vortixtra.blogg.se

Civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union
Civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union














This helped keep the spread of very contagious diseases, such as measles and typhus, from infecting everyone on board. Rooms at the back of the ship had open walls to al- sawbones-rnrgem low for better air circulation, and patients who had contagious diseases were put in these, as well as on several separate floating barges attached to the back of the ship.

CIVIL WAR HOSPITAL SHIP J.K. BARNES UNION WINDOWS

It had separate operating and amputation rooms, and the windows were covered with gauze to keep cinders and smoke from the smokestacks away from the know your slang patients. Neither the Union nor Confederacy had ever created a complete hospital aboard a steamship before, and Red Rover was refitted with innovations never before found on a ship, all designed to help the sick and wounded. Not a lot of medicine was being practiced on these ships, and the conditions were difficult. Transport ships usually picked up wounded soldiers at the port closest to the battle, brought them to the nearest friendly hospital, and dropped them off. In bad shape: the boats were loud, dirty, and rarely had the supplies or personnel necessary to treat illness or injury. The problem with them, however, was that their flat hulls were very difficult to maneuver if the weather or water got rough, since steering a paddlewheeler was very much like steering a giant box. One reason paddlewheelers became so prevalent during the 1800s was that they were ideally suited to river travel: most paddleboats had a draft of no more than 6 or 7 feet, and some had as few as 4 feet, which meant they were able to steam up and down the wide, shallow rivers of the American West much better than any deep-hulled boats. Transporting wounded soldiers by boat was nothing new for either army, but it was usually a pretty terrible experience for soldiers who were already paddlewheelers-pros and cons

civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union

And although the Union was desperate for more gunboats to patrol the Mississippi and its tributaries, it decided to try something new with the Red Rover, the army refitted Red Rover as a floating hospital. The Confederates tried to sink Red Rover to put it out of use, but the Union was able to dredge it and repair it for service. Louis when it was captured by a Union gunboat. The Confederate paddlewheeler Red Rover was on the Mississippi River near St. One such floating supply ship was Red Rover. Stalled on the banks above key river locations. Medical supply boat Planter at General Hospital wharf on the Appomattox River. In comparison, the base pay for infantrymen in the Union army was only $13 a month. Working on board Red Rover had many advantages, one being the pay: the ship's records show that several chambermaids were paid$20 a month for their work.

civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union

These slaves were called "contraband," and many ships hired them to serve as cabin boys, carpenters, laborers, cooks, stewards, crewman, and nurses. Both the Confederate and Union armies had flotillas of boats they used as floating barracks, supply ships, and gunboats for fighting against artillery units in-įor many runaway slaves in the South, the best chance for freedom was to get on board a Union boat like Red Rover as it steamed up or down the Mississippi River. When the Civil War erupted, control of the country's rivers became more important than ever.

civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union

Louis, Missouri, a major port on the Mississippi River, had more than 3,000 steamboat arrivals in 1850 alone. Steamboats became the fastest and most efficient way to transport people and goods up and down the United States rivers. Steamboats revolutionized river travel during the 1800s: for the first time, people were able to travel up and down America's mighty waterways under motorized power, rather than relying on muscle or the wind. When Robert Fulton designed the first working steamboat in 1807, he probably didn't realize that his invention would lead to one of the most interesting innovations of the Civil War.














Civil war hospital ship j.k. barnes union