Mary O ' Connell Mary O ' Connell ( better known as Sister Anthony , S . C . ) ( 1814 – December 8 , 1897 ) was an Irish immigrant to the United States , who became a Roman Catholic Religious Sister . A Sister of Charity of Cincinnati , she served with distinction as a nurse on the front lines of the American Civil War . Her work with the wounded and in health care in general caused her to be known as " the angel of the battlefield " and " the Florence Nightingale of America . " Her portrait hangs in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington , DC . Biography . Mary Ellen O ' Connell was born in Limerick , Ireland , in 1814 , the daughter of William and Catherine Murphy O ' Connell . In 1821 , she emigrated with her family to Boston , and attended the Ursuline Academy in Charlestown , Massachusetts . On June 5 , 1835 she entered the novitiate of the American Sisters of Charity in St . Joseph ' s Valley , Maryland , founded by Saint Elizabeth Seton , and was professed in 1837 , taking the name of Sister Anthony . Soon after , she went to Cincinnati , Ohio . Sister Anthony arrived in Cincinnati in 1837 to begin her work at St . Peter ’ s Orphan Asylum and School for girls . Given charge of St . Joseph ’ s Orphan Asylum for boys when it was begun in 1852 , she later oversaw the combining of the two asylums in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Cumminsville . She was in Cincinnati through 1852 , when the Sisters in Cincinnati became independent of their founding motherhouse in Emmitsburg , Maryland . She was placed in charge of St . John ' s Hostel for Invalids , a new hospital . At the outbreak of the American Civil War , the Sisters volunteered as nurses . More than one - third of the community , which by then had more than one hundred members , served . In June , 1861 Sister O ' Connell was one of six Sisters of Charity who went to Camp Dennison , about 15 miles from Cincinnati . A request was made from Cumberland , Virginia for nursing assistance , and eight sisters were sent to serve the wounded of both armies . The battle of Shiloh brought ten sisters to the scene including Sr . Anthony . Some describe Sr . Anthony ’ s word as being law with officers , doctors , and soldiers once she had established herself as a prudent and trusted administrator and nurse . She and other sisters often were picked to treat wounded prisoners of war since they showed no bias in serving rebel , yank , white , or black soldiers . When she served at Shiloh she became known as the " Angel of the Battlefield " . Sister O ' Connell went out to the battlefield to help bring in the sick and dying . Sister Anthony developed the Battlefield Triage . Her method was " the first recognizably modern triage techniques in war zones , saved countless lives through faster hospital treatment and won her praise from President Lincoln " . Her medical skills allowed her to intervene to save soldiers ' limbs from amputation . Sister Anthony also served at the battlefields of Winchester , Virginia ; the Cumberland Gap , Tennessee , Richmond , Virginia , Nashville , Tennessee , Gallipolis , Ohio , Culpeper Court House , Virginia , Murfreesboro , Tennessee , Pittsburg Landing , Tennessee , and Lynchburg , Virginia . She also served on a hospital ship on the Ohio River . Anthony O ' Connell saw no distinction between Union and Confederate soldiers . She became personally acquainted with Jefferson Davis and knew a number of generals on both sides of the conflict . After the war , in 1866 , Joseph C . Butler and a friend , Louis Worthington , purchased a large building at Sixth and Lock Street , to present to Sister Anthony as a gift in recognition of the sisters service durng the war . There were two conditions : that no one be excluded from the hospital because of color or religion , and that the hospital be named “ The Hospital of the Good Samaritan , ” to honor the sisters ’ kindness . It opened that same year as the St . Joseph Foundling and Maternity Hospital . It still serves as St . Joseph Hospital , a residential facility for children and adults with severe mental and multiple physical disabilities . Sister Anthony was also recognized for her work during the yellow fever epidemic of 1877 . She retired from active service in 1880 , and died in 1897 in Cumminsville , Cincinnati , Ohio .