We have relied on primary sources from the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, the Provincial Archives of the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the Museum of the Confederacy and Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, and the Civil War Richmond online research project. We examine other hospitals as well, including Robertson Hospital in Richmond, which was famous for its low mortality rates and privately established and administered by a remarkable individual, Sally Louisa Tompkins (1833-1916). This Roman Catholic religious community is especially relevant to our study since the sisters worked in both Northern and Southern hospitals, and their efforts help us to compare and contrast large military hospitals from Richmond, Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our essay focuses on selected hospitals in both the North and South, and we use the Daughters of Charity as our primary group of nurses. Clearly, though, many factors affected soldiers’ health, including a hospital’s location, patient acuity, and the availability of supplies. We also examine the critical role that nurses played in achieving the best success rates for patients. In this article, we provide explanations for these healthcare differences. Yet some hospitals-on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line-had remarkably better outcomes than others. Poor diet, lack of ventilation, inadequate clothing, exposure, and unsanitary conditions all contributed to high rates of disease and poor patient survival rates. Initially, care was provided in existing buildings such as schools, churches, almshouses, hotels, and homes but as the war progressed, the armies constructed new hospitals. At the beginning of the war, both Union and Confederate medical departments entered the conflict unprepared. The American Civil War resulted in the death of nearly one million Americans (Hacker 348).
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