An English
presence returned to Hampton Roads in 1603, when Bartholomew Gilbert, on behalf of King
James I, explored "the great water". This was the Indian phrase for K'tchisipik
which Gilbert translated as Chesapeake.
In December of 1606,
the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery set sail from England for the New World. This
expedition of 144 passengers were to become the first permanent English colonists intent
on starting a new life in what was for them an unexplored wilderness. The ships companies
included respectively: Captain Christopher Newport/71 settlers; Captain Bartholomew
Gosnold/52 settlers; and Captain John Ratcliffe (aka. Sicklemore) /21 settlers.
On 26 April 1607,
Captain Newport, in his flag ship the Susan Constant, arrived off Cape Henry, the first
actual anchoring being near the Ocean View beach in Norfolk. The landing sailors were met
with hostility from local Indians. Being concerned that the site provided too little
protection from the ocean, the ships sailed up a wide tributary on the north side of the
bay. That river was later named the James. There, on a swampy peninsula, after 2 weeks of
exploration, the first permanent English colony in the New World was founded. Located on a
deep water anchorage with good defensive position, construction began at the settlement on
14 May. (This was 13 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts.) The London Company of England financed the colonizing expedition as a business venture, and
specified that the colony be named Jamestown, after James I.
More settlers came,
and of the first 1,600 colonists to arrive, about 1,000 died and 300 returned to England.
The majority of the deaths were attributed to typhoid which was carried from England by
the first Anglican clergyman, Reverend Robert Hunt. Despite setbacks, the colony grew and
there became an increasing English presence and expansion into surrounding areas. Also in
1607, the palisade triangular James Fort built in Jamestown was immediately followed by
Fort Monroe, which was located on 63 acres at Old Point across from Ocean View. It was at
this time that Captain John Smith was temporarily captured by the Powhatan Indians. It
might be of interest to know that despite the legend, there was no mention in Smith's
journals, or by any of his contemporaries, that he had been saved by Powhatan's daughter,
Pocahontas.
In January, 1608,
the settlement was almost destroyed by fire. This calamity caused the loss of many
provisions and the need for greater community cohesiveness. Consequently, Captain Smith
deposed Captain Ratcliffe as the colonial council president, and Captain Gabriel Archer,
who were intent on returning to England. Becoming the colony's new leader, Captain Smith
established his "No work, No food" policy. Even the Captain spent time during
exploration by adding to the larder. While gigging fish at the mouth of the Rappahannock
River, he impaled a stingray with his sword. The fish proceeded to imbed its barbed tail
spike about 1.5 inches into his wrist. The inoculated poison ran its course, the Captain
suffered and survived, and the place of occurrence became known as Stingray Point.
During this time,
Captain Newport, having gone back to England, returned in a ship named John-and- Franics,
bringing what was known as the First Supply to Virginia. It was this trip, his third, that
brought the first women to the colony.
The colonists, while
exploring acreage along the Elizabeth River, found fertile land, clean water, and an
abundance of fish and game. But in the Fall of 1609, Captain Smith was injured by burning
gunpowder and returned to England. By the Spring of 1610, after a winter of starvation,
everyone was ready to return to England. Fortunately, one of the original ships
(Godspeed), Captained by Newport on this last of five voyages to Virginia, also returned
with supplies and more colonists. Among the new settlers were Thomas West (Lord Delaware),
and Sir Thomas Dale. Sir Dale was appointed high marshall and deputy governor of Virginia
in 1611, and held the position until 1616.
In 1612-13, John
Rolfe (the future husband of Pocahontas) successfully harvested tobacco along the banks of
the James River, thus establishing presence of an item of trade with England.
Over a 15 year
period, disease, famine, Indian attacks, and other obstacles took a heavy toll. Of 14,000
settlers who arrived at the colony between 1607 and 1622, 13,000 died. The survivors
increased trade with England to include timber, furs, tobacco, and other goods, and by
1614 the first sustaining shipment of trade goods was exported.
Within 15 years, two
other historically significant events occurred: In 1619, the colonists formed the first
New World representative ruling assembly; and the first black slaves arrived. This year
also marked the first westward movement of English settlers, as the community of Pasbehay
was founded near the confluence of the James and Chickahominy Rivers.
In 1622, John Porgy,
the first speaker of the Jamestown Assembly, resigned to return to England aboard the
Discovery. That ended a 15 year period in which the ship had been used for local trading
and exploring. Also, on 22 May of that year, Indians massacred 347 of the Jamestown
residents.
The colony was taken
over by the British crown in 1624, and Captain Smith wrote his General History of
Virginia.
In 1634, the
spreading colony was divided into eight shires (counties), four of which (Elizabeth,
Nansemond, Norfolk, and Princess Anne) covered the area known as South Hampton Roads.
Because the land on the eastern banks of the Elizabeth River was the principle settlement
of the Chesapeake Indians, it was not until later that the area was developed as an
English settlement. Powhatan (actually Wahunsonacock), had been the ruling Chief of this
tribe, which was one of thirty in the Powhatan Confederacy of Algonquins.
In 1636, 100 acres
of land on the western bank of the river, and known as the "Point", were
purchased with tobacco by Captain (Sir) Thomas Willoughby, a member of the Virginia House
of Burgesses. This land extended 400 feet further into the Elizabeth River than it does
today, and was adjacent to what was to become the city of Portsmouth. Later, the land
reverted back to the colony and was then purchased by Robert Glasock.
In 1639, the Grand
Council at York drafted fifteen men from Lower Norfolk County (including Portsmouth) to
march against the Nanticoke Indians. The Colonial Indian Wars were off and running, with
soldiers being supplied with 40 pounds of biscuits and a half bushel of dried peas. In
1644, a military district had been formed, consisting of Isle of Wight, and Upper and
Lower Norfolk Counties. By the 1645 war, eighty men were ready to fight the Nansemonds,
driving them beyond the Roanoke River.
The number of
ships coming to Portsmouth and Norfolk gradually increased to the point that in the
1650's, large bonfires were lighted at Cape Henry to guide them safely from the Atlantic
into the Virginia Capes.
Aware of the trend
towards shipping, in 1659 Captain William Carver, ship owner and master mariner, patented
lands where Portsmouth is now located.
England ruled
Virginia until the Revolutionary War, but the elected representative assembly provided
local law. In 1660, to encourage trade, King Charles II decreed that port cities would be
established in the colonies.
By law, tobacco
could only be exported from designated ports, with Norfolk being one of the first of
these. But emphasis on tobacco farming in the area led to production in 1666-67. The
legislature suspended planting, even though new tobacco warehouses had been built in
Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Great Bridge.
A serious blow to
trade and the port of Norfolk came in 1667. After a very wet summer, a hurricane with its
torrential rains and "tornado-like" winds flattened the fields of corn and
tobacco, and blew down thousands of houses. (That is why there are only a few 17th century
houses in the area today.)
In 1675-76, Captain
Edward Wiggins and forty men again declared a general war on the Indians of the area.
Land
development in the area literally came about in several ways. Continuing to expand his
land holdings, Captain Willoughby established a primary home in what is now the Ocean View
section of Norfolk. Near it, in 1680, a hurricane deposited an additional 217 acres of
sand which became known as Willoughby Spit.
