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Second Edition—Revised and Enlarged. ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD. A History of the Labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Late Civil War. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ BY GEORGE BARTON. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ... 1898 ... THE CATHOLIC ART PUBLISHING COMPANY. PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Second Edition—Revised and Enlarged. ANGELS OF THE BATTLEFIELD. A History of the Labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Late Civil War. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ BY GEORGE BARTON. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ... 1898 ... THE CATHOLIC ART PUBLISHING COMPANY. PHILADELPHIA, PA.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897 By George Barton, Philadelphia, Pa., In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C....
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AUTHOR’S PREFACE. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
AUTHOR’S PREFACE. ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
The object of this volume is to present in as consecutive and comprehensive form as possible the history of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the late Civil War. Many books have been written on the work of other women in this war, but, aside from fugitive newspaper paragraphs, nothing has ever been published concerning the self-sacrificing labors of these Sisterhoods. Whatever may have been the cause of this neglect or indifference, it is evident that the time has arrived to fill this important gap in
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CHAPTER I. THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED.
CHAPTER I. THE ORDERS THAT PARTICIPATED.
One of the effects of the war. The productive force of the nation deprived by death, disease and disability of one million men. The task of caring for the sick and wounded. Four notable orders—The Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph and Sisters of the Holy Cross. Their history and the discipline, experience and self-sacrifice brought to bear upon their work during the war. On the twelfth day of April, 1861, the first shot fired upon Fort Sumter, formally inaugurated the c
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CHAPTER II. ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS.
CHAPTER II. ARCHBISHOP HUGHES AND THE SISTERS.
The problem of how to provide the necessary nurses for both the Union and Confederate Armies. Sisters not able to volunteer without the approval of their superiors. An interesting epistle from Archbishop Hughes to Archbishop Kenrick. The New York prelate appointed by President Lincoln as a peace commissioner to France. A characteristic letter from the martyred President to the great Archbishop. Quelling the draft riots in New York city. LINCOLN. Very early in the war the question of providing nu
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CHAPTER III. IN AND AROUND RICHMOND.
CHAPTER III. IN AND AROUND RICHMOND.
Sisters of Charity inaugurate their labors in the Confederate Capital. St. Anne’s Military Hospital begins with three hundred patients. A zealous Sister makes her colleague prisoner in the pantry. An odor of death, and how it was caused. The Union soldier who was “shot at Manassas.” Nurses who first got “a puff and then a buff.” LEE. In the early part of June, 1861, Dr. Gibson, who was in charge of the Military Hospital at the Confederate capital, Richmond, Va., called upon the Sisters of Charit
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CHAPTER IV. HARPER’S FERRY.
CHAPTER IV. HARPER’S FERRY.
The adventures of three Sisters who were detailed from the mother house at Emmitsburg. Their offer to retire in the interest of the ladies of Winchester. A night’s “repose” with foreheads resting upon umbrella handles. A journey homeward by car and stage, and then across the Potomac River in a flat canoe. A Sister received at the convent as one from the grave. GRANT. Nearly all the Sisters that could be spared had been sent from the mother house at Emmittsburg, and were engaged in performing wor
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CHAPTER V. ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL.
CHAPTER V. ST. LOUIS MILITARY HOSPITAL.
The border State of Missouri the scene of some of the most dramatic events of the war. Soldiers ask the nurses if they are Free Masons. The Chaplain obtains a pardon for a prisoner of war. Archbishop Ryan and his work among the sick and wounded. The young Confederate who declined to express sorrow for his course in the war. Amusing and pathetic incidents. In the meantime operations in the great civil conflict were beginning in the Southwest. The fact that Missouri was a border State made it the
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CHAPTER VI. IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON.
CHAPTER VI. IN AND AROUND WASHINGTON.
Dilapidated frame buildings serve as hospitals at the National Capital. A convalescent patient who was “tired and vexed.” A whole day spent in going from store to store in a vain attempt to purchase “one of those white bonnets” for a Sister. The soldier whose life was saved by being “shot in the U. S. A.” When the fratricidal conflict between the sections began very few persons paused to consider its extent and consequence. But as each week passed it grew in intensity and volume. In the beginnin
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CHAPTER VII. SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH.
