U.S. Army General Hospital

Side A: At this location, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), a U.S. Army General Hospital was constructed on 29 acres of land overlooking Camp Carrington, a site used to recruit and train soldiers for the Union Army. Built in the spring of 1862, this hospital consisted of several wooden, ridge-ventilated buildings in which both Union and Confederate soldiers were treated for combat wounds and illnesses. Captain C.M. Moulton, U.S. Quartermaster at Gallipolis, upon instructions from Headquarters of the Union Army’s Mountain Department, contracted for the first building to be constructed in April 1862. (continued on other side) Side B: (continued from other side) By the first week of July 1862, the U.S. Army General Hospital was ready to treat its first patients. The 350-bed hospital served up to 769 patients at one time, exceeding more than twice its intended capacity. Surgeons in charge during the facility’s existence were Dr. James R. Bell, Dr. O.B. Davis, and Dr. Lincoln R. Stone. Both unknown and unclaimed patients who died at the hospital were buried in the Pine Street Cemetery, one-half mile to the southwest. Included in these were four Confederate soldiers. The Civil War ended on April 9, 1865, and the hospital closed the following July.