Introduction
The United States has compensated soldiers who were injured while fighting for their country since the Revolutionary War. It was not until after the Civil War, however, that the government established the first federally funded program, the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (NHDVS), to care for Veterans who served during times of war. Using early 20th century postcards, images, and newspaper clippings, this exhibit tells the story of and showcases daily life at the NHDVS.
NHDVS Locations and Branch Establishment Dates
History of the NHDVS
Congress passed the bill creating the NHDVS on March 3, 1865 and President Abraham Lincoln signed it into law on the same day. The act established the first federal program to meet the medical and rehabilitative needs of America’s Veterans. The NHDVS set out to provide a home-like environment while also incorporating military structure. The first national home, called the Eastern Branch, opened in 1866 at Togus, Maine. Ten more branches were added to the NHDVS system over the next 60-plus years. After World War I, the focus of the national homes shifted from residential care to providing short-term medical treatment for returning soldiers and Veterans
NHDVS, Veterans Administration, Veterans Affairs
The NHDVS branches were supervised by a Board of Managers who were appointed by and reported directly to Congress. In 1930, Congress ordered the consolidation of the three federal organizations serving Veterans—the NHDVS, the Bureau of Pensions, and the Veterans Bureau—into a single independent agency, the Veterans Administration. Within the VA, management of the national homes became the responsibility of the Office of the Assistant Administrator in Charge of Medical and Domiciliary Care, Construction, and Supplies.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation elevating the Veterans Administration to cabinet-level status. Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs oversees three agencies: Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemetery Administration.
Postcard History
Initially sold as souvenirs, postcards in the United States started with cards sold as souvenirs and exploded in popularity as an entertaining collectible. The period 1905-1915 is considered their Golden Age in the U.S. with millions of postcards purchased and mailed in the US. The 1906 cartoon (above) comments on the American publicobsession with postcards.
Today, these vintage postcards from the NHDVS serve as an important source of historical information and show the national homes both as a place where Veterans received care and as tourist attractions.
Postcard History: Time Periods
Private Mailing Card Period 1898-1901
Postcard Period: 1901-1907
- In December 1901, the Postmaster General ordered the term “Post Card” replace the term “Private Mailing Card.”
Divided Back Period: 1907-1915
- In March 1907, postal regulations allowed messages to be written on the same side as the addresses and the back was split in two.
White Border Period: 1915-1930
Called the “white border period” because of the white border around the picture. Americans purchased more postcards printed in the US because WWI prevented the sale imports from Germany. The white border also saved ink when printing.
Linen Period: 1930-1945
Photochrome Period: 1945-Present
Campus Life
The Soldier's Home is a "living monument;" one upon which the war-torn veteran may gaze with pleasurable emotion as he proudly contemplates it and exclaims: "I live in the hearts of my countrymen!"
J.C. Gobrecht, author, History of the National Home of Disabled Volunteer Soldiers: With a Complete Guide-book to the Central Home, at Dayton, Ohio
The (Military) Home Like Atmosphere
The NHDVS branches were designed to create a home-like atmosphere while providing medical and other rehabilitative services Veterans needed, with the goal of restoring their self-reliance. To accomplish this end, residents of the homes held jobs, within the limits of their disabilities, helping the campus run. While creating a nurturing, domestic environment was the goal, the homes still ran on military structure, with the residents wearing issued uniforms and belonging to military style units.
Job Training & Continued Learning
The NHDVS provided veterans with opportunities to learn new skills and trades that could help them find work outside of campus. The school offered classes needed to become teachers, bookkeepers, and other jobs requiring education. NHDVS schools faced the challenge of instructing adults and teaching the veterans new skills to adapt to their disabilities. Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs continues to provide educational and vocational rehabilitation for American Veterans.
In this school men who have lost the right arm are taught to write with the left hand. Some are taught book-keeping, and others still prepared for teaching school, so that they go out in the world again and earn their own living.”- J.C. Gobrecht, History of the NHDVS
Mealtime
A bugle call signaled NHDVS residents to meals. Some dining halls could seat over 1,000 people at once, but even then, meals required multiple shifts to feed everyone. Keeping the veterans at the Central Branch in Dayton supplied with enough coffee at meals required five 80-gallon caldrons. To make soup for the veterans, four 100-gallon tanks were required.
Sample Menu:
Breakfast: Corned beef, potatoes, bread, butter, coffee
Dinner: Macaroni soup, boiled beef, potatoes, bread, crackers
Supper: Mush and sirup [sic], warm biscuit, butter, cheese, tea.
Churches
Much like the chapel buildings on military installations today, chapels on NHDVS campuses were used by multiple religions. Most important, the chapels provided residents a place to seek religious comfort. They also were the site of memorial services conducted by chaplains bidding farewell to brothers-in-arms.