CHAPTER VII. SISTER ANTHONY AT SHILOH.
Terrible loss of life at the battle of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh. Sister Anthony wins enduring laurels. Seven hundred wounded soldiers crowded on one boat. The deck of the vessel resembles a slaughter house. A Sister of Charity acts as assistant surgeon. Sisters refuse to abandon their patients. Sketch of the life of Sister Anthony. SISTER ANTHONY. The battle of Shiloh, Tenn, sometimes known as the battle of Pittsburg Landing, was one of the great combats of the war. Shiloh cost the Union army
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CHAPTER VIII. PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK.
CHAPTER VIII. PORTSMOUTH AND NORFOLK.
The contest between the Monitor and the Merrimac, and general operations of the war during the seven days’ battle near Richmond. The taking of the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth by the Union forces. Sisters narrowly escape drowning while crossing the river in a row boat. One instance where hatred was turned to love. In the East the Union cause had not been so successful. When the Union forces at the beginning of the war abandoned Norfolk, with its navy yard, they blew up all the Government ves
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CHAPTER IX. LABORS IN FREDERICK CITY.
CHAPTER IX. LABORS IN FREDERICK CITY.
The Sisters quartered in a stone barracks that had been occupied by General Washington during the Revolutionary war. Patients see no necessity for “tincture of iron” from the doctors. Soldiers without food for thirteen days. Young scholastics from the Jesuit Novitiate in the capacity of nurses. Not enemies “except upon the battlefield.” On the 4th of June, 1862, a telegram was received at the Central House, in Emmittsburg, asking that ten Sisters be detailed for hospital service in Frederick Cit
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CHAPTER X. WHITE HOUSE.
CHAPTER X. WHITE HOUSE.
Sixty Sisters depart from Baltimore for the station in Virginia. Wounded and dying men upon transport boats. Nurses who shared every horror with their patients. Two Sisters who were martyrs to duty and humanity. The worn-out Sister of Charity buried with military honors upon the banks of the Potomac. Death of a deserter. The many appeals for Sisters to repair to the war-stricken sections of the country, both North and South, had widely separated the members of the Emmittsburg community. The vene
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CHAPTER XI. MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM.
CHAPTER XI. MANASSAS AND ANTIETAM.
Five Sisters charged with the care of five hundred patients. Bodies of the dead consumed by the flames. The military hospitals at Gordonsville and Lynchburg. Boonsboro and Sharpsburg selected for hospital purposes for the men wounded at Antietam. General McClellan’s kindness to the Sisters. A man who had met Sisters during the Crimean war. The brave flag bearer. There was scarcely a time from the opening of the war until its close that some of the Sisters of Charity were not located at Richmond.
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CHAPTER XII. NEW ORLEANS.
CHAPTER XII. NEW ORLEANS.
The capture of the commercial metropolis of the Southwest by General Butler and Admiral Farragut. Butler’s chivalrous letter to the Superior of the Convent at Donaldsonville. His tribute to the Sisters of Charity. Bishop Elder and the panic stricken people of Natchez. Work of the Sisters in other localities. On the 25th of April, 1862, a fleet under the famous Admiral Farragut, together with a land force under General Benjamin F. Butler, captured the city of New Orleans. Butler assumed charge of
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CHAPTER XIII. SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS.
CHAPTER XIII. SOUTHERN BATTLEFIELDS.
A letter from Central Georgia begging for Sisters of Charity.—“Are they men or women?” A cautious priest who took the good nurses for impostors. The train crashes through a bridge. The “magic” lunch basket and how it fed an unlimited number of Sisters and soldiers. The hospitals at Marietta and Atlanta. After the battle of Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, the Sisters who had been looking after the sick and wounded in the hospitals near Richmond soon found their labors reduced very materially.
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CHAPTER XIV. GETTYSBURG.
CHAPTER XIV. GETTYSBURG.
Twelve Sisters depart for the battlefield from the Mother House at Emmittsburg. A white handkerchief on a stick serves as a flag of truce. An open charnel house red with the blood of American manhood. The little church in the town of Gettysburg filled with the sick and wounded. A Sister saves the life of a helpless man. “I belong to the Methodist Church.” What is now generally conceded to have been the decisive battle of the Civil War was fought on the 1st, 2d and 3d of July, 1863. It took place
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CHAPTER XV. SATTERLEE HOSPITAL.