From 1664-67 and
1672-78, the Dutch Wars over tobacco raged. The English would either anchor their tobacco
fleet near the unincorporated community of Norfolk, or be bottled up in Lynnhaven Bay. To
avoid attack in the latter, it became imperative to establish a fort for protection.
Immediately across from the point Fort Nelson would be built on 100 years later, was the
ideally situated Four Farthing Point (sic. Fort Point). The barricades of the fort were in
a semicircle, thus it was completed and named Half Moon Fort on 28 August 1680. In June,
the Assembly had passed an act designating Norfolk as a town. Then, on 7 October, the
county surveyor was instructed to lay out the nucleus of what is presently Norfolk.
In 1690, the 100
acres purchased by Glasock again reverted back to the colony. In the late 17th or early
18th century, for 5 English shillings, Joshua Curle of Elizabeth City County purchased 153
acres of land which included the "Point". A second patent (mortgage) on the land
was purchased for 2 pounds of tobacco per acre. The southern boundary of this property was
a stream (now filled) called Island Creek, and later known as Gas House Creek. The
property also included part of the present-day Parkview section.
Since that time, the
land has historically been referred to as "The Point", "Tucker's windmill
Point", "Fort Point", "Fort Nelson", and eventually
"Hospital Point".
Upriver, Jamestown
continued as the center of Virginia's political and social life until 1699 when the seat
of colonial government moved to Williamsburg (sic. Middle Plantation). Williamsburg was an
outpost village at the midpoint of the peninsula between the James and York rivers. With
ideally suited ports and thriving trade, the colonies prospered and spread rapidly.
An act which
listed, trained, and armed a local militia was passed in 1705. Some of the officers
included Captains Adam Thorogood, George Mason, John Portlock, John Willoughby, Thomas
Talbot, John Halstead, William Clayborne, and others. In 1716, part of Captain Caver's
land, adjacent to Fort Point, was granted to Lieutenant Colonel William Crawford, a
wealthy merchant, ship owner, and presiding justice of the Norfolk County court, high
sheriff, member of the House of Burgesses, and commander of the county militia. This land
eventually formed part of the hospital grounds boundary.
Captain Carver, a
supporter of Nathaniel Bacon, had been hung by the Governor, Sir William Berkeley, for his
part in Bacon's Rebellion of 1676.
In 1718, Robert
Tucker Jr. bought the Curle property, including the point, for 105 pounds sterling. It was
described as a tenement tract and plantation, and the land was then held by the Tucker's
for three generations.
Sea trade to the
area increased significantly and with it, the responsibility for the government to provide
safety. In the Fall of 1718, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood organized a military
expedition to patrol the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and south to Ocracoke Inlet. This led
to a marine battle and face to face fighting between LT Robert Maynard, HMS, and Edward
Teach (aka. Blackbeard the Pirate) who had sailed south from his hideout ashore at Cape
Henry. Teach was beheaded and secured his infamous place in history.
In 1728,
Colonel William Byrd II, participating as a Virginia commissioner to the survey party
marking the line between North Carolina and Virginia, recorded the geographic landmarks of
the area. The "Point" was one of them.
In the 1750's,
the Tucker land contained a bake house, and windmills operating at the point gave it the
name - Tucker's Windmill Point.
In 1752, Colonel
Crawford had 60 acres of his plantation surveyed to become the settlement of Portsmouth.
Laid out on a checkerboard grid, streets were at right angles and oriented north and
south, and east and west. Only 74 lots were sold before he died in 1762.
Most of Portsmouth's
early land owners were merchants or craftsmen in maritime trade. Their houses were of
wood, with the more expensive ones of brick, and separated by wide grass covered avenues.
In 1754, the local
militia, mentioned earlier, was called to participate in the French and Indian Wars.
At the time of his
father's death in 1767, Robert Tucker III inherited all of the land holdings, including
the Point. By this time, and as early as at meetings held in 1765, the colonists had
already expressed disillusion with English rule. Rebellion had become inevitable.
In 1771, Virginia's
last royal governor, John N. Murray (Fourth Earl of Dunmore) arrived from New York. He
initiated hostile action against the revolutionaries on 15 October 1775, by sending
British troops to Kempsville to destroy a cache of firearms. In the process, Captain
Thomas Mathews of the Virginia minute men of the Continental Army was captured and became
Virginia's first prisoner of war. A month later, on 16 November, Lord Dunmore defeated the
local militia which was marching to join colonial troops. However, the tide began to turn
when Virginia riflemen defeated the British grenadiers at the Elizabeth River bridge and
causeway in Great Bridge. Dunmore's English troops then plundered Hampton and occupied
Norfolk which was still loyal to the Crown.
At the
outbreak of the Revolutionary War in 1776, Lord Dunmore lived at the Point and established
an entrenched post there until May of that year. Eventually, rebellious troops chased Lord
Dunmore onto the frigate Fowey, which was anchored in the Elizabeth River. Then, on New
Year's Day, during a 50 hour naval bombardment, the Norfolk wharves were burned. To
prevent the rest of the town from becoming an English shelter, colonial troops burned the
remaining part. Only St. Paul's church survived, and even now an English cannonball
remains embedded in its southeastern wall.
Portsmouth and
surrounding areas, being in strategic military locations, were also shelled and burned. In
late 1776, the point property was occupied by the Virginia Revolutionary government.
General Benedict Arnold established his English defense headquarters there and commenced
to build Fort Nelson. The earthen fort, started in 1776, was part of the harbor defense,
even though the land was still owned by the Tucker family. Militarily, from this point on
the Elizabeth river there was an excellent view of any vessel approaching the
Norfolk-Portsmouth area from Hampton Roads. It was garrisoned with a 150-man force.
The war dragged on,
with inconclusive victories and defeats for both sides. When British General Charles
Cornwallis decided that by occupying Virginia the war could be won, an imperceptible shift
infortunes became decisive against the "Americans". By 11 May 1779, Fort Nelson
was outflanked by a British fleet and landing party, and it was evacuated. Much of the
parapet of the fort was demolished by the British. After that, Suffolk was occupied and
burned, and about 100 ships were destroyed at Norfolk and Gosport. In October, 1780,
Brigadier General Leslie landed at Portsmouth with 3,000 soldiers, destroyed a number of
ships, and sailed for Charleston.
By November, Captain
Mathews had been released as a prisoner and promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in
the 4th. Virginia regiment. In 1793, he also served as a brigadier general of the Virginia
militia.
Winter became an
adversary for both sides during 1779-80, when cold spell caused both the Elizabeth River
and Chesapeake Bay to freeze. The Atlantic ocean out from the Bay was frozen to the
40-fathom line and ice, piled 20 feet high along the Atlantic seaboard, remained there
until mid-May. Carts were used to transport shipping goods to shore, and the Bay was so
thickly frozen that teams of oxen were crossing from shore to shore as far down as Cape
Henry. During this weather, the war basically came to a halt.
Through the summer
of 1781, the English army raided towns and villages as it marched from North Carolina to
new quarters in Yorktown. En route, the English built another fort on the same site as
Half Moon Fort, to protect Norfolk's inner harbor from surprise attacks by American naval
forces.
