Missouri's Civil War Field Hospitals: A Tourist Guide

Wherever men fell wounded on Civil War battlefields, army surgeons were there attempting to repair wounds and return soldiers to the war. In Missouri alone, between 1861 and 1864, over one thousand battles and skirmishes took place.

Many times battles were fought in places where hospitals were not conveniently located. Mansions, warehouses, and even churches were converted into makeshift field hospitals for the wounded. Some of Missouri's Civil War buildings which became temporary field hospitals are still standing and open to visitors.

Kendrick Place, Carthage, Missouri
The Battle of Carthage was the second Civil War battle to take place on Missouri's soil. Fought on July 5, 1861, the battle was considered by Missouri's sympathizers a Confederate victory. Of the 244 men who died in this Civil War battle, 200 were Missouri State Guard troops. Some wounded soldiers may have received medical attention at Kendrick Place, the oldest building in Jackson County, Missouri.

Constructed from 1849 to 1854 from wood, native stone, and bricks made by slaves, the Georgian style mansion was owned by the Rankin family until 1856. William Kendrick bought the mansion in 1860. From its beginning, Kendrick Place offered hospitality to people traveling through the Jasper County region. Although the Kendrick family owned a female black slave and her six children and had one son who was a Confederate soldier, the family attempted to be neutral throughout the Civil War years. During the war, Union and Confederate troops and sympathizers were all welcome to enter the doors. Kendrick Place perhaps owes its preservation to that fact. It served as a field hospital during and after the battle and is the only house of the Civil War period still existent in Carthage.

In 2010, Victorian Carthage, Inc., the owners of the historic residence, invited Paranormal Science Lab to conduct haunted tours of Kendrick Place. Curious amateur ghost hunters could investigate with the investigators for a fee, most of which went toward maintenance of the mansion. These tours were so popular, Victorian Carthage allowed them to continue through 2011. In May 2011, the Kendrick House will be one of the sites where a reenactment of the battle takes place. There may also be demonstrations of how the house was used as a field hospital.

Visitors may be shown a back room which is believed to have been a makeshift Civil War operating room. Under a black light or ultraviolet beam, the wood grain of the long plank table in this room shows something believed to be dried and absorbed blood.

Kendrick Place
131 Northwoods Rte. V at Garrison
Carthage, MO 64836
417-358-0636

Ray House, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
The Battle of Wilson's Creek was considered a Confederate victory. Of the 2539 men who died, 1317 were Union troops and 1222 were Confederates. Among the dead was Union Brigadier General Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general to die in a Civil War battle.

On the morning of August 10, 1861, the Ray family women and children, their slave "Aunt" Rhoda and her children, and a hired hand took refuge in the cellar as the battle approached. Little did they know they soon would all be busily engaged in helping with the wounded in their own home. Father and husband John Ray kept watch as the battle raged in his cornfield. When the Union troops began to retreat and the Confederate Army attempted to follow them, a strategically placed artillery group fired on the pursuers. The Confederate Army commandeered the Ray House and raised a yellow flag to signal that it had become a field hospital. The yellow flag was perhaps the one thing which kept the Ray House from receiving any damage.

The corpse of General Lyon himself was brought to the Ray House before being sent to Springfield under a truce. All but one of the wounded soldiers were later also sent to Springfield. The one soldier stayed at the house for several weeks until sufficiently mended.

The Ray House and the nearby stonework spring house are the only Civil War-era structures still standing from the battle of Wilson's Creek. The Ray family constructed their home sometime between 1851 and 1858, when the residence served as township post office.

The Ray House and spring house are the second stop of a 4.9 mile self-guided auto tour through the National Battlefield. On weekends, volunteers and staff open the house to visitors. In the house, you may see the bed on which General Lyons' body lay until it could be moved.

Ray House, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
6424 W. Farm Rd. 182
Republic, MO 65738
417-732-2662

Thespian Hall, Boonville
This one-time makeshift Civil War field hospital was originally a building intended for theatrical productions. During the Second Battle of Boonville on September 13, 1861, wounded Union soldiers were hospitalized within its walls. More is written about the First Battle of Boonville which happened on June 17 of that same year. The city of Boonville fell into Union hands at that time.

The Thespian Society, organized in 1838, constructed Thespian Hall in the Classical Greek Revival style between July 1855 and July 1857. The Hall also included a library, meeting rooms, and a reading room. In 1969, Thespian Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the oldest theater west of the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

A visit to Thespian Hall is included on four Civil War tours in a brochure released by the Boonslick Tourism Council. If you do not go on a Civil War site tour with Thespian Hall as one of the places visited, you can see the Hall during the annual Missouri River Festival of the Arts or one of the concerts or community theater productions given during the summer months. The Big Muddy Folk Festival, started in 1991, is held in Thespian Hall each April.

Thespian Hall
522 Main St.
Boonville, MO 65233
660-882-7458

Oliver Anderson House, Battle of Lexington Historic Site
The Oliver Anderson House, a brick Greek Revival style mansion built in 1853, exchanged hands three times during the Battle of Lexington from September 18-20, 1861. This battle, also known as the "Battle of the Hemp Bales," was considered a Confederate victory. Of the total number of soldiers killed, 39 were Union troops and 25 were from the Missouri State Guard. The wounded included 120 Union troops and 75 Missouri State Guardsmen.

The Oliver Anderson House was used at the beginning of the battle as a Union hospital even though the owner was a staunch defender of the right to own slaves. The Anderson family, unlike the Ray family, were forced to leave their home and did not assist in caring for the wounded. Soon after, the house exchanged hands and served as a Confederate sniper nest. The house was taken over two more times.

Because the house was fought over, it was heavily damaged and retains many of the battle scars today. You can see a hole in the second floor hallway ceiling where a cannon ball came through the attic and into the hallway. On the exterior and the rooms on the east side of the house, you can find holes left from cannon and rifle fire. At the base of the stairs leading to the second floor, You will find the room set aside for surgical procedures on the second floor. The floor is painted black to mask the blood which flowed. The room is furnished in the manner it would have been when it was used by Army surgeons. The hallways and rooms of the second floor were entirely taken up by the bodies of wounded or dying soldiers. Almost one hundred acres of surrounding land make up the Battle of Lexington State Historic Site.

The sesquicentennial commemoration of the Battle of Lexington will include a reenactment from September 16 to 18, 2011.

Oliver Anderson House
1101 Delaware St.
Lexington, MO 64067
660-259-4654

Sources:
http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-battles-in-missouri.html Civil War Battles in Missouri
http://www.carthagepress.com/entertainment/x2092798357/Haunted-History-Group-offers-tours-of-Kendrick-House-with-paranormal-twist Kendrick House, Carthage, Paranormal tours
http://www.nps.gov/wicr/historyculture/the-ray-house.htm Ray House, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
http://www.c-magic.com/boonvill/Thespian.htm Thespian Hall, Boonville (Second Battle of Boonville)
http://mostateparks.com/lexington/ Oliver Anderson House, Lexington

Additional resources:
Wilsons Creek National Battlefield video tour
Movie at Thespian Hall, Boonville