Faculty Sponsor: Jennifer Lambe

In 1852, Congress funded the first federal psychiatric hospital to treat mentally ill residents of the District of Columbia as well as mentally ill Army and Navy servicemen. After the Civil War began in 1861, the hospital transitioned from serving a mixed population to serving 87 percent veterans. Sarah will use letters from the hospital’s superintendent, annual reports, Congressional debate records, and existing secondary source literature to examine the treatment of veterans. She hopes her work can contribute to the contemporary understanding of Veterans Affairs and the history of their work.