No Mules Allowed in the Galleries!

     One of the NMCWM’s recent donations is an original plate taken from the “Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,” which is also referred to simply as the “War of the Rebellion Atlas.”  This atlas was published by the Government Printing Office in 1895, and was compiled by Captain Calvin D. Cowles of the 23rd U.S. Infantry.  It was published in 36 volumes, and contained 175 plates of maps, illustrations, and technical drawings from both Union and Confederate sources.

This particular print is titled, “Diagram Illustrating the Principle Means Used in Transporting the Sick and Wounded and Medical Supplies during the War of the Rebellion, 1861-5.”  It’s certainly something we can use at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine!

 

     It contains 39 individual illustrations of Civil War medical care and transport items, some of which we have on exhibit at the museum, including various stretchers, a U.S. Army medicine pannier, and a field medical kit.  

The Squibb medicine pannier fits well into one of our cases.

     However, many of the other items illustrated, including a hospital ship, an Autenreith medicine wagon, ambulance wagons, hospital train cars, and an Army wagon and mule team, simply wouldn’t fit into our display cases, or even our galleries.  Or would they?  Take a look at how we managed to display some of these larger items.  

Diagrams like this one of a Civil War hospital steam ship are certainly one way to show an item which would be too large to bring into the museum building….

….especially if you also have an interior plan of the item to show how the item was constructed and equipped.  You can read more about a Civil War hospital ship here. 

A real Autenreith medicine wagon wouldn’t fit in the museum.  So, we could show visitors this diagram of it….

….or we could have just the back portion of an Autenreith medicine wagon reproduced and installed on a wall.  With the addition of a Plexiglas cover over the back, we can also display some of the original medicines and supplies which were contained in the wagon.  While it isn’t an original wagon, it certainly shows how these wagons functioned.

A full-sized railroad car is certainly too large to fit into most museums,….

…..but we turned a ramp between galleries into a hospital train car, complete with some background train sounds!  You can get a closer look at our “Train Ramp” here. 

Though I’m sure everyone would love to see real mules hitched to a real Civil War army wagon….

….we can’t have animals in the galleries with the artifacts!  The horses and mules painted on this mural do still show how the wagons were moved.  In this case, it is a reproduction of an ambulance wagon, or more accurately, HALF of an ambulance wagon.  The other part of the wagon is incorporated into the mural in order to save space.

     Finding creative ways to display these over-sized items can certainly be challenging, but I think our team here at the NMCWM has done a great job!

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

Acquiring an Ambulance

 

     One of the interesting aspects of writing a blog is in seeing the statistics for it. I can see how many people view it, what countries they are from, which posts are the most popular, and what search requests are used to find my blog. One search which appears fairly often is, “Do museums buy artifacts?” The answer varies by museum, but for the NMCWM the answer is, not often! Today I’m going to talk about an exception to that though.

     You may recall that last year I wrote about a reproduction ambulance wagon which was on loan to the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, and was on display in the barn. Since the Pry Barn was used as a field hospital during the Battle of Antietam, it has probably “seen” many ambulance wagons pass by its doors. So, it’s quite fitting to have an ambulance on display in the barn.  In case you missed it, the link to that post is here.  

 

     Though technically it is not an artifact, the ambulance was very popular with our visitors, and it added to our interpretation of the Pry House and Barn. So, when we were offered the chance to purchase a different reproduction ambulance, we knew we had to find a way to make it happen! Normally, we have to rely on the generosity of people who donate artifacts to our museum. In this case, we will need to raise the money to purchase this ambulance, so we will be hoping for the generosity of people to donate to our “Help Us Keep This Ambulance!” fund.

The ambulance is on loan to us for now. It is a fully-functional reproduction of a Rucker ambulance. If we are able to purchase it, we will refurbish it so that it can continue to be used in our exhibit in the Pry Barn, as well as in some hands-on programs.

 

      During the Civil War, ambulance wagons were essential for quickly transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefields to the hospitals. At the beginning of the war, many of the ambulances were two-wheeled wagons. While they were lighter and faster than the four-wheeled wagons, they broke down more often, and did not offer a smooth ride for the patients being transported. Soldiers often referred to these two-wheeled wagons as “gut-busters!”

      The four-wheeled ambulances were soon favored. They were equipped with springs in the undercarriage which greatly improved the ride for the patients. They also could carry more patients, they broke down less often than the two-wheeled version, and when they did break down they were easier to repair.

In this photo, probably taken at Fredericksburg, Virginia, the 57th N.Y. Ambulance Corps is shown removing wounded soldiers from the field. Notice that there are two-wheeled and four-wheeled ambulance wagons in use. My eye was also drawn to that adjustable stretcher which is visible on the left side of the photo. I’ll have to cover that in a future post! Library of Congress image.

