Customer Reviews

Civil War Nurse: Diary Letters Hannah Ropes

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Hannah Ropes was a feminist of her day. Yet she believed a wounded soldier needed a motherly woman's touch. These letters are a great gift and the editing job on the book is superb.

Ropes worked herself to death in Union hospitals in Washington D.C. The Union lost a good nurse and history lost a terrific writer. (In fact Ropes was a writer before the war.) She battled anyone who got in the way of good health care including going all the way to and old friend, the Secretary of War to roust out a thief in the hospital system. She poignantly describes the wounded wrecks who passed her way and the efforts made by those who cared are poignantly described as well. Ropes writing abilities were great. They are aided markedly by the brief biography of her which serves as introduction to the book. Through it, we come to know the iron will of the woman which was so beneficial to her as a nurse but which she herself down-played. For any who value "first person history" this book is a gem!

Hannah Ropes kept a diary for only one year during the time she served as a nurse in the Civil War. She actually supervised Louisa Mae Alcott and was responsible for many of the reforms in the hospital where she worked. She was a well-spoken woman who was also not afraid to stand up to her male supervisors. She cared very much for, "her boys" as she called the patients she worked over day and night. She is one of those women who has not been given credit and has not been well-known until recently. Her untimely death ended a daring career as a feminist and take-charge Civil War Nurse. This is fascinating and inspirational reading.

A young woman treads the hallways of the Union hospital with a mission to serve the young men that are fighting in the bloodiest war seen on this fair land of ours. While her son is out fighting the battle, her battle is at the hospital attempting to provide better care for the soldiers.

Excellent content, I just wasn't too crazy about the format that it was wrote in.