In August of 1781,
General George Washington received word in New York that a large French fleet would soon
arrive off the Virginia coast. American troops covertly moved towards Virginia, and by the
end of September the army numbered 16,000. As expected, the fleet of Comte Francois de
Grasse in the 110-gun Ville de Paris arrived. After defeating Admiral Graves in the Battle
of the Virginia Capes, the Chesapeake Bay was successfully blockaded. This sea battle
effectively determined the end of the war because the British troops were trapped. For 3
weeks they were tirelessly bombarded by Washington's American and the French troops. After
a devastating night battle on 14 October, General Cornwallis admitted defeat. Five days
later, the English surrendered in a battlefield near Yorktown which became known as
Surrender Field.
By 1788, slave trade
stopped, but the practice of slavery had become an economic institution that would later
be defended during the Civil War.
With more foreign
Navy and commercial ships coming to the Hampton Roads, the need for more safety became
evident. In 1791-92, the original 72 foot tall sandstone lighthouse with a whale-oil beam
was built at Cape Henry. It was the first to be commissioned by Congress.
In 1790, the State
of Virginia erected the first marine hospital in the United States. It was located at
Washington Point in Berkley/Norfolk, and served as the forerunner of the future Portsmouth
Naval Hospital.
In 1794, as the size
of foreign navies increased, and ships were needed to control the Barbary pirates,
Congress authorized building six ships. One of these was the Chesapeake, built at the
Gosport shipyard, and one of the first naval vessels to be constructed by the United
States government. That same year, George Washington directed that Fort Norfolk be built
on the point directly across from what is now Pinners Point near the midtown tunnel. It
would provide protection for both Half Moon Fort and Fort Nelson.
Also in 1794,
Colonel Thomas Newton was granted title to the Portsmouth land including the point.
Four years later, in
1798, the Navy Department was created, and on 9 March, the first physician was
commissioned into the Navy. However, it was another 29 years before there would be a naval
hospital to practice medicine in.
In 1799, the 18
acres of Fort Nelson were acquired by the U. S. Government for 500 pounds sterling and the
new fort was completed. A diagrammatic map of this land shows not only a proposed angular
outline of the Fort, but also a building referred to as the "New House". It is
believed that this was the first plantation house for this section of land.
Towards the end of
the 17th century. Anglicanism, the dominant religion in the immediate area, began to
decline. In its place, Baptist, Methodist, and Mennonite congregations became established.
(Both of the first two denominations divided into northern and southern branches in the
mid 19th century, but none of the ante-bellum churches survived.)
In 1801, the
federal government took over the Norfolk Marine hospital, and in 1803, the Norfolk County
seat was moved to Portsmouth from the Berkeley section.
In 1811, Navy
surgeon William P. Barton was tasked by the Secretary of Navy to submit recommendations
for operating hospitals and other healthcare institutions. This appears to be the
beginning of seriously considering developing a program for Navy medicine and eventual
establishment of the Portsmouth hospital.
The War of 1812 was
relatively uneventful for the Portsmouth area, with much of the action directed towards
the gathering of provisions. Among the associated forays, one of the more significant was
by the crew of the British sloop Moselle which ventured up the James River in 1813 to loot
the Denbigh Plantation, located in what is now Newport News.
The only military
action was the Battle of Craney Island. In June, 1813, a British squadron blockaded the
harbor and attacked the island that guarded the entrance to Portsmouth. Approximately 750
state militia, regulars, and seamen from the frigate Constellation, defeated the 2,600
British troops. During this battle, the Portsmouth light artillery played a significant
role.
Between 1800 and
1810, Fort Nelson was expanded as shown in. From undated U. S. Engineering Department
records, it was determined that the walls of the fort, constructed of dirt with the
interior of the batteries lined with brick, encompassed two traverses, two barracks, a
magazine, and a storehouse. Also, there was a building in the southeast corner that
appears to be the same "New House" that was adjacent to the unexpended fort in
1799. In 1806, this house was described as being two-stories, with two rooms per floor.
The building shown at the rear appears to be the kitchen and smokehouse connected by a
covered walk or connecting hallway. In 1852, this same structure was identified as the
Surgeon's house following construction of the hospital.
As an aside, it
should be noted that because of congressional legislation on 4 April 1818, "Old
Glory" with its 13 colonial stripes was officially flown over the hospital.
In the mid-1820's,
use of Fort Nelson was discontinued, and Fort Norfolk and Fort Monroe were expected to
assume responsibility for marine defense in the area.
In 1826, a
Board of Commissioners was selected to again review the need for medical care within the
Navy, and to establish a Naval Hospital Fund. The need for a hospital in the Norfolk area
was established, and after looking over several sites, Fort Nelson was selected. The Fund,
established to finance building, was patterned after a similar British Naval custom which
was a tax on pay levied on every officer, seaman, and marine in the Navy. The assessment
was 20 cents per month, which in some cases amounted to 10% of an individuals pay. Money
collected from disciplinary fines was also added to the fund. As the amount of money grew,
the Commission purchased the original 18 acres of Fort Nelson from the Federal Government.
In 1827, Thomas
Nelson Jr. sold the remainder of the 61 acre tract to the Navy for $9K. This land was
adjacent to the remainder of the Tucker Estate, and property already purchased by Navy
agent Miles King, in 1826. On 2 April, architect John Haviland of Philadelphia, began
construction of the first Naval hospital building (Bldg. 1). Fort Nelson and adjoining
buildings were torn down and 570,000 bricks from the fort were cleaned, renewed, and used
in the new structure. Some buildings of the fort were used as workshops and housing for
the craftsmen and laborers.
The initial building
was a massive granite structure built around a court. It was four stories high, with a
basement 12 feet deep. In a "U" shape, it was 172 feet across the front and 192
feet in depth. The two ward wings were 160 feet long, 50 feet wide, and enclosed two sides
of the court. The open end was bridged by a wooden structure that contained heads and
bathing facilities. There were open wooden porches on each side of the wards to provide
some fresh air and ventilation. The building's lower front wall was 4.5 feet thick, and
the entire front was chisel dressed Virginia freestone, with a doric portico of 10 columns
fronted by 20 steps 92 feet wide.
The hospital had
become the most imposing structure in the area. With its graceful design, lighted at
night, and surrounded by a pine forest, it was described by some as the "Grand
Ornament" of the harbor. The grounds were called "Fort Woods".
Internally, the
structural ward arrangement on the upper floors was a series of alcoves which did not lend
themselves to patient care. This appeared to have been the most serious defect in the
building design. Daylight was minimal in the wards, and air circulation was not
satisfactory.
On the wards, there
were no toilet or washroom facilities, quiet rooms, diet kitchens, or dumbwaiters to raise
prepared food to the wards.
Adequate surgical
facilities were nonexistant. A small room on the third floor of the "E" wing was
designated as the Operating Room. It was small, poorly ventilated, lacked any artificial
lighting, but did have an instrument sterilizer that was eventually gas operated.
There was no
emergency room. All patients entering the hospital were sent directly to the wards where
admission procedures were done. Initially without an elevator, this at times caused
problems. Patients with communicable diseases were not isolated. Administrative spaces,
located on the second floor were arranged haphazardly in relation to one another. A small
space was designed as the "Dispensary", a rough equivalent to today's pharmacy.
