The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-02-07
NINISTERING ANGELS.
The Touching "reminiscences Of a
Devoted Army Nurse.



In June, 1861, it was nv privilege to be
numbered with those selected by the Ladies'
Central Association of Relief to attend tho
surgical practice in the New York city hos
pitals. that we might be the better pre-
pared to take our places as nurses in tho
army hospitals which were in anticipation.
Daily, for six weeks, / visited the different
wards, witnessed the operations, learned the
mysteries Of handaging, etc.
Many remember the battle-crv, - On 70 Rich
mOnd which filed the daily papers of july,
1861. The programme was: One decisive bat
tie" then Richmond would be ours and tho
Confederate congress captured. Sharing the gen
eral feeling was anxious todO my part in the
"short struggle" in the way of caring for tho
sick and the wounded. Little did then think
that my services would be needed till the last
of September, 1865.
On the morning Of July q, 1861. I read with
mingled feeling of pain and pleasure the
following:
RooM ~ fsr HALL.
VIII Miss Dada call a. possible &c the
Cooper Institute this afternoon and bring Miss
E BLAcxwErL.
The pain felt was the realization Of the long
dreaded fact that the sword had been uslsheath-
ed the war had actually begun, and that fathers.
husbands and brothers we're already dead. dying
and wounded ON the battlefield, whom mothers,
wives and sisters could not reach and the
pleasure was the prospect Of soon being amid
those busy scenes binding up the wounds and
doing with my might ali that could be done for
the comfort Of our eountry's defenders.
RumoFs were rife. Some sad: 3" We have
been beaten at Bull Run" Others said No;
for we have an army of such magnitude"
Miss Hall-whO IS now Mrs. Susan Hall
Barry of san Francisco. Cal.-and were soon
at Cooper Institute. where we were instructed
to be at the Jersey City ferry and take the 5
I O'Clock p. N. train for Washington and report
TO Miss Dix. At the appointed time we were
on the way to the seat Of war Tuesday
morning. reaching Washington, we found
all excitement Reporting 70 Miss Dix, the
only question she asked was Are you ready
to work ?" Answering in the affirmative, she
added: You are needed in Alexandria"
EN- ROUTE no ALEXANDRIA.
/ Time passed slowly. and we could hardly
I wait till the afternoon, when. seated in
hack, we started for Alexandria Our
( progress was slow. The streets we're filed
with soldiers, worn out and hungry, Struggling
! in from the field Of battle. On the Long
+ Bridge we were obliged to stop and allow
retreating army wagons TO pass. Seeing
newly equipped regiment marching through
/ the streets Of northern city was one thing,
and that same regiment subsequently marching
/ IN disorder and confusion, their uniforms seiied
=
was quite another thing Across the bridge "a
some little cabins By the roadside, we first
saw the wounded, to whom We could only give
/ a word of cheer aud pass on
We rode through the pOnderous gates Of Fort
Runyon, in the direction Of Alexandra. Fre-
quently we met officers, OF whom we inquired
/ if there was any danger of the approach Of the
enemy; if the roads were safe. etc. The
town we reached IN safety. We stopped in
front Of dark stone building on Washington
/ street, which was formerly a seminary but
now hospital filed with the wounded. At
the door we were rather uuceremoniously
stopped by guard, who informed Us we could
not enter. Soon, however, Dr. sheldon, the
surgeon IN charge. made his appearance, who
admitted us and accepted our services, saying
as he led the way to the rooms where were the
wounded: :" Here are the men needing such
care as women can best0w-a kind word
drink of water, their wounds bathed anything
for their comfort viii be acceptable" We
found some on beds, Others on MATTRESSES on the
no0rs. Many were still covered with the Dust OF
the retreat, because wounded arms could not
wash faces and wounded legs could NOT move
about; SO We were soon at work.
PLENTY OF wORK.
Those who entered hospitals at o later day
have no idea OF the unsettled state Of things that
we found. At this time no soldiers were de-
tailed for nurses, and were not till in N0vem-
I
every hour, faces. hands, and feet to wash,
beds TO arrange, food and water TO distribute,
medicines TO give, and. IN fact, everything to
do for the sick and the wounded. with no
help except that Of cOntrabaRd, who assisted
about the various wards and who, saOn becou-
ing weary of steady employment would leave;
when another one would be found who IN sura
would take his departure Thus for weeks,
day and night, we were kept constantly busy.
at first che food was pretty poor. but it could
not be helped The soldiers would get 50 tired
OF bread, butter, and tea for supper, and bread
and coffee for breakfast This was all they had,
and we had Just the same. Afterwards. the
good people Of the North, through the Sanitary
Commission and other agencies, sent Us some
jellies, fruits &c, which added greatly to the
comfort of the soldiers.
There was no chaplain in our hospital
Those connected with the regiments abOut
would sometimes come IN and visit the wards.
None Of the pastors OF the churches in town
ever came to visit the sick and wounded, ex-
. eept one Roman Catholic priest. Neither did
, the white people come in, but many good Chris
; tian eOlOred people often came and br0ughs
something good for the soldiers saying as they
did so, . / pray for you every day One e0lored
family, who had the care Of a large house and
gardens near by, supplied us with bouquets Of
beautiful flowers.
THE FIRST DEATH.
III Alt NslfuS dSsi-icA 10 Mss Slst-4 dllst
self none of the wounded died till August 18th.
Amos SchOheld, OF the Is5 AIinneS0ta, who had
been wounded through the neck. the ball COM
ing out of his mouth and knocking ou5 several
teeth, was the first. The earliest entry IN his
diary was Tuesday, april %. 1861: / left
, home and friends to-day to enlist IA the com
J pany from GoodhGe county, to serve my e0Un-
t try. to fight for God and liberty" He did his
work well. He suffered patiently, aud, at
} | last bled to death. Towards the last his
wound would not allow him to speak, but he
wrote on a piece of paper, write to my
) mother thai die happy IN Christ"
2 Weeks and months passed on. Changes
were taking place all the time. The hospital
was kept full. When one left, whether Us con-
yaleseent or by death, another took bis place.
. Our hospital bore good name. According to
: the number of patients we had the fewest
I deaths of any in the district. More died from
4 disease than from wounds, and STILL of mum
: Der OF severe eases of typhoid fever in my
/ ward in December and January, only enc died.
One evening in September / was passing
: through the ward above mine Tor a IeT mo-
. nentS, when young Maine soldier, suffering
5 from diphtheria looked mp and asked ~ a whls-
$ per: : Cant yoa get SOME one to come and Tan
). I lne?" l sat down and tanned him ier a while,
2 and as ! was leaving to give some met.leine to
one IN nv Own ward he said: Tel the doctor