sisters of charity inaugurate their labors in the confederate capital. st. anne’s military hospital begins with three hundred patients. a zealous sister makes her colleague prisoner in the pantry. an odor of death, and how it was caused. the union soldier who was “shot at manassas.” nurses who first got “a puff and then a buff.”
lee.
in the early part of june, 1861, dr. gibson, who was in charge of the military hospital at the confederate capital, richmond, va., called upon the sisters of charity of emmittsburg to come to the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers in that neighborhood. the late rt. rev. john mcgill, the bishop of the diocese of richmond, did not object to having the sisters engage in a work of mercy, but he was opposed to any hospital or infirmary which might prove to be an obstacle to or impair the prosperity of the church hospital of st. francis de sales. the civil authorities did not make any impression upon the prelate, but when the sisters themselves called at the episcopal palace and begged to be assigned to the work, the bishop could not resist, and the coveted consent was obtained. 30
it was announced that the sisters would begin their work on the following saturday. two physicians called at the convent, and conducted them to the institution, which afterwards became known as st. anne’s military hospital. the structure was in an unfinished state, and the walls were not plastered. but it was thoroughly ventilated and free from dampness, and that meant much in a building designed for the care of the sick.
the house contained altogether about three hundred patients. each ward held from twelve to fourteen men, and the rooms opened into one another. it was noon when the sisters arrived, and they were shocked to find that many of the wounded men had not yet broken their fast. the first care of the newcomers was to relieve the hunger of the patients. to effect this they went to the kitchen, making the acquaintance of “nicholas,” the cook; “black george,” his assistant, and other occupants of this section of the house. while these employes were good men and were doing their very best, they succeeded but poorly in having an orderly kitchen, or in providing the soldiers with the sort of food adapted to their weakened condition.
one sister among those who had volunteered to work in the hospital was detained a little later than the others. she felt remorseful at the unavoidable delay, but determined to compensate for it by unusual activity. the first thing that caught her alert eye on her arrival was a pantry with the door wide open. burning with zeal to be useful she closed and locked the door. suddenly there was a rapping from the inside. the zealous sister was not superstitious, nor could she be called nervous, but these strong noises frightened her, and she became pale as the rappings continued to grow in volume and number. 31
“open the door and let me out,” came in sepulchral tones from the pantry.
the key was applied and the door hastily opened, and out walked another frightened sister, who had been imprisoned while searching for supplies.
after many little incidents of a trivial character order was restored from chaos. some of the soldiers declared that the first meal they received from the sisters was better than anything they had eaten since entering the army. the sisters, that first night, got no sleep, for the wants of the sufferers were pressing.
one of the patients called a sister to his bedside and in a low voice said: “you know the doctors think i may not live over night, therefore i have a great favor to ask that i hope you will not refuse. i have a mother.” here tears checked his utterance. the sister said: “i understand; you want me to write to her.” “yes,” he said; “say that her child is dead, but do not tell her how i have suffered; that would break her heart.”
this delicate mission, like many similar ones entrusted to the sisters, was faithfully fulfilled.
the wounded men came from the battles and skirmishes that had taken place in the vicinity of richmond, notably phillippi, big bethel, romney, rich mountain, carrick’s ford and manassas, va. the last engagement, which is also known as the first battle of bull run, ended disastrously for the union forces. it occurred on the 21st of july, 1861, and the sisters silently going the rounds in their infirmary could almost hear the reverberating sound of the shot and shell.
toward night about fifty wounded soldiers, prisoners from manassas, were brought into the hospital, some 32 dying and others wounded, and until better accommodations could be provided they had to be laid on the floor.
one of the sisters was called by the doctor, who said: “sister, get something for this poor man’s head; he has just asked for a log of wood.”
the sister went out, but where to get a pillow was a mystery; everyone was engaged. at last a pillow case was found, and the bright idea came to the sister: “i will stuff it with paper.” she brought it to the man, who was a down-east yankee, thinking the invention suited the individual for whom it was destined. the poor fellow, despite his suffering, smiled as it was given him.
it was very late when the sisters finally prepared to retire after a hard day’s work. they were not settled in their room before sister blanche remarked:
“i cannot sleep; there is such an odor of death about this apartment.”
