Civil War Nurse: the Diary and Letters of Hannah Ropes

by Hannah Ropes, John R. Brumgardt (Editor)

The chief nurse of the Union Hospital in Washington, D.C., describes life and stress in the hospital and comments on notable persons of power. Her heretofore unpublished diary and letters comprise a fresh, hightly significan document concerning the medical history of the Civil War and the contributions of women nurses in the Northern military hospitals. This book is edited, with Introduction and Commentary, by John R. Brumgardt. Published by The University of Tennessee. 150 pages

Genres: Civil War, History, Nonfiction, Biography

164 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Matt Brant]

Ropes was an upright Abolitionist that became even tougher in Bleeding Kansas before the Civil War. Her passionate Christianity and understanding of feminine virtues provided her with the vigor to bring comfort to hundreds of boys and men wounded after the huge battles of First Bull Run and Fredericksburg. She fought for better sanitation, palatable food and humane treatment, all of which were in short supply due to incompetence and malfeasance. This first-hand account gives a sense of how people thought and acted - for good and ill -- during the Civil War.

[Lorraine Tosiello · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazing chronicle of another great American woman lost in our historical memory. Hannah Ropes, a humble widow of Massachusetts, fought the abolitionist fight by becoming a settler in Kansas, wrote a book about it, then went to Washington DC as a volunteer nurse during the Civil War. She fought with the hospital establishment, trying to get justice for her patients who were being squeezed by a hospital steward who was using their food allowance to his own purpose, starving them, and selling their clothing! She could not get assistance from the hospital director, nor the Surgeon General so she went straight to the Secretary of War, resulting in the arrests of the steward and the hospital chief physician. Two months later, Mrs. Ropes was dead of typhoid pneumonia, from which she suffered along with her new nursing assistant Louisa May Alcott. Alcott recovered and wrote about this motherly, yet forceful woman, in her book "Hospital Sketches", thus keeping interest in Hannah Ropes' story alive.

Recommended for those with interest in nursing history, Civil war history and Alcott.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hannah Ropes was the chief nurse at Union Hospital in Washington DC. For a short time she supervised Louisa May Alcott who also served as a nurse at that hospital. Ropes’ diary and letters make clear how long her days were and how difficult the work was tending to an endless stream of wounded soldiers arriving by cart or on foot. I wonder how long I would have lasted working 18 hours a day with limited supplies and even severely limited food for the patients. At least there was adequate brandy or milk punch to be given out to the patients. These letters and diary entries are a treasure for anyone interested in the history of nursing and in women’s history.

[Becky Loader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hannah Ropes experienced the Civil War on the front lines of a hospital. She was a dedicated nurse and wanted the best possible care for the wounded. Hannah encountered verbal abuse from doctors and stewards who were not necessarily interested in anything except making money and/or keeping women from becoming too effective.

Great read on a subject that has not been exhausted.

[Erika]

What I read of this was fascinating.