Mower Hospital

Mower Hospital, in an 1863 lithograph. Note passenger train in foreground.

The Mower U.S. Army General Hospital was one of the largest Federal military hospitals during the American Civil War. Located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, it operated from January 1863 through May 1865, when it was closed with the cessation of the war.

The hospital complex was designed by noted architect John McArthur, Jr., who also designed the Philadelphia City Hall. It was named in honor of Thomas Mower, an early Army surgeon. The hospital was constructed on 27 acres (110,000 m²) between Willow Grove and Springfield Avenues, the Reading Railroad line and Stenton Avenue. The central compound was surrounded by a ring of 47 radiating wards and other buildings. Commanded by Dr. Andrew Hopkins, it had some 3,600 beds and treated over 20,000 patients, the majority being wounded and ill Union soldiers from the Army of the Potomac. The hospital featured many amenities for the patients and staff, including plumbing to provide hot water, special medical wards that could be isolated for patients with infections, centralized storage for supplies, flush toilets, band music, etc.

The wounded were brought directly from Southern battlefields by railroad—a journey known as going from the seven circles of hell to heaven.

Wyndmoor Station, Market Square Shopping Center, apartment buildings and townhouses now occupy the site.

References

• Mower General Hospital
• The Library Company of Philadelphia website for Mower General Hospital

See also

• List of former United States Army medical units