Civil War Hospital Steward Caduceus Chevrons

From: joshuasattic.com

This shows an original pair of very rare Union Hospital Stewards cloth chevron bands. They have hand stitched snake and staff of the medical profession since Greek times called the caduceus, still a symbol of physicians today. The edging is missing but cloth field and caduceus device are in superb condition. Such chevrons can be seen on photographic examples of Hospital Stewards' typical dress uniforms from Civil War reference books.

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A Hospital Steward is Promoted

By Larry Shockley

In the past I have been lucky enough to help out the fine folks at the West Virginia Archives and History and your theme here reminded me of a document that I digitized for them awhile back. This is a digital copy of a letter promoting a soldier, John Cooper, from Hospital Steward of the 7th (West) Virginia Volunteer Infantry, to Commissioned Assistant Surgeon of the same unit. It is authored by Lieut. Francis W.H. Baldwin and addressed to West Virginia's first Governor, A.I. Boreman. Surgeons were in high demand in the "Bloody Seventh" as they supposedly fought in more battles and had more losses than any other WV Regiment during the Civil War. The original can be found at the West Virginia Archives and History.

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Hospital Stewards

From: wtv-zone.com

The lowest ranking members of Union and Confederate Medical Departments during the Civil War were usually hospital stewards, noncommissioned officers who received the pay and allowance of a sergeant major. Each regiment was authorized to have one hospital steward, who was often chosen by the regimental surgeon from the enlisted men in the unit.

Army regulations specified that men selected as hospital stewards had to be of good character: "temperate, honest, and in every way reliable, as well as sufficiently intelligent, and skilled in pharmacy. Temperance was an important quality since one responsibility of the hospital steward was controlling and dispensing medicinal whiskey. As he was responsible for keeping many medical records, the steward also needed to be literate and intelligent.

His other duties included assisting the field surgeons in operations, supervising hospital cooks and nurses, and even prescribing drugs and performing minor operations during emergencies.

Regulations called for Union hospital stewards to wear the red trimmed uniform of artillerymen. Their uniform insignia consisted of an emerald green, yellow edged, half-chevron that bore a two-inch-long yellow caduceus (staff with two entwined snakes and two wings at top). Hospital stewards of volunteer regiments, however, were known to wear a variety of different uniforms and insignia. Confederate hospital stewards' uniforms and insignia were not officially regulated, but one surgeon recalled that on the uniform many wore, the chevrons on the coat sleeves and the stripe down the trousers very similar to those worn by an orderly or first sergeant, but were black in color.

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