Beyond The Roles Of Home Female Nurses During The Civil War

BeyondTheRolesofHomeFemaleNursesDuringTheAmericanCivilW arBy:AudreyKarlesWhentheAmericanCivilW arbegantodestroythelandsandthelivesofmen,theenormousamountsofinjuries,diseaseandcarnagerackedupveryquickly .BoththeUnionandConfederatemedicalfacilitiesbecamefullbeyondwhattheyhadthemanpowerfor .Havingtolookforwaystomanagealltheneedsofthewounded,maledoctorswouldhavetooverlookthegendergapandacceptthatwomencouldbeofgreathelptothem.TheAmericanCivilW aropenednewopportunitiesforwomentobeabletocontributetheirservicestothesickandwoundedsoldiers.1Thelackofimmediatemedicalattentionavailabletosoldiersonthebattlefieldinspiredwomenacrossthecountrytogetinvolvedandhelpsavelives.Sincenursingwasnotconsideredanestablishedprofession,thesewomenwouldhavetoquicklylearnskillsonhowtomanagesomanyneedsofthesickandwounded.PriortotheCivilW ar,womenweretheprimarycaregiversoftheirfamilies,onlyprovidingnursingcaretotheirimmediatefamilymembersoraidinginchildbirthsituations.Theywouldnowbecomecaregiverstocompletestrangersandtomenwhowerenotrelatedtothem.2 T hei d eao fw om enh an dlin gt h eb odie so fm enn otr e la te db yf a m ilyw asu nth in kab le 2Adrienne,C.(2022b,August1 1).ThewomenwhorevolutionizednursingduringtheAmericanCivilW ar.TIME.https://time.com/6205016/civil-war -nursing-women-history/1CivilW arNurses|NCPEDIA.(n.d.-b).https://www .ncpedia.org/civil-war-nursesThesestrongmindedwomenwhomadethedecisiontomovebeyondthenormsofthetraditionalrolesofthehome,wouldsoonseetheunsightlynegativesofwarinjuries,disease,deathanddying.3Thesmellofhumanwaste,unwashedbodies,andgangrenouswoundswassointolerableastooverpowerhealthymen.Theendlessamountsofblood,lostlimbs,wounds,theungodlysmells,andtheconstantscreamsofpainandmoansofthedyingaresomeofwhatawaitedtheseladiesastheybeganprovidingaidandcare.Notonlywouldtheytakeonthetaskofmendingbodies,theywouldalsowritelettershomeforthesickandwoundedsoldierssotheirfamilieswouldhavesomesenseofwheretheywereandiftheywouldorwouldnotbereturninghome.Somewomenwouldbecomeasoldier'sguardianangel,sittingandprayingwiththemastheylaydyingorintremendouspain.Unfortunately ,whentheseladiesbegantheirwork,theywouldbemetwithresistancefromthemalemedicalstaf f.W omenwereslatedtobehomemakersandnottoworkoutsideofthehome.Thiswouldprovetobeabarriertogettingwomenacceptedasnursesandcaregiverswhenthemaledoctorswerestressedandstretchedthin.Doctorsviewedwomenasinexperienced,andincompetenttohandlesuchharshconditionsrelatedtotheamountofdisease,bloodandcarnage,aswellasthephysicaldemandsneededforthecountlesshoursofneverendingwork.Pushingthroughthesewallsandtheirheadsheldhigh,thesewomenproceededforward.3Maggie.(2006,November17).NursingintheCivilW arSouth|HistoryofAmericanW omen.HistoryofAmericanW omen.Besidesbeingrejectedbythemaledoctorsandsur geons,anotherissuearosewhentheneedfornursesincreased.Thiswouldbetheissueofrace.AfricanAmericanwomenalsomendedthebrokenaswellastheotherdutieslaiduponthem,buttheirserviceswouldgounnoticedduetotheirraceandwithsomehavingtheinabilitytoreadorwrite.Y et,liketheirwhitecounterparts,thesewomenbrokethebarriersholdingthembackandmovedforwardtocareformanysoldiers.Theyheldtheirpositionwithhonorandproperbehavior .4theyseldomweregiventherespectedtitleofnurse,andbecausemanycouldnotreadorwrite,theirstorieswentunrecorded.Now ,becausewomenwerecomingaroundandweregoingtobeapplyingcaretomenwhowerenotfamilymembers,guidelineswouldhavetobesetinordertopreventanyromanticorinappropriateantics.DorotheaDixwasappointednursingsuperintendentoftheUnionArmynurses.Dixhadalreadymadehermarkwithherexceptionalskillsandassertiveness.ShehadalsolearnedmanyofherskillsfromFlorenceNightingale,thepioneerwhofoundedmodernnursing.5Dixinsistedhernurseswerebetweenthirty-fiveandfiftyyearsold,ingoodhealth,ofhighmoralstandards,nottooattractive,andwillingtodressplainly .Shewasnotedforherno-nonsensemanagementskills,yetalsoknownfortakingexcellentcareofthenurseswhowereunderhersupervision.5TheEditorsofEncyclopaediaBritannica.(1999,September15).Dor otheaDix|Mentalhealthr eform,civilwarnurse,activist4McElroy ,J.,&Page,K.(2020).For gottenAngels:TheLivesofAfricanAmericanW omenwhoServedasNursesintheCivilW ar.IndependentlyPublished.BrokenbodiesandtheconstantfiringofartillerywerenottheonlythingthatmadetheworkofCivilW armedicalstaf fdangerous,itwasalsotheneverendingparasitesandbacteriathatwaskillingmany .Sanitaryconditionswerenon-existentwhichbecameabreedinggroundfortheunsightlybacterias,diseasesandparasitesthatwerelingeringaroundthem.Likethemanylivesofsoldiersthatthesediseasesandparasitestook,italsowasresponsiblefortheuntimelydeathsofmanyofthewomenwhomadeittheirpassiontoaidinthewaref fort.6dozensofnurses,weakenedbythedebilitatinglaborofhospitallife,succumbedtoillnessesoftheirpatients;manynursesdied.Asifthescenesofbloodiedanddyingsoldiers,thesometimesdailycriticismofmaledoctors,andphysicaldemandsweren tenoughtomakeonecringe,thesecivilwarnursesfacedanevenmorechallenge.7Thetasksforanursewerebothphysicallyandmentallychallenging.7Femalenursesduringthecivilwar.(2021b,June1).AmericanBattlefieldT rust.https://www .battlefields.or g/learn/articles/female-nurses-during-civil-war#:6C ulp ep per,M arily nM ay er,a n dP au lin eG ord onA dam s. N urs in gi nt h eC iv ilW ar.T heA m eric a nJ o urn alo fN ursin g8 8,n o.7( 1 988):9 81-84Thementalef fectsthatreareditsuglinesswouldcausesomecivilwarnursestotryandfindwaystocopewithoutshowingtheiranguish.Thesewomenwouldhavetobypasstheirfemininesensitivitywhenfacedwiththeongoingmistreatmentbythemaledoctorsandsur geons.Manygrewhomesickandbattleddepressionandanxietywhichwasmorecommonlyseeninsoldiers.Theyareformedfordaysandnightsandmonthsandyearsofwatchfulness.(W ood,AnnDouglas."TheW arwithinaW ar:W omenNursesintheUnionArmy ."CivilW arHistory18,no.3(1972):197-212)TheriseintheneedforwomentoaidasnursesduringoneofAmerica sbloodiestanddeadlybattles,provedtobeahugestepforwomenthenandinthefuture.PriortotheCivilW ar,womenwerehomemakersandraisedtheirchildrenandonlynursedfamilymembers.Whenthemortalityofwarbecametoomuch,thesebandsofcourageouswomenansweredthecallwithoutknowingwhattheywouldbeinstorefor .Historiansar guethatwomenhadnoplaceoutnearthebattlefields,muchlesstakingonsomesenselesstaskthattheywerenoteducatedfor .Y et,thesewomenmanagedtofightresentmentandridiculeforthisnewopportunityandstoodproudlywhiledoingso.