Classic Audiobook Collection - Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton ~ Full Audiobook [history]

Starting point is 00:00:00 Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Author's Preface The object of this volume is to present in as consecutive and comprehensive form as possible the history of the Catholic sisterhoods of the late Civil War. Many books have been written on the work of other women in this war, but aside from fugitive newspaper paragraphs, nothing has ever been published concerning the self-sacrificing labors of these sisterhoods. What has been published, what ever may have been the cause of this neglect or indifference, it is evident that the time has arrived to fill this important gap in the literature of the war. The sisters, to quote an army chaplain, do not have reunions or campfires to keep alive the memories of the most bloody lustrum

Starting point is 00:00:48 in our history, but their war stories are as heroic and far more edifying than many the veterans tell. That genuine humility so characteristic of the sisters has made the collection of the necessary data for this work very difficult. Most of the stories embodied in the pages that follow have been gathered by personal interviews, through examinations of various archives and records, and by an extensive correspondence with government officials, veterans of the war, and the superior of convents and communities. It is impossible to enumerate all those who have aided in the work,

Starting point is 00:01:25 but the writer desires to thank especially the sisters to whom he is indebted for the chapters relating to the Sisters of Mercy, who were with the Irish Brigade in the West, and to the sisters of St. Joseph who were at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While the author has not hesitated to avail himself of every possible source of information, it is only fair to say that the great bulk of the material that goes to make up the volume has been drawn from entirely original sources, and is presented in printed form for the first time.

Starting point is 00:01:57 In order to form a basis for the work, all of the obtainable literature bearing upon the civil conflict was examined in a thorough and exhaustive manner. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly 1,000 volumes bearing upon the late unpleasantness were searched with the hope of finding some data bearing upon the saintly work of the sisterhoods. The books of reference included the more important histories of the war, the memoirs and recollections of the leading generals of both the Union and Confederate armies, the debates in Congress, the lives of the founders of the several religious orders, the histories of the church and of the sisterhoods, and a score of miscellaneous works too numerous to name in a preface. The official records and correspondence of

Starting point is 00:02:43 the war issued by authority of Congress, under the supervision and at the expense of the government, consists in itself of more than 100 bulky volumes. The return from this immense crop of literature, so far as the sisters were concerned, was ridiculously small. It did not begin to be commensurate with the amount of time, labor, and patience involved in the research. A rare letter or document and the occasional mention of a sister in the reports to the war department constituted the sum total. The off-quoted hunt for the needle in the haystack furnishes the only adequate comparison of the work in this instance. The generals and the officials who had the direction of the awful struggle were, in the

Starting point is 00:03:28 main, too busily engaged in making history to pause long enough to mention the modest hands that bound up their wounds, soothed their fevered brows, and performed those other acts of faith and charity that seemed to belong essentially not to the weaker but to the gentler sex. In addition to this, the files of the secular and religious newspapers from 1860 to 1865 were minutely examined and the results carefully collated. Magazines and other periodicals, including the illustrated weeklies of the time, were also searched. The material thus evolved while more promising than in the case of the histories and books of the war was not entirely satisfactory. The paragraphs were not only meager and disconnect. but the dates and places were uncertain and at times unreliable. But where these newspaper stories

Starting point is 00:04:22 could not be utilized, they were useful in furnishing clues upon which complete stories were afterwards built. The general reader may not be deeply interested in these details concerning the making of the book, but they are given for the purpose of emphasizing the care and industry involved in the compilation and production of the work. Through it all, there has been a conscientious, effort to avoid political, sectional, or religious controversy. In short, the desire has been to present a modest picture of the grand work done by the Sisters for humanity. Of course, there has been no intention of presenting a history or even a sketch of the war itself, and the merest thread of its events has been introduced solely for the purpose of making the narrative of the sisters

Starting point is 00:05:08 as connected as the scattered data permitted. The aim has been constantly to present facts in an impartial manner. How far the writer has succeeded remains for the reader to judge. The chivalrous men wearing both the blue and the gray, who caused American manhood and valor to be known and respected in the world over, have on many occasions and in various ways given expression to the esteem and affection in which they hold the women who devoted their lives to the care of the sick and the wounded. The ranks of the war-sitters have been gradually thinned out by death until but a handful of them remain. The survivors rest in their convent homes,

Starting point is 00:05:49 tranquilly awaiting the final summons to a land where conflict is unknown. They may die, but the story of their patriotic and humane work will live as long as love for loyalty, regard for duty, and admiration for South Sacrifice exist in the hearts of the American people. G.B. End of Preface Chapter 1 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 00:06:20 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Larry Wilson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, the orders that participated. On the 12th day of April, 1861, the first shot fired upon Fort Sumter, formally inaugurated the Civil War in the United States. On the 9th of April 1865, Grant and Lee were the principals in the historic meeting at Appomattox Courthouse, by which hostilities were virtually terminated. The interval between these two memorable dates presents the greatest ordeal in the history of the Republic. As a result of these four momentous years of conflict, the nation was deprived by death and disease of one million men. The total number of enlisted soldiers in the Union Army during the whole of the war, amounted to 2,688,523. As many of these men were mustered in twice, and as a certain percent deserted, it is reasonable to estimate that 1,500,000 men were actively engaged in the northern armies.

Starting point is 00:07:29 Of this number, 56,000 died on the field of battle. 35,000 expired in the hospitals from the effects of wounds received in action, and 184,000 perished by disease. It is probable that those who died of disease after their discharge from the army would swell the total to 300,000. If the effects of inferior hospital service and poor sanitary arrangements are added to the other results of war, it is safe to assume that the loss of the South was greater than that of the North. But considering the Southern loss equal to that of the North, the aggregate is 600,000. Add to this, 400,000 men crippled or permanently disabled by disease, and the total

Starting point is 00:08:14 subtraction from the productive force of the nation reaches the stupendous total of one million men. These figures seem almost incredible, but they come from what, in this particular at least, must be regarded as a trustworthy source. The task of caring for such an army of dead and wounded was no light one. In the beginning of the war, this feature of military life was conducted in an uncertain, and spasmodic manner. As time wore on, it became evident that the war was not to consist of a few skirmishes, but was likely to be a protracted struggle between two bodies of determined men. Then the necessity of systematic sanitary and hospital service made itself apparent.

Starting point is 00:08:57 As a result of the pressing needs of the hour, the Sanitary Commission and the Christian Commission were organized. The meritorious nature of the work of these great charities has been made known by reports and books published since the war. The details of the good deeds of both organizations and supplying nurses, and in caring for invalance generally, are too well known to need repetition. But the story and labors of the Catholic Sisters is not well known. To begin with, the sisters brought to their aid in caring for the sick and wounded soldiers the experienced training and discipline of the religious bodies with which they were identified. Soft denial was a feature of their daily life, and the fact that they had taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, peculiarly fitted them for a duty that demanded personal sacrifices almost every hour of the day and night.

Starting point is 00:09:51 From the data obtainable, it appears that the members of four Catholic sisterhoods participated in the merciful work incident to the war. These included the sisters of charity, the sisters of mercy, the sisters of St. Joseph, and the sisters of the Holy Cross. The soldiers, like many people in civil life, made no distinction between the orders, and to them the dark-robed angels of the battlefields were all sisters of charity. There are now three orders of the Sisters of Charity in the United States. The Black Caps or Mother Seton Sisters, who have establishments in New York, Cincinnati and other places, the White Caps or Cornett Sisters of Emmonsburg, Maryland, and the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky. There are probably 5,000 members of these three orders of

Starting point is 00:10:41 Sisters of Charity in this country today. The Nazareth community was founded in 1812 by a few pious American ladies near Nazareth, Kentucky, under the good bishop David. Mother Catherine Spalding, a relative of the late Archbishop of Baltimore, and of the present bishop, of Peoria, Illinois, was the first superiors. The members of all these three branches of the Sisters of Charity did good work during the war. The congregation of the Sisters of Mercy was founded by Miss Catherine Macaulay in Dublin, Ireland, September 24, 1827. Seven sisters who came from Carlo, Ireland, established the order in the United States, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Sisters of the Holy Cross have a mother house at Notre Dame.

Starting point is 00:11:29 Indiana, and conduct establishments in a large number of diocese. The congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph was founded in France in 1650. In the general ruin, incident to the French revolution, near the close of the last century, the convents of the order were destroyed. The body was subsequently reorganized, and six sisters from the mother house at Lyon came to St. Louis in 1836 at the request of Bishop Rosati and founded a house at Karen de Lé, and founded a house at Carine Missouri. This became the mother house in this country. A number of independent houses of the order have since been established, notably the one in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. End of Chapter 1. Chapter 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings

Starting point is 00:12:26 are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Recording by John Brandon. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, Chapter 2, Archbishop Hughes and the Sisters. The problem of how to provide the necessary nurses for both the Union and Confederate armies, sisters not able to volunteer without the approval of their superiors. An interesting epistle from Archbishop Hughes to Archbishop Kenrick, the New York prelate appointed by President Lincoln as a peace commission. to France. A characteristic letter from the martyred president to the great archbishop.

Starting point is 00:13:13 Welling, the draft riots in New York City. Very early in the war, the question of providing nurses for the sick and wounded soldiers of both armies became a serious problem, not only to the civil authorities, but also to the church officials. In every great emergency, questions of this kind generally solve themselves. It proved so in this instance. The first shot had hardly been fired, the first battle fought, and the first improvised hospital put into service, before volunteers from all sections of the country had placed themselves at the disposal of generals of the contending armies. These offers came both from lay women and from members of the various sisterhoods connected with the Catholic Church in the United States.

Starting point is 00:14:08 The sisters, of course, being under certain rules and discipline, were not able to volunteer until they had obtained the consent and approval of their superiors. In the beginning, the nurses for the armies were taken from all walks of life. While they were zealous and entered upon their work with the desire of alleviating suffering, they did not have the disposition or training necessary to carry on the work with the ease and thoroughness essential to complete success. As the war progressed and battles occurred more frequently, and the number of sick and wounded became alarmingly large,

Starting point is 00:14:48 the medical directors in both the Union and Confederate armies began to recognize and appreciate the real value of the sisters. The following letter written by the United States, Archbishop Hughes of New York, to Most Reverend Francis Patrick Kendrick, D.D., Archbishop of the Sea of Baltimore, shows that the subject was a live one in church circles at that time. To the Archbishop of Baltimore, May 9, 1861. Most Reverend and dear sir. The Superior of the Jesuits here called upon me more than a week ago,

Starting point is 00:15:31 to state that their society would be prepared to furnish for spiritual necessities of the army north and south as many as ten chaplains speaking all the civilized languages of europe or america i heard him but did not make any reply for myself i have sent but one chaplain with the sixty-ninth regiment and to him i have already given the faculties which you had the kindness to confer upon me for such an occasion there is also another question growing up and it is about nurses for the sick and wounded our sisters of mercy have volunteered after the example of their sisters toiling in the crimean war i have signified to them not harshly that they had better mind their own affairs until their services are needed i am now informed indirectly that the sisters of charity and the diocese would be willing to volunteer a force of from fifty to one hundred nurses to this last proposition i have very strong objections besides it would seem to me natural and proper that the sisters of charity in emmitsburg should occupy the most honorable post of nursing the sick and wounded but on the other hand maryland is a divided community at this moment whereas new york is understood to be all on one side in fact as the question now stands Maryland is in America for the moment, as Belgium has been the battlefield of Europe. As I mentioned several days ago, Baltimore must be destroyed or it must succumb to the northern

Starting point is 00:17:25 determination. On these several points, I would like much to know what your grace thinks and would advise. Sincerely, your devoted brother and servant in Christ. John. Archbishop of New York. While as the Archbishop stated in his letter, Maryland might have been a divided community, the same could not be said of the Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg. They were united in occupying the very honorable post of nursing the sick and wounded on both sides of the great conflict. Soon after this, the Archbishop changed some of his views regarding the sisters, as expressed in the above letter. Both the Sisters of Charity and the Sisters of Mercy in the Diocese of New York served in the camps and the hospitals. To begin with, the Archbishop withdrew

Starting point is 00:18:25 his strong objection to the 100 Sisters of Charity who desired to volunteer in the early stages of the war. After that, all those who were willing to undertake the humane work went into it with his blessing and best wishes. The following letter from President Lincoln to Archbishop Hughes is of interest. It was the beginning of a warm personal friendship between the two strong men, a friendship ended only by death. Washington, D.C. October 21, 1861, Archbishop Hughes. Right, Reverend, sir, I am sure that.

Starting point is 00:19:10 you will pardon me, if in my ignorance I do not address you with technical correctness. I find no law authorizing the appointment of chaplains for our hospitals, and yet the services of chaplains are more needed perhaps in hospitals than with healthy soldiers in the field. With this view, I have given a quasi-appointment, a copy of which I and close to each of the three Protestant ministers who have accepted and entered upon the duties. If you perceive no objection, I will thank you to give me the name or names of one or more suitable persons of the Catholic Church, to whom I may with propriety tender the same service. Many thanks for your kind and judicious letters to Governor Seward, and which he regularly

Starting point is 00:20:08 allows me the pleasure and profit of forusing. With the highest respect, your obedient servant, A. Lincoln. There are conflicting opinions regarding the propriety of the war stand taken by the Archbishop, but it is generally agreed that he was one of the heroic figures of war times. He had the absolute confidence of President Lincoln, and on the 21st of October, 1861, was sent abroad with Thurlow Weed on a peace commission. The Archbishop went to France, while Mr. Weed confined his work to England. At the same time, Messrs. Mason and Slidell were in Europe on a mission in the interest of the Confederacy.

Starting point is 00:21:01 The late Bishop McNerney of Albany, then a young priest in New York City, accompanied the Archbishop to France, acting in the capacity of private secretary. These two rival missions to Europe were covered with all sorts of honeyed diplomatic terms, but their real purpose was well known. Messrs, Mason, and Slydel went to induce one or more of the powerful nations of the old world to throw the weight of their influence with the Southern Confederacy. The mission of the Archbishop and Mr. Weed was to prevent that result. A letter written by Archbishop Hughes to Cardinal Barnabot at the time of his appointment by President Lincoln goes to show that the Archbishop accepted the mission with the very highest

Starting point is 00:21:58 motives, after explaining that he had refused it once and only reconsidered his refusal at the earnest request of the President, he adds, my mission was and is a mission of peace between France and England on the one side and the United States on the other. The time was so brief between my visit to Washington and my departure from New York that I had no opportunity of writing to your eminence upon the subject, or of consulting any of the other bishops in regard to it. I made it known to the President that if I should come to Europe, it would not be as a partisan of the North more than of the South, that I should represent the interests of the South as well as of the North. In short, the interests of all the United States, just the same as if they

Starting point is 00:22:58 were not distracted by the present Civil War. The people of the South know that I am not opposed to their interests. They have even published that in their papers, and some say that my coming to Europe is with a view of bringing about a reconciliation between the two sections of the country. But in fact, no one but myself, either north or south, knows the entire object of my visit to Europe. Archbishop Hughes was one of the great men of his day. He was on term, of friendship with several of the presidents who preceded Mr. Lincoln, and also enjoyed the confidence and respect of the leading statesmen of the nation. As early as 1847, he preached before Congress upon the invitation of such men as John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun, and Thomas H. Benton.

Starting point is 00:24:01 His subject was Christianity the only source of moral, social, and political regeneration. In July 1863, Archbishop Hughes was instrumental in quelling the draft riots in New York City. The mob was beyond the control of the local authorities, and the Archbishop finally consented to say a few words in the interest of law and order. The venerable prelate was fast approaching his end. He was so weak at this time that he had to be conveyed to the balcony. of his residence in an armchair. He spoke briefly and succeeded in inducing the rioters to return to their homes for the time being. It was his last public appearance, and soon after this

Starting point is 00:24:53 he peacefully passed away, surrounded by friends and relatives and the ever-faithful Sisters of Charity. In the chapters that follow is proposed to deal with the labors of the Sisters of Charity. charity, taking up first the Coronet or Emmetsburg sisters, then the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, and finally the Black Caps, or Mother Seton Sisters. The concluding chapters deal with the Sisters of Mercy, the sisters of St. Joseph, and the Sisters of the Holy Cross in the Order named. End of Chapter 2, recording by John Brandon. Chapter 3 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording.

Starting point is 00:25:51 All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, in and around Richmond. In the early part of June, 1861, Dr. Gibson, who was in charge of the military hospital at the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, called upon the Sisters of Charity of Emmetsburg to come to the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers in that neighborhood. The late right Reverend 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

Starting point is 00:26:32 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. It was announced that the sisters would begin their work on the following Saturday.

Starting point is 00:26:59 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 300 patients. Each ward held from 12 to 14 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 killed,

Starting point is 00:27:37 of the newcomers was to relieve the hunger of the patients. To affect 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 employees 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

Starting point is 00:28:25 locked the door. Suddenly there was a wrapping 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 wrappings continued to grow in volume and number opened 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 overnight. 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,

Starting point is 00:29:33 I understand, you want me to write to her. Yes, he said. 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 Philippi, Big Bethel, Romney, Rich Mountain, Carracks Ford, and Manassas, Virginia. 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.

Starting point is 00:30:23 Toward night about 50 wounded soldiers, prisoners from Manassas, were brought into the hospital, some 32 dying and others wounded, and until better accommodated. 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.

Starting point is 00:30:51 At last a pillowcase 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.

Starting point is 00:31:24 Nevertheless, they composed themselves as best they could. In the morning, the secret of the strong odor was revealed, field. 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 this time, says, Yesterday, a man was buried with three legs. On Sunday morning, an addition of a levy Union officers was received to the number of wounded. They were given accommodations in the garret.

Starting point is 00:32:09 In the officers' quarters were found captains, majors, lieutenants, and sergeants, all wounded. One fellow, blessed with a fine voice, 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

Starting point is 00:32:58 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 clipped 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.

Starting point is 00:34:02 it was thought that thirty-four 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 twenty six eighteen sixty one 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 street we are in though this state of affairs may be of short duration the sister hardly knew what to do but proposed that thirty-five wagons be sent among the farmhouses for the purpose of gathering in fowl milk butter and fruit

Starting point is 00:35:57 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.

Starting point is 00:36:48 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. End of Chapter 3. Chapter 4 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit you. Visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 00:37:22 Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Harper's Ferry Nearly all the sisters that could be spared had been sent from the motherhouse at Emmetsburg and were engaged in performing works of charity on the battlefields and in the various camps and hospitals. On June 7, 1861, a telegram was received from the authorities,

Starting point is 00:37:43 asking that a number of sisters be detailed to serve the sick and wounded soldiers at Harper's Ferry. in spite of the severe strain that it entailed upon their available assignments the superiors made the sacrifice of sending three sisters these brave women left emmitsburg on june ninth for frederick city mother anne simeon cautioned them to act with prudence lest they meet with trouble as they had the northern army in its sentinels to pass in order to reach their destination an orderly had been sent to escort them but the sisters passed their intended guide without knowing it he going by them on the road to emmetsburg an expected engagement kept villagers and farmers quietly at home men cautiously whispered their fears or opinions and the sight of people bold enough to travel just then was a matter that occasioned mild surprise for this reason the sisters tried to huddle in the rear of the stage-coach hoping to pass unobserved during a brief halt for the mail in one little town the driver opened the stage door and handing in a letter said in a loud voice sisters a gentleman in Emmetsburg desires you to put this letter in a southern post office after you have crossed the line.

Starting point is 00:38:57 The eyes of the curious and astonished people were on them in a moment. The sisters were not aware that the driver knew of their destination, but they remained quiet and made the best of the incident. The heat was excessive. One of the horses gave out on the way, and another had to be hastily substituted. After some delay, the party arrived in Frederick City. A few sentinels stood here and there, but no one paid much attention to the new arrivals. Before they started again, however, a number of men gathered around their carriages, saying,

Starting point is 00:39:31 Why, ladies, where are you going? Several of the men asked questions at the same time, but the sisters stared at them blankly, and civilly answered anything, except what the gossips most desired to know. As hostilities had stopped the railway cars, the pilgrims had to continue their journey in the stagecoach. almost sick with heat they journeyed on, until another horse succumbed. This meant more trouble in suspense, but it was born with heroic patience. The most exciting adventure was yet to come. The rocks of the Maryland Heights on one side, and the Potomac River on the left, came in view. Just as the carriage was seemingly, proceeding smoothly on its way, there came a sudden grating

Starting point is 00:40:14 sound, and then an abrupt stop. We're stuck, ejaculated the driver, with more fronely. force than elegance. The carriage was so tightly fastened that it was feared the vehicle would have to be abandoned, and the remainder of the journey made upon foot. The driver swore and stormed about, while the sisters meekly looked on in silence, fearing to further irritate him with suggestions. Finally, the carriage was extricated, and the pilgrims proceeded upon their way. About twilight the southern pickets were seen, for the south still held a portion of Maryland. The first soldier, inquired where the sisters were going and with what intent. He then passed them on to the next

Starting point is 00:40:55 guard, and so on until they came to the last, who said, we have just received such strict orders regarding persons crossing in or out that it is not in my power to pass you on. The captain of the guards was sent for, however, and the sisters were transferred over the Potomac Bridge. Great cargoes of powder had already been placed on this bridge, so that in the event of the enemy's approach it might be destroyed. harper's ferry is at the junction of the potomac and shenandoah rivers the potomac separating maryland and virginia a summit above the town standing between the two rivers is called bolivar heights on this elevation was located the military hospital where the sisters were to labor a neat little catholic church was located about midways between the valley and the town the hospital was filled with the sick and around the town lay thousands of men just arrived from the most remote southern states. A cold wet spell had preceded the present heat, and many of the men were

Starting point is 00:41:56 ill, and lay in their tents until vacancies opened for them in the badly sheltered houses in the town. The men in one regiment had contracted measles on their march. This spreading among the others with the exposure incidental to army life, thinned their numbers before the ball and the sword had begun their quicker work. On reaching their lodgings, the sisters found supper prepared, and after disposing of this they soon retired to rest. The stillness and darkness of the town was frightful. No sound but the sisters' voices or footsteps was to be heard. Not a light gleamed from the fastened windows for fear of discovery by the hidden enemy. The whole army had been sleeping or resting on their arms since their arrival, expecting an early attack.

Starting point is 00:42:46 The medical director, who had sent for the sisters, came early in the morning and took them to the hospital. With his assistant he escorted them from room to room, introducing them and saying to the patients, now you will have no cause to complain of not getting nourishment, medicine, and attention at the right time, for the sisters of charity will see to all these things. The town had been, by turns,

Starting point is 00:43:10 in the possession of the north and south, and therefore was completely drained of provisions and necessary conveniences for the sick. Notwithstanding these difficulties, things were beginning to look more comfortable, when a telegram was received from Winchester, ordering the whole Confederate Army to repair to that town immediately. The Northern Army, it was announced, would attempt to cross the Potomac above and below Harper's Ferry, thus surrounding the Southern Army and cutting off all supplies. The soldiers moved at once, with the exception of those who served the sick, and those who were to collect the tents and finally destroy bridges and tracks.

Starting point is 00:43:49 Provisions were cast into the river by the wholesale, in order to deprive the enemy of benefit. Then came new orders to wait a while, but the invalids had already been removed to the depot to await the return of the cars from Winchester. Arrangements were now being made for the destruction of the bridges and tracks, and the sisters were sent to remain with a worthy Catholic family far away from these structures. During the night, one explosion after another shook the Grand Bridge and seemed to shake the mountains. The little Catholic Church, the only one that had not been applied to military purposes, was filled and surrounded by the frightened people.

Starting point is 00:44:28 The worn-out pastor was their only consoler. The sisters looked at the awful destruction around them and felt encompassed with desolation. All the next day they hourly expected to be called to the cars, but no word came. They now learned that the ladies of Winchester had written to the medical director, requesting him not to let the sisters of charity serve the sick, as they themselves would wait on them. The sisters knew that the ladies had been enthusiastic in caring for the Confederate sick, and thinking the delay was owing to the embarrassment the doctors might experience in regard to this, one sister, acting as spokeswoman, said to them,

Starting point is 00:45:09 Gentlemen, we are aware of the ardor with which the Winchester ladies have labored for your poor men, and also know of their desire to serve the men alone, that is, without any aid of ours. Therefore, be candid enough to allow us to return to our home. If you feel any difficulty respecting the ladies of Winchester, tell us. The sisters consider it reasonable that they should wish to serve their own people, and will not be offended, but rather feel grateful for your friendly candor. The physicians replied that they did not care for the objections that had been made to the sisters, that the ladies of Winchester could never do for the sick what the sisters of charity would do,

Starting point is 00:45:49 and therefore, unless the sisters insisted on returning home, the doctors would hold them to their undertaking. The physicians begged the sisters not to leave the town, but to await the signal for departure. Expecting all day, and even until 11 p.m. to be sent for, and feeling that rest was absolutely necessary, the sisters were preparing for bed when the kind lady of the house came into their room saying, my dear poor sisters, a wagon and your baggage are at the door for you. They soon left their benevolent hostess, who wept to see them pursuing such hardships. It was a genuine farm wagon, with two negroes as drivers. The worthy pastor of Harper's Ferry, who was determined not to leave the sisters entirely to strangers,

Starting point is 00:46:35 attended to their trunks and found seats for them. The heavy spray from both rivers was thick in the air. Here and there, a star appeared between broken clouds, giving barely light enough to see the sentinels at their posts. One of these, advancing, asked the counter sign, which the pastor gave him. The wagon, running on the high terrace edge of the Potomac River, made with the darkness, a gloomy prospect for the sisters. Upon reaching the depot, an officer met them, and offered to find them a shelter until the cars would arrive. He took them across two boards that formed a temporary bridge. By the aid of his lantern, they could see water on either side of them, so that they had to watch carefully and

Starting point is 00:47:20 pick their steps, lest they slip off the boards. At last he opened the door of a little hut, which was almost washed by the river. Here they entered and sat down. Here they entered and sat down. resting their foreheads on their umbrellas until between three and four o'clock, when a rumbling outside announced the arrival of the cars. The train reached Winchester five hours later. Almost the entire town was occupied by soldiers, so that accommodations at hotels were not to be had for any consideration. The zealous priest, who was still with the sisters,

Starting point is 00:47:54 took them to the church, and afterwards went in search of lodgings for them. The church, which was of stone, was one of the poorest old buildings in the place, was located in the suburbs. A crowd of ignorant and curious men and children followed the sisters as they walked to the edifice. As they entered the church the bystanders crowded in and about the door. When the sisters went by turns to the confessional, the village men and boys hurried outside and peeped through the cracks at the penitents, peering into their very faces. Soon the priest went out, and as he did so he shut and locked the door

Starting point is 00:48:30 after him. After some time he returned, although the sisters feared that it was just possible he had lost his mind and would not come back. They knew his hardships had been excessive, because besides being sick and without food or sleep, he had many other inconveniences to contend with. But he returned and took them to a plain, worthy Catholic family. The following morning being Sunday, they walked to the church, and just at the gate had to halt to let a company of soldiers, on their way to Mass, enter the church. About 20 or 30 Catholics constituted the congregation usually, but on this day the soldiers and sisters made quite a crowded assembly. After that, the sisters waited patiently for the doctors to take them to the scene of their labors. The Reverend Dr. Costello

Starting point is 00:49:18 had called on them from time to time, informing the authorities that the sisters were ready to go to work among the sick. The medical director finally asked them if they must remain in one hospital or whether each sister could take charge of a separate one. He was informed that their number was too small to divide, and they would remain at one of the hospitals. The heads of the families in the city of Winchester remained in town, while grown-up daughters and children were sent to county seats, the mothers of these staying at their houses,

Starting point is 00:49:48 receiving and serving as many sick soldiers as they could. The sisters received much kindness from these ladies, for they knew that the common rations of the soldiers were very very, very rough. Indeed, one of the greatest distresses of the sisters at this time was that they had not more for the poor sick. The sisters began their labors in one of the largest hospitals in Winchester. They worked incessantly day and night, frequently not pausing long enough to take necessary food and nourishment for themselves. Such labor began to show on them, especially as they were only three in number. The doctors said that while more nurses were needed,

Starting point is 00:50:28 there would be no way of sending for more sisters except by one of them going home and returning with the others. Affairs had reached such a crisis that only the sisters of charity could travel now. One of them finally started off for the mother house, going by car, then by stage, and then crossing the Potomac in a flat canoe. Then she traveled by foot as fast as possible, and after running for a mile, reached the railroad car before it left the station. the evening of next day she reached st josephs at emmitsburg where she was received as if from the grave the anxious superiors had heard nothing from or of the sisters except what meagre news was published of the movements of the two armies sister euphemia afterwards mother superior left st joseph's at once with three companions for winchester to relieve the sisters there at the same time a telegram was sent to sister valentine at st louis instructing her to go immediately and replace sister euphemia in winchester who was to proceed farther southward for in richmond virginia the sisters were almost overcome with continuous duty the sisters now six in number continued their labours in number continued their labours in Winchester until very few remained in the hospitals. The convalescent members of the army had been

Starting point is 00:51:49 leaving Winchester for some days, going towards Richmond. The sisters themselves finally proceeded towards Richmond. End of Chapter 4. Chapter 5 Part 1 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, here, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, St. Louis Military Hospital, Part 1. In the meantime, operations in the great civil conflict were beginning in the southwest. The fact that Missouri was a border state made at the scene of some of the most dramatic events of the war. Thousands of the sick and wounded of both armies were cared for in St. Louis.

Starting point is 00:52:44 It was on the 12th of August, 18th of August. that Major General Fremont, commanding the Department of the West, established a military hospital in the suburbs of St. Louis. General Fremont desired that every attention should be paid to the wounded soldiers. He visited them frequently, and, perceiving that there was much neglect on the part of the attendance, applied to the Sisters of St. Philomena School for a sufficient number of them to take charge of the hospital. He promised the sisters, if they would accept, to leave everything. to their management. There was no delay in exceeding to this request. Reverend James Francis Berlando, the superior of the Sisters of Charity, during a visit made to St. Philomena's school a few months

Starting point is 00:53:29 previous, had foreseen the probability of such an occurrence, and given the sisters' direction to guide them in such a case. The sisters had the superintendents of everything relating to the sick in the hospital. Some of the soldier attendants at first looked with wonder on the strange dress and appearance of the new nurses, asking them if they were Freemasons. The sisters were, however, treated with the greatest respect, so much that not an oath or disrespectful word was heard in the hospital during the three years that they were there. The hospital was visited every other day by the ladies of the Union Aid Society,

Starting point is 00:54:07 who could not help admiring the almost profound silence observed in the wards. They could not understand the influence the sisters exercised over the patients, both sick and convalescent, who were as submissive as children. The Archbishop of St. Louis, the late-most reverend P. R. Kenrick, D.D., was pleased when he learned that the sisters had been asked for at the hospital. The prelitt provided a chaplain who said mass every morning in the oratory arranged in their apartment. After the mass, the chaplain visited every ward instructing, baptizing, and reconciling sinners to God. There were hundreds of baptisms during the time the sisters were in the hospital, the greatest number of the persons

Starting point is 00:54:49 thus baptized dying in the hospital. The institution was closed at the end of the war, and the sisters returned to their former homes. Father Burke was one of the priests who did a great deal of work in the hospital, and he bears testimony to the fact that the patients thought there were no persons like the sisters. They would often say, indeed, it was not the doctor that cured us, it was the sisters. When returning to their regiment, they would say, Sisters, we may never see you again, but be assured you will be very gratefully remembered. Others would say, Sisters, I wish we could do something for you, but you do not seem to want anything. Besides, it is not in the power of any poor soldier to make you anything like recompense.

Starting point is 00:55:34 All that we can do for you is fight for you, and that we will do until our last breath. They preferred applying to the sisters in the cases where they could do so than to the doctors, and as a result the sisters had a difficult task in encouraging them to have confidence in the doctors. Every evening the sisters were accustomed to visit a tent, a few yards distant from the hospital, where the badly wounded cases were detained. One night, a sister found a poor man whose hand had been amputated from the wrist, suffering very much, the arm being terribly inflamed. He complained that the doctor had, that morning, ordered a hot poultice, and that he had not received it.

Starting point is 00:56:15 The sister called the nurse and wound dresser and inquired why the doctor's orders had not been attended to. They told her that there were no hops in the hospital, that the steward had gone to town that morning before they knew it, and they had no other opportunity of sending to obtain any that day. The sisters immediately sent across the yard to a bakery and got some hops and had the poultice put on. The poor man was gratified and surprised. The sisters, he said, find ways and means to relieve everyone, but others who make a profession of the work do not even know how to begin it. When a new doctor came to the hospital,

Starting point is 00:56:52 it was from the patients that he would learn to appreciate the value of the sisters. When the patients returned to their regiments, they would say to their sick companions, If you go to St. Louis, try to get to the house of refuge hospital. The sisters are there, and they will soon make you. well. Late one evening a sister went to see that nothing was wanting for the sick. She found a man suffering from intense pain in his forehead and temples. He had taken cold in camp, and the inflammation went to his eyes so that he became entirely blind. The pain in his forehead was so intense

Starting point is 00:57:27 that he thought he could not live until morning. The sister asked him to let her bind up his forehead with a wide bandage. Oh, sister, he said, it is no use. The doctor is, has been bathing my forehead with spirits of ether and other liquids, and nothing will do me any good. I cannot live until morning. My head is splitting open. But you may do what you like. She took a wide bandage, which, unknown to him, was saturated in chloroform, bound up his head and left him. Early in the morning she went to ask him how he spent the night. He said, Oh, sister, I've rested well. From the moment you put your hands on my forehead, I felt no pain. He never thought of attributing the relief to the chloroform because he did not know of it,

Starting point is 00:58:13 and the sister, feeling that in this case ignorance was bliss, did not enlighten him. The patients had the best of feeling toward the sisters, and when the medical doctor visited the hospital, he would stand in the middle of the ward and tell the patients to whom they owed their comfort, the good order, cleanliness, and regularity that reigned there. He told them that all these things came through the sisters. It is a notable fact that the respect with which they were treated in the beginning never diminished, but went on increasing while the hospital lasted. Two of the prisoners of war, as a result of a court-martial, were to be executed,

Starting point is 00:58:50 but the worthy chaplain who daily attended the prison obtained the pardon of one, while the sisters obtained that of the other. On one occasion, a soldier who was accused of desertion was sentenced to be hanged, and the sisters attended him until it was all over. there was an elderly man confined in the prison hospital who always found great pleasure and seen to the wants of his companions he told the sisters it made him happy to see them get what they most desired toward the close of the war he obtained his release and afterwards sent fifty dollars to the sisters to supply the wants of the suffering sick his son soon after this was charged with some military offense tried by court-martial sentenced and executed the young man became a catholic and in his last moments received the consolations of the church his remains were given up to his family and his father requested the clergyman who attended him before his execution to preach the funeral sermon which the priest did in a baptist church where his hearers were all baptists one of the priests who was untiring in his work among the soldiers in st louis during those heart-breaking days was father patrick john ryan

Starting point is 01:00:04 now the archbishop of the great archdiocese of philadelphia early in the war he was appointed a chaplain by the government but resigned his position feeling that he could do better work among the southern prisoners of war if he appeared among them simply as a priest the rector of one of the protestant episcopal churches in st louis succeeded him as chaplain father ryan is authority for the statement that there were probably more baptisms in this military hospital than on any of the battlefield or in any other hospital of the Civil War. He was a witness to many pathetic and humorous incidents in the daily routine of hospital service. On one occasion he was attending a poor drummer boy who was only too surely approaching the end of his life of warfare. He spoke to him gently of the things necessary to do

Starting point is 01:00:55 under such circumstances, instructed him to glance over his past life and try and feel a genuine sorrow for all of his sins and for anything he had done against his fellow man. The boy listened meekly for a while, but when he was told to be sorry for all his wrongdoings, a new light flashed upon him. He half rose in bed,

Starting point is 01:01:16 and defiantly declared that, if this contemplated the severing of his allegiance to the Southern Confederacy, and in admission that the Yankees were right, he would have none of it. Half amused at the outburst, and not entirely unmoved at this flash of spirit, in what the lad no doubt deemed a righteous cause, the good priest soon assured him that his mission was not of the north or the south, but of God. The young sufferer died soon after this, with most edifying sentiments upon his lips.

Starting point is 01:01:48 Sister Juliana, a sister of Bishop Chetard, of Vincennes, who did good service in this and other hospitals, was the witness of many affecting deathbed scenes and many wonderful deathbed conversions. fervent aspirations to heaven went up from the lips of men who had never prayed before soldiers from the back woods who had known no religion and no god were in a few hours almost transformed it is estimated that priests and sisters baptized between five and six hundred persons at this one hospital archbishop ryan tells of the following incident that came under his personal observation and which john francis maguire member of parliament from cork has incorporated in one of his works footnote the irish in america end footnote a sister was passing through the streets of boston with downcast eyes and noiseless steps when she was suddenly addressed in a language that made her pale cheeks flush the insult came from a young man standing on a street corner the sister uttered no word of protest but raising her eyes gave one swift penetrating look at the brutal offender time passed on the war intervened the scene changed to a ward in a military hospital in missouri a wounded soldier once powerful but now as helpless as an infant was brought in and placed under the care of the sisters of charity it was soon evident that the man's hour had arrived that he was not long for this world the sister urged the man to die in the friendship of god to ask pardon for his sins and to be sorry for whatever evil he must be sorry for whatever evil he must

Starting point is 01:03:32 might have done. I have committed many sins in my life, he said to the sister, and I am sorry for them all and hope to be forgiven. But there is one thing that weighs heavy on my mind at this moment. I once insulted a sister of charity in the streets of Boston. Her glance of reproach has haunted me ever since. I knew nothing of the sisters then, but now I know how good and disinterested you are and how mean I was. Oh, if that sister were only here, we can die. as I am, I would go down upon my knees and ask her pardon. The sister turned to him with a look of tenderness and compassion, saying, if that is all you desire to set your mind at ease, you can have it. I am the sister you insulted, and I grant you pardon freely and from my heart.

Starting point is 01:04:21 What? Are you the sister I met in Boston? Oh, yes, you are. I know you now. And how could you have attended on me with greater care than on any of the other patients, me who insulted you so. It is our Lord's way, replied the sister gently. I did it for his sake, because he loved his enemies and blessed those who persecuted him. I knew you from the moment you entered the hospital. I recognized you from the scar over your forehead, and I have prayed for you unceasingly. Send for the priest, exclaimed the dying soldier, the religion that teaches such charity must be from God. And he died in the sister's faith, holding in his failing grasp the emblem of man's redemption, and murmuring prayers taught him by her whose glance of mild rebuke had long filled him with remorse

Starting point is 01:05:10 through every scene of revelry or of peril. End of Chapter 5, Part 1. Chapter 5 Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton St. Louis Military Hospital, Part 2 Reverend John Bannon, S.J, was one of the priests who performed efficient service as a chaplain during the war. Father Bannon is now spending the autumn of his life in performing the works of mercy and charity, which go to make up the life of a good priest, at St.

Starting point is 01:06:02 Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland. Writing of his wartime experience in a letter dated December 10th, 1897, he says, twice only did I come into relations with the sisters' hospitals. The first time was at Corinth, Mississippi, after my arrival with the Missouri troops from Arkansas. There I found the Sisters of Charity, Bonnet Blanc, from Mobile, Alabama, in possession of a hospital, located in a large brick building situated on a hill overlooking a railroad crossing for the town of corinth was little more at that time during the temporary illness of father coyle who was chaplain of the nuns i visited the hospital for him a few times on one occasion a sister indicated to me a cot in a distant corner of the ward whereon lay a large burly man heavily bearded and of uncompromising aspect he had been questioning the sister about her religion and desired further explanation so I was asked to go see him and give him satisfaction. After a few questions about his home and family and wounds and personal comfort, I asked him about the nursing and treatment of the hospital, a question which brought him to attention, for he sat upright in bed, looking at me sternly,

Starting point is 01:07:17 and almost fiercely said, See now, mister, if you come here to spy after the sisters, you're in the wrong shop. There's not a man wouldn't rise again you if you said a word again them. Don't do it. Don't do it. do it or all. And he fell back exhausted. But my friend, I said, I'm a friend of theirs. I'm a priest. A priest, he repeated. And then sitting up again, he called out, Sister, sister, this man says he's a priest, is he? To which the sister answered, yes, and he fell back, saying, all right, Mr. Now I want to know if any man ever believed such things as the sister told me. I assured him that I believed them all, and had come at the sister's request to explain them to him all right mr go ahead now so i proceeded to speak of god and the trinity and principal mysteries

Starting point is 01:08:10 he demure to every word i said especially to the mystery of the blessed trinity and to each new instalment of doctrine would sit up in bed and call to the sister at the other end of the ward repeat to her my statement and ask her was that true to which when she answered yes he would fall back on his pillow and then with a sigh of resignation say, All right, Mr. Go ahead now, I believe it, and so on. He accepted my teaching only on the word of the sister, and on his faith in the sister I baptized him and left him happy. I had not reached the door of the ward when he called me back. Say, Mr. Do you reckon I'll get better? Yes, I think so.

Starting point is 01:08:51 At least I hope so. His countenance fell visibly, but after a few seconds he looked up and said, whisper down nearer to me. And so pulling my head quite close to his mouth, he whispered, If I get well, I'll have to leave the sisters. I'd rather stay and die than leave them. Goodbye, God bless ye, pray for me. And so we parted. Subsequently, I heard Dr. Lynch, late Bishop of Charleston narrated a very like experience. The only other occasion that I remember visiting a sister's hospital was before the siege of Vicksburg

Starting point is 01:09:27 at Jacksonville, Mississippi. The hospital was located in a large hotel downtown. As I entered the door, I found the hallway occupied for its length by two rows of six soldiers stretched out on the floor, each wrapped in his old worn blanket with his small bundle for a pillow. A tall, gaunt, poor fellow had just come in and was spreading his blanket preparing to lie down. A sister approached and asked him for his ticket. He made no answer, but having finished his preparations lay down, and then proceeded to search for the paper. When found, after a long search, he handed it to the sister, who, glancing at it, said, My good man, this is not for us, it is for the hospital in the capital. That might be, he answered, and I reckon it is. But that don't matter anyhow. This is my hospital, and I'll stay

Starting point is 01:10:18 here, whatever the ticket's for. Think I'm gone anywhere but the sisters? and so he was tolerated and adopted by the sisters for though inconvenient to the nuns it was consoling and encouraging to them when they found their services so appreciated by their patients from jacksonville i went to port gibson and then to vicksburg there were not any sisters at either place after the fall of vicksburg i went to mowiceburg where i visited the sisters hospital but was not on duty there or elsewhere up to my departure for europe by the steamer r e lee via wilmington north carolina and Halifax. Many of the episodes of the war, with which the sisters were associated, would, in their intensity and uniqueness, furnish the basis for stories and dramas more wonderful than anything yet written by the novelists or constructed by the playwrights. Here was frequently illustrated the poet's contention that truth is stranger than fiction. One instance containing all of the elements that go to make up a romance comes to mind. The two print

Starting point is 01:11:23 Fensible figures in it were a sweet sister of charity, burning with love for her fellow creatures, and willing to lay down life itself in the cause of suffering humanity, and a brave soldier, filled with patriotism for his country, brought to the point of death by a malignant fever, nursed back to life, and finally, 25 years after the war, giving an exhibition of gratitude as rare as it is beautiful. Thomas Trehe was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1844, and was the only son of devoted parents. When the war began, he was about 17 years of age. Flushed with the vigor and energy of youth, he desired to enlist at once. He did not succeed in carrying out his wish, however, until August, 1862, when he enlisted in

Starting point is 01:12:11 Company H. 16th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. When he was mustered out at the close of the war, it was a sergeant of his command. He was commended many times by his superiors for gallantry and action. In the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, he was struck by the fragment of a shell and severely wounded in the left breast. He was left on the battlefield all night, but finally received attention at the hands of Dr. R. F. Weir, who was in charge of the hospital at Frederick's City. Treyh recovered from this and went to the front again with his regiment. After the Battle of Gettysburg, he was taken with typhoid fever, which soon assumed a malignant form. dr gray of philadelphia who was in charge of barracks h in the united states general hospital at frederick city made a careful diagnosis of the case and said that trehi who was weakened from the effects of his previous wounds and suffering could not possibly recover

Starting point is 01:13:09 it was at this juncture that sister louise appeared upon the scene she inquired if careful nursing would not save the man's life the physician said that it was one chance in a thousand but that if anything could prolong the soldier's existence it was the patient and persistent care and watchfulness of a sister of charity. Then she exclaimed, I will undertake the case. Sister Louise had been detailed from the motherhouse at Emmetsburg, and though young in years, had acquired considerable experience, which added her marvelous devotedness to duty in self-forgetfulness, had made her phenomenally successful in the hospitals and camps. She was born of French-Canadian parents in Toronto. she was a devout child and early gave evidence of a desire to embrace the religious state consequently the whole of her early childhood was a preparation for the life she was to enter

Starting point is 01:14:05 at an early age she came to the united states and took the vows of chastity poverty and obedience and became a daughter of st vincent at the time she was performing her labors at frederick city she was only nineteen years of age and was moreover possessed of an unusual beauty day and night she remained at the bedside of her patient frequently depriving herself of food and rest in order to minister to his slightest wish finally he recovered only to have a relapse which resulted in a severe case of small-pox this did not dismay the devoted nurse she renewed her energies for three weeks after he became convalescent the sister fed him with a spoon just as the patient was pronounced out of danger the sister was ordered away to her another station, where her pious attentions were given to other cases, as serious and as dangerous as the ordeal she had just gone through. Sergeant Trehe returned to the front from his hospital caught, and was wounded once again at White Oak Road, Virginia, on March 29, 1865. He recovered, and soon after, at the termination of the war, returned to his home. For several years, he was unable, by reason of his weakened physical condition, to perform any of the war, to perform any

Starting point is 01:15:23 of the ordinary duties of life. After he had recovered, he determined to seek the whereabouts of the sister, in order to thank her for the self-sacrificing care she had taken of him during the most critical period of his life. As he expressed it at the time, he was willing to travel from Maine to California merely to get a glimpse of her holy face. Sergeant Trehe first wrote to the motherhouse of the order at Emmetsburg, Maryland, and received a reply that Sister Louise had been ordered to St. Louis soon after the war, and had died there in 1867 of malignant typhoid fever, the same disease that had so nearly ended the life of the soldier. She expired at the 9th and Madison Street's hospital, St. Louis, and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in that city.

Starting point is 01:16:12 The grateful soldier had the grave cared for and decorated it with religious regularity on each recurring memorial day. Frequently he would visit the grave in company with his wife and family, performing a pious pilgrimage at once picturesque and edifying. The desire to render the memory of Sister Louise some service took a strong hold on him at this time. He determined that the good sister should have a better tombstone than the modest little headpiece that occupied a place over her grave, that there could possibly be any objection to such an act of devotion and gratitude never once occurred to the old soldier. He had the stone cut at a nearby marble yard, but when the matter was was brought to the attention of the superintendent of the cemetery the latter sent a communication to the church authorities recommending that the request be refused as the grave was already provided with such a headstone as marked the resting-places of other members of the order

Starting point is 01:17:07 at last the veteran called on sister magdalena the local superior and gave her a full account of the case he recited in detail the unusual service that had been rendered him by the deceased sister the superior questioned him very closely regarding the character of the stone that he desired to erect and was particularly anxious to know its exact dimensions she was very much impressed with his story and expressed a desire to accede to his wishes if it could be done without ostentation or the appearance of any unnecessary show in the sisters section of the cemetery she took his request under advisement and early in eighteen ninety five he was given permission to erect the stone the simple monument of a sister's devotion to duty and an old soldier's gratitude is in the shape of a rustic cross beautifully engraved on it is inscribed the following to sister regina la qua died march eighteen sixty seven in this city erected is a tribute of gratitude from an old soldier t t the grave is regularly decorated with choice plants and flowers and on memorial day especially it attracts hundreds of visitors the old soldier with a show of pardonable pride says there is nothing like it that has been erected over the grave of a sister of charity by any old soldier during or since the war in this country the name upon the cross over the grave was the name of the sister in the world she was known in religion by the title of sister louise speaking of the services rendered to him by sister louise sergeant trey says she was my only attendant and no mother could have been more tender or faithful she brought me dainties which i knew were almost priceless at the time and books that were as rare as gold and in a thousand ways did she add to my obligations naturally i became greatly attached to her and there was nothing in reason that i could do to perpetuate her memory that i would not do her beautiful face and kind attentions have ever remained to me as one of the most precious memories of my existence

Starting point is 01:19:18 i have not the slightest doubt but that she saved my life a glass of water given me from her hand seemed to infuse new life and strength into me whenever she approached my humble cot she brought sunshine and holiness with her every time i meet a sister of charity upon the street i am reminded of my ever-faithful nurse i say and i repeat with all reverence and fervency god bless her i believe she is now praying for me in heaven this is one of the romances of the war illustrating in a high degree the heroism of self-sacrifice and the beauty of gratitude there are no doubt many other similar incidents on record differing somewhat in detail, but all tending to show the love and reverence that invariably followed the noble self-sacrifices of the sisters. End of Chapter 5, Part 2. Chapter 6 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, in and around Washington.

Starting point is 01:20:40 when the fratricidal conflict between the sections began very few persons paused to consider its extent and consequence but as each week passed it grew in intensity and volume in the beginning of the year eighteen sixty two at least four hundred and fifty thousand union troops were in the field and half of that number were under the command of general mcclellan in and around washington upon the breaking out of hostilities old virginia had at once become the principal arena of the contending armies of the east. The Confederate capital being at Richmond and the Union's seat of government at Washington, D.C., only a short stretch of country south of the Potomac River separated the armies. A disastrous defeat at Bull Run on the 21st of July, 1861, caused the Union Army to retreat to Washington. There were various minor engagements both before and after this date, but nothing of unusual consequence. occurred until February 1862, when General U.S. Grant, commanding the land forces, and Commodore

Starting point is 01:21:48 Foot, the gunboats, captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee and Fort Donaldson on the Cumberland River in Kentucky. It was on this occasion when the commander of Fort Donaldson asked for terms that Grant gave the now historic reply, no terms except immediate and unconditional surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works. Sometime before this, the Confederate and Union forces realized that they were insufficiently provided with trained nurses. In the early part of 1862, the government made a formal request upon the sisterhoods for nurses. The Sisters of Charity were requested to send a deputation to attend the sick and wounded in the temporary hospitals at Washington. These hospitals consisted of a number of rather dilapidated frame buildings and various tents,

Starting point is 01:22:40 which had been improvised into structures for hospital purposes. The sisters were promptly assigned from the motherhouse at Emmetsburg, Maryland. When they arrived at the National Capitol, they found the buildings and tents crowded with patients. The majority of these had been brought in from battlefields in the vicinity of Washington. The sisters endeavored to look after the temporal needs of the men, in many instances acting in the dual capacity of doctor and nurse. There were many incidents, some of them of a humorous, most of them of a decidedly serious character. While the nurses were rushing from one cot to another, a poor man who was in a dying state,

Starting point is 01:23:24 cried out at the top of his voice, I want a clergyman! One of the sisters hastened to him and asked, What clergyman do you want? he replied a white bonnet clergyman the one you ladies have but you are not a catholic said the sister i know that but i want to see a catholic priest after a slight delay a clergyman reached his bedside the poor patient reached his skeleton-like hand to the priest and began as follows in the bible we read as the father hath sent me i also send you and whose sins you shall forgive are forgiven now tell me, has that order ever been countermanded in any part of the Bible? The priest replied with a smile. No, my son, it is the same now as it ever was and ever shall be. Well, said the sick man, I have never disobeyed an order when one who gave that order had authority to command. Therefore, being a good soldier, I wish to fulfill that order in every respect.

Starting point is 01:24:27 As he was not in immediate danger and a man of considerable intelligence, the priest's told him he would come and see him again. The soldier asked for a catechism or any book that would instruct him in the white bonnet religion. Later he made a confession of his whole life and was baptized on the following Sunday morning in the chapel in the presence of the entire congregation. He said he did not wish to be baptized behind closed doors but wished all to know that he was a Catholic. While he remained in the hospital, he would go from one patient to another reading, and explaining what had been explained to him. Several of the soldiers argued with him upon the subject of religion,

Starting point is 01:25:09 but with the Bible in one hand and the little catechism in the other, he would put them all to silence. One dreary night, a score of ambulances drove up to the hospital grounds with 64 wounded men. Of this number, 56 had been shot in such a manner as to necessitate amputation of either a leg or an arm. Indeed, a few of the unfortunates were deprived of both legs. Some died in the short while it took to remove them from the ambulance to the ward. The sisters went from bed to bed, doing all they could to minimize the sufferings of the soldiers. Two of the patients were very disrespectful to one of the sisters, showing anger and telling them to be gone. The nurse in charge quietly walked away. After a little while, another sister went to them and asked if they wished, her to write to anyone for them they did and she wrote as they dictated then read it to them and left by this time they began to reflect on the kindness that had been shown them and soon appreciated the fact that the sisters were indeed their friends

Starting point is 01:26:16 of the sixty-four wounded men eight died the next day there were thirty bodies in the dead house although it was the custom to bury two a day for a while the patients suffered from small-pox which added very much to the labors of the sisters, since such patients had to be separated and quarantined from the others. Several died from the disease. One of the sisters who waited upon them took it, but recovered. Many of the patients who seemed to dislike and fear the sisters found that they had been mistaken in the opinions they had formed of them. They often showed their confidence by wanting to place their money in the custody of the sisters. One day, a poor fellow obtained a pass and spent the entire day, in the city and returned at twilight looking sad and fatigued a sister of his ward asked him if he was suffering and he replied no sister but i am tired and vexed i received my pass early to-day and walked through every street in washington trying to buy one of those white bonnets for you and did not find a single one for sale there are amusing stories of life in the hospitals and on the field and the following one is vouched for by mother mary alphonse butler every union soldier wore a belt with the initials u s a united states army

Starting point is 01:27:37 when a wounded man was brought to the hospital notice was given to the sister and she would at once prepare to dress the wound one day a man was brought in on a litter pale and unconscious and the sister rushed to give him attention by degrees he became conscious and the sister asked him where he was wounded he seemed to bewildered at first but gradually his mind returned again the sister asked him where he was wounded a smile spread over his face it is all right sister he said don't disturb yourself oh no she said they tell me you were shot yes he answered i was shot but shot in the u s a the sister understood at once the bullet had struck the initials on his belt and they had saved his life the sisters were the witnesses of some very pathetic incidents the battlefield of bull run supplied its full share of these one of the brave union men who was killed in that disastrous engagement was lieutenant colonel haggerty of the sixty ninth new york regiment it appears that haggerty had interred the remains of a child on the field and had enclosed it with an improvised railing at the head of the little mound was a narrow bit of board upon which was inscribed with small capitals in ink the following strangers please do not injure this enclosure here lies the remains of harriet osborne aged eight years. Beneath this is written in pencil the following lines. When the storm clouds around us gather, and this world seems dark and drear, let us look beyond the darkness, which hovers o'er our

Starting point is 01:29:20 pathway here. Look beyond this world of sorrow to the regions of the blessed, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. Haggherty, Company B, 69th Regiment. Haggherty must have been killed soon after performing this touching act, for beneath the inscription is appended this brief mortuary record. Haggherty was killed at Bull Run, July 21, 1861. A correspondent of one of the northern newspapers, writing to his journal at the time, said, This little memorial, of one of the most conspicuous men of the Union cause among the New York troops, over whose fall one of his brother soldiers, Thomas Francis Mager,

Starting point is 01:30:05 delivered at Jones Wood so heart-rending a eulogy, will be read with interest by hundreds of those who remember him, proving, as it does, that the stern, fierce, devoted soldier found time in the very moment of danger to consider the fate of others. At a meeting of the Board of Officers of the 69th Regiment, held at their armory on April 3, 1862, Captain Theodore Kelly, Lieutenant T. M. Canton, and Lieutenant Fahey were appointed a committee to proceed to the battlefield of Bull Run and bring back to New York the remains of their lamented brother officer, who had fallen while gallantly leading a charge of the regiment in the memorable conflict of July 21st. The officers indicated performed their mission, and the body was re-interred near the brave Haggerty's home in New York City.

Starting point is 01:30:57 A letter received by the sisters from Huntsville, Alabama, dated May 26, 1862, contains the following touching passage. A few days ago, a prisoner in the hands of General Mitchell, named Cobb, a relative of Howell Cobb, died in the hospital at this place. A federal officer visited the prison, as was his daily want, and learning the facts, asked the other prisoners if they would not like to attend the funeral. The reply was yes, but they could not hope to have such a boon accorded to them in view of their peculiar situation. The officer at once repaired to the quarters of General Mitchell, stated the case, and received an order for their permission to accompany the remains of their comrade to their last resting place. He returned to the prison with the order, exacted a promise that they should not seek to escape, and put the party in charge of Father Tracy, the resident Catholic pastor at Huntsville.

Starting point is 01:31:56 the procession wended its way to the cemetery when the young ladies of the town strewed the coffin and the grave of the young soldier with the rarest flowers of the garden and evinced in the most unmistakable manner their sympathy and their ardent love for the cause of the south the scene was at once solemn grand and affecting there lay the earthly remains of the devoted soldier in the narrow house of clay and there assembled hundreds of the fairest daughter's daughter's daughter's of Huntsville to shed the parting tear over the corpse of the hero of their cause and garland the grave of the young rebel with the choicest products of their sunny bowers there stood the minister of religion chanting the office of his church for the repose of the soul of the departed surrounded by the witching forms of angelic traitors who made the air fragrant with the odor of their treason and commingling their anethymas of the union with the prayers of the priest the sermon over the prisoners returned to their gloomy quarters where they passed a series of resolutions thanking the officer for his kindness and general mitchell for the courtesy he extended and closing with the hope that the day might not be far distant when the defenders of the south and the defenders of the union could shake hands and fight by each other's side for a common cause to-day the men and officers of the fifteenth kentucky followed to the same spot the remains of the of bernard mcginnis who died from a wound received at winchester and over whose grave the same father tracy performed similar services to those which he had done before for young cobb how beautiful it seemed to the beholder to look upon the same minister amid the tumult of war contending passions and the fearful exurbations of the public mind lift up his voice to the throne of the most high and solicit the pledges of faith for the soul of the young george's and the faithful Irishman without a prejudice for one or a partiality for the other.

Starting point is 01:34:02 End of Chapter 6. Chapter 7 Part 1 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is the Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librivox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Chapter 7. Sister Anthony at Shiloh.

Starting point is 01:34:36 The Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, sometimes known as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing, was one of the great combat of the war. Shiloh cost the Union army in killed, wounded and prisoners, 14,000 men, while the Confederates lost 10,700 men, including General Albert Sidney Johnston, who fell in the first day's fight. The battles were fought on the six and seven. of April 1862. The morning of the 6th was clear and beautiful, with no indications of a storm, but the day's terrific battle was followed by a night of drenching rain. The battle of the next day was also succeeded by a fearful storm, which in this case consisted of rain, hail and sleet. An eyewitness writing of this says, quote,

Starting point is 01:35:28 And to add to the horrors of the scene, the elements of heaven marshalled their forces, a fitting accompaniment to the tempest of human devastation and passion that was raging. A cold, drizzling rain commenced about nightfall and soon came harder and faster, then turned to pitiless blinding hail. This storm raged with unrelenting violence for three hours. I passed long wagon trains filled with wounded and dying soldiers, without even a blanket to shield them from the driving sleet and hail, which fell in stones as large as partridge eggs,

Starting point is 01:36:07 until it lay on the ground two inches deep, end quote. It was by the work that she did at and after this battle that Sister Anthony, a notable member of the Sisters of Charity, won enduring laurels. She left Cincinnati for Shiloh, accompanied by two other sisters of charity, Dr. Blackman of Cincinnati, Mrs. Hatch and daughter, Miss McHugh,

Starting point is 01:36:33 Mrs. O'Shaughnessy, and some charitable ladies of the Queen City. This trip was made on Captain Ross's boat under the care of Dr. Blackman. Sister Anthony, whose mind is unimpaired and whose memory is excellent, thus tells of her experience at Shiloh. At Shiloh we ministered to the men on board what were popularly known as the floating hospitals. We were often obliged to move farther up the river, being unable to bear, terrific stench from the bodies of the dead on the battlefield. This was bad enough, but what we endured on the field of battle, while gathering up the wounded, is simply beyond description.

