Slough General Hospital

Slough General Hospital was built as a barracks for garrison troops. It became a hospital in 1864, and was the last to close.
Page updated on January 10, 2022 at 2:22 PM
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History of Slough General Hospital

Duke Street, west of Hooff's Run

Slough General Hospital
Slough General Hospital, by Matthew Brady. (National Archives)

Slough General Hospital included a headquarters building, 16 barracks, a mess hall, laundry, storehouse, stable, and dead house. Originally it was the barracks for garrison troops and became a hospital in May 1864. Slough was the last general hospital to close and was dismantled in 1866.

The complex was named for Alexandria’s military governor during the war, Gen. John Slough. He was known as “an eccentric and bellicose man,” and was shot in New Mexico Territory in 1867.

General Slough

Portrait of General Slough, by Matthew Brady. National Archives.
Portrait of General Slough, by Matthew Brady. National Archives.  

In 1865, the war over, Slough took leave of Alexandria. On July 17, 1865, he wrote to citizens of the city and his soldiers:

A - to me - pleasant relationship is severed.

Believing that my services are no longer needed here, I have been, at my own request, relieved of my command as Military Governor of Alexandria.

I return to my home in the Rocky Mountains, there soon, I hope, to resume civilian pursuits.

If in the discharge of my duties here I have benefitted you, I am content. I have labored for this result. I shall ever remember with pleasurable emotions, my three years' sojourn in Alexandria.

I now say 'Good-bye' with earnest wishes for your happiness and prosperity.

BRIG. GEN. JOHN P. SLOUGH, JULY 17, 1865

Historic Images

Image 1:   

  • Image Title: Slough General Hospital
  • Image Source: National Archives
  • Photographer: Matthew Brady
  • Image Date: ca. 1863
  • Medium: photograph
  • U.S. National Archives Local Identifier: 111-B-518. Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)
  • National Archives Rights Advisory: Unrestricted.

Image 2:

  • Image Title: Portrait of General Slough
  • Image Source: National Archives
  • Photographer: Matthew Brady
  • Image Date: ca. 1860-1865
  • Medium: photograph
  • U.S. National Archives Local Identifier: 111-B-4123. Series: Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, (Record Group 111)
  • National Archives Rights Advisory: Unrestricted.

Quartermaster Map

The Quartermaster provided a plan and elevation, noting that "these buildings are similar to those of Sickel Hospital."

Slough General Hospital elevations, from the Quartermaster map. A note on the elevation indicates "these buildings are similar to those of Sickel Hospital."
A note on the elevation indicates "these buildings are similar to those of Sickel Hospital."
Slough General Hospital, Quartermaster map.
Quartermaster map showing a plan of Slough General Hospital, with key identifying the hospital buildings.

 

Location and the Site Today

Office buildings on the site of the Slough Hospital
Commercial buildings on the site of Slough General Hospital.

The hospital was on the south side of Duke Street, near Holland Lane west of Hooff Run. It was near the site of the current US Patent and Trademark Office. Archaeological excavations for the Federal Courthouse revealed no traces of the hospital complex.