Hunt Phelan Used as Western Sanitary Hospital

  • Title: Hunt Phelan Used as Western Sanitary Hospital
  • Date: 1863
  • Description: This oval photograph depicts a white-columned house with substantial outbuildings and grounds, with a number of men and a horse and carriage in foreground. Two small round photographic portraits of a woman and a man are visible below the larger image with an inscription of their names with the titles matron and superintendent.
  • Historical Note: The home of William Hunt, just outside of downtown Memphis, was occupied by both Confederate and Federal officers during the war. The inscription on this photograph indicates that it was taken over by the Western Sanitary Commission on 8 February 1863 for use as a "soldier's home," under the jurisdiction of the matron and superintendent pictured here. The imposing brick mansion is also thought to have been a Freedmen's School for several years before it was returned to the Hunt family. The Freedman's Bureau, also known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, was initiated by President Lincoln in March 1865 to support newly freed people. It was intended to last only one year but was in operation until 1871.
  • Institution: Tennessee State Museum
  • Publisher: Digital Initiatives, James E. Walker Library, Middle Tennessee State University
  • Rights: Images reproduced on this website are intended for individual, educational use only. For research inquiries about specific objects or requests for high resolution images, contact the Tennessee State Museum.
  • URL: http://cdm15838.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/shades
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