bishop spalding sends a letter to general anderson tendering the services of the sisters. the offer accepted and the volunteers assigned to work in the hospitals in and around louisville. “oh, sister, put your head down by me and don’t leave me.” the martyrdom of sister mary lucy. tender-hearted soldiers keep a vigil around the coffin with blazing torches made of pine knots.
the main body of the sisters of charity were not alone in their devotion to the sick and wounded soldiers. during the trying days between 1861 and 1865 no body of men or women did more for suffering humanity than the patient, zealous sisters of charity of nazareth, then, as now, of bardstown, kentucky. a score of sisters in that community offered themselves and their services without pay and without hope of earthly reward of any character. it was in the spring of 1861, the opening year of the civil war, that bishop martin john spalding sent a formal communication to general robert anderson, of fort sumter fame, then in command of the department of kentucky, tendering the services of the sisters of charity 183 of nazareth to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers. their services were willingly accepted, and the understanding was that the sisters were to work in the hospitals in and around louisville.
three large manufacturing establishments in the city of louisville had been placed at the service of the government and were being used as hospitals at that time. the rooms were long, and lines of cots extended along each side. the hospitals were divided into sections and each section was placed under the watchful charge of a sister of charity. the system that characterized the three establishments was such that no sufferer was neglected or without a nurse. this was in striking contrast with the disorder and lack of system that had prevailed prior to the advent of the sisters. there were twenty-three sisters in the three hospitals, in charge of an army surgeon, and they worked faithfully from their entrance into the hospitals until the close of the war, without a cent of compensation.
there had been one battle and several severe skirmishes in kentucky about that time, and when the sisters arrived at the hospitals the scene was enough to bring tears into the eyes of the most hardened. a great many confederates had been captured and were being held as prisoners of war. within the walls of the hospitals hundreds of union men and confederates lay groaning in a common agony. those that were not mortally wounded and that had not submitted to the amputation of a leg or an arm were raving in the worst forms of fever or had contracted erysipelas, pneumonia and kindred ailments. about it all there was a heroism that was touching, and as the sisters passed from cot to cot many 184 a soldier suffering with a shattered limb or bullet-pierced body lifted his wan face and gave forth a smile of welcome and of recognition.
the sisters soothed the restless patients, bathed the fevered brows and moistened the parched lips “with a touch impartially tender.” the attitude of the men themselves was not without interest. many of them had never seen a sister before; the majority of them looked upon the sisters with distrust and suspicion. the change that came in a short while came as actual knowledge comes when it dissipates prejudice and misrepresentation. they could not help but be impressed with the quiet demeanor and the self-sacrifice of the sisters, and unreasoning dislike and bigotry soon gave way to natural respect and esteem.
but the beauty of the sisters’ lives, their habit of thinking of all but themselves, had its effect upon many a hardened sinner. five hundred men died in “hospital number one,” and of that number only one passed away seemingly indifferent to his future.
an incident told by one of the surviving sisters carries a moral with it. one of the soldiers in the hospital, a catholic, refused to do anything for the benefit of his soul. his end seemed to be approaching and he was transferred to some other place, where he could be reasoned into submission and repentance. a man who occupied a cot near that of the unrepentant catholic had heard the sisters pleading with him. he listened with a thoughtful manner, and when the hard hearted man had been removed, called a sister to his side. he begged to be further instructed in the catholic faith. his request was complied with, he was baptized, confessed, received holy 185 communion and finally died a most holy and edifying death.
the parish priests of louisville and several of the jesuit fathers paid regular visits to the hospitals. each priest came on an average of three times a day, but there was not a moment during the day or night when a priest was not within easy call. the sisters by their forethought and intelligence made the work of the clergy comparatively easy. a man who desired to be baptized was prepared by the sisters and ready when the priest arrived. those to whom it was necessary to administer the last rites of the church were gradually brought to realize the importance of these rites by these same sisters. so it was from day to day, from week to week, from month to month. the sisters were unflagging in their devotion to the men in their charge. they nursed, they prayed, they consoled, in fact, as more than one grateful soldier exclaimed, proved themselves little short of earthly angels.
