Happy Birthday: November 9, 1833 (1916): Sally Lousia Tompkins established the Confederate Robertson Hospital after First Manassas in Richmond, VA. The hospital, equipped and subsidized largely with Tompkins inheritance, opened on August 1, 1861. A few weeks later the Confederate Congress passed legislation putting all military hospitals under the control of the Confederate Medical Department. Regulations required that all military hospitals be run by military personnel. To circumvent the regulation Davis appointed Tompkins captain of cavalry, unassigned, on September, 9 1861, making her the only woman to hold a commission in the Confederate States Army. Captain Sally’s military rank allowed her to draw government rations, medical supplies, and a salary which was used to help defray operating costs. When it closed in 1865, the Robertson Hospital had treated 1,333 Confederate soldiers with only 73 recorded deaths, a 94.5 percent survival rate. She was buried with full military honors.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 11:06:09 +0000
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