Starting point is 01:37:15 At one time there were 700 of the poor soldiers crowded in one boat. Many were sent to our hospital in Cincinnati. Others were so far restored to health as to return to the scene of war. Many died, good, holy death. Although everything's seemed dark and gloomy, some amusing incidents occurred. Some days after the Battle of Shiloh, the young surgeons went off on a kind of lark, and Dr. Blackman took me as assistant in surgical operations, and I must acknowledge I was much pleased to be able to assist in alleviating the sufferings of these noble men. The soldiers were remarkably kind to one another. They went around the battlefield giving what assistance they could, placing the wounded in

Starting point is 01:38:03 comfortable places, administering cordials, etc., until such time as the nurses could attend to the wounded and sick. I remember one poor soldier, whose nose had been shot off, who had almost bled to death and would have been missed, had we not discovered him in a pen, where some kind comrade had placed him before he left the field, every other place of refuge being occupied. His removal from the pen caused great pain, loss of blood. blood, etc. The blood ran down his shirt and coat sleeves, down his pantaloons and into his very boots. He was very patient in the boat up the river. On arriving in Cincinnati, he was

Starting point is 01:38:46 placed in a ward in our hospital. Shortly after his arrival in the city, a gentleman came to Cincinnati and called at the Burnet House, which was then used as a military hospital inquiring for his son. After searching everywhere else, he called at St. John's Hospital. I met this sorrowing father just as I was leaving the hospital to attend some business. From the description he gave,

Starting point is 01:39:13 I concluded, that the boy without the nose must be his son. I took him to the ward. When we reached the bed where the man lay, the father did not know him. Well, said he,

Starting point is 01:39:26 if he is my child, I shall know him by his head. Running his fingers through the boy's hair, he exclaimed, My son, my dear boy. There was one young man under the care of Sister De Sails. This sister spoke to him of heaven, of God and of his soul. Of God he knew nothing, of heaven he never heard,

Starting point is 01:39:47 and he was absolutely ignorant of a supreme being. He became much interested in what the sister said and was anxious to know something more of this good God, of whom the sister spoke. This good sister of charity instructed him, and, no priest being near, she baptized him, and soon his soul took its flight to that God, whom he so late learned to know and love. Were I to enumerate all the good done, conversions made, souls saved, columns would not suffice. Often have I gazed at Sister DeSales,

Starting point is 01:40:25 as she bent over the cots of those poor boys, ministering to their every want in the stillness of the night. Ah, here is one to whom she gives a cool drink. Here another, whose amputated and aching limbs, need attention. There, an old man dying, in whose ear she whispers the request to repeat those beautiful words. Lord, have mercy in my soul. I asked myself, do angels marvel at this work? Day often dawned on us only to renew the work of the preceding day, without a moment's rest. often the decks of the vessels resemble the slaughter-house filled as they were with the dead and dying the following is what an eye-witness says of sister anthony amid this sea of blood she performed the most revolting duties for those poor soldiers let us follow her as she gropes her way among the wounded dead and dying she seemed to me like a ministering angel and many a young soldier owes his life to her care and church Let us gaze at her again as she stands attentive kindness and assists Dr. Blackman,

Starting point is 01:41:39 while the surgeon is amputating limbs and consigning them to a watery grave, or as she picks her steps in the blood of these brave boys, administering cordial or dressing wounds. A sister relates a sad story of a young man who was shot in the neck. The wound was very deep. From the effect of this and the scorching race, of the sun, he suffered a burning thirst. He was too weak to move, when suddenly the rain fell down in torrents. Holding out his weak hands, he caught a few drops, which sustained life,

Starting point is 01:42:16 until he was found among the dead and dying on the battlefield. Courgeals were given which relieved him. His looks of gratitude were reward enough. Many other soldiers who were thought to be dying eventually recovered. After the sisters had finished their work at Shiloh, they followed the army to Corinth, where the Confederates had retreated. The river was blocked by obstacles in the stream, and progress by boat was necessarily slow. Finally, the impediments became so thick that the boat was stopped altogether. The vessel was crowded, and the situation was a critical one.

Starting point is 01:42:55 The captain finally said that it was a matter of life and life. death, and that the sisters would have to flee for their lives. To do this, it would have been necessary to abandon their patients, who were enduring the greatest misery on the boat. This the sisters heroically refused to do. All expressed their willingness to remain with the wounded boys until the end, and to share their fate, whatever it might be. Such heroes melted the hearts of hardened men. The sisters fell on their knees, and called on the star of the sea to intercede for them, that the bark might be guarded from all harm, and their prayer was answered, two brave pilots came, who steered the boat to their destination

Starting point is 01:43:41 and to a place of safety. After the war, Dr. Blackman became an active member of the medical staff of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Cincinnati, and ever proved a sincere friend of Sister Anthony. The sisters unite in praising the services of Mrs. Hatch and her daughter. Miss Hatch was a most estimable lady who bestowed upon the soldiers the greatest of charity and kindness. Many of them called her Sister Jenny, a rare compliment for one who was not a religious. The groans of the soldiers on the battlefield of Shiloh still linger in the memories of many of the sisters. Sister Anthony and her colleagues frequently picked their way through the files of the dead and wounded, and on many occasions assisted in carrying the sufferers to the boats.

Starting point is 01:44:35 These floating hospitals were unique in many ways, but they will ever remain memorable as the scenes of the sister's greatest triumphs, where they did so much for the cause of humanity, and where so many unwarranted prejudices were removed from the minds of a book, brave men. Among the war sisters, none was regarded with more affection and reverence than this same Sister Anthony, who spent her last years near Cincinnati, surrounded with all the loving attentions and comforts that should go with honorable old age. Her work for humanity was spread over a long series for years, and the heroic labors she performed during the war

Starting point is 01:45:18 form but an episode in a busy and useful career. But it was a brilliant episode, one that deserves to be handed down to history, and that brought fadeless laurels to a modest and unpretending woman. Sister Anthony O'Connell was born in Limerick, Ireland, of pious Catholic parents. She came with them to this country at an early age, and, in pursuance of a long-cherished idea, renounced the world and was vested with the familiar habit of the Sisters of Charity. Her novitiate and the earlier years in the order were spent at Emmitsburg, Maryland. Finally she was placed in charge of a community at Cincinnati.

Starting point is 01:46:05 According to good people in that city, who carefully watched her career, she displayed unusual devotion, business talent and self-sacrifice. Through her exertions, an orphan as silent, was founded at Cumminsville, where large numbers of friendless and homeless children were cared for, and reared to a sense of their responsibility to God and man. When the civil war broke out, Governor David Todd issued a call for volunteer nurses. Alive to the necessities of the occasion, Sister Anthony relinquished the care of her asylum to other hands,

Starting point is 01:46:43 and, taking a band of sisters with her, offered their services. Their work was in the south, most of it being in and around Nashville, Sheila, Richmond, New Creek, and Cumberland. Colonel John S. Billings, M.D., now of the Surgeon General's office at Washington, is one of the physicians having personal knowledge of Sister Anthony, and he speaks of her in the very highest terms. I first knew Sister Anthony, he said to the writer, in 1859, when she was in charge of the over. St. John's Hospital on 4th Street, Cincinnati, in which I was resident physician, and I have known her ever since. I can say very cordially that she was a competent hospital manager and that I have always had the greatest respect and affection for her. Sister Anthony and her brave assistants spent many months in Nashville, the care and attention

Starting point is 01:47:43 that was bestowed upon the sick and wounded soldiers of both the Union and Confirmation. Confederate armies did much to dispel the thoughtless prejudices that had previously existed against the sisters. They went about like good angels, easing many a troubled spirit, and showering love upon all with whom they came in contact. Sister Anthony stood out in bold relief from all the others, and one, who has knowledge of those times, says, Happy was the soldier who, wounded and bleeding, had her near him to whisper words of consolation and courage. Her person was reverenced by blue and gray, Protestant and Catholic alike, and the love for her became so strong that the title of the Florence Nightingale of America was conferred upon her.

Starting point is 01:48:36 And soon her name became a household ward in every section of the north and south. Many of the sisters with whom she worked fell upon the field of honor, but Sister Anthony lived and survived to enjoy a peaceful old age and the sweet thought and consolation of work well done. The ending of the war, however,

Starting point is 01:48:58 did not end her work. After the white wings of peace had been spread over the battlefields, she returned to Cincinnati and made an effort to found an asylum that should be larger and greater, than old St. John's, where she had labored before the war. For a time it looked as if this noble intention was to be frustrated. Funds were not available, and the usual charitable people of the

Starting point is 01:49:25 city seemed to be indifferent. They only seemed, however, for just when the effort was about to be given up in despair, John C. Butler and Louis Worthington, two of the wealthy men of the city, came forward with sufficient money to build and equip a magnificent institution. The result of this was the establishment of the Good Samaritan Hospital. Sister Anthony was placed in charge, and the work she did there equaled, if it did not exceed, her war experiences. Already a model nurse, she became a model hospital manager. In the hospital she increased her great knowledge and made a science of nursing

Starting point is 01:50:08 the sick. She remained in executive control of the institution until 1882, when devoted friends finally prevailed upon her to relinquish her task and live in peace and quiet the remainder of her life. She has had several successors, the one now in charge being Sister Sebastian. End of Chapter 7 Part 1 Chapter 7, Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librivox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org.

Starting point is 01:50:55 Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Chapter 7. Sister Anthony at Shilol, Part 2. Sister Anthony departed this life at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, 1897, in her room in St. Joseph's Maternity Hospital and Infant Asylum, conducted by the Sisters of Charity at Norwood. Her last days were as tranquil and peaceful as the most devoted friend could desire. The fortnight before her death was spent chiefly in prayer. On the Saturday prior to her demise, she received Holy Communion in the chapel attached to the

Starting point is 01:51:37 hospital. It was destined to be her last visit to the holy table she loved so much. The same day, she was prostrated and compelled to take her bed. Here she remained until she calmly expired on the following Wednesday. Sister Anthony made her home with the sisters at Norwood during the last few years of her life. Her love for the poor, unfortunates of the hospital, and the helpless little foundlings in the asylum was boundless. Notwithstanding her extreme age, she was very active and delighted to mingle with the inmates every morning, giving them words of comfort and consolation, and in a hundred and one little ways trying to lighten their burdens.

Starting point is 01:52:24 She was ever cheerful and kind, and those who knew her best, cannot recall an instance, where a word of impatience or complaint ever escaped her life. lips. The news of her death created great sorrow among the old soldiers with whom she was a great favorite. Many military organizations took formal action as an evidence of their regard and esteem. For instance, William Age Little Post Grand Army of the Republic passed the following resolutions of respect. Quote, Whereas the venerable Sister Anthony departed this life on Wednesday afternoon, after a life of usefulness in taking care of the sick and doing boundless charity,

Starting point is 01:53:10 and, whereas she was one of the most active nurses during the war, doing many kind silent acts, and, whereas she will be buried from St. Peter's Cathedral, Saturday at nine o'clock, be it resolved, that in order to show our gratitude and affection for her, an appreciation of her services as an army nurse, we attend her funeral and invite all other posts to participate with us, end quote. It is the usual custom for the Sisters of Charity to be buried from the mother house, but in recognition of the great services of Sister Anthony,

Starting point is 01:53:48 the Archbishop ordered that the funeral be from the cathedral. The body remained at the foundling asylum where she died until Friday, when the remains were brought to Cincinnati and laid in state at the Good Samaritan Hospital. The following morning the last services were held in the cathedral. The scene was a memorable one. A vast multitude gathered near the church. Only a very small proportion was able to gain admittance to the sacred edifice. As the cortege approached, heads were bowed in grief and silent reverence.

Starting point is 01:54:24 Not a breath of flower relieved the simple severance. of the pole, but a dozen men stood about the casket, its guard of honor. These were the men, who, on the field of battle, in the reign of bullet and shell, had watched the coming off that form, that now lay cold within the narrow house, with anxiety born of despair. The battle flags now furled and draped in their hands had been the beacon that had led her where pain and fever raged, and it was meat that the stars and stars and star, tribe should follow to her tomb.

Starting point is 01:55:00 In the Cascots wake came the guard of honor and one hundred sisters of charity in their sombre habits. The forward pews had been reserved for the sisters and orphans of the asylum, which the dead sister had founded. The white headdresses of the little girls and white colors of the boys were in marked contrast to the black garb of the sisters, silhouetted against the brilliant background. Archbishop Elder, Bishop Byrne, of Nashville, a large number of priests and 50 seminarians were present. Archbishop Elder celebrated the Mass, assisted by the Reverend J.C. Albring, Reverend John A. Seanelt, was the deacon of the Mass, and Reverend Father Van Briss, subdeacon. The deacons of honor were the very Reverend John Mary and the very Reverend John M. McKay,

Starting point is 01:55:52 Reverend Henry Miller was master of ceremonies. Bishop Byrne of Nashville, who preached the sermon, said among other things, quote, We are come together to pay the last tribute to one who is worthy of such a tribute, to one whose figure was a familiar one on the streets of Cincinnati, and whom you all knew and loved. Her fame extended beyond the limits of the state, and was not circumscribed by the limits of a continent, and the church, always in sympathy with such nobility of character, has draped her altars

Starting point is 01:56:28 in black. Though she is dead, she lives. Every prophecy of the word conspires to express this, that she has gone to live forever. The prophecy bids us to exalt for a soul gone to Christ. These are the words of the epistles. These are the sentiments expressed by the church. Christ was her inspiration, and for this reason she trod the battlefield and entered hospitals pregnant with pestilence. Her presence was more to those brave sons of America than that of an angel.

Starting point is 01:57:02 Yet she was only a type of many. For the same reason she loved the waves and castaways, the destitute, afflicted and lowly. I repeat that she was but the type of many, and every sister of charity does these acts. One thing, more precious than all she has left us, and that is her glorious example. To her own sisters, to her own community, not to Catholics alone, her example is precious. Her fidelity and devotion should be an inspiration." End quote. The words of the prelate impressed his listeners, as was evidenced by their tears.

Starting point is 01:57:42 And when his grace, the archbishop, arose, there was an emotion in his voice as he quote, You have heard it said, what lessons may be drawn from this sad occasion. The pleasures and pains of this world pass away, and only the things done for God last always. Only what is done for the world to come lays by as an eternal treasure. We owe a debt of gratitude to her, whose life was so quiet and yet so glorious. We owe her adept of gratitude for the example she has set us,

Starting point is 01:58:18 for our encouragement, end quote. Thereupon the blessing followed, and the mourners filed from the church, preceded by the casket, which after being placed in the hearse, began its last journey to the mother-house at Daly, followed by eight carriages containing the sisters and the clergy. Arrived there, the soulless tenement was placed in the vault of the cemetery, to find private burial without further ceremony, at the hands of the good sister, her friends and companions. The following beautiful description of the funeral and internment of Sister Anthony

Starting point is 01:58:55 is from the Cincinnati Tribune of December 12, 1897. Quote, Friday afternoon, the remains of Sister Anthony were brought to the Good Samaritan Hospital, where they lay in state in the chapel, visited by hundreds of sorrowing friends. A great number of girls employed in factories near the hospital, visited the chapel after working hours to pay a last tribute of respect to her, who was at all times their friend and confident in times of trouble. It was at the earnest request of the sisters at the hospital that the remains of Sister Anthony

Starting point is 01:59:34 were brought in. They wanted to have her with them once more for the last time, amid the scenes of her noblest work, to pray beside her beer, and bid a last farewell to the spirit which they all emulate. Visitors thrown the chapel far into the night, and there was little rest for the sisters, who were up at dawn and in the chapel again, where the Reverend Father Finn of the Society of Jesus sang Requiem Mass, assisted by the St. Xavier's Choir, under the direction of Mr. Borgs. When the time came for the departure to the cathedral, a number of friends joined in singing

Starting point is 02:00:17 lead kindly light, and, sweet spirit hear my prayer, while the body was born from the chapel. These two beautiful hymns were the favorites of Sister Anthony, and she would have wished that they be sung at her funeral. In the cathedral, the temple of the religion she loved and worked and prayed for, two veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, bearing aloft the flags of their country draped in somber black, stood Sentinel at her beer. There was the procession of priests and companies of Sister of Charity instead of the rank and file of soldiery. There were embroidered robes and black habits in place of the blue and grey.

Starting point is 02:00:59 There were candles instead of campfires. There was the chime of bells and the chanting of the choir instead of the call of trumpets and beat of drums. There was the organ peeling instead of the musketry roll. There was the fragmentary roll. of incense instead of the smoke of the battlefield. There was the counting of beads instead of the binding of wounds. There was the beer and the sable-paw, instead of the hospital stretcher.

Starting point is 02:01:26 There were the whispered prayers of two thousand people on bended knees for the repose of the soul of Sister Anthony. The morning lights streamed dimly and softly through the stained glass windows, and electric lights took the place of the stars in heaven's blue canopy, but it was the burial of the dead. The ministering angel to soldiers, the comfort of widows and orphans, the friend of the poor, the sick and the unfortunate was dead, and about her, come to do her honor, were soldiers, orphans and widows,

Starting point is 02:02:03 those who had been poor and sick and unfortunate, her greatest care in life. The altars of the church were draped in black, and with high requiem mass and oil, the priests of the church paid tribute to a noble member of their sisterhood. Far up above the Ohio on a beautiful plateau, with a view for miles in every direction, is the mother house of the Sisters of Charity, founded away back in the 30s by pioneers of the order from Emmitsburg. Here is the grave of Sister Anthony.

Starting point is 02:02:40 She lies beside Mother Regina Mattingly and Mother Josephine. and Harvey, who were with her when she first came west, and with her helped defound the motherhouse. Today, they sleep together in the little graveyard, and near the home they made for their sisterhood. Their graves are in a little grow of brooches and evergreens, and surrounded by the graves of their sisters who have gone before. Their graves are marked by simple stone crosses, bearing their names in the world and in religion. When the funeral train reached the house, the sisters, headed by their chaplain, received the body and bore it to the chapel, where it lay in state for two hours.

Starting point is 02:03:25 The sisters wanted their dear friend, for that long at least, for the mother-house she always considered her home, and they regarded her as a mother and loved her as such, for to all she was ever the same. sweet, lovely and loving friend. The services for the dead were read by the royal treverent bishop Byrne, after which the body was born to the grave. With slow and solemn tread, the long life of black-robed sisters marched before.

Starting point is 02:03:58 A drizzling rain had begun to fall, and in the murky atmosphere the scene took on as solemnity and grandeur, impossible to picture. The sisters chanting prayers and the sisters, chanting prayers, the priests following in their purple robes, and their heavy boss voices joining in, had a beautiful effect. As the procession near the burying ground, the miserere was chanted by all. There were very few at the graveside, besides those connected with the church.

Starting point is 02:04:29 Thus ended the earthly career of this angel of battlefield. End of the quote. End of Chapter 7, part 2. Chapter 8. of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librivox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librivox.org. Recording by Indu Nair Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton.

Starting point is 02:05:12 Hotsmith and Norfolk In the east, the Union cause had not been so successful. When the Union forces at the beginning of the war abandoned Norfolk with its Navy yard, they blew up all the government vessels to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Confederates. One frigate, which had been sunk, was raised by the Confederates and transformed into an iron-clad ram. making her one of the most formidable vessels then afloat, though now she would be considered ridiculous. This vessel recristened the Merrimack, aided by three gunboats, destroyed the United States frigate Cumberland, forced the surrender of the Congress, and scattered the remainder of the Union Fleet in Hampton Roads.

Starting point is 02:06:12 That night, amid the consternation which prevailed, The new Union gunboat called the Monitor, designed by John Erickson, arrived in Hampton Roads, and prepared to resist the Merrimack the next day. The monitor was a turreted ironclad. The following morning, after a severe battle, the monitor drove the Merrimack back to Gosport Navy Yard, where she was later blown up. This was one of the turning-up. points of the war. In the meantime, General McClellan made his advance on Richmond,

Starting point is 02:06:54 going by seat to Yorktown and advancing dense on Richmond. For seven days, there was tremendous fighting near Richmond, the Confederates usually getting the best of it. Finally, McClellan retreated to Harrison's landing to make a new effort. He was greatly disappointed in not getting getting reinforcements and finally was ordered back with his army to Washington. During the contest known as the Seven Days Battles, the fighting commenced about 2 o'clock a.m. and continued until 10 p.m. each day. The bombs were bursting and reddening the heavens, while General McClellan's reserve corpse ranged about 300 yards from the door of the sister's house. While the battle lasted, the sisters in the city hospitals were shaken by the cannonading and the heavy rolling of the ambulances in the streets as they brought in the wounded and dying men.

Starting point is 02:08:00 The soldiers informed the sisters that they had received orders from their general to capture sisters of charity if they could, as the hospitals were in great need of them. One night the doctors called on the sisters. the sisters to see a man whose limb must be amputated, but who would not consent to take the lulling dose without having the sisters of charity say he could do so. The sisters said it was dark and the crowd was too great to think of going. The doctors left, but soon returned, declaring that the man's life depended on their coming. Two sisters then, escorted by the doctors, went to see the patient, who said to them, Sisters, they wished me to take a dose that will deprive me of my senses, and I wish to make my confession first, and a priest is not here. They put his fears at rest, and he went through the operation successfully. Sometimes, the poor men were brought to them from

Starting point is 02:09:10 encampments where rations were very scarce or from hospitals from which the able-bodied men had retreated and left perhaps thousands of wounded prisoners of war who, in their distress, had fed on mule flesh and rats. These poor men, on arriving at the hospitals, looked more dead than alive. Norfolk, being left undefended about this time, was soon occupied by General Wool. who swooped down upon it with a force from Fortress Monroe. The bombardment of the cities of Portsmouth and Norfolk gave notice to the sisters of charity that their services would soon be needed in that locality. They had a hospital, an asylum and a day school in Norfolk.

Starting point is 02:10:04 The tolling of the bells on that May morning first announced the destruction of the city. Soon, Portsmouth was in flames. Large magazines and powder exploding shook the two cities in a terrible manner. The hospital, where the sisters were in charge, was crowded with the sick and wounded. They were cared for as well as possible with the limited means at hand. In a short time, however, Norfolk was evacuated and both that city and Portsmouth taken by the Union. troops. All of the southern soldiers that could leave before the coming of the northerners left, and the hospital was comparatively empty. The Union soldiers crowded into the city and great

Starting point is 02:10:56 confusion ensued. The Marine Hospital in Portsmouth was prepared for the sick and wounded, and the Union authorities asked the sisters to wait upon their men. These troops, were in a deplorable condition. There was no time to be lost, and the sisters lost none. They were constantly administering by turns to soul and body. Indeed, as far as possible, the self-sacrificing sisters subtracted from their own food and rest in order that the suffering men might have more of both. In a few days, several more sisters came to aid those who who were in charge. The newcomers met with many vexatious trials on the way. First, they were denied transportation, and next barely escaped being lost in crossing a river in a small rowboat,

Starting point is 02:11:56 the frail craft, through the carelessness of someone in charge, being heavily overloaded. They eventually reached their destination, however, and were unable to effect much good among the men. Many affecting scenes took place in the wards. The sisters were applying cold applications to the fevered men. One soldier, bursting out in tears, exclaimed, Oh, if my poor mother could only see you taking care of me, she would take you to her heart. A man of about twenty-three years saw a sister in the distance and raised his voice and cried. sister come over to my bed for a while he was in a dying state and the sister knelt by his bedside making suitable preparations for him in a low voice

Starting point is 02:12:51 he repeated the prayers she recited in a very loud tone the sister said i will go away if you pray so loud a sister he said i want god to know that i am in earnest The sister showed him her crucifix, saying, Do you know what this means? He took it and kissed it, reverently bowing his head. While another man was receiving instructions, he suddenly cried out at the top of his voice. Come over and hear what sister is telling me. She looked up and saw a wall of human beings surrounding her,

Starting point is 02:13:33 attracted by the loud prayers of the poor man. In this crowd and on his knees was one of the doctors, who, being on his rounds among the patients and seeing the sister on her knees, involuntarily knelt, and remained so until the sister arose. The patient soon after died a most edifying death, receiving the last rites of the church. Another poor fellow seemed to have a judge.

Starting point is 02:14:03 deep-seated prejudice against the sisters. He constantly refused to take his medicine, and would even go so far as to strike at the sisters when they offered it to him. After keeping this up for some time and finding the sisters undisturbed and gentle as ever, he said, what are you? The sister replied, I am a sister of charity. Where is your husband? I have none, replied the sister, and I am glad I have not. Why are you glad? he asked, getting very angry. Because, she replied, if I had, I would have been employed in his affairs,

Starting point is 02:14:52 consequently could not be here waiting on you. As if by magic, he said in a subdued tone, that will do. and turned his face from her. The sister left him, but presently returned and offered him his medicine, which he took without a murmur. When he recovered from his long illness, he became one of the warmest friends of the sisters.

Starting point is 02:15:22 As the war continued, the government also made use of the sisters' hospital of St. Francis de Sales. Here, all things were under the direct, charge of the sisters, the government, in this particular instance, paying them as stated sum for their services. During the time, their house was thus occupied, about 2,500 wounded soldiers were admitted, of whom but 100 died. The sisters had been at Portsmouth about six months when the hospital was closed. Several of the sisters were sent to other

Starting point is 02:16:04 points, while the remainder started for Emmetsburg. The cause took them to Manassus in the midst of an extensive encampment, where they were told they could not pass the Potomac, as the enemy was firing on all who appeared. The army chaplain celebrated mass at this point, an old trunk in a little hut serving as an altar. The sisters were obliged to go to Richmond, and it was two weeks before a flag of truce could take them into Maryland. They met the judge-advocate of the army on the boat, and he showed them every attention, saying, Your society has done the country great service,

Starting point is 02:16:50 and the authorities in Washington hold your community in great esteem. End of Chapter 8. Chapter 9 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Recording by Indunair Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton.

Starting point is 02:17:33 Labors in Frederick City On the 4th of June 1862, a telegram was received at the Central House in Emmetsburg, asking that 10 sisters be detailed for hospital service in Frederick City, Maryland. The request came from the medical authorities in charge of the hospital, and it explained the immediate and imperative need of the sisters. There were only three sisters at Liberty in the main house at the 3. time, but the zeal of the superiors managed to secure seven others from the various Catholic schools and academies in the city of Baltimore. The ten nurses started upon their journey

Starting point is 02:18:21 without any unnecessary delay and soon reached Frederick City. When they arrived at the hospital, they were received by an orderly who showed them into their room. It was in an old stone barracks that had been occupied by General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The room contained ten beds so closely jammed together that there was scarcely spaced to walk about them. An old rickety table and two or three dilipidated chairs comprised the only furniture of the room. The chief surgeon called to welcome the sisters and expressed the hope that they would be comfortable in the military quarters. He informed them that they were to call upon the steward for whatever they needed. The medicine was plentiful, but badly administered by the nurses, who did not attach much

Starting point is 02:19:19 importance to the time or manner of giving it. The sister's food consisted of the soldier's ration. It was served to them on broken dishes, with old knives and forks, red with rust. patients often amused their nurses by saying, There is no necessity for the doctors to order us the tincture of iron three times a day. Don't you think we get nearly enough of it off our table service? On the 4th of July, an addition to the sick from the field of battle arrived at the hospital. The newcomers numbered about 400, and the majority were suffering from typhoid fever and and dysentery. They came unexpectedly and no preparations had been made to receive them,

Starting point is 02:20:13 so that many of the men had to lie in the open yard of the hospital for nearly a whole day exposed to the scorching heat of the sun. The sisters were thus doomed to witness a most distressing scene without having it in their power to alleviate the suffering. Finally, the sister-servant, who could no longer behold such a spectacle, managed to procure some wine, which, with the aid of water, she multiplied prodigiously, thereby giving all a refreshing drink. This drew from the lips of the poor sufferers many a blessing and prayer for the sisters of charity. There were continuous skirmishes in the Shenandoah Valley, from what? Whence, large numbers of wounded were frequently brought to the hospital, so that in a short time it was overcrowded, and the chief surgeon was obliged to occupy two or three public buildings in the city as hospitals.

Starting point is 02:21:20 At the request of the doctors, eight additional sisters were sent from the motherhouse at Emmitsburg, and they were divided among the various hospitals that were occupied as temporary wards until accommodations could be made at the general hospital to receive the worst cases. The sick and slightly wounded men were transferred to Baltimore. A young man, a Philadelphian, was brought in one day fearfully crushed, one hand and arm mangled to a jelly, Opening his eyes, he beheld a sister of Charity standing near him. A look of light succeeded the heavy expression of weary pain, and he exclaimed, Oh, I wish I were as good as the sisters of Charity, then I would be ready to die. He begged for baptism.

Starting point is 02:22:17 There was no time to lose. The sisters hastened to instruct him in what was necessary for him to believe, and then baptized. him, after which he calmly expired. One of the difficulties with which the sisters had to contend was the improper manner in which the food was prepared. One day the chief surgeon asked for a sister to superintended the kitchen, and one who was qualified for the charge was sent for that purpose. Her silence and gentleness soon quelled the turbulent spirits of the soldiers employed

Starting point is 02:22:55 in her office, so that, in a short time, they became as docile as children. On the first day an improvement was noticed in the hospital. The stewards said that for the short time the sisters had been there, their presence in the barracks had made a wonderful change. He said that the men were more respectful and were seldom heard to swear or use profane language. A sister was unexpectedly accosted one day by a convalescent patient, whom she often noticed, viewed her with a surly countenance, and would reluctantly take from her whatever she offered him. He said, Sister, you must have noticed how ugly I have acted towards you,

Starting point is 02:23:47 and how unwillingly I have taken anything from you. But I could not help it. as my feelings were so embittered against you that your presence always made me worse. I have watched you closely at all times since you came to the barracks. But when you came in at midnight last night to see the patient who lay dangerously ill, I could not but notice your self-sacrifice and devotion. It was then that my feelings became changed towards you. I reflected upon the motives which seemed to actuate the sisters of of Charity, and I could not help admiring them. I thank you, Sister, for all the kindness

Starting point is 02:24:30 you have shown me. I am happy to say that the Sisters of Charity have left impressions on my mind that will not be easily effaced. On the 19th of July, 1862, the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, the sisters received quite a treat in the shape of an excellent dinner, sent by the director of the Jesuit novitiate and the superiors of the visitation convent in Washington. Several ladies also visited them and sent refreshments for the day. There were many Germans in the barracks and the band of sisters who were there only spoke the English language. The superior, however, sent a German sister who could speak to these men and interpret for the other sisters. At their request, one of the clergymen from the novitiate who spoke the German language

Starting point is 02:25:28 heard the confessions of the German Catholics. On the evening of September 5, 1862, the sisters were suddenly alarmed by an unusual beating of the drums. They had all retired to bed except the sister's servant, who called to them to rise quickly and go to the barracks, that the Confederate army was inmate. Maryland and would reach their camp in the morning. They were informed that all the patients who were able to walk, including the male attendants and men employed about the hospital,

Starting point is 02:26:02 would have to leave the place in about an hour, and that all the United States Army stores in the city must be consigned to the flames. Imagine their feelings at such news. The hour passed like a flash. The soldiers all disappeared except a few of the badly wounded badly wounded who could not be removed. The signal was given and in a few moments the entire city was enveloped in smoke and flames. The conflagration was so great that it illuminated all the surrounding towns. The sisters spent the remaining part of the night

Starting point is 02:26:42 with the sick who were left alone in the wards. The doctors who remained at their posts carried their instruments and other articles to the sister's servant for safekeeping, knowing that whatever the sisters had in their possession was secure. The next day dawned bright and beautiful, but what a scene of desolation and ruin was presented to the view. There was no one on the hospital grounds but the steward and doctors, about four in number, and the sisters who were going to and from the barracks, attending the helpless soldiers. It was then that these poor helpless men exclaimed in astonishment

Starting point is 02:27:27 and gratitude, O sisters, did you stay to care of us? We thought you also would have gone. And then what would have become of us? About nine o'clock in the morning, the Confederates were discovered on the top of a hill advancing rapidly towards the hospital. Suddenly, the advance guards appeared in front of the sisters' windows, which were under the doctor's office. One of the Confederates demanded without delay the surrender of the place to the Confederate Army in command of Generals Jackson and Lee. The officer of the day replied, I surrender. The guards rode off, and in about 15 minutes afterwards, the whole Confederate Army entered the hospital grounds. It was then that the sisters witnessed a mass

Starting point is 02:28:19 of human misery, young and old men with boys who seemed like mere children, emaciated with hunger, and covered with tattered rags that gave them more the appearance of dead men than of living once. After these skeleton-like forms had been placed in their respective barracks and tents, the sick were brought in, numbering over 400. The majority of these were, however, half dead, from want of food and drink. They informed the sisters that they had been without anything to eat for 13 days, with the exception of some green corn, which they were allowed to pluck on their march into Maryland. The sisters were delighted to find a field in which to exercise their charity and zeal on behalf of the suffering men, but alas, a new trial awaited them.

Starting point is 02:29:14 The United States surgeon called upon the sister's servant and told her that the sisters could not at that time give any assistance to the Confederates, as they, the sisters, were employed by the Union government to take care of their sick and wounded. But he added that the Union Army was daily expected, and as soon as it would reach the city, the Confederates' sick would receive the same care and attention as the Union soldiers. The citizens were now at liberty to do as they pleased. They found. flocked in crowds to the hospital, distributing food and clothing at their own discretion. This proved fatal in many cases, as the diet furnished the sick men was contrary to what their

Starting point is 02:30:02 condition required. The young scholastics of the Jesuit novitiate nearby volunteered to nurse the sick soldiers, and their services were accepted by the United States surgeon, who arranged accommodations for them at the barracks the sisters were also allowed to give the scholastic's meals in their refectory it was truly edifying to see the zeal of those schoolboys father soren the confessor of the sisters was likewise indefatigable in his labors he deeply regretted the restrictions the sisters were under at the same time admiring the wonderful ways of god in permitting the young scholastics to gain admittance into the hospital, to fill the mission of charity of which the sisters were so unexpectedly deprived. On the fifth day of the invasion, the sister's servant obtained a passport from General Lee for two sisters to Emmitsburg. They were thus enabled to apprise the superiors of their situation. These same sisters returned

Starting point is 02:31:14 to Frederick on September 12th, accompanied. by the sister assistant from Emmitsburg. On re-entering the city, their astonishment was great when they found that the whole southern army had disappeared. When they reached the barracks, the other sisters informed them that the Confederates had left the city the previous night, leaving only their sick who were unable to be removed. Frederick City was again in possession of the Union forces, and the good nurses were now at liberty. to exercise their duties on behalf of the sick confederates who were prisoners at the hospital. The doctors made no distinction between them and the Union soldiers.

Starting point is 02:31:56 They lay side by side so that the sisters had it in their power to give them equal attention. It was truly edifying to see the patients and harmony that prevailed among them. They would say, Sisters, we are not enemies except on the battlefield. General McClellan was at this time in command of the Union Army. On one occasion, he visited the barracks and was delighted with the order that reigned throughout. Before leaving, he expressed a desire to have 50 additional sisters sent to nurse the sick and wounded, but the scarcity of sisters made it impossible to comply with his request.

Starting point is 02:32:43 A reinforcement of sisters was now required to go to the the various places occupied by the wounded. The superiors could only send a few on account of the great demand for them throughout the different parts of the state. In Frederick City, the sisters had to divide their services between the barracks and the tents, and even then it was impossible to do justice to all. They were thus occupied for nearly six weeks without intermission except a few hours, which they would occasionally take for repose. and even that was frequently interrupted they thought little of fatigue or bodily privation being happy in the belief that they were not better served than the sick and wounded during the month of september the sisters were recalled by the superiors to the central house at emmitsburg and this for the time being ended their labours at frederick city

Starting point is 02:33:44 End of Chapter 9. Chapter 10 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librevox recording. All Labor Vox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Recording by Indu Nair Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. White House the many appears for sisters to repair to the war-stricken sections of the country both north and south had widely separated the members of the emmitsburg community the venerable mother-aunt simeon remained in executive charge at home father burlando visited as well as he could the various military hospitals where the sisters were stationed his care would not extend beyond the line of hostilities but fortunately the sister assistant had been sent to superintend the missions in the south before the blockade on july fourteenth eighteen sixty two

Starting point is 02:35:03 the Surgeon General at Washington wrote for 100 sisters to be sent to a station called White House in Virginia, then in possession of the Northern Forces. So many were already in service that it was impossible to comply fully with this request. Sixty sisters, however, started from Baltimore for that place. As all traveling was attended with much difficulty, the sisters experienced many hardships. The authorities intended to make a hospital encampment in the vicinity of White House, as many thousands of wounded had been brought there from the recent battles. No preparations had been made for accommodating the sisters. although the officers and doctors were rejoiced at their coming. General George B. McClellan, then chief in command, was some miles distant at the time,

Starting point is 02:36:04 but sent orders that every possible care and attention should be offered to the sisters. Father Burlando accompanied the sisters to this place, and after receiving assurances that proper arrangements had been made for them, returned home. They had only passed a few days here, when suddenly all hands were ordered to leave with the greatest haste. The enemy was only two miles distant, then began confusion and additional suffering. The wounded and dying men were hurriedly placed upon transport boats. These vessels were so overcrowded that they seemed more like sinking than sailing. The sisters were detailed to uncover company the wounded to the several cities where they were destined, the work of transportation

Starting point is 02:36:58 continuing for several weeks. The sisters shared with their patients every horror but their bodily pains. They were in the under cabin, the ceiling of which was low, and the apartment lighted by hanging lamps and candles. The men lay on beds on the floor with scarcely enough space to walk between them. The sister in charge of this lower ward was so persevering in her zealous attention that even the doctor declared he did not know how human nature could endure such duties. A few months later, this sister died from the effects of overwork, a martyr to duty. The remaining sisters not engaged with the sick returned to Baltimore, but in a few days received the a summons to go to Point Lookout, situated at the southern extremity of Maryland, bounded

Starting point is 02:37:55 on one side by the Chesapeake Bay and on the other by the Potomac River. On the 14th of July 1862, Father Berlando, with 25 sisters, left Baltimore and in 24 hours reached the hospital encampment of Point Lookout. The sisters were soon to soon destined to have another marcher in their band they were only at point lookouts two weeks when one of the zealous band who had contracted typhoid fever on the transport boat died from that disease she gave up her whole being as generously as she had offered her zealous labors father belando had returned to baltimore but a good priest who came occasionally to the encampment heard her confession and she had returned to baltimore but a good priest who came occasionally to the encampment heard her confession and she had and she received communion a day or two previous to her death the priest being stationed twelve miles distant could not reach the encampment in time to administer the last sacraments but arrived in time to perform the burial service the kind doctors and officers made every effort to suitably honor the departed sister the men said they deemed it a great privilege to act as the pallbearers all of the soldiers who had died had been buried with only a sheet wrapped around them but for the sister a white pine coffin was procured

Starting point is 02:39:28 the authorities walked in procession the drumcoops played a dead march there on the banks of the potomac rested the worn-out sister of charity what a subject for the pen of the poet or the brush of the painter and tents, as well as wooden wards for the accommodation of thousands of sick and wounded, made this narrow strait a thickly inhabited place. Many of the men were in a deplorable state from the effects of their wounds and painful removals from distant battlegrounds. The priest often came on Friday and remained until Monday, constantly engaged among the soldiers, instructing, baptizing, and he had to be on Friday, and he, confessions. On Sunday mornings, he set the first mass at the encampment and the second in the little chapel. The first mass was said in a tent surrounded by soldiers. The captain of the

Starting point is 02:40:33 guards marched his company to mass that day and at the elevation a drum was sounded and all adored profoundly. Later on the officers gave the sisters more cottages and and by removing the patients they had a good-sized tapo with but few exceptions the doctors and officers were very kind to the sisters removals by death and the arrival of more wounded men sometimes caused the wards to be emptied and refilled again the same day as soon as a boat would land a horn was blown to let the sisters know that they must go to their wards then they would appoint a place for each sufferer giving the best accommodations to those who were enduring the greatest anguish many among the new arrivals were confederate prisoners about this time orders came from washington that no women nurses were to remain at the point after the sisters had begun their work a band of young ladies arrived for the purpose of nursing the sick and they were surprised to find the sisters there before them when the sisters heard the order from washington concerning women nurses they made preparations for leaving but the chief physician said to them remain here sisters until i hear from washington for we cannot dispense with your services at this time the physician telegraphed to the national capital and received this reply

Starting point is 02:42:12 the sisters of charity are not included in our orders they may serve all alike at the point prisoners and others but all other ladies are to leave the place about five o'clock on the morning of the sixth of august eighteen sixty four the sisters were at meditation in their chapel when they were startled by a noise like thunder and looking out saw the air darkened with whirling sand lumber, bed steeds, stovepipes, and even the roofs of houses. A raging tornado and water sprout were tearing and destroying all in their way, taking in everything from the river to the bay. The little chapel shook from roof to foundation. Doors and windows were blown down. Sick and wounded men were blown out on the ground.

Starting point is 02:43:08 Wards and cottages were carried several feet from their base. Two sisters, who had not yet arisen, terrified at finding their lodgings falling to pieces, ran out, and in their efforts to reach the chapel, were struck down by the flying doors, and as often raised from the earth by the violent wind. The sisters were too stunned with surprise to know what to do, though truly nothing could be done. For they would only have left one part of the chapel for another, when the last part would be blown away. In one of these intermissions, a sister seized hold of the tabernacle,

Starting point is 02:43:51 fearing that its next place would be in the bay, but the altar was the only spot in the chapel that the angry elements seemed to respect. Lumber and iron bed steeds were carried over the tops of the cottages. The wards were nearly all filled with patience, and several of these buildings were leveled to the ground. The men who were able to move about were running in all directions for safety, many of them only half-dressed. One house was seen sailing through the air,

Starting point is 02:44:27 and the bodies in it at the time of the storm were not discovered until some days afterward. The storm lasted about 10 or 15 minutes, But in this time, heavy mattresses were carried through the air like so many feathers. It was some time before all could be repaired. The poor patients had to be cared for in some way or other, and it was not an unusual sight to see the sisters standing by the stove with their saucepans of broth in one hand, and umbrellas in the other,

Starting point is 02:45:04 only too happy thus to relieve the poor sufferers. The sisters going to the provost one day were informed that a deserter was to be shot the next morning, and they were requested to see him. They visited the prison for the purpose of consoling the condemned, but the man showed no desire to see them, and they sorrowfully returned home. Later, the prisoner regretted not having seen the sisters and asked to have them sent for. The kind provost sent an orderly telling the sisters of the poor man's desire. It was now very dark, and some of the authorities advised the sisters not to go until the next morning.

Starting point is 02:45:51 The orderly carried this message to his superior, but was sent back again with a note from the provost, saying, I will call for you on horseback, and will be your pilot with the ambulance. I will guide the driver safely through the woods and will also conduct you home safely. I think circumstances require your attendance on the prisoner. This was enough for the sisters and they were soon at the prison, but found a minister of the prisoner's persuasion with him. After he had finished his interview, the sisters were taken to the man who apologized for not seeing them sooner.

Starting point is 02:46:34 One of the sisters asked him if he had been baptized. He said, no, never. Then she informed him of its necessity, and he regretted with much fervor that he had not known this sooner. The sisters remained with him some hours, giving him such instructions as his condition required. After baptizing him, he expressed his desire to see a priest. The provost, looking at his watch, replied that he could not be there in time.

Starting point is 02:47:11 It was now late, and the execution must take place early in the morning. The young man resigned himself fully to his fate, saying, I deserve death, and freely pardon anyone who will take part in it. I know I must die by the hand of one of my company, but whoever it may be, I forgive him. then he returned to his devotions with such a lively faith that the sisters had no fear for his salvation they bade him adieu and promised to assemble before the altar in his behalf when the hour of his trier drew near and to remain in prayer until all would be over with him the kind provost made all arrangements for the sisters return home and said when leaving the prison may i have such help at my death and die with such a good disposition at the dreaded hour in the morning the sisters knelt before their humble altar

Starting point is 02:48:17 most fervently imploring the redeemer to receive the soul of the poor deserter they continued very long after the sound of the fatal fire had told them that his destiny had been decided the soldiers remarked afterwards that every one on the point was present at the execution with the exception of the sisters who had retired to pray for the doomed man peace being declared preparations were made for a general removal the doctors desired the sisters to remain until all the sick and wounded had gone after this they too left the point on the first of August 1865 going to their home at Emmitsburg. The sisters carried away with them a sense of duty well done. The sacrifices they made while at Point Lookout were never fully made known, not even to their superiors. Several sisters fell victims to death and disease. One of the most conspicuous of these was Sister Consolata Conlon, who in the 12th year of of her age yielded up her spotless life while in attendance upon the sick and wounded soldiers.

Starting point is 02:49:41 End of Chapter 10 Chapter 11 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Michael Fasio Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton Manassus and Antietam Five sisters charged with the care of 500 patients, bodies of the dead consumed by the flames.

Starting point is 02:50:16 The military hospitals at Gordonsville and Lynchburg. Boonesboro and Sharpsburg selected for hospital purposes for the men wounded at Antietam, General McClellan's kindness to the sisters, a man who had met sisters during the Crimean War, the brave flag bearer. There was scarcely a time from the opening of the war until its close that some of the sisters of charity were not located at Richmond. This was a sort of unofficial southern headquarters for them, whence they were sent for duty on the various southern battlefields. The section of country in which the mother house was located was in possession of the Union Army most of the time. But the house was

Starting point is 02:50:56 looked upon as sacred property by the generals of both armies, and was never molested by the soldiers. late in August 1862, Dr. Williams, the medical director of the Army of the Potomac, made a hasty summons for a detachment of sisters to wait upon the sick and wounded at Manassas, where a severe battle had just taken place. Five of the sisters immediately left Richmond for the scene of the conflict. When they arrived at Manassas, they found 500 patients, including the men of both armies, awaiting them. The mortality was very great, as the wounded. wounded men had been very much neglected. The wards of the temporary hospital were in a most

Starting point is 02:51:36 deplorable condition, and strongly resisted all efforts of the broom, to which they had long been strangers. It was finally discovered that the aid of a shovel was necessary. One small room was set aside as a dormitory for the sisters. They were also provided with a chaplain, and Mass was set every day in one corner of the little room. Fresh difficulties and annoyances presented themselves later in the season. The kitchen, to which, what was called the refectory was attached, was a quarter of a mile from the sister's room, and often it was found more prudent to be satisfied with two meals than to trudge through the snow and sleet for the third. These meals, at the best, were not very inviting, for the culinary department was under the care of Negroes who had

Starting point is 02:52:24 decided aversion to cleanliness. On an average, ten of the patients died every day. Most of these poor unfortunates were attended by either Father Smolders, Father Tulling, or the sisters. After spending a long while at Manassas, the sisters received orders from General Johnston to pack up quietly and prepare to leave on six hours' notice, as it had been found necessary to retreat from that quarter. They had scarcely left their posts, when the whole camp was one mass of flames, and the bodies of those who died that day were consumed. The next field of labor for the sisters was the military hospital at Gordonsville. There were but three sisters, and they had 200 patients under their charge. The sick were very poorly provided for, although the mortality was not as great as at Manassas.

Starting point is 02:53:16 The sisters had a small room, which served for all purposes. One week, they lay on the floor without beds, their habits in a shawl loaned by the doctor serving for covering. The trunk of a tree was their table, and the rusty tin cups and plates, which were used in turn by doctors, sisters, and Negroes, were very far from exciting a relish for what they contained. The approach of the federal troops compelled the sisters to leave Gordonsville on Easter Sunday. They retreated in good order toward Danville. Having been obliged to stop at Richmond some time, they did not enter on this new field of labor until much later in the year. At Danville, they found 400 sick, all of whom were much better provided for than at Manassas or Gordonsville. The sisters had a nice little house, which would have been kind of a luxury had it not been the abode of innumerable rats, of which they stood in no little dread.

Starting point is 02:54:14 During the night the sister's stockings were carried off, and on awakening in the morning, the meek religious frequently found their fingers and toes locked in the teeth of the bold visitors. In November, the medical director removed the hospital to Lynchburg, as there was no means of heating the one in Danville. The number of the sisters had increased to five, as the hospital was large and contained 1,000 patients, most of whom were in a pitiable condition. When the sisters arrived, they found that most of the unfortunate patients were half-starved, owing to the mismanagement of the institution. As a sister passed through the wards for the first time, accompanied by the doctor, a man from the lower end cried out, Lady, lady, for God's sake, give me a piece of bread. The doctors soon placed everyone under the control of the sisters,

Starting point is 02:55:04 and with a little economy the patients were provided for, and order began to prevail. Father L. H. Gouche, S.J., a zealous and brave priest, affected much good among the patients. During the three years that the sisters remained in Lynchburg, he baptized 100 persons. The approach of the federal troops placed the hospital in imminent danger, and it was decided to remove the sick and the hospital's stores to Richmond. The Surgeon General of the Confederate Army begged that the sisters would take charge of the Stewart Hospital in that city, which they did on the 13th of February 1865. Father Gauch accompanied them and continued his mission of zeal,

Starting point is 02:55:48 and charity. The sisters were then 10 in number, and, as usual, found plenty to do to place the sick in a comfortable situation. They had just accomplished this when the city was evacuated, and on the 13th of April they left Richmond for the mother house at Emmetsburg. A terrible engagement took place near the Antietam River, in Maryland, not far from the Potomac, on the 17th of September, 1862. Not only were thousands on both sides killed, but as many more were left wounded on the battlefield, with the farmhouses and barns their only prospective shelter. As the fighting had been from 12 to 15 miles in space, the towns of Boonesboro and Sharpsburg were selected for hospital purposes.

Starting point is 02:56:36 The general in charge of the Maryland Division requested the people to aid the fallen prisoners, as the government provided for the northern soldiers, and would have cared for all if it had enough for that purpose. The superior of the Sisters of Charity, with the people of Emmetsburg, collected a quantity of clothing, provisions, remedies, delicacies, and money for these poor men. The overseer of the community drove in a carriage to the place with Father Smith, C.M., and two of the sisters. Boonsboro is about 30 miles from Emmetsburg, and the wagon containing the supplies reached the town by twilight. Two officers of the Northern Army saw the cornets by the aid of the lighted lamps, and,

Starting point is 02:57:17 pointing to the carriage, one said to the other, Ah, there come the sisters of charity. Now the poor men will be equally cared for. The sisters were kindly received at the house of a worthy physician, whose only daughter had previously been their pupil. There were in the town four hospitals. The morning after their arrival they set out for the battlefield, having Miss Jeanette, their kind hostess, as a pilot.

Starting point is 02:57:45 They passed houses and barns occupied as hospitals, fences strewn with bloody clothing, and further on came to the wounded of both armies. The poor men were only separated from the ground by some straw for beds, with here and there a blanket stretched above them by sticks driven into the earth at their head, and feet to protect them from the burning sun. The sisters distributed their little stores among the men, although their wretched conditions seemed to destroy all relish for food or drinks. Bullets could be gathered from the small spaces that separated them,

Starting point is 02:58:17 men. They were consoled as much as possible, but the sisters scarcely knew where to begin, what to do. If they stopped at one place, a messenger would come to hastily call them elsewhere. In a wagon shed lay a group of men, one of whom was mortally wounded. An officer called the sisters to him, telling them how the mortally wounded man had become a hero as a flag bearer in the bloody struggle just ended. The poor fellow seemed to gain new strength, while the sisters were near him. They were about to move away when the officer recalled them, saying,

Starting point is 02:58:53 I fear the man is dying rapidly, come to him. He has been so valiant that I wish to let his wife know that the sisters of charity were with him in his last moments. Father Smith was summoned and hastily prepared the man for death. The thought of having the sisters near him

Starting point is 02:59:09 seemed to fill the poor man with joy and gave him the confidence and courage to die with a smile upon his lips. Two wounded Protestant ministers lay among the wounded soldiers and with one of these Father Smith spoke for a long time while preparing the man for his end.

Starting point is 02:59:27 The steward, who seemed delighted to see the sisters, informed them that he had met members of their order during the Crimean War. A northern steward and a southern surgeon became involved in a personal dispute which ended by one challenging the other to meet him in mortal combat

Starting point is 02:59:45 in a retired spot near the battlefield. Both withdrew towards an old shed, at the same time talking in a loud voice, threatening each other in angry tones. No one interfered, and the duel would have taken place had not one of the sisters followed them. She spoke to both of them firmly and reproachfully, taking their pistols from them, and the affair ended by their separating like docile children, each retiring to his post. Nightfall drove the sisters to their lodgings in the town, but they returned early in the morning. The medical director met the sisters, saying, you dine with me today, and added,

Starting point is 03:00:24 If you will remain, I shall make arrangements for your accommodations. But he was ordered elsewhere a few hours later, and the sisters saw no more of him. The sisters were requested by one of the officers to attend the funeral of the brave flag bearer. It was about dusk, and eight or ten persons followed the body to the grave, besides Reverend Father Smith and the sisters. Presently, they saw about 200 soldiers on horseback, galloping towards them. A few of the horsemen approached the group of mourners, and taking off their caps and bowing, one of them said, I am General McClellan, and I am happy and proud to see the sisters of charity with these poor men. How many are there? Two, was the reply. We came here to bring relief to the suffering, and we returned in a day or so.

Starting point is 03:01:13 Oh, he replied, why can we not have more here? I would like to. to see fifty sisters ministering to the poor sufferers. Whom shall I address for this purpose? Father Smith gave him the address of the Superior Emmitsburg. Then he asked, Do you know how the brave standard bearer is doing? He was informed that the flag bearer was just about to be buried, whereupon he joined the procession and remained until after the interment. General McClellan at this time was in the full flush of a vigorous manhood, with the added prestige of a West Point education. His command was considered the finest body of men in either the Union or the Confederate Army. Just prior to the Battle of Antietam, General McClellan had

Starting point is 03:01:58 ordered a review of his troops before the President and the members of his cabinet. It was a magnificent sight to see 70,000 well-drilled and well-dressed soldiers keeping step to the tune of martial music. What a difference between then and now. The finest blood in the nation lay spilled upon the field of Antietam. The dread hand of death had broken up and demoralized the army of the Potomac. General McClellan was the idol of his men, and was affectionately styled Little Mac. Upon his staff were two volunteers from France, the Compt di Perie and the Duke de Chart. They were grandsons of King Louis Philippe, were commissioned in the Union Army and served without pay as aides-de-camp to General McClellan. The Compe di Perie has written what is considered

Starting point is 03:02:46 to be the best and most impartial history of the Civil War extent. Both of these distinguished volunteers were with General McClellan at the time of his conversation with the sisters. About this time, the work of removing the wounded soldiers to Frederick City and Hagerstown began. During the time the sisters remained on the battlefield, they went from farm to farm trying to find those who were in most danger. The sisters were in constant danger from bombshells which had not exploded, and which only required a slight jar to burst. The ground was covered with these, and it was hard to distinguish

Starting point is 03:03:23 them while the carriage wheels were rolling over straw and dry leaves. The farms in the vicinity were laid waste. Unthreshed wheat was used for roofing of tents or pillows for the men. A few fences that had been spared by the cannonballs were used for fuel. The quiet farmhouses contained none of their former inhabitants. Stock, in the shape of cattle and fowl, seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Even the dogs were either killed or had fled from the appalling scene. It was very remarkable also that on none of the battlefields during the war were there any carry-on birds, not even a crow, though piles of dead horses lay here and there. Some of these animals were half burned from the efforts made to consume them by lighting fence rails over them,

Starting point is 03:04:12 But this seemed rather to add to the foulness of the atmosphere than helped to purify it. Long ridges of earth with sticks here and there told, So many of the Northern Army lie there, or so many of the Southern Army lie there. General McClellan's army was encamped in the neighborhood, with arms stacked, shining in the sun like spears of silver. A Northern soldier was rebuking a sympathizing lady for her partiality towards the fallen Southerners and said, How I admire the sisters of charity in this matter. When I was in Portsmouth, Virginia, they were called over from Norfolk,

Starting point is 03:04:49 to serve their own men, the Southerners in their hospitals, and labored an untiring charity. When, a few weeks later, our men took the place, and the same hospital was filled with the northern soldiers, these good sisters were called on again, when they resumed their kind attention, the same as if there was no sectional change in the men. This, he continued, was true Christian charity, and I would not fear for any human misery when the sisters have control. This, young lady, is what all you young ladies ought to do. The following day, Father Smith celebrated two masses in the parlor of the house at which he was stopping.

Starting point is 03:05:28 The sisters left this place on the 8th of October, having spent six days among the wounded soldiers, who had nearly all been removed at this time from the neighborhood. End of Chapter 11. Chapter 12 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Labor Fox recording. All Liber Fox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Laborvox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, New Orleans.

Starting point is 03:06:04 On the 25th of April 1862, a fleet under the famous Admiral Farragut, together with a land force under General Benjamin F. Butler, captured the city of New Orleans. Butler assumed charge of the commercial metropolis of the southwest, as it was then called, while the gunboats proceeded up the Mississippi River, subjugating other cities and towns along its banks. One of these was Donaldsonville. In shelling this place, Admiral Farragut injured some of the property under the charge of the Sisters of Charity. The Superior entered a complaint with General Butler, and in return received the following chivalrous letter headquarters department of the gulf new orleans louisiana september two eighteen sixty two santa maria clara superior and sister of charity madam i had no information until the reception of your note that so sad a result to the sisters of your community had happened from the bombardment of donelsonville i am very very sorry that rear admiral farragut was

Starting point is 03:07:14 unaware that he was injuring your establishment by his shells. Any injury must have been entirely accidental. The destruction of that town became a necessity. The inhabitants harbored a gang of cowardly guerrillas who committed every atrocity. Amongst others, that of firing upon an on-arm boat crowded with women and children going up the coast, returning to their homes, many of them having been at school in New Orleans. it is impossible to allow such acts and i am only sorry that the righteous punishment met it out to them in this instance as indeed in all others fell quite as heavily upon the innocent and unoffending as upon the guilty no one can appreciate more fully than myself the holy self-sacrificing labors of the sisters of charity to them old soldiers are daily indebted for the kindest offices sisters to all mankind they know no nation no kindred neither war nor peace their all pervading charity is like the boundless love of him who died for all whose servants they are and whose pure teachings their love illustrates i repeat my grief that any harm should have be fallen your society of sisters and will cheerfully repair it so far as i may in the manner you suggest by filling the order you have sent to the city for provisions and medicines. Your sisters in the city will also further testify to you that my officers and soldiers have never failed to do to them, all in our power to aid them in their usefulness, and to lighten the

Starting point is 03:09:02 burden of their labors, with sentiments of the highest respect. Believe me, your friend, Benjamin F. Butler, sometime after this General Blanchard, who was in command of the military in Monroe, Louisiana, made a request for sisters to care for the sick and wounded under his charge. A deputation of sisters was at once sent from St. Mary's Asylum in Natchez. The sisters were obliged to leave in the night in consequence of a dispatch announcing the approach of the federal gunboat Essex, which might have prevented their departure had they remained until the next day. Hence, they were compelled to cross the Mississippi River shortly before the midnight hour. The good Bishop of Natchez, now most Reverend W. H. Elder, Archbishop of Cincinnati,

Starting point is 03:09:53 alarmed for their safety, determined to accompany them to the post to which they were destined. And he did so. The pastor of the church at Monroe was also one of the party. The sisters and their friends crossed the river in a skiff and, reaching the other side, found an ambulance awaiting them they traveled the remainder of that night and the following two days over a very rough and dangerous road general blanchard had a matron and nurses employed in the hospital he dismissed these and arranged with the sisters to take charge the day after their arrival sister e had in her board a convalescent patient who deeming himself of more consequence than the others was somewhat piqued at her for not showing him special attention. The sister kept him in his place and treated him precisely as she did the others. One day she went, as usual, to administer the medicines, and as she was passing the ward in which he was located, she heard him utter most terrible

Starting point is 03:10:58 oaths. She passed on quietly, but on her return showed her displeasure at his disorderly conduct. He made every apology for his misbehavior. The sister proceeded on her way, having a bottle in each hand. At a very short distance from where the man was standing, she stopped to say a few words to another patient. She happened to look back and notice the convalescent man, put his hand in his coat pocket, and at the same instant the crack of a pistol shot was heard. The ball passed through the front of the sister's cornet within an inch or two of her forehead. The poor man with whom the sister had been talking thought he was wounded again, jumped up and clapped his hands on his old wound, as if to assure himself of its escape from harm.

Starting point is 03:11:45 The sister, pale, but with perfect presence of mind, still held her bottles and made her way through the cloud of smoke and the crowd that had gathered at the report of the pistol. The man was arrested and would have been dealt with in a summary manner, but at the request of the sister he was released. He claimed that it was an accident. It was afterwards discovered that he was a gambler and had loaded the pistol to shoot an enrollment officer in town. In the meantime, things were reaching a crisis in the city of Natchez. One morning, the sound of a shell bursting over the town filled the people with consternation. The scene that followed is beyond description.

Starting point is 03:12:28 Women and children rushed through the streets screaming with terror. The asylum was thronged by persons of every description, who begged to be admitted within its walls. one of the sisters speaking of this says, I can never forget the anguish I felt at the sight of mothers with infants in their arms, begging us to preserve the lies of their little ones without a thought about their own safety. At the sound of the first shell, our good bishop hastened to the asylum to assist us in placing the children out of danger of the shells. The bishop was surrounded as soon as he appeared and nothing could be heard but cries of,

Starting point is 03:13:07 O, father, hear my confession, and, Bishop, baptize me. Do not let us be killed without baptism. The bishop kindly went into the confessional, but soon perceived that he would be detained there too long. Therefore, he requested the sisters to assemble all in the chapel, and he would give a general absolution, as the danger was so imminent. Immediately their cries and sobs were suppressed. The bishop, after a few touching words, Beda, remember that no shell could harm the least one among us without the divine permission he then gave a general absolution to all present shells passed over the building in rapid succession while the sisters were kneeling in the chapel some of the bombs fell in the adjoining yard yet not one of those in the asylum was injured within the silence of death reigned no sound was heard but the fervent aspirations of the bishop and the suppressed sobs of the smaller children giving the final blessing the bishop said tell the sisters to take the children away as soon as possible when all were in readiness each of the orphans with a bundle of clothing passed out of the asylum with a thought that they were never again to enter its loved walls

Starting point is 03:14:23 Five of the sisters accompanied them, and the others, with two sick children, followed in a market wagon, the only vehicle that could be procured. While the sisters were placing the small children in the wagon a shell passed over the horse's head, so near as to frighten and cause the animal to jump, but it fell some distance away without exploding. The poor children had to go five miles without resting, so great was the danger. After remaining some weeks in the country, the authorities compromised, and the gunboat left the city without doing any further damages. The bishop announced the 40-hour's devotion in Thanksgiving. Good work was done in the Charity Hospital, New Orleans. The Sisters of Charity had charge of this hospital and attended many hundreds of the sick and wounded on both sides. It was the same with the Marine Hospital of New Orleans.

Starting point is 03:15:18 The first act of one of the sisters on entering aboard in this hospital was to grasp a cup of water from a nurse and baptize a dying soldier. One sister relates how she endeavored for a long time to get a cot for a very sick patient who lay on the floor, reclining on his carpet bag. She finally succeeded and then persuaded a convalescent soldier to convey the sick man to the cot. The patient was unwilling to go without his carpet bag in his boots. fearing they would be stolen if he left them. He kept a watchful eye on them all the time, and the sister, understanding the reluctant movements of the patient, took up the carpet bag in one hand and the boots in the other and followed.

