Grosvenor Branch Hospital: The Confiscation of the Lee-Fendall House

The Lee-Fendall House is one of the oldest homes in Alexandria, VA. Built in 1785, it has a close family connection to Robert E. Lee (who grew up across the street). During the Civil War, the city was occupied by Union forces. Lee-Fendall was confiscated in April 1863 for use as a Union military hospital and renamed Grosvenor Branch. It remains one of the few Civil War hospitals in Alexandria that one can enter. Using its medical ledgers, this lecture will explore the hospital’s daily operations and soldiers’ experiences, delving into how medical history was made at Grosvenor Branch – where one of only two successful blood transfusions occurred during the War. Attendees will also learn of the political divisions that impacted those who lived at Lee-Fendall, the dynamics of a Union-occupied city, and view examples of how both Union and Confederate prisoners were treated at Grosvenor Branch.

Madeline Feierstein is a docent at the Lee-Fendall House Museum in Alexandria, VA. She is a local historian specializing in Civil War military hospitals and prisons. A founding member of the museum’s Civil War Research Team, Madeline created its popular Civil War Hospital Tour and leads projects to document the museum’s time as a hospital. Madeline is also a full-time middle and high school history teacher in Fairfax County, VA and a current graduate student at Southern New Hampshire University pursuing a Master’s in American History. She works alongside Dave Heiby at Gravestone Stories to conduct tours of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex and Alexandria National Cemetery.

Tickets are $10 to the general public and free for museum members. Members please call at (703) 548-1789 to reserve your tickets. It is highly recommended to book tickets in advance as space is limited.