Hospital Sketches

The Baltimore riot of 1861, also known as the Pratt Street Riot, is considered the first violence of the Civil War. As Union soldiers from the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania militia were marching through Baltimore on their way to Washington, anti-war Democrats and Confederate sympathizers attacked them, leading to the first deaths of the Civil War. While traveling through Baltimore in Chapter 2, Alcott mentions that she passed the site of “the riot” and felt “as if I should enjoy throwing a stone at somebody, hard” (15), demonstrating her support for the first violent conflict that opened the war.

In Chapter 3, wounded soldiers arrive at Hurly-burly house from the Battle of Fredericksburg. The battle took place between December 11th and 15th, 1862. It featured the largest number of combatants in Civil War history and was the deadliest. The Confederate army achieved a major victory against the Union, suffering 6,000 casualties against the Union’s 12,500. The decisive defeat led not only to loss of morale within the Union army but also among the public, raising the question of whether the cost of war was worth it. Alcott’s patient John offers a response to that sentiment, as he does not regret giving up his life for the cause.

Charge of the Light Brigade is both a military action and a poem inspired by it. The action was a British cavalry charge that occurred on October 25th, 1854, during the Crimean War. As a result of miscommunication, a British cavalry brigade charged into a narrow pass directly into the line of fire of Russian troops, which resulted in the death or injury of 40% of the cavalry. The term “charge of the light brigade” has come to refer to a pointless military action. British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote “The Charge of the Light Brigade” in December 1854 to commemorate the event. Alcott plays on the poem in Chapter 3 when she describes the commotion involved in feeding all the patients, writing, “the clash of busy spoons made most inspiring music for the charge of our Light Brigade” (25).

Alcott describes the traumatic experience of a 12-year-drummer boy, Teddy, in Chapter 4. In the aftermath of the Union loss at Fredericksburg, a soldier carried Teddy out of harm’s way before losing his life. Drummer boys during the Civil War were essential for battlefield communication. Through drum beats, they signaled commands to soldiers. They might also be sent to locate the wounded, help carry them on stretchers, and aid surgeons. In the Union army, they were typically boys aged 12 to 17 whose presence was believed to raise morale. When not in battle, they also relayed messages and fulfilled camp duties such as collecting wood, cooking, cleaning, and guarding.

Alcott mentions the “eighth commandment” in Chapter 3 when explaining why it was necessary to take soldiers’ money and valuables, seal and label them, and store them with the matron: Because “the eighth commandment was reduced to a very fragmentary condition” (29). The eighth commandment from the Bible is, “Thou shalt not steal.” Using the number to substitute for the whole, which is synecdoche, allows her to make her point without outwardly accusing them of stealing.