Chief Surgeon Augustine S. Mason, CSA - Hagerstown, Maryland
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 38.608 W 077° 43.396
18S E 266321 N 4391731
Marker giving information of Confederate surgeon from Hagerstown, Maryland.
Waymark Code: WMKECC
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2014
Views: 8
Text of marker:
Chief Surgeon Augustine S. Mason, CSA
1834-1911
Dr. Augustine Smith Mason was raised near Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1861, he established the first Confederate military hospital in Fredericksburg and was commissioned a surgeon in the Confederate Army. Many family members joined the Confederate military. Three of his brothers were Confederate officers as was his sister's husband, General Edward Porter Alexander. His brother-in-law, Dr. Talcott Eliason, served as medical director of General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry division.
In 1863, Dr. Mason was made the Chief Surgeon of the Military Department of Richmond. He had the immense task of coordinating the care of thousands of sick and wounded Confederate soldiers and Union prisoners of war. Dozens of hospitals were created in and around Richmond to treat the sick and wounded, but medical supplies were very hard to come by due to the Union blockade of southern ports, Dr. Mason held his position until the fall of Richmond and the end of the War in 1865.
In 1867, Dr. Mason moved his family to Hagerstown and established a medical practice on South Jonathan Street (Summit Avenue). Later, he moved his home and practice to this location. Dr. Mason was one of the most respected physicians in Hagerstown in the late 19th Century. He tended to patients until shortly before he passed away in 1911.