Mathews County Courthouse Square is home to 8 historical markers, which makes it a great place to explore, should you be passing through the area. One in particular honors a remarkable woman by the name of Sally Louisa Tompkins.
This marker located at the intersection of Church Street and Court Street reads:
Sally Tompkins, born at Poplar Grove 3 miles south of here, was the only woman granted a commission in the Army of the Confederacy. “Captain Sally” founded and directed Robertson Hospital in Richmond where over 1300 Confederate soldiers were cared for between 1861 and 1865. Her grave and monument are located in Christ Church Cemetery on Williams Wharf Road two miles to the south. [Note: Tompkins received an appointment as captain in the Confederate Army on 9 Sep. 1861, but no formal commission for her has been found.]
Tompkins resided in Mathews at Poplar Grove until around 1848, when the family sold the property. From there, she relocated to Norfolk and pursued an education at the Norfolk Female Institute. After the passing of her mother, Sally once again relocated, this time to Richmond.
Shortly after the first battle of Manassas in 1861, Tompkins established a small, private hospital in the home of Judge John Robertson located on the corner of 3rd and Main Streets. The Robertson hospital, as is was called, stood out among other similar establishments based on the high rate at which its patients were being rehabilitated and returned to military service.
Word of the hospital’s success soon reached Jefferson Davis and he decided to formally commission her as a captain in 1861. She was the first woman to be commissioned by the Confederacy. Sally was offered payment for her work at the hospital, but kindly refused. The Robertson Hospital served the Richmond area until 1865.
Sally remained an active member in the Richmond community until she eventually relocated to Port Royal. She returned to Richmond for the last 11 years of her life, which she devoted to serving at the Home for Needy Confederate Women. Captain Sally L. Tompkins died on July 25, 1916 and was buried with military honors at Kingston Episcopal Parish Church in Mathews.
Information courtesy of Mathews County Historical Society.
