Mary Seacole: A Crimean War Hero
By: Jordan C.
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Have you heard of Mary Seacole? Maybe not. When you think of famous doctors you probably think of Florence Nightingale or Elizabeth Blackwell, but you would never think of Mary Seacole. Seacole was born on November 23, 1805 in Kingston, Jamaica to a white father and black mother. She had always considered herself a free woman. Mary Seacole grew up watching her mother treat patients in Jamaica at their hotel called The Blundell Hall.. That is where she found her love of nursing.
Mary Seacole’s dream was also to go to London. When a family member invited her to join them she was delighted. When she traveled there Mary developed a liking for trade and did business there for four years until she returned to take over Blundell Hall. During her time in Jamaica, the tensions were high. Slaves in Jamaica were fighting back and were suppressed. News of this reached London and people used this as grounds for the emancipation of slavery. Part emancipation in 1834 and full emancipation in 1838. Although Mary was glad about this, she never considered herself a victim or was part of the struggle. Afterall, she was the daughter of a white man. She later married a white man named Edwin Seacole and they opened a small general store, but after six years of struggling they gave up and returned to Blundell Hall. Sadly, in 1843 a fire broke out and Blundell Hall was destroyed. Shortly after, her mother and husband passed away. Though she felt greif, she got back on her feet and built New Blundell Hall just before the Cholera epidemic traveled to Jamaica. She fought the epidemic bravely and now had experience. After a while, she missed traveling and her brother gave her the perfect opportunity, in Panama. Unfortunately, Cholera was back. After making some money and treating many patients, she had enough money to open her own business, the British Hotel. The British Hotel had no rooms, but served food instead. Some time later, a railroad was being built and there would be no reason for her hotel to be there, but duty was called in a different place.
The brilliant nurse was called to nurse in a british war called the Crimean War. Mary had a plan. She would open a hotel like the British Hotel, but there was just one problem. Mary Seacole was completely broke. Luckily, she remembered her late husband’s cousin, Thomas Day and she scraped up enough money to go to Crimea. Mary Seacole and Thomas continued to work together in Crimea. When she arrived, Mary immediately put herself to work; helping wounded soldiers. After a while, Seacole was able to make her new British Hotel. Mary eventually made her way to the battle field and helped soldiers until help came. After the British and the French took over Sevastopol, the war was over and Mary’s work was done. Mary returned to being a merchant and nurse, but her business began to buckle. Before she knew it, her business went bankrupt. While Seacole was getting back on her feet, news of her bankruptcy reached all of the soldiers that she treated. Newspapers and articles were released on her kindness and hospitality, and people wanted to help. People began to donate and soon she would be able to pay off her debt.
After her death on May 14, 1881, Mary Seacole was forgotten. Even with all the work she had done, history had forgotten her. Mary was half jamiacan and was a woman, qualities that, at that time, were looked down upon. Mary had many accomplishments; Fighting cholera, building businesses, and making a real difference during the Crimean War. Her love of nursing drove her to do some questionable decisions that ultimately made her even better.
https://nursing-theory.org/famous-nurses/Mary-Jane-Seacole.php
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