It also was on the second floor. The third floor contained the laboratory, which was
considered inadequate even at the time the hospital began operation.
Quarters for the
staff were also mainly located on the third floor. (This was also considered to be a major
flaw in the original building.) Originally, the architect had planned to construct two
quarters in front of the hospital. One was to have been for the Superintendent who, for
the first 12 years of the hospital, was a line officer. The second was planned for the
senior medical officer, then known as the Senior Surgeon. Instead, the plantation house
acquired with the original property was renovated and used for the Superintendent. After
12 years it became the Senior Surgeon's quarters.
The galley was
located on the first floor next to the laundry. The location of these two working areas
undoubtedly contributed to the discomfort of the hospital's occupants during the hot
summer months because of the heat and humidity generated. (The laundry equipment was
operated by a steam engine.) In the winter, coal stoves and fireplaces in each office also
provided heat.
Food storage spaces
were also poorly arranged and were constantly subjected to flood waters. There was a
general mess hall located on the first floor, with no separate mess facilities for the
apprentices (today's hospital corpsmen). These personnel ate their meals on the wards with
the patients, a custom which was common in many hospitals until the end of World War II.
Next to the mess hall was a space known as the " Smoking Room", and another
referred to as the "Library".
The source of hot
water for the hospital was the kitchen range boiler. There was never enough during the
day, and at night when the galley fires were out, there was none. The water supply
consisted of water collected from roof runoff stored in cisterns. Also, there were three
wells from which water was pumped into the cisterns for use during dry periods.
Initially, lighting
was provided by kerosene lamps and candles. When they became available, illuminating gas
lights were installed.
In 1829, lack of
funds halted work on the building. However, in July, 1830, Surgeon Thomas Williamson, the
newly appointed Senior Medical Officer, was ordered to open the hospital for patient care.
The first patients, previously housed in a Naval Shipyard warehouse in what was then the
town of Gosport, were transported the 2 miles and placed in what is now the "F"
wing of building #1. The staff also lived in the building, with quarters on the 3rd. floor
("I" section) which currently consists of conference rooms. For their off-duty
use, a small porch above the main entrance was built.
Eventually, the
government had acquired 102.5 acres of land by deed or purchase and building resumed in
1831. By 1832, $270K had been spent. Another $30K was appropriated and the hospital was
completed to its initial phase, which is shown in a tracing of the compound in 1852
Ownership of part of
the land on the western side of the compound was contested by a Barnard O'Neil in 1832.
The government did not agree with the claim so he was prevented from taking possession of
an using the property.
Regarding the oldest
marked grave in the cemetery, is that of a sailor who died after a fall from a yardarm of
the frigate Constitution ("Old Iron-sides") on 1August 1838. Initially, the dead
were buried on private land back towards Scotts Creek. After complaints from the owner
were received, as many bodies as could be recovered were reinterred at the site of what
was to become a National Cemetery on the hospital compound.
A southern
physician, Surgeon Blacknell was Medical Officer in Charge at the hospital from 1839 to
1842. Surgeon Williamson, as Senior Medical Officer, was succeeded by Surgeon William P.
C. Barton, who in 1842 became the first chief of the newly established Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery.
By 1845, due to its
location relative to sea trade, Norfolk had been rebuilt and incorporated. Elsewhere, the
Mexican War had erupted and spread from California into Mexico. In 1847, from this war the
hospital received its first combat casualty patients.
By 1852, the
hospital's western boundary had been determined and a fence had been constructed along
that side of the property. For access, "Hatton's Road" or Fort Lane was the main
road to the compound. After entering the gate, it led directly to the hospital. (Fort Lane
eventually became blocked by construction of Portsmouth General Hospital.
The hospital,
originally designed to accommodate between 300-500 patients, in the early days seldom had
more than 40 aboard at one time. However, in June of 1855, the first major medical
evolution the hospital was called to respond to was a yellow fever epidemic. The mosquito
borne virus had been brought to the Portsmouth-Norfolk area by an infected individual
sailing from St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies on the ship "Ben Franklin".
During the voyage, two deaths occurred among the ships passengers. Upon arrival in port,
the ship was quarantined, but a viremic patient was bitten by indigenous mosquito vectors
and the infection spread. Shortly after start of the quarantine, another member of the
crew died and was buried on shore near the anchorage. During the next several weeks, a
number of yellow fever deaths occurred in the Portsmouth-Norfolk area. By mid-July, a
major epidemic swept the area. Portsmouth, which had a population of about 5,000 was
heavily exposed, and within 3 months 1,000 people had died and another 100 were seriously
ill. On 28 July, the Common Council of Portsmouth called upon the Secretary of Navy for
help. The Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery gave consent to the Surgeon in
Charge, Lewis W. Minor, to use the hospital to assist in this epidemic. During the next 3
months, 587 civilian patients were admitted. Of those, 208 died and 379 recovered and were
eventually discharged. For the hospital's efforts, and as an expression of gratitude for
"heroic service", the City of Portsmouth made and presented Surgeon Minor and
Surgeon James F. Harrison gold medals containing an imprint of the hospital. The epidemic
killed over 10% of the area population, including the youngest son of Surgeon Minor. The
boy was one of the hospital's fatalities.
Also in 1855, gas
lines were extended onto the base.
After the epidemic,
the hospital staff had a year to catch their breath before being subjected to winter
weather even worse than that at Hospital Point 77 years earlier. The bad weather set in on
New Year's Day, 1857, but got serious on 17 January. By the 19th, the hospital was buried
under 20 foot snowdrifts and the Elizabeth River was a solid sheet of gray ice. The
hospital was shut off from virtually all transportation, and the Hampton Roads rivers were
ice-bound for more than 2 weeks. The only entertainment was to walk to the obviously
temporary Anchor Bar built on the ice in the middle of the river. Hot toddys and mint
juleps were available while watching skating parties on Norfolk's inner harbor.
Also in 1857, funds
were appropriated to construct Quarters A for the Commanding Officer. (A stately
Italianate-style building, these quarters went through numerous renovations and additions
over the years.) These quarters eventually became known as "The Myrtles" because
of the large crepe myrtle bushes surrounding it. With completion of these quarters, the
"Surgeons House" was dismantled in about 1859.
On 1 March 1858, the
City of Portsmouth was chartered.
With Fort Lane being
the only road entering the hospital grounds, the "Porter's Lodge" was built next
to it in 1860. This building provided accommodations for the first civilian employees who
were referred to and served as "Porters".
With tension in the
air, Portsmouth's and Norfolk County's delegates to the Virginia State Convention were
initially against secession. However, to stay in the Union, they soon learned of the
requirement to provide troops and supplies for the fight against southern states which had
seceded. So, on 17 April 1861, the State Convention reversed an earlier decision and voted
to join the confederacy. Richmond eventually became the capital of the Confederate States
of America.
Having seceded, but
prior to joining the confederacy, the Third Virginia Regiment, which included several
rifle companies from the area, and under the command of Colonel Roger A. Pryor, took
control of the hospital on 20 April. Hospital Point was renamed Fort Nelson, and Surgeon
Samuel Barrington was forced to resign in a rather unceremonious manner. Being of stout
heart, he apparently not only declined the opportunity to gracefully vacate his office, he
refused to leave his chair. Consequently, as the story continues, several soldiers picked
him up, chair and all, carried him down the grand stair case, out the front door, and
deposited him in the road in front of the building. Subsequently Surgeon Blacknell who had
previously served as Medical Director (1839-1842) was reinstalled as Medical Officer in
Charge.
