| PAGE | |
| [AUTHOR’S PREFACE] | 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| [CHAPTER I.] THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED | |
|---|---|
| One of the effects of the war. The productive force of the nation deprivedby death, disease and disability of one million men. The task of caringfor the sick and wounded. Four notable orders—The Sisters of Charity,Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of the Holy Cross.Their history and the discipline, experience and self-sacrifice brought tobear upon their work during the war. | 19 |
| [CHAPTER II.] ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS. | |
| The problem of how to provide the necessary nurses for both the Union andConfederate Armies. Sisters not able to volunteer without the approvalof their superiors. An interesting epistle from Archbishop Hughes toArchbishop Kenrick. The New York prelate appointed by President Lincolnas a peace commissioner to France. A characteristic letter from themartyred President to the great Archbishop. Quelling the draft riots inNew York city. | 23 |
| [CHAPTER III.] IN AND AROUND RICHMOND. | |
| Sisters of Charity inaugurate their labors in the Confederate Capital.St. Anne’s Military Hospital begins with three hundred patients. Azealous Sister makes her colleague prisoner in the pantry. An odor ofdeath and how it was caused. The Union soldier who was “shot atManassas.” Nurses who first got “a puff and then a buff.” | 29 |
| [CHAPTER IV.] HARPER’S FERRY. | |
| The adventures of three Sisters who were detailed from the mother house atEmmitsburg. Their offer to retire in the interest of the ladies of Winchester.A night’s “repose” with foreheads resting upon umbrellahandles. A journey homeward by car and stage, and then across thePotomac River in a flat canoe. A Sister received at the convent as onefrom the grave. | 36 |
| [CHAPTER V.] ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL. | |
| The border state of Missouri the scene of some of the most dramatic eventsof the war. Soldiers ask the nurses if they are Free Masons. TheChaplain obtains a pardon for a prisoner of war. Archbishop Ryan andhis work among the sick and wounded. The young Confederate whodeclined to express sorrow for his course in the war. Amusing andpathetic incidents. | 45 |
| [CHAPTER VI.] IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON. | |
| Dilapidated frame buildings serve as hospitals at the National Capital. Aconvalescent patient who was “tired and vexed.” A whole day spentin going from store to store in a vain attempt to purchase “one of thosewhite bonnets” for a Sister. The soldier whose life was saved by being“shot in the U. S. A.” | 62 |
| [CHAPTER VII.] SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH. | |
| Terrible loss of life at the battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh. SisterAnthony wins enduring laurels. Seven hundred wounded soldierscrowded on one boat. The deck of the vessel resembles a slaughterhouse. A Sister of Charity acts as assistant surgeon. Sisters refuseto abandon their patients. Sketch of the life of Sister Anthony. | 71 |
| [CHAPTER VIII.] PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK. | |
| The contest between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and general operationsof the war during the seven days’ battle near Richmond. The takingof the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth by the Union forces. Sistersnarrowly escape drowning while crossing the river in a row boat. Oneinstance where hatred was turned to love. | 87 |
| [CHAPTER IX.] LABORS IN FREDERICK CITY. | |
| The Sisters quartered in a stone barracks that had been occupied by GeneralWashington during the Revolutionary war. Patients see no necessityfor “tincture of iron” from the doctors. Soldiers without food for thirteendays. Young scholastics from the Jesuit Novitiate in the capacityof nurses. Not enemies “except upon the battlefield.” | 93 |
| [CHAPTER X.] WHITE HOUSE. | |
| Sixty Sisters depart from Baltimore for the station in Virginia. Woundedand dying men upon transport boats. Nurses who shared every horrorwith their patients. Two Sisters who were martyrs to duty and humanity.The worn-out Sister of Charity buried with military honorsupon the banks of the Potomac. Death of a deserter. | 101 |
| [CHAPTER XI.] MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM. | |
| Five Sisters charged with the care of five hundred patients. Bodies of thedead consumed by the flames. The military hospitals at Gordonsvilleand Lynchburg. Boonsboro and Sharpsburg selected for hospital purposesfor the men wounded at Antietam. General McClellan’s kindnessto the Sisters. A man who had met Sisters during the Crimean war.The brave flag bearer. | 109 |
| [CHAPTER XII.] NEW ORLEANS. | |
| The capture of the commercial metropolis of the Southwest by GeneralButler and Admiral Farragut. Butler’s chivalrous letter to the Superiorof the Convent at Donaldsonville. His tribute to the Sisters of Charity.Bishop Elder and the panic stricken people of Natchez. Work of theSisters in other localities. | 119 |
| [CHAPTER XIII.] SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS. | |
| A letter from Central Georgia begging for sisters of Charity.—“Are they menor women?” A cautious priest who took the good nurses for impostors.The train crashes through a bridge. The “magic” lunch basketand how it fed an unlimited number of Sisters and soldiers. The hospitalsat Marietta and Atlanta. | 125 |