Starting point is 03:16:03 The poor man was very much struck with the humility and charity of the sister and said, The soldiers wonder how the sisters can work so hard without pay. The sister replied, Our pay is in a coin more precious than going. It is laid up in a country more desirable than any that exists on this earth. End of Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Of Angels of the Battlefield

Starting point is 03:16:35 This is a Labor Fox recording All Labor Fox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibraFox.org Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, Southern Battlefields After the Battle of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, the sisters who had been looking after the sick and wounded in the hospitals near Richmond soon found their labors reduced very materially. The armies on both sides were becoming more accustomed to the hardships of the camps, and as a result, there was less sickness in the various regiments. There had also been a cessation of battles in the vicinity of Richmond, and as a consequence

Starting point is 03:17:20 there were no wounded men to care for. The sisters, feeling that their usefulness was at an end, called upon the officer in charge and asked for passports in order that they might return through the lines to their Emmetsburg home. The official would not consent to their going away, claiming that he knew they would be needed in other places in the near future, this being the case, they remained. The next day a letter came from the military in central Georgia, begging for sisters of charity to be sent to their hospital there. Five sisters left for this place on the night of February 24, 1863. A fierce battle had taken place, rendering the services of the sisters very necessary. On the way, at many places where they stopped, there was great curiosity

Starting point is 03:18:09 of the sight of their peculiar garb. Upon one occasion, having to wait two hours for a train, the curious bystanders examined the sisters closely, saying, Who are they? Are they men or women? Oh, what a strange uniform this company has adopted. Surely the enemy will run from them. Once or twice the crowd pushed roughly against the sisters, as though to see whether they were human beings or not. A sister spoke to a woman at the station. and thereupon many in the crowd clapped their hands and shouted, She spoke, she spoke. At one of the towns where the sisters stopped,

Starting point is 03:18:48 they did not know where to look for lodgings. Acting upon the first impulse, they went to the Catholic pastor's residence and inquired where they might be accommodated. The good old priest, strange as it may seem, had never seen their costume before, and as every day had its impostures to avoid, he was reserved and cautious, even unwilling to direct them to any house.

Starting point is 03:19:14 At last his pity got the better of his prudence, and he said slowly, I will show you where the Sisters of Mercy live. He took them there, where the good mother received them with open arms, saying, oh, the dear Sisters of Charity, you are truly welcome to my house. This lady had been kindly entertained some years before by the Sisters of Charity at Baltimore. The poor, abashed priest, had kept near the door, fearing he had put trouble on the good sisters of mercy. But when he saw the reception accorded the visitors he brightened up, approaching one of the sisters with outstretched hands, he said, Oh, ladies, make friends, I thought you were impostors.

Starting point is 03:19:58 Continuing the journey, one night a cry suddenly went up. The cars have gone through the bridge and we are in the river. the greatest excitement prevailed in the train. Passengers rushed to and fro, falling over one another in their confusion. The sisters had gone through so many exciting scenes during the war that they had learned the value of retaining their presence of mind in such an emergency. They remained still and soon learned that the accident had not occurred to their train, but to one coming in the opposite direction.

Starting point is 03:20:31 Except by the help of torches, very little could be done. until daylight. Two of the sisters, however, crossed the other side of the bridge and gave suitable attention to the sufferers, washing and minding their wounds. None were killed or in serious danger. By 12 o'clock the next day they reached to town. No refreshments were to be had. The work of devastation on the part of Sherman's army had preceded them. Fortunately, a little basket of lunch, originally prepared for five sisters, offered some sustenance, The next day the number of sisters had increased to eleven and several strangers also, with whom they shared their supplies. At nine o'clock, the same evening, a poor soldier near them

Starting point is 03:21:16 in the car said, Oh, but I am hungry. I have not had one crumb of food this day. Out came the magic basket and the sufferer was satisfied. Immediately others asked for food. the two following days the sisters had the soldiers to supply besides themselves, and yet the generous basket was true to all demands. On the third day's journey, they reached their field of labor. It was in the town of Marietta. A very fine building had been prepared for hospital purposes, and the whole place, with its wants and workings,

Starting point is 03:21:51 was placed in charge of the sisters. Their trained hands soon reduced everything to a system, and from that hour until its close, the affairs of the institution went like clockwork. The sisters were five weeks without having the opportunity or facilities for hearing mass. The two sisters at last went to Atlanta, where there were two priests, and begged that they might at least have mass at Easter, which was then approaching. This was agreed to, and not only the sisters, but many poor soldiers made their Easter duty. An earnest appeal was also made for a chaplain, and headquarters appointed one.

Starting point is 03:22:32 Before he arrived, however, orders were given to remove, as the enemy was advancing. The sisters had just received many wounded soldiers, and these men grieved bitterly when the religious left them. On the 24th of May, in response to an urgent appeal, the sisters reached Atlanta, where nearly all the houses were filled with the sick and wounded. Only tents could be raised for the sisters. They had 500 patients in the tents at the start, and large numbers were added daily. The sisters were provided with a little log house, containing two small rooms. The mice ran over them at night, and the rain was so constant through the day that their umbrellas were always in their hands. Two of them became very ill. The surgeon told them to keep in readiness for a move, but the patients were so happy in doing

Starting point is 03:23:26 so well under their care that he could not think of their leaving at that time a poor man badly wounded had been very cross and abusive towards the sister who served him but she increased her kindness and on the surface did not seem to understand his rudeness at last he became very weak and one day when she was waiting on him she saw that he was weeping she said have i pained you i know i am too rough pardon me this time and i will try to spare you pain again, for I would rather lessen than augment distress in this hour of misery. He burst into tears and said, My heart is indeed pained at my ingratitude towards you, for I have received nothing less than maternal care from you, and I have received it in anger. Do pardon me.

Starting point is 03:24:15 I declare I am forced to respect your patience and charity. When I came into this hospital and found that the sisters were the nurses, my heart was filled with hatred. my mind was filled with prejudice, a prejudice which I confess was inherited from those nearest and dearest to me. I did not believe that anything good could come from the sisters, but now I see my mistake all too clearly, and in seeing it I recognize the unintentional blackness of my own heart. I have seen the sisters in their true light. I see their gentleness, their humility, their daily, eye, their hourly, their hourly,

Starting point is 03:24:55 sacrifices, their untiring work for others. In a word, their great love for humanity. Forgive me if you can. This man soon after expired with the most edifying sentiments upon his lips. The sisters were employed at Camp Denison until the hospitals there were systemized. Then they went to New Creek, Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland. During Pope's campaign, they followed Siegel's Corps in the ambulances. After the Battle of Stone River, they went to Nashville and took charge of Hospital 14, capable of accommodating 700 or 800 patients. The following document, written on the occasion of the sisters leaving Nashville, will show the light in which they were regarded by the inmates of the hospital. The paper was signed by 236 persons. General Hospital, Number 14,

Starting point is 03:25:51 Nashville, Tennessee, November 1863. To the late Superior and Sisters of Charity in attendance of said hospital, the undersigned attaches and patients in said hospital have learned with regret that you contemplate leaving your present post of labor, and the object of this is to express the hope that you may be induced to forego that intention and kindly consent to remain with us. During your stay in the hospital you have been indeed sisters to all the patience, and your uniform kindness to all has endeared you to all our hearts. Should you leave us, we can only say that wherever you may go you will bear with you the soldier's gratitude and our earnest hope and prayer is that in whatever field you may labor in future, you may be as happy as you have been kind and charitable to us, and may heaven's choices, blessings,

Starting point is 03:26:48 be showered upon you for your kindnesses to the poor sick and wounded soldier. Private William N. Nelson, 19th Illinois Infantry, writes that he was passing through the ward getting signatures to the above petition when one poor fellow, who was lying on the bed almost dead, aroused himself and said, I want to sign that paper. I would sign it 50 times if asked, for the sisters have been to me as my mother since I have been here, and I believe had I been here before, I would have been well long ago. But if the sisters leave, I know I shall die. This is the feeling of every six soldier under the care of the sisters. On May 2, 1863, General Joseph Hooker, who had succeeded

Starting point is 03:27:37 Burnside, fought General Lee at Chancellor'sville, but was defeated. Lee followed up this victory by crossing the Potomac at Harpers Ferry and marching into Pennsylvania. The Union Army under General Meade advanced to meet him and then came Gettysburg. End of Chapter 13. Chapter 14 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Labor Fox recording. All Labor Fox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibraFox.org. of the battlefield by George Barton, Gettysburg. What is now generally conceded to have been the decisive battle of the Civil War was fought on the first, second and third of July, 1863. It took place in and around Gettysburg, a town located only about 10 miles north of Emmetsburg, the motherhouse of

Starting point is 03:28:45 the Sisters of Charity. The Union Army was under the control of General George G. Mead, and the Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee. Over 140,000 men were engaged in that bloody struggle, which lasted until the evening of the third day. The contending armies by their movements advance more and more toward the Sisters House in Maryland. The scene of this historic battle covered an area of over 25 square miles. The soldiers were so close to the Sisters' that the buildings trembled from the fearful cannonading. On the morning of July 1, as the head of the 107th Regiment,

Starting point is 03:29:31 Pennsylvania Volunteers, Second Division. First, Reynolds Corps was approaching St. Joseph's Academy near Emmetsburg. The soldiers were greeted with a remarkable and impressive sight. A long line of young girls led by several sisters of charity took their position. along the side of the road, and at a word from the sister in charge, all fell upon their knees, and with upturned faces toward the vaulted skies, earnestly prayed for the spiritual and physical safety of the men who were about to go into deadly battle. The sight was at once solemn and inspiring in the extreme. The roughest soldiers oft times have the tenderest hearts, and this scene

Starting point is 03:30:16 affected them more than they cared to confess. In an instant, the head of every soldier in the line was bowed and bared and remained so until the prayer was finished. All instinctively felt that the prayers of those self-sacrificing women and innocent children would be answered. To many of the men it was a harbinger of coming victory, as certain as the sunshine that smiled upon them on that beautiful July morning. The scene was photographed upon the mind of many a veteran and remained ever. afterwards as one of the sweetest memories of the war. The night of the third day, the rain fell heavily, and it continued raining all the next day. On Sunday morning immediately after Mass,

Starting point is 03:31:02 Reverend James Francis Burlando, with 12 sisters, left Emmetsburg for the battlefield, taking refreshments, bandages, sponges, and clothing, with the intention of doing all that was possible for the suffering soldiers, and then returning home the next evening. The roads previous to the rain had been in a bad condition, and the two armies had passed over them with difficulty. But with the mighty rain, the mud became so thick that they were almost impassable, the subdued Southerners having retired. Their thousands of dead and wounded were left on the field and in the barns and farmhouses in the vicinity. Scouts of the north were stationed, here and there, prepared to meet and cope with any 11th hour surprises.

Starting point is 03:31:52 One of these bands seeing the sisters' carriages was about to fire on them, thinking they were the ambulances of the enemy. The sisters had reached a double blockade of zigzag fence, thrown across the road for defensive purposes. The visitors wondered whether they dare go around it by turning into the fields, for in the distance they saw soldiers, half hidden in the woods, watching them. Father Berlando put a white handkerchief on a stick and holding it high in the air, walked towards them, while the sisters alighted and walked about, so that the concealed soldiers might see their white headdress, known as cornet's. The men viewed the priest sharply, for they had resolved to refuse to recognize a flag of truce if it were offered, but the sight of the

Starting point is 03:32:41 cornets reassured them. They met the priest and, learning his mission. sent an escort with him to open a passage for the sisters through the fields. The meek messengers of peace and charity soon came in sight of the ravages of Grimmore. It was a sight that one scene was not soon to be forgotten. Thousands of guns and swords, representing the weapons of the living, the wounded and the dead, lay scattered about. The downpour from heaven had filled the roads with water, but on this awful battlefield it was red with real blood.

Starting point is 03:33:15 the night before the unpitying stars shone down upon the stark forms of the flower of american manhood hundreds of magnificent horses man's best friend to the end had breathed their last and lay by the sides of their dead masters silent sentinels upon horseback as motionless almost as the dead about them sat guarding this gruesome open-air charnel with the first streak of gray dawn the work of interment had begun bands of soldiers were engaged in digging graves and others were busy carrying the bodies to them. There was no attempt at system. Vast excavations were made and as many bodies as possible placed in them. The dead were generally buried where they fell. In one trench at the foot of the slope known as Culp's Hill, 60 Confederates were buried.

Starting point is 03:34:08 In that three days' fight, 2,834 Union soldiers were killed, and 14,492 wounded. On the Confederate side, there were 5,500 killed and 21,500 wounded. Thousands of the slightly wounded cared for themselves without the assistance of either doctor or nurses. Thousands of others were shipped to the Satterley Hospital in West Philadelphia, where their wants were looked after by the Sisters of Charity in that institution. The remainder were forced to remain in Gettysburg. This was the condition of things that confronted the brave sisters as they rode over the battlefield on that scorching July day, frightful as it may seem.

Starting point is 03:34:56 Their carriage wheels actually rolled through blood. At times the horses could scarcely be induced to proceed on account of the ghastly objects in front of them. The sight of bodies piled two and three high caused the animals to rear up on their hind. legs and kick over the traces in a most uncomfortable manner. In the midst of the sickening scenes, the sisters discovered one little group sitting about an improvised fire, trying to cook some meat. The carriage was directed to this point, and here again, Father Burlando informed the soldiers of his errand. The officers seemed well pleased and told the sisters to go into the town of Gettysburg,

Starting point is 03:35:39 where they would find sufficient employment for their zealous charity. Every large building in Gettysburg was being filled as fast as the wounded men could be carried in. Within and around the city, 113 hospitals were in operation. Besides those located in private houses, on reaching Gettysburg, the sisters were shown to the hospital, where they distributed their little stores and did all they could to relieve and console the wounded soldiers. Two of the sisters returned to Emmetsburg that same evening with Father Burlando for the purpose of sending additional nurses to relieve those already on the ground. On arriving at the first hospital, the surgeon in charge took the sisters to the ladies

Starting point is 03:36:23 who had been attending there and said to them, Ladies, here are the sisters of charity come to serve our wounded. They will give all the directions here. You are only required to observe them. Those addressed cheerfully bowed their assent. the soldiers seemed to think that the presence of the sisters softened their anguish one sister was giving a drink to a poor dying man with a teaspoon it was slow work and a gentleman who entered unobserved at the time stood near by without speaking for some moments this gentleman was from a distance and was in search of the very person the sister was serving standing a moment in silence he exclaimed in a loud voice may god bless the sisters of charity and repeated it emphatically, adding,

Starting point is 03:37:11 I am a Protestant, but may God bless the sisters of charity. The Catholic Church in Gettysburg was filled with sick and wounded. The stations of the cross hung around the walls, with a very large oil painting of St. Francis Xavier holding in his hand a crucifix. The first man put in the sanctuary was baptized, expressing truly Christian sentiments. His pain was excruciating, and when sympathy was offered him, he said,

Starting point is 03:37:38 oh, what are the pains I suffer compared with those of my Redeemer. Thus disposed, he died. The soldiers lay on the pew seats, under them and in every aisle. They were also in the sanctuary and in the gallery, so close together that there was scarcely room to move about. Many of them lay in their own blood and the water used for bathing their wounds, but no word of complaint escaped from their lips. Others were dying with lockjaw, making it very difficult,

Starting point is 03:38:08 to administer drinks and nourishment. Numbers of the men had their wounds dressed for the first time by the sisters, surgeons at that juncture being few in number. When the sisters entered in the morning, it was no uncommon thing to hear the men cry out, Oh, come, please dress my wound, and, oh, come to me next. To all the pain suffered by the soldiers was added the deprivations of home friends and home comforts, which in such times come so vividly to the mind four of the sisters attended the sick in the transylvania college building which for the time being was used as a prison for about six hundred confederate soldiers the sisters dressed their wounds as in other cases every morning when they returned eight or ten bodies lay at the entrance of the college awaiting interment two youths lay in an outstretched blanket and a little ditch two inches deep was around the earth they lay upon to prevent the rain from running under them. There was quite a sensational scene in

Starting point is 03:39:13 this prison one morning. One of the sisters hearing a great noise among the patients looked to see the cause. She discovered a group of men with guns aimed at one poor, helpless man. There had been a quarrel, and no one attempted to stop the strife. The sister promptly and with no thought of personal danger hurried over to the group and placed her hand on the shoulder of the prospective corpse. Then she pushed him back into the surgeon's room, holding her other arm out to hinder the men from pursuing him. There was a dead silence. The poor man was put safely inside the doctor's room, and his tormentors retired without a word, quietly putting away their guns. The silence continued for some time. The sister placidly resumed her duties in the mess room.

Starting point is 03:40:02 Presently the doctor came to her and said, Sister, you have surprised me. I shall never forget what I have witnessed. I saw their anger and heard the excitement, but feared that my presence would increase it. I did not know what to do. But you came and everything was all right. Indeed, this will never die in my memory.

Starting point is 03:40:23 Well, replied the sister calmly, why, what did I do more than any other person would have done? You know they were ashamed to resist a woman. A woman? exclaimed the doctor. Why, all the women in Gettysburg could not have effected what you have. No one but a sister of charity could have done this. Truly it would have been well if a company of sisters of charity had been in the war. For then it might not have continued so long.

Starting point is 03:40:51 One young man, after being baptized, requested the sister to stay with him. until he died. He prayed fervently until the last breath, and almost his final words were, O Lord, bless the sisters of charity. This brought a crowd around him, as his bed was on the floor. The sister was kneeling by him and continued to pray for him until the last. Then she closed his mouth and bandaged his face with a towel in the usual manner. They who stood near said one to another. Was this man her relative? No, was the reply, but she is a sister of charity. Well, said one of the company, I have often heard of the sisters of charity, and I can now testify that they have been properly named. The surgeon remarked to the religious, sisters, you must be more

Starting point is 03:41:42 punctual at your repass. I see you are often here until four o'clock in the afternoon without your dinner, working for others with a twofold strength. it comes from, I do not know, forgetting no one but yourselves. You should, however, try to preserve your own health. A Protestant gentleman remarked to one of the sisters that the sisters of charity have done more for religion during the war than has ever been done in this country before. Both the Catholic Church and the Methodist Church in Gettysburg were used for hospital purposes. One day a sister from the Catholic Church had ordered her supplies. As usual, from the sanitary store. Soon after this, a sister who was nursing the sick in the Methodist Church

Starting point is 03:42:28 called at the store, and as she was about to leave, the merchant said, Where are these articles to be sent? I believe you belong to the Catholic Church. No, sir, replied the sister, with a barely suppressed smile. I belong to the Methodist Church. Send the goods there. After the more severely wounded had been removed by friends or had died, the officers began directing the work of transferring the remaining patients from the town hospital to a wood of tents called the general hospital. A sister was passing through the streets of Gettysburg about this time when a Protestant chaplain running several squares to overtake her said, I see sisters of charity everywhere, but in our general hospital, why are they not there? The sister told him that when the wounded men had been removed, none of the surgeons or officers had asked them to go there, or they would have gone willingly. Well, he said, I will go immediately to the provost and ask him to have you sent there. I feel sure that he needs you there. In going over the field encampment, one of the

Starting point is 03:43:33 sisters was pleased and saddened to find her own brother, whom she had not seen for nine years. He had been wounded in the chest and ankle and was in one of the hospitals in town. The meeting under such circumstances was an affecting one. Both were devoted, loyal souls. Each doing duty earnestly, according to his or her knowledge of the right. Through the kindness of the officer of the day, the wounded man was permitted to be removed to the hospital where his sister was in charge. A few days after the Battle of Gettysburg, Father Burlando wrote a letter to one of his reverend colleagues in Maryland. Some of the facts mentioned in this document have already been told in this chapter, but the fact that it was written while the echoes of that famous fight were still

Starting point is 03:44:19 fresh makes it of unusual interest. It is as follows. Emmitsburg, July 8, 1863, Reverend and dear sir, you have been informed without doubt by the papers that we have been visited by the Army of the Potomac, and that very near us has been fought a terrible battle, the most bloody since this secession. St. Joseph has well taken care of his house, and St. Vincent of his daughters. We have not been troubled, or at least we have, have escaped with the slight loss of a little forage and some wooden palings, which have served for the wants of a portion of the army. The evening of the 27th of June, the troops commenced to appear upon a small hill a little distance from St. Joseph's, regiment after regiment, division after

Starting point is 03:45:09 division, all advanced with artillery and cavalry, and taking possession of all the heights encamped in order of battle. The 28th, 29th, and 30th. We were completely surrounded. General Howard and his suite took possession of our house in Emmetsburg. General Schultz and his suite were close to St. Joseph's in the house which served some time since for an orphanage. The other generals took orders in different houses along the line of army. For the protection of St. Joseph's General Schultz gave orders that guards should be posted in its environs, and General Howard did the same for our little place in Emmetsburg. A great number of officers asked permission to visit the house, and all conducted themselves with courtesy, expressing gratitude for the services, rendered the soldiers and military hospitals

Starting point is 03:46:03 by the sisters. On Monday, this portion of the army departed, and was replaced by another not less numerous, which ranged itself in line of battle as the first. A colonel of artillery, Mr. La Trobeier, with other officers quartered in the orphanage, he also visited the institution. The sisters distributed bread, milk, and coffee. On the 1st of July, the battle commenced about seven miles from Emmetsburg, whilst the booming of the cannon announced that God was punishing the iniquities of man, our sisters were in church praying in and imploring mercy for all mankind. On Sunday, I accompanied eight nurses bearing medicaments and provisions for the wounded. At the distance of six miles, we were stopped by a

Starting point is 03:46:52 barricade, and at about 300 yards there was another to intercept all communication. At the second was stationed a company of federal soldiers who perceived us from afar. I descended from the carriage, and raising a white handkerchief, advanced to the second barricade, and announced the purpose of our errand. Immediately several soldiers were sent to open the way, and the two vehicles continued their route without danger. At some distance we found ourselves again in face of another barricade, which compelled us to make a long circuit. Behold us at last upon the scenes of combat. What a frightful spectacle. Ruins of burned houses, the dead of both armies lying here and there, numbers of dead horses, thousands of

Starting point is 03:47:40 guns, swords, vehicles, wheels, projectiles of all dimensions, coverings, hats, of elements of all color, covered the fields and the road. We made circuits to avoid passing over dead bodies, horses, terrified, recoiled or sprang from one side to the other. The further we advanced, the more abundant were the evidences presented of a terrible combat, and tears could not be restrained in the presence of these objects of horror. At last we halted in the village of Gettysburg. There was found a good portion of the Federal Army in possession of the field of battle. The inhabitants had but just issued from the cellars wherein they sought safety during the engagement. Terror was still painted upon their countenances. All was in confusion. Each temple,

Starting point is 03:48:34 each house, the Catholic Church, the courthouse, the product. The process. The product. Protestant seminary were filled with wounded, and still there were many thousands extended upon the field of battle nearly without succor. I placed two of our sisters in each one of the three largest improvised hospitals, offered some further consolations to the wounded, and then returned to St. Joseph's. The next day I started with more sisters and a reinforcement of provisions. Meanwhile, provisions had been sent by the government, and the poor wounded succored, and the inhabitants having recovered from their terror, have given assistance to thousands of suffering and dying. Eleven sisters were now employed in this town transformed into a hospital. We shall send some sisters

Starting point is 03:49:20 and necessaries tomorrow, if possible. Whilst I write you, the sound of cannonating re-echos from the southwest, where another engagement takes place, my God, when will you give peace to our unhappy country. Yours, Burlando. End of Chapter 14. Chapter 15, Part 1 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Bo Wood. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton Saturday Hospital Part 1

Starting point is 03:50:15 A sketch of the remarkable labors of Sister Mary Gonzaga and her work as the executive head of a hospital where 50,000 sick and wounded soldiers were cared for. The chaplain kept busy preparing men for death. Bishop Wood visits the hospital and administers the sacrament of confirmation. A soldier who was saved from the stocks, a veteran's tribute.

Starting point is 03:50:48 As stated in the previous chapter, many carloads of wounded soldiers were conveyed from Gettysburg to the Saturday Hospital in Philadelphia. Sister Mary Gonzaga, who was in charge of this institution, deserves special mention in connection with her work during the war.

Starting point is 03:51:10 If nobility of character, earnestness and purity of purpose, great natural executive ability, together with unaffected piety and humility, tell for anything, this sister will rank high in the bright galaxy of self-sacrificing women whose lives have illuminated the history

Starting point is 03:51:34 of Catholic sisterhoods in the United States, celebrating her golden jubilee, April 12, 1877. She could even then look back over a series of years, in the course of which she has been schoolteacher, nurse, Mother Superior, head of a large orphan asylum, and the executive of a great military hospital, where nearly 50,000 sick and wounded soldiers received the self-sacrificing attention of a staff of 60 or 70 Sisters of Charity. Sister Gonzaga, just before her death, was credited with being the oldest living sister of charity in the United States. She spent the tranquil evening of a busy and eventful life as the

Starting point is 03:52:28 mother emeritus of St. Joseph's orphan asylum, one of the magnificent charities of the city of brotherly love. This venerable woman's name in the world was Mary Agnes Grace. She came from a respected Baltimore family, being born in that city in 1812. She was baptized in St. Patrick's Church, and there and in a Christian home received her preliminary religious training. In December 1823, she was sent to St. Joseph's Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she proved to be a most diligent pupil. The four years she spent in this institution helped to make that certain foundation upon which her subsequent successful career was built. She had early conceived the idea of retiring from the world and devoting her life entirely to the service of God.

Starting point is 03:53:35 Accordingly, on March 11, 1827, she was received into the community of the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. In April 1828, in company with two other sisters, she opened a school in Harrisburg. On the 25th of March, 1830, she made her holy vows. In May 1830, Sister Gonzaga was sent to Philadelphia to St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum, with which her future was to be so intimately connected. The asylum at that time was situated on 6th Street near Spruce, adjoining Holy Trinity Church. On October 24, 1836, the institution was removed to the site of the present asylum at the southwest corner of 7th and Spruce Streets.

Starting point is 03:54:38 Four sisters and 51 children comprised the population then. The sisters were Sister Petronilia, Sister Theodosia, Sister Mary John, and Sister Mary Gonzaga. Sister Petronilia died on August 3, 1843, sincerely mourned, and was succeeded by Sister Gonzaga, who remained in charge until October 1844. Here she went on with her good work, placid and calm, in the midst of the worrying turbulence of anti-Catholic bitterness and persecution,

Starting point is 03:55:21 which at times threatened the lives, of innocent women and children. In the latter part of 1844, she was sent to Donaldsonville, Louisiana, as assistant in the novitiate, which at that time was for the purpose of graduating southern postulence. In the following year, Sister Gonzaga was transferred to New Orleans.

Starting point is 03:55:47 On March 19, 1851, she returned to St. Joseph's asylum in Philadelphia, to reassume her former charge. In 1855, she was sent in an administrative capacity to the motherhouse of the order in France, where she remained for a year, obtaining and imparting much valuable information regarding the work and duties of the sisters.

Starting point is 03:56:17 In May, 1856, she returned to the United States going to St. Joseph's Emmetsburg, where she filled the office of procuratrix. In January 1857, she returned to Philadelphia, taking charge of her old love, St. Joseph's Asylum, for the third time. The beginning of the Civil War, a few years later, was to mark one of the most eventful epics in the career of Sister Gonzaga and to develop extraordinary gifts and qualities of administration. The Saturday Military Hospital was established in Philadelphia. Dr. Walter F. Atley, an honored physician of the Quaker City, felt that the interest of the

Starting point is 03:57:09 government and of the soldiers would be benefited if the Sisters of Charity were installed as nurses in the Army Hospital. He had several interviews with Surgeon General Hammond and with the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. As a result of this, the Sisters of Charity were invited to assume charge. On June 9, 1862, Sister Gonzaga, accompanied by 40 sisters, assembled from all parts of the United States, entered upon the duties in the lives.

Starting point is 03:57:46 hospital. It is difficult to estimate the good work done by the sisters during the period they spent in this place, which has been aptly styled, the shadow of the valley of death. In those three momentous years, the sisters nursed and cared for upwards of 50,000 soldiers. Only those who have had the care of the sick can begin to estimate the amount of ceasel labor and patience involved in such a vast undertaking. The sick and wounded comprised both Union and Confederate soldiers. The gentleness of the sisters soon endeared them to all under their charge. In securing the necessary number of sisters, a requisition was made by Surgeon General

Starting point is 03:58:41 Hammond for 25 from the mother house at Emmitsburg. They were sent to Philadelphia at once to take their places in the new hospital. To quote one of the sisters, the place was so large that they could scarcely find the entrance. The workmen about the grounds looked at the sisters in amazement, thinking perhaps that they belonged to some kind of flying artillery. At 12 o'clock, they repaired to the kitchen for dinner, and by the time this meal was finished, they found plenty of work had been planned for them. 150 men who had been brought in were in the wards.

Starting point is 03:59:27 All of the sisters went to work and prepared nourishment for the men, most of whom looked at them in astonishment, not knowing what kind of persons they might be. But among the number was a French soldier named Pierre, who immediately recognized the garb of the daughters of charity. In a short time, the number of patients was increased to 900. On the 16th of August, over 1,500 of the sick and wounded were brought to the hospital, most of them from the Battle of Bull Run or Manassas.

Starting point is 04:00:08 Many had died on the way from sheer exhaustion. Others were in a dying state so that the chaplain was kept busy in preparing the men for death. The wards being now crowded, tents were erected in the yard to accommodate over 1,000 patients, for the sisters at that time had not less than 4,500 in the hospital. When they first went to Satterley, their quarters were very limited, consisting of one small room about seven feet square, which served as a chapel.

Starting point is 04:00:47 Another, somewhat larger, answered the purpose of a dormitory by night and community room by day. Dr. Hayes soon supplied four more rooms, one of which was for a chapel. The soldiers, who were very much interested, took up a collection among themselves, and gave the money to the sisters, requesting them to purchase ornaments or whatever was needed for the chapel. They did so at different times until they finally had a good supply of everything that was necessary. They even secured new seats in sanctuary carpet. The men stipulated that when the hospital was closed, the sisters should take everything for the orphans. In April, 1863, right Reverend Bishop Wood administered the sacrament of confirmation in the little chapel

Starting point is 04:01:48 to 31 soldiers, most of whom were converts, and two of whom were over 40 years of age. In February 1864, 44 others received the sacrament of confirmation. One man was unable to leave his bed, and the bishop was kind enough to go to the ward in his robes to confirm that man. After the ceremony, the prelate distributed little souvenirs of his visit, and then asked the Catholics who were present to approach the railing of the altar. To his great astonishment, as well as satisfaction, all in the chapel came forward. He gave a little exhortation and then dismember. missed them. Mass was said at 6 o'clock in the morning, and many of the patients were in the

Starting point is 04:02:46 chapel at half-past four in order to secure seats. This was generally the case on great festivals, although some of the crippled men had to be carried in the arms of their comrades. At three o'clock on Sundays and festivals, Vespers were sung in the chapel, in which the patients felt quite privilege to join. In Lent, they had the way of the cross, and in May the devotions of the month of Mary. The chapel was always crowded at these times. The soldiers took great delight in decorating the chapel at Christmas with green boughs festooned with roses. Indeed, it always gave them great pleasure to help the sisters in any kind of work, and they often interfered when they found their kind nurses engaged in laborious duties.

Starting point is 04:03:47 In May 1864, a Jubilee was celebrated at the hospital with great success. Cases of smallpox had occurred in the hospital from time to time, but the patients were removed as soon as possible to the smallpox hospital, which was some miles from the city. The poor men were very much distressed because they were compelled to leave the sisters. It was heart-rending when the ambulances came to hear the men begging to be left at Saturday, even if they were entirely alone, provided the sisters were near them. The sisters offered their services several times to attend these poor men, but were told that the government had ordered them away to prevent the contagion from spreading.

Starting point is 04:04:42 At last, the surgeon in charge obtained permission to keep the smallpox patients in a camp some distance from the hospital. The tents were made very comfortable with good large stoves to heat them. The next thing was to have the sisters in readiness in case their services should be required. Every sister was courageous and generous enough to offer her services, but it was thought prudent to accept one who had had the disease. From November 1864 until May 1865, there were upwards of 90 cases. About nine or ten of these died. Two of the men had the black smallpox and were baptized before they expired.

Starting point is 04:05:33 The sisters had entire charge of the poor sufferers as the physicians seldom paid them a visit, permitting the sisters to do anything they thought proper for them. They were much benefited and avoided being marked by drinking freely of tea made of pitcher plant. The patients seemed to think that the sisters were not like other human beings or they would not attend to such loathsome and contagious diseases. One day, a sister was advising an application for a man who had been poisoned in the face.

Starting point is 04:06:15 He would not see the doctor because he said he did not do him any good. The sister told him that the remedy she advised had cured a sister who was poisoned. The man looked astonished and said, A sister? She answered, yes. Why, he said, I did not know that sisters ever got anything like that. She told him that they were human beings and liable to take diseases as well as anyone else. But I believe they are not, he said, for the boys often say they must be different from anyone else.

Starting point is 04:06:57 or from other people, for they never get sick, and they do for us what no other person would do. They are not afraid of the fever, smallpox, or anything else. The men had more confidence in the sister's treatment than in that of the physicians. The doctors themselves acknowledged that they would have lost more of their patients, had it not been for the sister's watchful care, and knowledge of medicine. One occurrence will show the good feeling of the men towards the sisters. One of the convalescent patients had been in town on a furlough,

Starting point is 04:07:40 and while there had indulged too freely in liquor. On his return, he went quietly to bed. A sister, not knowing this, went with his medicine as usual and touched his bedclothes to arouse him. The poor man, being stupid and sleepy, thought his comrades were teasing him, and lifting up his arm gave a terrific blow, sending the sister in medicine across the room. Several of the convalescent patients seized their comrade by the collar and would surely have choked him to death if the sister had not compelled them to desist. However, he was soon realized.

Starting point is 04:08:27 reported by the men and sent under an escort to the guardhouse where stocks were prepared for him. Nothing could be done for his release as the surgeon in charge was absent. As soon as that official returned, the sister begged that the poor man might return to his ward and be also free from all other punishment, as well as from imprisonment in the guardhouse. The surgeon complied with the sister's request, but in order to make a strong impression on the soldier, he dispatched an order to all the wards, which was read at roll call as follows. This man was released only by the earnest entreaty of the sisters. Otherwise, he would have been punished with the utmost severity.

Starting point is 04:09:20 When the poor man came to himself and learned what he had done, He begged a thousand pardons and promised never to take liquor again. End of Chapter 15, Part 1. Recording by Bow Wood. Chapter 15, Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 04:10:00 angels of the battle-field by george barton satterley hospital part two the following notes from the diaries of the sisters are of interest from our taking charge of the hospital june the ninth eighteen sixty two until we left it on august third eighteen sixty five ninety one sisters had been on duty there the war being over in april eighteen sixty five the government only desired our services after that until the convalescence could obtain their discharge. The physicians, however, requested us to remain until all the sick were removed to the soldier's home, or returned to their own homes. I am happy to be able to state that, during our whole sojourn at Satterley Hospital, there was never an unpleasant word between the physicians or officers and the sisters. The eve of our departure, the executive officer said to me, Sister, allow me to ask you a question. Has there ever been any mis-submitter?

Starting point is 04:11:00 understanding or dissatisfaction between the officers and the sisters since you came to this hospital? I answered, not at all. Well, he said, I will tell you why I asked. The other evening we were at a party. The conversation turned on the sisters in the hospitals, and I said that there had never been a falling out between us at Saturday, that we were all on the same good terms as on the first day we met. Some of the city hospital doctors said they did not believe that 40 women could live together without disputing, much less that they could be among such a number of men without it. Among the soldiers, who were of many nations, there was a large number of Indians. In Ward 20, there was a young Indian named James Wise, who was far gone in consumption.

Starting point is 04:11:49 The doctors thought he could not live very many days. A sister sent for Charles Corbin, another Indian, who was a child. was in ward you to speak to him of his condition. Charlie was a well-instructed Catholic and understood the French language, through which he communicated to sister the dispositions of the poor sufferer, who did not know that he had a soul or that there was a God. In fact, to use Charlie's own words, he was a perfect savage. He would not listen to anything Charlie had to say, either in regard to the existence of a God or the immortality of the soul. On leaving him for the night, Charlie told Sister what little hope there was of his conversion. But how mysterious are the ways of God?

Starting point is 04:12:33 On his return next morning, he found him with very different dispositions. The poor sick one had had a dream, which he relates as follows. He had thought he saw our Lord coming toward him, with a priest ready to baptize him, thinking he was an infant and heaven was open to receive him. This he described to Charlie as minutely as if he had seen the priest in reality, at the same time requesting him to bring him to the chapel to be baptized. The next time Father McGrain came to say Mass, Charlie brought his poor little savage, as he still called him, although he was almost too weak to walk to the chapel. Here there followed a scene which I must describe. Three interpretations were needed in order to perform the ceremonies of administering

Starting point is 04:13:20 the sacrament of baptism. first charlie who understood the indian language interpreted it to the sister in french then sister translated the french into english for father mcgrayne who thus learned the desire of the little savage the third in the circle he lingered for two weeks after his baptism and was interred in cathedral cemetery since his death charlie has often expressed the wish to be one day as happy as he believes him to be may he rest in peace september twenty seven quite an excitement was created around two o'clock on the twenty seventh of september caused by the visits of general sigel and hammond the former lost a leg in one of the late battles of gettysburg and has been since that time under the care of the sisters in washington he is now able to go about on crutches dr hayes with the principal surgeons accompanied them in walking the circuit of the hospital the patients who were all eager to see once more their good old generals who had stood by them so valiantly in the terrible engagement came out of the wards as best they could many of them also on crutches and crowded in the corridors to cheer and welcome them as they passed along one poor young lad who was very sick who sister thought would feel the privation of not being able to see them replied to her words of consolation do not feel sorry on my account i would any time rather see a sister than a general for it was a sister who came to see me when i was unable to help myself in an old barn near gettysburg she dressed my wounds and gave me drink and took care of me until i came here

Starting point is 04:15:02 the poor boy is a protestant and never saw a sister before that time thanksgiving day quite an interesting little party assembled in the laundry yesterday evening the poor laundresses have been so very generous for some time past that sister n consented to let them have a little party as soon as sister gonzaga would return from st joseph's where she had been for the last two weeks they came quite early yesterday morning and hastened to finish all their work by noon, then washed and dressed in all their finery, which they had brought with them for the occasion. Sister Anne arranged the tables, which were covered with snow-white cloths, upon which were placed cakes, preserves, apples, candies, etc. In the center, and at each end of the table, were placed handsome bunches of flowers. The pitchers looked like silver, and the knives and forks looked as if they had never been used. The tea set was white. In fact, everything looked nice, and our poor washerwomen were delighted. At four o'clock, Sister N informed them that everything was in readiness, and sent for

Starting point is 04:16:12 Sister Gonzaga, who opened the afternoon with a few remarks. The doctor whose duty it is to prescribe for them was present. Two of the patients who have violins had been previously requested to come and play for them, and they, with the exception of two or three small boys, were the only men present. They danced until nearly seven o'clock. The old women gave us Irish jigs and reels to perfection, while the younger ones danced cotillions. There was not a loud or unbecoming words spoken during the whole evening, and they acted as nicely as might be expected from a better class. They all seemed well pleased, and expressed their thanks to the sisters for honoring them with their presence. sister gonzaga said grace for them before taking their places at supper and afterwards made a few pleasant remarks to which they listened with the greatest respect

Starting point is 04:17:05 the doctors then took their leave after having expressed their thanks to the sisters for having allowed them the favor of being present which they considered a great compliment after supper one of the girls in the name of all presented sister gonzaga with a large cake nicely frosted she was obliged to accept it else she would have wounded their feelings they then bade us good-night at a quarter to eight and returned to their humble homes well pleased with their evening's entertainment i must not omit to tell you that they defrayed the expenses of all the refreshments themselves each one contributed a little beforehand for of course they knew that they could not have had it in any other way the hospital was one of the largest in the country and everything was arranged on a generous scale. It was not the cause of any wonder, therefore, when the wounded were brought in by the carloads. Sister Gonzaga always recalled two events in the history of the institution with particular distinctness. The first was after the Battle of Bull Run, and the second, the day following the Battle of Gettysburg. After the Battle of Bull Run, the soldiers were brought to the hospital by the hundreds. The time of the Battle of Gettysburg, there was a terrible period of

Starting point is 04:18:22 suspense for the people of Philadelphia. They only knew, in a general sort of way, that a battle was taking place, perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of the state capital, but they had no information regarding the result, or who was the victor or vanquished. The earliest information came with the first consignment of wounded soldiers to the Satterley Hospital. The sick and wounded from the blood-stained field of Gettysburg did not come by the dozens or by the carload, or by the hundred, but by the thousands. One careful estimate puts the number at four thousand. Such an emergency as this naturally tested the capacity of the women in charge, but Sister Gonzaga came through the ordeal with flying colors. The surgeon-in-chief of the hospital was Dr. Isaac Hayes,

Starting point is 04:19:13 who achieved much fame by his connection with the celebrated Cain Arctic Exploring expedition, and who afterwards headed an expedition of his own. The wards of the hospital were very commodious and comfortable, each one accommodating at least 75 beds. Dr. Hayes was as a kind father to the sisters, consulting them upon everything that would contribute to their comfort and happiness. Through the kind offices of Dr. Hayes and Dr. Atley, they secured a chaplain, Father Crane,

Starting point is 04:19:44 who said mass for them once a week. In the early part of the war, many of the wounded soldiers were taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where Sister Hillary was in charge. The hospital was then located in a dwelling house on Girard Avenue, between 16th and 17th Street. After the Battle of Bull Run, about 60 soldiers were cared for at St. Joseph's Hospital. At the same time, St. Teresa's Church, of which the venerable Hugh Lane is pastor, was temporarily used as a hospital for wounded soldiers. The sisters from Emmetsburg, as detailed in the previous chapter, did much good service after the fight at Gettysburg,

Starting point is 04:20:24 going directly from their mother house in Maryland to the scene of the battle. There is an old and very rare print of the Satterley Hospital still in existence. From this valuable documentary evidence, it is clear that the hospital occupied many acres of ground. In order to reach the building, it was necessary to cross a bridge in the vicinity of South Street. In crossing this at the time the hospital was opened, the carriage containing a number of sisters broke down, and they were compelled to walk the remainder of the distance. During all the time of the war, Sister Gonzaga remained in charge of St. Joseph's asylum, which she visited at regular intervals.

Starting point is 04:21:05 At the close of the war, she returned, to give her whole time to the asylum, the other sisters returning to their various missions. Sister Gonzaga has had frequent visits from grateful soldiers who were nursed back to life through her Christian devotion. One who heard of her serious illness a few years ago called, and then, as the outpouring of a grateful heart, sent the following letter to the Philadelphia Evening Star as a soldier's tribute to the noble work of Mother Gonzaga during the war. In your valuable paper, dated yesterday, the announcement was made that Mother Gonzaga, in charge of St. Joseph's orphan asylum, southwest corner of 7th and spruce streets, was lying dangerously ill. In reciting her many acts of charity for the young orphans under her care and

Starting point is 04:21:53 protection, victims of epidemics, etc., during the many years of her life, you were not aware that the short notice touched a tender court of affection in the breast of many a veteran of the late War. Mother Gonzaga was a mother of 60,000 soldiers as patients under treatment in Saturday United States Army Hospital, 44th in Pine Streets, from 1862 until 1865. Those who were under her care, no matter of what religion or creed, when they received the midnight visits of Mother Gonzaga, her silent steps after taps and by the dim gaslight, will recognize her familiar countenance surrounded by that white-winged hood or cowl, just bending her form to hear the faint breath or whisper of some fever patient or some restless one throwing off the bedclothes. She, kindly tucking them in

Starting point is 04:22:48 around his body as a mother would a child, then a visit to the dying to give them expressions of comfort. Those who recall these scenes, I say, think of her truly as an angel of peace and sweetness. administering medicine when required, loosening a bandage or replacing the same, watching a case of a sufferer in delirium, at all times annoying to those near him, was her daily duty. To see her always calm, always ready,

Starting point is 04:23:19 with modesty and fidelity, faithfully performing a Christian duty as an administering angel, when physicians, surgeons, friends, and all human aid had failed, was a beautiful science. no poet could describe no artist could faithfully portray on canvas the scenes at the death-bed of a soldier that would convey to those not having witnessed them the solemnity of the quiet kneeling the silent prayer a murmur faintly heard as a whisper a sister of charity paying her devotion to him on high and consigning the spirit of the dying soldier to his care as one of many thousands under her care i shall always think of mother gonzay's

Starting point is 04:24:01 as one of a constellation of stars of the greatest magnitude, surrounded by many others that were devoted servants, among whom I would mention Dorothea Dix, Annie M. Ross, Hedy A. Jones, and Mary Brady. We soldiers cannot forget the service they rendered. J. E. McLean End of Chapter 15, Part 2 Chapter 15 Part 3 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording.

Starting point is 04:24:40 All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Satterley Hospital, Part 3. On the 12th of April, 1877, Sister Gonzaga celebrated the occasion of her golden jubilee in the sisterhood. On the previous 19th of March, she had attained her 50th year in the community. On that day, she received the blessing of the Holy Father, Pope Pius I. A gracious act obtained for her at the suggestion of Reverend Father Alizeri, C. M.

Starting point is 04:25:21 A saintly man, and a faithful missionary, who has since gone to his reward. Bishops, priests, sisters, and laymen, fied with one another on this jubilee occasion in showing the reverence and esteem in which they held the simple religious woman who had gone about doing good for so many years. Ten years later, she was recalled to the motherhouse at Emmetsburg by her superiors, who desired to relieve her of her responsibility as the head of such a large institution. Born to obedience, she promptly responded to the order, and left the house which had become as a home, left friends who had become endeared to her, and left orphans who truly regarded. her as a mother. There was not a murmur from this woman who was being taken away from associations with which she had been lovingly and intimately connected for nearly half a century. Her Philadelphia

Starting point is 04:26:16 friends, without solicitation, and spontaneously and simultaneously, addressed petitions to her superiors, requesting her return to the scenes of her life's labors. In the words of one who loved Sister Gonzaga. Heaven was stormed by fervent prayers for the return of the mother of the poor. She remained at Emmetsburg for 16 months, and at the end of that time returned to Philadelphia. Her homecoming, on the 20th of December 1888, was made the occasion of a great demonstration. The sisters, the orphans, the managers of the asylum, and a host of friends participated. The actual extent of the good done by Sister Gonzaga is scarcely realized by those who were about her. Many of her charitable acts have been done quietly, even secretly.

Starting point is 04:27:09 There is one story with almost the pathos of a tragedy in which she was concerned. The daughter of an estimable family went astray, and the parents, in the first violence of their anger and grief, turned her out of the house. A few months passed, and then their sober better judgment coming to the surface, they attempted to find and forgive the child they had disowned. But they searched in vain, and finally, almost in despair, turned to Sister Gonzaga. She had not the slightest clue to the missing girl, but she pledged herself to bring her back. In a short time she located the erring one in the insane ward of the Philadelphia Hospital. She was a raving maniac. The girl was restored to her remorseful parents, and by careful

Starting point is 04:27:58 nursing was gradually brought back to reason. On another occasion, when the sister was missing for an hour or so every day, it was discovered that she was in daily attendance on a poor woman who lay ill in a small house in a street nearby. Although this was entirely foreign to her duties, she regularly called and washed and dressed the woman. Sister Gonzaga departed this life on the morning of October 8, 1897, in her room in St. Joseph's orphan asylum in Philadelphia. A piece of crape, on top of which was fastened a bit of immaculate white ribbon, fluttered from the bell on the door of the asylum on that day

Starting point is 04:28:40 to inform the passerby that this marvelous woman had gone to receive her reward. the obsequies of sister gonzaga took place on the morning of tuesday october twelfth on the evening before this event countless numbers took a last farewell of the devoted sister hundreds of women and men kissed her dead face as she lay in her coffin they kissed her hands which held the rosary and about which was twined the broad purple ribbon of her office as superiress some of the women shed tears but the men seemed even more deeply affected on the morning of the funeral the body lay in state it was attired in the habit of the order with a black gown and the white head-dress clasped in her hand was a crucifix and rosary and a small roll of paper on which was written the vows that the deceased took when entering upon her work the casket was heavily trimmed in silver and upon the lid was a plate containing this inscription sister mary gonzaga died october eighth eighteen ninety seven aged eighty five years near the top of the lid was a large silver cross with a figure of the crucifixion. Upon the head of Sister Gonzaga,

Starting point is 04:30:03 there reposed a golden-leaved crown that was presented to her when she had been fifty years a sister of charity. There was a profusion of floral offerings tastefully arranged about the head of the casket. In a prominent place was a cross and crown from the children of Mary,

Starting point is 04:30:21 a society composed of former inmates of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. The body lay in the community, room beneath the altar. Half a hundred sisters of charity were seated along the side of the room. The entire apartment was draped in black. By ten o'clock when the doors were closed, several thousand persons had passed around the casket. At length the hearse drew up before the asylum, and eight students from St. Vincent's Seminary carried the coffin out to the street. A long procession quickly formed, and slowly the march to St. Mary's Church was begun, the route being down-sbruse to

Starting point is 04:31:02 fourth and up forth. Arriving at the church, the eight theologians again acted as pallbearers, and the casket was carried up the aisle and placed in front of the altar. Among the mourners were the board of managers of the institution, sisters of charity from various houses of the order in Philadelphia and other cities, sisters of other orders, the children of Mary, composed of those who were formerly inmates of St. Joseph's orphan asylum, numbers of them now mothers of families, and the orphans at present at the home. In addition to these, a large congregation was present, which crowded the church. Solom Requium Mass celebrated by very Reverend J. A. Hartnett, C. M. of St. Vincent's Seminary Germantown, who celebrated his first Mass at St. Joseph's Asylum Chapel.

Starting point is 04:31:56 Reverend E. O. Hilterman, Rector of Holy Trinity, was deacon. Reverend Edward Quinn, C. M. of Baltimore, subdeacon. And Reverend John J. Duffy, Master of Ceremonies. Mr. John F. Walsh, a seminarian, was Thurifer. Bishop Prendergast, who occupied a seat on the gospel side of the altar was attended by the Reverend James O'Reilly of Downingtown and Reverend T. B. McCormick, C. M. of St. Vincent de Paul's. The sermon was delivered by Reverend John Scully S.J., rector of St. Joseph's, who spoke in substance as follows. St. Paul tells us in his first letter to the Corinthians that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, and in order that God may show to us that this is so, the same apostle tells us that the base, the lowly of this world, and the contemptible,

Starting point is 04:32:55 hath God chosen, and the things that are not in order to confound the things that are. How true in all ages have been these inspired words of the apostle? How true today! This foolishness, this wisdom of the world, so foolish in the eyes of God, differs in degree and kind in different ages. In our age, it shows itself in the attempt to divide human philanthropy and brotherly love from religion. Take the intellect and culture of this great city in which we live, and what does it lay down as law, except it be that mankind must practice altruism, as they call it. Brotherly love, the civic virtue by which alone society among men can be

Starting point is 04:33:43 made possible. Yet not one word about the essential basis, which even the modern pagan sees is necessary. When talking about our rights, they say nothing of the rights of God, and when talking of our obligations to one another, they say nothing of our obligations to God, without which nothing can rest on a solid basis. The wisdom of the world is foolishness. The lowly are chosen by God to confound the worldly wise. In the days of old, God raised David from the shepherd of a flock to be the ruler of his people. Christ chose the poor fisherman to be his apostles. He called St. Vincent DePaul from the lowly occupation of a shepherd to be a wonder worker, a marvel, a propagator of charity, not only in his own days, but up to the present time. How many millions of dollars are spent in the

Starting point is 04:34:40 spirit of modern philanthropy, for education in order to raise men up as they think, to give men a chance in life. Because it is divided from religion, it falls. The late Mr. Vaux said, on what was perhaps his last official visit to the penitentiary, when I first came here, I found the children of the poor and the ignorant. Now I find my own schoolmates. Thus are spent millions in charity, or rather in almsgiving, for it is not worthy to be called charity. What is the result? It puffs up one with pride and another with envy. The reason why the thing has done differently is the motive under the acts of thousands and tens of thousands who have given up their lives to works of charity. Have you ever heard of a soldier wishing to become a member of a church to which a trained nurse

Starting point is 04:35:36 belonged. How different when the motive is that of Jesus Christ? It is the experience of thousands who begged to be allowed to die in that religion of the devoted sisters who attended them, and it was this that caused a bishop to receive a petition from a remote part of the diocese for a priest to be sent there in a church built. He replied that not only was he ignorant that so many Catholics were there, but that there was even one Catholic. the answer was there are no catholics here yet but we are men who were attended by the sisters and we want to be of the religion of the sisters the base ignoble and contemptible things of this world as god chosen for his work what is more foolish in the eyes of the world what is more despised and held in contempt by the intellectual and the cultured than poverty yet the sisters are are bound by vows of poverty to be as poor as Christ, to live a life of dependence, depending on one

Starting point is 04:36:43 another for their very food and raiment. What more foolish in the eyes of the world than that? As the wise man has said, they are a parable of reproach, looked on with derision. What is more foolish, more base, more spiritless, more contemptible than define women, ladies, willingly binding themselves, not by impulse, but by vocation, not as mere whim, but perpetually, to live by rule, doing that to which no man ever yet got accustomed, to purify their acts to make them meritorious in the sight of God. And obedience. The world hates and loathes obedience, yet our divine Lord was obedient even unto death, the death of the cross. is the result of all the so-called charity and philanthropy.

Starting point is 04:37:41 Nothing lasting. Search the hearts of thousands of men, women, and children who have been benefited by the sisters, and you will find there the love of God. End of Chapter 15, Part 3. Chapter 15 Part 4 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librevox recording. All Labrovoc's recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 04:38:11 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Satterley Hospital Part 4 Such was the life of the devoted woman who spent 70 years doing good. Many philanthropists have monuments raised to them and are looked upon as public benefactors and honored as such. Take him or her who was greatest among them, or all of them together. what are all compared with a life such as hers spent in the care of the poor sick and needy one long life doing good a life not only an imitation of jesus christ in its acts but what is more necessary and more difficult a life in imitation of his motives

Starting point is 04:39:02 the world looks in reproach upon such a life how many times has she been sneered at on the street in her poor dress and strange bonnet how often has the world looked with contempt on her that served the lord so faithfully how he loved that soul that did as he did and for the same reason all i have said could be said of almost any other sister of charity but of her who lived for seventy years in religion how much could be said those only can know who lived with her and knew her and loved her the more they knew her of how few can this be said to have combined in one and the same person the power of execution the power of government and at the same time the spirit of kindness and of great-heartedness which does not make commands ever necessary without emotion without anger no one ever saw that kindly face ruffled this is rare in the world yes even rare in the religious life to speak of her life and to realize that thousands and tens of thousands of orphans have had her care many becoming mothers of families and bringing up their children influenced by her example to realize her hard work in the military hospital to think of the thousands and tens of thousands dealt with directly by her or indirectly through her as superior s what a world of well-doing seventy years in religion eighty-five years spent in the serving of christ what a wonderful crown is won by her whose dead body is lying there seventy years is a member of the community whose very name is held even by the enemies of her faith as a synonym of all that is good in humanity something which raises humanity and brings it close to god

Starting point is 04:41:03 now the reign of sorrow and desolation has passed away she has gone forth from the scene of her labor to her rest she has gone into the sight of jesus christ whom in life she made her friend not to meet the severe face of a judge but the smiling countenance of a dear friend who would recall her not those who loved her most who lived with her in community not those who were the recipients of her bounty what so glorious is a death such as hers after seventy years in god's service says st hilary shall i fear to die after i have served my lord for seventy years so died she because she knew the good master she served as theologians tell us god makes known to his saints the needs of those whom they have left behind thou who knowest the needs of thy children be their advocate and pattern now as ever in life be unto us a mother and pray for us that we may go forth as thou hast from this valley of affliction and tears to the sunshine of god the father to live forever with his son our lord jesus christ the absolution of the body was performed by bishop prendergast assisted by the officers of the mass the music was the gregorian chant with the introit aughtughtiofatory communion and benedictus in harmony this was rendered by the students of st vincent's seminary german town from among them were chosen the pallbearers also the prominent parts taken in the services by the congregation of the mission was due to the fact that st vincent de paul its founder was also founder of the sisters of charity

Starting point is 04:42:59 eleanor c donnelly the gifted philadelphia poetess has written the following verses in memory of sister gonzaga and inscribed them to sister mary joseph in her community with affectionate sympathy thrice in the rounding of one little year st mary's hallowed temple hath revealed an honored priest reposing on his beer his pallid lips in icy silence sealed thrice have regretful tears bedewed the urn where sacerdotal ashes were enshrined youth age and ripened manhood each in turn unto st mary's funeral vaults consigned and now before the fading flowers have strewed their last sweet withered petals round the place our early snows lie white upon the stone that shuts from sight each well-remembered face before the shades of the anointed dead have melted from st mary's isles away we hear once more the mourner's solemn tread another saint is here in death to-day dear sister gonzaga good mother friend friend of Christ's own little ones, his precious poor. From life's beginning to its blessed end, thy words were wisdoms, and thy works were pure. In tender youth, betrothed to thy lord, for threescore years and ten his faithful spouse. He was thy name, thy solace, thy reward,

Starting point is 04:44:31 bound to his sacred heart by deathless vows. Toiler of yore with Kenrick Newman Wood, one of our faith's first local pioneers so long hath been thy service and so good thou needest not our prayers or pitying tears for death is gain to thee though lost to all thou leavest here thy prayers must plead for them the orphans tears that sparkle on thy pall shall prove on high thy brightest diadem the dear old heart that loved them now is stilled the dear old voice they love they love is heard no more she waits afar with ardent yearning filled to bid them welcome to the eternal shore pray not of sculptured immortality her children's virtues shall her heart content if all who look upon their lives shall see in each their mother's lasting monument the old-time friends may leave us one by one the ancient landmarks swiftly fade away the good that sister gonzaga hath done shall live when brass and marble both decay. Then lay her gently down in peace and trust, where angel memories shall guard her bed.

Starting point is 04:45:49 Her soul is with her God. Her virgin dust sleep sweetly with St. Mary's sainted dead. October 12, 1897, Eleanor C. Donnelly. Sister Gonzaga had a countenance of great benignity and firmness, a high forehead, a kindly mouth, and eyes which even age was not able to dim. She was ever a model of graciousness and good breeding. The effects of a good education were visible, and the results of a well-balanced and well-trained mind,

Starting point is 04:46:24 seen in a remarkably accurate and strong memory. The story of her life is well worth the telling, serving, as it does, as a model and incentive for those who would be successful in their chosen vocation. This chapter upon Sister Gonzaga cannot be concluded better than by the presentation of the roster of the Sisters of the Satterley Hospital.

Starting point is 04:46:48 On the 9th of June, 1862, it was as follows. 1. Sister Mary Gonzaga Grace, Superioress. 2. Sister Mary Louise. 3. Sister Louise Collins. 4. Sister Anne Joseph Dowerty. 5. Sister Josephine Kelleher.

Starting point is 04:47:14 6. Sister Anne-Marie Boniface. 7. Sister Claire MacGerald. 8. Sister Mary Cremon. 9. Sister Augustine Valentine. 10. Sister Dolores Smith. 11. Sister Mary Xavier Lusette 12, Sister Angela Mahoney

Starting point is 04:47:39 13, Sister Maria Noonan 14, Sister Catherine Hardy 15, Sister Edna Heaney 16, Sister Margaret Hep 17, Sister Philippa Connolly 18, Sister Delphine Wevel 19. Sister Neri Matthews. 20. Sister Onisime.

Starting point is 04:48:10 21. Sister Teresa McKenna. 22. Sister Aloysia Daly. 23. Sister Stella Moran. 24. Sister Elizabeth Fries. Twenty-five. Sister Adeline Burns. 26. In honor Tyler. 27.

Starting point is 04:48:37 Sister Vincent Saunders. 28. Sister Mary Joseph Sinat. 29. Sister Magdalene Grohl. 30. Sister Clitilda Welty. 31.

Starting point is 04:48:53 Sister Pacifica Ulrich. 32. Sister Alfonza McNichles. 33. Sister Annie O'Leod. Leary. Thirty-four. Sister Mary Lawrence Kane. Thirty-five, Sister Felix McQuaid. Thirty-six, Sister Mary Bernard Moore. Thirty-seven, Sister Henrietta. Thirty-eight, Sister Alex Merceret. Thirty-nine, Sister Martha Moran. Forty-seven Mary Jane. Fourty, Sister Mary Jane.

Starting point is 04:49:33 Douglas 41 sister Mary Alice Delahunty 42 Sister Vincentia waltzing 43 Sister Martina Tragaser 44 sister Marie Mulchern 45 sister Julia Fitzgerald 46 Sister Loretta McGee 47 Sister Angeline Riley

Starting point is 04:50:05 48 Sister Gabriella McCarthy 49 Sister Petrinilla Breen 50 Sister Amy Dowarty 51 Sister Marcella Finne

Starting point is 04:50:23 42 Sister Frances Frances Griffin 53 Sister Mary Josephine Gammel Fifty-four. Sister Deschantelle Costello. 55. Sister Mary Eliza Dowerty. 56.

Starting point is 04:50:44 Sister Dionysia O'Keefe. 59. Sister Cecilia Grohl. 1863. 58. Sister Euphrasia Madingley. 59. Sister Mary, Martha Lynch.

Starting point is 04:51:04 60. Sister Mary Harmer. 61. Sister Mary Bernard Farrell. 62. Sister Anne Teresa Roche. 63. Sister Amelia Davis. 64. Sister Severina Relehan. 65. Sister Rosalie Beline. Sister Irene McCourt

Starting point is 04:51:37 67 Sister Clementine McAfee 68 Sister Felicita Pulse 69 Sister Cornelia MacDonald 70 Sister Agnes Weaver

Starting point is 04:51:56 71 Sister Euchar Uffresia Wittenains 72 Sister Anne-Ster-An-Maria Shaughnessy. 73. Sister Generosa Foli.

