The Hospitals of Vicksburg at the Time of the Su
Annie Wittenmyer enters Vicksburg on July 5 and finds a city shattered by shot and shell, its buildings riddled, its people killed or wounded, and its hospitals overwhelmed. She praises the defenders’ endurance but describes starvation so extreme that animals and vermin had been eaten, while sick and wounded men survived on mule soup. After the United States government distributes rations, she brings hospital supplies sent from St. Louis, Louisville, and elsewhere. In the field hospitals, wounded soldiers lie on floors in filthy, vermin-filled clothing, without beds, pillows, or adequate food. She helps transform one hospital, replacing squalor with clean cot-beds, sheets, pillows, and the burning of contaminated clothing. Confederate surgeons remain at their posts, and she remembers their medical director’s gratitude and wish to improve conditions. Hospitals nearer the city’s centre are better supplied.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Civil War memoir, Historical nonfiction, War literature · 812 words
First lines
Early on the morning of the 5th of July, the roadways being opened, I drove into Vicksburg. On every side the evidences of the severe struggle were visible. The concentrated fire of shot and shell had riddled nearly every building.
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Genres
- Civil War memoir — A first-person recollection by Annie Wittenmyer describing her direct experiences entering Vicksburg immediately after its 1863 surrender and assisting its wounded and starving population.
- Historical nonfiction — The work documents real events, conditions, institutions, and people surrounding the Siege and surrender of Vicksburg during the American Civil War.
- War literature — Its subject is the human aftermath of siege warfare, including bombardment damage, starvation, military casualties, and the treatment of wounded soldiers.
- Medical history — The account closely observes wartime hospitals, battlefield evacuation, sanitation, malnutrition, medical supplies, bedding, vermin, and the care of sick and wounded men.
Tags
American Civil War · Siege of Vicksburg · Vicksburg, Mississippi · July 1863 · Civil War hospitals · Confederate wounded · Union relief efforts · humanitarian aid · wartime nursing · military medicine · battlefield aftermath · siege warfare
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The Hospitals of Vicksburg at the Time of the Surrender is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.
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- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Annie Wittenmyer
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Civil War memoir, Historical nonfiction, War literature, Medical history, Humanitarian nonfiction
- Length: 812 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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