a very few good nurses - prologue - fall 2010
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aVery few good nursesBy M g
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Lessons LearnedIn the Civil War
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Picking a Few NursesFrom Among Thousands
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Opposite top: The six ully trained nurses on board the hospital ship Reliefin 1898. Congress approved the contracting o nurses, regardless o
gender, in March o that year, just in time or service during the Spanish-American War. Left: The Reliefwas equipped with the latest advances in
medical equipment and acilities or aseptic surgery.
Above: Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee (right), acting assistant surgeon o the U.S. Army, examined nearly 6,000 applicat ions or nursing positions,
selecting six or service aboard the Relief.The selection according to DAR requirements (let) provided a uniorm standard or the selection.
Prologue 29A VeryFew Good Nurses
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Six Report for DutyAboard the Ship relief
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Serving Aboard the relief:A Well-Equipped Hospital Ship
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.
Esther Voorhees Hasson (opposite), one o the
nurses on the maiden voyage o the Relief, later
became the frst Navy Nurse Corps superintendent.
She recalled conditions on the ship and her wartime
experiences in a nine-page memoir (above).
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The relief Reaches Cuba,and the Work Takes Its Toll
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Personal data cards or Louise J. Block and Elise
Lampe record such inormation as their training
vaccination, and health.
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Above:Louise Block resigned in October on account
o ill health. Her letter to Dr. McGee noted that she
had still not recovered ater having been quite sick
on our last voyage.
To learn more about
T p-am W,
www.archives.gov/publications/
prologue/index/, k p 1998 p
100 y w.
p-am
W, www.archives.gov/publications/
prologue/index/, k 2002.
p-am W,
www.archives.gov/research/military/spanish-
american-war.
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t v, but bt m h
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Jy 5, 1933.
As One Nurse Opts for Marriage,Another Has a Long Military Career amt h mwt
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A nurse in the ward on the Relief. The ships
medical sta praised the nurses work, and would
have requested more nurses i there were proper
accommodations.
Prologue 3A VeryFew Good Nurses
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2010 by M g
Hasson Returns to ServiceIn World War I in Europe
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p-am W ,
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(g 112, y 26).
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apptmt amy nu, 18981917 (rg
112, ty 104), t 21 bx umb
491510 tt t m p
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p-am W , 1898
1939 (rg 112, ty 150), b u -
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m . y p
g (amy) 189899, (g 112, y
108). a t mt b
but u wm by - t
b.
mt Mg
amy wk t nara, at nwmb
Mg cp/o (rg 112,
ty 230). T t p ,xpt m u pp -
tt u t amy nu cp (anc),
mm m tt u. et v.
h Mm, T t p t amy
hpt sp Relief, . a ht
t amy nu cp 18981947 (rg
112, ty 103). P y v-
b t tt u; .g., u am
J. amt , pp p u-
m m but w t ww
amy . a Mm
Pubt 288, General Index to Pension Files,
18611934.
y , py p
t Relief, n s, Medico-Surgical
Aspects of the Spanish-American War(c:
am M at P, 1900).
m h, py y ,
h. g, Serving Proudly: A History of
Women in the U.S. Navy (ap, Md: n
ittut P, 2001). T U.s. ny Buu
M y pp bpy
h w py T l
v. h, U.s. amy nu cp, by h
mpb .
ote on ources
Author
Mercedes Graf -
t u wm
py w. pb
bk: Quarantine: the Story of
Typhoid Mary,A Woman of Honor: Dr. Mary E. Walker
and the Civil War, w - J B,
Women Doctors in War(x a & M P, 2009). On
the Field of Mercy: Women Medical Volunteers from the
Civil War to World War I tm (humty
Bk).s uty t wk bk but wm
W W ii w wm y -
m b wm.
The Surgeon Generals comments on nurse Lucy
Sharp state that she was an able, efcient . . . reliable
nurse, devoted to her duty, untiring in energy in doing
her work and sel-sacrifcing on all occasions.
34 Prologue Fall 2010