Union soldiers were often better clothed and better fed than their Confederate counterparts. Women played a significant role in the Civil War. Although the exact number is not known, between 5,000 and 10,000 women offered their services. Nurse Ann Hastings demonstrates the competence of a Nightingale nurse, the leading trained nurses at the start of the war. By the afternoon, if routines had not been disrupted by incoming wounded patients were allowed to receive visitors. One year later, her story was picked up by a Hartford, CT publisher who issued it with a new title, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. Especially during the Civil War where women would mostly not be able to play a part in. At the Order of St John hospital in Etaples near the frontline of the battle of the Somme nurses of all grades worked very long hours. Amidst an ever extending carpet of blood and khaki, nursing sisters, V.A.D.s and orderlies attended to their vast array of patients. Once she recovered, however, she saw posters listing Frank Thompson as a deserter. Doctors in the Union Army did not agree with the acceptance of women nurses. Emma Green illustrates the Southern woman who volunteered her service, ministering to the Confederate wounded. One disguise required her to use silver nitrate to dye her skin black, wear a black wig, and walk into the Confederacy disguised as a black man by the name of Cuff. Questioning the practices the doctors performed on patients. The southerners believed that a Republican [...], The Civil War is one of the most important events in the history of the United States of America. Without exception every nurse worked until the point of collapse, skipping meals and rest periods to deal with the blood and guts of conflict. Before the Civil War started, the effectiveness of hospitals in America wasnt the best, but as the war waged on, they slowly got better and more efficient. They feel their dependence upon us for comfort and entertainment, and the difference in the wards where there in no ?lady shows how much can be done for them. First Nurse On this date in 1862 the first official female nurses; four Nuns who volunteered were serving on the US Navy hospital ship the “Red Rover”. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1992. Our editors will help you fix any mistakes and get an A+! Around 6-7 a.m., We head to receive our breakfast, as well as prepare the breakfasts for the patients. They were seen as working women viewed as objects of pity. Acceptance from medical officials was hard to come by for a woman nurse. At 9 p.m. the bell rings again, the gas is turned down and the day nurses go to bed. I like it, as it leaves me time for a morning run, which is what I need to keep well; for bad air, food, and water, work and watching, are getting to be too much for me. The AMA acknowledged the value of having skilled nursing in hospitals and hoped to avoid the use of untrained and uncontrollable volunteers. Her work in establishing the American Red Cross earned her a distinguished place in medical history. She was 500 miles from her home in Concord, Mass., alone, doing painful duties all day long and yet constantly excited. All rights reserved. Louisa May Alcott kept a journal on which she partly based her first successful book, Hospital Sketches, a fictionalized account of her time at the hospital. Two of the most notable women worked in Richmond, Va.: Mercy Street’s Mansion House Union hospital in Alexandria, Va. vividly depicts the roles of female nurses in the Civil War. At 5 p.m. everyone who could run did run for supper. She applied for the position in the guise of Franklin Thompson. On April 1861, there was no organized medical corps let alone trained nurses for the United States. Another nurse that became famous for her entries about the war was Amanda Akin. All rights reserved. Physicians and volunteer nurses did not see eye to eye. The increase in job opportunities was not only an economic growth, it increased a demand for education and training. When possible nurses were given three hours off, usually during the afternoon between 2pm and 5pm. Sometimes nurses would completely throw out prescription and use homemade treatments. Nursing was only a temporary part of their lives. These volunteers had become accustomed to the norm of seeing men with one arm or no legs. “This I like to do,” wrote Alcott, “for they put in such odd things, and express their ideas so comically, I have great fun interiorally, while as grave as possible exteriorally. Email This BlogThis! Every morning, once patients had been bathed, their wounds were carefully dressed. Other women who provided critical nursing, moral and administrative services also were to become legends: Women from various religious orders were also recognized caretakers of the sick having experienced epidemics, natural disasters and prior wars. [2], In 1867, she married Linus. Working as a nurse had not yet been established prior to the civil war. Phoebe Yates Levy Pember (1823-1913), a member of a prominent Jewish Charleston, S.C. family, was a nurse and the female administrator of the Confederacy’s largest medical facility, Chimborazo Hospital. When she was honorably discharged from her duties as a nurse in Louisville, Kentucky, she became a physician. Again, she was posing as a black laundress working for the Confederates when a packet of official papers fell out of an officer's jacket. Night nurses began their duty at 7:50pm and finished at 8am. Making their lives a little bigger than what they were before the war started. We will send an essay sample to you in 2 Hours. Some required bed baths and these were usually given by V.A.D.s, and male orderlies. Remembered as the "Angel of the Confederacy," Tompkins may have