Armory Square Hospital (Washington, D.C.)

A system of general hospitals to serve Union wounded soldiers was promoted by the U.S. Army's Sanitary Commission in 1861. Their purpose was to provide extended medical care in established hospitals to casualties evacuated from battlefield medical facilities. The District of Columbia was the most concentrated center for general hospitals, supporting 25 to 28 institutions. Of these, Armory Square General Hospital was one of the largest. Established in the summer of 1862, it was located on 7th street opposite the Smithsonian Institution and adjacent to the Columbian Armory. Conveniently accessible to both railroads and major thoroughfares, the hospital treated mostly members of the Army of the Potomac. It closed during the summer of 1865.