| [CHAPTER XIV.] GETTYSBURG. | |
| Twelve Sisters depart for the battlefield from the Mother House at Emmittsburg.A white handkerchief on a stick serves as a flag of truce. Anopen charnel house red with the blood of American manhood. The littlechurch in the town of Gettysburg filled with the sick and wounded. ASister saves the life of a helpless man. “I belong to the MethodistChurch.” | 132 |
| [CHAPTER XV.] SATTERLEE HOSPITAL. | |
| A sketch of the remarkable labors of Sister Mary Gonzaga and her work asthe executive head of a hospital where 50,000 sick and wounded soldierswere cared for. The chaplain kept busy preparing men for death. BishopWood visits the hospital and administers the sacrament of confirmation.A soldier who was saved from the stocks. A veteran’s tribute. | 144 |
| [CHAPTER XVI.] THE FALL OF RICHMOND. | |
| Preparing for the close of the war. Sisters of Charity in the West enlistedin the military prison at Alton. Smallpox cases removed to an islandin the Mississippi. Leaders of the Southern Confederacy realize thattheir cause is lost. Scenes of wild excitement in Richmond. Blessingsfor the Sisters. | 172 |
| [CHAPTER XVII.] SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH. | |
| Bishop Spalding sends a letter to General Anderson tendering the servicesof the Sisters. The offer accepted and the volunteers assigned to workin the hospitals in and around Louisville. “Oh, Sister, put your headdown by me and don’t leave me.” The martyrdom of Sister Mary Lucy.Tender-hearted soldiers keep a vigil around the coffin with blazing torchesmade of pine knots. | 182 |
| [CHAPTER XVIII.] MORE ABOUT NAZARETH. | |
| Bardstown occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate troops.Six Sisters start for Lexington under a flag of truce. A courteous letterfrom Brigadier-General Wood. Ex-Secretary of State Guthrie applies toPresident Lincoln for protection to the Nazareth Convent. A briefsketch of a famous school and some of its distinguished graduates. | 192 |
| [CHAPTER XIX.] SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT. | |
| A joint request from the Mayor of Cincinnati and the Archbishop of theDiocese promptly answered. Appalling sights witnessed by the Sisters.Young men seated on their own coffins prepare for execution. GeneralRosecrans and his kindness to the Sisters. The Governor of Indianacalls for nurses. Labors in Kentucky. | 202 |
| [CHAPTER XX.] THE SISTERS OF MERCY. | |
| An application from the Secretary of War to the Superior of the order. NineSisters depart for the Government Hospital at Beaufort, N. C. A dinnerof pork and beans and mouldy bread. The steward who expected theSisters to poison some of the patients. Complimented by JeffersonDavis. A convent confiscated by General Slocum. Secular ladies whohad “other engagements” when the smallpox appeared. | 211 |
| [CHAPTER XXI.] THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS. | |
| Solicitude of the Sisters for the patients under their care. Friendshipsformed that were only parted by death. Interesting reminiscences ofMother M. Augustine MacKenna concerning the Government Hospitalat Beaufort, N. C. A victim of camp fever and how he was relieved bythe nurse. | 222 |
| [CHAPTER XXII.] LABORS IN THE WEST. | |
| The Sisters of Mercy attend the sick and wounded in the “Irish Brigade.”The command organized by Colonel Mulligan, whose life was sacrificedin the Union cause. Sisters leave Chicago for Lexington, Mo. Onebrave, religious Sister who wanted to finish her office before being shot.General Fremont and his staff call upon the Sisters. Taking charge ofthe hospital department of the steamship Express. | 233 |
| [CHAPTER XXIII] THE STANTON HOSPITAL. | |
| The authorities in Washington invite the Sisters of Mercy to take charge ofboth the institutions at the capital and the Western Pennsylvania Hospital,in Pittsburg. Death of the Superior of the Stanton Hospital.Buried with military honors. President Lincoln commends the Sistersfor their self-sacrificing labors. A warm tribute from Father Canevin.How the Civil war helped to wipe out religious bigotry. | 247 |
| [CHAPTER XXIV.] SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH. | |
| The Surgeon General applies for nurses to care for the sick soldiers in CampCurtin, Harrisburg. Bishop Wood gives a ready assent. Their valuableServices at the State Capital. An official letter of thanks from GovernorCurtin. Down the James River in the Commodore to bring the woundedfrom the battlefield of Yorktown. A poor soldier abandoned in an isolatedtent. Rescued from death itself. A grateful patient. | 258 |
| [CHAPTER XXV.] SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS. | |
| The heroic life and labors of Mother Angela. A cousin of the late James G.Blaine. She gives up her school at South Bend, Ind., to serve throughthe war. A historic meeting between Mother Angela and General Grant.Rev. L. A. Lambert, the chaplain at Mound City. Sixty Sisters of theHoly Cross on duty. Sister Angela, of the Visitation Community, andher love for the soldiers. | 267 |
| [CHAPTER XXVI.] MOTHER ANGELA. | |
| Related to many eminent men of the century; her tranquil death in the conventin Indiana; her ability as a writer and an educator. An incident ofthe war told by her in a powerful and dramatic style. The original of aHoly Cross Sister portrayed in a poem. | 282 |
