Hospital ships serve a much needed purpose in naval battles. They may be used for many different purposes, such as storage for medical supplies, treatment of the sick and wounded, and even as a holding area for the casualties of sea battles. Hospital ships in recent times, however, have been far better and extremely improved in comparison to the ships in ancient history. The comfort, food, equipment, cleanliness, and services provided today cannot even compare to the horrible conditions that were experienced by those unfortunate soldiers years ago.

The ancient Greeks and Romans first show record of the use of hospital ships in sea battles. The Greeks used a ship with three banks of oars on each sid

John Clayton Taylor was born on September 20, 1888, in Greenville, North Carolina. He attended school at Buies Creek Academy, Atlantic Christian College, and the Medical College of Virginia at Richmond and enlisted in the Navy in 1917 as an assistant surgeon. He began to do perform his duties as a surgeon onboard the U.S.S. PLATTSBURG. This ship made eleven trips to the United States from Europe during the war. John Clayton Taylor served his country and survived World War I only to be shot accidentally on a naval base in Norfolk, Virginia. He died on January 30, 1921.

The ships used during World War I were much improved from the ones used in previous wars. The ships used during this war are very similar to the ones used in the present. They varied largely in size from a 4,182 bed ship to small ones used in canals. Many of the hospital ships in World War I were torpedoed and sunk. This led the countries to paint the ships with combat colors and place them in convoys along with the other navy vessels.

During the time that he served aboard the naval hospital ship, Taylor corresponded extensively with his family and especially his sister, Alya Taylor. His correspondence and journal entries include accounts of his work aboard the U.S.S. PLATTSBURG, along with sightseeing done in Europe and America. The collection was submitted to the special collections by Miss Alya Ray Taylor in the form of correspondence, photographs and a diary.

John Clayton Taylor wrote many letters and spoke in his diary about his life aboard the navy hospital ship the U.S.S. PLATTSBURG. One particular letter written on July 9, 1918 describes one of his travels aboard the U.S.S. Plattsburg. He writes the letter from sea saying he expects to reach the states soon in about a month’s time. In this letter he details a trip to London saying that he visited many places, such as St. Paul’s Cathe

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