Clarysville Civil War Hospital Digital Collection

The Clarysville Civil War Hospital Digital Collection

The Clarysville Hospital Digital Collection features scanned images of hundreds of hospital bed cards from the U.S. General Hospital located at Clarysville, Maryland during the American Civil War. As the name indicates, the cards would have been placed bedside to identify patients. Acting Assistant Surgeon S. B. West served as the attending physician for the Clarysville patients documented in these cards which span from 1864 to 1865. The cards contain the name, age, place of birth, marital status, residence, address of wife or nearest relative, rank, regiment, date admitted into hospital, diagnosis, where or how wounded, nature of missile or weapon, treatment, and result (with date). They reveal the kinds of injuries and ailments suffered by soldiers and document medical practices during the Civil War. They may also provide family and personal information of interest to genealogy researchers.

Some additional material reelating to the patients and physicians at Clarysville is available in print form in the Clarysville Hospital Archive and Manuscript (A&M) Collection at the West Virginia & Regional History Center (WVRHC).