| [CHAPTER XXVII.] NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES. | |
| Comment of Mary A. Livermore upon the work of Mother Angela at MoundCity: “The world has known no nobler and more heroic women thanthose found in the ranks of the Catholic Sisterhoods.” A famous scoutgives his impressions of the Sisters. Susan D. Messinger tells of thework of the Sisters at New Berne, N. C. | 297 |
| [CHAPTER XXVIII.] A LESSON IN CHARITY. | |
| An incident of the war in which a gentle Sister of Charity and a stern militarycommander played the leading parts. “What do you do with yourbeggings?” The Red River campaign and its fatal results. The generalin the hospital. “Did you get the ice and beef?” A gratefulpatient and his appreciation of the real worth of the Sisters. | 315 |
| APPENDIX. | |
| [An Innocent Victim] | 324 |
| [Medals for Sisters] | 324 |
| [Honored by the Queen] | 325 |
| [Veterans of the Crimean War] | 326 |
| [Poor Sister St. Claire] | 327 |
| [Lord Napier’s Testimony] | 330 |
| [Very Rev. James Francis Burlando, C. M.] | 335 |
| [Mother Seton] | 340 |
| [The Sister of Charity] | 345 |
| [Sisters of Charity] | 348 |
| [The Angels of Buena Vista] | 353 |
| [Catherine Elizabeth McAuley] | 356 |
| [Clerical Veterans] | 360 |
| [Catholics in the War] | 363 |
| [The Sanitary Commission] | 370 |
| [The Blue and the Gray] | 374 |
| [A Miracle of the War] | 376 |
| [Lincoln at Gettysburg] | 378 |
| [The Faith and the Flag] | 380 |
| [A Romance of the War] | 388 |
CHAPTER I.
THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED.
One of the effects of the war. The productive force of the nation deprived by death, disease and disability of one million men. The task of caring for the sick and wounded. Four notable orders—The Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of the Holy Cross. Their history and the discipline, experience and self-sacrifice brought to bear upon their work during the war.
On the twelfth day of April, 1861, the first shot fired upon Fort Sumter, formally inaugurated the civil war in the United States. On the ninth of April, 1865, Grant and Lee were the principals in the historic meeting at Appomattox Court House, by which hostilities were virtually terminated. The interval between those two memorable dates presents the greatest ordeal in the history of the Republic.
As a result of these four momentous years of conflict the nation was deprived by death and disease of one million men. The total number of enlisted soldiers in the Union Army during the whole of the war amounted to 2,688,523. As many of these men were mustered in twice, and as a certain percentage deserted, it is reasonable to estimate that 1,500,000 men were actively engaged in the Northern armies.
Of this number 56,000 died on the field of battle, 35,000 expired in the hospitals from the effects of wounds received in action, and 184,000 perished by disease. It is probable that those who died of disease after their discharge from the army would swell the total to 300,000. If the effects of inferior hospital service and poor sanitary arrangements are added to the other results of war, it is safe to assume that the loss of the South was greater than that of the North. But, considering the Southern loss equal to that of the North, the aggregate is 600,000. Add to this 400,000 men crippled or permanently disabled by disease, and the total subtraction from the productive force of the nation reaches the stupendous total of 1,000,000 men. These figures seem almost incredible, but they come from what, in this particular at least, must be regarded as a trustworthy source[1].
The task of caring for such an army of dead and wounded was no light one. In the beginning of the war this feature of military life was conducted in an uncertain and spasmodic manner. As time wore on, it became evident that the war was not to consist of a few skirmishes, but was likely to be a protracted struggle between two bodies of determined men[2]. Then the necessity of a systematic sanitary and hospital service made itself apparent. As a result of the pressing needs of the hour the Sanitary Commission and the Christian Commission were organized. The meritorious nature of the work of these great charities has been made known by reports and books published since the war. The details of the good deeds of both organizations in supplying nurses and in caring for invalids generally are too well known to need repetition.
But the story of the labors of the Catholic Sisters is not so well known. To begin with, the Sisters brought to their aid in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers the experience, training and discipline of the religious bodies with which they were identified. Self-denial was a feature of their daily life, and the fact that they had taken vows of poverty, chastity and obedience peculiarly fitted them for a duty that demanded personal sacrifices almost every hour of the day and night.
From the data obtainable it appears that the members of four Catholic Sisterhoods participated in the merciful work incident to the war. These included the Sisters of Charity, the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters of the Holy Cross[3]. The soldiers, like many people in civil life, made no distinction between the orders, and to them the dark-robed angels of the battlefields were all “Sisters of Charity.”