The U.S. Army Veterinary Corps

By Andy Watson, AMEDD Regimental Historian Veterinarians officially and unofficially have been a part of the Army since its inception. Reliance on animals for transportation, nutrition, and commerce were essential to early army operations and logistics. While there were farriers and other “horse tenders” attached to the American Army from the time of the Revolutionary War, medical expertise and official recognition did not occur until much later. Veterinary medicine, similar to other scientific disciplines in the United States slowly made gains during the 19th Century. A few civilian veterinarians were hired to support the Army during the...

Read More

Herman Faber, Artist and Medical Illustrator

From: findagrave.com Birth: 1831, Germany Death: Dec. 10, 1913 Philadelphia Philadelphia County Pennsylvania, USA NOTE: I used the birth information which is on his Death Certificate. Other sources give January 26, 1832. He died at home: 648 Chelten Avenue Buried on December 13, 1913. His parents were Ludwig Faber & Mary Goss. His first name often appears as Hermann. Famous artist. He is considered a founder of medical illustration in America. During the Civil War, he did many illustrations for the U.S. Army's 6-volume "Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion". His most famous single work is his pencil drawing...

Read More

Isabella Fogg of Maine

From: americancivilwarforum.com In 1861 Isabella Fogg of Calais, Maine, asked herself what to do. The answer? Follow son Hugh and his regiment to Washington. There, she visited hospitals as a volunteer for the Maine Camp and Hospital Association. Soon, she and others realized the greatest need for help was in the field. Once there, they were horrified to find sick and wounded soldiers languishing in barns, sheds and tents. They offered what help they could with limited supplies. Isabella Fogg Berlin, Nov. 10, 1862 Mr. Hathaway, Dear Sir, I suppose Mr. W[atson] has given you some information in regard to how we were occupying our time in...

Read More

General Longstreet's Children Die of Scarlet Fever

Original research by Longstreet Society member Jan Vanderheiden In Richmond, VA during winter 1862, the three youngest children of General James and Maria Louisa Longstreet died from scarlet fever. This personal tragedy is mentioned in biographies and discussions of Longstreet the General. However events that happened, or did not happen in regards to little Mary Ann, James Jr. and Augustus Baldwin Longstreet following their deaths seem vague and troubled.  For many decades it was believed that in those dark hours James and Louise were too distraught to see to the children’s funeral arrangements, or even attend the services. Longstreet’s...

Read More

The Cavalry Soldier

From: muttermuseum.org The cavalry soldier is apt to look with some contempt as he rides by the weary footman carrying his knapsack; but he should bear in mind how much he is dependent upon him, and how much of the confidence with which he rides to the front is due to the staunch columns of infantry he leaves in his rear, and how soon he may be compelled to seek refuge from the enemy’s sharpshooters and artillery in the rear of the same columns of infantry. A cavalry soldier should not exceed in weight one hundred and sixty pounds, should be active and strong, physically sound, with a natural fondness for horses and experience in handling...

Read More

John Wornall House Museum

From: civilwaronthewesternborder.org Built in 1858, the John Wornall House Museum is a unique Kansas City landmark and a significant educational institution. As only one of five remaining Kansas City Antebellum homes, this magnificent Greek Revival structure is listed on the National Historic Register. Most famous for its use as a field hospital for both sides during the Civil War’s Battle of Westport, the Museum also tells the stories of domestic life, culture, traditions, and key economic developments in the mid-to-late 19th century. The home remained in the Wornall family until 1964 whereupon the Jackson County Historical Society meticulously...

Read More

The Confederate Hospital in Bristol

From: visitbristoltnva.org Bristol was a divided area when the Civil War began.  However, during the years that followed, Bristol became a confederate stronghold.  Although Bristol didn’t experience any battles, it served as a crucial point for soldiers in the area during the war. The train depots located in Bristol were a stopping point for many soldiers traveling to the Deep South or northern Virginia.  During the years of the war, both train depots were burned down.  One occurrence was in December 1864 during (Union General) Stoneman’s Expedition into Southwest Virginia. In the later years of the war, the trains bought...

Read More

Sex and the Civil War

Written by: Doug Coleman L.P. Hartley once wrote: “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” And so it is with the Civil War and American sexual morality during the 1860’s. Things we outlaw, they tolerated. Things we tolerate, they regarded as monstrous crimes. Start with the notion that Americans in the Victorian age were prudes. Not so, unless one is willing to overlook the large families of that age. Domestic terrorist John Brown managed to sire twenty children before Virginia broke his neck on the gallows for trying to start a national slave revolt. Thomas P. Lowery relates in his The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t...

Read More

Boxers, Briefs and Battles

By Jean Huets, 11-25-12 Civil War soldiers carried many valuables: letters from home, photographs, and locks of hair from wives, sweethearts and babies. But they held a less romantic article much nearer to their hearts, and sometimes much dearer: their undergarments. History favors epic battles, stirring speeches, presidents and generals and the economic and political forces that transform the lives of millions. Yet mere underwear has a story to tell, a story that covers the breadth of the Civil War, from home front to battlefield. A full suit of mid-19th-century men’s underwear consisted of a shirt, “drawers” and socks. Like today, men’s...

Read More