U.S. Civil War

The American Civil War (1861-1865) was fought between a divided union. Southern states seceded over states rights and economic concerns. The Union and Confederacy emerged in opposition to each other and waged war. The battles ,which were primarily in the Southern United States, brought troops from all over the country to confront the opposite side. As the war drug on, questions about slavery were raised, especially as President Lincoln freed all slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation.

Battles were bloody and drawn out resulting in massive levels of loss of life. This created a desperate need for doctors and nurses to care for the wounded. While there were battlefield hospitals, military hospitals were also established. These hospitals were scattered across the middle south of the country, and received wounded soldiers. Hospital ships were also commissioned to transport wounded, ill and dying soldiers up and down the Mississippi River from battles, like the siege of Vicksburg, to the military hospitals. The military hospitals and the military ships were staffed in part by the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

The Sisters of the Holy Cross became involved in the Civil War at the request of Governor Morton and General Lew Wallace. On behalf of General Wallace, Governor Morton sent a telegram to Father Sorin, at Notre Dame, to request the services of the Sisters of the Holy Cross as nurses. Father Sorin made a midnight walk to Saint Mary's Convent on a October 1861 night, read the letter and asked for volunteers. Immediately, a group of sisters volunteered and began to make preparations to leave the very next day. Mother M. Angela, Sisters M. Magdalene, M. Winifred, M. Adele, M. Veronica and M. Anna departed for Chicago and then to Cairo, Illinois to receive their marching orders from General Grant. Simultaneously, another six sisters, led by Sister M. Liguori, made their way to Missouri.

In Cairo, Mother Angela and the other sisters met with General Grant about how the sisters would be serving in the Civil War. With General Grant's approval and instructions, the sisters went straight to Paducah, Kentucky to take over the military hospital. Armed with General Grant's personally granted authority, the sisters, under the direction of Mother Angela, quickly took charge of the military hospital and totally transformed the blood-covered hospital into a clean and efficient space. The immediate success that the sisters had with the hospital in Paducah prompted the sisters to establish more military hospitals in Washington, DC, Memphis, TN, Louisville, KY, and Cairo and Mound City, IL. The Sisters also took to the rivers, and worked on hospital ships including the Red Rover. While on the hospital ships, the sisters found themselves caught in the crossfire of ongoing battles. Tending to wounded and ill soldiers from both sides, the sisters worked to keep the soldiers as comfortable as possible while they were being transported to a military hospital. The Sisters of the Holy Cross made a point to care for both Union and Confederate soldiers, as well as providing refuge to freed slaves known as "contrabands."

Even though the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross was founded as an educational order, their work in the Civil War set the precedent for nursing to be added to their mission. Future Sisters of the Holy Cross would continue the work that the started during the Civil War.