One Special Nurse
|
As outlined in James McPherson's civil war book " Battle Cry for Freedom",
women of the North took the lead in nurses training and the development of
what became the United States Sanitary Commission. They helped to improve
hygenic conditions in the Union Camps and allowed female nurses to show their
courage and energy thus transforming their image in a very positive way. One
special nurse was Mary Bickerdyke. According to Ohio History Central :
"Bickerdyke was born on July 19, 1817, near Mount Vernon, Ohio. She enrolled at
Oberlin College, one of the few institutions of higher education open to women
at this time in the United States, but she did not graduate. Upon leaving
Oberlin, Bickerdyke became a nurse. She assisted doctors in Cincinnati,Ohio,
during the cholera epidemic of 1837. Ten years later, she married Robert
Bickerdyke. The couple moved to Galesburg, Illinois in 1856. Robert Bickerdyke
died two years later. Mary Bickerdyke continued to work as a nurse to support
her two young sons.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, residents of Galesburg purchased
medical supplies worth five hundred dollars for soldiers serving at Cairo,
Illinois. The townspeople trusted Bickerdyke to deliver these supplies. Upon
arriving in Cairo, Bickerdyke used the supplies to establish a hospital for the
Northern soldiers. Bickerdyke spent the remainder of the war traveling with
various Union armies, establishing more than three hundred field hospitals to
assist sick and wounded soldiers. During battles, Bickerdyke commonly risked
her own life by searching for wounded soldiers. Once darkness fell, she would
carry a lantern into the disputed area between the two competing armies and
retrieve wounded soldiers. She was present at the Battle of Shiloh, the
Atlanta Campaign, and many other engagements.
Both Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman admired Bickerdyke for
her bravery and for her deep concern for the soldiers. She also earned a
reputation for denouncing officers who failed to provide for their men. To
assist the soldiers, Bickerdyke gave numerous speeches across the North,
describing the difficult conditions that soldiers experienced. She also
solicited contributions from the civilian population. The soldiers nicknamed
Bickerdyke "Mother Bickerdyke" because of her continuing concern for them.
General Sherman asked Bickerdyke to participate in the grand review in the
nation's capital following the Civil War. She led an entire corps down
Pennsylvania Avenue. Sherman offered Bickerdyke a seat on the reviewing
stand as the parade passed by, but Bickerdyke refused. She preferred to
pass out water to the soldiers after the parade."
For a full account of the women who worked in the civil war download the
link on the authors names to the full pdf of the book,
Woman's Work in the Civil War: A Record of Heroism, Patriotism, and Patience, published in 1867
by Pierpont Brockett, Mary C. Vaughan War brings out the worst and the best in human nature. All of us and especially those working in the healing arts, with all the current political, corporate and economic constraints, should study the history of these dedicated women who understood suffering and responded with the full devotion of body, mind, heart and soul. 05262009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
see comments or
post your comment
see previous blog
go t0 next blog