Also on the 20th.,
Federal forces abandoned and burned the Navy shipyard and 11 ships. The next day, troops
sympathetic to the confederacy, occupied the shipyard. In retaliation, Union troops burned
most of the Confederate strongholds in Portsmouth, but by November of 1861, there were as
many as 20,000 confederate troops in the area.
The political
turmoil prior to secession from the Union necessitated elections at the local level,
including Portsmouth. Troops from the local rifle companies mentioned above had been
permitted to leave their encampments in groups of 15, to go vote. Later, when they were
deployed at Fort Nelson, it was discovered that a number of them had voted to remain in
the Union. Colonel Pryor proceeded to lock up these individuals in the hospital storage
space referred to as the "Dungeon". When this information was relayed to
Richmond, the response was to release them because they had only voted their convictions.
Militarily, the
strategic benefits of controlling the shipyard were recognized. The Confederates converted
the hull of the Union frigate, USS Merrimac, into the world's first ironclad battleship
renamed CSS Virginia. On 8 March 1862, the naval battle of Hampton Roads began near
Sewell's Point. Commodore Franklin Buchannan, the first Superintendent of the U. S. Naval
Academy, was appointed Captain of the Virginia which attacked ships of the North Atlantic
Blockading Squadron. The Union's USS Cumberland and Congress were destroyed, and the
Minnesota was left grounded on a sand bar in the James River.
On 9 March, for 4
hours, at a range of 40 yards, the Virginia engaged the Union's ironclad USS Monitor.
Although neither ship endured much damage, the Virginia had damaged or sank enough other
vessels that Union ships were blocked from the James River for 2 months. Another victim of
these naval battles was the glass projecting lens in the Cape Henry lighthouse.
Most of the wounded
from all of these battles were transferred to the Naval hospital for treatment. Included
among these patients was the Captain of the USS Monitor who was blinded in the ironclad
battle. Commodore Buchannan had been hit by a mini-ball in the upper left thigh during the
Virginia's engagement with the USS Congress, and relieved by his second in command,
Catesby Jones. While convalescing here, he wrote detailed accounts of the Virgnia's
singings of the USS Cumberland, Congress, and other Union ships. Among the narrative
details were the involvement of hospital associated personnel.
Surgeon Dinwiddie
B. Phillips, who was assigned to the hospital at the war's beginning, became Ship's
Surgeon for the CSS Virginia. It was he who convinced Commodore Buchannan to leave his
ship for the hospital, and receive care for his wound.
Assistant Surgeon
Francis Galt, assigned to the hospital in 1859 and 1860, became Ship's Surgeon on the
infamous CSS Alabama.
Surgeon Charles
Martin, Ship's Surgeon for the USS Congress, survived the sinking of his ship, and from
1875 to 1880, became the Surgeon in Charge of the hospital.
The Commodore
remained a patient at the hospital until he was forced to evacuate to Richmond because of
Union military activity in the area. When the Union forces finally attacked Norfolk, the
Confederates were forced to burn their own vessels.
On 21 January 1862, Surgeon Blacknell died and was buried in Portsmouth's Cedar Grove
Cemetery.
During the period of
Confederate occupancy, General William B. Taliaferro had fortified the hospital grounds
with cotton bales earthworks, and sixteen heavy field guns. These armaments were heavily
manned by troops from all of the southern states and a standoff had developed with Union
forces from Fort Monroe on the north side of the bay.
On 10 May 1862,
General John Wool occupied Norfolk and Portsmouth. This action was in conjunction with
General George B. McClellan's Union Army drive north during the Peninsula Campaign. The
hospital was once again evacuated as it changed hands. Navy Surgeon Solomon Sharpe was
placed in charge of the hospital from September, 1862, until 1864.
The hospital had its
first chaplain assigned in 1863.
The Secretary of War
directed that all military property captured from the Confederates be placed under Army
control. Consequently, the Army refused to give the hospital back to the Navy. With the
concurrent Peninsula Campaign, the Army needed the hospital to care for its own sick and
wounded. The Navy was thus forced to care for its patients at Fort Nelson which was
located across the channel from Hospital Point. Finally, after much correspondence and
many appeals by Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough, Commander of the James River flotilla, the
Navy reacquired its hospital from the Army on 1 October 1864. At that time, the Navy
redesignated Hospital Point. (The Navy hospital was actually an Army hospital for about 4
months.)
A gunboat, the "Young Rover", was anchored off the "Point" to protect the hospital
from raiding parties and to evacuate patients if necessary. However, it should be pointed
out that while often surrounded with the fighting of the Civil War, there appears to be no
evidence that a hostile shot from or received by the hospital ever occurred.
At the beginning of
1864, there were 195 inpatients registered. By the end of the year the number had dropped
to 37.
The Civil War caused
much confusion with personal allegiances, and this was no less true at the hospital.
Surgeons Minor and Harrison, of prominence because of the 1855 Yellow Fever epidemic, were
forced to choose sides like everyone else. Surgeon Minor was so admired for his medical
skills that he first became Fleet Surgeon for the Union Navy, and then the Confederate
Navy. Surgeon Harrison also eventually served the Confederacy. At death, they were both
buried in the hospital's cemetery, and Minor is the only Surgeon in Charge to be buried
there.
The cemetery
contains numerous other reminders of the Civil War. One memorial commemorates 337 crewmen
of the Cumberland and Congress who lost their lives in the battle of Hampton Roads. From
these ships, and next to one another are two of Queen Victoria's subjects. One is Thomas
Fay, an Irishman from the Union's Cumberland, and the other is William Robinson, an
Englishman from the Confederate CSS Beufort. Both were also killed at Hampton Roads. Many
of the cemetery's tombstones record the names of sailors and soldiers, as well as the
ships and states these individuals served. Among the buried Confederates, 45 are unknowns,
mixed among those who served here from Georgia, Louisiana, and both Carolinas.
In January, 1865,
Ensign Robley Evans (aka. Fighting Bob Evans) was brought to the hospital after being
seriously wounded in both legs during the battle of Fort Fisher. Upon arrival, the
attending surgeon determined that both legs should be removed. The Ensign stated that he
would rather die than agree to the amputations. To emphasize his point, he kept a gun
under his pillow and threatened to shoot anyone who came near. The wife and daughter of
the attending surgeon befriended him and nursed him back to health. Some 30 years later,
the Ensign became Captain of the USS Iowa, commanding the ship in the battle of Santiago
Bay during the Spanish-American war.
With the Civil War
ending, in 1866 there was an appropriation of $20K for building roads and grounds
beautification the hospital. Eventually a park like setting was established. Then, in
1867, the average patient load at the hospital had dropped to 20, and during the next 6
years all naval hospitals fell into disrepair.
At the same time,
the local fathers were looking ahead and Portsmouth and Norfolk raised money for
construction of more schools, some of which are still standing. Unfortunately,
Portsmouth's overall economic recovery from the war lasted for several decades.
