On the centennial of the death of Mathews County’s native daughter Capt. Sally Louisa Tompkins, CSA, the Mathews County Historical Society will unveil the newly conserved and restored coat worn by the woman who ran Richmond’s Robertson Hospital during the Civil War.

The unveiling will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 23, at Tompkins Cottage, across from the historic court green.

The circa 1865 coat was the 11th selected out of 25 nominees in the 2015 Virginia Association of Museums Top 10 Most Endangered Artifacts in Virginia online survey. The program raises awareness of the state’s treasures and encourages support for conservation of these artifacts.

Tompkins established the private Robertson Hospital in Richmond in a house owned by a local judge. It could accommodate 25 patients at a time, and between 1861 and 1865, she and other local women cared for more than 1,300 wounded soldiers. Tompkins insisted on a high level of cleanliness, which kept the death rat...