Capitol Hill in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Healing the Wounded
Tour of Duty
— Barracks Row Heritage Trail —
In 1866 the Navy completed the hospital you see across the street to treat injured and ailing seamen. With beds for 50, it included the carriage house/stable and cast-iron fence and (around the corner) the gazebo. Its front door originally was on E Street facing the nearby Navy Yard and Marine Barracks; later occupants entered from Pennsylvania Avenue.
The hospital’s first patient was 24-year-old African American seaman Benjamin Drummond, admitted in June 1866 with a gunshot wound to his leg received in a Civil War battle three years before. After escaping from a Confederate prison in Texas, Drummond returned to duty, but when his old wound gave him trouble, he was hospitalized at the modern facility here. In 1868 Drummond was discharged with a government pension.
By 1906 the hospital was deemed “antiquated,” and it closed briefly, reopening as the Hospital Corps Training School, where sailors learned nursing, hygiene and anatomy. From 1922 until 1963 it was the Temporary Home for Old Soldiers and Sailors. Since 1963 the building has been leased to District of Columbia government agencies. In 2000 concerned neighbors formed the Friends of the Old Naval Hospital to promote the restoration of the building and grounds.
As you walk along Ninth Street to the next Barracks Row Heritage Trail sign, be sure to note the variety of architectural styles. These houses were occupied by residents of all tastes and economic levels who nonetheless lived side by side in this neighborhood.
With thanks for research by Dan Daly and Friends of the Old Naval Hospital
Erected 2004 by Cultural Tourism DC. (Marker Number 4.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Science & Medicine • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Barracks Row Heritage Trail series list. A significant historical month for this entry is June 1866.
Location. 38° 52.957′ N, 76° 59.63′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Capitol Hill. Marker is on 9th Street Southeast near E Street Southeast, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 825 E Street Southeast, Washington DC 20003, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Old Naval Hospital (within shouting distance of this marker); Limestone of Lost Legacies (within shouting distance of this marker); Commerce and Community (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); National Association of University Women, Inc. (about 400 feet away); Oldest Post of the Corps (about 500 feet away); A Neighborhood For Everyone (about 500 feet away); 545 Eighth Street, S.E. (about 500 feet away); At the Crossroads (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southeast Washington.
More about this marker.
[Photo captions:]
Records of the Naval Hospital’s first patient, Benjamin Drummond
National Archives
Drummond first served on this sailing ship USS Portsmouth
Naval Historical Center
Number 509 Ninth Street, a Romanesque Revival House on two lots (above, left) was built in 1896 by L. M. Chilton, later owners ran a grocery store here. The four houses next door at 513 through 519 (left) are typical 15-foot-wide, post-Civil War brick row houses built for middle-class Navy Yard workers. Across the street at 1518 (above, right) is a Civil War era “shotgun” house, an inexpensive style usually built by its working class owner.
Photographs [3] by John Shore
The 17th Class of the Hospital Training Corps [sic] posed in front of the Naval Hospital in 1909.
National Archives
[Photo on reverse:]
This view of the Naval Hospital was made just a few years after it opened in 1866
Washingtoniana Division, D.C. Public Library
Also see . . . Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital. (Submitted on December 21, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
Additional keywords. Corpsman; U.S. Navy Hospital Corps
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 21, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. This page has been viewed 804 times since then and 13 times this year. Last updated on March 7, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on December 21, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.