 

      To read a little more about our ambulance wagon and about Civil War medicine, click here.

 

      So, if we want to keep this ambulance wagon, we have some fundraising work to do now. I’m hoping that in the near future I will be able to report that we own the ambulance!

 

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, except where otherwise noted.

A Civil War Stretcher

     Sometimes artifact donations for the museum are simply the result of my being in the right place at the right time.  A couple of years ago when I was staffing the museum’s table at the Gettysburg Civil War Collectors Show, I was approached by a dealer who wanted to know if the museum would be interested in the donation of a Civil War stretcher.  I had to take a look at it of course!  I was pleased to be able to make out the “U.S. National Wagon Works” and the “Tompkins Stretcher / 1864” painted labels on the frame.  The show was about to close, so I had to make a few frantic phone calls to locate a vehicle large enough to transport it.  The stretcher was gratefully accepted from Eric Kane, M.D., and brought back to Frederick that evening. 

 

This stretcher is in good condition, though I was disappointed to see that it had been “restored.”  The wooden frame of the stretcher and the metal hardware are original but have been repainted, except in the area of the labels.  The canvas, the leather straps, and the wood frame for the bonnet are newer replacements.

 

 

Fortunately, this label was left untouched.  If you look carefully, you can make out the “U.S. National Wagon Works” across the top, and “Philadelphia” along the bottom. 

 

 

     The stretcher is constructed on a painted wooden frame with two handles at each end, a canvas-covered bed with attached pillow, and a folding bonnet at the head end.  The bonnet can be raised and secured in place.  The head end of the bed can be elevated slightly using metal brackets.  When elevated, there is a small pocket formed in the canvas beneath in which small items may be stored.  The leg portion is divided into two sections, and each section is independently adjustable using leather straps with buckles.  A tarred canvas is rolled onto a crosspiece below the leg rests and is held in place with two leather buckled straps. The canvas can be unrolled and used to cover the patient in case of bad weather.  The middle of each side of the frame is hinged to allow it to be folded in half.  When unfolded, the frame is secured with a sliding bolt on each side.  The legs of the stretcher can also be folded flat against the frame.  When the legs are unfolded, a metal pin holds each leg in place, and each pin is secured to the stretcher frame by a strip of black leather.  Tompkins stretchers also had two removable, padded armrests, as well as wheels and elliptical springs which could be attached to the stretcher.  These features are unfortunately missing from this stretcher. 

 

Here you can see the bonnet of the stretcher raised, which would have protected the patient from the sun or rain.

     Union Brevet Brigadier General Charles Henry Tompkins (1830-1915) designed the stretcher which bears his name.  In his patent letter for this stretcher he writes, “This invention relates to certain novel improvements in the construction of stretchers which are particularly designed for the safe and comfortable transportation of wounded soldiers from the battle-field to the hospital, or to some other convenient locality where they can receive proper attention.

 

     The main object of my invention is to so construct a stretcher that it can be adjusted and adapted to afford support and the greatest possible comfort to wounded limbs or other parts of the body which may be wounded; at the same time provision is made for folding the several parts of the stretcher into a very compact space, so as to occupy the least amount of space when packed away, as will be herein-after described.

     Another object of my invention is to so construct a stretcher that it can be quickly mounted upon wheels and springs, and readily converted into a light and portable ambulance when it is necessary to move the sick and wounded considerable distances and other means of transportation are not at hand.”

     I’m sure there were many Civil War soldiers who were grateful for his invention!

 

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

A Soldiers’ Fair

     The 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam was this past Monday, September 17.  During the battle, the Pry House served as the headquarters for General George B. McClellan, and the barn was used as a field hospital.  It was only fitting for the Pry House Field Hospital Museum to take part in commemorating the anniversary of the battle.  Just for the anniversary weekend, the Pry House was the site of a Soldiers’ Fair which featured living historians, crafters, and artisans.  They helped to give a glimpse into life in the 1860s. 

A view of the battlefield from the Pry House today is much more peaceful than it was 150 years ago! The National Park Service was doing tours and reenactments over the weekend as well. The sounds of the cannons in the background definitely helped to set the mood.

 

The tents and the reenactors helped to make me feel like I’d been transported back in time.

 

 

Sometimes though, I had to overlook some of the modern conveniences in the scenery! The red flag flying from the barn door indicated that it was being used as a hospital.

 

Some anachronisms can’t be avoided…. 

 

The surgeons were positioned just outside the barn to be ready to treat the wounded.

 

Inside the barn there was a display of a field kit and the medicines which it would have contained.

 

A Civil War doctor demonstrates how to make opium pills. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the pill sizes were not always uniform, so the dose of medicine the patient received was an approximation.

 

Would you like to try to extract the bullet from this leg?

 

The officers set up camp behind the house.

