ThenRednRovernwas a side-wheel steamer that was purchased by the Confederacy duringnthe Civil War. She was what was called a “barracks ship,” a shipnthat specialized in serving as temporary housing for soldiers.
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n(Didnyou know that ships are referred to with feminine pronouns like “she”nand “her”?) n
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nThenship was seized by Union forces in 1862, and she was repaired andnrefitted to be a hospital ship. An operating room was installed, andnthere were separate kitchen facilities for the medical staff and fornpatients. Some rather up-to-date (for then) features included a steamnboiler for the laundry, bathrooms and water closets, an elevator, andngauze window blinds to keep cinders and smoke away from patients.nSeparate quarters were set up on barges for those with contagiousndiseases.
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nYounmay be picturing RednRovernas going up and down the Atlantic Coast, but actually she steamed hernway up and down the Mississippi River. The medical staff included 30nsurgeons and male nurses plus four nuns, and the patients numberednmore than 2,000. The ship was commissioned on this date in 1862 andnwas decommissioned in November of 1865.
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nBynthe way, those four nuns that served as nurses made the RednRovernthe first U.S. ship to have female nurses.
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nNowadays…
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Onenof the most interesting things about touring the aircraft carrier thenU.S.S.nMidwaynwas the realization that it was like a small town, with everything antown would need: restaurants and a church, recreation areas and anhospital, a laundromat and a dentist’s office. n
Onenof the most interesting things about touring the aircraft carrier thenU.S.S.nMidwaynwas the realization that it was like a small town, with everything antown would need: restaurants and a church, recreation areas and anhospital, a laundromat and a dentist’s office. nn
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nWithn3 to 10 thousand aboard an aircraft carrier, there is plenty to keepnthe medical staff busy. The aircraft carrier USSnDwight D. Eisenhowernhas a staff of 40, and they can do everything from removing moles tondoing open-chest surgeries. Even though there is plenty of danger ofninjury (the whole ship is made of metal, and airplanes are constantlyntaking off and landing, and of course it is possible for a militaryncraft to be in or near war zones!) and of illness (in such closenquarters, keeping contagious diseases from becoming epidemics isndifficult), the medical staff spends most of its time withnpreventative care.
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nAlsonon this date:
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Second Day of Christmas
Second Day of Christmas n
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Boxing Day
Boxing Day n
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nAnniversary of the patent for the Frisbee
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