Hammond General Hospital

Hammond General Hospital, openedat Point Lookout, Maryland, inAugust 1862, was named for Surgeon General William A. Hammond. The massive structure, builtto accommodate 1,400 amen, was set on piles about two to three feetabove ground and covered nearlyall the area between the PotomacRiver and the Chesapeake Bay. It was well over 500 feet in diameter and had 16 wings, each 175 by25 feet, radiating out from an open central area like the spokes of agiant wheel. One wing containedthe hospital offices, and the others were wards. A covered circular walkway connected all the wings at the center. Within the central hub stood four buildings measuring 77 Feet by 25 feet: the chapel, half-diet kitchen, library and reading room, and baggage room. An elevated20,000-gallon water tank, l6 feet in diameter and 30 feet, high, occupiedthe center of the hub when completed in late spring 1863. Its purpose was to flood the hospital in theevent of fire. The hospital officially closed its doors in August 1865, andall the structures were soon sold,demolished, or auctioned.

(sidebar) Before the Civil War, Point Lookout was a popular waterfront recreation community. Supporting a hotel, wharf, and outbuildings, about one hundred cottages dotted the low, flat, sandy tip of land. Recreation became less important, however, as the country prepared for war. North of here, about a mile, was located the nation's largest Confederate prisoner-of-war encampment. Camp Hoffman had more than 52,000 Confederate prisoners pass through its gate.

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Show me all markers in:  Lexington Park, MD  |  St Mary's County  |  20653  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

John Wilkes Booth
Point Lookout-Hammond Hospital
A Crucial Point
Let There Be Light
A Bustling Civil War Community
Shipwreck!
Defense Strategies
Fort Lincoln
"Contraband" Camp
A Seaside Resort at Point Lookout

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