Imagine, being in the midst of the Civil War as a nurse on army base: always being fearful of being attacked,

having soldiers continuously be rushed in with horrendous battle wounds, screaming in agony to be cured, and living in poor conditions. The life for an Army nurse in this time period was not easy; in fact, not many could do it. Some say the nurse is just as brave as the soldiers out there on the battlefield. Some of these nurses wrote journals or kept diaries, with in depth stories about these occurrences, while others were acknowledged in the papers. People might have wondered, how did one become an Army nurse back then? In the article The Army School of Nursing, it explains how nurses were dispersed into the Army. It is explained how the nurses were separated: the top notch nurses and the ones that could use more training. Only the top notch nurses in this school were called by the military officials to go overseas (Jamme, pg. 179). As the war went on, they found they were in need of more and more nurses: over 50,000 nurses to be exact. Thus, the need for nurses became great, and everyone was not cut out for the job. When it came to soldiers, we had to make more and more soldiers, and now we are making them out of eighteen-year-old-boys. Likewise, must we now make more nurses (Jamme, pg. 180). I feel that this information is accurate and interesting. The need for nurses is not as immediate and desperate as it was back in 1918, but it is still present. This article explains how a nurses work is hard, they get up at the crack of dawn and take care of people and do not stop until the job is done, even if it is at dusk. This statement clearly states to me that the work ethic and determination back then was extremely more intact than it is now days. Another point in this article made was that a nurse attends class for only four hours a day, and then is on duty for eight more hours of the day; meaning they are in a classroom setting, as well as out in the workforce obtaining hands on training. This article has led me to realizing that the nursing

system back then should be brought back to present days: the hard working, the hands on training, less desk hours and more clinical, and more compassion and determination to nurse the soldiers back to good health. Civil War nurses mostly started merging from New York City after the rise of the Red Cross, according to The American Journal of Nursing. The government at Washington realized that women were needed as nurses and they realized that women were needed as nurses and they recognized that it was equally necessary that someone should decide upon their qualifications for their work and should direct their efforts (Oates, pg. 207). Along with this newly recognized factor of Army nursing, at the beginning, there were particular restrictions. For example, now woman under the age of thirty could be accepted. They did not have to wear uniforms, but their dresses must be brown or black, with no bows, no curls, and no hoop skirts (Oates, pg. 210). I find this statement to be confusing, because in the other article I studied, it stated how there was such a need for Army nurses, and they were taking a plethora of them in and had little restrictions. This article may be referring to just one specific branch of more importance, but the author is not very specific herself. However, the opinions and statements in this article have interested me and give very detailed descriptions. This article also explains the after-life of the Civil War nursing. It states that after the war was over, most of these nurses went back to, now broken homes, and took their burdens and gruesome memories with them (some suffering from what is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder), while other nurses went back home and used the experience to pursue their nursing career and use the skills they learned, as well as teaching it to others. I find the nurses that used those traumatic visions and experiences in a positive way to save more lives, are the true heroes.

The Indiana Women Nurses in the Civil War were explained to be almost as angels sent from Heaven to the men of the Civil War. While the men were at war, the women of this region formed a group that did everything they could to support not only the soldiers, but their families as well. They were not only fearless, skilled nurses, but support groups for the soldiers families. They would take it in their hands to provide food, clean clothing, winter supplies, childcare and just a reliable friend for these people and their community. The story of these Indiana nurses and women is truly an inspiring one. However, even with the kindness and hard work of these women, diseases started to spread within these military camps and hospitals and even nurses were being affected every day. Nearly broken from this chaos, these women turned to the inspiring woman named Florence Nightingale, who was a leader of several groups of women nurses on the battlefields of brutal wars six years before (Seigel, pg. 2). I feel that Florence Nightingale was a huge role model and inspiration to not only women of that time period, but also now. Her courageous and strong leadership qualities helped thousands of people. One of the sicknesses listed that had killed several Indiana nurses was the outbreak of smallpox, and it had me thinking: how many lives would have been saved if the technology we have today was excelled back then and they had the vaccines we do today? That is why I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article: it made me think and inspired me to be a better person and a better nurse, myself. It was written very well and gave interesting key points. It made me feel like I was actually there in that situation that took place centuries ago. The journal article also gave pictures of all the women that were mentioned, as well as magazine clippings of the events that took place. The article of Harriet Whetten is based on a diary that was kept from this young nurse during the Civil War. Harriet Douglas Whetten, whose letters chronicling her experiences

during the Civil War appear below, served as a Sanitary Commission nurse in the hospital transport service during the spring and summer of 1862. Very little was known about this brave and literate woman. (Whetten, pg. 131). This statement had me thinking: how many people surviving in these massive, historical events that only kept journals of their brave acts go unnoticed? This woman is a near perfect example of the word integrity. She travelled from ships, following her fathers footsteps of being a sailor. She wrote letters addressing any problem she seen and looked for any opportunity to better it. This hard-working woman also helped many generals find their next routes into the war, giving advice and being very well educated on the different continents and military bases. One could say she was the brains behind the war. This article is one of my favorites to review, because it gives the actual letters she sent to these aspiring leaders. The article also gives maps of the routes she travelled and advised. There were pictures of the different sailboats used and where the technology/industry stood at that period of time. The author made an extremely visual outlook on this article, and it helped me follow along and see where everything was taking place. In conclusion, the women of the Civil War played just as important of a role as the men fighting for what they believed in. The women served as courageous medical assistants, caretakers, support systems, resource providers as well as housewives. The articles I have read told stories of just some of the many brave nurses that were fighting for their country and their mens health. I was given timelines, interesting facts, important names, pictures of some of these women, pictures of their living conditions and an insight on what their daily lives looked like. Being a young nurse starting out in this workforce myself, it was very helpful and inspiring to read about these womens journeys and courage.

Works Cited

Jamme, A.C. (1918, Dec.). The Army School of Nursing. The American Journal of Nursing. Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 179-184.

Oates, L. (1928, Mar.). Civil War Nurses. The American Journal of Nursing. Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 207-212.

Seigel, B.P. (1990, Mar.). She Went to War: Indiana Women Nurses in the Civil War. Indiana Magazine of History. Vol. 86, No. 1, pp. 1-27.

Whetten, D.H & Hass, H.P. (1964-1965). A Volunteer Nurse in the Civil War: Harriet Douglas Whetten. The Wisconsin Magazine of History. Vol. 48,

The Letters of

No. 2, pp. 131-151.

Giesburg, J. (2009, Sept.). Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Front. University of North Carolina Press : North Carolina.

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