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New Haven’s Civil War Hospital: A history of Knight U.S. General Hospital, 1862-1865. Presentation held on April 16th, 2015.

Dr. Ira Spar discussed his new book, New Haven’s Civil War Hospital: A history of Knight U.S. General Hospital, 1862-1865. The presentation was held in Memorial Hall at the Connecticut State Library, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT. Dr. Spar, told the story of the doctors, staff, soldiers, and families who were instrumental in the design and function of Knight U.S. General Hospital in New Haven, Conn. The military hospital was built in response to the tremendous need to care for the wounded soldiers of the Union Army during the Civil War, an era before the identification of bacteria, viruses, or universal protection from bodily fluids, when more soldiers died from non-combat related diseases than from battlefield wounds. Using excerpts from letters, diaries and newspaper articles, Dr. Spar provided an insightful look at the lives of surgeons Jonathan Knight, Pliny Adams Jewett and Timothy Beers Townsend and the hardships they endured during the American Civil War. Dr. Spar’s talk is part of the State Library and Museum of Connecticut History’s Third Thursday BrownBag Lunchtime speaker series. This series features a variety of speakers on various aspects of Connecticut History. All programs are free and open to the public and attendees should feel free to bring their lunch. Dr. Ira Spar, is a member of the Hartford Medical Society, the Hartford Civil War Round table, and the Society of Civil War Surgeons. He served two years of active duty in the U.S. Army including battalion surgeon in the Republic of South Vietnam, 1969-1971, and has spent his medical career dealing with trauma as an orthopedic and hand surgeon. He lives in Farmington,