General Hospital #1
Information about General Hospital #1 in Richmond, VA during the Civil War.
General Hospital #1 was also called The General Hospital, City Home Hospital, and Alms House Hospital. It was built shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War by the City of Richmond as a poor house. In June, 1861 it was rented by the City Council to the Confederate authorities as a military hospital. It continued to be used as a Confederate military hospital until December 1864 when it was reclaimed by the City for rental to the Virginia Military Institute as their temporary location.
General Hospital #1 suffered heavy exterior damage when the nearby powder magazine was exploded on evacuation night.
The hospital was taken over by Federal authorities and again used as a poor house. It was returned to the City in December 1865 and was used for many years as the City Alms House. It is still in use and owned by the City of Richmond.
The earliest use by the Confederacy was for wounded Union prisoners. Soon it became the first of the large General Hospitals and had a capacity of about 500 patients. Dr. Charles Bell Gibson was the surgeon-in-charge.
General Hospital #1 was located on the north side of Hospital Street, between 2nd and 4th Streets, opposite Shockoe Cemetery.
From Confederate Military Hospitals in Richmond by Robert W. Wait, Jr., Official Publication #22 Richmond Civil War Centennial committee, Richmond, Virginia 1964.)