Camp A, Frederick, MD

In early October of 1862, the 142nd moved from their position at Ft. Massachusetts, on the outskirts of Washington, DC, to Frederick, MD. Following the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, in September, many of the Union wounded were moved to the hospitals located in this central Maryland city.

Aftermath of the Battle of Antietam

The city of Frederick, MD was a crossroads town during the war. Because of this, they had three Confederate invasions, 38 skirmishes, and two major battles. The Union Army held a permanent general hospital there, but after the 1862 Maryland Campaign, many field hospitals were set up, using churches, businesses, and tents.

The 142nd was assigned to one of the tent hospitals, named Camp A. On October 2nd, Capt. Albert Heffley wrote: "This morn they gave our camp a name. They concluded to call it Camp Allen...To day about 300 wounded arrived, amongst which are some 10 or 12 Rebel prisoners, and 3 or 4 of them are very intelligent, & about as fine a looking set of people as I almost ever saw."

William Notson

 Camp A was the largest of the two tent hospitals in Frederick. It staffed 11 surgeons and assistant surgeons, 2 medical cadets, 4 stewards, 114 male nurses, and 18 cooks, with a patient capacity of 733.

 The 142nd's duties during this time consisted of cooking, nursing, and policing. William Notson was the Surgeon in Charge of Camp A. He did not have kind words for the new recruits of the 142nd, stating that "To a perfect laxity of discipline upon the part of their officers may be added the natural inefficiency of the recruit." 

 The regiment spent only a couple weeks in Frederick caring for the wounded. Soon they would march off the Antietam and Harper's Ferry to join the rest of the Army of the Potomac that was massing for another drive into Virginia.






Works Cited:

Reimer, Terry. One Vast Hospital: The Civil War Hospital Sites in Frederick, Maryland After Antietam. National Museum of Civil War Medicine, 2001. pp. 94-98.

Croner, Barbara M. A Sergeant's Story - Civil War Diary of Jacob J. Zorn 1862-1865. Apollo, PA: Closson Press, 1999.

Berlin Area Historical Society. Civil War Diaries of Capt. Albert Heffley and Lt. Cyrus P. Heffley. Apollo, PA: Closson Press, 2000.