The U.S. Army established a general hospital on Penn Common (now Penn Park) in the summer of 1862 using buildings erected the previous year to house a New York cavalry regiment. Refitting the facilities for medical use and greatly expanding the footprint, the army brought the first patients to York in late June. By the time the Civil War ended in 1865, more than 14,000 patients had been treated in York. Fewer than 200 died, making it one of the safest military hospitals in the country. Part of the reason was the extraordinary care given to the convalescents by the women of central York County.