A couple of young doctors at Hampden-Sydney College envisioned establishing a school for medical and scientific learning in Richmond, Va. In 1838 The Richmond Department of Medicine, endorsed by the Medical Department of Hampden-Sydney College, rented the Union Hotel for its classrooms and infirmary and opened its doors for learning.
By 1845, the classes and patients of the medical school moved to the Egyptian building, one of the oldest examples of Egyptian architecture in the U.S., which is still in use for classes today. In 1854, the Richmond Department of Medicine broke away from its roots in Hampden-Sydney College and became an independent institution known as the Medical College of Virginia. At the onset of the Civil War, the first state-funded hospital was erected across the street from the Egyptian Building. This hospital, as well as 13 other Richmond facilities, became home to the Confederate Army. One of MCV’s doctors, Dr. Hunter McGuire, was General TJ “Stonewall” Jackson’s personal physician. The turmoil of war, inflation and worthless Confederate currency caused MCV hospital to sacrifice its ambulance horse for enough money to remain in operation
