Chauncey Leonard Letter
Collection
Identifier: MSS-4148
Scope and Contents
The collection contains a letter from Chauncey Leonard, chaplain in the U. S. Army, to C. T. Beach, stating that Mr. Beach's letter to his son Peter had been received and read. Leonard also thanked Mr. Beach for the money used to pay an assistant teacher in the hospital's school.
Dates
- 1865 March 24
Creator
- Leonard, Chauncey (Author, Person)
Biographical / Historical
Chauncey Leonard was one of only fourteen African American chaplains in the U. S. Army during the Civil War. He served in the L'Ouverture Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia.
The L'Ouverture Hospital opened in February 1864 to serve as the hospital for African American troops and contraband civilians (i.e., escaped and freed slaves). It was set up outside the divisional structure of the other military hospitals in Alexandria. Named for the Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, the hospital was comprised of barracks, cookhouse and mess room, linen room, office, deadhouse, and a dispensary.
In 1864 and 1865, approximately 1,400 patients were admitted to L'Ouverture. The hospital was designed to accommodate up to six hundred patients at a time, although a census of Alexandria hospitals in late 1864 reveals that 617 of its 700 beds were occupied. Patients' records, including names, dates of admission, reasons for hospitalization, and resolution (release, transfer, death), reveal that most were admitted because of disease, and many patients stay for weeks and months at a time.
Chauncey Leonard opened a school for the soldiers at L'Ouverture that was well attended.
The L'Ouverture Hospital opened in February 1864 to serve as the hospital for African American troops and contraband civilians (i.e., escaped and freed slaves). It was set up outside the divisional structure of the other military hospitals in Alexandria. Named for the Haitian revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, the hospital was comprised of barracks, cookhouse and mess room, linen room, office, deadhouse, and a dispensary.
In 1864 and 1865, approximately 1,400 patients were admitted to L'Ouverture. The hospital was designed to accommodate up to six hundred patients at a time, although a census of Alexandria hospitals in late 1864 reveals that 617 of its 700 beds were occupied. Patients' records, including names, dates of admission, reasons for hospitalization, and resolution (release, transfer, death), reveal that most were admitted because of disease, and many patients stay for weeks and months at a time.
Chauncey Leonard opened a school for the soldiers at L'Ouverture that was well attended.
Extent
0.01 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Overview
Letter from an African American U. S. Army chaplain during the Civil War to the father of one of the soldiers at the hospital in Alexandria, Virginia
Provenance
purchased from Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc., 2015
General
To provide faster access to our materials, this finding aid was published without formal and final review. Email us at archives@ua.edu if you find mistakes or have suggestions to make this finding aid more useful for your research.
Processed by
Martha Bace, 2015
Creator
- Leonard, Chauncey (Author, Person)
Source
- Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc. (Bookseller, Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Chauncey Leonard Letter
- Status
- Completed
- Date
- August 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The University of Alabama Libraries Special Collections Repository