In J.C. Gobrecht’s History of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers he writes, “No other instance of the kind can be found, in this or in any other country, where Protestants and Catholics worship in harmony in the same church.”
Entertainment/Community Relationship
Relationship with the Community
The NHDVS, while purposely set a distance from the nearest town, was connected to their locals. The surrounding communities often used of the NHDVS buildings, as evidenced by a 1906 article from the Daily Press (Newport News, VA). A local school used the Southern Branch theater building to hold a commencement ceremony while the NHDVS band played the music. The community connection extended to welcoming tourists and outside citizens for concerts and other events.
The NHDVS provided homes for America’s Veterans but they also became tourist destinations for the public. The photograph (below) is from a “Balloon Route” trolley tour group to the Pacific Branch. They would pose for a group picture which could then be purchased at the end of their day. Other tourists visited residents to enjoy the campus grounds for a picnic.
Medical Care
Hospitals & Medical Care
Like the VA benefit process today, Veterans seeking entrance into the NHDVS presented their discharge and statement of disability. After medical officers certified the disability was traced to the Veteran’s service, the request was presented to the Home manager for admittance. In many cases, in order to receive medical care, the Veteran had to reside on campus. If the Veteran’s family lived nearby, the resident would receive a “sleep out” pass. First-person accounts of NHDVS hospitals describe top quality furniture and supplies along with up-to-date medical technology.
"The beds are single iron cots, covered with superb hair mattresses almost as soft as down, and far more healthful. The sheets are linen and the blankets of fine wool. Each cot is covered with a white counterpane." J.C. Gobrecht, History of the NHDVS
Veteran Trauma
While the term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not have been used at the NHDVS, there are indications the Homes were trying to help Veterans overcome their war-related trauma.
The use of alcohol was a concern at many Homes. One way the NHDVS tried to discourage drinking off campus was to provide controlled drinking at beer halls on campus. The profits from selling alcohol then went to supporting the entertainment fun. Despite offering drinking on campus, temperance was taught and encouraged of the residents.
Saying Goodbye
Leaving Through Discharge
Sometimes residents obtained an honorable discharge because they transferred new skills, they gained from NHDVS jobs and schooling to find employment outside the campus. However, residents could always apply for readmission if they found themselves once again unable to provide for their own support. Residents also had the option to go on furlough to seek employment. Finally, residents could be discharged from the homes for disorderly conduct or desertion. They were eligible to apply for readmission, but their odds of success were significantly lower than those who had received an honorable discharge.
Last Rites
The inescapable last act at the NHDVS is saying the final goodbye to brothers-in-arms. In some cases, there were daily funerals as Civil War veterans aged. The Home would notify families of the resident’s passing and if they did not claim the body, it would be buried at the Home cemetery with full military honors. Fellow residents provided the escort of the deceased resident to the cemetery via a caisson, accompanied by a NHDVS band, and firing squad.
Conclusion
Throughout the nation's history, the VA and its predecessor agencies have taken care of America’s Veterans. The NHDVS system has evolved from residential homes to, under VA management, medical centers delivering mostly outpatient care. Education and rehabilitative programs have always been a part of VA from the earliest schools on NHDVS campuses to the GI Bill and employment services offered to Veterans today.
The “Golden Age” of postcards that existed during the early 20th century provides a window into what life was like at the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.
Sources
Cobb, Edward L.. Optic Views and Impressions of the National Soldiers' Home, South Branch N. H. D. V. S., Near Hampton, Virginia, as Seen and Described by One of Its Members. United States: E.L. Cobb, 1910. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Optic_Views_and_Impressions_of_the_Natio/l6V820STWOkC?hl=en&gbpv=1.
Gobrecht, J.C. History of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers: With a Complete Guide-book to Central Home, at Dayton, Ohio. United States: United Brethren printing establishment, 1875. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/BSoVAAAAYAAJ?hl=en.
“Greetings from the Smithsonian A Postcard History.” Smithsonian Institution Archives. Accessed December 9, 2020. https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/postcard/postcard-history.
Hudak, Tim. “VA Domiciliary Care Programs Celebrate 150th Anniversary: Domiciliary Care is the VA’s Oldest Program.” VAntage Point (blog). March 13, 2015. https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/17699/va-domiciliary-care-programs-celebrate-150th-anniversary/.
“Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs SharePoint.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: internal site, Accessed December 10, 2020.
Ploppert, Jamie R. and Paul Smits. “The History and Origins of VA’s Domiciliary Care Program: From The National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers To Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs 1865-2013.” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: internal report; available from National Veterans Affairs History Center Archives, May 2014.
“Postcard Era History.” Chicago Postcard Museum. Accessed December 9, 2020. http://www.chicagopostcardmuseum.org/postcard_era_history.html.