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| Confederate: Chimborazo Hospital, Richmond VA |
Confederate Hospital Records
Many Confederate records were destroyed, often on purpose, so when we discover a useful resource for genealogical research of Confederate ancestors, we do a happy dance. Record Group 109, War Department Collection of Confederate Records holds the captured or surrendered “Rebel Archives, ”but it’s the Records of (Confederate) Hospitals, RG 109.8.4, that provides additional information on our individual ancestors that served the Confederacy.
A Good
Place To Start
The Confederate Congress passed the “Act to
better provide for the sick and wounded of the Army in Hospitals” on 27
September 1862. However hospital records are dated as early as 1861: Record Group 109.8.4, Records of (Confederate) Hospitals.
Although not complete, you may find your
Confederate ancestor listed or named correspondence and documentations included
in the Records of the Medical Department, Confederate War Departments,
1861-1865.
If your ancestor was hospitalized in the
Richmond Virginia area, there were many beds. The records of each of the area hospitals
should be checked but the Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, VA was the largest, with an 8000 patient capacity; and Winder
Hospital, with a capacity of 5000 patients, also in Richmond.
If you find your ancestor in a nearby
Confederate Cemetery, be sure to check the records of the closest hospital. For
example: the Shelby Springs Confederate Cemetery listings has 105 graves listed
on Find A Grave, many of the veterans interred here were patients at the Shelby Springs
Confederate Hospital.
What to
Expect
Besides listings of patients, and officers, the
researcher may also find their Civil War Confederate veteran in the collection of
hospital musters, lists of medical officers, lists of patients, soldier discharges,
and more in Record Group 109.8.1 and Record Group 109.8.2. A bonus, should it
be located, is the “Soldier’s Furlough Passes.” These records can be located in
RG 109.8.2 Records of Medical Directors. Again, not complete, but the passes provide
the dates of when a solder was furloughed from the hospital and furlough information
directed to the soldier.
As for
vocabulary on these records, know that muster rolls were personnel lists and
records to include the wage amounts.
African
American Confederate Ancestors
There are few records that record the black that
serviced the Confederate military. However, the collection of medical records gives
an account of African Americans that served in a medical facility as a civilian
employee. Civilian employees may have been cooks, laundresses, etc. The
recording of black Civilian workers varied between medical facilities. Know
that not all hospitals recorded their black civilians or slaves. However, if
available the African American records can be found in the hospital muster and
clothing rolls, 1861-1865, RG 109.8.1. Most of the muster lists provide the
employee, the name of owner and the date of service, and type of service. Even
slaves who were placed at medical facilities are listed, but only by first
name. As usual, to conduct your slave research, a slave master must be known,
but they are named on these records.
In Richmond hospitals there are five (5)
Confederate volumes targeting the African American workers. These volumes are not indexed, but available:
- List of colored employees, General Hospital No. 21, 1862-1863 (Vol. 14)
- Lists of employees and accounts for food purchased, Chimborazo Hospital No. 1, 1862-1865 (Vol. 307)
- Record book, Chimborazo Hospital No. 1, 1862-1865 (Vol. 310)
- Lists of employees, Chimborazo Hospital No. 2, 1862-1865 (Vol. 85)
- Jackson Hospital, lists of employees, Division Nos. 1-4, 1863-1864 (Vol. 187)
A listing of these Confederate States assigned
hospitals with salvaged records is below.
Alabama
Fort Morgan Hospital, 1862-64
Ross General Hospital (Mobile), 1861- 65
Shelby Springs General Hospital, 1864-65
Arkansas
Rock Hotel Hospital (Little Rock), 1862-63
Georgia
Walker General Hospital (Columbus), 1864-65
General Hospital No. 1 (Savannah), 1862-64
Additional hospitals at Dalton, 1862-63, and Macon, 1862-65
Kentucky
Bowling Green Hospital, KY, 1861-62
Louisiana
Shreveport
General Hospital, LA, 1864-65
Mississippi
Lauderdale Springs General Hospital, 1862- 63,
Way and Yandell Hospitals (Meridian), 1865
St. Mary's Hospital (West Point), 1864-65
New Mexico
Fort Fillmore, 1861-62
Dona Anna, 1861-62
North Carolina
General Hospital No. 7, 1861-65
Pettigrew Hospital (Raleigh), 1861-65
Military Prison Hospital (Salisbury), 1864-65
General Hospitals No. 4 and 5 (Wilmington) 1862-65
Additional hospitals 1863-65
Charlotte, Fort Fisher, Goldsboro, Greensboro, and Wilson,
Tennessee
Overton General Hospital, Memphis, TN,
1861-62;
Texas
General Hospitals at Franklin and El Paso, TX, 1862, and
Galveston and Houston, TX, 1861-65
Virginia
General Hospitals No. 1-27, 1861-65
Chimborazo Hospital, 1861-65
Howard's Grove
Hospital, 1862-65
Jackson Hospital, 1861-65
Camp Winder General Hospital, 1861-65
Danville, 1862-65
Orange and Farmville, 1861-65
Petersburg, 1861-65
Williamsburg, 1861-64
Kathleen Brandt
Accurate, accessible answers
This is fascinating. It never would have occurred to me that Confederate hospitals would keep such thorough records of patients, muster rolls, medical staff, and other hospital workers. These are great records to know about. I notice that South Carolina has no records -- I'll be they destroyed theirs. Thanks -- I'm saving the URL to this post!
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