Medical Weekend: Giving Aid and Comfort

Date: June 30, 2017
Contact: Melinda Day, 304-535-6063

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park invites the public to attend a special living history program, Medical Weekend: Giving Aid and Comfort.  Each day from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, living history volunteers along with park staff will portray Harpers Ferry’s medical and relief efforts, which provided aid and comfort to thousands of soldiers fighting during the American Civil War. The outpouring of funds and care was so vast that the relief effort was described as “an artery of the people’s love to the people’s army.” This program will tell the story of both the national and local civilian and military efforts to sustain the Union Army.

In the autumn of 1864, General Philip Sheridan prepared his army for the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. Harpers Ferry became a supply depot for food, equipment, ammunition, and medical attention for the army in the field. Commissary, Diet Kitchens, a Soldiers Rest, the U.S. Quartermaster, and Sanitary Commission were included in the vast sustenance needed for that army. Special exhibits will feature how the town was utilized by both civilian and military operations from camp to grave.

For additional information, please call the Information Center at 304-535-6029.