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CHAPTER XXII.

WOMAN'S WORK IN THE WAR.

BY

MRS. AMOS G. DRAPER, Treasurer D. A. R. Hospital Corps.

F, as a noted orator said, “In raising your monuments to the heroes of war, one should honor not only the heroism and patriotism of the dead soldier, but that of the mother who gave him birth and of the faithful, self-sacrificing nurse, who in many cases lost her life in the effort to save his," surely no history of the American-Spanish war can be complete without some mention of the part in it sustained by women. In all preceding wars mothers have given their bestbeloved to their country, and hundreds of women in other times of need have pressed eagerly forward to do all they could to relieve the suffering. But in this war women have not only, as in previous ones, responded to the call of duty, but also for the first time in the history of our country their freely-offered services have been formally accepted, and an organization of women has been recognized, not as an auxiliary, but as temporarily a part of the Medical Departments of the Army and Navy and subject to their orders. During this war the trained woman nurse has obtained for herself a position unique in history, and the relief work undertaken by women in every section of the United States has been so helpful as to lead the Surgeon-General of the Navy to say in his official report:

fect work."

“In this war, woman has done her per

As it was evident to all thinking persons early in the year '98 that war would soon be declared, various chapters of Daughters of the American Revolution and other patriotic organizations passed resolutions, which were forwarded to the

President and other officials, offering their services in case war should be declared. No definite plan of help was proposed by any of them beyond collecting supplies which might be used in case of need. Acting therefore upon a suggestion from the War Department, the Board of Management of the National Society D. A. R., (Mrs. Daniel Manning, President General) after passing several resolutions indicating a desire to be of use, on April 27, '98, offered its services to the Surgeons General of the Army and Navy, as an examining board for female nurses.

It was known that the Surgeon-General of the Army had received a number of applications from women for positions as nurses but that a lack of sufficient clerical force to examine properly into the qualifications of the different applicants had rendered it impossible for him to take any steps toward engag ing women as contract nurses up to that time. It was thought that women nurses might also be needed in the Naval Hospitals. The Surgeon-General of the Army, as we see from his annual report,

"foreseeing the necessity for a large force of trained nurses at the general hospitals, applied to Congress (April 28, 1898), for authority to employ by contract as many nurses as might be required during the war, at the rate of $30 per month and a ration, the pay to be furnished from the appropriation of the Medical and Hospital Department. This was very promptly granted."

On the same day the offer of the Daughters of the American Revolution was accepted, as is seen by the following letters.

'The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery of the Navy Department heartily approves of the proposition of your Committee to form a corps of able, trained nurses from whose number competent nurses may be promptly detailed for such service as may be required in caring for the sick and wounded during the present war.

The standard of competency of these nurses will be left entirely to the discretion of your Committee. The Bureau places the same reliance on your judgment as it does on your patriotism, and it rests assured that a manifestation of the same loyalty and the same zeal in good works will be shown in the labors of your Committee as was shown by your ancestors,

whose never-failing support and devotion sustained the courage of their husbands and brothers in the struggle of the Nation for independence.

Very respectfully,

(Signed) W. K. Van Reypen,

Surgeon General, U. S. Navy.”

I have received a large number of applications from trained nurses and other patriotic ladies who are willing to serve as nurses, but have been obliged to answer all of these offers to the effect that no trained nurses are needed at present, and I am uncertain as to what our requirements may be in the future. It is not my intention to send any female nurses with troops to Cuba, and in case we have a number of good hospitals established I expect to depend principally upon our trained men of the Hospital Corps for service as nurses in the wards. I should, however, be glad to avail myself of the services of a certain number of female nurses for the care of special cases and for the preparation and distribution of special diet in the hospitals. I appreciate very highly the offer of the National Board of Management of the Daughters of the American Revolution and am quite willing to turn this whole matter over to your Committee, giving you the applications now on file and those which may hereafter be received, and allowing you to select proper persons for the service required in case I have occasion to call for the assistance of trained female nurses.

