By Michael K. Brantley
I couldn’t get everything about eastern North Carolina into the story that makes up my forthcoming book about the Civil War in the area (Spring 2020). The research trail could have gone on for another decade and been incomplete.
One thing I’ve run across is information about the Confederate hospital in Wilson.
The Confederacy established its Medical Department in April 1862, and not long after that, North Carolina General Military Hospital Number 2 was set up in Wilson in the former Wilson Female Seminary.
Wilson was picked because of its location on the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad, the main transportation artery from North Carolina to Virginia. The hospital made Wilson known outside the state and employed 35-40 people, boosting the name of the town and the local economy. Few of the employees has formal medical training.
Dr. Solomon Sampson Satchwell was named Surgeon-in-Charge. He was a graduate of Wake Forest College and studied medicine at New York University before serving as a surgeon with the 25th N.C. Regiment.
Wilson did not see any “battles,” but on July 20, 1863, “an immense armament of negroes and Yankees” advanced on the town. A group of wounded soldiers and the local militia destroyed the bridge over Toisnot Swamp to deter the Union advance.
Those who died at the hospital during the war were buried in a mass grave, but later re-buried at the city cemetery where a Confederate monument was placed.
After the war, the Wilson Female Seminary reopened and in 1872 received a charter as Wilson Collegiate Institute.
There is one remaining building that is undergoing restoration in Wilson. It has a marker and is located between present-day Academy and Vance streets.
Sources: N.C. Department of Cultural Resources (Highway Marker Program); Wilson County Public Library Local History and Genealogy Blog; Wilson-NC.com.
Fascinating stuff. I look forward to your new book!
Thank you, sir, I appreciate the kind words!