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  2. Textiles (132)

Civil War hospital blanket

Creator:
unknown
Location:
unknown place made
Origin Date:
Unknown
Materials:
cloth
Measurements:
overall: 72 in x 52 in
Item ID:
71.2009.082.0268
Holding Institution:
Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum
Available for Viewing:
No
Category:
Textiles

Description

This is a pieced, gold-colored wool blanket with a seam down the center where two lengths of fabric were joined. This Civil War era blanket has holes from wear and tear and moths and a few blood stains. The blanket was used at the Wheeling Hospital in West Virginia during the Civil War. According to documentation provided by the Lincoln Museum, the Wheeling Hospital was incorporated by an Act of the General Assembly of Virginia, passed March 12, 1850. Drs. John Frissell and S. P. Hullihen were appointed as surgeons and Dr. M. H. Houston as physician. Wheeling, because of its geographical position, felt the shock of each battle from all sides. Both Confederate and Union soldiers arrived in ambulances, cattle trains and transport boats. The hospital received more than its quota of wounded and ailing soldiers who were placed under the care of the Sisters of St. Joseph. [West] Virginia, Ohio County, Wheeling. Part of The Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection, courtesy of the Indiana State Museum