Starting point is 04:52:11 74. Sister Julia Sheehan. 1864. 75. Sister Genevieve Kavanaugh. 76. Sister Celestine Adelsberger. 77.

Starting point is 04:52:30 Sister Bernardine Farrell. Seventy-8. Sister Josephine Edelon. 79. Sister Antonia Asmuth. 80. Sister Alfonza McBride. 81.

Starting point is 04:52:48 Sister Catherine McQuaid. 82. Sister Clara Doyle. 83. Sister Eloise Lecois. Eighty-four. Sister Anne Joseph Cuman. 85. Sister Francis MacDonald.

Starting point is 04:53:09 86. Sister Mary Xavier Vendrome. 1865. 87. Sister Genevieve Garvey. 88. Sister Agnes McDermott. 89.

Starting point is 04:53:28 Sister Silveria O'Neill. End of Chapter 15, Section 4. 16. Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org, recording by Rita Boutros. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Fall of Richmond, Chapter 16. General Grant, who had been laying siege to Vicksburg, had captured that stronghold on the 4th of July 1863. Then came the surrender of Fort Hudson and the battles of Chickamauga, lookout Mountain, and missionary ridge. Grant, in 1864, was made Lieutenant General and placed in command of all the armies of the United States.

Starting point is 04:54:35 Early in May, he led the Army of the Potomac across the Rapidan toward Richmond. For six weeks, he tried to get between Lee's Army and Richmond without success. In this fruitless effort, he fought the battles of the wilderness, North Anna, Bethesda Church, and Gold Harbor, losing 40,000 men. Then he moved his whole army south of the James and laid siege. to Petersburg. The burning of Chambersburg by the Confederates and the valor of General Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, with Admiral Farragut's achievements at sea, completed the notable events of 1864. In the fall of 1864, Sherman began his march to the sea, which was unique in modern warfare and was completely successful. The last campaign began in the spring of 1860s,

Starting point is 04:55:35 On April 1, 1865, Petersburg was evacuated. The Union Army entered Richmond on the second. On the 9th of April came the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox, which was the practical end of the war. Long before this, the Sisters of Charity felt that their work was drawing to a close. In the meantime, however, their services were being utilized in the West, Colonel Ware, who was then in command of the prisons of that section, applied to the Bishop of Alton, Illinois for the Sisters of Charity to attend the prisoners at Alton. Accordingly, Bishop Yonker applied to the sister's servant of St. Philomena's School, St. Louis.

Starting point is 04:56:26 One of the sisters was at that time in St. Louis at the Gratiot State Prison Hospital. She received a dispatch from Father Burlando to go to Alton and take with her three sisters. They started early the next morning March 15, 1864, and reached Alton in 24 hours. There they were met by Father Hardy, who conducted them to the residence of a gentleman, a member of the city council. Colonel Ware soon called to see them and accompanied them to the priest. which had been formally called the Illinois State Penitentiary. It had been vacated before the war for a more commodious and healthy locality. Before reaching the main entrance, the sisters had to ascend a very rugged road, well protected by guards. Here a residence would have been provided

Starting point is 04:57:23 for them, but they did not think it's safe or prudent to accept it. They passed through the yard, which was crowded with prisoners numbering 4,000 Confederates and 1,000 Federals, the latter being confined there for desertion and through follies committed in camp. The two parties were separated except in the hospital. The poor sick were so delighted to see the sisters that they could scarcely contain themselves. It is said that the men died in this hospital at the rate of from 6 to 10 a day. The place was too small for the number of inmates who were all more or less afflicted with diseases. Some were wounded, others a prey to despondency, typhoid fever, and the smallpox.

Starting point is 04:58:12 Consequently, the atmosphere of the prison was very foul. Fortunately, the smallpox cases were removed to an island in the Mississippi as soon as discovered. The sisters made arrangements with Colonel Ware to visit the sick. twice a day. As there were no accommodations for the sisters to remain in the prison, they returned to the residents of Councilman Wise, who had so kindly received them in the morning. He could not accommodate them, but procured lodgings for them in the house of his sister, where they remained for nearly six weeks. On their return to the prison the next day, the sisters found written orders from the government. They also met there,

Starting point is 04:58:57 the attending physicians, who appeared glad to see them and said that they hoped soon to see an improvement in the condition of the sufferers, who had been heretofore much neglected. The sisters were informed that four of the patients had died during the previous night. A place was allotted to them to prepare drinks and nourishment for the sick. It was an old workshop, and the floors were in such a condition that the sisters were continually in danger of falling through. The attendants, who were prisoners, were exceedingly kind and obliging, so much so that they would even anticipate the wishes of the sisters. Two weeks had scarcely elapsed before the sick began to improve. The doctors acknowledged a change for the better, saying that there were fewer deaths, and that despondency had nearly disappeared. A look of commiseration

Starting point is 04:59:55 or a word of encouragement, soon made these poor victims feel that they were cared for, at least by the lowly children of St. Vincent. The sisters visited the Federal Guards Hospital and the Smallpox Island Hospital at the request of Colonel Ware. They visited the Federal Guards Hospital once a day and the Smallpox Island Hospital once a week. But even that consoled the poor patients

Starting point is 05:00:22 as the sisters provided them with delicacies and nourishment they mostly craved. On the 1st of May, the sisters took possession of a house belonging to St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg, that had been previously occupied as a school but was then vacated. They were now one mile distant from the prison, and an ambulance was sent daily to convey them to and fro. On July 1st, they were notified that their services were no longer required, required at the prison. They could do nothing until the superiors were acquainted with their situation. Meanwhile, the citizens were anxious to have them remain in Alton and convert their house into a hospital.

Starting point is 05:01:06 They soon received a letter from the venerated Mother Anne Simeon, giving permission to open a civil hospital for the citizens of Alton. One of the sisters was sent to St. Mary's Hospital, Alton, to wait on the sick and wounded soldiers from the Battle of Winchester. There was one man in the ward who was nicknamed Bluebeard from his ferocious manners and large mustache. He would never ask for anything, nor take anything offered to him. One day when he was being urged to take some nourishment, he replied, Sister, I do not wish for anything that you have. There is only one thing, and that I do not think you can procure for me. The sister inquired what it was and assured him that if it were in her power, she would get it for him. He then replied, Sister, I should like to have a lily. I think it would

Starting point is 05:01:58 do me so much good. The wish was a strange one. Nevertheless, she at once determined to gratify him, which the kindness of a friend enabled her to do. This little act of kindness was not without effect, and from that time the man had a high regard for the sisters. At the termination of the war in In 1865, the prisoners received their discharge. It was sad to see the streets of the city lined with the ragged and distressed-looking men. The sick were brought to St. Joseph's Hospital, which was soon filled. The sisters gave the soldiers the very best attention and consideration, and within a few months, the majority of the men were unable to return to their homes and families. The little band of sisters who had been laboring in Frederick City, Maryland, from 1862 to 1864, certainly did their share in caring for helpless humanity. They were kept actively employed in Frederick City during the summer and autumn of 1862. They found then that their work was not nearly done.

Starting point is 05:03:10 The winter set in with heavy rains and deep snow, to which they were constantly exposed. The poor patients had likewise much to suffer from the badly constructed buildings. The wind, rain, and snow penetrated through the crevices, leaving the poor men in a most uncomfortable condition. This was called to the attention of the chief surgeon, who immediately gave orders for the dilapidated barracks to be repaired as much as possible. Some of the soldiers were quite amusing with their grateful intentions. A sister was asked one day whether she ever,

Starting point is 05:03:45 wore any other color but gray or black, for he continued, I wish to present Sister Agnes with a new dress. She has been so truly good to me. The soldiers seemed to have the greatest confidence in the sisters, whose advice they preferred before that of the physicians. General Hunter had now received command of the Shenandoah Valley. He visited the hospital and issued an order that all the prisoners should be placed by themselves in separate barracks entirely apart from the Union men. Soon after the United States surgeon in charge of the hospital, inspected all the barracks and found one, filled with Confederates and with no sister to take charge of them.

Starting point is 05:04:25 The sufferings of these poor men touched him so much that he immediately went to the sister-servant and requested her to send a sister from a ward of the Union soldiers to take care of the Confederates. The patience of these poor sufferers was the admiration of all. A worthy clergyman once remarked that in his visits to the hospital, he was always edified by their resignation. He said he had never heard the least murmur escape their lips, and commenting upon this, he remarked, I think the intensity of their pain, both mentally and physically, might, if offered in unison, expiate the sins of their whole life. About this time,

Starting point is 05:05:05 the leaders of the Southern Confederacy began to realize that the clouds were gathering about them and that their cause was hanging in the balance, if indeed it was not already destined to failure. They resolved to concentrate their hospital facilities in and around the city of Richmond, Virginia. The sisters who had been doing work upon the various battlefields in the south were summoned to the southern capital. The sisters had served at Harper's Ferry, Manassas, Anteatem, Fredericksburg, and White House, Virginia. Those who were, who were in the United States, Virginia. Those who were located in Richmond at this time began to feel in their bones that the fall of the city was imminent. They were right.

Starting point is 05:05:48 The long-expected event occurred in April 1865. Jefferson Davis, the president of the Southern Confederacy, was at worship in an Episcopal church when he was handed a telegram telling him that Richmond must be evacuated. He presented a calm exterior, but bad news is. is hard to conceal, and the exact situation was soon noised about the city. The wildest excitement prevailed. Men, women, and children rushed hither and thither, knowing not what to do or where to go. Finally, their frenzy assumed a decisive shape,

Starting point is 05:06:27 and a general evacuation of the city began. The sisters, who constituted the calmest portion of the population, looked on the scene with mild amazement. The city councils met and with the general interests of the people in view determined to destroy all the liquor in Richmond. This work was begun at midnight and before the first gray streaks of dawn revealed the terrorist-stricken city to the public gaze, the streets and gutters were running with veritable lakes of whiskey wine and beer. Many of the soldiers and some of the residents balked the good intentions of the councils by drinking the liquor and then scenes of drunken revelry were added to the general confusion.

Starting point is 05:07:11 Thieves broke loose, houses were robbed, public buildings were fired, and bridges leading from the city were destroyed. Notwithstanding the foresight of the authorities on the coming defeat, its arrival was most appalling. Medical stores, commissary departments, and other houses were thrown open. The city was troubled from the blowing up of the gunboats in the river. river. The sisters were preparing to go to mass early in the morning when suddenly a terrific explosion stunned, as it were, the power of thought. The noise of the breaking of windows in the

Starting point is 05:07:48 hospitals and neighboring buildings added greatly to the alarm. The sisters soon learned that the Confederates had blown up their supplies of powder which were very near the hospital buildings, then followed an explosion of all the government buildings. After the surrender, a federal The federal officer rode up to the door of the sister's house and told them they were perfectly safe. Their property would be respected and that he would send a special guard to protect their house. No resistance was shown to the Union troops. The city was placed under military rule and General G. F. Shepley made governor. 1,000 prisoners were found in the city and 5,000 sick and wounded were in the hospitals.

Starting point is 05:08:32 The prisoners were set free and the sisters were set free, and the sisters were with joy, hailed the peace that was once again to dawn on a blood-washed land. They remained in Richmond until the sick and wounded were able to quit the hospitals and then returned home to Emmetsburg, followed by the gratitude and blessings of the men of both armies. The soldiers who were in the Washington hospitals also returned to their homes, impressed with the kindest feelings toward the sisters. The officers and doctors all concurred in expressing unlimited confidence in them. Printed placards were hung in all the wards reading.

Starting point is 05:09:11 All articles for the use of the soldiers here are to be placed in the care of the Sisters of Charity as also papers, books, and clothing. Early in the summer of 1865, the sisters took their departure and the hospital was permanently closed. Another hospital in Washington began its operations in March 1865,

Starting point is 05:09:34 and closed in October of the same year. The sisters were placed in charge, and, since their customs and calling were known, did not experience as much annoyance as in the beginning of the war. The house was well filled with the sick and wounded. During the month of July, the Jesuit fathers were giving a jubilee at their church in the city of Washington, and many of the convalescence attended. The officers of the hospital expressed much gratitude,

Starting point is 05:10:04 for all that had been done by the sisters. The first surgeon was at a loss to know how to put his satisfaction into words saying that the Sisters of Charity had marvelously lessened the cares of the physicians and surgeons in all of the hospitals in which they served. This concludes the story of the work done

Starting point is 05:10:26 by the Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg from the beginning to the close of the war. While they were at work, however, the sisters belonging to branches of the order and to other orders were not idle as will be seen by the chapters that follow. This is the end of chapter 16. Section 22, Chapter 17. Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libervox recording. All Libervox recordings are in the public domain. for more information or to volunteer please visit liverbox.org recording by rita butros the main body of the sisters of charity were not alone in their devotion to the sick and wounded

Starting point is 05:11:22 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,

Starting point is 05:11:55 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 service, of the Sister of Charity of Nazareth to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers. Their services were willingly accepted,

Starting point is 05:12:15 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 a long extended along each side. The hospitals were divided into sections and in 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

Starting point is 05:12:59 disorder and lack of system that had prevailed prior to the advent of the sisters. There were 23 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 Confederate lay groaning in a common agony. Those that were not mortally wounded

Starting point is 05:13:50 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 erysipolis, pneumonia, and kindred ailments. About it all, there was a heroicism that was touching, and as the sisters passed from cot to cot, many 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 patience, 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.

Starting point is 05:14:40 The majority of them looked upon the sisters with distrust and suspicion that 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 on reasoning 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. 500 men died in hospital number one, and of that number only one passed away seemingly indifferent to his future.

Starting point is 05:15:24 An incident told by one of the surviving sisters carries a moral with it. 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 a sister to his side. He begged to be further instructed in the Catholic faith. His request was

Starting point is 05:16:04 complied with. He was baptized, confessed, received Holy 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.

Starting point is 05:16:44 Those to whom it was necessary to administer the last rights of the church were gradually brought to realize the importance of these rights 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

Starting point is 05:17:21 and a Scotchman, lay on his deathbed 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 slowly but distinctly,

Starting point is 05:18:07 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. Goodbye. 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.

Starting point is 05:18:59 On more than one occasion, the sisters supplied the place of a mother to the wounded and the dying. Many a pathetic deathbed 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 free. 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

Starting point is 05:19:35 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 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 12 or 13, 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

Starting point is 05:20:53 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.

Starting point is 05:21:47 When the orderlies had performed the first essential service for the newcomer, he would be taken in charge by the sisters. Refreshing drafts 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.

Starting point is 05:22:57 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 Carol 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 a 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 of the hospital nurses.

Starting point is 05:23:52 She was assigned to some of the most severe typhoid cases and the manner in which she nursed these patients won for her the unqualified praise of the hospital doctors and attendance. 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 29th, when she expired as calmly and heroically as she had lived. Her death cast a gloom over the

Starting point is 05:24:30 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 gun-boat in waiting which had been especially designated for this service then the boat slowly streamed away bearing its honoured burden under a flag of truce to Uniontown, Kentucky. On landing, the remains were born to St. Vincent's Academy, some miles distant, where the sisters owned 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 of Paduca, said the solemn mass of requiem and accompanied the body to the grave and recited over at the last

Starting point is 05:25:39 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 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 1st, 1862, written by one of the army surgeons to Mother Francis Gardner,

Starting point is 05:26:29 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, She, as well as the other sisters in the hospital, has been untiring and most efficient in nursing the six soldiers. The military authorities are under the greatest obligations to the sister of your order. Still another conspicuous loss was soon to be felt in the death of Sister Apollonia, the directress of number one hospital. She served long and faithfully in this post and won warm commendation from stern soldiers

Starting point is 05:27:09 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.

Starting point is 05:27:56 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 a special 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

Starting point is 05:28:23 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.

Starting point is 05:29:00 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. This is the end of Chapter 17. Section 23, Chapter 18, more about Nazareth. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Reading by Rita Boutros Bardstown, three miles distant from Nazareth Academy in Nelson County, Kentucky,

Starting point is 05:29:51 was occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate armies. Some hostile engagements had taken place in the vicinity of the town and in the neighboring counties, and as a result, the place was kept in a certain. state of feverish anxiety. The victories and the defeats were attended with the usual result, killed and wounded men and sickness and suffering on all sides. Here again, the peaceful aid of the sisters came at an opportune time. Fully aware of the great need there was for experienced nurses, the mother in charge of Nazareth sent a devoted band of sisters to the Baptist female college in Bardstown, which had been temporarily fitted up for hospital uses.

Starting point is 05:30:39 On their arrival, they found that they had to care for a large number of disabled Confederate soldiers. They quickly began their humane work and carried it to a successful completion. The Confederates were on the march, and their wounds had to be bound up quickly or not at all. When they had withdrawn from the town, taking with them their convalescence, the Union forces came in. Their sick and wounded were also nursed by another band of the same sisters at St. Joseph's College, which was conducted by the Jesuit fathers, but which of course at that time was not in educational use. Thus, in the midst of civil strife, with the bullets flying thick and fast, did the sisters work under one flag, a flag that was respected by northerner and southerner alike,

Starting point is 05:31:31 the flag of humanity. Some of the episodes connected with the work of the sisters was of an exciting and dramatic nature. Late one night in September 1862, 12 Confederate soldiers in their gloomy gray uniforms marched into Nazareth after a wearisome journey from Lexington, Kentucky. They were received, as all visitors are, with kindness and hospitality. They came to ask the sisters to nurse their sons. and wounded comrades. The request was granted at once. How many sisters can you spare for the work?

Starting point is 05:32:09 Six now and more later, if necessary, was the prompt reply. When will they be ready to return with us? This very night and at once was the incisive reply. Such promptness was as surprising as it was pleasing to the couriers. That very night, six sisters without anything beyond the familiar garb which they wore, Their usual rosaries and a few books of devotion started on their mission, ready if need be, to offer up their lives in what they believed to be the service of God. They proceeded on their long journey under the protection of a flag of truce. Resting in a farmhouse one night and in Frankfurt, the capital of the state, the next, they finally reached Lexington in safety.

Starting point is 05:32:58 In a few hours they were installed in one of the large hall, in that city, which had been fitted up for hospital purposes, and without any preliminaries, they began at once to minister to the sufferers who were collected there. Later in the same year, another band of Sisters of Nazareth nursed the Union soldiers in one of the colleges in another quarter of the city. As far as can be ascertained, this was Transylvania University. that took place about that time proved that the sisters believed no material sacrifices were too great when made in the cause of suffering humanity. In the spring of 1862, General Smith, who was then

Starting point is 05:33:45 in command of the Union troops nearly 7,000 strong in Paducah, Southern Kentucky, asked the Nazareth's sisters to come to the assistance of the many sick and wounded soldiers scattered about that city. He had been advised to make the request by Dr. Hewitt, who had the general superintendents of all the hospitals in that section of the country. Dr. Hewitt was a man of great executive ability who stood in the very forefront of his profession. He had great faith in the ability of the sisters as nurses. He was a convert to the Catholic Church and a brother of the saintly superior of the Paulist fathers of New York City, as no communication could be had with the mother of the house at Nazareth at this time. Owing to the disturbed condition of affairs, the request caused the

Starting point is 05:34:41 sisters some perplexity, only for a time, though. A conclusion was soon reached. Sister Martha at that time was at the head of St. Mary's Academy, probably the leading educational institution in Paduca. She resolved to close the schools and go with all of her sisters to the relief of the soldiers. They went first to the Marine Hospital and then moved to the courthouse, which was known as the Central Hospital. There were experiences in this place were similar to those of the sisters who were engaged in the hospitals at Louisville. Their greatest difficulty was experienced in caring for those soldiers who were afflicted with contagious diseases. Typhoid and similar fevers held sway in their most virulent form.

Starting point is 05:35:34 The havoc that war had made in the human frame was painfully evident in this particular hospital. After the close of the war, the sisters returned to their academy, which exists in the town today in a flourishing condition. It will ever remain as a monument to that brave little band of sisters who gave up their peaceful pursuits to minister to the afflicted, and it will ever be pointed out as the house from which Sister Mary Lucy, the gentle little teacher, went forth to meet her martyrdom, a martyrdom as blessed in the sight of heaven as any ever undergone by the saints of old. The gentleness and devotion with which the sisters nursed all of the wounded soldiers, no matter, what the color of their uniform and regardless of rank was not unappreciated by either the boys in blue or the boys in gray. Throughout the whole of the war, with but few exceptions,

Starting point is 05:36:34 their institutions, mother houses, and places of learning were exempt from the usual ravages of internecine strife. This is especially true of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Being in close proximity to the contending armies and their camps, great apprehensions were felt at one time for the safety of Nazareth. This too, in spite of the fact that the daughters and other relatives of the general officers of both sides were still pupils in the school. At intervals during the war, some of the generals called at Nazareth for the purpose of visiting their children. On these occasions they were always hospitably entertained. Although the sisters felt comparatively safe, they desired some official assurance of that fact.

Starting point is 05:37:28 As is usual in such cases, overtimid persons, generally friends of the pupils, now and then, sounded alarms. The following letter, received by the Mother Superior from General Wood, the original of which is still in possession of the sisters, reassured the community that it need not fear and intrusion of the military into the sacred precincts. General Wood was in command of the Union troops. Letter Headquarters, U.S. forces, Bardstown, Kentucky, January 20, 1862, to the Lady Superior and Sisters of the Convent of Nazareth. I have just had the pleasure to receive by the hands of your messenger,

Starting point is 05:38:12 the very polite and complimentary note of the right Reverend Bishop Spalding. And I hasten to apprise you that it is my earnest desire and intention to afford you perfect protection and the enjoyment of all your rights, both as an institution and as ladies individually. It is my earnest wish and intention to secure you and your ancient institution, which has educated so many of the fair daughters of my own native state, from all molestation and intrusion, and to this end I pray you will not hesitate to make known to me any grievances you may have on account of any misconduct on the part of any officer or soldier under my command. I assure you it will be equally my duty and my pleasure to attend to any request you may have to make.

Starting point is 05:39:05 I beg you to dismiss all apprehensions on account of the presence of the soldiery in your sacred neighborhood, and to continue your peaceful and beneficent vocations as if the clangor of arms did not resound in our midst. I have the honor to be, ladies, your very obedient servant, signed, Theodore J. Wood, Brigadier General, commanding. Will you do me the favor to send the accompanying note to Bishop Spalding? Later on, Nazareth must again have been in dread of military trespass for one of its patrons, Honorable James Guthrie of Louisville, Secretary of State, under a previous administration, applied to President Lincoln for protection of the institution. The President graciously issued the necessary orders, saying that the violation of such orders

Starting point is 05:39:58 by any of the commanders would invoke his serious displeasure. General Smith, Dr.'s Hewitt, Fry, Kay, Austin, and the officers of the Union army surrounded the sisters with every mark of respect and esteem, and they in turn devoted all their energies to ameliorating the condition of the suffering soldiers. In addition to the labors of the Sister of Charity of Nazareth already mentioned, they did very effective work in the neighborhood of Owensboro and Calhoun, Kentucky. At the last named place, the sick and wounded soldiers were quartered in the two Protestant churches of the town. The sisters entered these places and attended the sufferers there with the same diligence and patients that characterized their work

Starting point is 05:40:48 in every other locality. When sisters had to be removed on account of their own illness, their places were promptly supplied by other sisters. Reinforcements were on hand to fill every gap in the ranks. As before mentioned, the Sisters of Nazareth, neither required nor received compensation of any sort. The hundreds of brave souls that have passed away since the war have no doubt erred this received this reward in a better world. Dr. Foster, who was engaged in the Louisville hospitals while the sisters were there, wrote eulogistic articles about them in the Louisville papers at that time,

Starting point is 05:41:29 but unfortunately these papers were not preserved. The famous convent school from which these sisters, came forth to do their great work is worthy of more than passing notice. The organization known as the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth was founded by Right Reverend John B. David D.D., who was consecrated the first Bishop of Bardstown, now the Diocese of Louisville, in 1810. Henry Clay, who knew this good man well, pronounced him the best representative of royalty off the throne. The bishop, with the right reverend, B.J. Flagett built the little log cabin near Bardstown, which was to be the birthplace of the new order. It was a success from the start. This was largely due to the piety and administrative

Starting point is 05:42:20 capacity of the mothers in charge. They were sketched in an article in the Catholic world a few years ago. The first of these was Catherine Spalding, a member of the eminent Kentucky family of that name. She held the position of Superior. for more than a quarter of a century, and by her great intellect and modesty, won the affection and admiration of all with whom she came in contact. On her death in 1858, she was attended by another distinguished member of her family, right Reverend Martin J. Spalding. After her came Mother Francis Gardner, who proved a worthy successor to a worthy superior. The last of this notable trio was Mother Columba Carroll in the world, Margaret Carroll. For 35 years, she was

Starting point is 05:43:11 directress of studies and teacher of the first and second classes. In 1862, when the Civil War was beginning to rage fiercely, she was elected superiors, and for 10 years held that position with credit to herself and the convent school. While Mother Columba took no active part in caring for wounded soldiers. She was nevertheless the presiding genius of the establishment at that time, and directed the movements of the sisters with extraordinary tact and good judgment. She held many interviews with persons in power, and thus warded off petty annoyances and troubles. The occasion of Mother Columba's Golden Jubilee was celebrated with great fervor by the community on February 22, 1877. A drama written by Sister Seraphia entitled,

Starting point is 05:44:04 Religion's Tribute to Our Mother on her Golden Jubilee, was performed by the pupils and was one of the most successful features of an elaborate program. One of the touching incidents of the celebration was a poem, inspired by the venerable Sister Martha, one of the original five that started at Old Nazareth and addressed to Mother Columba. Mother Colombo was one of the first. first pupils under the care of Sister Martha. The following lines from this graceful offering are worthy of a place here. There are many today, dear mother, who are crowning your head with gold,

Starting point is 05:44:42 and writing fine things of the record, your 50 long years have told, and I too should come with the others my offering before you to cast, but I am old and my thoughts, dear mother, somehow will fain run on the past. On the days when our Nazareth, dear Nazareth, was not like what Nazareth is now. Our dear Lord only knew how. Then we spun and we wove and we labored like men in the fields and our fair, was scanty enough in our garments, were coarse and our feet often bare when we lived like the ravens and sparrows. In the following year, Mother Columbus' earthly career closed, but the fours' of her example still lives in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to be her pupils and associates. Mother's Catherine, Francis, and Colomba made a truly wonderful trio. They helped

Starting point is 05:45:42 to give Nazareth the reputation it enjoys today, and while the school exists, their memory will endure. The sisters of Charity of Nazareth are particularly known in Kentucky, and they are to be found wherever suffering humanity calls. The ancient house at Nazareth is the mother from which have sprung 47 branch houses in various parts of the country, schools, orphan asylums, and hospitals. Perhaps the most conspicuous of the latter is the Mary and Elizabeth Hospital in Louisville, founded by William Shakespeare Caldwell, as a memorial to his wife and a tribute to the sisters who educated her. The mother house is located a few miles south of Bardstown, which is 40 miles from Louisville. The buildings are extensive and imposing. There is a presbytery, a convent, an academy, a chapel, and the commencement hall. In the old-fashioned hall are full-length portraits of bishops flageet and David and father, Chambige.

Starting point is 05:46:50 The library contains 5,000 volumes, and in the corner is an... excellent bust of the late Archibald Spalding. Mother Helena is the present superior and in the administration of her office she has clung to the best traditions of the past. I am sure I will be pardoned for digressing sufficiently from the main subject of this volume to mention a few of the distinguished patrons and graduates of this institution. The patrons included Henry Clay, who sent his daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter there. Judge Benjamin Winchester, John J. Crittenden, Judge John Rowan, Zachary Taylor, Jefferson Davis,

Starting point is 05:47:38 James Guthrie, George D. Prentice, and Charles Wickliff. The graduates include Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of President Zachary Taylor, Madam Henrietta Spalding, now superior of the Sacred Heart Convent in Chicago. The first wife of Jefferson Davis, Mary Eliza, daughter of James Breckenridge of Kentucky. Mary Gwendolyn Caldwell, the original benefactress of the Washington University. The wife of United States Senator Vance of North Carolina, the four nieces of Jefferson Davis, all converts. Mary Anderson, whose professional career is as much a matter of pride to the good sisters as her private virtues, and Miss Taney, the author of the state poem, The Pioneer Women of Kentucky, written for the World's Fair.

Starting point is 05:48:36 Such is the institution that furnished so many nurses for the camps and the hospitals. This concludes Chapter 18, More About Nazareth. 24, Chapter 19, Sisters of Mount St. Vincent. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Reading by Rita Boutros.

Starting point is 05:49:18 Sisters of Mount St. Vincent. All work done by the Sisters of Charity of Mount St. Vincent during the war was of a high order. The first of the sisters to enter the service as nurses were Sister Anthony and Sophia. Both were sent to Camp Denison, Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 1st of May, 1861. On the evening before that date, a peculiar Holycom was upon the beautiful convent, which is located on a hilltop just within the limits of Cincinnati. The structure, surrounded by cedar trees and well-cultivated grounds, had in it the appearance of nobility, religion, peace, and charity. The golden rays of the setting sun glanced, then darkened as the sisters

Starting point is 05:50:09 were enjoying their evening walk. A messenger suddenly called for the superior. The mother leaves her religious family to attend to business. Only a few minutes elapsed when she returns to inform her sisters that his honor, the mayor of Cincinnati, and the most reverend Archbishop Purcell, earnestly request the Sisters of Charity to attend the sick troops who are stationed at Camp Denison. There were no commands, all willingly volunteered to nurse the sick soldiers. Preparations were quickly made, and on May 1, 1861, five members of the community were named for the camp. Sisters Sophia and Anthony were sent in advance, and sisters Bernardine, Alphonse, and Magdalene followed. Camp Denison was situated about 15 miles from Cincinnati on the Little Miami Railroad.

Starting point is 05:51:06 This location was advantageous for many reasons, easy of access, with ample space and abundance of water, level and suitable for military purposes. Mother Josephine, the presiding superior, accompanied. the sisters to this new home. Their duties consisted principally in attending the soldiers who were suffering from measles, which had broken out in the ranks in the very worst form. After these soldiers had recovered health, the sisters returned to the Mother's Superior House at Cedar Grove, Cincinnati. After the return from Camp Denison, a hasty call was received from the Mayor of Cumberland to attend the sick and wounded of that place, Sister Anthony was among the number,

Starting point is 05:51:53 and an amusing incident is related of the sister's leave-taking. As the goodbyes were being said, the train moved off, carrying only Sister Anthony. She arrived in Columbus some hours in advance of the others, who boarded the next train. Arriving at the station in Columbus, she received a telegram from the Most Reverend Archbishop of Cincinnati to return immediately to St. John's Hospital to prepare for the sick and wounded soldiers who were there, being brought from different places.

Starting point is 05:52:26 The sisters named for Cumberland were sisters Sophia, Ambrosia, Etienne, Agnes, Jane, Mary, and Gabriela. There, they were kindly received by a Catholic family. Dr. McMahon, the attending physician, was kind and attentive. The weather was cold, the accommodations poor, and the hospitals of which there were 12 were some distance from each other. There were crowded into these hospitals at one time, 2,200 poor soldiers suffering from typhoid fever, pneumonia, erysipolis, etc. The duties were very trying, but a murmur never escaped from the lips of one sister of charity. Almighty God and His glory being their only aim, all seemed easy. Sad and numerous were the scenes we witnessed in those hospitals, says one of the sisters,

Starting point is 05:53:22 yet none presents itself more vividly to my mind today than the suffering of the boy's soldiers, longing for home and mother. How often were those endearing words, mother, home, mentioned? Sister Jane says, I had in my ward a droll boy, named Billy. Now our Billy had watched the sisters for some time and addressed me thus. Lady, what is that? I hear the boys call you. Sister? Ah, that is a beautiful name. Well, sister, will you give me your Bible? I would like to know something of your religion. Billy received a little Bible, or rather a small catechism, of which he made good use. He was soon baptized,

Starting point is 05:54:06 made his first Holy Communion, and his zeal did not end here. Often have I seen him on a platform explaining the words of his catechism to his comrades, many of whom became fervent children of the church. Many hundreds of like instances could be cited, but I trust they are written in the Book of Life. Sister Agnes spent about three months in Cumberland nursing the six soldiers. She then returned to St. John's Hospital, Cincinnati, to nurse the soldiers who were being sent from Richmond and Nashville to the city. It was here I witnessed the most appalling sights, she says, men wanting arms or legs,

Starting point is 05:54:45 and sometimes wanting both arms and legs, pale, haggard faces, worn from long marching and fasting. Many, I think, died of broken hearts. Faces and voices haunt me yet, calling for home and dear ones, whom they were destined never again to behold on earth. The streets of this now flourishing city were then the scenes of extreme sight, suffering and misery. Frequently fine young men seated on their own coffins, passed through on their way to execution, on some neighboring hillside. About the 16th of February, the sisters received a hasty call from Cumberland. Mother Josephine and Reverend Father Collins were to accompany them to the scene of their duties.

Starting point is 05:55:32 They reached wheeling about 5 p.m. the next day and received hospitality from the visitation nuns. The next morning, in the face of a blinding storm of sleet and snow, the sisters started for Cumberland, where they were met at the station by Dr. McMahon, the surgeon of the post. They walked in procession through the streets and were the objects of much curiosity. That evening they secured some rooms, but slept on the floor. The next morning they were assigned some apartments in the house of a southern gentleman, Dr. Healy, whose sympathy with the South compelled him to leave home. and family. The accommodations here were little better than at the hotel. The bunks were made of rough boards, covered with straw ticks, and the pillows were of the same material. Pages would not suffice to relate all the good done in Cumberland. Often during this stillness of night,

Starting point is 05:56:29 one might have gazed on a sister as she stood at the cot of a dying soldier, heard her whisper words of consolation and religion in his ears, saw her close gently, his dying eyes. Thus they passed long, weary nights. Early in March 1863, the sisters of Mount St. Vincent, who had already done valiant service in other localities, were invited to go to Nashville to nurse the sick and wounded of that place. Those named were sisters Anthony, Constantina, Louise, Benedicta, and Gabriella. They left Cincinnati, March 19, 1863, and were of accompanied by Reverend Father Tracy. There were four hospitals at this place fairly well adapted for their purpose. Sister Constantine, who took charge of the first one, proved to be an angel of

Starting point is 05:57:23 mercy to the poor invalids. The building was formerly an old cotton mill located on an eminence known as College Hill. The sisters were quartered in a small house opposite to this place, and during their stay were treated with the greatest consideration. Many of the wounded were sent to this place after the Battle of Stone River. Most of the patients were young, and they suffered intense agony. At one time, measles became quite epidemic among the soldiers, from which many of them died. It was during the mission at this place that General Rosecrans, with his bodyguard, made daily visits to the sick. He was wont to say in his kind, jovial way,

Starting point is 05:58:08 Come, come, boys, you are foxing. These sisters are too good to you. Then laugh heartily at his remarks. He was very kind to all the sisters. The next important call to duty was at New Creek. The sisters of charity named for this colony were Sister Sophia in charge, assisted by sisters Anne, Cecilia, Beatrice, Stanlaus, Etienne, Lawrence, and Benedict. the chaplain was Reverend Father Corcoran.

Starting point is 05:58:38 From the diary of one of the above-named sisters, the following is extracted. We left Cedar Grove Academy, June 9, 1862, for New Creek. Arriving at our destination, we were assigned a tent, erected for our accommodation by order of Dr. McMahon. This gentleman, however, soon procured better quarters for us with a family named Dinges. Here we performed our job.

Starting point is 05:59:03 Here we performed our duties of nursing the sick and wounded with energy and zeal. During our stay at New Creek, we were treated with great kindness and respect, particularly by Colonel Miller, who, although a Protestant, proved a sincere friend of priest and sisters. It is not surprising that our peculiar dress was a source of amusement to many persons who had never before seen a religious. We were frequently asked why we dressed so differently from other ladies. We are happy to relate that our care and kindness removed many prejudices against our religion.

Starting point is 05:59:39 We remained at New Creek about three months, then the army moved to Culpepper Courthouse. We followed in ambulances and nursed the six soldiers in tents pitched on the campgrounds. Some of the soldiers had typhoid fever, of which disease many of them died. When the Confederates were victorious at Harper's ferry, we retreated to Washington, once we returned to the mother house Cincinnati. Gallipolis was the next assignment. The sisters named for the field of charity were sisters Lewis, Ambrosia, Eufresia, Basilia, Gonzaga,

Starting point is 06:00:17 Lawrence, Constantina, and Serafine. About eight months after their return from Cumberland, they were ordered to this location to attend the soldiers from Winchester and Lynchburg. The wounded did not reach the hospitals until 14 days after the battle. The misery and suffering presented was most frightful. The attending physician was Dr. Stone, and the chaplain was Reverend Father Callenberg. Sister Gonzaga, a very holy person, who has since gone to her reward, took quite an interest

Starting point is 06:00:51 in little Toby, a little darky, who was conspicuous about the camp, and who endeavored whenever an opportunity occurred, of instructing him in the knowledge and love of God. when she thought she had instructed him sufficiently and an examination would not be out of place, she called him to her and said, Toby, who made you? Don't know, sister, he answered. She then said to him, well, Toby, who made the trees, the grass, the flowers, and all these beautiful things which we see around us?

Starting point is 06:01:23 The little fellow looked at her for a while and said, Don't know, day was all here when I come. The soldiers in Gallipolis acted as gentlemen in their intercourse with the sisters. The sight of a sister was sufficient to check the least levity. Men who had been taught to look on Catholics as dangerous people learned to love and respect the faith which taught even women to sacrifice their lives for the comfort or relief of the soldiers. The governor of Indiana made application to the most reverend Archbishop of Cincinnati

Starting point is 06:01:57 for the sisters to care for and nurse his troops in Richmond, Kentucky. Sisters Anthony and Sophia were among the first ones sent. They traveled in ambulances from Cincinnati. The following are extracts from the diaries of these religious. Much, very much, might be said of our work at Richmond, but God alone could tell the story. On route from here, Cincinnati, we witnessed sites the most appalling. The grounds were covered with wounded, dying, and dead bodies.

Starting point is 06:02:31 Some of the dead bodies were only partially covered, hands and feet protruding. The weather being very hot added not a little to the hardships of the scene of action. Arriving in Richmond, we began work immediately. The hospital had been an academy, affording wards larger and better than many other locations during the war. after attending to those suffering from the most severe wounds, a sister discovered a poor soldier crouched in a corner. For hours he had lain under the burning rays of the sun, suffering severely from a wound received in his shoulder. The flesh surrounding the wound was dreadfully mangled,

Starting point is 06:03:14 and owing to neglect was swarming with vermin. Pale and haggard, he looked, I shall never forget him. We washed and dressed his wounds, and in his wounds. administered the necessary cordials, and when we placed him in a clean cot, the reader may imagine his joy. Another ward in this hospital accommodated more than 100 men. Seventeen were lying on the floor, each of whom had lost one or more limbs. What shall we do with these poor men was the constant query? The first death that occurred was of a man who had been shot through the lung. He had been exposed to the heat of the sun, and had had.

Starting point is 06:03:54 had eaten no food for hours. Everything was done for him, but his moments on earth were few. He received the last sacraments and died a beautiful death. His last words were, thanks to the sisters. This death and its attending circumstances were the cause of many conversions. One pious Episcopalian asked the sisters for books on the subject of religion, saying that a religion which teaches gentle ladies such devoted self-sacrifice for suffering humanity must be divine. No page in history can record such noble deeds of courage and devotion as that, illuminating the life and labors of these sisters during their stay at Richmond, particularly noble, was our much-esteem Sister Anthony.

Starting point is 06:04:45 History can point to annals of devotion and self-sacrifice of noble women, but no annals are so rich in noble work and silent charity as that of our loved sister. Hundreds of men scattered over the states will always remember and revere her. She seemed happy when engaged in alleviating the sufferings of others, particularly of the soldiers. The following anecdote from the diary of a sister illustrates the influence that the religious possessed with these soldier boys. It is midnight. The moon sends her welcome light to cheer my watching hours. There is stillness all around, although many soldiers are suffering. But listen, I hear moans. A poor soldier is dying, must away to his cot. Yes, he was dying. I prayed, then spoke, now my young friend,

Starting point is 06:05:39 you are going home. Home, said the boy, what do you mean, sister? Why, would you not like to go to heaven? Sister, are you going there when you die? I assured the boy that I sincerely hope to go there. Well, said he, so do I. I called the chaplain, had the soldier baptized, and ere the morning dawned, this beautiful soul was in heaven. This concludes chapter 19. Section 25, Chapter 20, The Sisters of Mercy Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton This is a Libravox recording All Libravox recordings are in the public domain

Starting point is 06:06:29 For more information or to volunteer please visit Libravox.org Recording by Rita Boutros The Sisters of Mercy None of the sisters who gave up their time and talents to the cause of suffering humanity did better work than the Sisters of Mercy. Their most conspicuous service was on southern battlefields,

Starting point is 06:06:55 although, like their colleagues in this merciful work, they were subject to the call of duty no matter whence it came. On the 19th of June, 1862, Vicar General Stars of New York applied for a sufficient corps of nurses to take charge of a military hospital in North Carolina. The proposition was laid before the sisters of St. Catherine's Convent of Mercy in New York City, and the invitation promptly and cheerfully accepted. Nine sisters were selected for the mission.

Starting point is 06:07:29 They included Sisters Mary Augustine McKenna, M. Elizabeth Kalanan, M. Paul Lennon, M. Gertrude Lidwith, M. Paula Harris, M. Veronica Dimond, and M. Agatha McCarthy. The mother superior and mother Alphanus decided to go with the party. The chaplain was Reverend Father Brule, a native of Hungary 60 years of age. He had a long flowing gray beard,

Starting point is 06:08:02 and while he was not possessed of an adequate knowledge of English, he was equipped with a valuable experience of hospital work incident to warfare. This was derived from long and laborious, service in the French army during the war which resulted in the taking of Algiers. The sisters bad adieu to their convent friends on the 15th of July and boarded the government boat Kataba, which was to take them to the scene of their future labors at Beaufort, North Carolina.

Starting point is 06:08:35 The sisters were under the care of General Foster who showed them every consideration. It happened that 500 horses destined for cavalry service were to be passengers on the vessel, and as the tedious and somewhat distressing process of getting them into the hold only commenced after the sisters boarded the boat, the Catawba could not leave the dock until the afternoon of July 16th. A non-Catholic officer writing from Beaufort at this time says, the Hammond General Hospital at Beaufort, North Carolina, is eligibility located on the bay, the tide rising and falling entirely around the main building. It is under the care of the Sisters of Mercy, whose earnest devotedness to the noble task they have assumed

Starting point is 06:09:26 is manifested in the cleanly condition of the place and the comfort and contentment displayed by all the patients. One kitchen, a perfect bijou of a kitchen, is devoted to the use of the sisters, where they prepare every kind of delicacy which the condition of the sick require, in such a manner as those good sisters only can prepare such things. The prejudice which exists in some ill-liberal-minded persons towards Catholics would be very speedily and effectually dispelled, could they witness as we have, these worthy ladies modestly but earnestly pursuing their vocation among the sick and wounded, with no hope of reward until he, whose divine example they imitate, shall say, I was weary, and ye ministered unto me. Long may Sister Mary Madeline,

Starting point is 06:10:22 the superior, and her amiable sisters, be spared to pursue their work of faith and love among us, soldiers feel truly grateful to Mrs. Foster, the accomplished wife of our Major General, for her consideration in bringing the sisters here. The structure, which was known as the hospital, is thus admirably described by Mother Mary Carroll. It was a large building that had formerly been a summer hotel. It was so near the shore that at high tide, the waves rolled in and out under the timber props on which it was erected. It was a frame building containing 500 rooms. The sisters arrived in the midst of a heavy rainstorm.

Starting point is 06:11:08 As they passed from the wharf to the building in single file, all dressed in black, the patients looking out of the windows took them for nine lone widows seeking the dead bodies of their husbands. The place contained no furniture except a few miserable bedsteads and was in a most desolate condition. There was only one broom and very few utensils. The broom, in possession of Chloe, a saucy little negress, was seldom available. Along the shore were wrecks of pianos, tables, chairs, glass, etc.

Starting point is 06:11:46 There were no candles or lamps, and everyone was compelled to retire before night. Truly, a forsaken habitation for women, the most of fervent. whom had been brought up in homes of comfort and refinement. The house was extremely dirty, and the sisters got very little rest the first night. The next day a transformation took place. The newcomers, with what assistance they could obtain from the natives, began the work of house cleaning. Bob Spruill, a young Negro, who was presented with a red shirt, was installed as water carrier. He was so delighted with the conspicuous but useful garment that he wore it outside of his Sunday coat and proclaimed himself the best-dressed man in North Carolina. The first dinner of

Starting point is 06:12:37 the sisters was a sumptuous repast of pork and beans and moldy bread, to which was added coffee, sweetened with molasses. Eight rooms were assigned to the nurses. These rooms were located on the second story and opened out on a piazza overlooking the sound. In spite of the great consideration shown the sisters, they were compelled to undergo many privations. Two of the sisters, whose names are not recorded, died from the effects of these hardships, and several were dangerously ill. Nearly all the patients differed from the sisters in religious belief, and their coming caused several humorous as well as pathetic incidents. Many of the soldiers had never met a real live sister before. Their minds had been installed with false notions, and it was some days

Starting point is 06:13:33 before they appreciated the sisters in their real character and at their true worth. After the work in the locality was finished, the steward of the hospital confessed that he often sat up until one o'clock in the morning, watching the sisters, fully expecting them to poison the patients or do some other terrible thing, they being confessed emissaries of the Pope. The dress of the sisters scared some of the others. Great heavens shrieked one patient to the nurse that bent over him. Are you a man or a woman? But your hand is a woman's hand. Its touch is soft and your voice is gentle. What are you? Only a poor servant of the great master, come from afar to serve you, said the sister.

Starting point is 06:14:19 Sister moaned another, I'm dying. I want to be what you are. Help me. What the sister believes, I believe, cried another, who had probably never known any religion. Sister, tell me what to answer when the priest comes to baptize me. When the patients finally recovered sufficiently to leave the hospital, they would offer little keepsakes to the sisters, a button, a shrughey, a shred of of blue or gray, a pebble, with a fervent, God bless you, sister, I'll never forget you, pray for me. The sisters became part of the patient's lives. They did more than nurse them. They cheered them in their hours of despondency and wrote letters for them to the anxious ones at home. Some of the sisters, by reason of ill health, were compelled to return to New York. Their places

Starting point is 06:15:11 were promptly filled with recruits from the motherhouse. The perfect discipline among the sisters, the spirit of humility and self-sacrifice that prevailed generally, was exhibited when the mother's superior in charge was succeeded by Mother M. Augustine McKenna. Mother Augustine was one of the women who had previously prepared food for the soldiers. The patients and others were surprised to learn after the change that she was not only a person of great executive ability, but that she was also a woman of the utmost refinement and one of the most intellectual members of the sisterhood. In October 1862, it was found that Beaufort was too much exposed for the patients,

Starting point is 06:15:59 and they were removed to Newburn. The residence of Governor Stanley was placed at the disposal of the sisters. It was transformed into a handsome convent, the parlor being used as a chapel. After the raids at Goldsboro, all of the wards were crowded with sick and wounded. Americans, Germans, Irish, and Creoles, all came in the same ambulances, with their clothing matted to the skin from ghastly wounds. They were all treated alike by the nurses who were working in the cause of humanity. Sometime after the war, Jefferson Davis, ex-president of the late Confederacy,

Starting point is 06:16:39 addressing a number of the sisters said, will you allow me, ladies, to speak a moment with you. I am proud to see you once more. I can never forget your kindness to the sick and wounded in our darkest days, and I know not how to testify my gratitude and respect for every member of your noble order. Mr. Davis met Mother Mary Teresa Austin Carroll in 1887, and he reiterated his expressions of thankfulness towards the nurses who had performed what he called a great work. Many other dignitaries and soldiers on both the Union and Confederate sides

Starting point is 06:17:22 testified to the good services rendered by the Sisters of Mercy. Their labors, however, did not end with the war, for after that cruel period, they busied themselves in establishing homes for widows and asylums for the orphans. The Sisters of Mercy also worked with unremitting zeal during the war at Mississippi Springs, Oxford, Jackson, and Shelby Springs. The Southern Sisters, after devoting months to the service of the sick and wounded soldiers in these localities, returned home to Vicksburg, only to find that General Slocum had confiscated their convent for a headquarters. Father Michael O'Connor S.J., formerly Bishop of Pittsburgh, was a personal friend of Secretary of the War Stanton, and he at once interested himself in the cause of the sisters.

Starting point is 06:18:17 After a brief correspondence, their property was restored to them. In February 1862, the mayor of Cincinnati applied to the Archbishop of the same city for a sufficient number of sisters to nurse the sick and and wounded soldiers of the Ohio regiments. The application was sent to Mother Teresa, who not only complied with it, but headed the delegation of sisters that went to the front. Grant and Johnson had met at Shiloh, and the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing was the result. The sisters went down the river on the Superior, preparing bandages and other hospital necessaries on the way. There was plenty of work to do when they landed, and it was entered upon

Starting point is 06:19:03 with zeal. A number of secular ladies also arrived upon the scene and insisted upon aiding in the work. The sisters cheerfully accepted their assistance. In a few days, smallpox broke out among the patients and the secular ladies suddenly remembered that they had important engagements elsewhere. They deserted the temporary hospitals with more haste than dignity, leaving the sisters in undisputed possession. Mother Teresa was especially devoted during the smallpox epidemic, joining the other sisters in personally dressing the wounds of the patients suffering from this loathsome disease. The Sisters of Mercy also worked zealously in St. Louis. They visited almost daily the hospitals on the fairgrounds in that city, where an average of from 1,000 to 2,000 sick and wounded men

Starting point is 06:19:58 were being cared for. Many other visitations were made to private hospitals and private dwellings where the necessities of the occasion happened to place the disabled soldiers. Particular attention was paid to the patients in the McDowell College, used as a hospital for sick prisoners of war. The sisters sent large hampers to this institution, filled with clothing and with delicacies in the way of food and drink. Some of the poor sufferers were stone-blind, but as soon as they discovered that the sisters of mercy were among them, they would stretch out their hands crying, welcome sisters. If you had never given us anything, we would still rejoice to have you come amongst us with your consoling words. Three of the prisoners of war in the McDowell Hospital were condemned to be shot as a measure of retaliation, one of the cruel customs of the war. the sentence of death had been passed with all due military solemnity, and the carrying out thereof

Starting point is 06:21:04 was inevitable. Knowing this to be the case, the sisters visited the condemned men in their cells and urged them to make suitable preparations for death. The unfortunate men received the sisters with cordiality, but they were furious at the decree which condemned them to death, and absolutely refused to consider any suggestions which would call them. caused them to forgive their enemies. While the sisters were pleading with the men, an armed guards stood at the door, and two other sentinels paced up and down the corridor with a regularity and grimness that filled the scene with awe. Finally, perseverance conquered. The doomed men relented, and a clergyman accompanied them to the scaffold. They were blindfolded when

Starting point is 06:21:52 making fervent acts of contrition, and while engaged in this pious devotion, were launched into eternity. One of the duties that devolved upon the sisters during the war, as well as thereafter, was the care of the widows and orphans of the soldiers. There was one pathetic case in the MacDowell Institution. It concerned two little girls, daughters of southern prisoners. Their mother and married sister had died in the prison, and their father was among the missing. The little ones were seriously ill when they were brought to the attention of the sisters. They were in such a sad plight that their clothes had to be changed in the yard, and the cast-off garments buried. Baptism was administered to them, and their physical needs given immediate

Starting point is 06:22:43 attention. The younger child, about eight years of age, died a few days later. The other recovered and was instructed in the ways necessary for a life of virtue and usefulness. At the close of the war, she was claimed by her father. He had searched the city in a vain endeavor to find his offspring, and when he had all but abandoned hope located her in the House of Mercy, conducted by the sisters. On being given positive pledges that the child would be properly cared for, the sisters restored her to the anxious father. Mary Mulholland, who became known as Mother Francis of the Sisters of Mercy, did wonderfully effective work during the war. She was born in Armagh, Ireland in 1808, but came to this country

Starting point is 06:23:36 when a mere child. Her one desire was to become a member of one of those devoted sisterhoods that gave their lives to the service of the Creator. In spite of the opposition of her parents, this object was finally achieved. The opportunity came when Bishop Quarter engaged a colony of Sisters of Mercy for Chicago in 1843. The journey to the western city was by stage and boat. A terrific storm arose while the party was crossing Lake Michigan. A high wave swept over the deck of the vessel, carrying men, women, and children into the angry waters. Mary Mulholland was one of those that went overboard, and when a brave man, a Mr. Ogden, who afterwards became the first mayor of Chicago, attempted to save her, she cried, leave me to my fate, save the others. He did

Starting point is 06:24:32 save others, but he saved her too, for a future of usefulness in good works. The future mother of the order received the white veil from the bishop in April 1847, and was professed by dispensation December 28, 1848. Her business accomplishments made her a valuable member of the community. Speaking of the experience of this good woman in the Civil War, Mother Carol says, When the Civil War broke out, Mother Francis organized among the sisters a band of volunteer nurses to minister to the sick and wounded on southern battlefields. She accompanied them to Missouri and set them to work. In Chicago, she was a woman. looked after the soldiers, whether sick or prisoners. A sister who shared with her the fatigues of

Starting point is 06:25:23 these great works, writes, many soldiers crying out in agony on their hard beds, blessed her as she passed her holy hands over their burning brows. The absent fathers and mothers, for whom they called, could not come, but this gentle, humble, self-sacrificing soul supplied their places. A southern lad of 18 cried like a child when she laid her hand on his clammy brow. Oh, God, he murmured, I thought you were my mother. She prepared him for death, and he died in her arms. Mother Francis was a power in the prisons and hospitals when the most influential gentlemen and committees were refused admission.

Starting point is 06:26:08 There were so many sympathizers with Confederates in Chicago that a general uprising between Federals and secessionists, was often feared. Whenever or wherever the Sisters of Mercy appeared, the sick and wounded soldiers, whether in blue or gray uniform, were abundantly supplied with everything necessary for their comfort. Once, when Secretary Stanton refused to supply more rations during the current month, the case was laid before the president, who wrote, To all whom it may concern, on application of the Sisters of Mercy in Chicago, of the military hospital in Washington,

Starting point is 06:26:48 furnish such provisions as they desire to purchase and charge the same to the war department, signed Abraham Lincoln. After the war, Mother Francis continued her useful work in many convents of her order, dying peacefully on December 8, 1888. End of Chapter 20. Section 26,

Starting point is 06:27:20 Chapter 21, The North Carolina Hospitals. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org, recording by Rita Butros. The North Carolina Hospitals. There were many incidents of interest in the hospitals

Starting point is 06:27:50 at Beaufort and Newburgh, North Carolina, told by Mother M. Augustine McKenna to her niece, sister Dolores, and other members of the community of the Sisters of Mercy. Some of these were incorporated in a neat little book called The Milestone issued last year to commemorate the Golden Jubilee or 50th anniversary of the Sisters of Mercy in New York City. The principal points are embodied in the paragraphs that follow. Beaufort is a village on a little peninsula that runs out into Bogue Sound. It is directly opposite to Fort Macon, which is built on an island in these shallow waters. Before the war, Beaufort was a place of fashionable resort for sea bathing,

Starting point is 06:28:37 and its principal hotel, though a frame building, contained 500 rooms and was elaborately furnished. But having been sacked in the spring of 1862, everything of value was destroyed. It was therefore in a sadly denuded condition when it was utilized as a hospital and made the temporary resting place of 200 disabled men just two months previous to the coming of the sisters. Only the common army rations had been provided for these sufferers and their situation was painful in the extreme. A complete dearth of utensils in every department marked the early management of the hospital. There was no modern means of washing clothes. It had to be done with a few small, old-fashioned tubs and the untrained hands of some escaped field slaves.

Starting point is 06:29:31 No artificial light of any kind, not even a candle, could be procured at that time in Beaufort, and there was no proper food or refreshing drink for the patients. The sisters sent an urgent requisition to the United States Sanitary Commission, and very soon the hospital was amply provided with all necessaries and many comforts in the line of dressing gowns, towels, sponges, castile soap, Aunt Klein's Cologne, etc. Even in the midst of such suffering, many amusing incidents frequently occurred, as for instance when a sister undertook the task of getting the kitchen cleaned. This establishment had been until now under the control of a certain functionary called the kitchen steward. He was a native of Maine, of short, stout built. Never wore shoes, on account of the heat, he said,

Starting point is 06:30:29 but always wore an immense straw hat in the house and out of it, and constantly sat in a wheelbarrow at the kitchen door with a huge bunch of keys dangling from the belt of his ticking apron. He was a woodcutter, native forest before he was drafted into the army. He could neither read nor write, and his name was Kit Condon. The Negroes, and indeed his fellow soldiers, called him Mr. Kit. It took a great amount of persuasion to induce Mr. Kit to relinquish his keys, the token of his dignified office, to the North Lady, as the sister in charge was called, and he eyed the cleaning process from his wheelbarrow with evident disapproval. Mr. Tripp, a soldier six feet high, was another important personage in the culinary department, and this with Edward the Baker, who made his cookies,

Starting point is 06:31:25 buns, pies, etc. on the marble top of a ruined billiard table completed the kitchen force. The renovating that kitchen received was marvelous. Piles of greasy sand were swept into the ocean through a never-to-be-forgotten hole in the very midst of the kitchen floor. The house being built on piles or timber supports, this portion of it was directly above the water. After the debris of a meal had been thrown them through this opening, the fishes could be seen by hundreds when the tide was in, and nothing could surpass their voracity,

Starting point is 06:32:03 unless indeed it was their quarrelsomeness, for they seemed bent on annihilating one another. One day much excitement was created by the arrival of an escaped slave. A tall young girl was seen running breathlessly across the sort of bridge or causeway that connected the hospital premises with the village of Beaufort. She was quickly followed by an elderly southerner, and he was very close to her when she got to the end of her perilous race. The soldiers cheered her wildly and called to her that she was safe with them, while they

Starting point is 06:32:38 pointed their bayonets at her pursuer and swore in no measured terms that they would pitch him into the sea if he laid a finger on the girl. However, some of the officers took up the case and brought both man and girl into the general's office in order to come to an understanding. The man cried out, She is my gal. She is my gal. She was born upon my place. She is mine. But the general would not listen to this claim and told the man the girl was free from the moment she claimed the protection of the army. She was all trembling and exhausted with fear, fatigue, and excitement, and during the remainder of that day, she had to be encouraged and consoled and petted like a baby, although she was 17. Her name was Ellen, and she had a sweeter face and softer manners than are generally

Starting point is 06:33:30 found among colored persons. Towards the end of October, the tides became very high, and the water was driven under and around the hospital with greater impetuosity by the wind. On one occasion, the water was profane enough to invade the hall, where a good old Unitarian minister held forth to his sparse congregation, and the meeting had to be discontinued. The next tide was still more daring, for it swept clear through the kitchen and dining room, leaving in both a debris of dead crabs and little fish, not to mention seaweed of every variety. All this rendered the place very uninhabitable,

Starting point is 06:34:15 and General Foster, with his usual thoughtfulness, authorized the sisters to move to Newburn and to take possession of the Stanley House, the officers and doctors receiving orders at the same time to remove the patients thither as soon as possible. The two sisters sent to inspect the prospects in Newburn had a delightful sail in an open boat through the sound, past Fort Macon, and passed the Sea Green Islands onto Moorhead City,

Starting point is 06:34:46 which city consisted of 12 houses and a few shanties. On arriving at Newburn, the sisters were agreeably surprised at the aspect of the Stanley House, so-called because it had originally been the home of Governor Stanley of North Carolina. A handsome lawn or courtyard lay in front of the house. Beautiful large cedars grew within this enclosure, and as their berries were now ripening, flocks of mockingbirds were rejoicing in their branches and filling the air with their own inimitable harmony. In a corner stood a grand old pride of India, the first tree of the cut.

Starting point is 06:35:27 the sisters had ever seen, climbing roses clustered around the windows, and numbers of little songsters made their abode in the foliage. The house was fine and in perfect repair, having been used as General Burnside's headquarters. It had not been ransacked or rifled, as most of the other houses had been. Of the two large, handsome parlors, one was set aside for a chapel, and a beautiful one it became soon afterwards. In the last week of October, the hospital at Beaufort was vacated, and the six soldiers were much more comfortably settled in their winter quarters. The hospital was distinct from the Stanley residence and consisted of three houses and several newly erected pavilions. A nice, shady path, and a large garden separated these from the sister's domicile. In December,

Starting point is 06:36:23 General Foster, with a large detachment of the men under his charge, made an attack on the town of Goldsbury, North Carolina, and almost ruined it. An immense number of soldiers were wounded, and, as the doctor's stores had not arrived, the surgeons had no old linen or lint with which to bind up the wounds of the poor sufferers. For this reason, they presented a most fearful spectacle. Some had their heads and faces wrapped in coarse cloth and were so besmeared with blood that the sight was a painful one. Others, indeed the greater number, had either one or both feet in a terrible condition, the feet having been pierced with balls. There were broken legs, broken arms, and one unhappy victim had both hands shot off, and the condition of these agonizing wounds was something terrible.

Starting point is 06:37:19 The first task of the sisters was to feed the wretched sufferers who had had but little care bestowed upon them. After that, the difficult and distressing duty of cleansing their wounds was undertaken and was left entirely to the sisters. One very large man named Sherman, an Englishman, had his mouth and chin so shattered that the doctors decided that his mouth had better not be touched, as he must certainly die. However, the sisters with soft sponges and warm water began to loosen the horrible rags with which the poor man's face and head were covered. He, poor fellow, had heard enough of the doctor's opinion to render him hopeless, and when he found that efforts were being made to relieve him, he tried to evince his gratitude by signs.

