Charlottesville Nurses During the Civil War
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During the Civil War, local women provided nursing care to the over 20,000 wounded Union and Confederate troops who were hospitalized in Charlottesville. Many were well-educated, middle-to-upper class white women with no nursing experience. Others were non-white residents of Charlottesville impressed into hospital service by the Confederacy. Some of those nurses were:
- Ada Bascot, a South Carolina native, who traveled to Charlottesville to care for wounded Confederate troops. Her journal entries have helped historians understand what nurses did during the Civil War.
- Louise A.J. Minor
- Betty Lewis Minor
- Frances Clarke nursed at Midway Hospital
- Eliza Carrington
- Beverly Moon
- Margaret Rion was the Head Matron at Midway Hospital.
- Lucy Davis, a prominent Charlottesville woman, nursed wounded troops at the Charlottesville General Hospital
- Isabella Gibbons, enslaved by a University professor, later a teacher at the Jefferson School.
Charlottesville became a nursing center to wounded troops because Richmond was overwhelmed and Charlottesville was easily accessible by train from the then-capitol of the Confederate States of America. Several makeshift hospitals were created around town:
- Charlottesville General Hospital was located throughout town in several buildings owned by the University of Virginia. On September 11, 1862, the Board of Visitors issued a statement that UVa was not to be used as a hospital again.
- Delevan Hospital
- Monticello Hospital was located on Market Street
- Midway Hospital was located on Ridge street
- Soldier Home is listed in historic documents, but its location remains unknown[1]
References
- ↑ Maling, Barbara. "Charlottesville's Nightingales" np. City Hall, City Council Chambers, Charlottesville, VA. 31 May 2012. Lecture.