English
Civil War Nurse- Battle of Bull Run
Entry 1
May-1861
Father gave me this diary as an apology gift after refusing to let me sign up as a nurse in the union army. I told him that I wouldn’t need a diary, and that diaries were for fools who had nothing better to do than to sit around and reflect on their thoughts all day. He of course, him being the patient man that he is, smiled and patted me on the head saying,
“There is no need for you to go to war, my dear, your brother is going and that is enough. The possibility of losing one child is enough for me and your mother to bear. Do not trouble yourself with ideas of enlisting as a nurse”
William, my older brother, was enlisted last month; none of the boys here really had a choice (Brumgardt). He was enlisted as a result of the conscription, which said that all men between the ages of 20 and 45 are required to serve in the military (Austin). He had been avoiding enlistment since he turned twenty last year, but he was offered four hundred dollars from one of the wealthier families in town to go in their place (Funk & Wagnalls). He agreed and took that money, later handing it to mother, who in turn slapped him on the head. I told him he was a fool to fight a rich mans war, but he said he didn’t care whose war it was as long as the nation’s freedom was kept alive (Conscription: Military Draft). Mother was devastated but father seemed to be proud having a son in the war (Edmunds).
William left last year and we hadn’t heard from him until today when we received a letter from one of the nurses, stating that he had gotten wounded in the leg during the battle of Bull Run. Everyone is distraught, and is wondering whether or not he will survive. It was at this moment that I asked my father if I could enlist as a nurse (Austin). The answer at first, was of course no, but I then asked mother and told her that as a nurse I can look after my little brother in the process of aiding the other wounded soldiers (Austin). She thought about it and afterwards I heard her speak to father about it. A few days later both father and mother spoke with me and said that I may enlist, as long as I am with William’s regiment the entire time; the next day my friend Jenny and I went to the recruiting tent and enlisted as nurses. We left for the week after we enlisted.
Entry 2
July, 21, 1861
Camps were set up at dawn today. We were ordered to get ready for the war while the soldiers took up line. During the day, other nurses were ordered to ransack the local village for milk, butter, eggs and poultry, since our supplies were getting low (Edmunds). We were surprised to find that there were some families that were still living in their homes (Edmonds). I went to a small cottage a few feet from the church and found an old woman inside. After opening the door and letting me in she said,
“What’s a girl like you doin in the war?”
I explained to her that I was looking after my injured brother and also looking after other soldiers. She smiled and told me that she had a son in the army and that he was also fighting for the north. She happily gave me the bread and butter she had saying that it would help the poor soldiers who probably hadn’t had a decent meal in days (Edmund).
In the afternoon the nurses and the surgeons began to prepare for battle by setting up make-shift hospitals in churches, and school houses (Edmunds). I cleaned and changed into my other dress. It wasn’t fancy, a black cotton gown with a starch white apron over it (Ardent). The battle began a little after we had stopped preparing. Mary and I were positioned near the tents to usher in the wounded (Edmunds). The battle began quicker than I assumed it would, the noise is what is most memorable. The continuous roar of artillery, the booming clash of the cannons and the persistent screams of the wounded are still ringing in my ears (Edmunds). There were, of course, a few bullets that strayed from the battle field and came our way, but there was nothing I could do but stay where I was positioned and pray that my brother wouldn’t be harmed (Edmunds). Being the fool that he is, he insisted on returning to the battlefield disregarding his injured leg. I found that he wasn’t as injured as I thought he would be when I arrived at his tent a few months back. Thankfully John, the surgeon, had been able to remove the bullet and tie up his leg with makeshift bandages (Goellnitz). Although William did not into the hospital tent, many of his comrades did. They came with bullet wounds, mangled limbs, and in some cases limbless. The surgeons worked without rest, trying to salvage what they could with the terribly mangled bodies (Austin, Goellnitz)..
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Entry 3
July, 23, 1861
We were sent off to the field after the battle was over and ordered to help any soldier that was injured or in need of water (Edmund). The sight itself can cause a person to faint with fright. The amount of blood and limbs left on the field seemed endless stretching out as far as the eye can see (Edmond). The men lay where they fell screaming in pain, some elegantly draped over their comrades others over their slain enemies (Edmond). The ground beneath them was dyed crimson with their own blood.
This is only the beginning. How many battles like these do I have to endure before I collapse? Every boy that I see lying there on the battle field reminds me of my own brother, and how he died in the arms of a stranger. How I could do nothing to save him. He was brought in, not long after the battle ended, by his friends. They knew who I was and that I might be able to help him. I quickly rushed him to the surgical tent pleading to John that he was my brother and needed help immediately. My brother had gotten bayoneted by one of the confederate soldiers and was stabbed in the back (civil war potpourri). I did not even realize that he was dead before he even reached the surgical table. He hadn’t even gotten a chance since the bayonet went through his lung.
Now I see why so many people were adamant on letting me go to the war. I do not regret my decision, but I do regret the fact that a nation such as ours must continue to shed the blood of the innocent and young.
Bibliography
1) A Nurse's View of Battle: Bull Run, First Manassas. Edmonds, Sara. 2006. About.com. Feb 9 2006. http://womenshistory.about.com/library/etext/bl_bullrun_001a.htm
2) Austin, Lynn. Fire by Night. Bethany House Publishers, November 2003.
3) Civil War Nurses. Angels on the Battlefield. Brumgardt, John R. November 2003.Civil War Medicine. 9 February 2006. http://www.civilwarhome.com/civilwarnurses.htm
4) Conscription: Military Draft 2002. Shotgun’s Home of the American Civil War. 3 March 2006.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/conscription.htm
5) Civil War Potpourri.2002. Shotgun’s Home of the American Civil War. 3 March 2006.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/potpourr.htm
6) Draft Riots. Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. 2005. World Almanac.
7) How They Dressed. Arendt, Britta. 2002. Tripod.9 February 2006. http://cwnurses.tripod.com/how.html
8) What They Did. Arendt, Britta. 2002. Tripod.9 February 2006. http://cwnurses.tripod.com/what.html
9) Medicine of the Civil War. Goellnitz, Jenny. 2004. 9 February 2006. http://www.civilwarmedicine.aphillcsa.com/
Sources Referenced-
10) The North’s Unsung Sisters of Mercy. Stein, Alice P. 2002. America’s Civil War Magazine. 9 February 2006. http://womenshistory.about.com/library/prm/blunsungsisters1.htm