The autumn of 1855 brought the final act in the great drama of the Crimean War. On the morning of September 8th the allied armies before Sebastopol were ready for the final assault. The day dawned gloriously, and by five o’clock the guards were on the march for the besieged city, and troops from all quarters pressed silently in the same direction. The supreme moment had come; the long tension of the siege was broken, and each man braced him to the fight and looked for death or glory.
The elements seemed to voice the situation. A brilliant sky gave the promise of victory, then suddenly changed to storm-clouds which burst in a furious tempest as the batteries opened fire upon the doomed city. The earth groaned and shook with the noise of cannon and the air was filled with the rattle of musketry. An hour elapsed, and then came the first shouts of victory. The French allies had captured the Malakhoff and the British had taken the Redan, the fort which three months before had repulsed the attacking force with fearful carnage and brought Lord Raglan to a despairing death. The fight raged fiercely until nightfall and ere another day dawned the Russians had retreated, leaving Sebastopol in flames.
On the morning of September 9th the tidings spread far and wide that the mighty stronghold had fallen and the power of the enemy was broken. The news was received in London with a universal outburst of rejoicing. The Tower guns proclaimed the victory, every arsenal fired its salute, and the joy-bells rang from cathedral minster to the humblest village church as the tidings spread through the land. The long night of War was over, and white-robed Peace stood on the threshold.
With the plaudits that rang through the land in honour of the victorious armies, the name of Florence Nightingale was mingled on every hand. The nation was eager to give our heroine a right royal welcome home, but she sought no great ovation, no public demonstration, and her home-coming was not to be yet. The war had ended, but the victims still remained in hospital ward and lonely hut, and as long as the wounded needed her care Florence Nightingale would not leave her post.
Meanwhile, however, the Queen and all classes of her people were eager to give proof of the nation’s gratitude to the noble woman who had come to the succour of the soldiers in their dire need. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Herbert were approached on the matter by Mrs. S. C. Hall as to what form of testimonial would, be most acceptable to Miss Nightingale, and Mrs. Herbert replied:—
“49, Belgrave Square,
July, 1855.
“Madam,—
“There is but one testimonial which would be accepted by Miss Nightingale.
“The one wish of her heart has long been to found a hospital in London and to work it on her own system of unpaid nursing, and I have suggested to all who have asked for my advice in this matter to pay any sums that they may feel disposed to give, or that they may be able to collect, into Messrs. Coutts’ Bank, where a subscription list for the purpose is about to be opened, to be called the ‘Nightingale Hospital Fund,’ the sum subscribed to be presented to her on her return home, which will enable her to carry out her object regarding the reform of the nursing system in England.”
A Committee to inaugurate such a project was formed. It was presided over by His Royal Highness the late Duke of Cambridge, and included representatives of all classes. The Hon. Mr. Sidney Herbert and Mr. S. C. Hall acted as honorary secretaries, and the latter summarised the variety of interests represented when he described the Committee as having “three dukes, nine other noblemen, the Lord Mayor, two judges, five right honourables, foremost naval and military officers, physicians, lawyers, London aldermen, dignitaries of the Church, dignitaries of Nonconformist Churches, twenty members of Parliament, and several eminent men of letters.” While no state party was omitted, none was unduly prominent. It was resolved by the Committee to devote the money subscribed to the Nightingale Fund to founding an institute for the training, sustenance, and protection of nurses and hospital attendants, to embrace the paid and the unpaid, for whom a home should be provided and a retreat for old age. A copy of the resolution was forwarded to Miss Nightingale at Scutari and she replied to Mrs. Herbert in the following letter:—