From William A. Carrington CSR (M331): Inspection report, dated 11/10/62, for General Hospital #14.

Richmond Nov 10th 1862

Surgeon E. S. Gaillard Medl Director
                 Sir:
                                       I have the honour to report that I have this day in obedience to your orders inspected General Hospl No. XIV situated on 20th St. between Main & Cary Streets. It is in the 4 story brick facotry owned by Pleasants & Frazier & leases to the C. S. at $125 per mo - & occupied as a Hospital on October 7th/61 under the auspices of the Ga. Hospital Assn. The entrance is immediately on the street & the yard is too small for any purposes of recreation or exercise.

The building resembles the other Hospls of this class in the city being well ventilated & lighted, supplied with gas & water - has an office, apothecary's shop, Laundry, kitchen, dining room, storeroom, bathroom, dead house, nurses & Steward's room, ward & mess rooms in the main building & in the yard a very insufficient privy. The repairs & alterations have been slight & inexpensive & would probably not amount to $600. The building is older & smaller than most Hosls. The wards, 3 in no, are known as 1-2-&3 & each bed is numbered (in paint) on the foot piece - Their united capacity is for 150 patients.

Surgeon in Charge D. C. O'Keefe P.A.C.S. has A.S. S. B. Simmons & A.S.S. J. J. Palmer as his Medl Staff - of the Hospital attendants 5 Cooks are according to the allowance - 23 nurses & 4 Laundresses are not. The washing is done at the Steam C. Laundry & one laundress is all allowed, to wash bandages & small articles.

Three of these are nurses making 27 the real no of nurses. The allowed no. is 15 Nurses & one nurse for wardmaster. One may [be] allowed each to act as clerk & druggist making 18 the allowance - I recommend that the Surgeon in charge therefore discharge this excess until his morning report shows 15 Nurses & 1 laundress.

The Hosl Steward is not appointed by the Sec of War but has been acting Hosl Steward for a long time.

The Surgeon in charge took charge after Surgeon Ford & Milligan when the hospital was under the auspices of the Ga. Hospital Association. He visits the wards frequently inspecting every part of the house daily & requires the constant presence in the house of a Medl Officer.

A system of rules & regulations for government is posted. he has not turned over the effects of deceased soldiers to the authorized Receiver or obeyed the late order in regard to notification of the Adjutant & Inspector Genl - a considerable amount of soldiers baggage is in store unclaimed & unreported.

Of Hospital furniture the beds furnished by the Ga. Hosl Assn were noticeable as stronger & more convenient than those generally furnished by the Purveyor - They have a board secured horizontally to the footpiece making a very serviceable & convenient table. There was a no. of spitboxes & other pieces of furniture out of use & not needed which should have long since been turned over with duplicate invoices to the Medl Purveyor or to the Quartermaster of the Post for storage. Those which supply this place should never have been drawn.

The bath has a noticeable feature in the ingenious mode of heating water - a stovepipe surrounding a small charcoal furnace has a pipe from the top opening into the upper part of a bath tub & another from the bottom opening in the lower part of the tubs. When the tub contains water & fire is made a current of water commences & continues until uniformity in temperature is attained.

The condition of the bed & bedding, clothing of patients, floors, hospital Steward's furniture & utensil, dining room &c was satisfactory. The Hospital Records were well kept & neat in appearance. The dispensary & bath room, wardroom & storeroom were in good order. The Hospital fund is quite sufficient - $600 was on hand on Oct 1st with 20 barrels of flour still on hand & worth $450.

No extra salaries are paid from the Hospital fund, & all officers consuming rations have been charged a sufficient sum to reimburse the Hosl.

The mortality in this Hospital during the last mo. is 5 in 283 = .017% [actually 1.77% - ed].

There is strictly no guard - a door keeper is on duty & he is a soldier in the army pronounced by the Surgeon in Charge as unfit for duty but kept on duty without a detail. The same has been the circumstance with the apothecary who is a soldier not detailed.

Of the other attendants 7 are detailed (one acting Steward) & the rest employees & mostly black. One black female performs the duties of a matron & some of the nurses are coloured females mustered as Laundresses. The Surgeon in charge speaking from his experience reprobates(?) the employment of White matrons.

The proportion between the Sick & wounded is 130 Sick to 15 wounded.

In Resume I report a generally good hygienic condition of this Hosl & is administered according to the regulations with the exception 1) of Par 45 Medl Regns in having 3 laundresses & 5 nurses more than allowed. 2) In drawing more hospital furniture than needed & keeping on hand the excess. 3) Articles (G.O. & G.S. of War) the order of S. Genl S. P. Moore for turning over the effects of deceased soldiers to Capt. C. Morfit Q. M. & Sec II Gen. Orders No. 80 Adj. & Inspr. Genl - (4) Par 114 Army Regns ___ to the Medl Regns, for drawing provisions not needed actually for the sick & attendants such account of accumulations on hand. (5) Circulars Oct. 3rd in that no guard is engaged. (6) Two enlisted men not detailed & convalescent have been kept on duty for a considerable period as guard & apothecary & not sent to Genl Hosl Winder in accordance with Par X, General Orders Sept 30th.

Very Respectfully
    Your Obedient Servant
          Wm. A. Carrington
               Surgeon & Inspector of Hosl.

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