Self-storage business threatens Civil War field hospital site in Hagerstown, Md.

October 26, 11:15 PMMaryland Civil War History ExaminerMike Radinsky

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Union Field Hospital at Petersburg, Harpers Weekly March 1865

In September of 1862, future Supreme Court Justice Oliver Holmes Jr. was simply a young Infantry captain in the 20th Massachusetts, the ‘Harvard Regiment”.  On September 17th, 1862, Holmes took a minie ball through the neck, which though serious proved not to be fatal.  Somehow, he made his way from a field hospital in Sharpsburg, Md., and was wandering the streets of Hagerstown, Md., where he was taken into the home of a Mrs. Kennedy who nursed him back to health.
Holmes was one of many thousands of men who were treated at the many field hospitals that sprang up after the horrific battles of the Civil War.  The treatment was rudimentary, clean the wounds, amputate if necessary as quickly as possible, stabilize the patient for transport, then move the soldier to a long term care facility, hospital or private home.  But in order to reach that stage, one had to make it out of the field hospital that was set up close to the battlefield, and many did not.

Civil War Field Hospital (Images from History of Medicine IHM)

That is why it seems ironic, or at least coincidental, that a company named ‘Oliver Homes” is in the news as planning to develop land off Leitersburg Pike in Hagerstown, Md., land that was once a Civil War field hospital.  Interestingly, the property is adjacent to a 19th century stone house that once belonged to Dr. Frederick W. Dorsey, a doctor so beloved by his community that upon his death a 50 page eulogy was delivered, and later published as a book.  (In full disclosure, upon researching this piece I discovered that my wife is a distant cousin to the good doctor).  Dr. Dorsey’s home, which he lived in from his marriage until his death, is in the National Register of Historic Places as a protected property.  It was used as a hospital for soldiers fom both sides during the war.  Unfortunately, the land it sits upon, and the adjoining property (twenty five feet away from the house) are not as lucky as to be protected in that way.  Therefore the property owner, Oliver Homes, is perfectly within their rights to do what they wish with the land.  And they want to build a residential and commercial self storage facility.

Development encroaching Richmond, Ky. Battlefield (CWPT.ORG)(Chris Van Blargan)

The owner of the Dorsey house, Shirley Palmer, wishes they would reconsider.  In an interview on NBC 25 news Palmer stated ,  "I think we need to have little pockets of history, otherwise our children will never realize the importance of what happened here."    An Oliver Homes spokesperson countered that “soldiers marched all over this area, and anywhere you start a project you are bound to dig into the past.”  Palmer has hired a local attorney, Jeff Hann, in an attempt to relocate the project and to bring attention to the historical significance of the land.  Hann suggests that anyone who wishes to express their concern contact the Washington County planning and zoning committee.  Oliver Homes has already begun clearing the property and predicts completion by spring 2010.  Time may be of the essence, for as Attorney Hann noted ,”Our history is being erased, and we have a perfect example right here…”

To express your concern, contact:

Michael Thompson, Director
Email the Planning Dept.

County Administrative Annex
80 West Baltimore Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740 
Phone: (240) 313-2430
Fax: (240) 313-2431 
TTY users may call any government office through the Maryland Relay Service
1-800-735-2258.

Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
7:30am to 4:30pm

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