CHAPTER XV. SATTERLEE HOSPITAL.
A sketch of the remarkable labors of Sister Mary Gonzaga and her work as the executive head of a hospital where 50,000 sick and wounded soldiers were cared for. The chaplain kept busy preparing men for death. Bishop Wood visits the hospital and administers the sacrament of confirmation. A soldier who was saved from the stocks. A veteran’s tribute. 12 SISTER GONZAGA. As stated in the previous chapter many car-loads of wounded soldiers were conveyed from Gettysburg to the Satterlee Hospital in Phi
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CHAPTER XVI. THE FALL OF RICHMOND.
CHAPTER XVI. THE FALL OF RICHMOND.
Preparing for the close of the war. Sisters of Charity in the West enlisted in the military prison at Alton. Smallpox cases removed to an island in the Mississippi. Leaders of the Southern Confederacy realize that their cause is lost. Scenes of wild excitement in Richmond. Blessings for the Sisters. General Grant, who had been laying siege to Vicksburg, had captured that stronghold on the Fourth of July, 1863. Then came the surrender of Fort Hudson and the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountai
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CHAPTER XVII. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.
CHAPTER XVII. SISTERS OF CHARITY OF NAZARETH.
Bishop Spalding sends a letter to General Anderson tendering the services of the Sisters. The offer accepted and the volunteers assigned to work in the hospitals in and around Louisville. “Oh, Sister, put your head down by me and don’t leave me.” The martyrdom of Sister Mary Lucy. Tender-hearted soldiers keep a vigil around the coffin with blazing torches made of pine knots. The main body of the Sisters of Charity were not alone in their devotion to the sick and wounded soldiers. During the tryi
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CHAPTER XVIII. MORE ABOUT NAZARETH.
CHAPTER XVIII. MORE ABOUT NAZARETH.
Bardstown occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate troops. Six Sisters start for Lexington under a flag of truce. A courteous letter from Brigadier-General Wood. Ex-Secretary of State Guthrie applies to President Lincoln for protection to the Nazareth Convent. A brief sketch of a famous school and some of its distinguished graduates. Bardstown, three miles distant from Nazareth Academy, in Nelson County, Ky., was occupied successively by the Union and the Confederate armies. Some h
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CHAPTER XIX. SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT.
CHAPTER XIX. SISTERS OF MT. ST. VINCENT.
A joint request from the Mayor of Cincinnati and the Archbishop of the Diocese promptly answered. Appalling sights witnessed by the Sisters. Young men seated on their own coffins prepare for execution. General Rosecrans and his kindness to the Sisters. The Governor of Indiana calls for nurses. Labors in Kentucky. The work done by the Sisters of Charity of Mount St. Vincent during the war was of a high order. The first of the Sisters to enter the service as nurses were Sisters Anthony and Sophia.
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CHAPTER XX. THE SISTERS OF MERCY.
CHAPTER XX. THE SISTERS OF MERCY.
An application from the Secretary of War to the Superior of the order. Nine Sisters depart for the Government Hospital at Beaufort, N. C. A dinner of pork and beans and mouldy bread. The steward who expected the Sisters to poison some of the patients. Complimented by Jefferson Davis. A convent confiscated by General Slocum. Secular ladies who had “other engagements” when the smallpox appeared. None of the Sisters who gave up their time and talents to the cause of suffering humanity did better wo
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CHAPTER XXI. THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS.
CHAPTER XXI. THE NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALS.
Solicitude of the Sisters for the patients under their care. Friendships formed that were only parted by death. Interesting reminiscences of Mother M. Augustine MacKenna concerning the Government Hospital at Beaufort, N. C. A victim of camp fever and how he was relieved by the nurse. There were many incidents of interest in the hospitals at Beaufort and Newberne, N. C., told by Mother M. Augustine MacKenna to her niece, Sister Dolores, and other members of the community of the Sisters of Mercy.
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CHAPTER XXII. LABORS IN THE WEST.
CHAPTER XXII. LABORS IN THE WEST.
