Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-11-01
FAMOUS ARMY NURSE.
Career of Miss Harriet p. Dame, Who
served Through the Entire
Civil War.

Miss Harriet p. Dame, president OF
the Army Nurses association, and one
of the few women to go through the
civil war as nurse, died few days
ago. saws the New York Sun
Miss Dame was born in North Barn
stead. " H.. on January 5, 1915, the
daughter of James and Phebe Dame.
In 1856 she removed to Concord, \. H.,
and when the war came in 1861 opened
her house in that city as hospital for
the sick volunteers who came from all
parts of the state to enlist. When the
Second New Hampshire regiment was
ordered TO Portsmouth to be mustered
into service she insisted on going with
it so that she might continue the work
she had begun. and when the regiment
finally went south she accompanied it
in spite of the protests of Gov. Berry,
who declared that inasmuch as the
United States government did not and
would not recognize nurses on the
field, the journey was hazardous.
There were seven other women who
served as nurses on the field during the
war, and Miss Dame was the only one
to enter the service when the war
started and remain until the close.
During the peninsular campaign she
shared fortunes with the soldiers, her
first night at Yorktown being spent in
a feed box in the stable. At Fair Oaks
a shell tore through the top of the tent
in which she was nursing sick and
wounded. but she escaped injury. Dur
ing the retreat of the James Miss Dame
led the little army of sick who had been
in her care, wearing a heavy pair Of
rubber boots, and thin netting of
mosquito cloth covering her head. On
the march one of the soldiers dropped
dead from exhaustion, and Miss Dame
halted the procession while a grave
was dug and the dead soldier buried.
Then she placed slab of pine wood
over the mound and gave orders to
march. At the railroad station at Har-
rison's Landing soldiers were being
loaded on the train and Miss Dame in
sisted that the sick ones should have
the first chance for acconmodations.
She won her point.
During the second Bull Run cam-
paign Miss Dame had her headquarters
at Stone Church. Near there she was
taken prisoner and marched to the
headquarters of Stonewall Jackson,
who, after listening to her story and
learning her mission within the lines,
ordered a guard of eight picked men to-
escort her to the northern lines. She
soon after organized the New Hamp-
re,Reliefnssociation ,andEas sent by
Gov. Gilmore to South Carolina to in.
vestigata the condition of the northern
soldiers. Her mission was opposed
strongly by Miss Dorothy Dix and
others, on the ground that it was dam
gerous. for a woman. But Miss Dame
was obdurate and started on her jour-
ney. The result of her Investigations
was embodied in report to Surgeon
General Barnes, who promptly ordered
that the conveys Argo and Fulton be-
converted into hospital ships, and they
were the first ones used in such service.
At the battle of Gettysburg Miss
Dame did valiant service on the field,
and the week following the close of
that great battle organized the New
Hampshire Soldiers Relief associa-
ton. In the spring of 1864 she took
the field with the army of the James