Hospital Days: Reminiscence of a Civil War Nurse

by Jane Stuart Woolsey

The story of Jane Stuart Woolsey's service as Superintendent of Nurses at the Fairfax Seminary Hospital during the Civil War offers insights into the role of women in our nation's greatest conflict and the beginnings of the nursing profession.

Genres: Biography, American History, History

144 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick but wonderful read about the compassion of a Civil War nurse. It was interesting to read about what role a woman was expected to take in nursing and to read the letters of soldiers/mothers and fathers included in this book. I am amazed at the suffering and yet hopeful kindness these men displayed toward one another. Some of their spiritual outlooks on their situations would no doubt put modern Christians to shame.

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

Suffers too much from Victorian sentimentality and weak narration. If you want to read about Civil War hospitals, I'd recommend A Southern Woman's Story by Phoebe Yates Pember. Pember was a hospital matron during the war, and she has a very clear-eyed and no-nonsense view of what hospital life was actually like. She was also a better writer than Woolsey.