One of the major accomplishments during the Civil War was the establishment of military hospitals. These hospitals helped the wounded and diseased through a series of continuously improving treatments and rehabilitation. Dorthea Dix played a huge role during the Civil War as the Union’s Superintendent of Female Nurses. The United States Sanitary Commission was founded in 1861 as the Civil War started to begin. The Sanitary Commission staffed field hospitals, raised money, provided supplies, and worked to educate the military and government on matters of health and sanitation(Mercy Street’s medical, historical and technical advisor, Stanley B. Burns, MD of The Burns Archive). These three topics all are a big part of the time during the civil war.
Military hospitals are hos
pitals that are owned and operated by armed forces, that were established in 1861 during the Civil War. These hospitals are mainly used for military personnel and their dependents. In some countries these hospitals are also used for civilians as well. Often times military hospitals are not located on a military base. The designs emphasized sanitation and ventilation to minimize the miasmas that were believed to cause hospital infections(Alan J. Hawk, Military Hospitals in the American Civil War). One of the women that was important in the development of military hospitals was Dorthea Dix.
Dorthea Dix was an American activist who served as a Superintendent of Army nurses during the Civil War. On June 10, 1861 she was appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses by the Union Army, beating out Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (Bibliography on Dorthea Lynde Dix, by Andrew G. Wood). Dorthea set the guidelines for the nurse candidates. Dix trained approximately 180 young women, including Louisa May Alcott, for medical duty during the war. She founded thirty two hospitals for the treatment for the mentally ill. One doctor testified to Dix’s dedication during this period by writing that s
he “was a very retiring, sensitive woman, yet brave and bold as a lion to do battle for the right and for justice. She was very unpopular in the war with surgeons, nurses, and any others, who failed to do their whole duty.”(Bibliography on Dorthea Lynde Dix, by Andrew G. Wood). She received special recognition for her service during the war in December 1866 when Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton awarded her two national flags for “the Care, Succor, and Relief of the Sick and wounded Soldiers of the United States on the Battle-Field, in Camps and Hospitals during the recent War.”(Bibliography on Dorthea Lynde Dix, by Andrew G. Wood) Dorthea Dix did a lot during her life these facts all happened in just the time of the Civil War. Dorthea Dix also helped be a part of the creation of the United States Sanitary Commission.
The United States Sanitary Commission was created by private citizens including Henry Whitney Bellows and Dorthea Dix. United States Sanitary Commissions did a lot of different things for our country including st
affing field hospitals which were during the Civil War out on the battle field. The Sanitary Commission also raised money and provided supplies for the cause of the Civil War. These Sanitary Commission also worked to educate the military and government on matters of health and sanitation. The most influential of these organizations was the U.S. Sanitary Commission led by Frederick Olmstead, which was given semi-official status by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861 (Alan J. Hawk, Military Hospitals in the American Civil War). The United States Sanitary Commission was finally disbanded in May 1866.
In conclusion all three of my topics were a very important part during the Civil War. Military hospitals became a great establishment during the beginning of the war. The hospitals have helped cure many of people that were wounded and that had and have had diseases. Dorthea Dix had a huge impact on the Civil War by being the Superintendent of Army Nurses. She set the guidelines for the nurses who worked in the military hospitals. She also was one of the founders of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. The United States Sanitary Commission staffed field hospitals, raised money, provided supplies, and worked to educate the military and government on matters of health and sanitation. The Sanitary Commission does not exist today but, the military hospitals are still around in fact there are fifty six still being used in the United States.
Picture Sources:
- CIVIL WAR ERA PHOTOGRAPH 1861 TO 1865 INTERIOR OF UNION ARMY HOSPITAL WITH PATIENTS AND MEDICAL STAFF https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-civil-war-era-photograph-1861-to-1865-interior-of-union-army-hospital-72597095.html
- Dorothea Lynde Dix. Oil on canvas, 1868, by Samuel Bell Waugh. www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1500181
- Washington, D.C. Group of Sanitary Commission workers at the entrance of the Home Lodge; June 1863. http://dotcw.com/sanitary-commission/