Document Analysis: Letters of a Civil War Nurse
Sabrina Jehanzeb
Hist 1301.003
Professor: Dr. Hudson
Word Count: 1843
In “Letters of a Civil War Nurse”, written in 1863, Cornelia Hancock’s account of the Civil War gives readers an account of the suffering and hardship of soldiers through the point of view of an Union nurse. This document written by Cornelia Hancock is an account as a nurse who went through the Battle of Gettysburg and the after effects. Through a series of letters written to her loved ones, Cornelia wrote what nurses went through during the times of war. At the time women were expected to be good wives; with Cornelia Hancock’s effort she was able to help soldiers and contribute to the idea that women are capable of much more than being good wives; women can be apart of war. With her background as a Quaker and her family history, Cornelia Hancock was able to contribute greatly to the war effort even though she was originally denied to becoming an union nurse. Cornelia was born on February 8, 1840 outside of Salem, New Jersey. Her ancestors were greatly involved in politics and religious activities. They were Quakers and sided with the Union, which added to the reason that she joined the Union Army as a nurse. This allowed her to become easily involved in a cause that she firmly believed in; she wanted to server her nation and got the chance once the revolution started. Cornelia saw the opportunity with the Battle of Gettysburg to
Clara Barton was a Union nurse who assisted soldiers, usually on the front lines, unlike most nurses at many battles of the Civil War, including Antietam where she was referred to as the “angel of the battlefield”. Clara also helped found the Red Cross and helped identify dead bodies at the Andersonville prison. Clara helped by bringing supplies and tending to wounded or dying soldiers, sometimes moving them to avoid a battle to come.
Nursing was a very important job during Civil War time. If it wasn't for the nurses including Dorothea Dix many people would have died if it wasn't for the nurses. SO i really do hope that you are thankful for all of the nurses in the civil war time because they risked their life for you.
Clara Barton was a nurse in the Civil War and helped take care of soldiers, whether they were on the field or not. She brought her own supplies to help the soldiers. She brought food and bedding supplies. Barton also helped the soldiers in hospitals and the confederate soldiers in jail, as well. Clara Barton impacted the health of soldiers on and off the field.
A Comparison of Linda Kealy’s and Elizabeth Domm’s Essay In “On the Edge of Empire”, Linda Kealy discusses the work of Myra Bennett, a nurse-midwife who worked in remote areas of Newfoundland from 1921 to 1953. Throughout her essay she discusses the challenges faced by healthcare professionals, the influence of the British Empire, and the role of the nurse-midwife in remote communities (Kealy, 2010). For these reasons, Kealy does a better job at representing the history of nursing at this time than Elizabeth Domm in “From the Streets of Toronto to the Northwest Rebellion”. While Domm’s essay discusses the effects of war on the nursing profession, Kealy’s work is more encompassing and relatable to modern nursing (Domm, 2010).
Although Emilie Davis ends her diary entries by saying “all is well that ends well” (Giesberg, 193), this critical moment in the United States’ history greatly affect both Emilie Davis and her family and friends. Through her diary entries, readers receive a unique perspective from Emilie, a free black woman in her mid-twenties, of events that occurred during the Civil War. Through her diary, Emilie records her journey with her social encounters and her progress with sewing; she uses her journals as handwriting practice for her schooling at the Institute for Colored Youth. Analyzing Emilie’s perspective, the Civil War impacts her and her loved ones through the active participation Emilie plays in war social events, the everyday danger Emilie and her
Tessa Carr Mrs. Hauge Fourth hour April 27, 2015 Clara Barton Biography Clarissa Harlowe Barton contributed her time to cure wounded soldiers and discover better opportunities for the people of the United States. Clara Barton was a significant woman in history. She spent most of her time helping others and never got to have the experience of having kids or being married, but she did many life changing things for people across America.(Find a bible verse to go along) She devoted her life helping others and put everyone’s life and needs before hers.
