National Museum of Civil War Medicine

06/04/2026

Many thanks to Fort Detrick for asking us to take part in their Army Heritage Month kickoff ceremony today. It was a pleasure bringing the story of Civil War medicine to our modern army professionals. And an added bonus to see our friends from the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

06/03/2026

(Civil War medicine facts to get you through the longest day of the week)

From Andersonville to Grant’s Cottage

Sgt. Oliver Pendleton (O.P.) Clarke of the 94th New York Volunteer Infantry was taken prisoner during the assault on Cold Harbor in June 1864. Until the Spring of 1865, he was held in grueling conditions at Camp Sumter, the notorious prisoner of war camp in Andersonville, Ga. Clarke knew the Confederate guards coveted New York uniform buttons, and, like many others, bartered all his buttons for extra food. After the war, he first became a telegrapher, then an attorney. In 1889, he was a high-ranking official in the New York State Department of the Union Veterans’ organization, the Grand Army of the Republic. Still suffering from disability as a result of his prisoner-of-war experience, he accepted a job as the first caretaker of Grant’s Cottage in the hope his health would improve. Bankrupted by a bad business deal and dying of throat cancer, Ulysses S. Grant moved to the cottage near Saratoga Springs, NY, on June 16, 1885, and finished his “Personal Memoirs” there just days before his death on July 23, 1885. The cottage opened as an historic site in 1890, with Clarke at the helm.

06/03/2026

The Battle of Philippi happened in 1861 in what is now West Virginia. During the battle a young cavalryman named James Hanger was taking his horse out of a barn when a 6-pound cannonball struck the ground, bounced inside, and struck him in the left leg. Hanger was left on the ground for four hours, until he was captured by Union soldiers. His leg was amputated seven inches below the hip by a Union surgeon. This incident is considered one of the first amputations of the Civil War. When Hanger returned home, he designed his own prosthetic leg, which he patented in 1871. He soon established his own company, J.E. Hanger, Inc. The company became very successful, with both manufacturing and patient care branches. Today Hanger Inc. has clinics all across the United States and sees over 650,000 patients a year.

Image: James Edward Hangar photographed by C. M. Bell Studio circa 1902

06/02/2026

Please join us in congratulating Historian Katie Migneault, NMCWM’s Retail & Guest Services Manager, who graduated last week with a Master’s degree in History from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Katie is also a chef, food history buff, and lover of all things history! Many thanks to Gettysburg Sentinels for creating this beautiful custom-made cutting board carved from a branch of a still-standing witness tree at the Camp Letterman hospital site in Gettysburg. We are so proud of you, Katie! 🎓👏🏼

06/02/2026

in 1865, Confederate General Kirby Smith officially signed articles of surrender in Galveston, Texas. The surrender had been arranged on May 26, but Smith did not sign papers and lay down his arms until June 2, thereby becoming the last full Confederate general to surrender a major field force. Kirby then took refuge in Mexico and Cuba, thinking he would be charged with treason. He returned to the United States in November and signed an amnesty oath. Smith died of pneumonia in 1893—the last surviving full general from the Civil War.

Image: General Edmund Kirby Smith (Library of Congress)

06/01/2026

Watch the incredible story of the discovery of the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office in this video with our friends at the American Battlefield Trust!

Then, plan your visit: https://clarabartonmuseum.org/visit/

05/31/2026

The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks, began in 1862. As part of Union General George McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign, the battle saw Confederate General Joseph Johnston attempt to prevent the Union Army from reaching Richmond. The battle was considered a stalemate, with the numbers of casualties about even on both sides. However, an exploding Union shell severely wounded General Johnston, putting him out of action and causing Jefferson Davis to appoint General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Image: Battle of Seven Pines-Union Bayonet Charge (Harpers Weekly Aug. 16, 1862)

05/30/2026

Join us for our Saturday Speaker Series as Dr. Robert Hicks examines how wounded warriors survived after the war. By exploring how two Union veterans, an African American private who contracted malaria and a white colonel whose arm was amputated, survived to work, marry, and rear children, we see how they constructed new identities to cope with how the war changed their bodies. This talk is based on his book, “Wounded for Life: Seven Union Veterans of the Civil War.”

Join us for our Saturday Speaker Series as Dr. Robert Hicks examines how wounded warriors survived after the war. By exploring how two Union veterans, an African American private who contracted malaria and a white colonel whose arm...