Our Army Nurses

Mary Gardner Holland
During the Civil War, more than five thousand women served the Union cause as army nurses. In 1895 Mary Gardner Holland collected these reminiscences, reprinted here for the first time. In this book, you will read the stories of one hundred of these women, often in their own voice. Some are well-known--Clara Barton, Mary Livermore, Dorothea Dix, and "Mother" Bickerdyke. Others served their country, often heroically, and returned home to a quiet life.

The women recall a time when their work made a difference. One nurse, Vesta Swartz, wrote, "The war for the preservation of the Union...did much to advance the best interests of women. It created a necessity for her labor in new and untried ways. It gave her an opportunity to prove her ability...and cultivate true courage."

OUR ARMY NURSES provides a rich picture of the role of women in the Civil War. The impact of their stories, Frank Freeman writes in Microbes and Minie Balls, "... is quite moving."
"Poignant pictures of war's hardships and horrors fill the pages and personalize the Civil War from the perspective of women veterans. Recommended for collections on the Civil War, women, and nursing."-- Library Journal

"Our Army Nurses is a book about medical care for sick and wounded soldiers and the ladies who tendered much of that care. But it is about far more. It is about people. About tenderness, hardship, and suffering. And it is about humanity."--Jan P. Romanovich, The Citizens' Companion

"A hundred years ago, women veterans were as proud of their service in the Civil War as those today are of theirs in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. One of those veterans, Mary G. Holland, collected nearly a hundred first-person accounts. Her work is an important contribution to the developing field of women's military history."--Linda Grant DePauw, President, The MINERVA Center, Inc.

"The well-written accounts, which vary in length from a few paragraphs to long essays, provide much valuable information about the nurses. This engrossing volume will appeal to both scholars and general readers alike." --Linda G. Black, Civil War News
ISBN 1-889020-04-4
$19.95