Allegany County Academy

Allegany County Academy. Civil War Hospital. , During the Civil War, enormous numbers of sick and wounded soldiers overwhelmed both medical science and available hospitals. Approximately fifteen buildings in Cumberland were pressed into service to care for the maimed and ill. Besides warehouses, barns, and hotels, the courthouse across the street and the building in front of you, then the Allegany County Academy, were used as hospitals. The school and the courthouse together provided 1,200 cubic feet of fresh air and spaciousness, believed helpful for convalescence, because or their numerous windows and large floor areas. Sixty-five patients occupied the school building., In March 1862, Dr. William A. Hammond, who was appointed Surgeon General of the United States the next month, conducted a review of the hospitals in Cumberland and Clarysville. His report was generally scornful of the overall hospital complex, condemning the "ignorance of sanitary science," finding some facilities "dark and stinking," and complaining about the "utmost confusion" that dominated hospital administration. On his recommendation, the Academy and courthouse were retained as hospitals. The other thirteen buildings in Cumberland were closed, and the Clarysville complex was expanded. These structures together comprised the U.S. General Hospital at Cumberland and Clarysville and remained in use until the end of the war., [Caption:] , On January 15, 1799, the Maryland General Assembly passed an act "to incorporate a school in Allegany County," which became the Allegany County Academy. The Greek Revival-style building was constructed in 1849-1850 to house the academy and served as a school until it was closed in 1929. It became a public library in June 1934.