Heroines of Mercy Street: The Real Nurses of the Civil War

by Pamela D. Toler

Overview

A look at the lives of the real nurses depicted in the PBS show Mercy Street.

Heroines of Mercy Street tells the true stories of the nurses at Mansion House, the Alexandria, Virginia, mansion turned war-time hospital and setting for the PBS drama Mercy Street. Among the Union soldiers, doctors, wounded men from both sides, freed slaves, politicians, speculators, and spies who passed through the hospital in the crossroads of the Civil War, were nurses who gave their time freely and willingly to save lives and aid the wounded. These women saw casualties on a scale Americans had never seen before, and medicine was at a turning point.

Heroines of Mercy Street follows the lives of women like Dorothea Dix, Mary Phinney, Anne Reading, and more before, during, and after their epic struggle in Alexandria and reveals their personal contributions to this astounding period in the advancement of medicine.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316392075
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	02/16/2016
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Pamela D. Toler, Ph.D., a member of the World History Association and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, is regularly published in national journals specializing in history and culture, including American History, Calliope, History, the Quarterly Journal of Military History, and SaudiAramco World.

She is a contributor and author of several books including The Everything Guide to Understanding Socialism (Adams, 2011), She is particularly interested in the times and places where two cultures meet and change each other.

Table of Contents

Foreword vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Dorothea Dix Goes to War 9

Chapter 2 The Army Is Unprepared 33

Chapter 3 Volunteers 51

Chapter 4 Nurses on the Hospital Transport Ships 73

Chapter 5 Arriving at Mansion House Hospital 99

Chapter 6 Learning by Experience 121

Chapter 7 Becoming Indispensable 143

Chapter 8 Leaving Mansion House Hospital 175

Chapter 9 Reporting Back to Duty 197

Chapter 10 After the War 221

Afterword: A Different Viewpoint 245

Acknowledgments 255

Appendix A 257

Appendix B 259

Notes 263

Suggestions for Further Reading 275

Index 277

Editorial Reviews

03/15/2016
Nursing as a professional field of medicine did not exist until the Civil War, with leaders such as Florence Nightingale, Dorothea Dix, and Clara Barton helping nurses solidify their future. Here Toler (Mankind: The Story of All of Us) tells the experiences of Civil War nurses who started their careers at the historical Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria, VA. At the time, many nurses were untrained yet had a desire to serve. The author chronicles the lives of figures such as Georgeanna Woolsey, Hannah Ropes, Mary Phinney von Olnhausen, and Louisa May Alcott as they taught themselves how to deal with horrific conditions and injuries in hospitals, camps, and transport ships. These women worked long, difficult hours and often faced arrogant or chauvinistic physicians as well as dishonest hospital stewards who deprived patients and nurses of supplies. In addition, nursing staff were not immune to disease given that it was the most common cause of death; von Olnhausen contracted yellow fever and Alcott endured typhoid pneumonia. VERDICT Accessible and well researched, Toler's book coincides with the recent PBS series Mercy Street and successfully illustrates the beginnings of nursing as a designated field of medical practice.—Rebecca Hill, Zionsville, IN

Library Journal

"Accessible and well researched... Successfully illustrates the beginnings of nursing as a designated field of medical practice."—Rebecca Hill, Library Journal

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