Customer Reviews

With Courage and Delicacy: Civil War on the Peninsula: Women and the U.S. Sanitary Commission

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I appreciate Sister Estelle's review. Please read it...

In the case of nurses Wormeley, Woolsey and Howland, we have to believe that indeed they did not "pick up a musket, drenched in sweat and driven by the Glory of God drive a bayonet deep into a Rebel chest." Sweaty these women were; but not through the use of arms. That some women did resort to violence, I have no doubt; although I question whether "the Glory of God" had anything to do with it.

"With Courage and Delicacy" is a history, not a romance, and as a historian I was obligated to "tell it like it was." These nurses did not respond to their circumstances with violence, but rather with compassion - and they did not seek glory. If they chose to serve through nursing, not riding and fencing, so be it. I respectfully take issue with Sister when she suggests that writing the truth "perpetuates a stereotype".

"With Courage and Delicacy" is an amazing glimpse into the lives of three brave women who contributed to the health and care of Civil War casualties. Their tale is recounted with a modern perspective that will please any reader interested in the historical issues this book brings to life.

I purchased this book because of interest in the role of Civil War nurses, in general, and the Sanitation Commission's role, in particular. I found the book to be informative from the perspective of women who participated. The most interesting information came from the women themselves. While we read about the preparations, the men, and the subsequent battles, we do not have a clear behind-the-scenes picture. This book presents that perspective. The only criticism I have of the book is the writing style. It suffers from "which syndrome." Too much use of "which" became an obstacle for me. I pulled out my old copy of Strunk & White to see if this was just my problem and found support for the argument that too many "whiches" may have spoiled this broth. I recommend this book for reading for the material it presents.

How lucky I have been to have come across Mrs Nancy Garrison' s Book "With Courage and Delicacy", Civil War on the Peninsula.

In this book I got to know Georgeanna Woolsey, Katherine Wormely and Eliza Howland, three women coming from affluent familie' s, who could have led pampered lives. Instead, they chose to confront the hard work and harsh realities of nursing wounded soldiers during the Civil War, under primitive and appalling unhygienic circumstances; while doing this work full of sacrifice, they also had to climb walls of male authority and prejudice. They and with them, Louisa Schuyler, Dorothea Dix unknowingly, have paved the way to woman' s emancipation even though they at the time did not realize this. While reading about them you would like to become one of their friends.

Mrs Garrison uses fine subtle language; read the Preface in which the reader comes under the spell of Katherine' s house : " the house remains proudly unchanged" , or the use of expressions like "a miscarriage of generosity" .

For the European reader this book is an eye opener to the significance of the Civil War in American History about which we know too little . The book aroused my interest in further reading about this subject. The book is a highly instructive page turner" .

How Lucky I have been to have come across Mrs Nancy Scripture Garrison' s book " With Courage and Delicacy" Civil War on the Peninsula.

In this book I got to know Georgeanna Woolsey, Katherine Wormeley and Eliza Howland, three women coming from affluent and highclass familie' s, who could have led pampered lives. Instead, they chose to confront the harsh realities and the hard work of nursing and comforting wounded soldiers during the Civil War, under primitive and appalling unhygienic circumstances; while doing this work full of sacrifice they also had to climb walls of male autority and prejudice. They - and with them - Louisa Schuyler and Dorothea Dix, unknowingly, have been paving the way to women' s emancipation, even though at the time, they did not realize this, since at that moment this was not their primary concern. While reading about these women, you would like to become one of their friends.

Mrs Garrison uses fine subtle language; read the Preface in which the reader comes under the spell of Katherine' s house as if she were still living expressions like " a miscarriage of generosity".

For the European reader this book is an eye opener to the significance of the Civil War in American History, about which we know only too little. The book has aroused my interest in further reading about this subject, as it is a highly instructive "page turner".

Ms. Garrison has captured the spirit and devotion of these three women to their cause. An unusually well-researched chronicle of previously little known information about the role of women in the Civil War. It reads like a novel.

The qualities of heroism and grace under fire were not limited to soldiers in the summer of 1862 on the Virginia Peninsula. These three women, transport nurses with the U. S. Sanitary Cmmission, wrote a new chapter in the annals of bravery, humor and grit. "With Courage and Delicacy" is a "must read" for all Civil War buffs interested in a new view of their favorite subject.

Are we to believe that women are and were limited to glory gained through antisepsis? Did not one of these women pick up a musket or, drenched in sweat and driven by the Glory of God drive a bayonet deep into a Rebel chest after seeing the glow of youth snuffed from a Union boy? Affluent woment like these were skilled at fencing, riding and were often strong of spirit and no stranger to whiskey. The author has merely repeated the "santitized" version of their service, for no contemporary scribe dare record the valor of the "weaker sex" and by the emphasis of this book, perpeturates this error.