a pathetic scene took place one day in “hospital number two.” a young soldier, a catholic and a scotchman, lay on his death-bed, far from home and family and country, but surrounded by all the loving devotion of the sisters. he knew that his end was at hand and had been prepared by all of the sacred rites of the church for his journey into the great unknown. he was slowly expiring from a fatal wound and was unable to move.
in a feeble voice he asked the sister to hand him a package of letters that he had read over and over again, and which he always kept in view. they were given him and he read them over once again and for the last time. after that he selected several from the package and placing them close to his heart said 186 slowly, but distinctly: “sister, leave them here until i am dead. that will not be long. then send them to my father and mother in scotland. tell them that i thought of them until the last. get the money that is coming to me. give some of it for masses for an offering for my soul and forward the remainder to my parents. now i am ready to die. good-bye.” with a faint smile he closed his eyes and in a short time the spirit had fled from his youthful body. the instructions were carried out to the letter, as were the last wishes of all the dying soldiers whenever it was possible and practicable. one of the most important tasks of the sisters was to write to the near relatives of the deceased, giving accounts of their last moments and delivering entrusted messages from the dying.
on more than one occasion the sisters supplied the place of a mother to the wounded and the dying. many a pathetic death-bed scene is still fresh in the memory of the now venerable sisters who have survived those trying times. they were able to repress their emotions in most cases, but there were times when nature asserted itself, and the tears of compassion flowed freely. this was especially the case when drummer boys and buglers—mere children—were brought into the hospitals. in such cases all the tenderness of the sisters’ gentle natures went out in abundance to the wounded “lambs,” as they delighted to call the young ones. one day three blue-eyed, fair-haired lads in soldier attire were brought into “hospital number one.” they were ill of typhoid pneumonia and they were in an advanced stage, too. they were placed on cots side by side and there they lay for days, uncomplaining and innocent, giving expression to the quaintest thoughts 187 in the most childish way. they were like brothers, although they were not, and all three were of about the same height and age. the gratitude they expressed to the sisters was more by their manner than anything they said.
one afternoon one of the three looked up at the sister who was nursing him, and with a wistful look in his blue eyes exclaimed: “oh, you are such a good lady; just like my mother to me.” in spite of the care that was lavished on them the three little heroes died, as so many heroes have died—unknown, unhonored and unsung. in the same room another lad of twelve or thirteen, whose life was fast ebbing away, cried out: “oh, sister, put your head right down by me and don’t leave me.” the request was complied with, and the little fellow clasped the sister about the neck and never let go his hold until grim death relaxed it soon afterward. who could look on such scenes unmoved! many boys died thus. death seemed to pluck the choicest and freshest of the earth to make its bouquets during those four fearful years. the sisters’ care of their “lambs” after their death was as tender and reverential as it had been in life. their eyes were closed with a prayer, their silken locks parted and their little hands folded as if in supplication to the divine mercy. who can doubt but what the blessings of heaven were showered upon these innocent, heroic souls?
the sisters were “always on duty,” and sometimes the duty was more severe than at others. after great battles, such as shiloh, the hospitals were hardly able to accommodate the hundreds that were brought there. when the orderlies had performed the first essential service for the newcomer he would be taken in charge by the sisters. 188 refreshing draughts and nourishing food were intermingled with the remedies that would be administered from time to time. the ladies of louisville were frequent visitors at the hospitals, and they brought many delicacies for the sick and the wounded. at length near the close of the war the sisters were recalled to their home from the louisville hospitals. the recall came none too soon for the survivors, as they stood much in need of rest and change of air. for nearly three years they had been confined in the close wards of the three hospitals, and this not unnaturally had its effect upon their health. many of them overestimated their strength and their powers of endurance. some died in the hospitals, others soon after, at a premature age.