been the only woman officially commissioned in the Confederate Army. It was a huge success, selling in excess of 175,000 copies. The civil war revolutionized nursing and allowed women the opportunity to contribute to the war. These recreational activities were designed to boost staff and patient morale; and they became more important as the war progressed. Your purchase supports PBS and helps make our programming possible. A Day in the Life of Louisa May Alcott, Civil War Nurse Louisa May Alcott began the year 1863 in as strange a place as she’d ever been. Before the succession of South Carolina, its Medical Department consisted of 30 surgeons that were ranked major, a general surgeon that was ranked colonel, and 84 assistant surgeons [...], Women have not always had a life with equal rights, men usually had most of the power and had more rights than women. H. Seelye, a mechanic and a childhood friend with whom she had three children. Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the indigent mentally ill who, through a vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, created the first generation of American mental asylums.During the Civil War, she served as a Superintendent of Army Nurses. There was speculation that Edmonds may have deserted because of John Reid being discharged months earlier, and there is evidence in his diary that she had mentioned leaving before she had contracted malaria. 2020 © StudyDriver.com - Big database of free essay examples for students at all levels. She took advantage of the open spot and the opportunity to avenge her friend's death. [6], Edmonds' career as Frank Thompson came to an end when she took a trip to Berry's Brigade in order to deliver mail to Union forces. cold, poorly ventilated and dirty, with no provisions for bathing. After major battles the demand for nurses sky rocked. For the first few years allowing women into the workplace with the male medical system was war of its own. Women responded to this ad with quickness. Women from the catholic religious community had training that consist of apprenticeships with more experienced nursing sisters. Nurses, both Union and Confederate, wrote memoirs of their experiences providing an intimate and personal look at the war from varied points of view. Rather than return to the army under another alias or as Frank Thompson, risking execution for desertion, she decided to serve as a female nurse at a Washington, D.C. hospital for wounded soldiers run by the United States Christian Commission. This legislation granted positions to women in the military hospitals and paying monthly wages. The establishment of the nursing healthcare unit provided help to those who seeked medical attention. About 600 sisters from 12 Catholic orders served in the Civil War. The small quantity of women in the nursing role is solely a repercussion of the views society had on women. The term nurse was used very loosely during the war. They saw much success with this approach to spreading the word about women’s rights. These were not completely empty accusations due to women having minimal experience. We write our letters and in our diaries if we so desire and then freshen ourselves for the day. Writing was not the only profession women went into after the war. They received no government payment for their service during The Civil War. [9], Canadian-born woman who is known for serving as a man with the Union Army during the American Civil War, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Fanny Campbell, the Female Pirate Captain, "Women Soldiers of the Civil War, Part 2", "Sarah Emma Edmonds: Michigan Women's Hall of Fame page", The Mysterious Private Thompson: The Double Life of Sarah Emma Edmonds, Civil War Soldier, Biography from Spartacus Educational which has primary sources, DeAnne Blanton - Women soldiers of the Civil War (Part 3), Online version of "Nurse and Spy in the Union Army", Online version of "Unsexed; or, The Female Soldier", Online version of "The female spy of the Union Army", Sarah Emma Edmonds a.k.a. They were criticized for attending to the needs of their patients, disregarding doctors orders. The building of hospitals opened up job opportunities to those seeking jobs. These were all positive changes for the women who risk their lives to help the medical system during the war. Georgetown’s Union Hotel. [2], Edmonds' interest in adventure was sparked by Maturin Murray Ballou's book Fanny Campbell, the Female Pirate Captain',[3] telling the story of Fanny Campbell and her adventures on a pirate ship during the American Revolution while dressed as a man. At the time the term nurse carried no real weight behind it. She felt that it was her duty to serve the United States, as it was her new country. That way the fighting lies, and I long to follow. “Till noon I trot, trot, giving out rations, cutting up food for helpless “boys,” washing faces, teaching my attendants how beds are made or floors are swept, dressing wounds, taking Dr. F. P.’s orders (privately wishing all the time that he would be more gentle with my big babies), dusting tables, sewing bandages, keeping my tray tidy, rushing up and down after pillows, bed-linen, sponges, books, and directions, till it seems as if I would joyfully pay down all I possess for fifteen minutes’ rest.”. Didn't find the paper that you were looking for? Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888), was hired by Dorothea Dix and served only for six weeks in late 1862 as a nurse at a hospital in Georgetown, DC. Edmonds was laid to rest a second time in 1901 with full military honors.[2]. Their tasks were often mundane and cumbersome. A male disguise allowed Edmonds to eat, travel, and work independently.
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