Starting point is 06:38:09 When the wraps were removed, blood began to flow from his mouth, and a sister took out with her finger several loosened teeth, and thus greatly facilitated his breathing. The utmost possible care was taken of this patient, and the satisfaction of seeing him perfectly restored to health, though disfigured in a dreadful manner, was in itself a great reward. The dumb gratitude he displayed when he came to say goodbye

Starting point is 06:38:37 as he was leaving the hospital was very pathetic. Another interesting case was that of David Brandt, a ruddy-faced lad about 18 years of age. He was suffering in some way that could not at first be discovered. It was noticed that he kept moving his feet in a distressing sort of way. These members were uncovered when, to the surprise of the sister attending him, it was found that he had still his boots on and that they seemed ready to burst. Some of the soldiers at hand came with knives and cut them off,

Starting point is 06:39:10 piece by piece with great difficulty. And then, alas, it was found that veins of the boy's legs had burst open and his boots were filled with clotted blood. The doctors were sent for and had great trouble in stanching the blood and in tying up the arteries. It need hardly be added that the poor lad died the next day in great agony. He was the victim of a forced march in which the men were made to run for several miles without stopping. The sisters wrote to his father the least painful account possible of the poor son's death,

Starting point is 06:39:46 and received a most grateful reply, the bereaved gentleman adding that, but for them, he would never have known the real truth of the sad event. Hiram was a victim of camp fever. Unfortunately for him, he had been kept in camp too long after he took sick, and the fly blister had been applied to the back of his neck. Some of his comrades took it off, but applied no dressing of any kind, so that the coarse blue flannel collar of his shirt grew into the raw sore, and his hair also festered into it.

Starting point is 06:40:22 It was his cries that first attracted the attention of a sister, for he was brought into the hospital in this condition. She found a soldier trying to relieve him by applying a coarse wet towel in cold water to his neck, and this caused the screams of the sufferer, A soft sponge, warm water, and castile soap came into requisition here, and when the hair was cut so as to free it from the sore, and the gathers of the shirt loosened from the collar, the poor boy began to feel a little relief. As he lay with his face buried in the pillow, he did not see who was attending him. Who is doing that? A sister of mercy was the reply. No, said he, no one but my mother could do it. By degree. the sore was nicely dressed with soft old linen and cold water, the only dressing allowed by the doctors, and then Hiram stole a glance at his new friend and nurse. What are you at all?

Starting point is 06:41:22 Was the first question. The sister tried to make him understand what a sister of mercy does or tries to do for those who suffer, and he sank back in his pillow saying, I don't care what you are. You are a mother to me. He was only 16, full of bright, intelligence and wit, but after suffering dreadfully for six weeks from the fatal fever, he died in the arms of his father, who had been apprised by the sisters of poor Hiram's condition and had come from Boston to remain with him. Many such sad incidents might be related, but no doubt such are the records of every hospital. The sisters continued their services until May 1863, when General Foster, under whose protection they had been

Starting point is 06:42:09 able to affect much good, was ordered to Tallahassee, Florida, where there was no need of a military hospital. The necessity for the sisters was now not so great in North Carolina, most of the poor men having been released from their sufferings, many by death and others by recovery, so preparations were commenced for returning to New York. The sisters felt very much for the poor Negro girls who had attached themselves to them so affectionately, and who, in their simple ignorance thought that the North Ladies could do anything and everything. Some very amusing incidents took place in connection with our contraband. One night, a sister having forgotten something in the kitchen, went for it at a later

Starting point is 06:42:55 hour than usual. All the Negro girls and women who worked for the hospital scrubbing, washing, ironing, etc., slept in the rooms over the kitchen, and the sister, hearing peals of laughter, did not think it beneath her dignity to act the part of a listener under these colored circumstances. She therefore went noiselessly up the stairs and to her great amusement

Starting point is 06:43:19 heard herself perfectly imitated by one of the girls. This sister had for many months been giving the general instructions to the women and girls. Now she heard the very tones of her voice and the manner of her delivery, most perfectly reproduced.

Starting point is 06:43:35 Another genius undertook to represent another sister and so on until every sister was portrayed to the great delight of the company, the members of which never dreamed of the amused listener on the kitchen stairs. The solicitude of the sisters for the welfare of their patients frequently caused warm friendships that continued long after the close of the war. Sister Mary Gertrude and Mother Mary Augustine were two of the sisters attached to the hospitals in Beaufort and New Bern. One of the of those cases that came under their care was that of Charles Edward Hickling of the 45th regiment, Massachusetts volunteers. The bravery and manliness of this young soldier won the

Starting point is 06:44:20 hearts of all. Illness contracted in the service finally caused his death in 1867. He bore all his suffering with great fortitude. During his illness, the sisters visited him at his home, and after his death sent consoling letters to the bereaved family. These letters show the tender sympathy and general interest of the sisters toward the soldiers to such an extent that the writer feels justified in giving brief extracts from what were intended to be personal missives. Sister Mary Gertrude, under date of January 3, 1868, wrote to the parents, how can I express to you in adequate terms the very great grief and affectionate sympathy

Starting point is 06:45:06 I feel toward you in your great affliction. May God be your comfort and your refuge in this trying hour, for in sufferings such as these, no creature can give you consolation. We must look higher. He who sent the cross can alone give the power to sustain its weight. Do not give way to despondency, my very dear friends. The dear boy has only gone before you for a time. time, we are all hastening towards our turn. In a very little time we too shall have passed the eternal gates there to meet all we have loved and lost, and with them praise the tender mercy of the good God to us whilst in our exile. I have been, and am still with you, in thought and spirit, going through the least detail of all the trying circumstances of this sad bereavement.

Starting point is 06:45:57 Mother Augustine, who was the superior of the sisters at the New Bern Hospital, writing to a devoted friend, Miss Susan Messenger, said on January 4, 1868, so our brave soldier boy is gone. His long and trying march has brought him to the goal, and in his young enthusiasm, he has gone to join the numerous band of those who were his companions in the field and in the fight in danger and in privations, and fatigue, but not in the long years of patient and heroic endurance, which requires more of a martyr's fortitude than a soldier's courage. Dear Charles, he is the last of our soldier boys, the last link that bound us to the Boston Regiment, the brave Massachusetts volunteers, whose heroicism we shall never forget. Eternal. Dear Charles knows its wonders now. Let us pray that we may so live, so use our powers here that our eternity may be with those who have fought their way through the trials and sorrows of life to its unending peace. End of Chapter 21. Chapter 22, Part 1 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox

Starting point is 06:47:26 recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Labors in the West, part one. Soon after the beginning of the war, the Irish Brigade was organized in Chicago by Colonel Mulligan, whose life was sacrificed in the Union cause towards the close of the war. He was a devout Catholic and a warm friend of the Sisters of Mercy. As his command were nearly all Catholics, he determined to secure the services of the sisters in behalf of his sick and wounded, and, before his departure from Chicago,

Starting point is 06:48:05 called on Reverend Mother Francis, from whom he obtained the promise that the suffering among his soldiers should be cared for by her children. This is the mother of whom a brief sketch is given in a previous chapter. The regiment left Chicago in the summer of 1861 and was finally stationed at Lexington, Missouri.

Starting point is 06:48:24 On September 3rd, six Sisters of Mercy, escorted by Reverend Mother Francis and her assistant, left Chicago under the care of Lieutenant Shanley. The superiors were to return when the sisters were settled in Lexington. The hospital was to be in charge of Sister Mary Alphonsis Butler, assisted by her companions. To those who had never been within sight or sound of war's alarms,

Starting point is 06:48:47 this appeared to be an undertaking of no small hazard. The sisters believed they were risking their lives. Yes, said one, I was fully convinced I should never see Chicago again. They went by St. Louis. to Jefferson City, from which point they were to proceed to Lexington. During their stay in Jefferson, they were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Mosley, who were ardent sympathizers with the Southern cause. Nothing could exceed their attention and kindness to the sisters, to whom they showed every mark of respect. When Mr. and Mrs. Mosley withdrew to St. Louis, they left their beautiful home at the disposal of their

Starting point is 06:49:23 valued guests. It was rumored that Confederate forces were stationed along the river banks, and that communication with Lexington would be speedily cut off. The sisters, therefore, embarked on the first boat leaving Jefferson, the Sioux City, which was to carry them to their destination. It was under command of Lieutenant Shanley, who was conducting a detachment of troops to Lexington. Several ladies were on board, among whom was Mrs. Mulligan, who, with her infant daughter, was going to join her husband. As the steamer proceeded up the river, the rumors of danger ahead became more and more alarming.

Starting point is 06:49:59 at length at the earnest request of some of the ladies lieutenant shanley gave orders to return to jefferson on reaching that city the officer in command directed that the ladies who were not willing to undertake the voyage should be put ashore and that the sioux city should resume her voyage to lexington the second attempt however proved that the alarm of the ladies was not unfounded danger was constantly apprehended it was given out as certain that the confederates were stationed at glasgow a small town on the missouri when the boat came within a few rods of it the confederates were seen rushing from the woods on both sides of the river sister mary alphonsis who was saying her office on deck saw the men on the right bank uncovering a cannon in preparing to fire she hurriedly entered the station stateroom saying, here they are. Who? asked a sister. The Confederates, she replied. While they were still speaking, they heard the whizzing and rattling of bullets outside. The head of the boat was immediately turned, but the firing from both sides of the river continued for some minutes. Had the assailants waited till the boat had come within range of the cannon, nothing could have saved her. Their impetuosity defeated their attempt. As it was,

Starting point is 06:51:13 the escape of the boat was considered miraculous. The sisters afterwards met a gentleman who had been among the Confederates at Glasgow on that occasion. He told them that the Southerners never could account for the escape of the Sioux City. There were 500 infantry on the right bank and 1,000 cavalry on the left. No one on board was wounded, but the craft was very much damaged. The pilot house was completely riddled, as the Confederates had aimed particularly at the helmsman. The Southerners after, words declared they did not know there were women on board when they fired on the boat above all the sisters for they were especially courteous to all who wore the religious habit during the danger the other ladies were placed by the officers in the part of the boat which was least exposed the sisters stood in readiness to wait on the wounded but blessed god that there were none such at this time when the peril was over one of the sisters caused much amusement by saying i continued to say my office all through the firing, so that I might have it finished before being shot. During the return voyage, much

Starting point is 06:52:19 apprehension was felt, because the Confederates were supposed to be an ambush at different points. About ten miles below, Glasgow, the boat stuck in a sandbar, and the efforts of the men to release her were more terrifying than the southern bullets. This was the last attempt made to reach Lexington. Meanwhile, Colonel Mulligan's brigade of two thousand men was surrounded by Price's men, supposed to number twenty thousand for three days the brigade made a gallant resistance their supply of water had been cut off for forty-eight hours when they surrendered to general price september twentieth eighteen sixty one the general proved himself a generous enemy and his conduct won the esteem and gratitude of his distinguished prisoner the two men became sincere friends before they parted the sisters continued to occupy the mosley residence they experienced the greatest kindnesses and respect from the colored people left in charge of it. To the simple souls they were a great curiosity. The old housekeeper wanted all her friends to come see the sisters, and numbers

Starting point is 06:53:24 responded to her ardent invitations. These guests were puzzled to account for the want of resemblance between persons related to each other, as they thought, in the first degree. You say this lady is your sister, said one, but she doesn't look like you at all, nor this one either. It took some time to make them understand that the relation. was not in blood, but in spirit and profession. The Jefferson City Hospital for the sick and wounded was placed under the care of the sisters. This charge they readily undertook at the request of the authorities, as the original project of going to Lexington had proved impracticable.

Starting point is 06:54:01 They found the poor soldiers in wretched condition. The hospital, a very recently established institution, had not yet sufficient furniture. Convalescing soldiers, who were the only nurses, could not be. be expected to bestow on the sick the tender care they required no woman of a religious order had ever before been seen in jefferson and such of the soldiers as had heard of them had heard little that was construed to their advantage the sisters therefore on taking charge of the hospital met with a very cold reception they showed neither surprise nor annoyance at this and very soon the coldness and prejudice disappeared being followed by appreciation and gratitude on entering the hospital they found a poor soldier in a woefully neglected condition lying on a blanket laid on the floor one of the sisters requested the nurse to allow her to have a little water when she received it she knelt beside the poor sufferer and bathed his face and hands the nurse a rather stern person stood by during the process may i ask madam said he when she finished is that man a relative of yours no sir she replied i never saw him before we are here to take care of the sick and we attend every patient as we would our nearest and dearest relative in a short time the sisters by their self-devotion had gained the good-will of the inmates and officers and the hospital began to wear a better appearance

Starting point is 06:55:29 it took a good while however for the citizens and soldiers to become so accustomed to the sisters as always to recognize them as such one morning as they were going processionally to match one morning as they were going processionally to mass they met a new detachment of soldiers who stepped aside to allow them the sidewalk they kept a respectful silence until the sisters had passed when one turning to another inquired who's dead when general fremont and his staff came to jefferson they at once visited the six soldiers desiring to have an interview with the sisters the general was shown to their apartment just as they had assembled for their frugal meal when he knocked the door was opened and to their great astonishment he and his staff in brilliant uniform stood before them the interview was a very pleasant one general fremont was on all occasions most courteous to them and granted everything they asked eloquently did they represent to him the wants of the poor soldiers for whom he promised to provide and his promises were religiously kept this officer was noted for his kindness to his soldiers especially the sick the sisters also received several visits from colonel mulligan and his brave little wife an old pupil of theirs when she heard of her husband's capture although she had but just recovered from a severe illness she made her way across the country to lexington to comfort him by her presence soon after he was paroled and they journeyed homeward together stopping at jefferson on their way mrs mulligan gave the sisters a glowing account of her husband's exploits and moved them to tears by her description of his sufferings she was proud of him for he was a genuinely brave man

Starting point is 06:57:12 to rare merit he added rare modesty and were it not for the animated recital of his devoted wife the sisters would have heard but little of his thrilling adventures in lexington End of Chapter 22, Part 1 Chapter 22 Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Labor is in the West.

Starting point is 06:57:50 Part 2 On the 10th of March, 1863, an incident occurred in Mulligan's Irish Brigade, which, while not dealing with the laborers, of the sisters was of such an unusual character as to deserve mention. It was the presentation of a purse to Reverend Thaddeus J. Butler, D.D., the chaplain, by the Protestant members of the regiment. The following address accompanied the purse. Reverend and dear sir, we, the undersigned, Protestant members of the 23rd Regiment Illinois Volunteers, an aurorque battery attached thereto, have learned with deep and sincere regret of your intention to leave us.

Starting point is 06:58:28 from our long and happy association with you and the many kindnesses we have experienced at your hands we cannot permit you to depart without expressing to you the heartfelt sentiments we feel toward you the earnestness zeal and untiring energy you have displayed for the welfare of all connected with the regiment the kindly and deep solicitude and manly courtesy which at all times we have experienced at your hands your sterling worth so nobly tried in the hour of danger have won for you all our hearts and gain your admiration and respect imparting with you we feel that we have lost a dear and valued friend a good counsellor and a christian gentleman and we assure you carry with you our sincere wishes for your welfare wherever your duty may call you wishing you a kind farewell and that god may bless you we remain the signatures followed this colonel mulligan presented the purse in the presence of the officers and orderly sergeants of the regiment and in doing so said, Reverend and dear sir, our gallant brigade desires me to present you as an earnest of their respect and affection,

Starting point is 06:59:37 the accompanying purse. To us all in every situation, you have proved yourself the devoted friend and the exemplary priest. Our hearts are with you. One of the soldiers, writing to the Freeman's Journal of this remarkable event, says,

Starting point is 06:59:52 When the Protestants of our regiment address words of so much affection and attachment to our beloved chaplain, how are the Catholics, his own co-religionists, for whom he has labored zealously and devotedly, to testify their sorrow at his departure from them? Words can but inadequately do so. Our separated brethren proved in a substantial manner the sincerity of their declaration by contributing liberally to the purse which was donated to him. They worked upon our rustic church as eagerly as those for whose benefit it was constructed. The amiable captain, simison an ardent admirer of dr butler superintended the work our late worthy and accomplished chaplain was necessitated to return to his own congregation at chicago which had been bereft of his ministry

Starting point is 07:00:39 general kelly with his staff came from cumberland to bid him farewell the general held him in esteem and regretted his departure last evening the reverend doctor passed through the quarters and bade good-bye to the several companies afterward the men assembled at the depot being anxious to to obtain the last glimpse of him. Lines were formed by the men, between which he passed on entering the train. Hands were extended on both sides, half of which he could not grasp. After entering the carriage, and when it was in motion, many others shook hands with him. The enlivening heirs of Aaron were played by the band. Captain Gleeson called for three cheers for Dr. Butler, which were responded to with deafening plaudits. Colonel Mulligan came on the train from Cumberland, and with many of the officers accompanied the doctor a short distance from the station. Dr. Butler organized a temperance society here last fall. Being painfully sensible of the baneful effects of intemperance, the predominating

Starting point is 07:01:38 sin of our race, he administered the pledge to almost 400 of the men. Although it has not eradicated the vice, it has checked it in great measure. Many of the officers set the good example by joining the movement. The colonel is president of the society, the lieutenant colonel is vice president. Father Butler did not pledge them for life only during the term of their enlistment while they were under his spiritual care. Lieutenant Nugent invited the Reverend Doctor and most of the officers to supper last evening, where a bounteous table was spread for them and good cheer prevailed. It is in order to state here that on the 20th of December, 1861, Mr. Arnold, rising in his seat in the House of Representatives at Washington, introduced a joint resolution.

Starting point is 07:02:25 giving the thanks of congress to colonel james a mulligan and the officers and men under his command for the heroic defense of lexington missouri which was read of first and second time the joint resolution was as follows resolved by the senate and house of representatives that the thanks of congress be extended to colonel james a mulligan and the gallant officers and soldiers under his command who bravely stood by him against a greatly superior force in his heroic defense of lulligan and the gallant officers and soldiers under his command who bravely stood by him against a greatly superior force in his heroic defense of lexington missouri resolved that the twenty-third regiment of illinois volunteers the irish brigade in testimony of their gallantry on that occasion are authorized to bear on their colors the word lexington resolved that the secretary of war be requested to communicate these resolutions to colonel mulligan and his officers and soldiers the joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time and being engrossed it was accordingly read a third time and being engrossed it was accordingly read a third time and passed. Reverend William Walsh of Jefferson City was a sincere friend of the sisters during their abode in the hospital, and they remember him with lively gratitude. On New Year's Day, 1862, they made their renewal of vows in the church. They also derived much comfort and support from the many kind and encouraging letters they received from their superior,

Starting point is 07:03:49 Reverend Mother Francis. The warmest sympathies of this noble-hearted woman were aroused for her children, working in a cause so dear and sacred. She visited them during the fall and frequently sent them contributions, provisions, and delicacies for their soldiers. These soon became so numerous that two more sisters and several elderly women and young girls

Starting point is 07:04:11 were sent to their aid. An additional hospital was required, and a building formerly used as a seminary was devoted to that purpose. The assistance of the sisters wore a uniform of gray, and as all went to Mass every morning when hospital duties permitted, the procession of the black and gray-robed maidens looked rather solemn.

Starting point is 07:04:31 Except in the case of Catholics, the ministrations of the sisters were confined to the bodily ills of the sick. They rarely touched on religious subjects, save when the patient desired it. On one occasion they found a dying man whom they believed to be a Catholic. The sisters who attended him asked him to what church he belonged. He looked cautiously around the ward and whispered, I am ashamed to tell. But, said she, you should not belong to a church of which you were ashamed. The poor man then acknowledged that he was a Catholic, though, through human respect, he had concealed it until then. The sister spoke words of advice and encouragement to the poor man, a brave soldier of earth, an indifferent soldier of Christ, and had the consolation of inducing him

Starting point is 07:05:18 to receive the sacraments. His death took place soon after, and he was a man. And he was a and his fellow soldiers having arrayed him in his uniform placed upon his bosom the crucifix which the sister had given him this act of reverence in men who seldom gave religion a thought surprised and pleased the sisters not a little they remained in charge of the jefferson city hospital until april eighteen sixty two when the army having been ordered to another division their services were no longer required they therefore made preparations to return to chicago the night before the day appointed for their departure they were much surprised by receiving a serenade from the military band next morning father welsh said mass in the hospital the sisters then bade good-bye to the few soldiers who remained and the poor fellows were very much affected at the parting when the sisters reached st louis they were waited on by mr yaitman sanitary commissioner who requested them to take charge of the hospital department of the steamboat empress then about to start for the battle-field of Shiloh, in order to transfer the wounded to places where they could receive proper care. Many of the sick and wounded were on the battlefield, sheltered only by tents and deprived of almost every comfort. When the necessary permission from home was obtained, the sisters

Starting point is 07:06:38 went aboard the Empress, bound for Pittsburgh Landing, which they reached on Palm Sunday. They had been anxious to reach it that day, hoping to be in time for Mass, but they were surprised and disappointed to find that instead of being a town or village, Pittsburgh landing consisted of only one house, a log cabin, in which there was no prospect of hearing mass. They went ashore at once to visit the sick and wounded of both armies, who were in separate tents, and distributed to the poor men some refreshments, which were most gratefully received. Next day, the Empress, laden with sick and wounded, started for Keukuk, Iowa. There were over 300 sufferers aboard. There were over 300 sufferers aboard.

Starting point is 07:07:19 and the sisters were occupied from early morning till midnight waiting on them and endeavoring to soothe their depressed spirits the empress reached keocuck on holy saturday april sixteenth eighteen sixty two the removal of the sick to the hospital began at once and occupied two days during which time the sisters were engaged in doing everything possible to ease the pains of their patients on easter sunday they had the happiness of hearing mass and receiving the sacraments the sisters have known notre dame who were present at mass awaited the sisters of mercy at the church doors and knowing they were fasting invited them to come to their convent to breakfast much as the sisters appreciated their kindness they were obliged to decline as they had to return as quickly as possible to their sick on the hospital boat in the evening the visitation nuns sent a message to invite the sisters of mercy to dine at their convent this invitation was accepted as the sick and wounded had had their wounds dressed and were made as comfortable as possible at the visitation convent they received much kindness and had the happiness of being present at benediction at mount city the holy cross sisters under mother angela gillespie showed much kindness to the sisters of mercy next day the empress returned from pittsburg landing for another cargo of the sick who were conveyed to st louis the boat made many voyages of this kind the sisters strove to get delicacies of all sorts for the sick wherever they landed and in district these there were scenes at once amusing and touching the men would gather around the sisters like big children holding out their piece of bread and begging for just one little bit of jam the sisters not having the heart to refuse anyone would give away all they had trusting to kind providence to send them more the empress also made a voyage to louisville where the sisters placed under proper care the last cargo of the sick and wounded from the terrible battle of shiloh

Starting point is 07:09:17 the end of may eighteen sixty two concluded five weeks service on the hospital boat to this day the sisters of mercy expressed gratitude for the kindness and almost reverential courtesy they experienced during their stay with the invalid soldiers accustomed to a life of seclusion and tranquillity they did not venture on this undertaking without nerving themselves to encounter much that might be repugnant to their nature and profession but none of their gloomy anticipations were real they always felt that they owed a special tribute to the brave men of both armies for the deference and courtesy they invariably received from confederate and federal alike the soldiers under their care showed them a childlike docility and respect and never was a word uttered in their presence by a warrior of either side that could offend the most delicate ear if writes one of the survivors of the nursing band the man who knows how to treat a woman with respect is himself worthy of respect, then all honor to the soldiers of the war, North and South. End of Chapter 22, Part 2. Chapter 23 of the Angels of the Battlefield

Starting point is 07:10:36 This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, the Stanton Hospital. in the autumn of eighteen sixty two application was made by the authorities in washington to the mother superior of the sisters of mercy for nurses to take charge of the wounded soldiers in the stanton hospital in washington city accordingly four sisters from the mother house in pittsburg were appointed for the work they hastily prepared and departed for the scene of duty arriving in washington the day before thanksgiving finding that the stanton a long row of one story frame buildings, was not quite ready for occupancy. The sisters remained for a few days with the Sisters of Mercy, who were in charge of the Douglas Hospital, then in operation in Washington.

Starting point is 07:11:34 These sisters were members of the Baltimore community, founded some years previously from the house at Pittsburgh. In a short time the new hospital was opened, and the sisters repaired thither and began their work by carrying for 130 wounded soldiers, who had just been carried in from an engagement. On December 8th, four more sisters arrived from Pittsburgh, making in all eight, which number constituted the staff of sisters engaged in the Stanton Hospital. Some of these did not remain until the close of the war, but were relieved as circumstances required by sisters from home. These changes were not made without necessity, as the health of several of the original

Starting point is 07:12:14 volunteers was hopelessly shattered by the severe duties entailed upon them. to the bodily fatigue incident to the care of so many patients was added much mental anxiety caused by the responsibility attending the charge of grave cases the successful issue in many severe surgical operations depended almost entirely on the vigilance of the nurse too much praise cannot be given to the officials of the stanton hospital for their careful supervision and attention to the patients and the unvarying kindness and confidence reposed in the sisters the surgeon in charge dr john a lydell and his assistant dr philip davis deserve special mention abundant supplies of everything needful for the sick were most liberally provided as far as possible no want of the patients was left ungratified This was a source of great satisfaction to the sisters, enlightened their cares considerably. What has been said of the work of sisters in other hospitals might be repeated here.

Starting point is 07:13:19 Their labors were arduous and unceasing. After every battle, numbers of wounded were brought in and received unwearied attention day and night. As a rule, the soldiers appreciated the work of the sisters and regarded them as their best friends. Often patience, when convinced that the hope of recovery, was gone confided their last wishes to the sisters they were frequently called upon to send messages to the loved ones far away and write letters to absent friends these and similar acts of kindness with words of comfort and encouragement made the day more than full pressed down and running over with meritorious acts the sisters frequently had the consolation of witnessing happy deathbed scenes often of persons who under less favorable surroundings might not

Starting point is 07:14:08 have enjoyed this great blessing entire freedom of conscience was secured to all each patient being at liberty to summon to his side the spiritual adviser of his choice the catholics were attended by the jesuit fathers among whom reverend's father wagget brady and rockefort were untiring in their efforts to console the sick and fortify the dying with the consolations of religion the sisters remained at the stanton until the close of the war when their services being no longer required they returned to pittsburg where they resumed their usual avocations the western pennsylvania hospital in pittsburg was used by the government for a military hospital at this time principally for pennsylvania soldiers such men as were able to bear the fatigue of transportation from washington or other places were sent to this institution in order to make room at the stanton for cases of the direct from the field of battle. The Sisters of Mercy were invited to give their services, a request with which they cheerfully complied, early in 1863. In this institution, the sisters experienced the same courtesy from the officers as was extended to them elsewhere. Every arrangement, compatible with existing circumstances, was made to lighten their duties. In both these hospitals,

Starting point is 07:15:29 a chapel was fitted up, and Mass was celebrated daily, which such such, convalescent patients as desired were at liberty to attend. The sisters continued their work in the Pennsylvania Hospital until May 1865. In Washington and Pittsburgh, the members of the Sanitary Commission gave very efficient aid towards alleviating the conditions of the patients by providing delicacies and reading matter. After each visit, supplies were left in the hands of the sisters to be distributed at their discretion. The Douglas Hospital in Washington, the Douglas Hospital in Washington, had been erected out of three large dwellings in the then fashionable part of the capital city it was so named from the fact that the most important of these three houses had been the residence of the famous senator of that name sister mary colette o'connor was in charge of this institution and was revered by all who became acquainted with her she died at the hospital july sixteenth eighteen sixty four and her remains were escorted to baltimore and buried with military honors

Starting point is 07:16:32 one day president lincoln visited the stanton hospital in washington those who were fortunate to be present on this remarkable occasion received impressions that should remain ever fresh in their minds none of the sisters had ever met the chief executive but when a tall angular man with just the suggestion of a stoop about the shoulders sauntered up the path leading to the main entrance of the hospital they intuitively knew that it was president lincoln the homely wrinkled face with its careworn appearance and the patient almost pathetic eyes appealed at once to the tender sensibilities of the sisters they knew little and were without leisure to inquire about the merits of either the northern or southern side of the bloody controversy then raging at its height but they had a keen appreciation of human suffering and human sympathy and their hearts went out at once to this plain man who so uncomplainingly carried the woes of the nation upon his shoulders. The president went from cot to cot, shaking hands with the poor patience, and addressing them in the jocular manner he frequently employed to conceal the anguish caused by the sight of so much suffering. On occasions of this character, the very simplicity and naturalness of the president only served to bring his greatness into brighter relief. The sisters had a good

Starting point is 07:17:54 opportunity of observing the man who had been called from his modest home in Illinois to become ruler of the Republic at the most serious crisis in its history. They saw in him a person who with the single stroke of the pen was destined to liberate nearly four millions of slaves. They saw a man who was daily performing the most painful duties under the most trying circumstances, but who did each act with malice toward none, with charity for all. They saw in him the one distinctively grand figure of the war. They realized, with others, that amid the clash and roar and smoke of battle, amid the perplexities and contentions of legislative halls, and the difficulties and differences of cabinets, there arose preeminent above all the peaceful, pathetic, powerful personality of Abraham Lincoln.

Starting point is 07:18:49 Mr. Lincoln remained at the hospital for some time. With the trained eye of a man of affairs, he observed the cleanliness of the place, and did not. not fail to notice all that the sisters were doing for the comfort and relief of the patience. When he departed, he cordially shook hands with each of the sisters, and congratulated them on the work they were performing in the cause of humanity. Reverend J. F. Regis Canavan, rector of St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburgh, has paid a high tribute to the work of the Sisters of Mercy in the late war. A passing reference is made to some of the events already detailed in this chapter, but it is such an able presentation of the case that it deserves reproduction in

Starting point is 07:19:30 these pages. Father Canavan said, in part, the sisters went forth from their peaceful convent homes to serve their god and country in the Stanton Military Hospital at Washington and in the Western Pennsylvania Hospital at Pittsburgh. The military physicians regarded them as valuable assistance, and oftentimes the nuns had the entire charge of the patients, administering of medicines, arranging bandages with deft and skillful hands. The sisters had 450 wounded men under their care in the Stanton Hospital at one time, and after the Second Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, a number of Confederate wounded were laid side by side with those whom they had wounded. It was a beautiful sight, said one of the sisters, to see how tenderly the convalescent union soldiers

Starting point is 07:20:21 helped to nurse back the health of those whom they had so fiercely fought a short time before. Those who are first in war are also first in peace. The bravest or the tenderest, the loving or the daring. Southern sympathizers in Washington sent large supplies of provisions and delicacies for their Confederate friends. We took all they sent, said a veteran's sister, but we saw that the boys in blue fared as well as their foes. This was holy simplicity. At the time the sisters were engaged in their work of mercy in the hospitals and on the battlefields of the north, some of their companions who had left their side a few years before were under the shot and shell which were hurled from land and water when Grant besieged Vicksburg,

Starting point is 07:21:07 and fear and famine stalked the Confederate camp and city. The sisters followed the ill-fated army through all the hard fortunes of the struggle, nursed the sick, stanched the blood, found up the wounds of those who fell on the battlefield and spoke words of consolation and hope to the dying we can read in military annals how the dying soldier fancied a mother or a sister to be supporting his head as the black-robed nun bade him confide in the saviour of calvary and poured refreshing drops on his lips parched and quivering in the throes of death it was loyalty to the divine master that caused these women to serve on both sides of the line after the war the vicksburg community returned to their convent and found their latest golden opportunity in the south in the great yellow fever scourge of eighteen seventy eight which spread sorrow and gloom over the land until even hope was almost paralyzed yes when fear had dissolved all the ties which holds society together when succor could not be bought with gold, when the strongest natural affections yielded to the love of life, then a band of Sisters of Mercy, led by the same fearless heroines from Pittsburgh, who, 15 years before, had seen duty on the battlefield, were to be found bending over the plague-stricken couch, praying, ever-encouraging,

Starting point is 07:22:31 and holding up to the last before the expiring patient, the image of the cross. When the brave men of both armies had fought out the nation's quarrel, and when the roar of cannon died away and the smoke of battle was lifted from the land the bright sun of peace shone upon a people more united than they had ever been before religious bigotry and sectarian hatred had received a deadly stroke there was more christianity amid the rough scenes of war than there had been in preceding years of peace the best blood of the roman catholic and of the protestant copatriate had reddened the same stream and mingled on many a well-fought feat field. Side by side they met the charge. Side by side they repelled the shock. Side by side they fell. In the same pit their bodies were deposited. The dew fell from heaven upon their union in the grave. Misfortune had taught them to know and respect and trust and love each other. Those who survived learned to despise the cowards and hypocrites and bigots who at home, in ignorance or malice, had armed man against his brother, and in the name of religion kept us in perpetual conflict.

Starting point is 07:23:48 The soldier descended of the New England Puritan, and of the Papist-hating Orangemen, discovered that his Catholic comrade was a brave, generous-hearted man, and a consistent Christian, that the Roman Catholic Church was not the sworn enemy of free institutions, that the sisters of that church were kind, earnest, hard-working, useful, and devoted women in the service of that Christ whose doctrine is that we should love one another. And thus the Sisters of Mercy returned from war to find the good they and other religious women had done had won the grateful recognition of the whole country. Thoughtful men learned from their deeds that even a covenanter need not fear to offend the Creator in acknowledging that there

Starting point is 07:24:32 rested a holy influence in hearts consecrated to God. A sister of mercy at Charleston, under date of September 23, 1865, thus writes to a friend concerning the destitution in that city and state. Every phase of life has been so upturned here that the once rich, who were wont to assist the poor, are now wretchedly poor themselves, and are grateful for a little of the common necessaries of life when given them. We have called upon the northern storekeepers here and received some assistance from them, but we cannot call too often few of our own people are able to go into business none can afford to give at present though the will is good if my dear lady you can do aught in this emergency you will perform a great act of charity could you see these people as we do your heart would ache sad eyes swimming in tears little delicate hands skinned from the wash-tub and hearts without hope for the future i saw last week's a lady, one of the wealthiest a short time ago, lying on a miserable pallet, the room without

Starting point is 07:25:42 furniture, where she once had every comfort. The house had been stripped of everything, linen, plate, and wines of all kinds. Her limbs were covered with sores, occasioned by anxiety of mind and poverty of blood, the result of almost starvation. Were this an isolated case, it could be relieved, but, unfortunately, the city abounds in them. the planters for miles around are homeless, and are compelled to take refuge in the city without any means of subsistence. Sister DeSales and De Chantal, and some five other sisters of the Sisters of Mercy, arrived in New York in the latter part of 1865, from White Sulphur Springs, Montgomery County, Virginia, where they were engaged attending the sick and wounded soldiers in the hospital for the last four years.

Starting point is 07:26:33 they were accompanied by the reverend mr crogan of charleston who was also engaged during the war's chaplain in the same hospital according to the new york news at the time of lee's surrender there were over three hundred sick and wounded at this particular hospital it adds over sixty of these were federal soldiers and not more than two days rations to meet their wants the sisters were among strangers having neither money nor worldly influence but compelled by the spirit of the spirits were among strangers having neither money nor worldly influence but compelled by the spirit of their holy calling, they devised means to procure provisions enough to suffice for more than six weeks for the patients, and remained with them until all had either convalesced or died. About the 22nd of May, they proceeded to Lynchburg. General Gregg received them at this port most courteously, and offered them every means in his power to prosecute their journey to Washington, where they again applied to General Hardy for transportation to Charleston. In this, they were not successful. General Hardy refused to send them on the ground that, being non-combatants,

Starting point is 07:27:40 no provision had been made by the authorities in Washington for such persons. Finally, through the kindness of some private gentlemen in Washington, Father Krogan was enabled to procure transportation to New York, where they found themselves strangers and penniless, and with hardly sufficient wearing apparel to enable them to appear in public. On hearing of their embarrassing circumstances, dances the reverend william quinn of st peter's barclay street called a few of his parishioners together on sunday last with a view to raising the necessary funds to enable these good sisters to return to their homes the result was that aided by judge andrew clark esquire and a few other gentlemen the sum of eleven hundred and forty eight dollars was collected in a few days on saturday last this amount was presented to sister to sails at the convent of the sacred heart in 17th Street by a committee consisting of the Reverend William Quinn, Dennis Quinn, and Andrew Clark. On receiving the amount, Sister DeSales, on behalf of herself and the community she

Starting point is 07:28:45 represented, expressed her earnest thanks to the donors, promising that their kindness should never be forgotten by their community. The convent at Charleston belonging to these sisters was burned to the ground, having caught fire from the shells thrown into the city during the bombardment of the federal forces. End of Chapter 23. Chapter 24 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 07:29:21 For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Sisters of St. Joseph. In January 1862, Dr. Henry H. Smith, Surgeon General of the State of Pennsylvania, applied to Reverend Mother St. John at the Mount St. Joseph Convent, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, for sisters to serve as nurses of the sick soldiers in Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, saying he had had experience of the sister's efficiency in nursing while he attended at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia, and felt they would be able to do good

Starting point is 07:29:58 work at the state capital. Bishop Wood, to whom the doctor had spoken of the matter, gave ready assent. And writing on the 22nd of the same month, the doctor speaks of the arrangements for the sister's journey as having been affected, and adds, The doctors hope the sisters will not disappoint him. Whilst beset by applicants, every female nurse has been refused, Dr. Smith being unwilling to trust any but his old friends, the sisters of St. Joseph. There is a large field of usefulness, but it is to be properly cultivated only by those whose sense of duty will induce them to sacrifice personal comfort. The living is rough, the pay poor, and nothing but the sentiments of religion can render the nurses contented.

Starting point is 07:30:44 On January 23rd, three sisters, under the direction of Mother Monica Pugh, went to Harrisburg, and on the following day the Surgeon General took them to Camp Curtin Hospital, which he placed under their charge. At the camp, there were then about 3,000 militia. The hospital, the hospital was merely a temporary frame building, roughly put together, and to make the apartments at all habitable, blankets, and other such improvised tapestry, had to be hung over the boards. The sisters arrived at the hospital towards evening. They found that three matrons had been in charge, and with them a number of the soldiers acting as nurses. The reception accorded the sisters was not at all cordial. One man had been given the charge of seeing to the sister's wants, and, coming to them,

Starting point is 07:31:30 he asked what they wished to have for supper, saying, I know that the discipline of the church is bread and water, but I do not know what you ladies may want to have. The sisters replied that anything would do, and were shortly afterwards summoned to the table the nurses had just left in a most uninviting condition. The Vians were left untasted, and the sisters began to see what work was before them,

Starting point is 07:31:53 and to arrange matters accordingly. It was not long before the sick soldiers, as well as those employed in the hospital, began to feel the beneficial effects of the sister's care and their efficiency in hospital administration, and the respectful attentions and military salutes of the men became almost oppressive. Bishop Wood paid several visits to the sisters at the camp,

Starting point is 07:32:15 and also to the Church Hospital, Harrisburg, where three sisters, under the charge of Sister Mary John, afterward the Reverend mother of the community, took charge of the sick, who, among the arriving militia, were unable to proceed as far as the camp. finding themselves always addressed by the physicians as sisters of charity or mercy the sisters drew the surgeon-general's attention to the misnomer but he replied that the name accorded with their work and it would be no use in trying to explain to the doctors about the different orders hence in all newspaper reports and in various accounts of their work given at the time the sisters were always mentioned as the sisters of charity or mercy which they took as another sign that their patron st joseph desired them to labor as he had done in silence and obscurity unknown and unnoticed by the world on the second of february the surgeon general after visiting the hospitals wrote to mother st john i have found all the sisters perfectly well

Starting point is 07:33:18 and with no complaints after their trial of the inconveniences and exposure attendant on military life. Already, each hospital shows the blessing attendant on their presence. Everything is now neat, orderly, and comfortable. Sister P is captain of the ward in the camp hospital and has a drummer boy to attend her. Sister C in the kitchen is also an authority and has a sentry at the kitchen door. Sister M is the major and commands the surgeons, keeping them in good humor by her kind acts all seem happy and contented and the governor and others speak frequently of the good move made in bringing them there at the church hospital sister c shines in the refectory and everything is in excellent order on the eighteenth of the same month the doctor called for more sisters adding however matters are so unsettled by the recent victories i am at a loss whether to send for extra help there are rumors of closing the camp or rather of giving it up to the united states

Starting point is 07:34:22 what dr smith had anticipated came to pass the soldiers at camp curtain were called to the front and the sisters left the church hospital march twenty seventh and camp curtain april Ace, 62. It was indeed touching to see the difference between the reception the men had given the sisters on their coming and the feeling of sorrow that marked their parting with them. Many of the men sobbed aloud, and the sisters themselves were deeply moved at the thought of how many, who were starting off in health and strength, would ere long meet a sad and painful death. On the 14th of April, by order of Governor Curtin, the following letter was sent by Dr. Smith to Madam St. John, superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Madam, during a period of several weeks, amidst the confusion of a constantly changing camp, and amidst an epidemic of measles with

Starting point is 07:35:17 typhoid fever, etc., six of the Sisters of St. Joseph, sacrificing all personal comfort, ministered faithfully and truly to the comfort and welfare of the sick. Neatness, order, and efficient administration immediately followed their arrival in the camp. Highly appreciating their valuable services and Christian devotion to the relief of human suffering, the state authorities desire to express to them and your order high appreciation of the self-sacrificing spirit which they exhibited among the six soldiers, both at Camp Curtin and at the Church Hospital in Harrisburg. By order of A. G. Curtin, Governor of Pennsylvania. Dr. Smith, himself, self wrote it affords me pleasure to transmit the accompanying order acknowledging the valuable services of the sisters recently engaged at harrisburg in the event of a fight at yorktown i shall go there with the party on a steamboat and stop at fortress monroe if some hearty sisters will volunteer for duty with me i will perhaps be able to take them the notice will not be more than six hours i will share the exposure with them and will do all that is possible to make them comfortable

Starting point is 07:36:31 bringing them back with the wounded, unless you allow them to stay. Your order is, I believe, the only one that is doing duty with the army. I think they can do much good under my care. Sister will be especially useful in cooking for the wounded, in the boat I shall take at the fortress. On the 18th the orders came, and, under the escort of Captain Bankson, USA, three sisters went to Baltimore, and thence to Fortress Monroe. On the 26th the doctor sent a request for six more sisters, promising plenty of occupation. In a letter dated April 27, 1862, Archbishop Wood, after naming the sisters detailed for attendance on the wounded and sick soldiers under the direction of Dr. Henry Smith, Surgeon General of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, adds, We commend them to the kind care and protection of the Surgeon General,

Starting point is 07:37:26 and to the attention of all persons, ecclesiastical and civil, with whom they may be in any way associated, holding it as a special and personal favor bestowed on ourselves. On April 21st, writing from Fortress Monroe, the doctor informs Mother St. John that the sisters, on their arrival, had been put at once on hospital duty, and were doing much-needed work, especially in the preparation of sick diet, etc. He adds,

Starting point is 07:37:55 they are sure to be appreciated they come into friendly competition with a party of nurses under the direction of miss dick's they will win the good-will and opinion of all the three sisters first sent were again under the direction of mother monica pew they were kindly and eagerly welcomed by dr smith who with the aid of a spy-glass saw the boat approaching and hurried to meet them there were then some sick and wounded on board the floating hospital the wheel wilden other sisters went down later under charge of one of the hospital surgeons who poor man was anything but pleased with being detailed to act as escort to five ladies but all his fears as he afterwards declared were speedily dispelled when he found his office rather a sinecure since the sisters did not call on him for the thousand and one attentions it had been his fortune to have been called on to give while attending secular ladies at fortress monroe they went aboard the two floating hospitals the wildon and the commodore on may third they had the great consolation of receiving the sacraments from reverend father dillon of the congregation of the holy cross who drove up and down the camp by fortress monroe hearing the confessions of the soldiers he said mass on board the commodore may third and fourth on may sixth in company with the surgeon-general and his assistance three of the sisters went down the james river and the third and fourth on may sixth in company with the surgeon general and his assistants three of the sisters went down the james river in the Commodore to bring up the wounded from the battlefield of Yorktown all night from five p m till two a m of next day the wounded were being carried to the vessels on stretchers harrowing indeed were the scenes that there met their eye and sad it was to find how inadequate were their efforts to fully assuage the terrible sufferings of the victims but all that could be done was done and the supply of coffee and stimulants was thankfully received by those who for days had languished without any attentions

Starting point is 07:39:55 a company of pennsylvania volunteers whom the sisters met near the landing had not had any food for two and some for three days the steamer laden with provisions having been unaccountably delayed on their way up the river the commodore passed the vessel with the longed-for supply of food on its way down to the men among the wounded were many of the southern soldiers who had been taken prisoners and they seemed particularly grateful for the attentions of the religious the wounded lay and rose along the decks of the steamers and in the state-rooms so close together that it was almost impossible to pass along without treading on them on may sixteenth dr smith wrote to mother st john the sisters have given universal satisfaction and have done much good it will be acknowledged hereafter in proper form in the meantime i should like to take six of them with me again ending perhaps at richmond six of the sisters came up with the wounded on the commodore to the port of philadelphia and stayed with them till they had all been removed to the different hospitals of the city after a few days rest they returned to receive the wounded from the battle fought near richmond meanwhile the camp at harrisburg had been reopened and three sisters were again called to attend the hospital one of them relates that on her rounds about the place on their return she saw an isolated tent by the door of which lay a coffin to her inquiries an officer replied that in the tent there was a man dying of camp fever she inquired whether it was possible to save the man and on hearing that it was not known declared her intention of going to see the officer refused to allow her to go in saying it would be suicide as she could not go without contracting the fever she however persisted and entering the tent beheld a man in apparently a state of collapse for days it would seem he had received very little attention and the filth of the bed and foot

Starting point is 07:42:00 floor were indescribable that day the poor patient had had nothing but a drink of water the sister at once prepared and gave him a bowl of stimulating broth he became sufficiently strong to tell her he was from st paul's parish philadelphia the priest reverend father maher of harrisburg was sent for in the meantime by dint of warnings and entreaties the sister got two of the male nurses to lift the man from the bed to which parts of his his body adhered. The floor was cleansed, the man washed, his sores attended to, and then the priest came, heard his confession, and gave him the last sacraments, and immediately his recovery seemed to set in. His gratitude was touching in the extreme. The sisters had sent word to his wife in Philadelphia that she might be able to have him removed home. But before she came, they themselves had been recalled, from what was to them a blessed field of labor. on june ninth eighteen sixty two dr smith wrote to mother st john saying the united states have agreed to take charge of all of the state hospitals i have requested the sisters at harrisburg to return to you and i hope i shall not have again to trouble you until the war has ended

Starting point is 07:43:18 the sisters did great good were very kind and useful all will be acknowledged in due time several of the sisters who attended the soldiers have already entered on their reward and read in the beautiful cemetery of mount st joseph where on decoration day the sisters and children love to pay special attention to the graves of those departed ones of the soldiers of christ who went out to attend on the soldiers of war no words could adequately express the gratitude of the sisters for the delicate and fatherly attentions they received from surgeon-general smith in his corps of assistance dr smith was truly one of nature's nobleman with a soul free from every taint of prejudice with a heart open to every phase of human suffering and a charity that never wearied in alleviating the horrors of war battlefield. This is the Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Sisters of the Holy Cross Mother Angela of the Holy Cross sisters was one of the most devoted nurses in any of the

Starting point is 07:44:42 orders that served during the Civil War. She was a woman of high birth and considerable refinement. She came from a well-known Pennsylvania Irish family, the Gillespie's. It was from this family that James Gillespie Blaine was so named. She was a cousin of the illustrious man, and was also related to the Ewing's and the Sherman's. Her parents migrated from Pennsylvania to Illinois while she was quite young, and her education was received at the Academy of the Visitation in Washington, D.C. Mother Angela always had a high regard for Blaine. She was intimately acquainted with the details of his early life and his home at Brownsville, Pennsylvania.

Starting point is 07:45:22 To those in whom she placed great confidence, she frequently gave touching incidents of the young man's early career, and on more than one occasion she repelled slanders, which were no doubt implicitly believed by the public at large. She became connected with the Holy Cross sisters many years before the war. When the first gun was fired at Fort Sumter, Mother Angela was in charge of a flourishing school at south bend. When the need for nurses became pressing, this was given up. The scholars returned to their homes, and the sister teachers volunteered their services to those in charge of the hospitals. Mother Angela was sent out by the very reverend Father Surin, superior general of the congregation of the Holy Cross, whose headhouse was at Notre Dame, Indiana. The following is an extract from

Starting point is 07:46:09 the circular letter issued October 21, 1861, by Father Surin, who was the founder of the sister's of the Holy Cross in the United States. My dear daughters in Jesus Christ, among the distressing features of the times, I am glad to convey you some consoling news, for however much we deplore the distracted state of our country, we find a gratification in being able to assuage some of its sorrows. A most honorable call has been made on your community

Starting point is 07:46:38 by the first magistrate in our state, asking for twelve sisters to go and attend the sick, the wounded, and dying soldiers. the call has been unhesitatingly responded to and this afternoon six sisters of holy cross started for paducaa six more start within a week they are all chosen from a large number of volunteers and if we judge of their sentiments by the joy with which they have received their selection we have reason to believe that they duly appreciate the honor and favor bestowed upon them it is well known that in the crimean war the sisters of charity literally covered themselves with glory before men and doubtless with merits before god when the record of our present struggles will be handed down to posterity will it not be a source of joy for the church to be able to show in every rank of society many a glorious name generously sacrificed for the rescue of the country but why should we be left out of the list if the standard of the cross under which we have enlisted knows no enemies among men if our objects on the contrary is to rally them all under the precious emblem of our salvation our little army stands arrayed against the enemy of mankind the spirit of darkness and all the evils and the wounds which he has inflicted on humanity hence whenever there is a pain to soothe a pang to relieve a bleeding heart or limb to treat or dress there is a field for us to enter under pain of deserting our noble banner

Starting point is 07:48:11 what a joy it would bring to the apostolic heart of our venerated founder father morrow to hear of this heroic act of charity undertaken by this little vanguard of his company in the new world it is in his name i have blessed them and they may rest assured that while they follow the fortunes of the battle-fields of the nation he like moses will be praying for them on the mountain-top we too shall persevere with him in prayer in their behalf in all our houses there shall be offered for them a general communion every saturday that they may fully discharge the important trust they have received mother angela met many of the great generals of the war and they all united in declaring her a woman of marvellous executive ability besides this she had many other accomplishments of a high order although she was the mother in charge she gave her personal attention to many of the patients on several historic occasions she waited upon confederate and union soldiers at the same time johnny rebb as he was facetiously called and the yank would lie in cots side by side with the peaceful face of mother angela between them often men lying helpless on their backs would get into heated disputes over the relative merits of the war and but for their physical disability would have done each other violence the sisters alone possessed the power to quell these quarrels and they did it with all the tact and diplomacy becoming their gentle natures the story of the first meeting between general grant and mother angela comes from an eyewitness of that historic episode and can be vouched for as strictly correct. Grant was just then beginning to develop the traits of a leader,

Starting point is 07:49:54 which were to mark him later as the greatest captain of his time. His headquarters were in an old brick building that had formerly served as a bank in Cairo. Mother Angela came to this place to report for duty to General Grant. She was accompanied by the late Dr. Brinton, an honored physician of Philadelphia, and Reverend Lewis A. Lambert, D.D. L.D. Dr. Lambert, who was to act in the capacity of chaplain, escorted Mother Angela into Grant's presence. The great captain was seated at a desk behind the iron bars, which had evidently been formerly used by the cashier of the bank. He was riding with the air of a man who was absorbed in his task and unconscious of his surroundings. An ordinary cheap pipe was in his mouth, and every now and then he mechanically

Starting point is 07:50:41 blew forth a cloud of smoke. The characteristics of the man, so well known in later years, were just as pronounced then. The people all around him were plainly agitated with the thought of the great war that was about to rage in all its fury. He sat at his work, calm, silent,

Starting point is 07:50:59 and with an imperturbability of countenance that was sphinx-like. Dr. Brinton, who had been one of the first to suggest the sisters, introduced Mother Angela to Grant. The general came out from behind the iron grating

Starting point is 07:51:12 with his head bare, and, taking Mother Angela's hand, gave it a hearty shake. the pipe he had been smoking was temporarily laid aside there was a moment's silence and then grant looking at his visitor with a pleasant smile said i am glad to have you with us very glad there was a pause for a second and then he added if there is anything at all i can do for you i will be glad to do it i thoroughly appreciate the value of your services and i will give orders to see that you do not want for anything after a few more minutes of general conversation in which dr brinton and father lambert joined mother angela and the sisters started for their mission at mound city in later years general grant frequently expressed profound admiration for mother angela not only as a nurse but as a woman of unusual ability grant about this period in his career was one of the most interesting characters of the war it is curious to note the various estimates of his character the following extract from a letter written from the front during the closing months of the war furnishes a striking pen picture of the man in his manners dress and style of living grant displays more republican simplicity than any other general officer in the army in manner he is very unassuming and approachable

Starting point is 07:52:32 and his conversation is noticeable from its unpretending, plain, and straightforward style. There is nothing didactic nor pedantic in his tone or language. His rhetoric is more remarkable for the compact structure than the elegance and finish of his sentences. He talks practically and writes as he talks, and his language, written and oral, is distinguished by strong common sense. He seldom indulges in figurative language, but when he does his comparisons, betray his habits of close observation he dresses in a careless but by no means slovenly manner though his uniform conforms to army regulations in cut and trimmings it is often like that of sherman worn threadbare he never wears any article which attracts attention by its oddity except indeed the three stars which indicate his rank his wardrobe when campaigning is generally very scant while his headquarters train is often the smallest in the army for several months past he has been living in a log hut of unpretending dimensions on the james river sleeping on a common camp-cott and eating at a table common to all his staff plainly furnished with good roast beef pork and beans hardtack and coffee

Starting point is 07:53:49 it is related of the general that when the march to the rear of vicksburg began he announced to his army the necessity of moving light i e without extra baggage he set an example by sending to the rear all his baggage except a green briar root pipe a toothbrush and a horn pocket-comb the story of his appearance in the senate chamber in february last is still fresh in the minds of the public he had no sooner left the hall after paying his respect to the senators than one of the democratic members rose and asked the consideration of the senate upon what he termed the evident and gross mistake which had been made in appointing grant to lieutenant-general and declared to be his appearance opinion that there was not a second lieutenant of the home guard of his state who did not cut a bigger swell than this man who had just left their presence mother angela's party after leaving general grant had quite an experience in reaching their destination the wagon which had been detailed as their conveyance broke down when they were half-way thither and there was some difficulty in patching it up sufficiently to finish the journey but it was done and the sisters eventually reached mound city and began their work of mercy in the hospital located there sister ferdinand was a fellow laborer with mother angela at this time father lambert the chaplain attended the post-hospital at mound city and said mass at four o'clock in the morning for the benefit of mother angela and her her sisters. There was one incident that was kept quiet, and which did not become generally known until after the war. Smallpox was raging at the time, and one of the brave sisters was stricken down.

Starting point is 07:55:31 She was hastily stowed away in a garret of the hospital building, and a special guard placed over her. She recovered, and after that devoted herself to nursing others with even more zeal than she had shown before she was stricken down. Ordinarily, smallpox cases were set to the pest, and house, but in this instance the tenderness of the sisters would not permit them to part with their afflicted colleague. It was against the rules, to be sure, but who can blame the sisters for this merciful breach of discipline? It is only proper to state that the case was so isolated that not one of the 1,200 patients was affected, even in the remotest degree. One who was in the hospital at this time says that he is not certain but that the surgeon general knew of the hidden case. There were

Starting point is 07:56:17 between 1,200 and 1,400 patients in the hospital, and all received the kindest care and attention. Mother Angela served through all the war, winning extraordinary distinction for her tact, diplomacy, and faithfulness. The official communication written by Commander Davis after a battle on White River, June 17, 1862, indicates that Mother Angela was not unknown to the authorities. U.S. flag steamer Benton, Memphis, June 20, 1862. Honorable Gideon Wells, Secretary of the Navy. Sir, the number of men on board the hospital boat, Red Rover, is 41. The account given me yesterday was incorrect.

Starting point is 07:57:03 I shall still wait for further knowledge before presenting a final report of the casualties, attending the capture of the St. Charles forts. The department will be gratified to learn that the patients are, most of them, doing well. Sister Angela, the superior of the sisters of the holy cross some of whom are performing their offices of mercy at the mound city hospital has kindly offered the services of the sisters for the hospital boat of this squadron when needed i have written to commander reneck to make arrangements for their coming i have the honor to be very respectfully your obedient servant charles h davis flag officer commanding western flotilla the catholic mirror under date of november eighth eighteen sixty two records the following a fourth colony of these devoted sisterhoods has set forth on its mission of mercy to serve in the hospitals of washington as they already served so faithfully at memphis caro and mound city the hospital of st aloysius erected in a week by catholic charity fired by the zeal of the dead jesuit fathers call them to its succor and they fully respondent to the holy fervor which built these hospitals from the very overflowing of love to god and of reverence for the tabernacle in which dwells the holy of holies will fill up the measure of these by ministering to the wants of the sick and sorrowing and forlorn the objects of his love who died on calvary

Starting point is 07:58:32 and renders daily his sacrifice for their success and the holy temple thus saved by piety from desecration who has not heard of the jesuit fathers their fame has spread throughout the earth, and yet so silently they work, so sublimely concealed their burning zeal, that but for an occasion like the present, when the influence they possess over the human soul manifested itself by a simultaneous impulse that cannot be repressed, they, for the most part, live a hidden, unobtrusive life, a life which make sure the good they invariably affect. For near four hundred years the devoted sons of St. Ignatius, toiled like their founder, in strife, to hide from the world the individuals who achieved a good that will not be hidden and it seems a sort of sacrilege to withdraw the veil that hides this good even partially from the world when we think of what the jesuits have done through long ages our heart burns our spirit fires and in our heart of hearts perceive that men who do good in every age without being tainted with the spirit of any age demand from us reverence and not praise

Starting point is 07:59:44 when then we heard of the last demonstration of zeal of catholic zeal stirred up by the jesuit fathers we felt no extraordinary surprise we manifested no extraordinary exultation a tranquil happiness stole over us we thanked god that st ignatius still lived in his sons and that great as was the work of building st aloysia's hospital in six days a far greater work though a more hidden one is being daily hourly performed by these devoted soldiers of the church but meantime the hospital of st aloysius is a fact in washington hospitals to form a refuge for the sick measuring six hundred feet by twenty six are in actual existence erected spontaneously by catholic charity and proposing to be watched over also by catholic charity for the sisters of the holy cross are already on the way to take charge of such inmates as this unhappy war shall bring within its precincts may they prosper in their mission at washington as at memphis mound city and at cairo may they bring balm to the wounded heart as they bandage the wounded limb and may the blessings they bring to others react upon themselves to enable them to lead more and more fully the life of recollection every true religious covets even while pursuing the apparently distracting occupations of attending the sick and wounded in bringing to the bedside the comforts of a soul in constant and habitual communication with god by the faithfulness in which are performed the religious exercises prescribed by the rule a sister of holy cross can scarcely fail to dispense treasures far more valuable than the gold and silver of the world how many are the souls aided in their passage to eternity how many reclaimed from a life of sin how many taught to bless the temporary suffering which brought them acquainted with the peace that passeth all understanding

Starting point is 08:01:42 the annals of these deeds are hidden now but on the day of judgment they will stand forth and praise the religious who by her spirit of prayer was enabled to perform these miracles of the soul the following communication signed p and addressed to the editor of the new york tablet on april twelf eighteen sixty two is interesting not only in particularizing the order in question but in affording another glimpse of mother angela in your issue of the twenty second i find notice of the military hospital at mound city there is a mistake in that article which i am sure you will willingly rectify the sisters who are in charge there are not the sisters of charity they are the sisters of the holy cross from their convent of st mary's st joseph's county indiana under the direction of their superiress mother st angela these pious sisters have had for some time the charge of the hospitals at cairo mound city and Paducah. Upon their arrival about the beginning of October, all the other female nurses were dispensed with, and the sisters assumed the entire control of the wards, each sister having the care of one ward. When it became known throughout the West that Mother Angela and her sisters had assumed this arduous position, hundreds of her friends hastened to forward to her care, large supplies of clothing and linen

Starting point is 08:03:04 suitable for hospital purposes. She even made a journey to Chicago for the purpose of uptube supplies and right nobly did the citizens respond to her call there are now over thirty sisters there who are almost exhausted by their incessant labors they know no rest night or day fourteen hundred wounded men are hourly receiving at their hands such care as can only be bestowed by pious souls who look for their reward not on earth but in heaven it must be a great consolation to the relatives and friends of our gallant soldiers to know that they are attended on their beds of pain and suffering by such nurses wherever a sister moves she has the prayers and blessings of the poor soldier and the thanks and gratitude of the officers beside whatever bed death has laid his hand there has seen a sister seeking to alleviate the suffering of the patient and to prepare the parting soul for the judgment so soon to be pronounced upon it the following reference to the holy cross sisters from the pen of father corby is apropos sixty sisters of the holy cross went out under mother angela these sisters volunteered their services to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers hundreds of whom moved to sentiments of purest piety by the words and examples of these angel nurses begged to be baptized inarticulo mortis at the point of death the labors and self-sacrifice of the sisters during the war need no praise here the praise is on the lips of every surviving soldier who experienced their kind and careful ministration

Starting point is 08:04:45 many a soldier now looks down from high with complacency on the worthy sisters who were instrumental in saving the soul when life could not be saved nor was it alone from the order of the sisters of the holy cross that sister nurses engaged in the care of the sick and wounded soldiers many other orders made costly sacrifices to save life and to save souls notably the noble order of the sisters of charity to members of this order i am personally indebted when prostrate with camp fever insensible for nearly three days my life was entrusted to their care like guardian angels these daughters of st vincent watched every symptom of the fever and by their skill and care i was soon able to return to my post of duty one of the interesting features of the charitable work of the war came to the notice of mother angela in the early part of eighteen sixty four it was a donation of one thousand dollars from pope pious the ninth for the relief of the sick and wounded soldiers through cardinal barnabod the pope expressed to bishop timon of buffalo his tender sympathy for the sufferings of the many wounded and requested the bishop to give in the pope's name five hundred dollars to aid in alleviating the sift suffering of the wounded soldiers in the northern army, and the same amount, for the same object, for the southern soldiers. Bishop Timon gave $500 to Mrs. Horatio Seymour, president of the Sanitary Commission, to aid our wounded soldiers, and $500 to Miss D.L. D.L. Dix, to be applied in

Starting point is 08:06:22 procuring for wounded southern prisoners in the hospitals, any additional comforts which might be deemed useful. The following incident concerning Mother Angela's war experiences is for from the pen of Eliza Allen Starr. During the early days of the war and the hospital service, we all know how inadequate were the supplies for the sick and wounded, how meagre the equipment for the hospital nurses. A poor little circular stovepipe served the indefatigable Mother Angela on which to prepare with her own skillful hands the early cup of gruel for her patients,

Starting point is 08:06:57 rising at four, or, if need were, at three in the morning, to answer the first call of the sufferers, and the character of the stores provided was such as few could realize one year later. At this time, the commissary board sent a visitor to the camp and hospital where Mother Angela and her sisters were stationed.

