The Lee-Fendall House Museum operated as the Grosvenor Branch Hospital between 1863 and 1865. While the hospital treated about one thousand patients during those two years, 100 of those men died - including Private Martin Swick of the 126th Ohio. Learn of Martin's personal life through his service during the American Civil War to his passing from his wounds all told by his distant descendant, Brent Reidenbach. In addition to the lecture, explore Lee-Fendall's newest exhibition, From Battlefield to Bedside: Alexandria's Civil War Medical History, for the chance to view a personal item owned by Martin and possibly carried with him at the time of his death at the Lee-Fendall House on May 31, 1864.
Brent Reidenbach was born and raised in west-central Ohio. Brent joined the military in 1993 and spent the next 11 years on active duty and 3 in the Virginia National Guard. Reidenbach then became a Department of Defense employee in 2004 and currently works at Marine Corps Recruiting Command in Quantico. Brent has a passion for military history, specifically the Civil War. During a visit with his father in the summer of 1989, he visited the monument to the 126th Ohio and read Martin's name for the first time. After returning to the US from Germany around 2001, he began a search into Martin to determine how the two men are related. That research has led him to multiple discoveries over the years to include how Brent is related to Martin as well as identifying various locations associated with Martin's service. Through his research, Brent has also discovered his connections to two other soldiers who served during the Civil War: John Wesley Swick of the 66th Illinois (Birge's Western Sharpshooters)and Benjamin Fisher of the 99th Ohio.
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.