By 1877, the
number of personnel in the Navy was at its lowest, and appropriations were not sufficient
to pay officer salaries ashore or afloat. Obviously, no funds were available for medical
support, except in emergencies.
In 1879, $3,999 was
designated by Congress to repair damage to the building by an August hurricane. With
completion of repairs there was enough left to install steam heat and replace the
fireplaces. This storm also washed away a small lighthouse that had been located at the
end of the Point.
The average number
of patients began to increase, reaching 26 during 1883. In April, one patient receiving
care for measles was 4 year old Malcolm MacArthur, 15 months senior to his younger brother
Douglas. The boy died after 4 weeks of a complication from the original infection, while
the children were vacationing with their maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A.
Hardy, at "Riveredge" in the Berkley section of Norfolk. Their father became a
General and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient during the Spanish-American War, and
Douglas received the same honors during WW II.
In the early 1880's,
shipping activity in Scotts Creek inlet on the northwest side of the hospital increased,
and loading piers were built on both the north and south sides of the water. On the north
side, the precursor of the Portsmouth Marine Terminals developed and on the south, ship
loads of supplies were unloaded directly onto the hospital compound.
The plight of both
staff and patients was changed in 1866, when an "esteemed brain tonic and
intellectual beverage", CocaCola, became available from the local community. The fact
that "Coke's" early recipe included small amounts of cocaine might be mentioned.
By 1889, water mains
from Portsmouth were extended across Gas House Creek and its marsh to the hospital. This
permitted replacement of the rain water cisterns which had been the only source of
drinking /washing water. This event was of such significance that the Navy Surgeon General
came from Washington to sign the construction contract. With the good news came the bad,
and in mid-April a wind storm hit the hospital with winds clocked at Cape Henry at 100
mph. Damage to hospital buildings was reported to be about $5,000.
Patient population
temporarily increased in 1890 when an outbreak of "Russian Grippe" with
influenza -like symptoms spread through the area. The infections took their course while a
causative "germ entity" was debated.
In 1892, after the
advent of electricity, wires were installed by stringing them along the ceiling, and the
gas lamps were converted. The Medical Officer-in-Charge had lights mounted in every space
where they would be available for use in emergency surgery. It was fortunate to have the
lights installed because of the overly dreary winter which set a record of 17.7 inches of
snow on 19 December.
By 1894 the average
number of patients, coming from throughout the area, had reached 34.
In the late 1880's,
patients would frequently be brought to the hospital via a shuttle boat between the Point
and a fleet landing at the foot of York Street in Norfolk. The boat crews lived in the
corpsman barracks.
Because of increased
military activity, during 1896 and 1897, all Naval hospitals were restored to good repair.
At this hospital, laboratories were added, and the military's first X-ray machine was
installed on the 4th. floor. Invented in 1895, it was powered by wet cell batteries.
At the approach of
the Spanish-American War in 1898, the need to expand medical capabilities was forseen. As
a result, the south wing of the hospital was quickly made usable and 90 new beds were set
up at the cost of $21,324.58. The staff was increased through volunteer efforts of 6
nurses and 5 Sisters of Charity from Norfolk, and several local physicians. Eventually,
the preparations paid off. The hospital ship "Ambulance Ship Solace" arrived in
Portsmouth with 55 sick U. S. Navy sailors and 48 wounded Spaniards. Among the latter
patients was Captain Concas, Chief of Staff of the Spanish squadron. This war was notable
in terms of its low casualty rate.
In 1898, a James
Avery became the first Congressional Medal of Honor (CMH) recipient to be listed as buried
in the hospital's cemetery. He had been commended for saving crew members of a Union
ironclad ship during the Civil War. Another Civil War CMH individual was basically buried
and forgotten until 1990 when hospital personnel made arrangements to have him listed in
the CMH national registry.
The hospital grew
and continued to be improved when on 17 June, 1898, President William McKinley signed
authorization establishing the Hospital Corps.
In 1899, the
hospital's pharmacopoeia was expanded to include the newly discovered pain medication -
aspirin.
Also in 1899,
funding was approved for re-shelling (with oyster shells) ten thousand feet of compound
roads.
By 1901, Gas
House Creek and its marsh had been filled in, the Green Street (later aka. Effingham
Street) bridge was removed, and the Surgeon General reported that funding had been made
for sowing grass in the areas at the end of the Gas House bridge.
On 11 August 1902,
the Navy's first formal courses of instruction (Table 1) for the Hospital Corps was
established in the north wing of the hospital as the "School of Instruction, Hospital
Corps, U. S. Navy." The initial period of training was 3 months, and the first class
of 28 members graduated on 15 December. For the corpsmen, until 1916, there were only
three ratings: Hospital Steward (= chief petty officer) - $60/month; Hospital Apprentice
first class (= petty officer third class) - $30/month; and Hospital Apprentice -
$20/month.
With staff and
patient load expansion, 1904 brought an appropriation of $20K to construct Quarters B and
C for the Executive Officer and Chief of Surgery. These quarters, completed in 1906, were
on Williamson Drive on the western shore facing the Elizabeth River. These Georgian
Revival-style residences were quite fashionable at the turn of the twentieth century.
Quarters B and C subsequently were considered eligible for listing on the National
Register of Historical Places.
The living spaces in
Building #1, vacated by the move of staff personnel, to Quarters B and C, were converted
into enlisted patient care wards.
Also in 1904, the U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook the widening of the Elizabeth River at Hospital
Point. This included removal of over 400 linear feet of land. The project also included
construction of a new wharf at the Point, and a boat house.
In 1906, the city
engineer requested to lay and maintain a 24 inch city sewer line through the hospital
grounds. (It still exists.) Also in 1906, on 9 May, the Fort Nelson chapter of the
Daughter's of the American Revolution, in final commemoration of the Fort, restored and
suitably mounted an original cannon facing the Hampton Roads from the Point's lawn. Later
in the month (Memorial Day), President Theodore Roosevelt came to the hospital to unveil
the Army-Navy Union Memorial in the cemetery. The memorial commemorated those killed
during the Spanish-American War 8 years earlier. School children from Portsmouth sat on
the front steps of building #1 to view the presidential motorcade.
In 1907, the
southern boundary of the compound, along the old Gas House Creek, was jointly established
by representatives of the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Portsmouth City Engineer.
Then, on 1 October,
the order came from the Navy Department to vacate Building #1. It was to be refurbished
for an appropriated $200K. The Hospital Corps School was relocated to Washington, DC, and
with only 10 days notice, the 69 patients were relocated to four tents (14'X64') with
floorboards. The initial encampment was located 750 feet to the rear of the hospital. The
enlisted staff were also required to vacate quarters and they also moved into the tents.
Before the first winter had ended, the number of tents increased to 54, with an average
patient load of 150. Patients were treated through two bitterly cold winters, at times
with gales tearing the tents to shreds.
Several months were
spent stripping much of the building, with basically only the outer walls left standing.
