Campbell General Hospital was a Union Civil War hospital which operated from September 1862 to July 20, 1865, in northwest Washington, D.C.Civil War Washington –Campbell General Hospital
The hospital was located on Boundary Street NW (now Florida Avenue NW) between 5th Street NW and 6th Street NW.Pointers to Quicken the Memories of the Veterans - The Times - October 6, 1902 – page 2
History Military hospital The hospital was opened in September 1862 but did not receive most of its patients until in December 1862.
The hospital was built with 900 beds. In the Census of the General Hospitals, Department of Washington of December 17, 1864, only 633 beds were occupied.Civil War Washington – Hospitals
Freedmen's Hospital Freedmen's Hospital moved to the Campbell General Hospital in January 1865 when the one-story building was razed, and later that year it was placed under the Freedmen's Bureau.Howard Medicine – Short History It had been established in 1862 as Camp Barker by the War Department at 12th Street NW and R Street NW, and was renamed to Freedmen's Hospital in 1863. The old Freedman General Hospital had 72 beds which were full in 1864.Howard University: the First Hundred Years, 1867-1967 by Rayford W. Logan – page 40-41
The hospital had a theater offering nightly entertainment to patients. This feature led to the Hospital almost becoming the scene of the abduction of President Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth was informed that President Lincoln would be attending a performance of Still Waters Run Deep on March 17, 1865. He arranged for an ambush in a rush. Upon arriving at the location, a carriage approached, but it was not Abraham Lincoln on board. It could have been Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States who attended the show. President Lincoln's schedule had been changed and he was meeting with a group of Indiana soldiers instead. The abduction plot was postponed, changed to assassintion and took place on April 14, 1865, at Ford's Theatre instead.Campbell General Hospital - Mr. Lincoln's White House - http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/washington/the-war-effort/war-effort-campbell-general-hospital/
The hospital was reported empty in July 1865. In 1869, the Freedmen’s Hospital moved to the campus of Howard University.
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See also
Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Medicine in the American Civil War Armory Square Hospital Lincoln Hospital Mount Pleasant General Hospital Harewood General Hospital Finley General Hospital Lincoln assassination Abraham Lincoln
References