The Sisters of Mercy attend the sick and wounded in the “Irish Brigade,” the command organized by Colonel Mulligan, whose life was sacrificed in the Union cause. Sisters leave Chicago for Lexington, Mo. One brave, religious Sister who wanted to finish her office before being shot. General Fremont and his staff call upon the Sisters. Taking charge of the hospital department of the steamship Express. COLONEL MULLIGAN. Soon after the beginning of the war the “Irish Brigade” was organized in Chicago
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CHAPTER XXIII. THE STANTON HOSPITAL.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE STANTON HOSPITAL.
The authorities in Washington invite the Sisters of Mercy to take charge of both the institutions at the capital and the Western Pennsylvania Hospital, in Pittsburg. Death of the Superior of the Stanton Hospital. Buried with military honors. President Lincoln commends the Sisters for their self-sacrificing labors. A warm tribute from Father Canevin how the Civil war helped to wipe out religious bigotry. In the autumn of 1862 application was made by the authorities in Washington to the Mother Sup
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CHAPTER XXIV. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH.
CHAPTER XXIV. SISTERS OF ST. JOSEPH.
The Surgeon General applies for nurses to care for the sick soldiers in Camp Curtin, Harrisburg. Bishop Wood gives a ready assent. Their valuable Services at the State Capital. An official letter of thanks from Governor Curtin. Down the James River in the Commodore to bring the wounded from the battlefield of Yorktown. A poor soldier abandoned in an isolated tent. Rescued from death itself. A grateful patient. JEFFERSON DAVIS. In January, 1862, Dr. Henry H. Smith, Surgeon-General of the State of
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CHAPTER XXV. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS.
CHAPTER XXV. SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSS.
The heroic life and labors of Mother Angela. A cousin of the late James G. Blaine. She gives up her school at South Bend, Ind., to serve through the war. A historic meeting between Mother Angela and General Grant Rev. L. A. Lambert, the chaplain at Mound City. Sixty Sisters of the Holy Cross on duty. Sister Angela, of the Visitation Community, and her love for the soldiers. Mother Angela, of the Holy Cross Sisters, was one of the most devoted nurses in any of the orders that served during the ci
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CHAPTER XXVI. MOTHER ANGELA.
CHAPTER XXVI. MOTHER ANGELA.
Related to many eminent men of the century; her tranquil death in the convent in Indiana; her ability as a writer and an educator. An incident of the war told by her in a powerful and dramatic style. The original of a Holy Cross Sister portrayed in a poem. Mother Angela, who performed such valiant service as the head of the Holy Cross Sisters, departed this life on March 4, 1887. Her death was so calm and peaceful that it seemed as though she were gliding into slumber rather than passing from li
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CHAPTER XXVII. NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES.
CHAPTER XXVII. NON-CATHOLIC TRIBUTES.
Comment of Mary A. Livermore upon the work of Mother Angela at Mound City: “The world has known no nobler and more heroic women than those found in the ranks of the Catholic Sisterhoods.” A famous scout gives his impressions of the Sisters. Susan D. Messinger tells of the work of the Sisters at New Berne, N. C. No tributes that have been paid to the work of the Catholic Sisterhoods during the war have been more cordial or more emphatic than those coming from non-Catholic sources. It is a signifi
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CHAPTER XXVIII. A LESSON IN CHARITY.
CHAPTER XXVIII. A LESSON IN CHARITY.
An incident of the war in which a gentle Sister of Charity and a stern military commander played the leading parts. “What do you do with your beggings?” The Red River campaign and its fatal results. The general in the hospital. “Did you get the ice and beef?” A grateful patient and his appreciation of the real worth of the Sisters. “During the late war, and when General S. was in command of the department at New Orleans, the Sisters of Charity made frequent applications to him for assistance. 26
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I. AN INNOCENT VICTIM.
I. AN INNOCENT VICTIM.
The frontispiece, entitled “An Innocent Victim,” that adorns this volume is taken from a famous painting executed by S. Seymour Thomas, an artist who is rapidly rising to fame. Mr. Thomas was born in San Augustine, Tex., studied in New York at the Art Students’ League, and from there went to Paris, where he is recognized as an artist of great power. This picture was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition, in Chicago, where it attracted great attention....
