Category: Civil War Nurses

Civil War Nurse from Pennsylvania Mary Morris Husband was a well known Pennsylvania nurse, whose illustrious career found her serving the physical, psychological and legal needs of the men in her care. She was known as the nurse with the apron of miracle pockets, because her deep, wide pockets carried games and reading material that entertained and filled the soldiers’ long hours of recovery. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mary Morris was the granddaughter of Robert Morris, Revolutionary War financier and signer of the Declaration of Independence. She married a prominent and wealthy Philadelphia attorney, J. I. Husband. Her husband, her two sons and herself constituted her household at the beginning of the Civil War. Patriotic instincts were strong in the…

Civil War Nurse for the Union Army During the first year of the Civil War, family responsibilities kept Margaret Breckinridge at home, but she could not be satisfied to remain with the Home Guards. She wanted to be close to the scene of action, and was determined to become a hospital nurse. Her anxious friends worried that her slender frame and excitable temperament could not bear the stress and strain of hospital work, but she had made up her mind. Childhood and Early Years Margaret Elizabeth Breckinridge was born in Philadelphia on March 24, 1832. Her paternal grandfather was John Breckinridge of Kentucky, once Attorney General of the United States. Her mother died when Margaret was only six years old,…

Civil War Nurse from Massachusetts When the Civil War began, Emily Parsons (1824-1880) had a strong desire to enlist in the army as a nurse, despite being partially disabled. Her father was reluctant but finally agreed, and at the age of 37 Miss Parsons enrolled in nursing school at Massachusetts General Hospital in preparation for caring for sick and wounded Union soldiers. Emily Parsons was born on March 8, 1824 in Taunton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Professor Theophilus Parsons of the Harvard Law School. During childhood, an accident left her blind in one eye and scarlet fever left her partially deaf. Due to an ankle injury she suffered as a young woman, she was unable to stand for prolonged periods…

Civil War Nurse from Pennsylvania At the outbreak of hostilities, Lydia Parrish was living at Media, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Her husband, Dr. Joseph Parrish, was in charge of an institution for mental patients there. Lydia was one of the first women to volunteer her services on behalf of sick and wounded Union soldiers. She visited Washington, DC while the army was still in the area. Dr. Parrish had become connected with the newly organized U.S. Sanitary Commission, and Lydia worked with him and others examining the different forts, barracks, camps and hospitals then occupied by Union troops, in order to determine their condition. Hospital Work On the first day of 1862, Lydia began working at the Georgetown Seminary Hospital. She…

Civil War Nurse Helen Louise Gilson was a native of Boston, but moved in childhood to Chelsea, Massachusetts. She was the niece of the Honorable Frank B. Fay, former Mayor of Chelsea, and she was his ward. Mr. Fay took an active interest in the Union cause during the Civil War, devoting his time, his wealth and his personal efforts to the welfare of the soldiers. Image: Civil War Field Hospital Beginning in the autumn of 1861, Gilson’s uncle Frank Fay went in person to every battle in which the Army of the Potomac fought. He went promptly to the battlefield and moved gently among the dead and wounded, soothing those who were parched with fever, crazed with thirst, or…