Civil War Nursing Essay

For decades, America has fought in many different wars with the need of health assistance for their soldiers. The American Red Cross is a worldwide organization that helped during the times of war but also provided a path for scientific advancements. Through the American Red Cross and other organizations of this time, they opened up the doors for women to take the chance to advance in the medical field by participating in scientific experiments and being at the aide of wounded soldiers. During this time of scrutiny, the Great War was a hidden opportunity for the encroachment of medical research with the contribution to the expansion of nursing.

First off the nurses were important because they were the ones who helped the injured ones or the sick ones. Normally it would be the nurses who would find out if the women disguised as men would actually be a woman and when they found out the truth they would have to go and tell a genreal the truth. Now between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses during the war. Nursing was a gruesome job that provided an upclose look at the horrific casualties of the war. Civil War nurses cleaned wounds, fed soldiers, dispensed medication and assisted surgeons during operations and medical procedure like amputations.

The Civil War was a time of great learning in the medical field. Without these advances, we would live in a completely different world. The question is though, would the same amount of medical supplies and knowledge in both the North or South have changed the eventual outcome of the Civil War? Similar circumstances in medicine would have only affected the mortality rates of both sides, not the outcome of the Civil War. Almost all odds were against the South from the very beginning. It was just a matter of time from the very start.

From 1861 to 1865, “between 2,000 to 5,000 women” volunteered to serve as nurses in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses from all over came to lend a hand during this devastating time. Clara Barton, Annie Etheridge, Dorothea Dix, Susie King Taylor, and Helen Gilson were just a few of the many nurses who volunteer their services to the war effort. Women wanted to be involved and help out as much as they could. Most women did not want to be at home - doing their traditional domestic work. Many women thought that helping out during the Civil War as nurses was an addition to doing their home duties. Women also believed that working as a nurse helping soldiers during the war would make a difference in how people viewed them. Being a

Prior to WWI, women were only allowed to be a military nurse but even then, they weren 't actually enlisted. They were taking care of the men during the war and wasn’t given no type of recognition for doing so. Women 's roles

December 7, 1941 a date that will forever be remembered in American history, was the day that Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. The air in the country after the attack was that of patriotism and determination to defend the nation. America’s involvement in World War II had a profound effect on the profession of nursing. In the time frame of the war nursing saw influences and changes take place within the creation of the National Nursing Council for War, the shortage in nurses, the expansion of nursing practice used while in flight, the view of African Americans serving their country, and the post-war affects of nursing when the war ended.

These female nurses provided medical help for the wounded soldiers at Gallipoli and also on the Western Front. As most of the hospital stations were near the front line many nurses were exposed to aerial bombs and shelling. They were expected to work in primitive conditions; some hospitals were equipped for a mere 520 people yet held 2500 during the wartime. As a result of the long hours and poor conditions many nurses suffered serious illnesses. A total of 2139 Australian nurses served overseas and of these 25 died. Through enduring such adverse conditions nurses proved extreme dedication towards the war effort and their country.

Before the war, few women were nurses. Being a nurse was a man’s job, but now that most men got called out to the war they were in need of nurses. Since women had the time to help, several volunteered themselves. Many men thought the job wouldn’t be appropriate for them. They didn’t want their delicate women to be subjected to the horrors of war, but as time went on they realized how strong they were, mentally and physically. Although a large amount of them were untrained to be nurses, they did an excellent job attending the soldiers. Some women demonstrated their leadership skills, like Dorothea Dix who stepped forward and became the Union Superintendent of Nurses. She recruited volunteer nurses that were over the age of 30 and were “plain looking women”. She recruited these women because she didn’t want people to think that the women were there for the men’s sexual desires. Since there had already been a big controversy were women were being called prostitutes for being nurses (Wayne). Other women took their housekeeping skills to the soldiers’ camps, cooking and doing their laundry. A few women worked as spies for their

The soldiers undertook many different diseases and sicknesses, mentally and physically. The faced outbreaks of measles, small pox, malaria, pneumonia, or camp itch. Soldiers would get malaria when camping in damp areas surrounded by mosquitos, while camp

When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are

In “Letters of a Civil War Nurse”, written in 1863, Cornelia Hancock’s account of the Civil War gives readers an account of the suffering and hardship of soldiers through the point of view of an Union nurse. This document written by Cornelia Hancock is an account as a nurse who went through the Battle of Gettysburg and the after effects. Through a series of letters written to her loved ones, Cornelia wrote what nurses went through during the times of war. At the time women were expected to be good wives; with Cornelia Hancock’s effort she was able to help soldiers and contribute to the idea that women are capable of much more than being good wives; women can be apart of war. With her background as a Quaker and her family history, Cornelia Hancock was able to contribute greatly to the war effort even though she was originally denied to becoming an union nurse.

The nurses experienced so much trauma in such a little time, that most suffered from PTSD. The experiences that brought on this PTSD was the shock of conflict in Vietnam, the problematic return to a country that did not understand their participation or experiences, the denial of their work in Vietnam, and a sense of isolation from their male counterparts in Nam and their female counterparts back home as well as absence of veterans service groups upon returning to home. The nurses were not recognized for the job that they had done, which allowed many soldiers to return home to their families.

On April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina the first battle of the Civil War began. The Civil War was a war about the south seceding from the Union because they didn’t want Abraham Lincoln as president. The south thought they were losing control of the government and that Abraham Lincoln would finally get rid of slavery. The Civil War had a great impact on America such as the 13th Amendment that ended slavery, we are more advanced in the medical field, and we are a high-tech nation.

were determined to become involved, often lying about their age to fit the requirements. Others took other jobs in the hospital serving as cooks, laundress and assistants. Women who served as nurses seemed to gain respect from society who initially was against them serving close to battles. “The army of relief workers that labored for millions of hours alongside soldiers instituted greater change in public attitudes about women at work than those who challenged perspective notions of femininity.” A soldier in Virginia described his experience with a nurse in a letter to his mother, “I saw one young lady in the very front of the battle dressing wounds and aiding the suffering where few surgeons dared to go.” His letter described

After 1917, when women were allowed to join the military, the most popular job was nursing. 33,000 women served as nurses during the last two years of World War One, for the first time women were officially considered apart of America’s military (Time Line: Women in the U.S. Military). The more years that passed with women involved in the military, the more respect they gained in the