 

The period crafters and artisans set up their tents in the field in front of the house. There was a wide range of activities and presentations including live music and dancers, quilting, candle dipping, making rag dolls, children’s games, food preservation, embalming, and even doing laundry.

 

The U.S. Sanitary Commission was also represented. The Sanitary Commission was a private relief agency created in 1861, just after the start of the Civil War. The Sanitary Commission was created to educate the military in matters of health and sanitation in the camps and hospitals. It also staffed field hospitals, raised money, and provided supplies for the soldiers.

 

     Many members of the museum staff participated as well.

 

 

Tom, the Superintendent of the Pry House, took advantage of the services of a wet-plate photographer.

 

Here’s the finished product – Tom looks pretty good for being over 150 years old!

 

Our Store Manager, Judy, demonstrates how to dip candles.

 

 

Kyle, the Director of Interpretation & Programming at the Pry House, gets his head read by a phrenologist. Phrenologists examined the bumps and depressions on a person’s skull because they were thought to be an indication of the person’s personality and character.

 

Our Executive Director, George, displayed the tools he uses to make period banjos. Notice there are no power tools on the table!

 

 

     We were also fortunate to be able to borrow a modern armored ambulance from Ft. Detrick.  It was placed next to our Wheeling Ambulance so that people could see how much medical transport has changed. 

 

 

This is a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected Ambulance, also known as an MRAP. Today’s wounded soldiers can be transported off the battlefield in this instead of in a horse-drawn ambulance.

 

A modern military stretcher has many improvements over the wood and canvas Civil War stretchers!

 

Setting up a modern stretcher posed some problems for these young reenactors.

 

Luckily the pros were there to show them how to do it!

 

A side-by-side view of the old and new ambulances and stretchers.

 

At the end of the day, everyone pitched in to help move the Wheeling ambulance. Did someone forget to order the horses?!

 

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

New Artifacts at the Pry House

     I’ve been busier than usual at the Pry House Field Hospital Museum lately, partly due to the delivery of two new artifacts which have been loaned to us.  With the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam occurring this September, we’ve been working hard to update the exhibits in anticipation of the extra visitors to the battlefield.  These artifacts are a very welcome addition!


     The first one to arrive was a reproduction of a Wheeling ambulance wagon, which is being displayed in the barn.

Illustration of a Wheeling ambulance wagon fromThe Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. (1861-65) Part III, Volume II.

     These ambulance wagons were designed by General W.S. Rosencrans, and are sometimes also called Rosencrans ambulance wagons.  They were used in the early part of the Civil War, and were pulled by two horses or mules.  They could hold up to twelve seated people on the bench seats which ran along each side of the wagon.  If the cushioned, hinged edges of the seats were raised, the wagon could transport two people lying down, and two or three seated people.  The front seat concealed a storage area for medicines and other essential items.

Kyle watches as the wagon is unloaded from the trailer. If you look closely you can see two of the four elliptical springs which helped to make the ride more comfortable for the soldiers. Two of the springs were perpendicular to the sides of the wagon, one on the front axle and one on the rear axle. Two additional springs were located on the rear axle and were positioned parallel to the wagon sides.

 

Side view of the ambulance wagon. Here you can see the foot brake on the front of the wagon, the step to the back of the wagon, the canvas cover which helped shield the occupants from the sun and rain, and a stretcher stored on the side.

  

Rear view of the ambulance wagon. The wagon had two water kegs built into the back. The panel in the middle is a door which allowed easier access to the wagon.

 

     The second artifact to arrive was the desk of Dr. Jonathan Letterman. 

Major Jonathan Letterman is known as the “Father of Battlefield Medicine”. While he was the Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac he developed the ambulance corps, a system of triage for the wounded, a more organized use of surgeons and medical supplies, and a system of evacuation for getting the wounded from the battlefields. This system, called the “Letterman Plan”, is the basis for modern battlefield and emergency medicine.

 

     Since we stress the importance of Dr. Letterman’s Plan at the museum, we were all  very eager to see his desk!  Of course, I needed to document it by measuring and photographing it, so I had a good excuse to examine it immediately.  The desk comes apart into three pieces, which makes it easier to transport.  All the drawers and door lock, and the original key came with the desk.  It also has a "hidden compartment" behind the bottom section which opens from the right side of the desk.

Tom was taking pictures while I was taking pictures! I was documenting the dovetailing on the drawer, along with an ink stain. 

The small brass plaque on the desk top. The Pry house was his field headquarters during the Battle of Antietam. Is it possible this desk has been here previously?

Here is the desk on display. The chair did not come with the desk, but it does help one to envision Dr. Letterman sitting at his desk. The chains are to keep anyone else from sitting at his desk!

 

     Thanks to the generosity of the people who loaned us these items, we have some exciting displays for the visitors to the Pry House Field Hospital Museum!

  

Photos courtesy of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, except where otherwise noted.