Page 9 - Civil War Walking tour of Lynchburg

7WaLK DoWn SeVentH Street to Main, LeFt
Ladies Relief Hospital
600 Main Street
During the war, Lynchburg was the second largest hospital center in the Confederacy. Military hospi- tals were located throughout what we now know as Downtown Lynchburg, often in renovated tobacco warehouses. More than 30,000 soldiers were treat- ed in Lynchburg. At one point following the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864, the city saw more than 10,000 casualties arrive. While Confederate Army physicians were the official leaders of the hospitals, much of the daily work fell on the shoulders of African Americans, both free and enslaved, and, of course, women.
At the site of what is now the offices for the Academy of Fine Arts, the Ladies Relief Hospital was located. The hospital was operated entirely
by women. It was founded by Lucy Mina Otey, a widow who lost three sons in the War. The Ladies Relief Society was originally started to make ban- dages and uniforms, but their roles
quickly morphed into those of nurs-
es and hospital matrons. However,
the women were once rudely turned
away from a post hospital. Lucy
Mina Otey traveled to Richmond
and petitioned CSA President
Jefferson Davis to establish the
independent Ladies Relief Hospital,
which he did. While the worst
casualties were generally sent to the
Ladies’ Hospital, their mortality rate
was the lowest in the city.
return to 9tH Street Via Main
Lucy Mina otey (1801-1866)
9
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Wellington McMann