1st Sergeant Matthew De Sessa

1st Sergeant Matthew De Sessa is the Hospital Steward for the Carolina Legion Hospital.   Matthew is 18 years old and is a 12th grader at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, N.C.   He is certified in First Aid and CPR by the American Red Cross.

He plays the saxophone in the school band. He also plays the guitar and the bass guitar in a grunge band. He has a four foot long corn snake that eats live mice.

Matthew is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Crosse Creek Rifle & Pistol Club.

The Hospital Steward is the chief noncommissioned officer of the regimental hospital. In the Confederacy, his rank was that of 1st Sgt. or Orderly Sgt. He was responsible for supervising the ambulance corps, the cooks, the nurses and the other civilian and enlisted personnel. He kept records of all supplies, did all the ordering from the medical department and the commissary, and maintained the accounts and funds of the hospital. He was also expected to have a working knowledge of the apothecary and be able to dispense medicines and treatments as prescribed by the surgeons. Most importantly, he was responsible for maintaining the integrety of the stocks of medicinal whiskey! The steward often assisted during surgery, often administered anesthesia, and sometimes accompanied the surgeons onto the battlefield.