Starting point is 08:07:18 During all these months, nothing could exceed the courtesy of the officers, who always shared any choice provisions which came to them with the sisters, as they supposed, while the sisters, as scrupulously, passed on to their patients everything which could tempt the sick appetite, sharing, in fact, only the rations served regularly to the

Starting point is 08:07:37 hospital wards. When the commissary visitor arrived, he was duly escorted to the hospital, which excited his warmest approbation for its order, neatness, comfort of every sort. But as he was bowing himself out in the most complimentary manner from the presence of Mother Angela and her band of sisters, she said to him, but you must allow us to show you some hospitality. pardon our lack of silver and porcelain but take a cup of hospital tea thank you thank you mother angela but i have taken dinner already with the officers and need nothing allow me to insist and before another excuse could be urged a sister appeared with a snow-white napkin and the tin cup and spoon of the hospital and the anything than fragrant beverage of hospital tea sugar sister said the sweetly ringing voice of the gentlewoman mother angela and before our commissary visitor could wave off this fresh specimen of hospital luxury mother angela had dumped into the tin cup what resembled the scrapings of the molasses barrel more than sugar our commissary visitor was a gentleman from the toe of his boot to the crown of his head and he drank the cup of tea well stirred to its dregs without a grimace bowing as he handed the empty tin cup of his head and he drank the cup of tea well stirred to its dregs without a grimace bowing as he handed the empty tin cup

Starting point is 08:08:56 up to the sister while mother angela rubbed her little hands with unmistakable glee and the full merriment of laughing eyes as she said i knew you would wish to taste of our hospital tea and the commissary visitor vowed in his heart as he turned from the hospital door that the next train on his arrival home should take as he said in his letter to mother angela such stores to her own and to every hospital under his charge as a christian man could accept without from the hand of any hospital nurse in the land there was another sister angela who was prominent during the civil war but who was not so conspicuous as her illustrious namesake she is thus referred to in a recent work sister angela became a member of the community visitation sisters about eighteen nineteen she was one of those characters who conveyed to the mind the image of a soul of spotless innocence she celebrated her golden jubilee and lived for several years afterwards retained to the last her full mental faculties and childlike simplicity she was made superiress of the foundation in philadelphia on the breaking up of the house there she was recalled to georgetown then for twelve years at different times she served as superiress of georgetown convent and governed with a gentle firmness and a lovely spirit of forbearance enduring the many trials incidental to authority with the utmost patience during the civil war her energy and wisdom shone forth especially she was at that time most generous in trying to aid poor chaplains and she showed a true zeal for souls in the advice she gave to soldiers who applied to her for help her charity was remembered as the nuns of georgetown had reason to realize not long ago during the encampment of the grand army of the republic when one of the veterans called to see sister angela not knowing she had been dead several years

Starting point is 08:10:56 the veteran gave us his reason for desiring to see her that the angelic superiress had converted him whenever worn out with marching and laden with dust regiments halted in front of the convent during the war a liberal lunch was served to the weary soldiers and objects of piety sent out to those who wanted them by sister angela End of Chapter 25. Section 32. Chapter 26. Mother Angela. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 08:11:41 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Rita Boutros. Mother Angela Mother Angela, who performed such valiant service as the head of the Holy Cross sisters, departed this life on March 4, 1887. Her death was so calm and peaceful that it seemed as though she were gliding into slumber rather than passing from life into eternity. Mother Mary of St. Angela was the name of this devoted woman, who was previously known to the world as Eliza Maria Gillespie. As stated in the preceding chapter, Mother Angela was of distinguished lineage.

Starting point is 08:12:29 Her godfather, the elder Thomas Ewing, was one of the great Whigs and Secretary of State under President William Henry Harrison. James Gillespie Blaine, her first cousin, was the idol of his party, member of Congress, United States Senator, Secretary of State, and the Republican candidate for the presidency. General William T. Sherman, another relative, ranked second only to grant among the Union Generals in the Civil War. Phil B. Ewing, her brother-in-law, won the reputation of an eminent jurist in Ohio. Young Tom Ewing distinguished himself in the Union Army. Her only brother, Reverend N.H. Gillespie, was the first graduate of Notre Dame University, and afterwards became its vice president and editor of the Ava Maria.

Starting point is 08:13:27 Mother Angela was born in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania, February 21, 1824. Her parents lived in a large stone house. It was a double structure, and in the other half of it lived her uncle and aunt, the parents of James G. Blaine, who was born there six years later. Mr. Blaine's mother and mother Angela's father were brother and sister, and the two children were reared together until the one was 12 and the other was six years of age. This childish association caused a sincere attachment, which lasted through life. While receiving her education in the Academy of the Visitation at Washington, the future sister had many opportunities for mingling in fashionable Washington's society. One of her chroniclers of that time says that she had the same personal magnetism that distinguished her relative, Mr. Blaine. At the age of 27, however, she abandoned the world and after the usual preparation became a sister of the Holy Cross.

Starting point is 08:14:38 her work during the war has already been outlined the death of mother angela came as a shock to those with whom she had been associated she had been ill for a month but all looked forward with confidence to her ultimate recovery the father general coincided with the physician in assigning the sad event to heart disease probably brought on as he says by the death of sister m loba whom she loved tenderly and whose funeral procession passed under her window four hours before. The funeral of Mother Angela took place at Notre Dame on Sunday morning, March 6, 1887. The mortal remains being born from the halls where she had been superior for 34 years. Telegrams and letters of regret came from all sections of the country, and even from parts of Europe. among the telegrams was the following from one of the kinsmen of the dead sister.

Starting point is 08:15:41 Augusta Mayne March 4, 1887, John G. Ewing. Your message is a sad one to me. Communicate my deepest sympathy to Aunt Mary and to your mother, signed James G. Blaine. The relatives of the deceased religious who were present were her aged mother, Mrs. M. Fillion, her sister Mrs. P. B. Ewing, Honorable P.B. Ewing, Lancaster, Ohio. Sister Mary Agnes, Miss Mary R. Ewing. Miss Philemine Ewing. Mr. John G. Ewing. Mrs. N. H. Ewing. Edward S. Ewing. Mrs. Colonel Steele. Miss Marie Steele.

Starting point is 08:16:27 Miss Florence Steele. Charles Steele. Master Sherman Steele. Mrs. John Blaine. Miss Louise Blaine, Miss Ella Blaine, Messrs Walker and Emmons Blaine. Among the numerous friends in attendance at the funeral were Justice Daniel Scully, Colonel W.P. Rend, Mr. and Mrs. Pete Kavanaugh, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Sullivan, Miss Angela Dillon, Miss Eddie, Chicago. Mr. Mr. Jacob Weil, Mr. Mr. F. Wile, Mr. George Beale, La Port, Indiana. Mr. Mr. and Mrs. P. O'Brien, Mr. and Mrs. L. G. Tong, Mr. and Mrs. Stanfield, Mr. Dunn, Mr. Baker, Dr. Cassidy, Dr. Calvert, Mrs. Lintner, Mr. Birdsell, South Bend, Indiana. Miss C. Gavin, Lafayette, Indiana. Mrs. Shepherd, Omaha, Nebraska. Mrs. Atkinson, Baltimore, Maryland, Mrs. Coughlin, Toledo, Ohio, Mrs. L. Gregory, Miss F. Gregory, Professor James J. Edwards,

Starting point is 08:17:35 Professor W. Hoynes, Notre Dame, Indiana. Mrs. Claffey, Notre Dame. Solem Requium Mass was sung by Reverend Father Le Tourneau, assisted by the Reverend Fathers Spillard and Zom, as deacon and subdeacon. Reverend Father Regan, acting as Master of Ceremonies. There was present in the sanctuary, Right Reverend Bishop Gilmore, D.D., very reverend Father General Soren, very Reverend Father Granger, very Reverend Father Kilroy, D.D., very Reverend Father Corby, Reverend Father's Walsh, O'Connell, Hudson, Shortus, and Sonier. The late, Right Reverend Bishop Gilmore preached the funeral sermon in which he outlined the life of a model religious, He said among other things, it is too much to say that she around whose beer we are gathered today is a fair and generous example of what I have outlined so very imperfectly and so succinctly.

Starting point is 08:18:40 Fair in her talents and her ambitions with what the world values most she buries herself. Where, in the silence of a religious life, in a corner, in an unseen position, when she came here some 37 years ago, there was to be found. little of that which today might perhaps attract one seeking the religious life. She came here to labor, to struggle, to wrestle with hardships, to concentrate her exceptional talents and energies upon the one grand object of her life. She came in all fervor, animated solely with zeal for religion, devotion to her cause, and 37 years of unfailing generosity tell the tale of her life. It is difficult to comprehend what has been done in those 37 years. It is not easy to realize what a devotion and ambition for God such as hers might do. Unseen, unnoticed, unobtrusive, the generosity,

Starting point is 08:19:40 unfailing, unflagging the devotion with which God has been served and man has been blessed. Such is the life of her who lies before us. We see the results of her labors, not merely in the material building she has erected, for that in itself is little, but in the moral seed that she has deeply planted here, that has been the salvation of many who have already gone to their reward. And amongst those who are living, how many there are whom she has molded, attracted, inspired with high and religious ambitions, whom she has directed in the paths of life? How many through her influence have been brought back to God and made generous once more, She has lifted up the weak and made stronger those who were strong, soothed the wounded, directed all to nobler and higher aims.

Starting point is 08:20:31 It would be difficult to find a heart so entirely throbbing for God as hers, a foot so restless and untiring in doing good as hers, a brain so busy and devising works for the welfare of religion and her fellow men. It is difficult for those who have not known her to realize the extent of her labors. It is not every person who can comprehend the death of Mother Angela's devotion to the cause of God. Many have seen it, but few have understood it. For many a long, long day, this community will feel the gap that is made today by the loss of one who lies in that narrow little coffin. The kind Father General, in the days that are coming, will find how much he has lost in the generous assisting hand, now cold in death. and you, young friends, will feel the loss of a tender and directing parent. It is for us all to pray that God may bless her, as I am convinced he has.

Starting point is 08:21:31 After the bishop's sermon, the final absolution of the body was given, and then the procession marched to the modest little cemetery, and Mother Angela was laid to rest within a stone's throw of where the greater part of her life work had been performed. Mother Angela is the original of the sister, of the Holy Cross portrayed in the following poem. The din of the battle has died away. The twilight has grown to a deeper gray.

Starting point is 08:22:00 The moon rises pale through the mistly cloud, while the blood-stained rivulet moans aloud. And the beams are faint in the kindly stars, for hope shines no more from their golden bars. The leaves of the tremulous aspen sigh, as the night winds wailing, sweep mournfully by. The ambulance glides through the gloomy path to heed the wreck of the war demon's wrath, and the angel of peace from his home sublime weeps o'er man's wretchedness, folly, and crime.

Starting point is 08:22:36 Tis the hour of midnight, how lightly tread the feet of the watcher mid dying and dead. Lo, the sable veil and the saintly air, and the lofty calm of a beauty rare, proclaim that watcher, the chosen bride, of the world's redeemer, the crucified, the stifled groan, the sharp cry of distress, with their burden of woe through the hot air, press, and the Sister of Holy Cross, lo, doth bend, her prayer with the pestilence breath to blend. O, Sister of Holy Cross, why art thou, thus won by the pallid and death-cold brow? He is not thy brother, yon prostrate form, who moans there all bathes in his life-blood warm and the veteran wounded his locks so gray he is not thy father then wherefore stay all these are but strangers thou too art frail contagion is born on the midnight gale ah a veteran heart and a nerve more strong unto scenes and to sights like these belong oh i see her bend with a gentler grace

Starting point is 08:23:49 and a holier light in her tranquil face, and sweet tears methinks from her mild eyes flow, as she bends o'er her crucifix fondly low. How reverent her kiss on those sacred feet, and almost I hear now her heart's quick beat, and her low voice sways with a loving might, like the keynote by heaven intoned tonight. Oh, ask me not wherefore my heart is bound,

Starting point is 08:24:18 to scenes where but agony clusters around. Oh, bid me not go from a place like this, for my labor is rest, and my tears are bliss. One hand she laid on her throbbing breast, while the holy cross to her lips she pressed. Nor a stronger nerve, nor a heart more stern, could enkindle the fire that here doth burn. Ah, these are not strangers, for God hath died,

Starting point is 08:24:48 and for each in his love shed his hearts full tide. Tis for his dear sake that with joy I bear this breath of contagion, this noisome air. Ah, when I behold here the shattered limb, the crimson blood oozing, the eyesight dim, see the gore and the gashes, the death sweat cold, it is my redeemer that I behold. His wounds that I stanch, his brow that I lave,

Starting point is 08:25:16 His form that I straighten and shroud for the grave. I faint not, I fear not, for faith is strong, since my love and my hope to the cross belong. Then, then did my heart with her meaning thrill, my eyes from the fount of my soul did fill. For the sake of our loving and crucified Lord, the cordial she mingled, the wine she poured, compassion she drinks at the fountain head,

Starting point is 08:25:46 The mother of sorrows her soul hath led. How sacred the treasures she stores at her feet. Her lesson makes mourning than joy more sweet. Tis the queen of mercy bends down to bless the wealth of her heavenly tenderness. And the angel of peace from his home of light has baffled the fiends in her mission tonight. End of chapter 26. Section 33, Mother Angela Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton.

Starting point is 08:26:29 This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Rita Butros. Mother Angela rarely spoke of her services in the war, and with characteristic modesty and humility, frequently endeavored to give others the credit that belonged to herself. She was a writer with an unusual grace and charm of style.

Starting point is 08:27:01 One of those who served with her during the war was Sister Mary Josephine. This devoted sister died in 1886, and her death evoked the following dramatic story from the pen of Mother Angela. It was a true story, and one of her last, contributions to the Ava Maria. Sister Josephine was one among the first of the 70s Sisters of the Holy Cross, who, during the late Civil War, served the sick and wounded soldiers in the military hospitals of Louisville, Paducah, Cairo, Mound City, Memphis, and Washington City. Those who knew this quiet, gentle, religious, only during the last 20 years of her life, could scarcely realize what courage,

Starting point is 08:27:50 even heroism, animated her during those years of the war spent in the hospitals. We give below one instance among many others. In the summer of 1862, the Confederate Fort Charles on White River was attacked on land by a force under the command of Colonel Fitch of Indiana, and from the water by gunboats commanded by Commodore Davis. In the midst of the battle, the boilers of one of the gunboats exploded, frightfully scalding Captain Kelty and some 50 others. The sufferers in their agony leaped into the river, and as they did so, a broadside from Fort Charles poured bullets and grape shot into their parboiled flesh. The battle ended with the capture of the fort, and the wounded of both sides were taken to Mound City Hospital,

Starting point is 08:28:43 a block of some 24 unfinished warehouses and storerooms that had been converted into a vast hospital, in which, after some of the great battles in the Mississippi Valley, as many as 2,000 patients were treated by a staff of medical officers and nursed by 28 sisters, Sister Josephine being one of them. Colonel Fry, commander of the fort, supposed to be dangerously wounded, and Captain Kelty were of the number brought to Mount City after the surrender of Fort Charles. The latter was a universal favorite of all the men and officers of the Western flotilla.

Starting point is 08:29:26 His sad state, the scalded flesh falling from the bones and pierced with bullets, excited them almost to frenzy. he was tenderly placed in a little cottage away from the main building, and Colonel Fry with a few other sufferers was put in a front room in the second story of the hospital under the immediate care of Sister Josephine. The next day the reports spread like wildfire through the hospital, and among the 100 soldiers detailed to guard it that Captain Kelty was dying. The wildest excitement prevailed, in the frenzy of the moment, Colonel Fry was denounced as his murderer. It was declared that he had given the inhuman order to fire on the scalded men. Everyone firmly believed this, but it was not true. Colonel Fry was ignorant of the explosion when the order was given.

Starting point is 08:30:25 Sister Josephine, very pale, yet wonderfully composed, went to the sister in charge of the hospital to say that all the wounded had just been removed, moved from the room under her care except Colonel Fry. The soldiers detailed to guard the hospital and the gunboat men had built a rough scaffold in front of the two windows of the room, mounted it with loaded guns, and loudly declared that they would stay there, and the moment they heard of Captain Kelty's death, they would shoot Colonel Fry. And, continued Sister Josephine, the doctor made me leave the room, saying that my life was in danger. He took the key from the door and gave it to Dutch Johnny, telling him that he had entire charge of the man within. Now, Dutch Johnny was one of six brothers. Five had been killed at Belmont.

Starting point is 08:31:18 Johnny was so badly wounded and crippled in the same battle that he was useless for active service and so left to help in the hospital. But one idea possessed him. In revenge for his brother's death, he intended to kill five Confederates before he died. In this fearful state of affairs, the sister in charge went to the surgeon general of the staff, begging him to see that no murder be committed. Dr. Franklin answered that he was powerless to control events and that the captain of the company guarding the hospital was absent. Then, said the sister, I must call my 27 sisters from the sick, we will leave the hospital and walk to Cairo, a distance of three miles. In vain did the doctor represent to her the sad state of all the patients she was leaving.

Starting point is 08:32:12 She would not consent to remain in a house where murder would soon be committed, except on one condition, that the hospital would give her the key of Colonel Fry's room, and that the sisters have the care and entire control of the patient. but expostulated the doctor it will be at the risk of your lives for if captain kelty dies and i see no hopes of his recovery no power on earth can restrain those men from shooting colonel fry oh doctor she answered i have too much faith in the natural chivalry of every soldier be he from north or south of mason and dixon's line to fear he would shoot a poor wounded man while a sister stood near him seeing the sisters would leave if this request was not granted the doctor sent for dutch johnny took the key from him and gave it to the sister the latter called for sister josephine and both went in haste to the room of the wounded man as they turned the key and opened the door a fearful scene was before them colonel fry lay in a cot his arms both broken were strapped up with cords fastened to the ceiling one one broken leg was strapped to the bed only his head seemed free as he turned it and glared fiercely as he thought upon another foe he seemed like some wild animal at bay and goaded to madness

Starting point is 08:33:39 before sister josephine had been forced to leave the room she had closed the windows and lowered the blinds but her successor dutch johnny had changed all this he had rolled up the blinds and thrown up the lower sashes and there on the raised platform, not 50 feet from him, Colonel Fry could see the faces and hear the voices of the soldiers and gunboat men shouting every few minutes for him to be ready to die, for they would shoot him as soon as they heard of Captain Kelty's death. Very quickly and gently did Sister Josephine speak to the wounded man, moistening his parched lips with a cooling drink, giving what relief she could to the poor tortured body, and assuring him that she could. she and the other sister would not leave him, so he need not fear that the soldiers would fire while they remained. When these men saw the sisters in the room, they begged them to leave,

Starting point is 08:34:37 even threatened, but to no purpose, brave noble sister Josephine and her companion stood at their post all through that long afternoon and far into the night, and they prayed, perhaps more earnestly than they ever prayed before, that Captain Kelty would not die, for, in spite of all their assuring words to Colonel Fry, they did not feel so very certain that their lives would be safe among frenzied men, bent on their taking revenge into their own hands. In the meantime, it became known that Captain Kelty was a Catholic, a convert, though for many years he had neglected his religious duties. A messenger was sent to Cairo to bring Father Welsh to the dying man. When he came, Captain Kelty was in delirium, and the father could only give him extreme unction. Soon after about nine o'clock, he sank into a quiet sleep.

Starting point is 08:35:33 He awoke perfectly conscious near midnight, made his confession, received Holy Communion, and took some nourishment. The doctor said all danger was over, and a messenger ran in breathless haste to spread the glad tidings. The excited soldiers fired a few blank cartridges. as a parting salvo, jumped from the scaffold, and were seen no more. The rest of the night, good sister Josephine took care of her patient, undisturbed by any serious fear that both might be sent into eternity before morning. When the naval officers, who the night before had looked as they feared, their last look on the living face of Captain Kelty,

Starting point is 08:36:16 went up the next day from Cairo and found him out of danger, They laughed and cried with joy. In a whisper, Captain Kelty asked them to be silent for a moment and listen to him. In a voice trembling with weakness, he said, While I thank these good doctors for all they have done, I must testify, and they will bear me out in what I say. It was not their skill nor any earthly power that brought me back from the brink of the grave, but the saving and life-giving sacraments of the Catholic Church. Colonel Fry and Captain Kelty had longed, known each other. Both were naval officers until at the beginning of the war Captain Fry left the service and was made Colonel Fry in the Confederate Army. As soon as Captain Kelty was well enough to learn what had passed, he declared Colonel Fry was guiltless of the barbarity of which he had been accused. And Sister Josephine was made the bearer to her patient of all the delicacies sent to Captain Kelty and which he insisted on sharing with Colonel Fry.

Starting point is 08:37:22 As soon as Captain Kelty could travel, he was taken to his home in Baltimore. For his bravery, he was made Commodore, and placed in command at Norfolk, but he was maimed for life. His right hand and arm, all shriveled and wasted, hung lifeless by his side.

Starting point is 08:37:40 When able to take such a journey alone, he went all the way back to Cairo to see again and thank those sisters, who he said under God had saved his life in a double sense. He remained until his death a most fervent Catholic. Colonel Fry, after many months of suffering, also recovered. He was paroled and returned to his home in New Orleans. There he became a Catholic,

Starting point is 08:38:06 often declaring that good sister Josephine's bravery and devotiveness during that day and night of torture and agony, followed by months of long suffering, were eloquent sermons that he could, could not resist. A few years after the close of the war, he was one of the leaders of that rash band of adventurers who invaded Cuba. His fate is well known. With those under his command, he was captured and executed. But it is not so well known that he profited by the days spent in prison in instructing those with him, and many were converted to the Holy Faith that first

Starting point is 08:38:43 came to him through Sister Josephine. Twenty-three years to the very month passed away, when quietly and calmly, as in the discharge of hospital duties, this good sister, strengthened by the sacraments of the church, literally fell asleep in Our Lord a few days after the close of the annual retreat, at which she had assisted. Owing to the intense heat of the weather, it was deemed necessary to advance the hour of burial from six o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock on the previous evening. Scarce ever was a procession so affecting. The sisters, more than 300 in number, all bearing lighted tapers, the Reverend Chaplains, and the venerable Father Sorin,

Starting point is 08:39:30 Superior General, C.S.C. followed the remains of Sister Josephine through the beautiful grounds of St. Mary's to the cemetery. The moon shone as brightly on her lifeless body as it had shown years ago through the open window on her brave gentle form, when she saved from death or insanity, the wounded prisoner. Of the four persons most interested in that night of agony and torture in the vast military hospital on the banks of the Ohio, but one now remains, Sister Josephine's companion, may the three gone to eternity remember her before God. The sole survivor of that dreadful episode and the historian of the event has also gone to her reward. The prayers of

Starting point is 08:40:17 innumerable persons that have benefited by her charity and goodness ascend to the skies, coupled with the hope that Mother Angela will not forget those she has left behind. End of Section 33. Section 34, Chapter 27, Non-Catholic Tributes. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libervox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 08:41:02 Recording by Rita Butros. No tributes that have been paid to the work of the Catholic sisterhoods during the war have been more cordial or more emphatic than those coming from non-Catholic sources. It is a significant fact that those most... prejudiced against the sisters have been persons who knew the least about them, while the warmest friends of the dark-robed messengers of charity and peace have been persons who came in contact with them and their labors for humanity. Mary A. Livermore, whose personal services during the war were by no means inconsiderable,

Starting point is 08:41:43 is one non-Catholic writer who does not hesitate to give the Catholic sister full credit for what she did. Ms. Livermore says the Mound City Hospital in charge of the Sisters of the Holy Cross was considered the best military hospital in the United States. She writes, there was one general hospital in Cairo called by the people the Brick Hospital. Here the Sisters of the Holy Cross were employed as nurses one or more to each ward. Here were order, cleanliness, and good nursing. The food was cooked in a kitchen outside of the hospital. Surgeons were detailed to every ward and visited their patients twice a day, and oftener, if necessary. The apothecary's room was supplied with an ample store of medicines and surgical appliances,

Starting point is 08:42:36 and the storerooms possessed an abundance of clothing and delicacies for the sick. The work done at Mound City is thus graphically set forth, except in Mount City, everything was in a chaotic condition compared with the complete arrangement afterwards. The hospital at Mount City occupied a block of brick stores built before the war to accommodate the prospective commerce of the war. They had not been occupied, and as the blockade of the Mississippi rendered it uncertain when they would be needed for their legitimate use, they were turned over to the medical department for hospital use. At the time of my visit, the Mount City Hospital was considered the best military hospital in the United States. This was due to the administrative talent of Dr. E.S. Franklin of Dubuque, Iowa,

Starting point is 08:43:32 who, despite poverty of means and material, transformed the rough block of stores into a superb hospital, accommodating 1,000 patients. 1,500 had been crowded in it by dint of close packing. The most thorough system was maintained in every department. There was an exact time and place for everything. Every person was assigned to a particular work and held responsible for its performance. If anyone proved a shirk, incompetent, or insubordinate,

Starting point is 08:44:07 he was sent off in the next boat. A shaker-like cleanliness and sweetness of atmosphere pervaded the various wards. The sheets and pillows were of immaculate whiteness, and the patients who were convalescent were cheerful and contented. The sisters of the Holy Cross were employed as nurses, and by their skill, quietness, gentleness, and tenderness were invaluable in the sick wards. Every patient gave hearty testimony to the skill and kindness of the sisters. Mother Angela was the superior of the sisters, a gifted lady of rare cultivation and executive ability with winning sweetness of manner.

Starting point is 08:44:50 She was a member of the Ewing family and a cousin of Mr. and Mrs. General Sherman. The sisters had nearly broken up their famous schools at South Bend to answer the demand for nurses. If I had ever felt prejudice against these sisters as nurses, my experience with them during the war would have dissoned. it entirely. The world has known no nobler and more heroic women than those found in the ranks of the Catholic sisterhoods. Captain Jack Crawford, who became famous as a scout in the Union Army, in the course of a lecture delivered after the war, speaks of the sisters as follows. On all God's green and beautiful earth, there are no purer, no nobler, no more kind-hearted and self-sacrificing women. than those who wear the somber garb of Catholic sisters. During the war, I had many opportunities for observing their noble and heroic work,

Starting point is 08:45:49 not only in the camp and hospital, but on the death-swept field of battle, right in the fiery front of dreadful war, where bullets hissed in maddening glee, and shot and shell flew madly by with demoniac shrieks, where dead and mangled forms lay with pale blood-flecked faces, yet wear the scowl of battle i have seen the black-robed sisters moving over the field their solicitous faces wet with the tears of sympathy administering to the wants of the wounded and whispering words of comfort into the ears soon to be deafened by the coal implacable hand of death now kneeling on the blood-be-spattered sod to moisten with water the bloodless lips on which the icy kiss of the death angel has left its pale imprint. Now, breathing words of hope of an immortality beyond the grave into the ear of some

Starting point is 08:46:47 mangled hero, whose last shots in our glorious cause had been fired but a moment before. Now holding the crucifix to receive the last kiss from somebody's darling boy, from whose breast the lifeblood was splashing, and who had offered his life as a willing sacrifice on the altar of his country. now with tender touch and tear-dimmed eye binding gaping wounds from which most women must have shrunken horror, now scraping together a pillow of forest leaves, upon which some pain-wracked head might rest until the spirit took its flight to other realms, brave, fearless of danger, trusting implicitly in the master whose overshadowing eye was noting their every movement, standing as shielding prayerful angels between the dying soldiers and the horrors of death.

Starting point is 08:47:43 Their only recompense the sweet, soul-soothing consciousness that they were doing their duty, their only hope of reward that peace and eternal happiness which awaited them beyond the star emblazoned battlements above. Oh, my friends, it was a noble work. How many a veteran of the war who wore the blue or the gray can yet recall the soothing touch of a sister's hand as he lay upon the pain-tossed couch of a hospital. Can we ever forget their sympathetic eyes, their low, soft-spoken words of encouragement and cheer when the result of the struggle between life and death yet hung in the balance? Oh, how often have I followed the form of that good sister Valencia with my sunken eyes

Starting point is 08:48:30 as she moved away from my cot to the cot of another sufferer? have breathed from the most sacred depths of my faintly beating heart, the fervent prayer. God bless her. God bless her. My friends, I am not a Catholic, but I stand ready at any and all times to defend these noble women, even with my life, for I owe that life to them. Miss Susan D. Messenger of Roxbury, Massachusetts, writes the following eloquent letter to the author. It is with real pleasure I pay my tribute to that noble band of Sisters of Mercy, who did such a Christian work of love and helpfulness for our suffering soldier boys in Newburn, North Carolina. My brother, Captain, afterwards Colonel Messenger, was on the staff of Major General John G. Foster,

Starting point is 08:49:23 18th Army Corps stationed at Newburn, North Carolina. After the taking of Newburn, my brother was made Provost Marshal, and given quarters near the general at the request of Mrs. Foster, my sister. Mrs. Messenger and I were sent for to stay a few weeks, although in no official capacity. No woman could be in the army without finding much she could do to relieve and comfort, and especially through the home our little quarters became to all, from major generals to privates. We could not go home. We stayed until summer. I write all this personal matter to show how I was thrown into the companionship of these Catholic sisters.

Starting point is 08:50:07 Although my brother and myself were Unitarians, we became close congenial friends with these brave women who had to seek constantly advice and help from my brother on account of his position as Provost Marshall. General Foster was a Catholic and brought to Newburn six sisters from the Convent of Mercy in New York to take charge of a hospital in New Bern for special cases. He took for their convent a house which had been General Burnside's headquarters and which also, during the War of the Revolution, had been occupied by Washington, his room and writing table sacredly preserved. This house communicated by a plank walk with another house or houses used as hospitals,

Starting point is 08:50:53 and only over that plank walk did those devoted women ever take any action. exercise or recreation. They literally gave themselves as nurses to the poor, wounded, maimed, and sick soldiers brought to them day after day, and most beautifully did they fulfill the charge. Many a soldier will never forget their tender, unselfish care and devotion. I was witnessed myself to much of it as I was privileged to go from ward to ward. Many a dying man bless them as angels of mercy, almost looking upon them as sent from the other world. One dear young fellow who was almost reverenced by doctors and nurses for his patience and fortitude, young George Brooks, brother to the late Bishop Phillips Brooks, looked up into the sweet face of Mother Augustine as she bent over to minister

Starting point is 08:51:46 or to soothe the dear boy with Mother, thank you, mother, and with such ineffable smile of peace. We could never tell if, in his delirium, he thought it was his own mother, but the peace on the boy's face showed what his nurse had been to him. His sickness was short, and death came just before the father reached Newburn. One dear young friend of mine, Sergeant Charles Hinkling, was sick under their care many weeks, finally brought home to linger and die, but he and his family were most deeply grateful to the kind sisters for the tender care bestowed upon him in their hospital, especially by Sister Gertrude. Sister Mary Gertrude is now the mother's superior of an institution in California. After a life of hard work among the poor and suffering, I think she is

Starting point is 08:52:37 perhaps the only one living of those dear women I knew in New Bern. It was through the winter of 1862 to 1863 that the sisters were in New Bern. The next year, the headquarters were removed to Fortress Monroe, and the sisters returned to New York. Through these 30 years or more, my brother and many, many more who could have borne evidence to the faithful work of the Sisters of Mercy in Newbern, have answered the roll call to the home above. But those days stand out in my memory, as clearly as if yesterday, with all the pain, anxiety, hope, fear, and faith, and no scenes are more real to me than those hours with those devoted women who are helping God's children so wisely, so gently, with no thought of reward or glory.

Starting point is 08:53:28 God bless their memories to us all. General David McMurtry Greg ranks as one of the most distinguished cavalry officers that served in the Union Army. no man on either side had a more brilliant record for discretion in camp and bravery in battle. He graduated at West Point, and after meritorious service in the regular army in New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington Territory, he became colonel of the 8th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry. He served with his regiment during the entire peninsular campaign of 1862, and in November of that year he became Brigadier General of Volunteers.

Starting point is 08:54:12 He was placed in command of a division of cavalry on the battlefield of Fredericksburg and served as its commander in the Stoneman's Raid in the campaigns of Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness, and in front of Petersburg. He commanded the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac from August 1864 until his resignation from the Army in February. 1865. He was breveted Major General United States Volunteers August 1, 1864. General Gregg has occupied many positions of distinction in civil life. The writer of this volume recently communicated with General Gregg regarding his experiences with the Catholic sisterhoods in the war and received the

Starting point is 08:55:01 following very interesting reply. My dear sir, I am in receipt of your letter of the eighth instant, enclosing an article taking from a newspaper published in 1866, and in which the name General Gregg is mentioned. The person referred to was my cousin, General John I. Greg, who commanded one of my brigades. I do not recall that at any time in the field I was brought in contact with representatives of any of the Catholic sisterhoods, yet the mere mention of the matter makes me reminiscent, and whilst my experience with a representative of a sisterhood was purely personal, it was so pleasant and profitable to me that I cannot refrain from mentioning it. In the summer of 1861, I was made a captain in the sixth regular cavalry and was ordered east

Starting point is 08:55:54 from Oregon, where for several years I had been serving as a lieutenant in the first dragoons. In crossing the Isthmus of Panama, I contracted the low fever of that region. In September, I joined the 6th at Bladensburg, near Washington, and after a short time, I was prostrated by this fever. Just at this time, the regiment was ordered away, and I was left in the camp seriously ill. Stretched on the bottom of an ambulance, I was hauled over a rough road to Washington, and placed in a bed in the old currant. Kirkwood house in a state of delirium. A few hours after Major Ingalls, who subsequently became quartermaster general, a warm personal friend heard of my condition, and with another friend came to the hotel with a carriage, and I was taken to the East Street Infirmary, which was in

Starting point is 08:56:48 charge of a surgeon of the regular army. At the entrance of the infirmary stood the doctor, and at his side an elderly sister of charity. I was carried in. in and placed in a large room next to the surgeons and was at once put into a clean, comfortable bed. The good sister, who had some superior rank, saw that I was made comfortable, and it is needless to say that after what I had gone through, I felt as though I were in heaven. Then followed weeks of severe illness with typhoid fever. I had the attendance of my own man, and had many visits each day from doctors, stewards, and their assistants, but the real nursing was done by another sister of charity, Sister Margaret. I have never forgotten her gentleness and cheerfulness.

Starting point is 08:57:38 She was simply the highest type of a Christian woman. Her good nursing continued for weeks, and I was kept alive only to go through another trying experience for, on a cold and rainy night early in November, and nearly midnight, this infirmary took fire and was entirely destroyed. How I escaped has nothing to do with this narrative, but to my exceeding regret, I never again saw Sister Margaret. But I have never forgotten her, and when in the street I meet one of the sisterhood to which she belonged, there is in my heart a feeling of respect and gratitude to those self-denying and devoted women who are spending their lives in doing good to their fellow beings. I have written more than I intended, but I love to talk about the good sister Margaret,

Starting point is 08:58:26 and it is not surprising that if as now I am inclined to write about her, I allow my pen to run away a little. Signed, sincerely yours, D. Gregg, Redding, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1898. The South Bend Tribune, shortly after the return of the Sisters of the Holy Cross to their convent homes, printed the following. When, in September 1861, General Lou Wallace, commanding the federal forces in Southern Kentucky, applied to St. Mary's for nurses, Mother Angela, with five other sisters, hastened to the relief of the suffering soldiers at the camp in Paducah. and before the opening of the year 1862, 75 sisters were sent from St. Mary's and her branch houses to the military hospitals at Louisville, Paducah, Cairo, Mound City, Memphis, and Washington.

Starting point is 08:59:23 Of this number, two died in fever, caught in the discharge of their duties. When the western flotilla of gunboats opened the Mississippi River, Commodore Davis asked and obtained the services of St. seven sisters of the Holy Cross to take charge of the floating hospital in which hundreds of lives were saved. These deeds were not done for the world's praise. There were the duties to which the lives of the sisters of the Holy Cross are devoted whenever suffering humanity requires their help. A memorial of those days now rests in St. Mary's grounds in the shape of two immense shattered cannon captured at Island No. 10 and presented to Mother Angela by the

Starting point is 09:00:06 commander of the flotilla. These canon are destined to be molded into a statue of Our Lady of Peace and will remain in St. Mary's grounds as a historical monument of the dark days of our civil war. A correspondent of the Protestant Church Journal writing from New Orleans in 1862 highly complements the sisters of charity in that city for the amount of good they are unostentatiously doing, saying among other things, one misses here a church hospital. Many of our federal officers and men are cared for when sick in the Roman Catholic institutions, the Hotel D'Yuth and the Charity Hospital. The sisters attend most winningly on their patients and force them to confess on recovering

Starting point is 09:00:53 that their own mothers and sisters at home could not have done better for them. On leaving, the patient carries away in his hand some Roman Catholic book of prayer or controversy or instruction, and in his heart a grateful remembrance of the fair donor, a resolution to peruse the book, and a profound conviction that the Roman Catholic Church, with all its faults, certainly has a soul of true Christian love. Surely the time will come when all churchmen will acknowledge the angelic influence of Christian sisterhoods in the natural connections between curing the body and renovating the soul. the imperative necessity of organizing Christian and accomplished nurses,

Starting point is 09:01:40 and placing them in institutions where their love and skill can do the highest possible service. The Charleston Mercury, during the siege of that city, said, There is probably no one in this city whose eyes have not followed with interest, the quiet and modest figure of some Sister of Mercy as she passed upon her rounds. It is in this gentle impersonation of Christian benevolence and to her associates that our sick and wounded soldiers owe the tenderest of those ministrations which are better than medicine in their effect upon the languishing invalid. Nor is the large kindness of these ladies solely displayed in the personal cares which they bestow upon the sufferer. They give generously from their stores at the same time, and many a want is thus supplied, which might otherwise, have been left ungratified. Since the beginning of the siege of our city, their presence has diffused

Starting point is 09:02:37 its blessings in every hospital, and their unwearied attentions to the soldiers have done incalculable good. In the closing year of the war, Reverend George W. Pepper, a Methodist clergyman, in a sermon preached by him in the Methodist Episcopal Church, White Eyes, Cochacton County, Ohio, eulogized these heroic ladies as follows. The war has brought out one result. It has shown that numbers of the weaker sex, though born to wealth and luxury, are ready to renounce every comfort and brave every hardship that they may minister to the suffering, tend the wounded in their agony, and soothe the last struggles of the dying. God bless the sisters of charity in their heroic mission. I had almost said their heroic martyrdom, and I might have said it, for I do

Starting point is 09:03:31 that in walking those long lines of sick beds, in giving themselves to all the ghastly duties of the hospital, they are doing a harder thing than was allotted to many who mounted the scaffold or dared the stake. Mack, a correspondent of the Ohio State Journal, writing from Murphreysboro, under date of January 4, 1863, about hospital scenes, which he describes as heart-rending, thus speaks of the kind offices and invaluable services of the Sisters of Charity. It is now a pleasure to turn from this dark and dismal description of the majority of our hospitals to an oasis, a something that is in reality bright and cheering. There is a sect called Roman Catholics, a sect that in my younger days I was taught to look upon

Starting point is 09:04:21 as monsters capable of any crime in the calendar of human frailties who have hospitals in their own charge attended by sisters of charity. They should be called angels who know what true disinterested humanity is. I have visited them, therefore I speak of what I know. Everything in and about them is clean and comfortable. Scarcely a death takes place within their portals. If a soldier is dangerously sick, you will see by the side of his clean and tidy cot one of these heaven-born angels.

Starting point is 09:04:55 We call them nothing else, ministering to his everything. every want with the tender care of a mother or sister. They glide noiselessly from cot to cot, cheering the despondent and speaking words of kindness to all. No one who has the heart of a man can help loving them with a holy sisterly love. There is not a soldier in Richmond but would beg if it was possible that when wounded or sick he should be taken to such a hospital, and for myself sooner than be taken to any other. I would rather die by the waist. with God's canopy, my only covering. Would to God there were more of them. The following account of a presentation to a sister of charity is from the Cleveland Herald of November 13, 1865. One of the most pleasant

Starting point is 09:05:45 presentation affairs we remember to have attended took place at Charity Hospital yesterday at 11 o'clock after Professor Weber, Dr. Scott, and the students had been seated, the Lady Superior was invited into the room and presented with a beautiful engraving, one of the proof sheets copied from the painting of Constant Mayor, entitled Consolation by Captain Samuel Whiting. Mr. Whiting, in presenting the engraving, said, Sister Superior, some years ago, while in command of one of the New Orleans steamships, I was prostrated at that port with a severe attack of yellow fever, and though I had many friends there, had it not been for the tender care and skillful nursing of the Sisters of Charity, I have no idea that I should have survived the attack.

Starting point is 09:06:37 During our late, fearful, and bloody war, the devotion of your noble order to the cause of humanity has won the admiration of the world and entirely obliterated the illiberal prejudices of the, the most bigoted opponents of your sect. Certainly, no soldier of the Crimean Army will ever ignore the kind care and gentle nursing of the sisters of charity. Each hospital throughout our land could count them by the score, whose deeds have doubly sanctified our long and bloody war, and many a home returning brave will long delight to tell. Of her the gentle minister, who tended him so well. The mother calls a blessing, down on her who nursed her son and thanks of wounded heroes brave how well her work was done true womanhood has ever proved self-sacrificing brave last at the dear redeemer's cross and earliest at his grave the citizens of cleveland may well be congratulated on the possession of this noble institution the rare skill of its eminent and accomplished surgeons the sound teaching of a

Starting point is 09:07:51 its learned pathologist, combined with the tender nursing of your good and benevolent sisterhood, will relieve many of the ills that flesh is heir to, and restore to many a grateful sufferer, the God-given priceless boon of health. As a small token of grateful recollections to my nurses at New Orleans, I beg to present to the Sisters of Charity Hospital this engraving, one of the proof sheets copied from the beautiful painting of constant Meyer, entitled, Consolation, and with it the following poem, which I take pleasure in writing for them, descriptive of the scene so admirably portrayed by the accomplished artist. A Union soldier in his tent, weak wounded and despairing lay, the hectic flushes came and went,

Starting point is 09:08:42 as rose the din of Battlefrey. The army of the Cumberland saw him with eager flashing eye, in its front rank, undaunted stand, resolved to conquer or to die. Firm and unflinching, thus he stood, while cannon belched through blood-red flames, his chiefest thought his country's good, and next perchance a deathless name. Sudden as lightning's vivid glare, shrilly shell burst above his head, a fragment lay his bosom bare and stretched him wounded with the dead. back to the rear the soldiers bore the wounded comrade faint and weak his army blue was stained with gore and death's pale seal was on his cheek a surgeon dressed the ghastly wound and counselled quiet and repose then sought again the battlefield now thickly strewn with friends and foes left to himself the wounded man bethought him of his early life each wayward act and vicious plan each worldly and unholy strife

Starting point is 09:09:49 and as he weaker grew he thought of his dear home far far away what would he give could it be bought for power to be there but a day to close his dying eyes where first his infant lips had learned to pray to kiss the mother who had nursed the sister who had shared his play he murmured oh for one sweet tone of voices loved in days gone by dear mother sister oh for one to gently close my dying eye He seized. A face of radiant light was in his tent and by his side. Each feature of beautified and bright, free from all trace of human pride. She points him to a heavenly home, a house of joy not made with hands, to the Redeemer calling, Come, who at the portal beckoning stands. Then she unclasped the book of prayer, its off-turned leaves were soiled and worn, for she had made her constant care, are wounded soldiers night and mourn. From those dim pages she essayed To whisper to the wounded peace, Her gentle tones, his fears allayed And bade his soul despairing cease.

Starting point is 09:11:04 Sisters of charity, he cried, Sister and mother both thou art, For here by my poor palate side, Thou art one with them in hand and heart. O hear me, and though poor and weak, If I survive I'll hold her dear, who gently bathed my fevered cheek and brought me consolation here. It now remains for me only to tender you this humble testimonial of my regard and my hearty wishes for the fullest prosperity of the charity hospital and college, for the temporal and eternal welfare of the sisterhood of the first, and the continued health and usefulness of the eminent faculty of the last.

Starting point is 09:11:47 The remarks of Captain Whiting met with a hearty response from Dr. Scott in behalf of the Lady Superior in acceptance of the picture. The Memphis Appeal in its issue of February 17, 1866, thus bears testimony to the zeal and valor of the sisters of charity in this city. Vincent DuPaul, who has since received so justly deserved the title of Benefactor of Mankind, was the origin of the factored. of that divine and charitable society, the Sisters of Charity, in a small town of France in the early part of the 17th century. The signal service rendered by them during the past Civil War to our sick, wounded and dying soldiers in camp, in hospital and on the battlefield, and their unwearied and constant ministrations to the suffering and poor of all classes

Starting point is 09:12:42 throughout the land is the theme of praise and commendation on the lips of all. No, of what religious creed or faith. Their godlike and noble works have one respect, the most profound from everyone. In our own city, the result of their exertions are to be seen on every hand. In the cause of education, their stand is preeminent. With them, modesty, knowledge, and refinement are most carefully blended. The young girl, after a tutelage of years under their careful supervision walks forth into the world with a mind as pure and free and demeanor as gentle and kind as when first these precious charges were tended to their keeping and how carefully are the poor little ones without parents and bereft of homes provided for by these angels of earth the asylum under their charging guidance situated near the catholic cemetery on the outskirts of the city is the most complete institution of its kind in the state. A large number of orphans are educated, clothed, and fed here the

Starting point is 09:13:52 year in and out, finding compensation only in the good they have done, and the anticipation of a bright reward hereafter. From him, who tempereth the wind to the shorn lamb, and under whose all-seeing eye, every act of charity and faith is always recorded. Their labors, in behalf of the sick are ever attended with the most cheering results. Take a look at our city hospitals and you will find everything well arranged, clean and neat, and bearing the impress most unmistakably of the goodness of their hearts and the greatness of their works. The patients, one and all, express the most sincere satisfaction at their treatment and pray, as all good people do, that the society which has rendered so much good to us,

Starting point is 09:14:43 and all mankind may be like the foundation stone of all blessings, truth, and with it ever bear the stamp of immortality. End of Chapter 27. Chapter 35, Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libra Box recording. All Libra Box recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 09:15:19 Recording by Paul Thomas. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Chapter 35, Part 2. The South Bend Tribune, shortly after the return of the Sisters of the Holy Cross to their convent homes, printed the following. When in September 1861, General Lou Wallace, commanding the federal forces in southern Kentucky,

Starting point is 09:15:44 applied to St. Mary's for nurses. Mother Angela, with five other sisters, hastened to the relief of the suffering soldiers at the camp in Paducah. And before the opening of the year 1862, 75 sisters were sent from St. Mary's and her branch houses to the military hospitals at Louisville, Paducah, Cairo, Mound City, Memphis, and Washington. Of this number, two died from fever, caught in the discharge of their duties. When the western flotilla of gunboats opened the Mississippi River, Commodore Davis asked and obtained the services of seven Sisters of the Holy Cross to take charge of the floating hospital, in which hundreds of lives were saved.

Starting point is 09:16:31 These deeds were not done for the world's praise. They were the duties to which the lives of the Sisters of the Holy Cross are devoted. Whenever suffering humanity requires their help. A memorial of those days now rests in St. Mary's grounds, in the shape of two immense shattered cannon, captured at Island No. 10, and presented to Mother Angela by the commander of the flotilla. These cannon are destined to be molded into a statue of Our Lady of Peace, and will remain in St. Mary's grounds as a historical monument of the dark days of our civil war. A correspondent of the Protestant Church Journal, writing from New Orleans in 1862, highly

Starting point is 09:17:17 compliments the Sisters of Charity in that city for the amount of good they are unostentatiously doing, saying, among other things, one misses here a church hospital. Many of our federal officers and men are cared for when sick in the Roman Catholic institutions, the Hotel Dew, and the charity hospital. The sisters attend most winningly on their patients and force them to confess on recovering that their own mothers and sisters at home could not have done better for them. On leaving, the patient carries away in his hand some Roman Catholic book of prayer or controversy or instruction, and in his heart a grateful remembrance of the fair donor, a resolution to peruse the book, and a profound conviction that the Roman Catholic Church, with all its faults,

Starting point is 09:18:08 certainly has a soul of true Christian love. Surely the time will come when all churchmen will acknowledge the angelic influence of Christian sisterhoods in the natural connections between curing the body and renovating the soul. The imperative necessity of organizing Christian and accomplished nurses, and placing them in institutions where their love and skill can do the highest possible service. The Charleston Mercury, during the siege of that city, said, There is probably no one in this city whose eyes have not followed with interest, the quiet and modest figure of some Sister of Mercy, as she passed upon her rounds. It is in this gentle impersonation of Christian benevolence, and to her associate,

Starting point is 09:18:59 that our sick and wounded soldiers owe the tenderest of those ministrations which are better than medicine in their effect upon the languishing invalid. Nor is the large kindness of these ladies solely displayed in the personal cares which they bestow upon the sufferer. They give generously from their stores at the same time, and many a want is thus supplied

Starting point is 09:19:23 which might otherwise have been left ungratified. Since the beginning of the siege of our city, their presence has diffused its blessing in every hospital, and their unwearied attention to the soldiers have done incalculable good. In the closing year of the war, Reverend George W. Pepper, a Methodist clergyman, in a sermon preached by him in the Methodist Episcopal Church, White Eyes, Cachan County, Ohio, eulogized these historic ladies as follows. The war has brought out one result. It has shown that numbers of the weaker sex, though born to

Starting point is 09:20:04 wealth and luxury, are ready to renounce every comfort and brave every hardship, that they may minister to the suffering, tend the wounded in their agony, and soothe the last struggles of the dying. God bless the Sisters of Charity in their heroic mission. I had almost said their heroic martyrdom, and I might have said it, for I do think that, in walking those long lines of sick beds, in giving themselves to all the ghastly duties of the hospital. They are doing a harder thing than was allotted to many who mounted the scaffold or dared the stake. Mack, a correspondent of the Ohio State Journal, writing from Murfreesboro, under date of January 4, 1863, about hospital scenes, which he describes as heart trending, thus speaks of the kind of

Starting point is 09:20:58 offices and invaluable services of the Sisters of Charity. It is now a pleasure to turn from this dark and dismal description of the majority of our hospitals to an oasis, a something that is, in reality, bright and cheering. There's a sect called Roman Catholics, a sect that, in my younger days, I was taught to look upon as monsters, capable of any crime in the calendar of human frailties, who have hospitals in their own charge, attended by Sisters of Charity. They should be called angels, who know what true, disinterested humanity is. I have visited them, therefore I speak of what I know. Everything in and about them is clean and comfortable. Scarcely a death takes place within their

Starting point is 09:21:47 portals. If a soldier is dangerously sick, you will see by the side of his clean and tidy cot one of these heaven-born angels, we call them nothing else, ministering to his every want with the tender care of a mother or sister. They glide noiselessly from cot to cot, cheering the despondent and speaking words of kindness to all. No one who has the heart of a man can help loving them with the holy sisterly love. There is not a soldier in Richmond, but would beg, if it was possible, that when wounded or sick, he should be taken to such a hospital. And for myself, sooner than be taken to any other, I would rather die by the wayside with God's canopy my only covering. Would to God there were more of them?

Starting point is 09:22:39 The following account of a presentation to a sister of charity is from the Cleveland Herald of November 13, 1865. One of the most pleasant presentation affairs we remember to have attended took place at Charity Hospital, yesterday at 11 o'clock. After Professor Weber, Dr. Scott, and the students had been seated, the Lady's Superior was invited into the room and presented with a beautiful engraving. One of the proof sheets copied from the painting of Constant Mayor, entitled Consolation, by Captain Samuel Whitting. Mr. Whitting, in presenting the engraving, said, Sister Superior, some years ago, while in command of one of the New Orleans steamships, I was prostrated at that port with a severe attack of yellow fever.

Starting point is 09:23:31 And though I had many friends there, had it not been for the tender care and skillful nursing of the Sisters of Charity, I have no idea that I should have survived the attack. During our late and fearful and bloody war, the devotion of your noble order to the cause of humanity has won the admiration of the world, and entirely obliterated the illiberal prejudices of the most bigoted opponents of your sect. Certainly, no soldier of the Crimean Army will ever ignore the kind care and gentle nursing of the Sisters of Charity. Each hospital throughout our land could count them by the score, whose deeds have doubly sacrificed our long and bloody war, and many a home returning brave will long delight to tell,

Starting point is 09:24:19 of her the gentle minister who tended him so well. The mother calls a blessing down on her who nursed her son, and thanks of wounded heroes brave how well her work was done. True womanhood has ever proved self-sacrificing, brave, last at the dear Redeemer's cross and earliest at his grave. The citizens of Cleveland may well be congratulated on the possession of this noble institution. The rare skill of its eminent and accomplished surgeons, the sound teaching of its learned pathologist, combined with the tender nursing of your good and benevolent sisterhood,

Starting point is 09:25:02 will relieve many of the ills that flesh is heir to, and restore to many a grateful sufferer, the God-given priceless boon of health. As a small token of grateful recollections to my nurses at New Orleans, I begged to present to the Sisters of Charity Hospital this engraving, one of the proof sheets, copied from the beautiful painting of Constant Mayor, entitled Consolation. And with it the following poem, which I take pleasure in writing for them,

Starting point is 09:25:33 descriptive of the scene so admirably portrayed by the accomplished artist. A union soldier in his tent, weak, wounded, and despairing lay. The hectic flushes came and went, as rose the din of battle-fray. The army of the Cumberland saw him with eager flashing eye, in its front-rank undaunted stand, resolved to conquer or to die. Firm and unflinching, thus he stood, while cannon belched through blood-red flames. His chiefest thought, his country's good, and next perchance a deathless name.

Starting point is 09:26:15 Sudden as lightning's vivid glare, shrilly shell burst above his head, a fragment laid his bosom bare, and stretched him wounded with the dead. Back to the rear the soldiers bore. The wounded comrade, faint and weak, his army blue was stained with gore, and death's pale seal was on his cheek.

Starting point is 09:26:36 A surgeon dressed the ghastly wound, and counseled quiet and repose, then sought again the battleground, now thickly strewn with friends and foes. Left to himself the wounded man, bethought him of his early life, each wayward act and vicious plan, each worldly and unholy strife, and as he weaker grew he thought, of his dear home far, far away, what would he give, could it be bought, for power to be there but a day? To close his dying eyes where first his infant lips had learned to pray, to kiss the mother who had nursed, the sister who had shared his play. He murmured, oh for one sweet tone, of voices loved in days gone by. Dear mother, sister, oh for one. to gently close my dying eye.

Starting point is 09:27:36 He ceased, a face of radiant light, was in his tent and by his side. Each feature beautified and bright, free from all trace of human pride. She points him to a heavenly home, a house of joy, not made with hands. To the Redeemer calling, come, who at the portal beckoning stands.

Starting point is 09:28:01 Then she unclasped, the book of prayer, its off-turned leaves were soiled and worn, for she had made her constant care, our wounded soldiers night and mourn. For those dim pages she essayed, to whisper to the wounded, peace, her gentle tones, his fears allayed, and bade his soul despairing cease. Sister of charity, he cried, Sister and mother both thou art, for here, by my poor pallet side, thou't one with them in hand and heart. Oh, hear me, and, though poor and weak, if I survive, I'll hold her dear, who gently bathed my fevered cheek, and brought me consolation here. It now remains for me only to tender you this humble testimonial of my regard and my hearty wishes

Starting point is 09:28:58 for the fullest prosperity of the charity hospital and college, for the temporal and eternal, and eternal welfare of the sisterhood of the first and the continued health and usefulness of the eminent faculty of the last. The last remarks of Captain Whitting met with a hearty response from Dr. Scott in behalf of the Lady Superior in acceptance of the picture. The Memphis Appeal, in its issue of February 17, 1866, thus bears testimony to the zeal and value of the Sisters of Charity in this city. Vincent DePaul, who has since received, so justly deserved, the title of Benefactor of Mankind, was the originator of that divine and charitable society, the Sisters of Charity, in a small town in France, in the early part of the 17th century.

Starting point is 09:29:53 The signal service rendered by them during the past Civil War to our sick, wounded, and dying soldiers in camp, in hospital, and on the battle. battlefield, and their unwaried and constant ministrations to the suffering and poor of all classes throughout the land, is the theme of praise and commendation on the lips of all, no matter of what religious creed or faith. Their godlike and noble works have one respect, the most profound from everyone. In our own city the result of their exertions are to be seen on every hand. in the cause of education their stand is preeminent. With them modesty, knowledge, and refinement are most carefully blended.

Starting point is 09:30:40 The young girl, after a tutelage of years under their careful supervision, walks forth into the world, with a mind as pure and free, and demeanor as gentle and kind as when first these precious charges were tendered to their keeping. And how carefully are the poor little ones, without parents and bereft of home, provided for by these angels of earth. The asylum under their charge and guidance, situated near the Catholic cemetery, on the outskirts of the city,

Starting point is 09:31:11 is the most complete institution of its kind in the state. A large number of orphans are educated, clothed, and fed here the year in and out, finding compensation only in the good they have done and the anticipation of a bright reward hereafter, from him, who tempereth the wind, to the shorn lamb, and under whose all-seeing eye every act of charity and faith is always recorded. Their labors in behalf of the sick are ever attended with the most cheering results.

Starting point is 09:31:45 Take a look at our hospitals, and you will find everything well arranged, clean, and neat, and bearing the impress most unmistakably of the goodness of their hearts and the greatness of their works. The patience, one and all, express the most sincere satisfaction at their treatment, and pray, as all good people do, that the society which has rendered so much good to us and all mankind may be like the foundation stone of all blessings, truth, and with it ever bear the stamp of immortality. End of Chapter 35, Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. Chapter 36 of Angels of the Battlefield.

Starting point is 09:32:39 This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Paul Thomas. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Chapter 36. During the late war and when General S was in command of the department at New Orleans, the Sisters of Charity made frequent applications to him for assistance,

Starting point is 09:33:08 especially were they desirous, to obtain supplies at what was termed commissary prices, that is, at a reduction or commutation of one-third the amount which the same provisions would cost at market rates. The principal demand was for ice, flour, beef, and coffee, but mainly ice, a luxury which only the Union forces could enjoy at anything like reasonable price. The hospitals were full of the sick and wounded of both the federal and Confederate armies, and the benevolent institutions of the city were taxed to the utmost in their endeavors to aid the poor and the suffering, for those were trying times, and war had many

Starting point is 09:33:51 victims. Foremost among these Christian workers stood the various Christian sisterhoods. These noble women were busy day and night, never seeming to know fatigue, and, and overcoming every obstacle that, in so many discouraging forms, obstructed the way of doing good. Obstacles which would have completely disheartened, less resolute women, or those not trained in the school of patience, faith, hope, and charity, and where the first grand lesson learned is self-denial.

Starting point is 09:34:23 Of money there was little, and food, fuel, and medicine were scarce and dear. Yet they never faltered, going on in the face of all difficulties, through poverty, war, and unfriendly aspersions, never turning aside, never complaining, never despairing. One will never know the sublime courage of these good sisters during the dark days of the rebellion. Only in that hour, when the judge of all mankind shall summon before him the living and the dead, will they receive their true reward, the crown everlasting, and the benediction.

Starting point is 09:34:59 Well done, good and faithful servant. It was just a week previous to the Red River campaign when all was hurry and activity throughout the Department of the Gulf that General S, a stern, irascible old officer of the regular army, sat at his desk in his office on Julia Street, curtly giving orders to subordinates, dispatching messengers hither and thither, to every part of the city where troops were stationed,

Starting point is 09:35:26 and stiffly receiving such of his command as had had, important business to transact. In the midst of this unusual hurry and preparation, the door noiselessly opened, and a humble sister of charity entered the room. A handsome young lieutenant of the staff instantly arose and deferentially handed her a chair, for those somber gray garments were respected, if not understood, even though he had no reverence for the religious faith which they represented. General S. looked up from his writing, angered by the intrusion of one whose fanaticism he despised, and a frown of annoyance and displeasure gathered darkly on his brow. Orderly?

Starting point is 09:36:08 The soldier on duty without the door, who had admitted the sister, faced about, saluted, and stood mute, awaiting the further command of his chief. Did I not give orders that no one was to be admitted? Yes, sir, but when I say no one, I mean no one, thundered the general. The orderly bowed and returned to his post. he was too wise a soldier to enter into explanation, with so irritable as superior. All this time the patient sisters sat calm and still, biting the moment when she might speak and meekly state the object of her mission.

Starting point is 09:36:44 The general gave her the opportunity in the briefest manner possible, and sharply enough too, in all conscious. "'Well, madam?' She raised a pair of sad, dark eyes to his face, and the gaze was so pure, so saintly, so full of silent pleading that the rough old soldier was touched in spite of himself. Around her fell the heavy, muffling dress of her order, which, however coarse and ungraceful, had something strangely solemn and mournful about it.