In Susie King Taylor’s Memoir, we are submerged into a vivid retelling of an African American woman’s experience during her time serving as a nurse and laundress for African American infantries during the Civil War. Taylor describes in great detail what life was like for the African American soldiers whom she would care for during their battles against the rebels of the confederacy. Taylor also shares what her own life was like prior to, during, and after her time as an infantry worker. Taylor’s personal story parallels the lives of many African Americans during the civil war era, and the array of social challenges African Americans were forced to endure day in and day out. As we look into this great recollection of history, it is important to understand the significant influence education had over Taylor. During Taylor’s lifetime, education granted her the ability to survive during her time working for the military, educate those around that were around her, and formulate her own life experiences into literature.
The Vietnam War was the longest war ever fought by U.S. military forces. U.S. personnel were engaged from 1961 until 1973. Approximately 10,000 U.S. military women served in Vietnam during the war. Most were members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Nurse Corps. All of the Army nurses were volunteers who attended a six-week basic training class, and then were assigned to one-year stunts in Vietnam hospitals and mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) units. Most of these nurses were fresh out of nursing school, some with less than six months of clinical experience. These nurses were not prepared for the physical and emotional wounds that they would have to heal.
An outlet that Alcott and many other women utilized to truly be a part of the war was medicine which enabled them to work on the battlefields and see the bloodshed first-hand. Since large numbers of men on both the Confederate and Union side were wounded and killed, and hospitals were overflowing with recovering soldiers and more staff was needed. Although many societal constraints made it difficult for women to enter the medical field, fierce leaders such as Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton paved the way for future women to work alongside men as medical professionals. Overall, the general perspectives regarding female nurses are evident in personal narratives as well as historical literature. These sources provide us with a deeper insight into the challenges women faced and how their actions paved the way for future
The Civil War was the bloodiest, most gruesome war in American history. The war had the people of the United States dreaming of a new era, a modern age were their children could live a brighter future. The medical care during the Civil War was evolving and growing. Advances in medical care such as amputations, sheltering, and procedures helped reduce the casualties suffered in this war. On the other side of the war advances in weaponry made it harder for already primitive medical treatment.
The war brought new changes to the South and women often found themselves in new forms of employments. “Southern women assumed new roles during the Civil War, ranging from nursing to managing plantations.” The majority of employments that were commonly seen for women in the South during the Civil War included teaching, government jobs, nurses, and plantation workers. The majority of women in the Southern states found themselves taking care of and managing plantations. Females took care of crops and all rural work while men were away. Letters of females living in Indiana reveal information about their everyday
Over 5000 volunteer nurses’ north and south served in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses were of all sorts and came from all over. Women wanted to be involved in this national struggle in any way they could. They did not want to stay home and play their traditional domestic roles that social convention and minimal career opportunities had confined the majority of their sex to. Many women thought of nursing as an extension of their home duties, almost like taking care of “their boys.” They recall the Civil War as a time when their work as nurses made a difference. It gave them an opportunity to prove they had the ability and courage to help.
Lisa Tendrich Frank in her article about women in the south mentioned how “…slaveholding women across Georgia pushed the men of their families to support secession by appealing to their sense of familial duty” (Frank). When the war first started, Southern women would shame those who didn’t want to fight into serving (Frank). These women would also hold banquets and dances as fundraisers to support the troops who were fighting (Frank). In addition, to fulfill the duties left behind by the men who went off to fight, white women became nurses to aid directly in the fight against the Union (Frank). The strength of the women who served as nurses during the Civil War is portrayed through Clara Barton’s poem called “The Women Who Went to the Field” that she wrote in
One aspect of nursing that has changed since the early 1800’s is nursing education. There was no question about the credibility of the women providing care to soldiers after the war. For many years untrained nurses and consequently nursing students cared the sick without any supervision. In 1873, the need for educated nurses was sought but was opposed by untrained physicians who thought trained nurses would pose a threat to their jobs (Gary & Hott, 1988). “Nurses have evolved
After 1917, when women were allowed to join the military, the most popular job was nursing. 33,000 women served as nurses during the last two years of World War One, for the first time women were officially considered apart of America’s military (Time Line: Women in the U.S. Military). The more years that passed with women involved in the military, the more respect they gained in the