In this case I would expect you to answer all letters of inquiry and to keep a list of eligibles from which to make your selections in case of a call from me. This list need not be a long one, and it is desirable that those selected should be from different parts of the country. Residents of Washington should not have a preference in this selection over those of other cities. As a rule, I think it would be better to have women of not less than thirty and not more than fifty years of age. They should, of course, be able to present proper testimonials as to training, capacity and character. No special legislation will be necessary in order to make appointments if the services of female nurses are required. The compensation will be $30 a month, with board, and lodging accommodations in the hospital where this is practicable. I shall be glad to confer with your Committee at any time, and remain,

Very respectfully yours,

(Signed) GEO. M. STERNBERG,

Surgeon General, U. S. Army."

The Board adopted the plan, as endorsed by the SurgeonsGeneral of the Army and Navy, appointing the following officers:-Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, Director, Miss Mary Desha, Mrs. Francis S. Nash, Assistant Directors and Mrs. Amos G. Draper, Treasurer. The Surgeons-General were then promptly notified that the D. A. R. Hospital Corps was formed and ready for work.

May 3, the Surgeon-General of the Army referred to the Corps six hundred applications and letters from women and organizations of women, offering services; May 16, the Surgeon-General of the Navy referred one hundred and forty-two of similar character, and thereafter all applications from women for hospital positions in the Army and Navy, whether sent to the President, Secretary of War, Members of Congress or the Surgeon-General, were referred to the Corps for examination, action and filing.

While all applicants were no doubt actuated by a spirit of patriotism and desire to serve their country, their qualifications ranged from having served one season successfully in light opera to twenty years of successful experience as trained nurse, superintendent, etc. The standard set by the Surgeon-General of the Army was adhered to; a set of questions prepared by the Hospital Corps and approved by the Surgeons-General was sent to each applicant, whose letter indicated any evidence of hospital training. Those designated for service were required, except in a few emergency cases, to be not only graduates from a regular training school but to be endorsed by their superintendents.

On May 7, a request was received from the Surgeon-General of the Army for the names of three (afterwards increased to four) surgical nurses for duty at the Military Hospital at Key West, Fla., and on May 13, they signed contracts and left for Key West. On the same day the names of six female nurses for the Hospital Ship, Relief, were called for by the Surgeon-General of the Army. From that time on, orders were being received, and were filled, sometimes at the rate of 150 a day, from the list which on April 28 we were told "need not be a long one." On September 7, the D. A. R. Hospital Corps was relieved from further duty by the Surgeon-General

of the Army, having selected over nine hundred nurses from almost every State east of the Rocky Mountains, for service in twenty-two different Army hospitals, and six for service at the Naval hospital at Norfolk, Va. Between five and six hundred of these were selected between August 15 and September 7.

The Chief Surgeons at Jacksonville and Montauk appointed directly many persons. These in addition to the nurses who failed to sign contracts and those who were qualified by the D. A. R. Hospital Corps but were not ordered to duty until after September 7, increased the number to twelve hundred, more than a full regiment! These figures do not include the faithful band of volunteer nurses or those employed in the service of the Red Cross Auxiliary and other patriotic organizations, of whom mention will be made later.

Thirteen of the contract nurses, Isabella R. Bradford, Sister Anastasia Burke, Sister M. Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret J. Greenfield, Sister Mary Larkin, Katherine Stansberry, Sister Mary Agnes Sweeney, Irene S. Toland, M. D., Ellen May Tower, Margaret N. Tricoche, Minerva Turnbull, Clara H. Ward and Sister Caroline Wolfe, died in service. Many more, like the soldiers they nursed, were so enfeebled by disease, as to be practically dependent upon others for support for weeks and months. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

While Miss Dix was appointed Superintendent of nurses in 1861 by the Secretary of War, and served in that position until the close of the Civil War, trained nursing as a profession was then unknown, and this is the first time that trained nurses have been recognized as a part of the Medical Department of the Government. That the idea of women nurses in the regular military hospitals was not acceptable to many of the Commanding Surgeons at first, was of course to be expected. But the fact remains that in every instance where their services were allowed, (often in the face of much opposition) within a short time the Surgeon Commanding asked for more, considering their presence a necessity. The following extracts are cited as examples of many that could be given if space permitted. The first is from Major Dewitt, Surgeon