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II. MEDALS FOR SISTERS.
II. MEDALS FOR SISTERS.
The official gazette of the French Government recently published an order of the Minister of War granting medals to certain Catholic Sisters. A gold medal has been awarded to Sister Clare, of the Order of Sisters of St. Charles, for twenty-seven years’ service in the wards of the military hospital at Toul, and for previous service at Nancy, during the whole of which time she had given constant evidence of her devotion to duty. Silver medals have been given to Sister Gabrielle for thirty-six year
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III. HONORED BY THE QUEEN.
III. HONORED BY THE QUEEN.
The Queen of England only a few months ago showed her appreciation of the work of the Sisters in time of war by bestowing the Royal Red Cross upon the venerable Mother Aloysius Doyle, of the Convent of Mercy, Gort, Ireland. The following correspondence deserves to be preserved: Pall Mall, London, S. W., February 15, 1897. Madam:—The Queen having been pleased to bestow upon you the decoration of the Royal Red Cross, I have to inform you that in the case of such honors as this it is the custom of
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IV. VETERANS OF THE CRIMEAN WAR.
IV. VETERANS OF THE CRIMEAN WAR.
In August, 1897, at the close of the ceremonies incident to the celebration of her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen of Great Britain conferred the decoration of the Royal Red Cross upon Army Nursing Sisters Mary Helen Ellis, Mary Stanilaus Jones, Mary Anastasia Kelly and Mary de Chantal Huddon, in recognition of their services in tending the sick and wounded at the seat of war during the Crimean campaign of 1854-56. Their services were very much appreciated by Miss Nightingale, who, indeed, has ever s
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V. POOR SISTER ST. CLAIRE.
V. POOR SISTER ST. CLAIRE.
Professor Edward Roth, the well-known Philadelphia educator, is authority for this episode of the Franco-German war. He quotes General Ambert, who fought as a private in the war, as follows: “Oh, yes; one of them I shall never forget. Poor Sister St. Claire! I see her this moment, her big black veil trimmed with blue, as she makes her way through the blood-smeared straw of our crowded barn. The roaring of the cannon was awful, but she did not seem to mind it; she did not seem to mind even the te
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VI. LORD NAPIER’S TESTIMONY.
VI. LORD NAPIER’S TESTIMONY.
Lord Napier, who held a diplomatic position under Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, in Constantinople, during the Crimean War, gives the following testimony to the worth of the Sisters of Mercy: “During the distress of the Crimean war the Ambassador called me in one morning and said: ‘Go down to the port; you will find a ship there loaded with Jewish exiles, Russian subjects from the Crimea. It is your duty to disembark them. The Turks will give you a house in which they may be placed. I turn them ov
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VII. VERY REV. JAMES FRANCIS BURLANDO, C. M.
VII. VERY REV. JAMES FRANCIS BURLANDO, C. M.
The Very Rev. James Francis Burlando, of the Congregation of the Mission, who is mentioned several times in the text of this volume, was born on May 6, 1814, in the city of Genoa, Italy. Very early in life he became impressed with the desire of adopting the priesthood as his vocation, and on the 16th of February, 1837, his Archbishop, Cardinal Tadini, conferred on him the holy orders of sub-deacon and deacon. Soon after this he sailed for the United States and enlisted for the American missions
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VIII. MOTHER SETON.
VIII. MOTHER SETON.
Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the founder and first Superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States, was one of the most remarkable women in the history of the Catholic Church in America. She was reared in the doctrines of the Protestant Episcopal Church and did not embrace the Catholic faith until after the death of her husband. This distinguished woman, who was born in the city of New York on the 28th of August, 1774, was a younger daughter of Dr. Richard Bayley, an eminent physician of
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IX. “THE SISTER OF CHARITY.”
IX. “THE SISTER OF CHARITY.”
This beautiful poem, descriptive of a Sister of Charity, written by Gerald Griffin, has taken its place among those precious bits of literature that never die. The author was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1803, and began his literary career as a reporter for a London daily. He wrote many novels, a tragedy and various poems. He died in Cork, in 1840. A correspondent whose opinion is valued very highly writes to remind the author of the “Angels of the Battlefield” that a society of Sisters of Char
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X. SISTERS OF CHARITY.