the actual number of catholic sisters who laid down their lives during the civil war, that their fellow-creatures might live, will probably never be known, but there is no question that hundreds did so. their names are not cut upon any earthly monuments, but they are surely emblazoned in letters of gold in the great book of the recording angel. the sisters of charity of nazareth, as mother carroll could have testified, furnished their full quota of fair martyrs. many instances have been lost in the long number of years that have elapsed since the closing of the war, but several well-authenticated cases still linger freshly in the minds of those that were witnesses of the great struggle. one of these is particularly pathetic. sister mary lucy, one of the sweetest young members of the order, richly endowed by nature, was one of the teachers in st. mary’s academy, at paducah. when the exigencies of war compelled the temporary abandonment of this institution, sister mary lucy volunteered as one 189 of the hospital nurses. she was assigned to some of the severest typhoid cases, and the manner in which she nursed these patients won for her the unqualified praise of the hospital doctors and attendants.
obsequies of sister mary lucy.
the post of honor in this instance proved to be the post of danger. sister mary lucy contracted the fever from one of her patients who was convalescent. this was in the latter part of december, during the first year of the war. despite the best medical attention she rapidly grew worse, until december 29, when she expired as calmly and heroically as she had lived. her death cast a gloom over the entire hospital, and the soldiers of both armies were filled with admiration and awe at the martyrdom of this gentle soul. they determined that she should be honored in death as she had been in life, and that her final obsequies should be of a character befitting her great merits.
several files of soldiers marched with muffled drums and noiseless tread from the central hospital to the ohio river, bearing in the midst of them the remains. there the coffin was placed in a gunboat in waiting, which had been especially designated for this service. then the boat slowly steamed away, bearing its honored burden under a flag of truce to uniontown, ky. on landing, the remains were borne to st. vincent’s academy, some miles distant, where the sisters own a considerable tract of land and where they have a last resting place for their dead. father powers, at that time pastor of the catholic church at paducah, said the solemn mass of requiem and accompanied the body to the grave and recited over it the last offices of the church, of which the deceased had been such an exemplary member. a guard of devoted soldiers watched by the coffin day and night from the time it left 190 the central hospital until the earth covered it from mortal view. at night the tender-hearted warriors kept their vigil around the coffin with blazing torches made of pine knots. sister mary lucy was born in the vicinity of the spot where she was buried. she received her education at st. vincent’s academy, became a daughter of charity and died in the performance of her duty. this is the short but brilliant life history of one heroic woman.
a letter dated louisville, february 1, 1862, written by one of the army surgeons to mother francis gardner, contained the following announcement: “i regret very much to have to inform you of the death of sister catherine at the general hospital in this city. she, as well as the other sisters at the hospital, has been untiring and most efficient in nursing the sick soldiers. the military authorities are under the greatest obligations to the sisters of your order.”
still another conspicuous loss was soon to be felt in the death of sister appollonia, the directress of “no. 1 hospital.” she served long and faithfully in this post and won warm commendation from stern soldiers, who, whatever else their faults, were never guilty of flattery. she was a woman of great executive ability, and was instrumental in causing order to come out of chaos in the hospital over which she presided. her zeal was great. not content to direct affairs, she also nursed individual cases. it was while engaged in this work that she contracted typhoid fever, from which she soon after died. she had endeared herself to the soldiers by her kind and motherly treatment of them, and her death caused universal regret.
the manner in which the sisters were treated by the soldiers had in it a blending of the humorous and the sublime. 191 those of the sisters that live to tell the tale say that nothing was wanting in the courtesy with which they were invariably considered by the men of both armies. on sundays they were given especial consideration. they were escorted to mass by a military guard of honor, and received the military salute in passing to and fro in the neighborhood of the hospital and the camps. some of the invalid soldiers imagined that every sister carried a charm about her, and was thus protected from the contagious diseases that caused such sad havoc among the men. but the supposed charms were not always successful in preventing the sisters from wearing the martyr’s crown in death. the only charms they carried, as the soldiers soon discovered, were blameless lives, absolute devotion to duty and entire self-forgetfulness.
there was one modest institution near the three large hospitals in louisville where a great amount of good was done in an unostentatious manner. this was st. joseph’s infirmary, conducted by the sisters of charity of nazareth. this was generally filled in war times with wounded officers and other invalids connected with both armies. the good done there, though not quite as conspicuous as elsewhere, was lasting, and bore fruit in after years.
