This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battles of Antietam and South Mountain -- two of the bloodiest battles of the Maryland Campaign. Thousands of Soldiers were injured in these battles, and many of the wounded were brought to Frederick, Md., for treatment. In the weeks and months following, several of the churches in Frederick were transformed into hospitals.

To commemorate the events of September 1862, the Frederick Tourism Council in coordination with the National Museum of Civil War Medicine hosted the "One Vast Hospital" event Sept. 21-22. The event included stops at the All Saints' Episcopal Church, Bjorlee Museum & Hessian Barracks, Evangelical Lutheran Church, Quinn Chapel, Trinity Chapel & Evangelical Reformed Church, and the Frederick Visitation Academy, as all of these buildings were used as hospitals during the Civil War. The self-guided walking tour of these sites featured refreshment stops, special exhibits, living history programs, and children's activities.

In the past 150 years, military medicine has made great advancements in the treatment and care of wounded Soldiers, and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, Md., has played a role in many of these accomplishments. In light of this, the USAMRMC's U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity and Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center were invited to participate at the event with exhibits that featured exciting new developments in military medicine.

"There is little doubt the community would like to see and learn more about the accomplishments, capabilities and innovations of the medical research activities at Fort Detrick and affiliated local companies and organizations," said event volunteer Scott Fullerton. "Perhaps more importantly, KIDS LOVED IT."

More than 1,000 people visited the Academy on Friday and Saturday. The USAMMDA exhibit included the wheeled litter carrier, litter, special medical emergency evacuation device, Improved First Aid Kit (with Combat Application Tourniquet and combat gauze), adenovirus vaccine, freeze dried plasma and the MedMira. The TATRC exhibit included several medical simulators and interactive demonstrations.

Carolyn Holcomb, a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) teacher from Western Heights Middle School in Hagerstown, Md., said that she was pleased to see modern medical technology publicly displayed for educational purposes.

"It is always encouraging to see bridges being built between the science and technology community and those they seek to encourage into STEM-related careers," said Holcomb.

The USAMRMC was honored to participate in this commemorative event.