Starting point is 09:37:15 Her hands, small and fair, were clasped almost suppliantly, and half hidden in the loose sleeves, as if afraid of their own trembling beauty, hands that had touched tenderly, lovingly, so many death-camp foreheads, that had soothed so much pain, eyes that had met prayerfully so many dying glances, lips that had cheered to the mysterious land, so many parting souls, and she was only a sister of charity, only one of that innumerable band whose good deeds shall live after them. We have a household of sick and wounded, whom we must care for in some way, and I came to ask of you the privilege, which I humbly beseech you will not deny us, of obtaining ice and beef at commissary prices.

Starting point is 09:38:06 The gentle, earnest pleading fell on deaf ears. "'Always something,' snarled the general. "'Last week it was flour and ice. Today it is ice and beef. "'Tomorrow it will be coffee and ice. suppose, and all for a lot of rascally rebels, who ought to be shot, instead of being nursed back to life and treason. General, the sister was majestic now. Rebel or federal, I do not know. Protestant or Catholic, I do not ask. They are not soldiers when they come to us. They are simply suffering fellow creatures. Rich or poor, of gentle or lowly blood. It is not our province to inquire.

Starting point is 09:38:49 Ununiformed, unarmed, unarmed, sick and helpless, we ask not on which side they fought. Our work begins after yours is done. Yours the carnage? Ours the binding up of wounds. Yours the battle. Ours the duty of caring for the mangled left behind on the field. Ice I want for the sick, the wounded, the dying. I plead for all.

Starting point is 09:39:15 I beg for all. I pray for all God's poor suffering creatures. wherever I may find them. Yes, you can beg, I'll admit. What do you do with all your beggings? It is always more, more, never enough. With this the general returned to his writing, thereby giving the sister to understand that she was dismissed.

Starting point is 09:39:37 For a moment her eyes fell, her lips trembled. It was a cruel taunt. Then the tremulous hands, slowly lifted and folded tightly across her breast, as if to still some sudden heartache the unkind words called up. Very low and sweet, and earnest was her reply. Union leaders of the Civil War Howard, Carney, Burnside, Scott, Rosecrans, Wallace, Custer, Thomas, Hancock,

Starting point is 09:40:11 McClellan, Hooker, Butler, Logan. What do we do with our begings? Oh, that is a hard question to ask, of one whose way of life leads ever among the poor, the sorrowing, the unfortunate, the most wretched of all mankind. Not on me is it wasted. I stand here in my earthly all. What do we do with it? Ah, someday you may know. She turned away and left him. Sad of face, heavy of heart, and her dark eyes misty with unshed tears. "'Stay.' The General's request was like a command.

Starting point is 09:40:51 He could be stern, nay, almost rude, but he knew truth and worth when he saw it, and could be just. The sister paused on the threshold, and for a minute nothing was heard but the rapid scratching of the General's pen. "'There, madam, is your order on the commissary for ice and beef at army terms. Good for three months.

Starting point is 09:41:13 I do it for the sake of the Union soldiers who are, or maybe in your care, don't come bothering me again. Good morning. In less than three weeks from that day, the slaughter of the Red River campaign had been perfected, and there neared the city of New Orleans a steamer flying the ominous yellow flag, which even the rebel sharpshooters respected and allowed to pass down the river unmolested. Another and still another, followed closely in her wake, and all the decks were covered with the wounded and dying whose bloody bandages and, in many instances, undressed wounds, gave a woeful evidence of the lack of surgeons, as well as the completeness of the route. Among the desperately wounded was General S. He was born from the steamer to the waiting ambulance,

Starting point is 09:42:04 writhing in anguish from the pain of his bleeding and shell-torn limb, and when they asked him where he wished to be taken, he feebly moaned, anywhere. It matters not. Where I can die in peace. So they took him to the Hotel Dewe, a noble and beautiful institution, in charge of the sisters of charity. The limb was amputated, and then he was nursed for weeks through the agony of the surgical operation, the fever, the wild delirium, and for many weary days no one could tell whether life or death would be the victor. But who was the quiet, faithful nurse ever at his bed? bedside, ever ministering to his wants, ever watchful of his smallest needs, why only one of the

Starting point is 09:42:50 sisters? At last life triumphed, reason returned, and with it much of the old abrupt manner. The general awoke to consciousness to see a face not altogether unknown bending over him, and to feel a pair of small, deft hands, skillfully arranging a bandage, wet in ice-cold water, around his throbbing temples where the mad pain and aching had for so long a time held sway. He was better now, though still very weak, but his mind was clear, and he could think calmly and connectedly of all that had taken place since the fatal battle, a battle which had so nearly cost him his life, and left him at best, but a maimed and mutilated remnant of his former self.

Starting point is 09:43:37 Yet he was thankful it was no worse, that he had not been killed, outright. In like degree, he was grateful to those who nursed him so tenderly and tirelessly, especially the gray-robed women, who had become almost angelic in his eyes, and it was like him to express his gratitude in his own peculiar way, without preface or circumlocution. Looking intently at the sister as if to get her features well fixed in his memory, he said, did you get the ice and beef? The sister started. The question was so direct, and unexpected. Surely her patient must be getting, really, himself. Yes, she replied simply, but with a kind glance of the soft, sad eyes that spoke eloquently her thanks. And your name is,

Starting point is 09:44:26 Sister Francis. Well then, Sister Francis, I am glad you got the things, glad I gave you the order. I think I know now what you do with your beggings. I comprehend something of your work, your charity, your religion, and I hope to be the better for the knowledge. I owe you a debt I can never repay, but you will endeavor to believe that I am deeply grateful for all your great goodness and ceaseless care. Nay, you owe me nothing, but to him, whose cross I bear and in whose divine footsteps I try to follow, you owe a debt of gratitude unbounded. To his infinite mercy I commend you. matters not for the body. It is that divine mystery, the soul I would save. My work here is done. I leave you to the care of others. Adieu. The door softly opened and closed, and he saw

Starting point is 09:45:22 Sister Francis no more. Two months afterwards she received a letter sent to the care of the mother's superior, enclosing a check for a thousand dollars. At the same time, the general took occasion to remark that he wished he were able to make it twice the amount, since he knew by experience what they did with their begings. With this portion of the book is concluded the record of the labors of the Catholic sisterhoods in the war. The appendix which follows contains a number of interesting facts which it was deemed advisable to separate from the text proper. Most of them have reference, either directly or indirectly, to the patience, courage and loyalty. And of the sisters. Those that have not are sufficiently allied to the subject matter to justify

Starting point is 09:46:12 their insertion in a volume of this character. Before the book went to press, the writer went over this additional matter with a view to omitting some portions that did not appear directly related to the main volume, but it was difficult to make a choice. No two persons could agree upon the part to be retained and the portion to be omitted. So all of the matter has remained as it was originally conceived and arranged. No one can read the story of the labors of the heroic women in the war without a thrill of reverence and admiration for these devoted nurses. They constitute a grand army of the Republic, before which the boys in blue and the boys in gray and their descendants after them, can bow the head in respectful salutation. They enlisted in the

Starting point is 09:47:03 war from motives of the highest patriotism, love of humanity, and love of God. They had no purpose to accomplish, no access to grind, no reward to receive, no pay to earn. They did not forsake their peaceful convent homes, share the privations and the rough fare of the soldiers to gratify any worldly ambition. All that they did was from a pure and elevated sense of duty. The high motives that inspired them in volunteering their services at the crisis in this nation's history has also prevented them from recording or publishing the amount and character of these services. Their light has literally been hid beneath a bushel. This feeble effort to do justice to their labors and their memory has been undertaken, not because they would have it done, but because duty, justice,

Starting point is 09:47:57 and patriotism alike demanded that it should be done. If the perusal of these pages furnishes the reader one-tenth of the pleasure involved in their making, the writer will be well repaid for his labor. End of Chapter 36 of Angels of the Battlefield. Chapter 37, Part 1 Of Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 09:48:40 more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Chuck Williamson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix, Part 1, An Innocent Victim. The front piece, entitled An Innocent Victim, that adorns this volume, is taken from a famous painting, executed by S. Seymour Thomas, an artist who was rapidly rising to fame. Mr. Thomas was born in San Augustine, Texas, studied in New York at the Art Students League,

Starting point is 09:49:27 and from there went to Paris, where he is recognized as an artist of great power. This picture was exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it attracted great attention. End of Chapter 37, Part 1. Section 38, Appendix, Part 2 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Nemo. battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 2. Medals for Sisters

Starting point is 09:50:25 The Official Gazette of the French Government recently published an order of the Minister of War granting medals to certain Catholic sisters. A gold medal has been awarded to Sister Claire of the Order of Sisters of St. Charles for 27-year service in the wards of the military hospital at Tool, and for previous service at Nancy, during the whole of which time she had given constant evidence of her devotion to duty. Silver medals have been giving to Sister Gabrielle for 36

Starting point is 09:51:03 years' work, during 23 of which she has been superior, to Sister Adrienne for 38-year service, and to Sister Charlotte for 11 years' service. These last three religious have been, have been attached to the mixed hospital of Verdon, and, according to the official notice, have been remarkable for their zeal and their devoted care of the sick soldiers. End of Appendix Part 2. Section 39. Appendix Part 3 of Angels of the Battlefield.

Starting point is 09:51:46 This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libavox.org. Recording by Nemo Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 3, Honored by the Queen. The Queen of England, only a few months ago, showed her appreciation of the work of the sisters in time of war by bestowing the royal red cross.

Starting point is 09:52:23 upon the venerable mother alloicious Doyle of the convent of Mercy, Court, Ireland. The following correspondence deserves to be preserved. Palmall, London, Southwest, February 15, 1897. Madam The Queen having been pleased to bestow upon you the decoration of the Royal Red Cross, I have to inform you that in the case of such honors as this, it is the custom of her majesty, to personally bestow the decoration upon the recipient when such a course is convenient to all concerned. And I have, therefore, to request that you will be so good as to inform me whether it would be

Starting point is 09:53:14 convenient to you to attend at Windsor sometime within the next few weeks. Should any circumstances prevent you receiving the Royal Red Cross from the hands of her majesty, it could be transmitted by post to your present address. I am, madam, your obedient servant, George M. Farkarson, Sister Mary Aloysius, St. Patrick's, Gort, County Galloway. Sir, I received your letter of the 15th, intimating to me, that her most gracious majesty the Queen is pleased to bestow on me the order of the Royal Cross, in recognition of the services of my sisters in religion,

Starting point is 09:54:02 and my own in caring for the wounded soldiers at the Crimea during the war. My words cannot express my gratitude for the great honor which her majesty is pleased to confer on me. The favor is, if possible, enhanced by the permission, to receive this public mark of favor at Her Majesty's own hands. The weight of 76 years and the infirmities of age will, I trust, dispense me from the journey to the palace. I will, therefore, with sentiments of deepest gratitude, ask to be permitted to receive this mark of my sovereign's favor in the less public and formal manner you have kindly indicated.

Starting point is 09:54:47 I am, sir, faithfully your. in Jesus Christ, Sister M. Aloysius. February 17, 1897. End of Appendix Part 3. Section 40, Appendix, Part 4 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libavox.org. Recording by Nemo Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 4. Veterans of the Korean War

Starting point is 09:55:41 In August 1897, at the close of the ceremonies, incident to the celebration of a diamond jubilee, the Queen of Great Britain conferred the decoration of the Royal Red Cross upon Army nursing sisters Mary Helen Ellis, Mary Stanelos Jones, Mary Anastasha Kelly, and Mary Deschantal Hudden in recognition of their services intending the sick and wounded at the seat of war during the Crimea campaign of 1854 to 1856. Their services were very much appreciated by Miss Nightingale,

Starting point is 09:56:25 who, indeed, has ever since, shown her interest in them in many ways. The three sisters first mentioned, together with another who has died since, were on their return from the east, asked to undertake the nursing and hospital, just then being established in Great Ormond Street, for incurable and dying female patients, and to this hospital they have been attached to the present time. End of Appendix Part 4 Section 41 Appendix Part 5 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording.

Starting point is 09:57:15 All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libavox.org. Recording by Nemo Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 5, Poor Sister St. Clair. Professor Edward Roth, the well-known Philadelphia educator, is authority for this episode of the Franco-German War.

Starting point is 09:57:49 He quotes General Ambert, who fought as a private in the war as follows. Oh, yes, one of them I shall never forget. Poor Sister St. Clair. I see her this moment, her big black veil trimmed with blue, as she makes her way through the blood-smeared straw of our crowded barn. The roaring of the cannon was awful, but she did not seem to mind it. She did not seem to mind even the terrible fire that was now raging through the last houses of the village, the flames near enough to cast an unearthly glimmer on the suffering faces of the wounded men. But, oh, how her sharp ear caught the slightest complaint, how she flew towards the faintest whisper. Everywhere at once, with each one of us at the same time, what iron strength

Starting point is 09:58:48 God must have put into that little body. Your eye had hardly caught glimpse of it when you felt already at your lips the cool, refreshing drink that you had not the courage to ask for. You would hardly open your dimmed eyes, heavy with pain and fever, when you were aware of a face, bending over you, keen indeed, and bright, though slightly pox-sparked, but so resolute, calm, smiling and kindly, that you instantly forgot your sufferings, forgot the Prussians with their bombs bursting around you, forgot even the conflagration that was drawn nearer and nearer, and threatened soon to swallow up the barn in which our ambulances had taken shelter.

Starting point is 09:59:35 Good sister St. Clair, you are now with your God, the voluntary victim of your heart and your faith, but I have often wished since that you are once more among us, listening to the thanks and prayers of such of us as are still alive and never to forget you. But you did not hear even the tenth part of the blessings of those that died with your name on their lips as they sank to their eternal sleep tranquilly, resignedly, hopefully, thanks to your holy administrations. It was the evening of August 16, 1870, the day of our bloodiest battle, Gravalot. For hours and hours the wounded had been carried persistently, and in great numbers,

Starting point is 10:00:22 to the rear. In a large barn near Rezonville, those of us had been laid whose intense sufferings would not permit them to be removed further, thrown hurriedly down wherever room could be found. the first arms you saw extending towards you were those of that little dark-faced woman, her lips smiling, but her eyes glistening with tears. A few yards only from the field of battle, from the very thick of the fight, a few yards only from the muddy blood slipping ground, where you had just sunk, fully expecting to be soon trampled to death like so many others. What heavenly comfort it was to meet such burning charity.

Starting point is 10:01:11 How it at once relieved your physical sufferings, soothed off your mortification, and drove away your deadening despair. Poor Sister St. Clair. All that evening and all that long night to get water for the fifty agonized voices calling for it to every moment, you had to cross a yard hissing with bullets. but every five minutes out you went with your two buckets and back you soon came as serene and undisturbed as if God himself had made you invulnerable and so the long night wore away.

Starting point is 10:01:48 But next morning, our army, after a 15 hours valiant struggle and after resting all night on the battlefield, had to fall back towards Metz, and the barn had to be immediately vacated. There was no time for using the regular ambulances, for the Prussians, though they could not take any of our positions the previous evening, being heavily reinforced, were now steadily advancing. The wounded picked up hastily and carried out without ceremony, were piled on trucks, tumbles, in every available vehicle. Oh, the cries, the pains, the sufferings. still, dear Sister St. Clair, though for 48 hours you hadn't had a second for your own rest,

Starting point is 10:02:38 you contrived to pass continually, from one end of that wretched column to the other, with a little water for this one, a good word for that, a smile or friendly nod for a third, your little arms lifting out of danger ahead that had leaned over too far, or shifting into a more comfortable position the poor fellow whose leg had been cut off during the night and who would probably be dead in an hour or two. Then you found a seat for yourself on the last wagon. Alas, you were not there half an hour when the bullets struck you, struck you, as you were striving to keep a poor, wounded, helpless man from rolling out.

Starting point is 10:03:24 A squadron of Ulaans suddenly cut us off from the army and made us all prisoners. Poor sister, it was by the hands of our enemies that the grave was dug, where you are now lying in the midst of those on whom you expended the treasures of your saintly soul. Of us that survive you, there is probably not one in a thousand that will ever know the name of that little sister of the Trinity and religion sister St. Clair. That bright vision of charity

Starting point is 10:04:01 flashing continually before us during a long ride of agony in the barn near Resonville. Your holy limbs are now resting in an unknown corner of Lorraine. No longer your dear France, but your blessed memory

Starting point is 10:04:18 will live forever in the grateful hearts of those you have died for. End of Appendix Part 5. Chapter 42, Part 6. Of Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 10:04:56 Recording by Chuck Williams. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 6, Lord Napier's testimony. Lord Napier, who held a diplomatic position under Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, during the Crimean War, gives the following testimony to the worth of the Sisters of Mercy. During the distress of the Crimean War, the ambassador called me in one morning and said, Go to the port. You will find a ship there, loaded with Jewish exiles, Russian subjects from the Crimea. It is your duty to disembark them. The Turks will give you a house in which they may be placed.

Starting point is 10:05:51 I turn them over entirely to you. I went down to the shore and received about 200 persons, the most miserable objects that could be witnessed. Most of them old men, women, and children, sunk in the lowest depths of indigence and despair. I placed them in the cold, ruinous lodging, allocated to them by the Ottoman authorities. I went back to the ambassador and said, your excellency, these people are cold and I have no fuel or blankets. They are hungry, and I have no food. They are very dirty, and I have no soap. Their hair is in an undesirable condition, and I have no combs. What am I to do with these people?

Starting point is 10:06:49 Do, said the ambassador, get a couple of sisters of mercy. They will put all to rights in a moment. I went, saw the mother superior, and explained the case. I asked for two sisters. They were at once sent. They were ladies of refinement and intellect. I was a stranger, and a Protestant, and I invoked their assistance for the benefit of Jews. Yet these two ways. Women made up their bundles and followed me through the rain without a look, a whisper, or a sign of hesitation. From that moment, my fugitives were saved. No one saw the labors of those sisters for months but myself, and they never endeavored to make a single convert.

Starting point is 10:07:47 In his speeches in the aftertimes, Lord Napier repeatedly referred. to the singular zeal and devotedness, constantly shown by the sisters to the sick of every denomination. On one occasion in Edenburg, he remarked that the sisters faithfully kept their promise not to interfere with the religion of non-Catholics. But continued his lordship, They made at least one convert. They converted me, if not to believe in the Catholic faith, at least to believe in the Sisters of Mercy. The few months spent at Balaclava by the devoted sisters witnessed a repetition of the deeds of heroism, which had achieved such happy results at Scutari and Kulali.

Starting point is 10:08:43 The cholera and a malignant type of fever, had broken out in those days in the camp. By night, as well as by day, the sisters were called to help the patients, yet their strength seemed never to fail in their work of charity. Besides the soldiers, there were six civilians, Maltese, Germans, Greeks, Italians, Americans, and even Negroes. And to all, they endeavored to give some attention. The medical orders reveal the constant nature of the nursing required at their hands. At one time, the doctor, quote, request that a sister would sit up with his Dutch patient in number nine ward tonight, end quote. Again, sisters to sit up with the Maltese and the Arab. Kind attendance on Jones every night would be necessary until a notification to the

Starting point is 10:09:48 contrary be given. Keep the stump moist, a little champagne in water to be given during the night. Elliot is to be watched all night. Powder every half hour. Wine in small dose if necessary. The very confidence placed by the physicians in their careful treatment added to their toil. As the Deputy Purveyor-in-Chief reported to the government in December 1855, quote, The medical officer can safely consign his most critical case to their hands. Stimulants or opiates ordered every five minutes will be faithfully administered. though the five minutes' labor were repeated uninterruptedly for a week.

Starting point is 10:10:45 The heroism of the nuns, however, was now well known in the camp, and never did workers find more sympathetic subordinates than the sisters had in their orderlies. The fact that they would never lodge complaints, or have the orderlies punished, only made the men more zealous in their service. One of the sisters found it necessary to correct her orderly. Perhaps, James, she said, You do not wish me to speak to you a little more severely. He at once interrupted her.

Starting point is 10:11:23 Troth, sister, I glory in your speaking to me. Sure, the day I came to Balaclava, I cried with joy when I saw your face. One who had taken a glass too much was so mortified at being seen by the Reverend Mother, whom the soldiers call their commander-in-chief, that he sobbed like a child. Another in the same predicament hid himself, that he might not be seen by the sister. He had never hidden from the enemy. A medal with three clasps bore eloquent testimony to his bravery.

Starting point is 10:12:06 I don't like to say anything harsh, said the sister. Speak, ma'am, interrupted the delinquent. The words out of your blessed mouth are like jewels falling over me. One of the sisters writes, We have not a cross here with anyone. The medical officers all work beautifully with us. They quite rely on our obedience. Sir John Hall, the head medical officer of the army, is quite loud in his promise of the nuns.

Starting point is 10:12:45 The hospital and its hunts are scattered over a hill. The respect of all the sisters is daily increasing. Don't be shocked to hear that I am so accustomed to the soldiers now, and so sure of their respect and affection, that I don't mind them more than the schoolchildren. The soldiers in the camp envied the good fortune of stratagem to have a few words with the nuns. Please, sir, they would say to their chaplain, do send a couple of us on an errand to the hospital to get a sight of the nuns. As the time for the nun's departure approached, the cordial manifestation of respect and kindly feeling were only the more multiplied. The grateful affection of the soldiers, a sister writes, is most touching, often ludicrous.

Starting point is 10:13:45 They swarm around us like flocks of chickens. A black-veiled nun in the midst of redcoats, all eyes and ears for whatever she says to them, is an ordinary sight at Balaclava. Our doors were besieged by them to get some little keepsake. A book in which we write, given by a Sister of Mercy, is so valuable an article that a Protestant declared he would rather have such a gift than the Victoria Cross or Crimean Medal. The Sunday after the nun's departure, the men who went to the chapel sobbed and cried as though their hearts would break.

Starting point is 10:14:30 When the priests turned to speak to them and asked their prayers for their prayers for, for the safe passage of the nuns, they could not control their emotions. I was obliged to cut short my discourse, wrote the chaplain, else I should have cried and sobbed with the poor men. This sympathy was shown by Protestants and Catholics alike, and from the commander-in-chief to the private soldier,

Starting point is 10:15:00 from the first medical officers to the simple presser in the surgery, All was a chorus of praise of the untiring, judicious, and gentle nursing of the Sisters of Mercy. Two sisters of mercy were summoned their crowns from the Hospital of the East. One was English, a lay sister from the convent at Liverpool. She fell a victim to the cholera, which raged at Balaclava. The other was a choir, sister. from Ireland, sister M. Elizabeth Butler. Already, rumors of peace had brought joy to the camp.

Starting point is 10:15:47 When towards the close of February 7, 1855, she caught typhus attending to the sick, and in a few days, joyfully bade farewell to the world. One of the surviving sisters describes her funeral. The 89th regiment obtained the honor and privilege of bearing the coffin to the grave. One officer earnestly desired to be among the chosen, but thought he was not worthy, as he had not been at Holy Communion on that morning. The whole medical staff attended. The sisters of charity at the Sardinian camp sent five of their number to express sympathy and condolence.

Starting point is 10:16:35 Eight chaplains attended to perform the last rights for the heroine of the charity. The place of internment was beside the departed lay sister on a rocky hill rising over the waters of the Black Sea. The funeral was a most impressive sight. The soldiers in double file, the multitudes of various nations, ranks and employments. The silence unbroken, save by the voice of tears. The groups, still at sanctuary, that crowded the rocks above the grave, the moaning of the sullen waves beneath, all combined in a weird pageant never to be forgotten by the thousands that took part in it.

Starting point is 10:17:30 The graves of these cherished sisters were tended with loving attention. Marked by crosses and enclosed by a high iron railing, set and cut stone, they are still quite visible from the Black Sea beneath. Many a pilgrim went thither to strew the graves with flowers, and to the present day many a vessel entering the Black Sea lowers its flags in memory of those heroines. Who in the true spirit of charity devoted their lives to alleviate the suffering of their countrymen? End of Chapter 42, Part 6 Appendix Part 7 Of Angels of the Battlefield

Starting point is 10:18:27 This is a Librivox recording All Librivox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer Please visit Librivox.org Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton Appendix Part 7 Very Reverend James Francis Burlando C. M.

Starting point is 10:18:48 The very reverent James Francis Burlando of the Congregation of the Mission who is mentioned several times in the text of this volume was born on May 6, 1814, in the city of Genoa, Italy. Very early in life he became impressed with the desire of adopting the people priesthood as his vocation, and on the 16th of February 1837, his Archbishop, Cardinal Tadini,

Starting point is 10:19:15 conferred on him the Holy Orders of sub-deacon and deacon. Soon after this, he sailed for the United States and enlisted for the American missions under Reverend John Odin C.M., late Archbishop of New Orleans, who at that time was seeking recruits for the infant seminary at the Barrens, Missouri. Before Father Burlando could come here, he was obliged to meet and overcome a very strong opposition on the part of his good father, who, although a firmat Christian, could not bear the idea of being separated from his first-born son. The very day that Father Burlando was to be admitted to the novitiate, he perceived his father

Starting point is 10:20:00 at the Archipershopal Hall, waiting for an audience with Cardinal Tadini. guessing at once the motive of such an interview, namely that he might exercise his authority and command the young deacon, in virtue of holy obedience, to remain with his father and family, which would prevent him from carrying out his holy desire, the young man sought to baffle the intention of his father by seeing the archbishop first and securing his permission and blessing. accordingly he had recourse to the following stratagem. He borrowed from his friends the various articles of a clerical suit, from one a hat, from another a cassock differing from his own, from a third a cloak,

Starting point is 10:20:46 and to render the disguise more complete, he put on a pair of spectacles and wig. Thus equipped, he entered the house of the cardinal, had a conversation with him, in which he received his approbation and blessing, and put him. passed out again, without being recognized by his father, who he left standing at the door, watching closely every young seminarian who entered. Fearing he might be discovered, the young man quickened his pace, and repaired immediately, to the venerable Er Barceloomiu Gazano, the superior of the Lazarists, who received him. In the following June he left Genoa and repaired to Turin, where he was ordained priest on the 9th of July.

Starting point is 10:21:30 by the most reverend Alozius Fransoni, Archbishop of that sea. To mitigate in some measure of the pain which his good father experienced on account of this separation, Father Burlando wrote him a pressing invitation to honor and gratify him by being present at his first mass on the 10th of July. Touched by his son's filial respect and affection, he at last relented and assisted with tearful devotion at the impressive ceremony. A few weeks after Father Burlando went to the mother house in Paris, whence he set out for New Orleans. Having landed safely on the American shore, he proceeded by steamboat to Missouri and reached the seminary of the Barons towards the close of the same year. He filled many positions of trust and honor. The last and most important field of his apostolic labors

Starting point is 10:22:27 was the community of the daughters of charity at the Central House of St. Joseph's, near Emmetsburg, Maryland, whither he repaired in the spring of 1853, and where he remained for the space of 23 years. During all that time, says Father Gandolfo, his assistant, I had more occasion than anyone else of observing his noble qualities of mind and heart. As a superior, he was always kind, discreet, obliging,

Starting point is 10:22:57 generous, amiable and edifying in all that regarded the observance even of the least rule, beginning from rising at four o'clock in the morning at the first sound of the Benedicamus domino. He was exceedingly charitable and ever ready to assist me at the first request, in the performance of my duties, and this, notwithstanding his frequent attacks of neurology and weakness of the digestive organs. I never saw him misspend a minute of his time. If he was not occupied in answering his numerous correspondence, he was drawing plans of hospitals and other buildings, or attending to similar important affairs of the community. He never retired to rest without having first read the many letters he daily received from every quarter of the United States.

Starting point is 10:23:48 Although he frequently retired very late and slept but a few hours during the night, he was always ready for the hard labor of the next day. It was largely due to the wise administration of this worthy director that the community owed and owes its singular prosperity and development. It suffices to state that when he assumed the duties of his position, there were only 300 members distributed among 36-house, and he lived to see the white cornet on the brow of 1,045 daughters of St. Vincent, having under their control 97 establishments for the service of the poor, affording relief for almost

Starting point is 10:24:33 every species of misfortune. Owing to his superior knowledge of architecture, he not only planned but personally supervised the erection of the greater number of these charitable institutions. It would be impossible to enumerate the long and painful journeys he took, the multiplied dangers, to which he exposed himself, and the many privations he endured for the particular welfare of the different establishments of the sisters. How many sleepless nights he passed during our late civil war! There were sisters in the north and sisters in the south,

Starting point is 10:25:11 but, by his constant vigilance, his consummate prudence, his repeated fatherly admonitions, and especially by his continual and fervent prayers, he had the consolation of seeing the entire community free from all reproach and danger. He has left many valuable volumes which prove his ability as a writer as well as a thinker. One of these is the ceremonial, which was entrusted to him by the most reverent Archbishop Kendrick, approved by the principal council, and which is now largely used throughout the United States. In this valuable work, all the details relative to the mass and offices of the church, the sacred vessels, and other articles used, are minutely described,

Starting point is 10:26:00 so that solemnity, beauty, and becoming uniformity may be maintained. He also compiled the life of Father de Andres, the pioneer of the Lazarists in this country. To him we are also indebted for the publication of the beautiful life of Sister Oijani, daughter of charity. A person remarked that he must be well and extensively known throughout the United States, as he was always traveling and had to register his name in the hotels. Oh no, he replied, I give my name in as many different languages as I can. In this way I pass unnoticed and get a little recreation at the expense of the the poor recorder, who is often at a loss to spell the foreign name. He looks bewildered

Starting point is 10:26:48 repeats it several times, and casts an inquiring glance at me. Meantime, I pretend stupidity and leave him write whatever he likes. Then you see, Francis Burlando is not known. This devoted priest breathed his last on Sunday, February's 16th, 1873, at the close of a day well spent in the exercise of his sacred functions. The funeral service took place in the central house of the Sisters of Charity, St. Joseph's, Emmitsburg, February the 19th, and the remains were interred in the little cemetery of the Sisters of Charity, besides the mortuary chapel, wherein repose at the venerated remains of saintly Mother Seton,

Starting point is 10:27:34 founders of Charity in the United States. End of Appendix Part 7 Chapter 44 Part 8 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording All Libravox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer Please visit Libravox.org Recording by John Brandon

Starting point is 10:28:04 Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton Chapter 44 Part 8 Mother Seton Mary Elizabeth Anne Seton, the founder and first superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States, was one of the most remarkable women in the history of the Catholic Church in America. She was reared in the doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church and did not embrace the Catholic faith until after the death of her husband. This distinguished woman who was born in the city of New York on the 28th of a woman, who was born in the city of New York, on the 28th of a woman,

Starting point is 10:28:42 August 1774, was a younger daughter of Dr. Richard Bailey, an eminent physician of the metropolis. Her mother died when she was but three years of age, but her father watched over her, with all the loving care of a good parent. As Miss Bailey advanced in years, nature and education combined in developing those admirable traits of character that were to make her so lovable and merciful in later life. All of her friends and relatives were members of the Protestant Episcopal Church, but the physician's daughter was more fervent in her religious duties than any of those with whom she was associated. From her earliest year she wore small crucifix on her person, and was frequently heard to express regret and astonishment that the custom

Starting point is 10:29:33 was not more general among the members of her church. At the age of 20, Miss Bailey was married to William Seton, a prosperous and most estimable merchant of New York City. It was a happy marriage, and husband and wife lived in mutual love and esteem. In 1800, Mr. Seton became embarrassed through a reaction in business, caused mainly by the consequences of the Revolutionary War. In this crisis, Mrs. Seton was a helpmate in every sense of the word. She not only cheered her husband by her encouraging counsel, but rendered him practical aid in arranging his business affairs. In the course of her married life, Mrs. Seton became the mother of five children, Anna Maria, William, Richard, Catherine Josephine, and Rebecca.

Starting point is 10:30:30 She was a model mother, restraining, guiding, and educating her offspring, with a mingling of tact, tenderness and edifying example. She did not confine her goodness to her children, but was ever ready to assist the poor and suffering. One of her biographers said she was so zealous in this respect that she and a relative who accompanied her were commonly called Protestant Sisters of Charity. The death of Mrs. Seton's father in 1801

Starting point is 10:31:05 was a source of great sorrow to this devoted. woman. Years had only served to cement the affectionate relations between father and daughter. During the last three or four years of his life, Dr. Bailey was health officer at the port of New York. He was naturally of a philanthropic disposition, and his official duties called him to a field that presented an unbounded field for Christian charity. It was while in the discharge of his duty among the immigrants that Dr. Bailey contracted the illness, which carried him to his grave within a week's time.

Starting point is 10:31:43 Mrs. Seton had scarcely recovered from the shock of her father's death when her husband's health, which had never been robust, began to decline rapidly. A sea voyage and a sojourn in Italy were recommended. Mrs. Seton could not permit her husband to travel alone in his weak and exhausted state,

Starting point is 10:32:05 and she accompanied him, along with her oldest child, a girl of eight. The other children were committed to the care of relatives in New York City. The child caught the hooping cough on the way over, and the anxious mother was constantly occupied in nursing the husband and daughter. Before landing, the unfortunate trio were detained for many days at the Lazareto Station in the harbor of Leghorn. After they landed, the good wife was untiring in her attentions to her husband. But in spite of her love and solicitude, he died on the 27th of December,

Starting point is 10:32:50 among strangers and in a foreign land. On the following 8th of April, with her tears still fresh upon the grave of her devoted husband, Mrs. Seton sailed for home. Prior to this voyage and during the 56 days that it occupied, Mrs. Seton began to take a deep interest in the doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church. She eagerly devoured all of the literature upon the subject that opportunity offered, and also learned much by frequent conversations with friends. Deep meditation finally strengthened her in the desire to become a Catholic.

Starting point is 10:33:30 Her only fear was that a change in her religious faith might bring about a coldness and a severance of friendship that existed between herself and her friends and relatives, particularly her pastor, Reverend J. H. Hobart, a man of singular talent and goodness, who afterwards became the Protestant Episcopal bishop of New York. Writing of the possibility of such an estrangement in her diary at this time, Mrs. Seton says with evident feeling,

Starting point is 10:34:05 if your dear friendship and esteem must be the price of my fidelity to what I believe to be the truth, I cannot doubt the mercy of God, who by depriving me of one of my remaining dearest ties on earth, will certainly draw me nearer to him. She was not mistaken. When she returned home, the coldness of many of her Protestant friends was a great trial to her warm and still bleeding heart. The storm of opposition added to her grief. The fact that Mrs. Seton was in doubt upon the question of religion made her a subject of attack for the friends of all denominations.

Starting point is 10:34:48 Writing of this, she says, I had a most affectionate note from Mr. Hobart today, asking me how I could ever think of leaving the church in which I was baptized. But though whatever he says has the weight of my partiality for him, as well as the respect it seems to me I could scarcely have for anyone else, yet that question made me smile. For it is like saying that wherever a child is born, and wherever its parents place it, there it will find the truth. And he does not hear the Droll invitations made me every day, since I am in my little new home and old friends

Starting point is 10:35:32 come to see me. It has already happened that one of the most excellent women I ever knew, who is of the Church of Scotland, finding me unsettled about the great subject of a true faith, said to me, O do, dear soul, come, and here are J. Mason, and I'm sure you will join us. A little after came one whom I loved for the purest and most innocent of manners of the Society of Quakers, to which I have always been attached. She coaxed me, too, with artless persuasion. Betsy, I'd tell thee, thee had better come with us.

Starting point is 10:36:13 And my faithful old friend of the Anabaptist meeting, Mrs. T., says with tears in her eyes, Oh, could you be regenerated? Could you know our experiences and enjoy with us our heavenly banquet? And my good old Mary, the Methodist, groans and contemplates, as she calls it, over my soul, so misled because I have got no convictions. But, oh, my father and my God,

Starting point is 10:36:45 all that will not do for me. Your word is truth, and without contrariate, addiction, whatever it is. One faith, one hope, one baptism. I look for whatever it is, and I often think my sins, my miseries, hide the light. Yet I will cling and hold to my God to the last gasp, begging for that light, and never change until I find it. Mrs. Seton's doubts were finally set at rest, and on Ash Wednesday, She was received into Catholicism in Old St. Peter's Church, New York City. The embarrassed state of her husband's finances at the time of his death had involved her,

Starting point is 10:37:33 and she opened a boarding house for some of the boys who attended a neighboring school. Some months later, Miss Cecilia Seton, the youngest sister-in-law of Mrs. Seton, followed her into the Catholic Church. The one thought of Mrs. Seton was now to devote her life to the poor and to the church. The opportunity came sooner than she anticipated. The cooperation of the church authorities and financial resources being forthcoming, a little community was formed in St. Joseph's Valley, Emmetsburg. Vows were taken in accordance with the rules of the Institute of the Sisters of Charity of France.

Starting point is 10:38:17 and in a few months ten sisters were employed with the instruction of youth and the care of the sick. They were poor but happy. The first Christmas day, for instance, they rejoiced to have some smoked herring for dinner. Rigid regulations were adopted for the government of the new order, and its growth was remarkable. Mother Seton had the satisfaction of receiving her eldest daughter into the sisterhood. Mrs. Seton's youngest daughter lived into the 90s and died recently at the Mercy Convent,

Starting point is 10:38:54 New York, where she had lived as a sister of mercy for over 40 years. The sons of Mrs. Seton were prosperously launched in business enterprises. Mother Seton died on the 4th of January 1821 in the 47th year

Starting point is 10:39:13 of her age. Her bedside was surrounded by the dark-robed sisters of charity, and her only surviving daughter Josephine. Her end was happy and tranquil. Her career was one of great piety and usefulness. She has gone, but her memory will live forever through the perpetration of the great order that she planted in the United States, and which has already grown to proportions,

Starting point is 10:39:42 far beyond the most sanguine expectation of its tender and affectionate founder. End of Chapter 44, Part 8. Recording by John Brandon. Chapter 45 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Larry Wilson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 9, The Sisters of Charity This beautiful poem, descriptive of a sister of charity, written by Gerald Griffin, has taken its place among those precious bits of literature that never die.

Starting point is 10:40:38 The author was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1803, and began his literary career as a reporter for London Daily. He wrote many novels, a tragedy, and various poems. He died in Cork in 1840. A correspondent whose opinion is valued very highly writes to remind the author of the Angels of the Battlefield that a society of Sisters of Charity was first established in Dublin by Mary Mother Aikenhead early in this century. It was these ladies, particularly a sister and a cousin of the poet who joined Mother Aikenhead

Starting point is 10:41:12 that inspired Gerald Griffin's beautiful lines. The Irish Sisters of Charity make perpetual vows, wear veils and dress somewhat similar to the sisters of mercy they are not connected with any other congregation the sister of charity is as follows she was once a lady of honor and wealth bright glowed on her features the roses of health her vesture was blended of silk and of gold and her motion shook perfume from every fold joy revelled around her love shone at her side and gay was her smile as the glance of a bride and light was her step in mirth-sounding hall when she heard of the daughters of vincent de paul she felt in her spirit the summons of grace that called her to live for the suffering race and heedless of pleasure of comfort of home rose quickly like mary and answered i come she put from her person the trappings of pride and passed from her home with the joy of a bride nor wept at the threshold as onward she moved for her heart was on fire in the cause it approved lost ever to fashion to vanity lost that beauty that once was the song and the toast no more in the ball-room that figure we meet but gliding at dusk to the wretch's retreat forgotten the hall is that high-sounding name for the sister of charity blood flushes at fay. For God are the claims of her riches and birth, for she barters for heaven the

Starting point is 10:42:42 glory of earth. Those feet that to music could gracefully move, now hear her alone on the mission of love. Those hands that once dangled the perfume and gem are tending the helpless or lifted for them. That voice that once echoed the song of the vein now whispers relief to the bosom of pain, and the hair that was shining with diamond and pearl is wet with the tears of a penitent girl. Her down bed a pallet, her trinkets a bead, her luster, one taper that serves her to read, her sculpture, the crucifix nailed by her bed, her paintings, one print of the crownthorned head, her cushion, the pavement that wearies her knees, her music, the psalm or the sigh of disease. The delicate body lives mortified there, and the feet,

Starting point is 10:43:32 is forsaken for fasting and prayer. Yet not in the service of heart and mind are the cares of the heaven-minded virgin confined. Like him whom she loves to the mansions of grief, she hastes with the tidings of joy and relief. She strengthens the weary, she comforts the weak, and soft is her voice in the ear of the sick. Where want and affliction on mortals attend, the sister of charity there is a friend. Unshrieking, where pestilence scatters his breath, like an angel she moves mid the vapor of death, where rings the loud musket and flashes the sword, unfearing she walks, for she follows the Lord. How sweetly she bends over each plague-tainted face, with looks that are lighted with holiest grace, how kindly

Starting point is 10:44:20 she dresses each suffering limb, for she sees in the wounded the image of him. Behold her, yet worldly, behold her ye vain, who shrink from the pathway of virtue and pain, who yield up to pleasure your nights and your days, forgetful of service, forgetful of praise. Yet lazy philosophers, self-seeking men, ye fireside philanthropists, great at the pen. How stands in the balance your eloquence weighed with the life and deeds of that high-born made.

Starting point is 10:44:53 End of Chapter 45. Appendix Part 10 Of Angels of the Battlefield. This is the Librevox recording, all Librevox record, are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librivox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 10, Sisters of Charity

Starting point is 10:45:22 In Mr. Solis, Sir Thomas Moore, the following account of the Beguines of Belgium and the Sisters of Charity of France is reprinted from the London Medical Gazette, Volume 1. A few summers ago I passed through Flanders on my way to Germany, and at the hospital at Brooks saw some of the beguines and heard the physician, with whom I was intimate, speak in strong terms of their services. He said, There are no such nurses. I saw them in the wards attending on the sick, and in the chapel

Starting point is 10:45:59 of the hospital on their knees washing the floor. They were obviously a superior class of woman, and the contrast was striking between these menial offices and the respectability of their dress and appearance. But the beginage of Ghent is one of their principal establishments, and spending a Sunday there I went in the evening to whispers. It was twilight when I entered the chapel. It was dimly lighted by two or three tall tapers before the altar, and a few candles at the remotest end of the building in the orchestra. But the body of the chapel was in deep gloom, filled from end to end with several hundreds of these nuns, seated in rows, in their dark dresses and white coals, silent and motionless, accepting now and then one of them

Starting point is 10:46:48 started up, and stretching out her arms in the attitude of the crucifixion, stood in that posture many minutes, then sank and disappeared among the crowd. The gloom of the chapel, the long line of these unearthly-looking figure, like so many corpses propped up in their grave closes. The dead silence of the building, once only interrupted by a few voices in the distant orchestra, chanting whispers, was one of the most striking sights I ever beheld. To some readers, the occasional attitude of the nuns may seem an absurd expression of fanaticism, but they are anything but fanatics.

Starting point is 10:47:31 Whoever is accustomed to the manners of continental nations, knows that they employ agrimmous in everything. I much doubt whether, apart from the internal emotion of piety, the external expression of it is grateful in anyone, save only a little child in his nightshirt on his knees, saying his evening prayer. The beginage, or residence of the beguines at Ghent, is a little town of itself, adjoining the city, and enclosed from it.

Starting point is 10:48:01 The transition from the crowded streets of Ghent to the silence and solitude of the beginage is very striking. The houses in which the Begins reside are contiguous, each having its small garden, and on the door the name, not of the resident, but of the protecting saint of the house. These houses are ranged into streets. There is also the large church which were visited and a burial ground, in which there are no monuments. There are upwards of 600 of these nuns in the beginnings of Ghent, and about 6,000 in Brabant and Flanders. They receive sick persons into the beginning, and not only nurse but support them, until they are recovered.

Starting point is 10:48:48 They also go out to nurse the sick. They are bound by no woe, accepting to be chased and obedient, while they remain in the order. They have the power of quitting it, and returning again into the world, whenever they please. But this, it is said, they seldom or never do. They are most of them women, unmarried or widows, past the middle of life. In 1244, a synod at Fritzlau decided that no be be younger than forty years of age. They generally dine together in the refractory. Their apartments are barely, yet comfortably furnished, and like all the habitations of Flanders,

Starting point is 10:49:28 remarkably clean. About their origin and name little is known by the Beguines themselves, or is to be found in books. For the following particulars, I am chiefly indebted to the History Disorder's Monasticus, tome the Eight. Some attributed both their origin and name to Saint Beghi, who lived in the 7th century, others to Lambert Lebeg, who lived about the end of the 12th century. This latter's saint, is said to have founded two communities of them at Lege, one for women in 1173, the other for men in 1177. After his death, they multiplied fast, and were introduced by St. Louis into Paris and other French cities. The plan flourished in France, and was adopted under other forms and

Starting point is 10:50:20 names. In 1443, Nicholas Rowland, Chancellor to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, a hospital at Bourne and brought six Beguines from Melins to attend upon it, and the hospital became so famed for the care of its patients that the opulent people of the neighborhood, when sick, were often removed to it, preferring its attendance to what they received at home. In one part of the hospital there was a large square court bordered with galleries, leading to apartments suitable to such patients. When they quitted the hospital, the donations which they left were added to its funds. The Soros de la Charity of France

Starting point is 10:51:06 are another order of religious nurses, but different from the begins in being bound by monastic vows. They originated in a charity sermon, perhaps the most useful and extensive in its influence that ever was preached. Vincent de Paul, a celebrated missionary, preaching at Chattelon in 1617, recommended a poor sick family of the neighborhood

Starting point is 10:51:30 to the care of his congregation. At the conclusion of the sermon, a number of persons visited the sick family with bread, wine, meat and other comforts. This led to the formation of a committee of charitable women, under the direction of Vincent de Paul, who went about, relieving the sick poor of the neighborhood,

Starting point is 10:51:52 and met every month to give an account of their proceedings to their superior. Such was the origin of the celebrated order of the Sourdes de la Carrethe. Wherever this missionary went, he attempted to form similar establishments. From the country they spread the cities, at first to Paris, where, in 1629, they were established in the parish of St. Seibius. And in 1625, a female devotee named Legros joined the order of the Sourdes de la Carrethe. She was married young to M. Legras, one of whose family had founded a hospital at P. But becoming a widow in 1625, in the 34th year of her age, she made a vow of celibacy and dedicated the rest of her life to the service of the poor.

Starting point is 10:52:45 In her, Vincent de Paul found a great accession. Under his direction she took many journeys, visiting and inspecting the establishments which he had founded. She was commonly accompanied by a few pious ladies. Many women of quality enrolled themselves in the order, but the superiors were assisted by inferior servants. The Hotel Dew was the first hospital in Paris, where they exercised their vocation. This they visited every day, supplying the patients with comforts above what the hospital afforded, and administering besides religious consolation. By degrees, they spread into all the provinces of France, and at length the Queen of Poland requested Mademoiselle

Starting point is 10:53:31 Le Grasse, for though a widow that was her title, to send her a supply of Sorce de la Carite, who were thus established in Varsovia in 1652. At length, after a long life spent in the service of charity and religion, Mademoiselle Le Grasse died on the 15th of March, 1660, nearly 70 years of age, and for a day and a half her body lay exposed to the gaze of the pious. A country clergyman who spent several years in various parts of France gives an account of the present state of the order, which, together with what I have gathered from other sources, is in substance as follows.

Starting point is 10:54:13 It consists of women of all ranks, many of them of the higher orders. After a year's novitiate in the convent, they take a bow which binds them to the order for the rest of their lives. They have two objects, to attend the sick and to educate the poor. They are spread all over France and the superior nurses at the hospitals and are to be found in every town and often even in villages. Go into the Paris hospitals at almost any hour of the day and you will see one of these respectable-looking women

Starting point is 10:54:48 in her black gown and white hood, passing slowly from bed to bed, and stopping to inquire of some poor wretch, what little comfort he is fancying will alleviate his sufferings. If a parochial cure wants assistance in the care of his flock, he applies to the order of the source de la Carite, two of them, for they generally go in couples, set out on their charitable mission. Wherever they travel, their dress protect them. Even more enlightened persons than the common peasantry hail it as a happy omen, when on a journey with the sword de la Carite happens to travel with them, and even instances are recorded, in which their presence has saved travelers from the attacks of robbers.

Starting point is 10:55:36 During the revolution they were rarely molested. They were the only religious order permitted openly to wear their dress and pursue their vocation. government gives a hundred francs a year to each sister, besides her traveling expenses, and if the parish where they go cannot maintain them, they are supported out of the funds of the order. In old age, they retire to their convents and spend the rest of their lives in educating the novitiates. Thus, like the Vestal virgins of old, the first part of their life is spent learning their duties, the second in practicing them. and the last in teaching them.

Starting point is 10:56:21 End of Appendix Part 10. Chapter 47 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Larry Wilson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix Part 11, the Angels of Buena Vista.

Starting point is 10:56:54 Greenleaf Whittier, with reference to the work of the Sisters of Mercy at the Battle of Buena Vista during the Mexican War. Speak and tell us, Arzimina, looking northward far away or the camp of the invaders or the Mexican army. Who is losing? Who is winning? Are they far or come they near? Look ahead and tell us, sister, whither rolls the storm we hear.

Starting point is 10:57:20 Down the hills of Augustura, still the storm of battle rolls. blood is flowing men are dying god have mercy on their souls who is losing who is winning over hill and over plain i see but smoke of cannon clouding through the mountain ring holy mother keep our brothers look zimina look once more still i see the fearful whirlwind rolling darkly as before bearing on in strange confusion friend and foeman foot and horse like some wild and troubled torrent sweeping down its mountain course. Look once more, Samina. Oh, the smoke has rolled away, and I see the northern rifles gleaming down the ranks of gray. Hark! That sudden blast of bugles! There are the troop of minion wheels. There the northern horses thunder with the cannon at their heels.

Starting point is 10:58:17 Jesusu, pity! How it thickens! Now retreat to now advance! ride against the blazing cannon showers Pueblo's charging lance. Down they go, the brave young riders, horse and foot together fall. Like a plough shearer in the fallow, through them plows the northern ball. Nearer came the storm and nearer, rolling fast and frightful on. Speak Zemina, speak and tell us who has lost and who has won. Alas, alas, I know not, friend and foe together fall, or the dying rush the living. Pray my sisters for them all. Lo, the wind the smoke is lifting.

Starting point is 10:58:58 Blessed Mother, save my brain. I can see the wounded crawling slowly out from heaps of slain. Now they stagger, blind and bleeding. Now they fall and strive to rise. Haste and sisters, haste and save them lest they die before our eyes. Oh, my heart's love, oh my dear one, Lay thy poor head on my knee. Does thou know the lips that kiss thee? Canst thou hear me? Canst thou see? O my husband, brave and gentle,

Starting point is 10:59:31 O my burnal, look once more on the blessed cross before thee. Mercy, mercy all is o'er. Dry thy tears, my poor Zeminah. Lay thy dear one down to rest. Let his hands be meekly folded. Lay the cross upon his breast. let his dirge be sung hereafter and his funeral masses said to-day thou poor bereaved one the living ask thy aid close beside her faintly faintly moaning fair and young a soldier lay torn with shot and pierced with lances bleeding slow his life away but as tenderly before him the lorn zimina knelt she saw the northern eagle shining on his pistol belt

Starting point is 11:00:20 with a stifled cry of horror straight she turned away her head with a sad and bitter feeling looked she back upon her dead but she heard the youth's low moaning and his struggling breath of pain and she raised the cooling water to his parching lips again whispered the dying soldier pressed her hand and faintly smiled was that pitying face his mother's did she watch besides her child all his stronger words with meaning her woman's heart supplied with her kiss upon his forehead mother murmured he and died a bitter curse upon them poor boy who led thee forth from some gentle sad-eyed mother weeping lonely in the north spoke the mournful mexican woman as she laid him with her dead and turned to soothe the living and bind the woods which bled look forth once more zemina like a cloud before the wind rolls the battle down the mountains leaving blood and death behind her O, they pleaded in vain for mercy, In the dust the wounded strive, Hide your faces, holy angels, O thou Christ of God, forgive.

Starting point is 11:01:36 Sink, O night among thy mountains, Let the cool gray shadows fall, Dying brothers, fighting demons drop thy curtain over all. Through the thickening winter twilight, Wide apart the battle rolled, In its sheath the saber rested, And the cannon's mouth grew cold. but the noble mexic women still their holy task pursued through that long dark night of sorrow worn and faint and lacking food over weak and suffering brothers with a tender care they hung and the dying foemen blessed them in a strange and northern tongue

Starting point is 11:02:14 not wholly lost o father is this evil world of ours upward through its blood and ashes spring afresh the eden flowers and from its smoking hill of battle love and pity send their prayer and still thy white-winged angels hover dimly in our air end of chapter forty seven appendix part twelve of angels of the battlefield this is a librivox recording all librivox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librivox dot org angels of the battlefield by george barton catherine elizabeth macaulay miss catherine elizabeth macaulay the foundress of the order of sisters of mercy ranks high among the notable women whose achievements have enriched the history of the catholic church the religious institution first planted by her in the city of dublin has spread to such an extent that its branches now spread into at least every quarter of the english-speaking globe the communities of the sisters of mercy in the united states have done excellent work in many fields, but they particularly distinguished themselves as nurses during the unhappy conflict between the north and the south. Miss McCauley was born September 29, 1787 at Stormontown, Dublin, Ireland. She was the daughter of pious, well-known, and respectable parents. Her father was

Starting point is 11:03:49 especially prominent by reason of his goodness to the poor and the unfortunate. One of his regular practices was to have all the poor of the vicinity come to his house. on Sundays and holidays for the purpose of instructing them in their religion. Both father and mother died when the subject of this sketch was very young. Shortly after this unfortunate event, Catherine was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. William Callahan, who belonged to a family that was distantly connected with the mother of Miss McCauley. Her foster parents, although very worthy people, were bitterly prejudiced against the religion practiced by their adopted child. They were so opposed to anything Catholic that they would not permit a crucifix or a pious picture in the house. Despite this, Catherine attended to her religious duties with great regularity and fidelity, and by her gentleness succeeded in disarming any anger or annoyance that they may have otherwise felt regarding her course. She was a model of all the virtues, and this fact did not escape the attention of her foster parents. Dean Gaffney, writing of her at this period, says,

Starting point is 11:04:58 Everyone who had distress to be relieved, affliction to be mitigated, troubles to be encountered, came to her, and to the best of her ability she advised them what to do. Her zeal made her a missionary in her district. In these works of charity and usefulness, she continued for several years, during which she was rendering herself dearer and dearer to her adopted parents. In the course of a few years both these estimable people died, but not before the gentle foster-child had led both of them into the catholic church catherine was left the sole heiress of mr callahan and at once made arrangements for systematically distributing food and clothing to the poor miss macaulay was now in a position to realize her early vision of founding an institution in which servants and other women of good character might when out of work find a temporary home and be shielded from the dangers to which the unprotected men

Starting point is 11:05:56 members of the sex are exposed. She unfolded her plans to the very reverend Dr. Armstrong and very reverend Dr. Blake, her spiritual advisors. It was deemed advisable, says Dean Murphy, writing of this, not to take a house already built and occupied for other purposes, in which she would have some difficulty in adapting to her own designs, but to secure a plot of ground that had never been built upon, and to erect an edifice for the honor and glory of God that had never been profaned by the vices and folly of the world, and which should be as holy in its creation as in its use, and be dedicated to God from its very foundation. The building was constructed and put into operation within a reasonably short time. When finished, it was discovered that the architect

Starting point is 11:06:45 had created a building which, for all purposes, could be used as a convent. This was regarded as a fortunate mistake in the beginning miss mccallie had no thought of founding a religious institute but in working out the ideas that were near to her heart she imperceptibly and almost unconsciously drifted towards that end daniel o'connell the great irish liberator was a friend and patron of miss mccallie and frequently visited her establishment which he regarded as filling a long felt want in the irish capital in eighteen twenty seven o'connell presided over a christmas dinner given by miss mcculley to the poor children of dublin in eighteen twenty eight at the suggestion of the archbishop of the dioces she formed the order of the sisters of mercy there had been a royal military and religious order of our lady of mercy dating back to the twelfth century and this new order founded by a pious young woman was largely based upon the old one except that it was intended for women and not for men. Ms. McCauley frequently said that what she desired was to found an order whose members would combine the silence, recollection, and prayer of the Carmelite with the active zeal of a sister of charity. It seems to be generally conceded that she succeeded in achieving her purpose.

Starting point is 11:08:07 Three words, works of mercy, briefly tell the story of the character of the labors of the Sisters of Mercy. Miss McCauley did not finally complete her laudable plan, without having to overcome many obstacles and to set aside some very bitter opposition part of which came not only from her own relatives but from bishops and priests as well a few years after the dedication of her institute miss macaulay and a few chosen companions decided that the high purpose to which they had consecrated their lives could be carried out if they would enter the religious state they were admitted to one of the convents of the presentation order and after an ovidiate lasting one year, she and her companions received the religious habit. In October 1831, she professed and was canonically appointed by the Archbishop as superior of the new order. The costume worn by the members of the order was devised by Mother Catherine, as she was thereafter called. The order grew rapidly in numbers and in prominence. The life of its first mother and foundress was active and edifying. Her

Starting point is 11:09:16 labors were not confined to any particular work, but embraced everything that was in the interest and for the benefit of the poor and unfortunate. In 1832, she won enduring laurels by assuming charge of the cholera hospital in Dublin. She died on November 11, 1837, resigned and happy, and furnished an example of pious fortitude to the sisters that crowded around her deathbed. The order that she founded, as it exists today, is her best monument. beginning in Ireland in 1827, it was afterwards successfully introduced into England, Newfoundland, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the United States of America. End of Appendix Part 12.

Starting point is 11:10:08 Appendix Part 13 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is the Librivox According. All Librivox Accordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, Please visit Librivox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton Appendix Part 13 Clerical Veterans

Starting point is 11:10:31 Notre Dame, Indiana, enjoys the distinction of a Grand Army post composed of Catholic clergymen, most of whom are members of the Faculty of Notre Dame University. The organization was officially entered on October 6, 1897, as Post No. 569, Department of Indiana. Very Reverend William E. Corby, C.S.C.

Starting point is 11:10:59 The commander of the New Post was chaplain of the Irish Brigade, and is now the provincial or head officer of the Order of the Holy Cross in the United States. Dr. Corby is also the chaplain of the Indiana Commandery of the Loyal Legion. To this position he was nominated by General Lou Wallace. The membership of the new post will be very small, but large enough to have a few famous fighters and great men of the war. With the exception of the Colonel William E. Haynes, the only lay member, the post is composed, altogether of members of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. The following completes the roster. Very Reverend William Corby, C.S.C. Chaplain, 88's New York Volunteers Irish Brigade.

Starting point is 11:11:50 Reverend Peter P. Cooney, C.S.C. Chaplain, 35th, Medina. James McLean, Brother Leander, C.S.C. B. Company, 24th United States Infantry. William A. Olmstead, C.S.C. Captain and Leightonet Colonell, 2nd Infantry, New York Volunteers. Colonel, 59th, New York Veteran Volunteers. Brigadier General by Brevet. Commandary. First Brigade. Second Division. Second Army Corps Army of the Potomac Mark A. Willis, brother John Chrysostom, C.S.C. First Company, 54th Pennsylvania volunteers.

Starting point is 11:12:32 Nicholas A. Bath, Brother Cosmos, C.S.C. D. Company, second United States artillery. James Mantel, Brother Benedict C.S.C. A. Company, First Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and six United States Cavalry. John McEnnerney, Brother Eustathius, C.S.C. Age Company, 83rd Ohio Volunteers. Joseph Staley, Brother Agassus, C.S.C. C. Company, 8th Indiana Regulars.

Starting point is 11:13:04 Ignatz Meyer, brother Ignatius, C.S.C. C. Company, 75th Pennsylvania Volunteers and 157th Pennsylvania Volunteers. James C. Malloy, Brother Raphael, C.S.C. B Company, 133rd Pennsylvania volunteers. Colonel William E. Haynes General Olmsted, who is studying for the priesthood, is much interested in the little gathering. He is justly proud of the work of his men in the celebrated Hancock's division. He refers to the government reports in every case as proof of the bravery of his soldiers. The General said not long ago in an interview,

Starting point is 11:13:48 Very much that this said of me is not true, but to show you that my men were brave, I give you the reports from the Department at Washington. The General Reid The losses of the First Brigade, Second Division's Second Corps, my brigade, were greater in the Battle of Gettysburg than those that occurred to any one brigade in the army.

Starting point is 11:14:10 There was, beside, a total casualty of seven hundred and three, 63 killed and wounded out of 1,246 men at Antietam, a percentage of 61. Father Corby has the honor of being the only chaplain to give absolution under fire. The event of his giving absolution at Gettysburg to the Irish Brigade is the best known of his achievements in chaplain life. It is said that every man, Catholic and Protestant, knelt before the rock upon which he stood and the colors were lowered. Then they went out and fought, and how many fell upon that bloody field is too well known to be repeated. Father Corby, although an old man, is hail and hearty,

Starting point is 11:14:56 and does all his work as provincial of the order without the aid of a secretary. Reverend Peter Cooney also has a brilliant war record, but he and Father Corby are by no means the only two who went to war from Notre Dame. In all there were eight priests who went forced to service as chaplains in the war. Besides these, Mother Mary Angela, a cousin of James G. Blaine, went forth with a large number of sisters to nurse the wounded and care for dying. To these also, great praise is due. There was much enthusiasm in Notre Dame over the organization exercises and among those present or who sent their congratulations were General Lou Wallace, General Molloland of Philadelphia, Colonel G. A. Smith of Indianapolis, General G. A. Golden of New York,

Starting point is 11:15:51 General William G. Seawall, Colonel R. S. Robertson of Fort Wayne, General G. A. Starburg of Boston. Captain Florence McCarthy of New York. Captain Emil A. Depper of Grand Rapids, Captain G.G. Abercrombie of Chicago, Department Commander James S. Dodge was his full staff. The G.A.R. Post from Elkhart and two posts from Salsband helped to master in the clerical veterans. Commendatory messages were also received from a large number of posts and leaders in the GAR. End of Appendix Part 13.

