Union Soldier Captured at Gettysburg

Did you know …

Robert Beecham spent time in military prisons and hospitals during the Civil War. He joined the Union army in May of 1861.

In a Civil War Hospital

He began the war as a private and later became an officer.  In 1862, he spent time in military hospitals. For the first week, he was too sick to get out of bed. After this, he got up for meals. There weren’t any chairs at the dining tables, so patients ate standing up.

The same meal was served at breakfast and supper – a slice of bread and a cup of coffee or tea. At every meal, they were given a teaspoon of salt. A slice of bread and a cup of vegetable soup was provided for lunch. Instead of the soup, sometimes a potato and a bite of meat were given to the patients. Robert thought the meals were too small for patients to grow strong again after an illness.

The hospital was neat and clean. He stayed about three weeks.

Later that year, Robert caught malaria, a contagious disease with fever and chills. He went to a different hospital where he received the same type of meals.

Wounded soldiers arrived at the hospital as Robert improved. Many nurses working at the hospital were sent to the battlefield. Robert was assigned to take care of a group of seven or eight patients.  None were badly wounded, so Robert helped them.

Captured at Gettysburg

Robert fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was captured on July 1, 1863, the first day of the battle, and taken to a Confederate prison.  He remained there until August of 1863, when he was paroled along with several hundred other prisoners.

He returned to the war and was wounded in a battle in July of 1864. He was captured a second time and remained in a different prison until February of 1865, a couple of months before the war ended.

Robert had many experiences during the war, from fighting battles and leading troops to spending time in hospitals and military prisons.

– Sandra Merville Hart