Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse [Paperback]

Kate Cumming (Author), Richard Barksdale Harwell (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Cumming served the Confederacy as a nurse in Alabama and Mississippi. Along with the descriptions of the fighting, she provides insight into medical practices and hospital systems of the times as well as civilian attitudes toward the war.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080712267X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807122679
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,165 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine journal by a true Southern lady, May 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse (Paperback)

Kate's journal is amazingly well-written, and, as I said in my title, it is obvious from reading it that she is a true Southern lady.

When I consider how I write any old thing, any old way, in my own journals, I am impressed by the way Kate kept all the wartime news- both on the battlefield and in her private life- so nicely organized. Don't let the word "organized" fool you, though, into thinking it is boring. This journal is anything but dull. Kate's writing style is intelligent, personal, detailed, and extremely interesting; the amazing part is that most of it is written whenever she can snatch a moment to herself from her nursing duties.

From reading Kate's journal one quickly sees her devotion to the South and its "cause" for freedom. She was not a nurse before the war, but when the war began she volunteered to become one. As a nurse, she showed great compassion for the soldiers, doing everything in her power to alleviate their suffering and to make their stay in the hospital as pleasant as possible, under the terrible circumstances in which she worked. Sometimes her burden would seem too heavy, and she would almost make up her mind to quit, but her determination to be patriotic and her compassion for her patients would change her mind.

Kate Cumming was a true lady, and this fact also made her journal enjoyable. She is well-mannered; for instance, when she does dislike someone she exercises reserve in writing about them, even though she is writing in her private journal. She does greatly dislike "Yankees", but instead of simply raving bitterly about them, she relates the incidents that cause her to dislike them. Overall, Kate is quiet and observant, and likes to write about the better things that occur in her life (something as simple as meeting a friend on the train, or having something extra nice for dinner) rather than dwell negatively on the hardships that she was experiencing.

I highly recommend this wartime journal for anyone interested in a truly personal account of a nurse during the Civil War. The fact that Kate was a Southerner makes it even more interesting, because on the whole she went through more than her Northern counterparts did. She was a patriotic lady, and her attitude throughout the war makes her journal a pleasure to read.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Reference!, September 14, 2003

By 

Nathan Hale (Nashville, TN. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse (Paperback)

This book is the masterfully written journal of Kate Cumming. Miss Cumming was a confederate
nurse during the Civil War. Like Clara Barton in the north, Kate cares for hundreds of the suffering soldiers. Miss Cumming works at Corinth, Mississippi toward the start of the book. Here at Corinth men are brought in every day from the bloody battlefield of Shiloh. She works in Chattanooga for a few months. Also she did her duty as a nurse in Mobile, Alabama(her hometown) Kate relates in her flowing writing the many thoughts that ran through her mind during those long, hard, years. She tells of how much faith in God these men had. This really touched me. Kate said, while speaking of the men's faith, that she had not met one man in her hospital that did not know the Lord. This is quite a statement! To think of all that these men went through at Shiloh, Stone's River, and so many others! I would highly recommend this book because it reveals the true history from a woman who lived at the time and was a witness to these events in our country's history.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Southern Lady's Perspective on the US Civil War, March 8, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Kate: The Journal of a Confederate Nurse (Paperback)

Kate's is a remarkable story, and this journal in her own words unfolds over the difficult days of the US Civil War. Kate Cumming is a fine, educated, intelligent and articulate woman. She is a woman of deep faith and lasting patience. Her journal passes on to us the daily routine, the sufferings of war and the deepest reflections of this noteworthy woman. The text is riveting, moving, thought provoking. The book is history from a very personal perspective - one well worth reading.