Starting point is 11:16:39 Part 15 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by John Brandon. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Chapter 50, Part 14, Catholics in the War. St. Teresa's Church at the northeast corner of Broad and Catherine Streets

Starting point is 11:17:08 was temporarily used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the war. On July 4, 1897, Reverend Joseph V. O'Connor, one of the eloquent priests of the Diocese of Philadelphia, delivered an address in this church relative to Catholics in the war. A score of Grand Army Post attended the exercises, which were also honored by the presence of the venerable Hugh Lane, who has been pastor of the church during and since the war. War. Father O'Counter's address deserves a place in this volume. He said, The sacred edifice in which you assemble is an appropriate spot for religion and patriotism to meet. For St. Teresa's Church was for a time in the Civil War, a military hospital. The old railway station

Starting point is 11:17:59 had broadened prime streets was the rendezvous of the Union troops from the north and east going to and from the seat of war. The gleaming cross upon the church seemed lifted in benediction over army after army marching past. The poet Byron represents the forest of our dens as weeping over the unreturning brave of Waterloo. But the sign of man's redemption may have lifted up many a Catholic soldier's heart destined to be stilled in the next battle. These walls, now bright with light and color, have re-echoed the moans of the dying. the venerable priest whose gracious presence lends dignity and historic interest to this celebration prepared here many a soldier for the last dread fight with death the universal conqueror i seem to behold mingling with your solid phalanx the shatowy forms of the brave men who were delivered from the storm and earthquake of battle to breathe out their spirits here in the peace of the sanctuary

Starting point is 11:19:06 far be it from me to limit to the catholic breast that noble fire of the love of country which with purifying flame burned in the great heart of the nation when war sounded the trumpet call to the children of the republic It is occasion that chose the man. Our civil war was an occasion that showed our church. The legislative code of England was disgraced, even in Victoria's reign, by the calumny and imbecility of penal laws against Catholics. To be a Catholic was to be a traitor. In vain did we appeal to history, which crowns with laurels the brows of unnumbered Catholic patriots and heroes in every land of the Universal Church. The thundering legion fought for the Roman Emperor who decreed its martyrdom. The fleet of Protestant England was led against the armada of Catholic Spain by a Catholic in the service of a Queen who sent his fellow religionist to this stake on account of

Starting point is 11:20:10 their faith. The patriotism of the Catholic is motivated by his religion. It rises superior to the form in which civil government may be embodied. Were the Pope, as temporal prince, to invade our country, we should be bound in conscience to repel him. Nor would our patriotism conflict one iota with our religious faith. Our people, driven by misgovernment from their native soil, found the portals of the Great Republic flung open to them in friendly welcome. They came to the north and to the west. Thus the great centers of industry in the northern states were crowded with Catholics. Many of us had learned the bitter lessons which tyranny, bad government, and religious rancor, had to impart under the scourge of England's misrule of Ireland.

Starting point is 11:21:08 As Burke Cochran says, England's treatment of the Irish people has made the world distrust her. Ireland's love for America dates from before the revolution. The Irish Parliament passed resolutions of sympathy with the American colonists. The great tides of immigration from Ireland set in early and continued until, at the outbreak of the Civil War, the North was one-fourth Celtic in blood. The Catholic Church studiously refrained from any official pronouncement upon the causes of the conflict which she deplored. The first regiment to respond to President Lincoln's initial call for troops

Starting point is 11:21:50 was the 69th New York. It was mainly Irish and Catholic. Within 48 hours, it was on its way to the front. New York, preeminently a Catholic state, furnished one-seventh of the military forces in the war for the Union. Obviously, the government had no reason for recording the religion. faith of its soldiers. Patriotism is at once a natural and a civic virtue. That it may be supernaturalized is evident from the words of St. Paul, bidding us obey the higher powers for conscience's sake.

Starting point is 11:22:27 The country had to face a condition, not a theory, and whatever abstract reasoning has to say about state rights, the will of the majority of the people, which is the supreme law, in a republic, decided for the maintenance of the Federal Union. The best traditions of the country, North and South, identified liberty with Union. God appears to have made the country one in geographical formation

Starting point is 11:22:56 in sameness of language, in homogeneity of character. Two illustrious Catholic prelates recognized as leaders in Israel, the Moses, and the Joshua of the Church, Archbishop Kendrick of Baltimore and Archbishop Hughes of New York declared in favor of the Union. The sainted sage of the primacial city

Starting point is 11:23:21 flung the starry banner from the pinnacle of his cathedral. The Archbishop of New York was so thoroughly identified with the cause of the Union that he was invested by the President and his Secretary of State with the authority of envoy extraordinary to the courts of Europe. Unroll the military records of our country and you will read column after column of names that are historically Catholic. Read the names on the tombstones of soldiers in the great national cemeteries

Starting point is 11:23:53 and you will find in the Christian name alone confirmatory evidence of the faith of the hero that sleeps beneath. The Catholic knows that the church imposes in baptism the name of a saint. We may safely judge that he is a Catholic who bears the name of Patrick and Michael, of Bernard and Dominic. Not even the conservative spirit of the Church of England could retain the old saintly nomenclature, and Puritanism chose the names of Old Testament worthies, or names taken from natural history, and even heathen mythology. If we reckon our soldiers by their religion, the majority would be Catholic, and we should find that we had given our children in far greater number than any one denomination. On the second day of Gettysburg, a Catholic priest, ascending in eminence,

Starting point is 11:24:47 lifted his hand to give absolution, and far as the eye could reach, rank upon rank of soldiers bent their heads like cornfields, swept by the summer breeze. Hancock the superb, impressed by the solemnity of the scene, bared his brow. If the poet thought that a tear should fall for Stonewall Jackson because he spared Barbara Fritchie's union flag,

Starting point is 11:25:14 will not a Catholic murmur a prayer for the great general who gave heed to the priest calling upon his people to be contrite for their sins in the hour which, for many, would be the last. The seven successive stormings

Starting point is 11:25:29 of the heights of Fredericksburg by the Irish Brigade has long passed into history as surpassing Alma and the sedan. Keenan's cavalry charge at Chancellorville saved the Union Army at the cost of 300 lives. The charge of the Light Brigade at Belaclava was described by a French officer as magnificent, but unmilitary. Se Monifique may say ne'epa la guerre. But Keenan's charge was both glorious and strategic. His troop rushed like a whirlwind upon twenty thousand Confederates.

Starting point is 11:26:06 His men were shot down or sabred in the saddle. The steeds maddened by wounds and uncontrolled by their dead riders plunged into the thick of the Confederate ranks, and so disconcerted and appalled them that the main army of the Union had time to save itself from otherwise inevitable destruction. Perhaps the most critical point of the war was the success, or the failure, of Sheridan's devastation of the Shenandoah Valley, which was the great base of supplies for the South. Sheridan's historic ride, which saved the day at Winchester, was the exploit of a Catholic.

Starting point is 11:26:48 The Republic subsequently conferred upon this son of the Church one of the highest and most responsible positions in her keeping the generalship of her. armies. One of the first, if not the first band of trained nurses that offered their services to the government was the religious society of the Sisters of Charity. Their title is their history. Their services in hospitals and on the field did more than tomes of controversy to make the Catholic church better known and consequently loved by the American people. The convalescing soldier by word and by letter spread the information throughout the land that the ministrations of the Catholic sisterhood reminded him of a mother's love and his sister's tenderness.

Starting point is 11:27:38 The heroic devotion to duty of the Catholic chaplains who made no distinction of religion when a soldier was to be helped endeared the Catholic religion to many who met a Catholic priest for the first time in camp or hospital. Our own noble-hearted Archbishop rendered such servicestered, to the wounded soldiers in St. Louis that the government offered him a chaplaincy. Care of the body was often supplemented

Starting point is 11:28:04 with the higher care of the soul. In that parting hour, when mortality leans upon the breast of religion, the example of devoted priest and religious gently led many a soul into the hope and the consolation of divine faith. God grant that our country shall never again real under the shock of war.

Starting point is 11:28:28 Yet out of the nettle of danger has come the flower of safety. Calumny, suspicion, distrust of our patriotism were struck dumb. Never again shall we be taunted with secret antipathy to free institutions. The banner of the stars was revaptized in our blood. To the soldier of the war the church owes a debt of gratitude, He proved often by his death that the religion which he professed, far from condemning his patriotism, commended it as a virtue. And the faith that sustained him in battle supported him when his heart poured out the blood of supreme sacrifice upon the altar of his country. And though no memorial marks his

Starting point is 11:29:16 resting place, the church in every mass pleads for the repose of his soul. The soldier stands as the highest value which we place upon our country and her institutions, he says to all my country is worth dying for. In our thoughtless way, we take liberty, security of life and property, the blessings of religion and safeguards of law, and all the beauty and amenity of our civilization as a matter of course. Without the soldier, all these goods would perish. It is war that preserves and protects peace. The soldier is the guardian of our homes. Honor him.

Starting point is 11:29:58 Make peaceful and happy his declining years. Thank God with David for preparing our hands for the sword, before whose blinding ray in the hand of the hero, domestic treason, and foreign conspiracy slink into their dens. Bless God for making us a nation of soldiers as well as of citizens. The war proved that the American soldier, North and South, is without a peer in bravery, in discipline, and self-control. Whilst our Republic gives birth to such heroic sons, we may laugh armed Europe to scorn.

Starting point is 11:30:37 Soldiers, there is another battle, another field, a greater captain than even the archangel who led the embattled seraphon to war. You divine my meaning? be soldiers of the cross. Fight the good fight of faith. Be sober, pure, charitable. The laurel that binds the warrior's brow on earth soon fades. The flowers of decoration day droop with the setting sun.

Starting point is 11:31:06 But the divine captain of our salvation will place upon your brow, if you are faithful to the end, a crown that fadeth not away. a wreath which you will receive amid the shout of the heavenly armies. End of Chapter 50, Part 14. Recording by John Brandon. Appendix Part 15 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 11:31:42 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. the sanitary commission the purpose of the writer of this history as already stated has been to furnish for the first time a full and detailed story of the labors of the catholic sisterhoods in the civil war but in doing that he has not had the slightest intention of detracting from the splendid service rendered by other bodies and other persons one of the most notable organizations that contributed its part in the humane work incident to the war was the sanitary Commission. It had its rise in a spontaneous movement of the women in New England. It has said that seven thousand branch aid societies were connected with the Commission at one time. Charles J. Steele of Philadelphia has written a history of the Commission, from which most of the facts embodied in this sketch have been obtained. Committees were sent to Washington, the part of the government,

Starting point is 11:32:44 the Secretary of War on 9th of June 1861, issued an order appointing Henry, and after much negotiation involving tedious delay on W. Bellows, D.D., Professor A. D. Bosh, L.L.D., Professor Jeffreys Wyman, M.D., W. H. Van Buren, M.D. W. C. W. C. Wood, Surgeon, U.S.A. U.S. A. G. W. Cullum, U.S.A. In connection with such others as they might choose to associate with them, a commission of inquiry and advice in respect of the sanitary interests of the United States forces. They were to serve without remuneration from the government and were to be provided with a room for their use in the city of Washington. They were to direct their inquiries to the principles and practices connected with the inspection of recruits and enlisted men, the sanitary

Starting point is 11:33:42 condition of volunteers, to the means of preserving and restoring the health and of securing the general comfort and efficiency of the troops, to the proper provision of cooks, nurses, and hospitals, and to other subjects of a like nature. The mode by which they proposed to conduct these inquiries was detailed in the letter of the New York delegation to the Secretary of War on the 22nd of May. The order appointing them directed that they should correspond freely with the department and with the Medical Bureau concerning these subjects, and on this footing and within these limits, there relations with the official authorities was established. To enable them to carry out fully the purposes of their appointment, the Surgeon General issued a circular letter, announcing the creation of the

Starting point is 11:34:29 commission, and directing all the officers in his department to grant its agents every facility in the prosecution of their duties. On the 12th of June, the gentleman named as commissioners in the order of the Secretary of War, with the exception of Professor Wyman, who had declined his appointment, assembled at Washington. They proceeded to organize the board by the selection of the Reverend Dr. Bellows as president. Their first care was to secure the services

Starting point is 11:34:56 of certain gentlemen as colleagues, who were supposed to possess special qualification, but whose names had not been included in the original warrant. Accordingly, Dr. Elisha Harris and Dr. Cornelius R. Agnew were unanimously chosen commissioners at the first meeting,

Starting point is 11:35:12 and George T. Strong and Dr. J.S. Newberry, in like manner at the one next succeeding. At different periods during the war, right Reverend Bishop Clark, Honorable R. W. Burnett, Honorable Mark Skinner, Honorable Joseph Holt, Horace Binney, Jr.,

Starting point is 11:35:30 Reverend J. H. Haywood, Professor Fairman Rogers, J. Huntington-Wulcott, Charles J. Still, E. B. McCag and F. Law Olmsted, were elected by the board members of the Commission. At the first meeting, a plan of organization prepared by the president was presented, discussed, and finally adopted.

Starting point is 11:35:53 On the 13th, the commission, in a body, waited on the president and secretary of war, who gave their formal sanction to this plan of organization by affixing to it their signatures. The experiences of the war suggested but little alteration, even in the outline of this report, while to a strict adherence to the general principles it embodied, the Sanitary Commission owed much of its wonderful success. The plan reduced to a practical system and method, the principles laid down in the letters of the New York gentlemen to the government authorities and endeavored to apply them to the actual existing condition of the army. Confining its proposed operations within the limited sphere of inquiry and advice,

Starting point is 11:36:36 which had been assigned to it by the government, it declared what it proposed to do and by what methods in each of these departments of duty. in order that its work might be carried on systematically and thoroughly two general committees were created one respecting inquiry the other advice the object of the first was to determine by all the light which could be derived from experience what must necessarily be the wants and conditions of troops brought together as ours had been to ascertain exactly how far evils which had proved the scourge of other armies had already invaded our own and to decide could concerning the best measures to be adopted to remove all causes of removable and preventable disease. Each branch of inquiry under this head was referred to a distinct subcommittee. From the first was expected such suggestions of preventable measures as experience in former wars had proved to be absolutely essential.

Starting point is 11:37:36 To the second was entrusted the actual inspection by its own members or their agents of the camps and hospitals, so that the real, condition of the army, in a sanitary point of view, concerning which there were many conflicting rumors, could be definitely known. To the third was referred all questions concerning the improvement of the health and efficiency of the army, in respect to diet, clothing, quarters, and matters of a similar nature. In regard to the other branch of duty assigned to the commission under its appointment, that of advice, the board took the same wide and comprehensive views as had guided them in regard to the needful subjects of inquiry. Their purpose was to get the opinions

Starting point is 11:38:19 and conclusions of the Commission approved by the Medical Bureau, ordered by the War Department, and carried out by the officers and men. The interest excited in thousands of homes throughout the land, whose inmates were members of aid societies in favor of the Sanitary Commission, and who looked upon it only as the almanor of their vast offerings for the relief of the Army, led to the popular error that it was only a relief association, upon a grand scale, and quite overshadowed in popular estimation its original purpose, if not the peculiar and exclusive work before it. The commission itself, however, never departed from the true scientific idea and conception of a preventive system, and always regarded the relief system, vast as was the place occupied by it in the war,

Starting point is 11:39:09 inferior in the importance of its results to those due to well-considered and thoroughly executed preventive measures. The Commission at the close of the war established a pension bureau and war claim agency for the benefit of disabled soldiers and their orphans and widows. The entire money receipts of the Commission from 1861 to 1866 were $4,924,480.99, and the value of supplies furnished is estimated at fifteen million dollars end of appendix part fifteen chapter fifty two of angels of the battlefield this is a librovox recording all librovox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librovox dot org recording by larry wilson angels of the battlefield by george barton appendix part sixteen the blue and the by the flow of the inland river whence the fleets of iron have fled where the blades of the grave-grass quiver asleep on the ranks of the dead under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day under the one the blue and under the other the gray these in the robings of glory those in the gloom of defeat all with the battle-blood gory in the dusk of eternity meet under the sod and the dew waiting the other the gray the judgment day, under the laurel the blue, under the willow the gray. From the silence of sorrowful

Starting point is 11:40:52 hours the desolate mourners go, lovingly laden with flowers alike for the friend and the foe, under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day, under the rose the blue, under the lilies the gray. So with an equal splendor the morning sun rays fall, with a touch impartially tender on the blossoms blooming for all. Under the sod and the dew, waiting the judgment day, broidered with gold the blue, mellowed with gold the gray. So when the summer calleth on forest and field of grain, with an equal murmur falleth the cooling drip of the rain, under the sod and the dew, waiting the judgment day, wet with the rain the blue, wet with the rain the gray. Sadly, but not with upbraiding, the generous deed was done. In the store,

Starting point is 11:41:43 storm of the years that are fading, no braver battle was won, under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day, under the blossoms the blue, under the garlands the gray. No more shall the war-cry sever, or the winding rivers be red. They banish our anger forever, when they laurel the graves of our dead, under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day, love and tears for the blue, tears and love for the gray. Chapter 52. Chapter 53 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox Recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Larry Wilson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton, Appendix Part 17, A Miracle of War.

Starting point is 11:42:42 The following interesting little incident is taken from very Reverend W.C. Corby's book entitled Memoirs of Chaplain Life. On the 29th of November, 1863, says Reverend Constantine L. Egan, O.P., chaplain of the ninth Massachusetts volunteers, we advanced to mine run and formed a line of battle and bivouacked for the night. The enemy were posted on the east ridge about one mile from the stream called mile run, on a center ridge nearly 100 feet above the surface of the stream. their works could easily be seen by us posted on the west ridge of the run they were strongly fortified their works bristling with abbotis infantry parapets and depotments for batteries about three o'clock on the evening of the thirtieth the order was given to charge the enemy's line seeing the danger of death before us i asked the colonel to form his regiment into a solid square so that i could address the men he did so i then spoke to them of their danger and it treated them to prepare for it by going on their knees and making a sincere active condition for their sins with the intention of going to confession if their lives were spared As the regiment fell on their knees, other Catholic soldiers broke from their ranks and joined us,

Starting point is 11:44:02 so that in less than two minutes I had the largest congregation I ever witnessed before or even since. Having pronounced the words of general absolution to be given in such emergencies and danger, I spoke a few words of encouragement to them. After talking to the soldiers and finishing my remarks, they arose from their knees, grasping their muskets with a firm clinch, and went back to the respective commands, awaiting the hour to expire to make the assault. Smith Johnson, taking this as his theme, has written the following poem, entitled A Miracle of War, and dedicated it to Father Corby. Two armies stood in stern array on Gettysburg Historic Field.

Starting point is 11:44:45 This side the blue, on that the gray. Each side resolved to win the day, or life to home and country yield. Take arms! Fall in, rang over the line of Hancock's ever-violent core. For, to the left the cannon's chime, with music terribly sublime, with death's unceasing solemn roar. With spirits ardent, undismayed, with flags uplifted toward the sky, there stands brave Magers' old brigade.

Starting point is 11:45:15 Those noble laurels ne'er will fade upon the page of history. All forward, men! No pause a while. Dead silence follows like me. parade. At order to arms forlong the file, there moves a priest with holy smile, the priest of Magor's old brigade. All eyes were toward him, reverent turned, for he was known and loved by all, and every face with fervor burned, and with a glance his mission learned, a mission of high heaven's call. Then spake the priest, my comrades, friends, ere long the battle fierce will surge,

Starting point is 11:45:53 ere long the curse of war descends At such a moment God commends you from the soul All sin to purge Neal soldiers Lift your hearts to God and sweet contrition Crush the pride of human minds Kneel on the sod that soon will welter in your blood

Starting point is 11:46:12 Look up to Christ Who for you died And every man, whateer his greed, kneels down And whispers, pass along the ranks and murmuring voices plead to be from sins contagion freed, and turned from path of mortal wrong. Across the veil the gray lines view the priest and those who, kneeling now, for absolution, humbly sue, and joining hearts the gray and blue together make the holy vow. The smoke of battle lifts apace, and o'er the field-lined forms of men, with glazen eyes and pallid face,

Starting point is 11:46:48 dead yet alive, for God's sweet grace has saved them from the death of sin. Smith Johnson End of Chapter 53 Section 54 of Angels of the Battlefield This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Shelley Turner

Starting point is 11:47:24 Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Appendix 18. Lincoln at Gettysburg. It has been aptly said that the battlefield of Gettysburg has become the mecca of American reconciliation. By act of Congress, a national park has been established there, observatories erected, and everything possible done to make the battlefield convenient and attractive to tourists. The National Cemetery at Gettysburg was dedicated, November 19, 1863. The oration was by Edward Everett. On this occasion, President Lincoln made the

Starting point is 11:48:06 famous address that will never die. It was as follows. Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, but in a larger sense, We cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men,

Starting point is 11:49:05 living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it never can forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here, to the unfinished world. To the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth freedom, and that the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish

Starting point is 11:50:04 from the earth. End of Section 54, Appendix 18. Section 55 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Section 55, Appendix 19.

Starting point is 11:50:38 The Faith and the Flag. While the work of the zealous Catholic sisterhoods on the battlefield and in the camp and hospital was for humanity, in its broadest sense, the effect of their example and the beauty of their daily lives also had the effect of clearing away the mists of prejudice, that sometimes distorted and clouded the views of honorable, well-meaning, and worthy non-Catholics. The writer has endeavored to present the history of the labors of the sisters in a straightforward and dispassionate manner. He has dealt exclusively in facts, and has as far as possible, avoided comment. It has especially been his aim to keep entirely clear of sectional disputes or religious

Starting point is 11:51:28 controversies. Hence it will be found that the story of the work of the sisters has reference, in Maine, to their devotion to suffering humanity. It was inevitable, however, that men living in the atmosphere of sanctity created by these good women should feel the consoling benefit of their silent influence. The result was that non-Catholics began to take a broader and more kindly view of their Catholic comrades and fellow citizens. And long before the war closed, they realized that the faith and the flag were entirely compatible. A few years ago, William J. Onahan, of Chicago,

Starting point is 11:52:11 in an address, incidentally, touched upon this very point. Speaking of those who were distrustful of the church and its teachings, he said, quote, If they could realize the harmony and benevolence, influence of her teaching, the number of souls redeemed through her efforts and graces from despair and sin, the wounded hearts, solaced by her balm, the extent of human misery she has removed or mitigated, let them but think how that church has consecrated the marriage tie, sanctify the home, shielded the unfortunate, lifted up the lowly and sorrow-stricken, staying the arm of the oppressor,

Starting point is 11:52:56 pleading for the rights of the poor against the power of the tyrant and the greed of the capital. Witness the asylums and the refuges the Catholic Church has established all over the world for every condition of infirmity and suffering, for the orphans, the foundlings, the sick, the aged, the wayward and the fallen. See the admirable sisterhoods, to which no parallel can be found on earth. The sisters of charity and mercy, the poor handmaids of Jesus of Jesus, Christ, the sisters of St. Joseph, the nuns of the good shepherd, the little sisters of the poor and countless others, varying in the admirable diversity of their charitable labors. Watch these sisters at their appointed duties in the hospitals and asylums, in the hovels of

Starting point is 11:53:45 the poor, by the bedside of the dying. I, in pest houses and smallpox hospitals, as well as on the battlefield, ministering to the dying. soldier, all bent on doing God's work for God's sake. Assuredly these facts, these daily examples here before our eyes, within reach of our feet and daily walk, assuredly, these ought to serve toward dispelling the false glare of prejudice. As a preliminary, let me say I adopt, without reserve or qualification, the language of the Baltimore Catholic Congress. We rejoice at the...

Starting point is 11:54:26 the marvelous development of our country, and regard with just pride, a part taken by Catholics in such development. In the words of the pastoral, issued by the archbishops of the United States, assembled in the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, we claim to be acquainted both with the laws, institutions, and spirit of our country, and we emphatically declare that there was no antagonism between them. We repudiate, with equal earnestness, the assertion that we need to lay aside any of our devotedness to our church to be true Americans, and the insinuations that we need abate, any of our love for our country's principles to be faithful Catholics. We believe that our country's heroes were the instruments of the God of Nations, in establishing this home of freedom,

Starting point is 11:55:20 to both the Almighty and to his instruments, in the work we look with grateful reverence, and to maintain the inheritance of freedom which they have left us. Should it ever, which God forbid, be imperiled, our Catholic citizens will be bound to stand forward as one man, ready to pledge anew their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Before turning to the question of the rights and duties, Let me first define what I understand by the term Catholic citizen. An American citizen, whether by birth or adoption, who, having had the grace of Christian baptism,

Starting point is 11:56:00 believes and practices the teachings of the Catholic Church, in other words, a practical Catholic. Now we come to the question of rights and duties. What are our rights as citizens? No more, no less, precisely than those. possessed by any other American citizen. What are the rights we in common have with others? In general terms, we have the right of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and reputation,

Starting point is 11:56:35 and of pursuing our own happiness. We hold in the language of the Constitution of Illinois that all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God, according to the dictates of their own consciences, that no man can, of right, be compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to maintain any ministry against his consent, that no human authority can in any case whatever

Starting point is 11:57:04 control or interfere with the rights of conscience. We have a right to be protected in our persons and property. We cannot be deprived of either without due process of law. the right of free elections, to trial by jury, to equality before the law. But I need not enter into detail of the Bill of Rights which specifies a catalogue of free man's inheritance. The highest and most precious right, however, is that of religious freedom, liberty to worship God without a let or hindrance, and free from religious disabilities of any kind,

Starting point is 11:57:42 and, next to their own rights as free men to ever, exercise it, as shall best promote the welfare of the city, state, and nation. Catholics, then, are entitled to absolute equality before the law, and this is according to the letter and spirit of the Constitution of the United States, as well as of the several states now, I believe, without exception. There is nevertheless an unwritten law, which operates as a practical discrimination against Catholics in public life, as effectually as though it were so expressed in the Constitution. It is the law of public opinion, deriving its force and effect from popular prejudice.

Starting point is 11:58:29 It is a well-known fact that neither of the great political parties would dare to nominate a Catholic for the presidency, and the same is true as to the office of governor in the different states. Surely it would not be claimed that no American Catholic could be found qualified by a position and ability for any of these high offices. Eternal vigilance, it has been said, is the price of liberty. Probably if Catholics were alert in asserting their rights in a just and lawful, as well as in a reasonable manner, there would be less disposition shown to infringe upon these rights and to ignore their claim to representation.

Starting point is 11:59:11 Again, the government, whether national or state, has no just claim or authority to deny the rights of conscience to Catholics, whether they be employed in the service of the nation, in the army or naval forces, in penal or reformatory institutions, in asylums, or elsewhere. The state may lawfully and justly deprive a man of his liberty and place him behind prison bars,

Starting point is 11:59:37 but it has no right to compel him, while there, to attend a form of religious worship in which he does not believe. It should not deny or hamper the attendance and ministrations of priest or elder whose services are sought by the prisoner or state's own ward. Justice and sound policy alike demonstrate the wisdom of invoking the services of the Catholic missionary for Catholics, whether in jail or asylum or on the frontier.

Starting point is 12:00:11 General Grant testified that Father de Smet's presence among the individuals, Indians, was of greater value to the government than a regiment of cavalry. And recent events on our northern borders intensify the force of this conclusion. The Catholic missionary is always a peacemaker. Catholics ask nothing in the way of privileges. We have no claim to privileges. We only ask what we are willing to concede to others, equality and fair play. If others are content to minimize religious principles,

Starting point is 12:00:46 or to abdicate them entirely, we must be excused if we insist on holding fast to ours. We are on firm ground in that respect. We do not care to follow others into the slough of despond. We are persuaded that every vexed question, occupying and disturbing the public attention, dividing and distracting the people, can be amicably adjusted, provided the wise men of the nation and the states will take these questions out of the hands of fanatics and bigots who are only too eager and anxious to inaugurate a reign of discord and religious strife. Catholics, be assured, will have no part in this warfare, beyond protecting and defending their rights, God-given and constitutional rights. They would be unworthy of American citizenship, were they to be content with less.

Starting point is 12:01:46 We come now to the question of the duties of Catholics as citizens. Let it be understood that in undertaking to answer this, as well as the previous question under consideration, I speak for myself only as a Catholic layman. I express my own thoughts and convictions unreservedly. What are the duties referred to? First and primarily, I should say, to be American, and all that the term broadly implies. How do I define the term American? It stands in my mind for liberty. Order, education, and opportunities. It is the duty of the Catholic citizen

Starting point is 12:02:24 to love liberty for its own sake, order for the general good, and to illustrate the highest type of model of civic virtue. It is a duty to foster and nourish the purity of home life and the domestic virtues eagerly to promote education and to make every necessary sacrifice for it, and to see to it that Catholic children shall have the benefit of a sound Christian education. Catholics should avail themselves of the material opportunities and advantages afforded in this wonderful age and country, and strive to be in the front ranks in the march of progress. The field is wide and inviting. The race is open to all. The privilege of American citizenship should be regarded as precious and priceless.

Starting point is 12:03:15 Because, so easily acquired, perhaps, it is not sufficiently estimated at its true value and worth. Think what American citizenship confers. See what it assures. Equal part and membership in this mighty empire? The equal advantage in its unsurpassed opportunities? The unqualified, privileges. privileges of its unequaled freedom? No standing armies here to be moved at a monarch's caprice, weighing down and depressing the nation's energies, draining it of its lifeblood, sapping its vitality,

Starting point is 12:03:53 and worst evil of all, menacing the peace of the world. No armed constabulary to terrorize over a peasant population and enforce the heartless edict of brutal landlords. No hereditary or favored classes, no obstacle to the unfettered enjoyment of those rights which we possess from God in the natural law, and that are guaranteed to us in the Constitution and laws of the land, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? What a future opens before us? What possibilities for ourselves and for our children? Justly are the American people jealous of this inheritance? It must be guarded with vigilant care, lest unworthy hands and evil guidance should put it in peril.

Starting point is 12:04:47 American liberty and the opportunities of American life are too precious to the human family to permit the one and the other to be wrecked or endangered. I rejoice in every indication of patriotic public spirit, whether shown in devotion and respect for the country's flag or in, reverence and admiration for the nation's heroes. We need all these demonstrations to keep alive in this material age, the ardor and purity of true patriotism. True American patriotism is the inheritance and monopoly of no one class or condition. Its title is not derived from accident of birth or color, is not to be determined by a locality. Montgomery, Pulaski, Stuban, DeKalb, Ruchampu, Moylands, and Sullivan's fought for American liberty in the revolutionary days,

Starting point is 12:05:48 with the ardor and a fidelity at least equal to that displayed by those native and to the manner born. Jackson was nonetheless a typical American because of the accident of his father's foreign birth, or as is sometimes intimated, of his own, and who shall question the patriotic devotion of General Shields, honorably identified with the early history of your own state, of meager, of Mulligan, of Sheridan, of Mead, and countless others I might name. Apprehension is sometimes expressed at the growth of foreign influence,

Starting point is 12:06:26 and the display of foreign customs. But this fear is, after all, puerile. Under our system of government, the foreigner who comes to stay is soon assimilated, and while there may be here and there instances and examples the outgrowth of foreign habits and customs not welcome to American notions, yet these can be only passing and temporary accidents. The foreigner, I insist, is all right, provided he is loyal to American laws and government. We have no use for any other.

Starting point is 12:07:02 unquote. End of Section 55. Section 56 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Section 56, Appendix 20. A Romance of the War. This record of their life and conduct could not

Starting point is 12:07:38 be brought to a more appropriate close than by the recital of a touching romance of the war, growing directly out of the work of the sisters during that crucial period. The episode upon which the story hinges gains added interest from the fact that it constituted one of the actual occurrences of the closing day of the war. A few years before the first shot was fired upon Sumter, a household that was a perfect picture of domestic felicity existed in one of the large cities of Kentucky. It consisted of four persons, father, mother, son, and daughter. The parents were in comfortable circumstances, and in their life and conduct were all that the heads of a Christian family should be. The son and

Starting point is 12:08:27 daughter vied with one another in performing those little acts of devotion and duty that go so far toward making up the sum total of harmony and happiness that should ever reign about the family hearthstone. At the time our narrative begins, the son was approaching his 20th year. He was a tall, handsome, manly fellow, and by a course of preparatory work was now about to begin the final years of study at the West Point Military Academy. The daughter, a girl of unusual intelligence and beauty, was two years the junior of her brother. Hers was a devout nature, and choice and study led her to adopt the habit of a sister of charity, as the means for carrying out a desire to be both useful and good during her transitory stay upon this earth. Just at this period, death, by one of those inexplicable strokes, which can never be made quite clear to the human intellect, carried off both parents.

Starting point is 12:09:39 The devoted children of such a loving father and mother were naturally prostrated at such an affliction, but they rallied nobly, and grief only served to bring out the better qualities of their nature. After all that was mortal of the dearest ones had been consigned to the earth. They calmly sat down and rationally discussed their future plans. The result was just what might have been expected, both resolved to carry out their original design. The parting was a sad one. The man, going to complete his knowledge of a soldier's life, the woman to her convent home, to receive the final vows, and to learn the last lessons concerning the philosophy of charity in its sweetest, in grandest sense.

Starting point is 12:10:35 Many years passed, and the brother and sister in their widely separated and totally different spheres of life, were as dead to one another as if they had never lived under the same roof. The civil war with all of its horrors began, what had been the theoretical discussion of cabinets and the political orations of legislatures, now developed into the fierce and awful reality of war. It was no longer a question of what might or could have been the actual grim-visaged monster with all the hideous ills that follow was engaged in the work of death and destruction.

Starting point is 12:11:16 Men volunteered their services, and after them came the nurses. One of these was Sister S, from one of the northern houses of the Sisters of Charity. In order to expedite her mission of mercy, it was necessary that she should enter the service of the federal government. The record of her daily life from that time forth was the record of every member of the Catholic sisterhood that served during the war. Days of uninterrupted work, nights of ceaseless watching. Soon after the siege of Vicksburg, word was telegraphed to Baltimore that a corps of Sisters of Charity was needed at once to care for the scores of sick and wounded, then suffering, in Louisiana. Only five sisters were available. They were sent at once with Sister S in command. They found to travel seriously impeded from the start. This fact caused the Good Samaritans much anguish of mind.

Starting point is 12:12:18 for the summons they received said that many of the men would die unless they had the immediate attendance of experienced nurses. When the sisters reached Chattanooga, they found that a special train had been provided for the purpose of rushing them with all possible speed to the city of New Orleans. On this train, there were also a number of union officers, carrying important sealed orders from the authorities at Washington to the men in charge of the Union. Union forces in what was known as the Department of the Gulf. Sisters and officers were filled with conflicting emotions, but all had one object in common, the desire to reach New Orleans at the earliest possible moment.

Starting point is 12:13:04 With the sisters it was a race for life, for lives that may be saved by their exertions. With the men it was a race for honor, for promotion perhaps for official commendation from the general of the army, or the president of the United States. Finally, the train steamed into the Crescent City, and the officers went to seek their commanders, and the sisters, their patients, who were in a small town on the Mississippi River. Sister S. divided her small force of nurses with such rare good judgment and executive ability that in 24 hours all of the sick and wounded men were resting comfortably. suddenly came the order to depart, and the Union troops all left the town,

Starting point is 12:13:50 taking with them such of the convalescent patience, as were able to bear the strain of travel. Twelve hours later, a portion of the Confederate Army entered the town, bringing several hundred of their sick and wounded. Sister S, thinking that the call to duty in this instance was no less imperative than it had been in the case of the Union men the day before started for the hospital, where the wounded Confederates had been carried. One of the Union surgeons who had remained behind with his wounded men placed a detaining hand upon her arm. Where are you going? he said. To look after these men, she replied. That is impossible, he said. You are in the service of the United States

Starting point is 12:14:37 government, and you are not permitted to serve under the enemy. We have no objection to your nursing the wounded confederates, but it must be under the auspices of our generals. The Union forces will probably regain possession of this town before nightfall, and then you can wait upon both sides alike. But I insist, and the eyes of the usually mild-mannered sister, sparkled, as she stamped her foot in an emphatic manner. I know nothing of technical military rules, but I insist upon my mind. right to nurse these poor men. I regret very much being placed in such a position, said the

Starting point is 12:15:17 surgeon gently. But I am here representing the government. And I, responded the sister, I'm here representing something greater than the government. What is that? He asked in an incredulous tone. Humanity was the quiet reply. The officer, a brave man, obeying orders. did not utter another word, but bowing his head, opened the door, and admitted the sister and her companions into the presence of the sick. Scarcely a minute had elapsed, when the surgeon heard the heart-rendering shriek of a woman come from the interior of the building. Rushing in, he beheld the sister, kneeling beside a cot at the far end of the room.

Starting point is 12:16:07 The tears were pouring down her cheeks, but it was evident that they were tears of joy. The bearded man upon the cot was seriously wounded, but there was a placid expression upon his countenance as he kissed the hand of the sister. Need this dramatic scene be explained to the reader, it was the son and daughter mentioned in the beginning of the sketch, reunited after years of separation.

Starting point is 12:16:34 The one enlisted in the Confederate army, the other a nurse serving under the Union government, The sight drew tears from rough soldiers, who seldom betrayed emotion of any character. The sister lavished every attention upon her wounded brother. What would have been a solemn duty under any conditions now became a work of love and affection, but it was all in vain. He had been marked as a victim by the grim destroyer. In a few days he breathed his last.

Starting point is 12:17:10 Edified and consoled by the presence of his sister and all of the offices of religion. Funerals from the hospital always occurred at night, and this was no exception. But the obsequies of the young Confederate officer were out of the ordinary, everyone about the hospital, and indeed in the town, evinced a desire to do something as a mark of respect to Sister S. The moon was shining brightly on the night of the internment, and it looked down upon a ghostly procession that followed the body to its last resting place. Six convalescent soldiers, three Unionmen and three Confederates, acted as pallbearers. The services of the church were conducted by the chaplain. Sister S was the chief mourner.

Starting point is 12:18:02 The other sisters followed with lighted tapers. No one took more interest in the proceedings, or did more for the convenience of those concerned, than the surgeon, with whom the sister had the altercation a few days before. After the war, the sister devoted herself to those works of charity and mercy, which to a person with the desire and will are within reach in times of peace, as well as in times of war. End of Section 56. Section 57, Part 1 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 12:18:51 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Section 57, Publishers Notice, Part 1. No book on the war that has been published in recent, years, has met with a more generous reception than has been accorded by the reading public to the angels of the battlefield. Congratulations, and expressions of goodwill have come from all classes of persons. Following will be found brief comments from letters and from notices of the secular and religious

Starting point is 12:19:30 press. These references are in most cases mere excerpts from lengthy reviews of the book. Of course, it has been impracticable to publish quotations from all of the newspapers, but those that are given are of representative character. Archbishop Ryan's eloquent and earnest letter of recommendation. I beg to thank you for the copy of your book, Angels of the Battlefield, which you were kind enough to send to me. I have read it with great satisfaction, and beg to congratulate you on your success

Starting point is 12:20:07 and presenting the touching and edifying scenes in which charity sent her angels into both camps alike, to heal the sick and console the dying, to chasten triumph and comfort defeat. The mission of these angels of the battlefield was to remove the strong prejudices that impeded the progress of the church. It was like the mission of saints Peter and John to the poor lame man at the porch that was called Beautiful, of Solomon's Temple. The nation, wounded and crippled by the war, was sent in through the beautiful gate of Catholic charity to view the true temple of God. As of those who never belonged to the fold of the Catholic Church, how many can cry out with honest Captain Jack Crawford, quoted by you. My friends, I am not a Catholic, but I stand ready at any and all times to defend

Starting point is 12:21:05 these noble women, even with my life, for I owe that life to them. I earnestly recommend your excellent book to all, with whom my opinion may have any influence. Most Reverend P.J. Ryan, D. D. D. L. L. D. Archbishop of Philadelphia. A very flattering tribute from the governor of Pennsylvania. I am more than pleased with the work. It is a valuable addition to our war literature. I cannot but recommend your subject matter and approve of your literary style. I congratulate you heartily on the graceful and deserved tribute to the women who served so faithfully and loyally the cause of humanity during the dark days of our nation's struggle. General Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania

Starting point is 12:22:00 I praise from the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. General J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, writes, I have at length had an opportunity to carefully read your volume, Angels of the Battlefield, and wish to thank you for the pleasure you have given me. Your book is a valuable addition to the literature of the war. You have depicted those scenes with rare fidelity and without exaggeration. which so frequently justify the title you have selected, very truly yours, J.P.S. Gobin, commander-in-chief. Particularly happy in avoiding sectional, political, or religious controversies.

Starting point is 12:22:45 There is a praiseworthy attempt to give plain facts without comment or unnecessary coloring. The author has been particularly happy in avoiding sectional, political, or religious controversies. Although many volumes have been written concerning the work of women in the war, this book is said to be the first connected and consecutive history of the self-sacrificing labors of the Catholic sisterhoods during that great conflict. The Washington, D.C. Post. Comment from the official organ of the Historical Society of Quebec, Canada. As might be expected, the work is full of interest, and is an eleanor. tribute to the faith that produces such heroines. There was difficulty in collecting the data for the genuine humility so characteristic of the sisters would move them to hide, rather than

Starting point is 12:23:41 publish the deeds, in themselves so heroic, but in their eyes only what their duty, enlightened by faith and enkindled by charity, demanded of them. In order to make the narrative as consecutive as the scattered notes permitted, a sketchy account of the war is introduced, The Courier-Dou-Liverre, Quebec, Canada, official organ of the Quebec Historical Society. Cordial words from Wright Reverend Edmund F. Prendergast, D.D., auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia. I have read your beautiful work, Angels of the Battlefield, from beginning to end with the greatest pleasure. It is certainly a most delightful book, and I trust and hope. hope that it will have readers everywhere.

Starting point is 12:24:32 Write Reverend Edmund F. Prendergast, D.D., auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia. General Miles, the head of the Army, and the Angels of the Battlefield. Recently, I had occasion to call on General Miles, the ranking officer of the Army. The Miles who gained such distinction as one of Hancock's fighting commanders. When I entered his office at the War Department, I found him reading a book in which he appeared to be deeply interested. Having the curiosity, which comes to newspaper men, both by nature and from training, I could not restrain myself, from asking the general the name of the book. It proved to be Angels of the Battlefield, a history of the Catholic sisterhoods in the War of the Rebellion, a work by a near friend and professional colleague of mine, Mr. George Barton.

Starting point is 12:25:28 S.M. in Philadelphia Evening Star The work possesses the light and interest which belongs to incidents from life. The author has been able to gather from personal interviews with sisters, many narratives which give to his pages the light and interest which belong to incidents from life. He possesses a vivid sympathy with action and suffering. without which a history of this kind would be no better than dry bones. The author is rightly touched by the heroism that surrounded those cots, where enemies lay side by side in agony,

Starting point is 12:26:04 which for many could only obtain surcease in the grave. Some incidental descriptions of battles are animated, and we are sure our readers will find themselves moved for the better by this narrative of heroic charity on the part of the nuns. and soldierly heroism on that of the men to whom they ministered. The Catholic World magazine, New York. Record of blameless lives, strung like golden beads on a silver thread.

Starting point is 12:26:35 It is a sweet and clean and healthy book. The sketches are delightful reading. The writer has poetic touch and a felicity of phrase. Nothing is overdrawn. Mr. Barton writes without a rite. rhetoric, but with wholesome sentiment and rescues from the convents the story of the part these sisters took in the great drama of our civil war. It has been a labor of love, and the author has strung like golden beads on a silver thread, the record of the blameless

Starting point is 12:27:08 lives of the sisters and their absolute devotion to duty. Literature and libraries are enriched by this contribution to impartial history. The Monongela Daily Republican Magnificent Contribution to the Best Literature of Our Day It was a beautiful thought To collect in one splendidly illustrated volume The touching records of so many noble lives

Starting point is 12:27:35 To snatch from oblivion, as it were, The names of those heroic sisters Whose Deeds of Mercy and Valour In our hospitals and our battlefields Have hitherto been known In some instances, to God, and themselves alone. Your book is unique and magnificent contribution to the best literature of our day, and I wish it the success it so richly deserves. Eleanor C. Donnelly of Philadelphia

Starting point is 12:28:02 supplies a chapter essential to the history of the war. It supplies a chapter essential to the history of our civil war. The Christian religion claims that its teachings have mitigated the horrors of war and the conduct of the Catholic system. and South, furnished a striking evidence of the truth of such claims, in the particular instance of our domestic conflict. In such books as yours that accomplish the end which the sovereign pontiff Leo the 13th most ardently desires in the relations of church and state the perfect accord of the love of our faith with the love of country. Reverend Joseph V. O'Connor of the Diocesa Philadelphia. The whole book, Clean and

Starting point is 12:28:52 Written in an easy, practical style. I offer you my sincere congratulations for having given us a volume that illustrates heroic charity in a manner calculated to command the admiration of all men.

Starting point is 12:29:08 Men may differ about politics, economics, creed, the relative merits of men of letters and affairs. They will be won, however, in recognizing the angels of the battlefield as the grandest types of all the Christian virtues, charity, the bond of the true brotherhood of man. The whole book is so clean and written in such an easy, practical style that it is more

Starting point is 12:29:33 fascinating than a classical novel, even than a well-written, sensational one. After reading it through, one feels like reading it to some friend and calling his attention to its many beautiful passages and the thrilling episodes. in which it abounds. It is a volume that all can read with ease and interest, not alone in clubs and homes, but in the refractories and community rooms of our convents. From cover to cover, it is, in every chapter, calculated to edify all and inspire thoughts and aspirations that are good, sweet, and elevating. Reverend William Walsh of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee embodies the work of several years of research and correspondence.

Starting point is 12:30:23 This large volume embodies the work of several years of research and correspondence on the part of the author. The war itself is the merest thread upon which are strung these tales of womanly heroism, which have not to do with political or sectional feeling. The brave sisters find in this volume their appreciative historian. The Catholic-Columbian veterans should see. see that it finds a place in post-libraries. The author has been at pains to collect all the data he could find, anecdotes, thrilling incidents and statistics concerning the good nuns. His book is very entertaining. We can well believe that it will delight many an old soldier who knew the tender

Starting point is 12:31:08 ministrations of the angels of the battlefield. Veterans should see that it finds a place in the post libraries where such useful adjuncts are found. Providence, Rhode Island, visitor. We'll take its place with standard histories of the war. This work is one of much more than usual interest. It will take its place with the standard books concerning the history of the great civil war. Camden, New Jersey Review. End of Section 57. Section 58, Part 2 of Angels of the battlefield. This is Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Section 58. Publishers Notice, Part 2

Starting point is 12:32:06 Vivid pictures of sisters who have gone to their reward. This interesting history gives especially vivid pictures of three sisters who became content. conspicuous by reason of their superior attainments. Sister Anthony, Sister Gonzago, and Sister Angela, all now gone to their reward. Taggart's Times, Philadelphia The data is presented in a very attractive and pleasing form. This interesting book is handsomely bound, and beautifully and profusely illustrated. It fills a gap in the history of the rebellion.

Starting point is 12:32:46 Mr. Barton, who is a trained end, able writer, has expended considerable time in gathering the data about these noble women, and he presents it in a very attractive and pleasing form. The volume abounds with the personal experience of the sisters. The narrative is replete with thrilling and pathetic incidents. Pittsburgh Dispatch The writer presents a book with not a dull page in it. The author of the book has succeeded in investing his work with an absorbing interest, while he fully accomplishes his motive in setting forth numerous heroic acts and deeds,

Starting point is 12:33:26 of mercy, of members of the sisterhoods, he has so interwoven them with stirring incidents of the strife as to create a history that has an enduring value apart from its personal interest. He has made his selections with a judgment of what is most interesting, and only a course by a long experience in newspaper work. He has, therefore, succeeded in making a book of over 300 pages with not a dull page in it. It is safe to say that no one who reads the introductory chapter will willingly lay the book aside until the whole work has been absorbed.

Starting point is 12:34:06 Major John W. Finney in the Potsville Miner's Journal. The story of the sisters well told in this charming book, Many books have been written about the faithful work of women during the war, in hospitals and on the battlefields, but these books, at least those we have seen of them, are strangely silent about the work of the Catholic sisterhoods in the same good cause. Some years ago we called the attention of Mr. George Barton of Philadelphia to this fact and suggested that a work of the sisters in field and post-hospitals during the war

Starting point is 12:34:43 would afford ample material for a most interesting and edifying book. He saw the matter in the same light we did and set himself to the task. The result is this admirable work. The labors of all the sisters are given in this charming book in detail and in chronological order. Reverend L. A. Lambert L.L. D. in New York Freeman's Journal. Illustrations in perfect taste from the beginning to the end. Typographically, the work is a masterpiece. The 17 half-tone illustrations are beautifully executed.

Starting point is 12:35:21 Besides, they are in perfect taste from the front piece, Thomas, innocent victim, to the closing scene, Lincoln at Gettysburg. The volume is bound in red, with green trimmings, and the lettering is tastefully brought out in guilt, giving an artistic effect of coloring, pleasing to the eye, and in keeping with the interior exquisiteness of finish. As a holiday book, the publishers could not have improved on the angels of the battlefield. The Connecticut Catholic

Starting point is 12:35:52 It should appeal especially to veterans of the war. All sorts of books have been written about the late war, enough to fill a good-sized library, and I think I have read them all, But Mr. Barton's book is a new thing in that class of literature. The author has ventured on untrodden paths, with the result that he has given to the public a vast amount of interesting history that has not hitherto seen the light of day. Angels of the battlefield should meet with a generous welcome from all classes and conditions of

Starting point is 12:36:26 people, irrespective of locality or religious belief. It should appeal especially to the veterans of the war, many of whom now living, have experienced the practical charity and kindness of the gentle members of the various sisterhoods. The general appearance of the book is very attractive and makes it suitable for presentation purposes. Congressman James Rankin Young, S.M. in the Philadelphia Evening Star fills a gap in the chronicle of the gruesome years of the war. This work will fill, we believe, a gap in the chronicle of those gruesome years. The unselfish deeds of other women have been often related,

Starting point is 12:37:10 but the incessant and universal help of the Catholic religious of the battlefields has never yet been placed in an orderly fashion before the world. Catholic Standard End Times, Philadelphia The effort was well worth making, and the task is done admirably. In the Angels of the Battlefield has given a history of the labors of the Catholic sisterhoods in the Civil War, Among all the agencies for relief of suffering in that dreadful conflict, none was more beautiful and more self-sacrificing than the work of these untiring sisters. The effort was well worth making, and Mr. Barton has done his task admirably. Philadelphia Evening Telegraph

Starting point is 12:37:51 The reader brought face to face with the sterner realities of war. The author in this work leads us into an entirely new field of literature. He treats of a subject never before taken up in such pretentious shape. So vivid are his pictures of the great conflict and of the noble and humane work done by these self-sacrificing angels that the reader comes face to face with the stern realities of the war. The book is an altogether readable one, and is a worthy adjunct to the already published literature of the Civil War. Burlington, New Jersey Democrat All will welcome this delightful volume with its sprightly narrative.

Starting point is 12:38:33 Everyone who took part in the late war, on either side, will welcome this delightful volume of reminiscence of one of the most beautiful and touching aspects of the history so full of misfortune and horrors. The special friends and admirers of the sisterhoods, whose members participated, will all seek to possess it, and also many Catholic apologists and students of American history. The narrative is sprightly and abounds in anecdotes. This publication well deserves the large sale it is sure to have the St. Louis Church Progress The clear, crisp newspaper English, one of its good points.

Starting point is 12:39:16 The fact that a writer had actually found a field or phase of our national history unrecorded, or as newspaper men would say, uncovered, by a book is sufficient to entitle this volume to mention by the newspapers. The work has been well done, not only as to the amount and systematic presentation of evidence, the authenticity of which is confirmed by numerous authorities of unquestionable standing, both in and out of the Catholic Church, but also in the manner of treatment, the language being the clear, crisp, newspaper English, without which no book need be expected to meet with any great degree of popular success.

Starting point is 12:40:02 the camden new jersey post illustrating the extent and the superb courage of the sisters to the story of the part which our american womanhood played in the war for the union mr barton has contributed some new data in the field of our war literature which hitherto has been untouched moved by a spirit of gentle enthusiasm mr barton has painstakingly told in a book of several hundred people how the sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic Church toiled in the lowliest and most perilous offices of the Nerths, as they followed the armies into the very storm of shot and shell. The book is full of anecdotes of historic value in illustrating the extent and superb courage of the labors of these useful women. Let us hope that when the true history of the Civil War shall be written, as it has yet to be, there will be a place in it for them, as among the noblest of their sex. Pen, in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. A comprehensive book that makes history and valuable history. Mr. Barton has written a book that makes history and valuable history.

Starting point is 12:41:21 It is not one of the kind that, according to the proverb, has enemies, if he has any, need rejoice over, but a tribute to the noble band to which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond. The author gives us a compact presentation of the history of these noble women in the matricidal strike of the 60s, a subject which has been hitherto sadly neglected. The humility of the sisters made the collection of data difficult, but stories included in the work have been gathered after much painstaking effort. Lewis N. McGargy in the Philadelphia Times. The 27 chapters of the volume crowded with stories.

Starting point is 12:42:06 The 27 chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and stories, some pathetic, some humorous, and others still historical. There are fleeting glimpses of generals McClellan, Butler, Jefferson Davis, and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a collection of non-Catholic tributes to the sisters. There is a letter in the volumes that reveal General Butler in a chivalrous light. Some of the sisters of a convent that New Orleans had complained that their property was being damaged by the military operations in that vicinity. And in response, the general sent a reply, couched in language that presents the man in a new

Starting point is 12:42:51 light, to those not intimately acquainted with him. Philadelphia Inquirer A fascinating volume that penetrates the memories of the sisterhoods in the Civil War To the annals of the war, George Barton, an historical student of Philadelphia, has just added a fascinating volume entitled Angels of the Battlefield, in which he has endeavored to perpetuate the memories of the members of the Roman Catholic sisterhoods who helped to care for the sick, wounded and dying in the Civil Civil war. It is hard to obtain information from such people, and as military records are proverbially

Starting point is 12:43:32 careless in such matters, the sisters, not coming within military jurisdiction, the author was compelled to obtain his material by the slow process of personal application to the witnesses of the many affairs in which these Christian workers were the chief actors. The sisters received no pay, and the only gifts they accepted were upon the condition that the gift would in turn be given again, in order to do good among those who most needed it. Their services will never be forgotten, and the story of their devotion and sacrifices will ever be one of the prettiest chapters in the annals of the Union. Margarita Arline Ham in the New York Mail and Express. End of Publishers Notice, Part 2.

Starting point is 12:44:23 End of Section 58. Section 59 of Angels of the Battlefield. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Recording by Larry Wilson. Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton. Publishers Notice Part 3.

Starting point is 12:44:53 A book valuable as a record and in its literary style. Mr. Parton has presented to the public a valuable book, valuable as a record and valuable in its literary style. It is well described by a historical critic as a tribute to the noble band of women, Samaritans to which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who so readily and with such self-sacrificing heroism,

Starting point is 12:45:23 volunteered their humble services to help the sick and administer to the dying in the great civil conflict receive in angels of the battlefield a just and due recognition of their moral courage and heroism. The Chattanooga, Tennessee Times. The descriptions of the more important engagements are really graphic. His facts gathered from letters, still extant, from conversations had with many of the surviving nuns, and the testimony of not a few who owe owed their lives from the ministrations of the Sisters, give a very complete and accurate account of his subject. He traces the work of the Sisters at times

Starting point is 12:46:02 with a vividness that is startling. His descriptions of the more important engagements, especially of Shiloh, Antium, and Gettysburg, are really graphic. And they give us the truest idea of the noble character of the sisters, who, amid such scenes of carnage, pursued uninterruptedly, their mission of love and mercy. The angels of the battlefield should be read by everyone who desires to possess a complete knowledge of the war.

Starting point is 12:46:30 The New World, Chicago. It is well to let the world know of their heroic service. Although the noble sisters who, for the love of God, went forth during the Civil War to nurse the sick and wounded, do not desire to have their deeds perpetuated on earth. It is well to let the world know of the heroic services they rendered from 1861. The author presents in a compact form the history of the labors of the sisters during this period in a most readable manner. The volume contains handsome illustrations of some of the more prominent generals and sisters of the war. Several valuable pictures of battles are also given. The Church News, Washington. Praiseworthy attempt to give plain facts without comment. The news complements the author upon the excellence of his work and commends it to its reading.

Starting point is 12:47:24 The labor of four of the most conspicuous sisterhoods are detailed in a most complete and thorough manner. The book begins with the work of the Sisters of Charity and then takes up, in natural sequence, the labors of the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph's, and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. There has been a praiseworthy and successful attempt to give plain facts without comment or unnecessary coloring. It is one of the best books of the year. The Harrisburg News fleeting glimpses of many of the great characters of the time the twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and stories some pathetic some humorous and other still historical there are flitting glimpses of general mcclellan general butler jefferson davis and other characters of the time one chapter is devoted to a collection of non-catholic tributes to the sisters while an appendix furnishes the reader with some interesting and important facts that it was deemed advisable to separate from the text,

Starting point is 12:48:28 the Union and Times Buffalo. Write Reverend L. F. Horstrum, D.D., Bishop of Cleveland. It was a happy thought for you, even at this late hour, to gather together some of the glorious records of the labors of the noble bands of sisters on the field, and in the hospitals during the war. Gather up the fragments lest they be lost. These victories of charity ought to be at least as memorable

Starting point is 12:48:54 as the bloody triumphs of the battlefield. F. Horstrum, Bishop of Cleveland. An endorsement from the editor of a well-known Latin German. Translation. Angels of the Battlefield, a history of the labors of the Catholic sisterhoods in the Civil War by George Barton, author, The Catholic Art Publishing Company, Bird Building, Ninth and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia. The work is illustrated with the finest engravings and printed in very fine paper. It relates to the work of the various sisterhoods in caring for the wounded soldiers in the late American Civil War. A history of healing wounds and cleansing the bloodstains therefrom is certainly more noble than that of the infliction of the shedding of blood. The reading is not less

Starting point is 12:49:41 worthy, especially if one does not wish to judge our race by its barbarity, but by its virtue. It has been very gratifying to us, and perhaps will be so to others, who endeavor to humanize Mankind. Arcade Mogherosi, editor Braco Latinus, Misteroom Gentian Latinum. Pleasure taking in complimenting the author on his splendid production. We are personally acquainted with the author, have read the book carefully, and take great pleasure in complimenting Mr. Barton on his splendid production, while the battle scenes, camp life, and other stirring events of the war period from 1861, 5, have received attention from the bright minds and the facts recorded in the pages of history in every civilized country.

Starting point is 12:50:28 Yet this book by Mr. Barton is the first that treats exclusively on the great work accomplished by the Catholic sisterhoods of the Civil War. Clearfield Republican recounts many incidents which will be read with the deepest interest. Angels at the Battlefield is a well-printed generously illustrated volume of more than 300 pages, containing no inconsiderable amount of information about the services rendered by sisters of different religious orders during the Civil War. Mr. Barton writes feelingly of their devotedness and self-sacrifices and recounts many incidents which will be read with the deepest interest. The author has wisely touched upon the leading events of the years 1861 and thus rendered the volume more acceptable

Starting point is 12:51:18 to general readers than it would otherwise be. He has to be congratulated on the services he has rendered to the cause of religion and truth. The Ave Maria. This comprehensive history of mercy reads almost like a romance. Angels of the battlefield is an elegantly bound volume in cloth with gilt back and front and beautifully illustrated. The book is crowded with incidents and stories, pathetic, humorous, and historical, and the story of the story of the story of the story of story of the self-sacrificing work of the sisters is told in a compact and comprehensive form. This history of mercy reads almost like a romance, Boston Daily Globe. Tribute of permanent preservation well carried out and richly deserved.

Starting point is 12:52:04 It is a noble record, north, south, or west, and the tribute of permanent preservation so well carried out by Mr. Barton is richly deserved. We cannot afford to let the noble deeds of our women in the Civil War any more than those of our men die out from our recollection and gratitude. The Catholic sisterhoods were active in the work of helping and nursing in the Civil War, as they are in all wars and epidemics. Their work was so unobtrusive that there has been difficulty in getting the data necessary for this record. But by means of personal interviews and examination of records and newspaper files, the author does justice to the devotion of these good sisters. The Baltimore Sun. The nobler literature of the world gains by this work.

Starting point is 12:52:54 One of the most beautiful stories of the Civil War has been fittingly told at the end of 32 years. The materials were not easily gathered, for as the author remarks, a genuine humility has stood in the way of the collection of the data, but the work has been done and the nobler literature of the world gains by its performance, as the self-sacrifice, sisters ministered to all whom they could reach during the war, never asking whether the uniform was blue or gray, so a striking and appropriate characteristic of this book is the fact that the narrative is interwoven without regard to the opposing lines of armies. St. Louis Globe Democrat author of the work has succeeded in compiling a fascinating volume. The book fills 300 pages with

Starting point is 12:53:44 accounts of the different sisterhoods and their leading members. Incidentally, it brings in many of the great men of the 60s, such as Archbishop Hughes, whose labors for the Union have made him immortal. Archbishop Kenrick, Archbishop Ryan, General McClellan, General Butler, Abraham Lincoln, Archbishop Elder, General Grant, Archbishop Spalding, General Anderson, General Wood, General Rosecrans, Governor Morton, and Colonel Mulligan. The author in his endeavor to perpetuate the memories of the modest members of the Catholic sisterhoods who helped the sick and wounded in the Civil War has compiled a fascinating volume. Irish American, New York

Starting point is 12:54:28 Performed his task with excellent judgment and in a broad spirit. The author of this book has performed his task with excellent judgment and in a broad spirit. Most of the stories given were gathered in personal interviews. by examination of various archives and records, and by an extensive correspondence with government officials, army veterans, and superiors of convents and communities. The gentle ways, the fathomless sympathies of the sisters, soothed and cheered the soldier, who lay sick and wounded. The sister seemed to the suffer like a link to his mother. He was far more ready to unbosom his thoughts to the sister than to the doctor.

Starting point is 12:55:14 In his last moments he would give the sister his messages and asked to hold her hand as his life drifted away. The Western Chronicle End of Section 59 End of Angels of the Battlefield by George Barton

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