nevertheless they composed themselves as best as they could. in the morning the secret of the strong odor was revealed. a pair of human limbs amputated the week before had been carelessly thrown in the adjoining room. it was a great trial for the sister to visit that room. she covered her nose and mouth with her handkerchief and threw open the windows. under her directions the limbs were at once interred. one of the sisters writing in her diary at his time says: “yesterday a man was buried with three legs.”
on sunday morning an addition of eleven union officers was received to the number of wounded. they were given accommodations in the garret. in the officers’ quarters were found captains, majors, lieutenants and sergeants, all wounded. one fellow blessed with a fine voice 33 had a guitar loaned him, and he could always be seen in a corner whiling away the dull hours. sometimes these invalid officers were annoyed by visitors who were untiring in their questions.
“where were you shot at?” asked one inquisitive individual, meaning in what part of the body.
“shot at manassas,” was the laconic reply.
as one of the sisters was crossing the porch a tall, brawny soldier cried out: “you ladies have a sight of work to do, but i tell you what, you get high pay.”
“none at all,” was the quiet answer.
“what!” said he, starting back with surprise; “you don’t tell me you do all this work for nothing?”
“precisely,” was the quiet response.
one of the nurses or hands about the place being sadly put out about something that went wrong exclaimed that he was “neither an angel nor a sister of charity,” and that he would not put up with it at all. sister mary ann, in speaking of the varied dispositions of the men, said that the sisters “first got a puff and then a buff.”
five of the union officers who were in the garret clubbed together after their departure and sent the sisters a check for fifty dollars for the benefit of the orphanage in richmond.
the infirmary of st. francis de sales had been in operation by the sisters for the sick in general when the war commenced, but after that it was utilized for the wounded soldiers. on may 16, 1861, the sisters in this institution were appealed to by the medical authorities. very soon the building was too much crowded for the patients. the government then took a large house, which was transformed into a hospital. it was thought that 34 male nurses would answer the purpose. in a few days, however, the surgeon and officers in charge went to the sisters at the infirmary, begging them to come to their assistance at the new hospital, as the sick were very much in need of their services. the sisters went to this hospital on june 26, 1861.
other hospitals in and around richmond were built, and as rapidly as they were made ready for use the surgeons applied for sisters to take charge of them. all of the sisters outside of the blockade which existed at that time were at military posts, except those engaged in caring for the orphans. the schools and academies controlled by the sisters had been closed for some time. as the sisters were sent to many different hospitals the number that could be assigned for each one was small. the hospitals were often without the necessaries of life. for the sisters’ table rough corn bread and strong fat bacon were luxuries; as for beverages, they could rarely tell what was given to them for tea or coffee, for at one time it was sage and at another herbs.
soon after going to one of the new hospitals in richmond the surgeon in charge said to one of the sisters: “i am obliged to make known our difficulties to you that you may enable me to surmount them, for you ladies accomplish all you undertake. until now we have been supplied with the delicacies necessary for our patients from louisiana, but the blockade prevents this at present and i fear to enter the wards, as the poor men are still asking for former refreshments, and they cannot be quieted. we dislike to inform them of the strait we are in, though this state of affairs may be of short duration.”
the sister hardly knew what to do, but proposed that 35 wagons be sent among the farmhouses for the purpose of gathering in fowl, milk, butter and fruit. this was done, but in the meantime complaints had been made to headquarters that since the sisters had come to the hospital all delicacies had been withheld from the poor sick. the surgeon and sisters knew nothing of this complaint until a deputy government official arrived to learn the truth of the charges. he visited the wards during meal time, after which he entered the room where the sisters dined. then he told the surgeon the motive of his visit. the surgeon was glad to explain to the deputy the cause of the complaints. the deputy informed the soldiers that the nurses were not in any way responsible for their sufferings, and that the fare of the sisters was always worse than that furnished to the soldiers.
the men soon became convinced that they had been too hasty in their judgment of the sisters, and that the stoppage of the delicacies was for unavoidable causes. they found before long that the “angels of the battlefield,” as they came to call the sisters, had but one desire, and that was to add to their comfort, as much as the limited supplies would permit.
