Civil War
In Praise of Nurses, Again. (And Always)
A post in praise of nurses during National Nurses Week, which runs from May 6 through May 12 * here in the United States, has become a tradition here on the Margins. Like many of the best traditions, it happened almost without my noticing it. In the months after Heroines of Mercy Street was published,…
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Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War
If you’re interested in the American Civil War, you’ve probably heard of Dr. Mary Walker. You probably know that she: 1) Worked as a surgeon in the war 2) Is the only woman to have received the Medal of Honor 3) Wore pants long before it was common for women to wear pants. All those…
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How the United States Sanitary Commission Elbowed Women to One Side in the American Civil War
Last week, while writing about the use of hospital transport ships in the American Civil War, I promised to tell you the story of how a group of men hijacked Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell’s Women’s Central Association of Relief to form the United States Sanitary Commission. It is a story that will feel all too familiar…
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