American Historical Ephemera and Photography

Collection of 23 items related to Lovell General Hospital (sometimes Portsmouth Grove Hospital), Portsmouth Grove, Rhode Island, which was a United States Army hospital from 1862-1865 during the Civil War. Included are soldier's letters written from the hospital, hospital ephemera, and a group of letters written by author Sarah Chauncey Woolsey who served as a nurse at Portsmouth Grove.

Ephemera includes: "A List of Mess Hall Diet for one week" which identifies "Breakfast," "Dinner," and "Supper" for Lovell Hospital, 1p, 7 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. in unknown hand. A typical meal plan for the day is constituted by "Cold beef, / bread & coffee" for breakfast, "Beans, / bread & cold water" for dinner, and "Rice & Moleyses, / bread & tea" for supper. -- "List of articles contained in a box sent by the Ashaway Soldier's Aid Society to Lovell Hospital Portsmouth Grove Aug 10th 1864." Signed by Mrs. Sarah A. Irish, Secretary of Ashaway Soldiers Aid Society. 1p, 4 1/2 x 7 in. List includes 14 flannel shirts, 4 bottles of strawberry wine, 1 pillow sip, 2 Paris woolen socks, 5 pillows, and 255 yards of bandages. -- Two documents signed ("Wm. M. McKim") by Captain William Walker McKim, Assistant U.S. Quartermaster, on Assistant Quartermaster's Office letterhead, May 1863 and April 1864. Captain McKim signed the government lease for Lovell Hospital on 1 June 1862 as Assistant Quartermaster U.S. Army. -- Autographs of hospital guard John H. Hammond, and his wife, Annie Hammond, who was a nurse at Lovell Hospital. 15 June 1865. -- A page from an 1891 Report of the U.S. House of Representatives related to providing pensions for two women who served as Civil War nurses including Harriet N. Read, a nurse at Lovell Hospital from June 1862-September 1863. -- A cut signature, Sarah Chauncey Woolsey ("Sarah C. Woolsey"), along with 9 letters written by her ca 1900-1902.

[With:] Six soldiers' letters written from Portsmouth Grove Hospital, including one containing a description of the layout of the wards and a small accompanying diagram, as well as descriptions of the meager hospital menu, a celebration for the opening of the hospital library, and the view from the windows.

The first patients arrived at Lovell Hospital in July 1862; the hospital mustered out of service in August 1865. During that time thousands of patients were seen at the hospital, and hundreds died. Caring for them were doctors, and also unsung women nurses. Though some nurses like Woolsey and Hannah Read received acknowledgement of their service, others did not. This unique archive provides interesting insight into the Lovell Hospital, but also sheds light on the many women nurses who helped support the staff and residents of Civil War hospitals.