Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-07
ONE W0MAN'S WORK
WAS GODSEND TO SOLDIERS I'M
ALEXANDRIA HOSPITAL.
Ill in Philadelphia and Unable to At
tend Encampment, Her Heart
Is Here.

| Mrs. Craig F. Dye of 500 Green street.
Germantown, Philadelphia. is not able TO
| be present at the G. A r. encampment. but
| her heart is with the veterans. She is a
member OF the Association of Veteran Army
Nurses of the Civil War. From her bed OF
illness she dictated the following to an
Evening Star correspondent:
Following the battles of Bull Run and
Chantilly the wounded remained for week
or more on the ground. some with limbs
amputated. some as they fell. Mrs. Miss
milford of Alexandria, after repeated eff
forts. obtained the necessary ambulances
and wagons to bring the suffering into
Alexandria on Friday
Groans Pierced the Air
THE wounded were driven from one hos
pital to another for hours. their agonizing
groans piercing the air. Finally. the key
of the Lyceum building, al Prince and
Washington streets, obtained, and the
suffering men and boys were carried in and
| laid on the bare floor. Some necessary arti-
| cles were borrowed from the Baptist Church
| Hospital opposite.
| After the soldiers were carried in tho
building Miss Mcqueen. the matron of the
| Baptist Church Hospital, with other wo-
| men, brought food and water for the hun
CRY men. The building had not been used
| since the beginning of the war and was,
| therefore. not IN a clean condition.
| "On Saturday noon l arrived from Wash
| ington having vainly appealed to Miss DIX
for work. She assured me that there were
| more women applying for work than there
| was work to do. SO she sent me to Alex
| andria to see for myself.
"On board the boat L was introduced to
MIR. stephen Shinn. After refreshment he
| took me to the office of DR.. Somers, med
| ical director of Alexandria. DR.. Somers
was not at ais office. went to the
oil
| mond was in charge Mr.. Shinn explained
| that had come as a volunteer nurse from
Philadelphia. DR.. Hammond shed tears as
| he said:
"'God help me- madam, this is the place
for you to come
Was Placed in Charge.
"He put me in charge taking me to each
room and introducing me to the occupants.
The men had not been washed, combed or
fed and l was greeted with spontaneous
God bless you. madam
Il had brought with a box of jelIes
and other things suitable for the sick.
Then commenced the work of cleaning by
the contrabands, who swarmed about the
place. Some amputations were made at the
Lyceum- Many had had legs or arms am
putated on the battlefield. They were all
in bad condition. In a few days | saw
DR.. Somers. His manner was abrupt. He
accosted me and said: We'll what ara
I
Who sent you? Have you been registeredi
Do You know you will not get any pay
unless you have?
Having assured him that I did not ex-
pect any pay. for L could not stay for an
| unlimited time, he then said:
"'Well, find a good many of these VOL
unteer nurses better than the trained ones.
Where do you sleep?'
Il told him that slept in one of the ante
rooms with a pillow filled with straw.
What, in that hole! he exclaimed. L
VIII see that you are boarded in a house
near
Il declined going out of the building say
ing was needed at all hours of the night
well, l Will see that you have good
quarters down in the library
This l also declined. / remained with
out any assistant, matron and nurse
| until l was sent home with fever. My sue
cessor was Miss Mary E. Glines Of Massa-
chusetts. After her 1 do not think they
had any more woman nurses. I am still! in
touch with several men who were patients
in the Lyceum from beginning to end"
Mrs Clara +. Dye was thirty years old
at the time 1S62). Her maiden name was
Clara F. Jones.