X. SISTERS OF CHARITY.
(In Mr. Southey’s “Sir Thomas More” the following account of the Beguines of Belgium and the Sisters of Charity of France is reprinted from the London Medical Gazette, Vol. I.) A few summers ago I passed through Flanders on my way to Germany, and at the hospital at Bruges saw some of the Beguines, and heard the physician, with whom I was intimate, speak in strong terms of their services. He said: “There are no such nurses.” I saw them in the wards attending on the sick, and in the chapel of the
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XI. “THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA.”
XI. “THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA.”
(Written by John Greenleaf Whittier with reference to the work of the Sisters of Mercy at the battle of Buena Vista, during the Mexican war.) ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯●⎯○⎯●⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯...
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XII. CATHERINE ELIZABETH McAULEY.
XII. CATHERINE ELIZABETH McAULEY.
Miss Catherine Elizabeth McAuley, the foundress of the Order of Sisters of Mercy, ranks high among the notable women whose achievements have enriched the history of the Catholic Church. The religious institution first planted by her in the city of Dublin has spread to such an extent that its branches now spread into at least every quarter of the English-speaking globe. The communities of the Sisters of Mercy in the United States have done excellent work in many fields, but they particularly dist
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XIII. CLERICAL VETERANS.
XIII. CLERICAL VETERANS.
Notre Dame, Indiana, enjoys the distinction of a Grand Army Post composed of Catholic clergymen, most of whom are members of the faculty of Notre Dame University. The organization was officially entered on October 6, 1897, as Post No. 569, Department of Indiana. Very Rev. William E. Corby, C. S. C., the commander of the new post, was chaplain of the Irish Brigade, and is now the provincial, or head officer, of the order of the Holy Cross in the United States. Dr. Corby is also the chaplain of th
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XIV. CATHOLICS IN THE WAR.
XIV. CATHOLICS IN THE WAR.
St. Teresa’s Church, at the northeast corner of Broad and Catherine streets, was temporarily used as a hospital for wounded soldiers during the war. On July 4, 1897, Rev. Joseph V. O’Connor, one of the eloquent priests of the diocese of Philadelphia, delivered an address in this church, relative to Catholics in the war. A score of Grand Army posts attended the exercises, which were also honored by the presence of the venerable Hugh Lane, who has been pastor of the church during and since the war
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XV. THE SANITARY COMMISSION.
XV. THE SANITARY COMMISSION.
The purpose of the writer of this history, as already stated, has been to furnish for the first time a full and detailed story of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War, but in doing that he has not had the slightest intention of detracting from the splendid service rendered by other bodies and other persons. One of the most notable organizations that contributed its part in the humane work incident to the war was the Sanitary Commission. It had its rise in a spontaneous movemen
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XVII. A MIRACLE OF THE WAR.
XVII. A MIRACLE OF THE WAR.
The following interesting little incident is taken from Very Rev. W. C. Corby’s book, entitled “Memoirs of Chaplain Life:” “On the 29th of November, 1863,” says Rev. Constantine L. Egan, O. P., chaplain of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, “we advanced to Mine Run and formed a line of battle and bivouacked for the night. The enemy were posted on the east ridge, about one mile from the stream called Mile Run, on a centre ridge nearly 100 feet above the surface of the stream. Their works could e
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XVIII. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.
XVIII. LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.
It has been aptly said that the battlefield of Gettysburg has become the “Mecca of American Reconciliation.” By act of Congress a National Park has been established there, observatories erected and everything possible done to make the battlefield convenient and attractive to tourists. The National Cemetery at Gettysburg was dedicated November 19, 1863. The oration was by Edward Everett. On this occasion President Lincoln made the famous address that will never die. It was as follows: “Four-score
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XIX. THE FAITH AND THE FLAG.
XIX. THE FAITH AND THE FLAG.
While the work of the zealous Catholic Sisterhoods on the battlefield and in the camp and hospital was for humanity in its broadest sense the effect of their example and the beauty of their daily lives also had the effect of clearing away the mists of prejudice that sometimes distorted and clouded the views of honorable, well-meaning and worthy non-Catholics. The writer has endeavored to present the history of the labors of the Sisters in a straightforward and dispassionate manner. He has dealt
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XX. A ROMANCE OF THE WAR.