Tons of bricks and debris were removed, steel girders were lifted into place, and for the
first time, fire protection for the building was included within the original walls. Much
of the material from the original structure was salvaged for reuse. The doors, wood trim,
marble mantles, and fireplaces were retained. The front portico was left untouched, being
as perfect as on the day it was originally constructed. Of special significance were the
addition of stairwells and elevators. It should be noted that the first elevators were not
large enough to accommodate a stretcher, and could thus not be used for transporting
litter patients to the upper floors. However, exterior stairs no longer had to be used to
move patients to the upper floors for operations. The first sanitary sewers, with indoor
toilets and washroom facilities on each ward, were also installed. The remodeling was
finally completed in 1908, and the patients were transferred back out of the tents in
February, 1909. The 16 month period of renovation had seen nearly 1,400 patients treated
in the temporary facilities.
On 13 May 1908, the
Navy Nurse Corps was established. Less than a year later, on 17 April 1909, the first 3
female nurses arrived in Portsmouth to organize a nursing program. On 12 June, 4 more
arrived. By October, there were 35 nurses in the entire Navy, and 7 of them (1 chief nurse
and 6 ward nurses) were at Portsmouth. These nurses were quartered in what were then
referred to as the Waverly Apartments, located in the first block of Court Street. Messing
was provided at a restaurant in the building. The apartment building was later converted
into a private hospital known as Parrish Memorial.
Another significant
event in 1909 was compulsory immunization against typhoid fever. This effort eliminated
the disease from the Navy, but prior to this time, the hospital reserved two wards for the
infection. When exposed, at least half of the staff became infected, with some dying as a
consequence. Eventually, a small building known as "Cubicle Two" was constructed
at the back and north of building #1, for the purpose of housing patients with
communicable and infectious diseases.
In 1910, the north
and south extensions of the building were finally completed to provide more ward space,
and a 5th. floor rotunda was added to accommodate more updated surgical facilities.
Physical therapy equipment was also introduced, ventilating equipment was installed, and
new galley equipment was provided. Also, during the time the main building was being
renovated, the power plant with its tall chimney, and a water tower and storage tank were
built. Next to the power plant was the new laundry building.
In 1910, housing for
the porters was discontinued and at a cost of $1,432.97, the building was converted into
barracks for a twenty member Marine Guard Unit.
Expenditures for
rebuilding on the compound since 1905 totaled $500K.
On 14 November 1910,
the course of naval warfare and subsequently the requirements for Navy medicine changed
forever when a Curtiss pusher biplane first flew off a wooden ramp constructed on the deck
of the Navy scout cruiser USS Birmingham. The pilot, Eugene Ely, flew about 5 miles from
the ship, anchored off Old Point Comfort, landing near beach houses at Willoughby Spit.
With the start of WW
I in 1914, construction of a number of temporary wooden buildings began. Among the first
to be constructed were eight new 40 bed barracks type wards in a circle behind the
hospital, and two subsistence buildings. Six semi permanent barracks were then constructed
at the northwest corner of the compound and designated the contagious unit. Patients
housed there included even those with mumps and measles. Separate subsistence buildings
were used to prepare their food.
Recognizing the
importance of the Norfolk harbor, the Navy established the U.S. Naval Operating Base and
Training Station on 474 acres in 1917. With the attendant buildup of personnel in the
area, by March of the same year, the average number of patients being treated at the
hospital reached 1,405. Also in that year, the Hospital Corps School, which had been
divided into four sepa rate but equal schools, was transferred. One of the schools was
opened in Norfolk as part of the Training Station.
During the winter of
1917-18, the weather again got cold enough to freeze the Elizabeth River all the way to
Lamberts Point.
In March, 1918, the
hospital was reassigned from being a Unit of the Navy Yard to being under the Fifth Naval
District located at the Naval Base in Norfolk. The hospital continued to grow, with a
monthly patient admission rate increasing from 2,000 in January to a record high of 2,257
by October. The medical staff caring for this patient load included 60 physicians, 80
nurses, 250 hospital corpsmen, and 30 yeomen. For the nurses, one of the "H" shaped ward buildings was converted into quarters with a self contained dining facility.
The most costly
battle of the war, in terms of casualties, was the battle against influenza. A worldwide
estimate of mortal ities was 20 million in 1918. Cases in the Hampton Roads area were
first reported in September, and on 4 October, the hospital issued an official statement "to clear up exaggerated rumors." The hospital staff had treated 919 influenza
patients since 15 September. Of these, 350 were discharged, and 158 (17.2%) developed
pneumonia, and 46 (5%) died. Navy wide, 30% of all admitted cases developed pneumonia with
a 28.6% fatality rate. The overall death rate was 18.3/1000. For this disease, the total
number of deaths in the Navy in late September and early October reached 5,300. This was
nearly double the number of combined casualties for the Navy and Marines during the entire
war.
In the surrounding
towns, despite public health education efforts, there was mass confusion. A rumor had
started that whis key could bring about a cure, but due to prohibition in Virginia since
1916, the police had confiscated all of it. Finally, the Commonwealth Attorney ordered the
police to sell their supply at $1.29/qt with a prescription. Hundreds of sick people
mobbed police headquarters for their "medicine".
In 1916, The Army
and Navy agreed to construct a site for aviation research on 1,660 acres and Langley air
base was begun. This was followed by Fort Story in 1917, and the Yorktown Naval Weapons
Station in 1918.
At the hospital in
1918, the main road on the compound that led from Fort Lane to Building #1 was named
Williamson Avenue. The other main road actually was a curving lane which skirted the
creek/marshlands, intersected Effingham, and was known as "The Drive". The
Parkview Gate was also established at this time. Now there were 6 miles of roads, and all
were paved with oyster shells which showed "most beautifully" on moonlit nights.
The increase in
patients caused a need for more activities, and the first recreational library was located
in a small room on the 3rd. floor. It was later moved to a small building behind the
hospital and remained there until the "Red Cross Building" was constructed
during the war. In 1919, the first librarian was as signed to the hospital and paid by the
American Library Associa tion. When the Association stopped this support, she became an
employee of the Navy.
Construction of
permanent support buildings began in ernest in 1919. Among the buildings were a medical
supply storehouse, 12 ward buildings with a patient capacity of 746, more nurses quarters,
a garage, an enlarged powerhouse, and a "Bag Room". The first separate corpsmen
quarters were also built in an area where the parking lot next to the indoor swimming pool
currently is.
To save thousands of
dollars per year, and to eliminate prob lems with truck transport of fuel and other
freight, a railroad spur was built across Scotts Creek to the hospital. Service was
provided by the Atlantic Coastline, Pennsylvania railroad, and Southern lines.
In 1921, the first
veterans were admitted to the hospital. This was facilitated by passage of a new Veteran's
Benefits bill which liberalized medical care and hospitalization. This increase in
patients coincided with the Hospital Corps School being moved from Norfolk back to its
original site in Portsmouth.
Also in 1921, the
first basal metabolism instrumented equip ment was installed.
Air activity picked
up again between 1921 and 1923, when Brigader General William "Billy" Mitchell,
while flying out of Langley, demonstrated the effectiveness of air attacks on naval
forces. This experimentation was followed by development of lighter-than-air balloons, and
more patients.
In 1926 the
hospital's first electrocardiograph, invented in 1903, was put into service as an
additional step in improving patient care. Then, despite all of the activity on board, on
2 March, 1927, access to the hospital was brought to a temporary halt by a storm that
dumped 11 inches of snow. Gale winds of 50 mph piled it into 15 foot drifts.
