Hand's Hospital
Crafton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
On this site was located the isolation hospital erected in 1777 by Gen. Edward Hand to care for troops at Fort Pitt. Blockhouses protected the original two-story log structure.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
During the Revolutionary War, the frontier post of Fort Pitt guarded the vital forks of the Ohio, and disease was a constant threat to its garrison. In 1777 General Edward Hand ordered an isolation hospital built on this site to treat and quarantine sick and wounded troops, its log structure ringed by protective blockhouses. The precaution reflected the era's hard-won understanding that contagion could cripple an army as surely as any enemy.
Why it matters
The hospital marks the medical struggle behind frontier defense in the Revolution, where controlling disease was essential to holding the strategic Ohio gateway.
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Related people
- · General Edward Hand
Themes & tags
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