General Hospital (Camp Letterman) - Hospital Marker - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 50.489 W 077° 12.351
18S E 311266 N 4412491
This Civil War monument is located along the old Lincoln Hwy. The inscription states the locations of the many field hospitals during the Battle of Gettysburg & is in a commercial area, not at a battlefield like the other monuments to be found here.
Waymark Code: WMHP0Z
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/29/2013
Views: 3
As I was traveling north of all directions on the East-West Lincoln Highway which is the equivalent of west when looking at a map, I spotted this granite monument on the right or the east side of the road. It is on an undeveloped patch of land, caddy corner from a McDonalds. While it gives the locations of the North's field hospitals, this specific site was chosen for the location of the monument as the area behind the marker, presently private property, was a portion of the vast field hospital established after the battle.
The monument was erected in 1914 by the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission and restored 84 years later in 1992. It is in terrific shape when I visited. The bronze of course is now green. The monument is a simple fabrication, a rough hewn granite monuments with a bronze plaque affixed to the front and rough sides. The Van Amridge Company made the granite base and Albert Russell & Sons Company was responsible for the bronze tablet.
The monument is 1 of 10 Civil War Hospital Markers erected by the US War Department (1895-1927). Placed near actual site of General Hospital at Camp Letterman. (NRHP Narrative). The other monuments are very similar to this one but the inscriptions narrate specific field hospitals, not a general narrative like this one. The monument's inscription reads:
Army of the Potomac
Medical Department
Location of the Field Hospitals
During the Battle of Gettysburg
1st Corps - July 1st at the Lutheran Theological Seminary and in Gettysburg
July 2nd near White Church on Baltimore Pike
2nd Corps - July 2nd on east and west side of Rock Creek east of the Bushman House
3rd Corps - July 2nd on Taneytown Road and soon removed to an angle formed by White Run and Rock Creek
5th Corps - July 2nd on Taneytown Road west of Round Top
July 3rd near Two Taverns
6th Corps - At the Trostle House east of Rock Creek
11th Corps - At the Spangler House southeast of the Granite Schoolhouse
12th Corps - At the Bushman House near Rock Creek
Cavalry Corps - At Presbyterian Church and other buildings in Gettysburg
General Hospital Camp Letterman at the Hospital Woods on the York Pike. These hospitals cared for twenty thousand wounded Union and Confederate.
Medical director of the Army of the Potomac Surgeon Jonathan Letterman, U.S. Army.
The General Hospital (Camp Letterman) -Hospital Marker is a contributing feature to the Gettysburg National Military Park Historic District which is nationally significant under NR Criteria A, B, C & D for association Areas of Significance: Military, Politics/Government, Landscape Architecture, Conservation, Archeology-Historic. Period of Significance: 1863-1938. The original National Register Nomination was approved by the Keeper March 19, 1975. An update to this nomination was approved by the Keeper on January 23, 2004. It is classified as structure number MN416.
From the Nomination Form:
Short Physical Description:
Rough-hewn monolith, 1'7"x3'6", 5'6" high. Bronze tablets, 3' square, in shape of a Maltese cross mounted on slanted face of monolith.
My Sources
1.
NRHP Narrative
2.
Draw the Sword
3.
The Historical Marker Database