Started in 1926 and completed in 1928,
five new sets of officer quarters of Colonial Revival-style residential architecture, were
built by the Portsmouth Lumber Corporation. These included Quarters D (Chief of
Medicine), E (Chief of Urology), and F, G, and H for Commissioned Chief Warrant Officers
(i.e., Chief Pharmacists). (Pharmacist Mates were hospital corps petty officers.) All of these quarters were demolished in 1991 to make way for the new critical care
facility.
In 1929, the name of the corps school
was officially changed to Hospital Corps School, and at that time about 300 men were
graduated annually from the 16 week program. By this time, nurses had been
incorporated into the staff of instructors. The school itself had moved from the
hospital building, and became established in thirteen two-story buildings at the northwest
corner of the compound.
Between 1926 and
1930, all wooden hospital buildings were reoved with the exception of barracks #31 thru
36, and the recrea tion building. The Ship's Store (e.g. Exchange) was located about where
the outdoor swimming pool was later constructed. This building housed tailor and barber
shops, and a small retail outlet.
Starting in 1919,
per diem at $0.886 gradually dropped to $0.125. In 1930 it was further reduced to $0.05,
making $0.25 cover all expenses.
In 1931, the "Boat House" (Bldg. #97) was constructed to house the shuttle boat crews at a
cost of $6,111. It continued to be used for that purpose until the downtown tunnel opened
on 23 May 1952. Since then, Building #97 has been refurbished and kept in continued use
first as a VIP Guest House, and then designated as Visiting Officers Quarters.
On 22 August 1933,
another natural calamity isolated the hospital when a hurricane ripped through the area at
high tide. The grounds were fairly well flooded by 13 inches of rain backed by 80+ mph
winds.
Patient morale
received a boost when regular entertainment was begun in 1936. The Navy Relief Society
purchased a 5-tube radio which was installed in a small room designated as the "Radio
Room" at the end of the main hall on the 5th. floor. There were six sets of extension
headphones for each ward. When he remember ed to, an operating room technician turned it
on at 1300 and off at 2100. The technician was also responsible for choosing which of two
Norfolk stations would be listened to. (Portsmouth's first station began broadcasting in
1942.) The patients listened to what was turned on. The favorite at the time, and usually
chosen by Hospital Corpsman Theodore H. Conaway Jr., was the radio soap opera - "As
the World Turns". Mr. Conaway continued in the Navy, becoming a Captain in the
Medical Service Corps.
In 1937, the
hospital began to establish itself as an advan ced medical training center with initiation
of three internship programs. Patients for these programs were partially drawn from a
personnel and dependant buildup associated with the stationing of B-17 Flying Fortress' at
Langley this same year.
The "Red Cross
Building", referred to earlier, was so named because it also housed the Red Cross
field director. It was de molished about 1940. Also, in early 1940, and incidental to mobi
lization for WW II, on 328 acres of swampland, the Oceana Master Jet Base was established.
While indirectly related to these flight activities, construction also began on the two
outer four story wings of the hospital. These additions were put into serv ice on 26
September 1941, and this was considered the third phase of the Building #1 life cycle.
During WW II, staff
enlisted personnel numbered over a thousand. Some were quartered with limited space in
double-decked bunks in buildings built during WW I. The more senior personnel lived mainly
at their own expense within the community. It was during this period that Congress
authorized the first BAQ ($37.50/mth.) for Navy and Marine Corps E1 thru E7 personnel. In
1942, Building #126 was constructed to provide the first male bachelor officers quarters.
The second deck contained the bedrooms, and common restroom facilities, and the first deck
was the Officers Club. Building #105, constructed at a cost of $686,797, became the male
bachelor enlisted quarters for both Chief Petty Officers and junior personnel. When it was
completed, the "1907" quarters were vacated. Also, Building #104 was put into
service as a barracks, as was a temporary building next to it. Since then, Building #104
has been refurbished and converted into a detachment of the Naval School of Health
Sciences. Quarters for female corpsmen (sic. WAVES) were in a building at the main gate
and to the west of the current Officers Club.
Also in 1942,
Building #107 was built to accomodate the Transportation, Security, and Fire Departments.
The marines from the old "Porter's Lodge"/Marine barracks building were
quartered on the second deck, as were Fire Department personnel. The bar racks were then
converted into Quarters I and J, becoming family quarters for junior officers.
In 1942-1943, a new
recreation building housing the auditor ium, welfare offices, and offices and equipment of
the American Red Cross, was constructed.
From 1943-1944, CAPT
G. E. Thomas, MC, was in command, and supervised completion of a 1.5 million dollar
construction pro gram. Projects included a chapel, dental clinic and ward, bache lor
officer quarters, Ship's Service, a bank, wards B-14, 16, 17, and C-1 thru 6. The
remaining wooden barracks (#31-36) were moved to about where the present enlisted club is
located, and renovated to accomodate the library (#36), occupational therapy, and educa
tional services. As new buildings were constructed, they were painted white to match the
older structures.
Contrasting
statistics of 1944 with those earlier in the hos pital's history, the patient load for a
single day in August was 2,997, with a bed capacity of 3,441. The staff of 3,055 consisted
of medical officers (113), nurses (359), "cadet" nurses (24), hos pital corpsmen
(701), hospital corps students (1,125), hospital corps staff (46), Marine Corps staff
(30), civilians (374), American Red Cross (33), Waves (163), Wave Officers (8), and other
personnel (79).
With WW II raging,
the medical staff was also charged to es tablish Medical Discharge Boards, verify Veterans
Administration medical benefits, and participate in conducting discharge physic als. In
September, 1945, based on "points" compiled for months in combat (1,228 hours
flying time, 126 carrier landings, and 58 missions) and a Distinguished Flying Cross, a
young naval aviator living in Virginia Beach, George H. Bush, received his physical
examination here and was discharged.
Also in 1945,
residency programs were established in general surgery and obstetrics/gynecology, and by
1948, there were ten intern programs.
Up to and through WW
II, the hospital had gone through many changes, with more to come. In 1948, the first Army
and Air Force personnel and their dependents were provided inpatient care.
In 1953, RADM
Sterling S. Cook assumed command at Portsmouth, becoming the first flag officer to command
a naval hospital.
As the military
establishment of all services continued to expand in the Hampton Roads area, the need for
a new and larger building to accomodate patient demands became evident. This cre ated a
need for space, so in 1955, various buildings were demol ished, and on-board nurses
housing was discontinued. On 6 June 1956, site preparation for the second major patient
care building (Bldg. 215) began. This included removal of the original Quarters A.
Construction began in 1957, and the building was dedicated on 22 April 1960. Transfer of
patients from the original building was completed in June of that year. With the new bed
capacity of 778, the Naval hospital complex became the major medical facility in the area.
Since that time, the
original hospital building has been renovated and has continued to be used for patient
care.
In 1970, the "new" female BEQ, building #239, was put into service and the quarters across
from the Officers Club were demol ished. A year later, in 1971, housing for officers in
Building #126 was discontinued.
At the close of the
Viet Nam conflict (1973), many American prisoners of war were released and returned to the
United States. Twelve of them were brought to this hospital (Table 2), quartered on Ward
12-C, Bldg. #215, and received all dental and medical care required. The Ward lounge
contains a picture of each man, and a plaque of dedication which states:
