was due to her efforts the hospital for black soldiers at Petersburg underwent massive change, having been little more than a roof, dirt and bugs. Encountered by a shocked and horrified Gilson, she not only advocated for change but stuck around to make them. 900 men eventually ate meals served from the kitchen there. " Angel of Mercy " was applied to an awful lot of Civil War nurses- Helen Gilson wore it well.
She came to Fredericksburg.
https://archive.org/details/womansworkincivi5900broc
There are other photographs of Marie's House, various people around it, rifle pits and camps. Like anything with a roof it was a hospital. Once in a great while we get a glimpse behind crazed panes a riddled brick. By great good fortune to untold numbers of wounded Dr. Reed was here. He chose to grace History with a snapshot of another Angel of Mercy, here also, Helen Gilson. So lucky he did.
Maybe medical staff? Making no claims. Makes you wish walls really could speak to us.