Armoury Square Hospital

During his stay at a hospital converted from a young ladies’ seminary in Washington, D.C., Erasmus Corwin Gilbreath was visited by “patriotic women,” politicians, and even the first lady. Gilbreath wrote:

“Mrs. Lincoln, wife of the President, also came to see the son of a friend of hers who was wounded [and] in the next room to mine. She was liberal to all of us, and distributed boxes of the finest cigars from Havana with a liberal hand.

Members of Congress also made regular visits, and it was always a pleasure to me to see Schuyler Colfax, the member who represented the district in which was my home. He was always so bright and so cheerfully kind. [U.S. Senator, Indiana] Dan Voorhees also came to see us, and did all he could for us.”