XX. A ROMANCE OF THE WAR.
This record of their life and conduct could not be brought to a more appropriate close than by the recital of a touching romance of the war, growing directly out of the work of the Sisters during that crucial period. The episode upon which the story hinges gains added interest from the fact that it constituted one of the actual occurrences of the closing day of the war. A few years before the first shot was fired upon Sumter a household that was a perfect picture of domestic felicity existed in
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Archbishop Ryan’s Eloquent and Earnest Letter of Recommendation.
Archbishop Ryan’s Eloquent and Earnest Letter of Recommendation.
I beg to thank you for the copy of your book, “Angels of the Battlefield,” which you were kind enough to send to me. I have read it with great satisfaction and beg to congratulate you on your success in presenting the touching and edifying scenes in which Charity sent her Angels into both camps alike, to heal the sick and console the dying, to chasten triumph and comfort defeat. The mission of these “Angels of the Battlefield” was to remove the strong prejudices that impeded the progress of the
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A Very Flattering Tribute from the Governor of Pennsylvania.
A Very Flattering Tribute from the Governor of Pennsylvania.
I am more than pleased with the work. It is a valuable addition to our war literature. I cannot but recommend your subject matter and approve of your literary style. I congratulate you heartily on the graceful and deserved tribute to the women who served so faithfully and loyally the cause of humanity during the dark days of our nation’s struggle.—Gen. Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania....
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High Praise from the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.
High Praise from the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.
General J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, writes:— “I have at length had an opportunity to carefully read your volume, “Angels of the Battlefield,” and wish to thank you for the pleasure you have given me. Your book is a valuable addition to the literature of the War. You have depicted those scenes with rare fidelity and without exaggeration, which so frequently justified the title you have selected.—Very truly yours, J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief....
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Particularly Happy in Avoiding Sectional, Political or Religious Controversies.
Particularly Happy in Avoiding Sectional, Political or Religious Controversies.
There is a praiseworthy attempt to give plain facts without comment or unnecessary coloring. The author has been particularly happy in avoiding sectional, political or religious controversies. Although many volumes have been written concerning the work of women in the war, this book is said to be the first connected and consecutive history of the self-sacrificing labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods during that great conflict.—The Washington (D. C.) Post....
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Comment from the Official Organ of the Historical Society of Quebec, Canada.
Comment from the Official Organ of the Historical Society of Quebec, Canada.
As might be expected, the work is full of interest, and is an eloquent tribute to the faith that produces such heroines. There was difficulty in collecting the data for the genuine humility so characteristic of the Sisters would move them to hide, rather than publish, the deeds, in themselves so heroic, but in their eyes only what their duty, enlightened by faith and enkindled by charity, demanded of them. In order to make the narrative as consecutive as the scattered notes permitted, a sketchy
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Cordial Words from Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.
Cordial Words from Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia.
“I have read your beautiful work, ‘Angels of the Battlefield,’ from beginning to end, with the greatest pleasure. It is certainly a most delightful book, and I trust and hope that it will have readers everywhere.”—Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia....
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General Miles, the Head of the Army, and the “Angels of the Battlefield.”
General Miles, the Head of the Army, and the “Angels of the Battlefield.”
“Recently I had occasion to call on General Miles, the ranking officer of the army, the Miles who gained such distinction as one of Hancock’s fighting commanders. When I entered his office, at the War Department, I found him reading a book in which he appeared to be deeply interested. Having the curiosity which comes to newspaper men, both by nature and from training, I could not restrain myself from asking the General the name of the book. It proved to be “Angels of the Battlefield: A History o
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The work possesses “the Light and Interest Which Belongs to Incidents from Life.”
The work possesses “the Light and Interest Which Belongs to Incidents from Life.”
The author has been able to gather from personal interviews with Sisters many narratives which give to his pages the light and interest which belong to incidents from life. He possesses the vivid sympathy with action and suffering, without which a history of this kind would be no better than dry bones. The author is rightly touched by the heroism that surrounded those cots, where enemies lay side by side in an agony, which, for many, could only obtain surcease in the grave. Some incidental descr
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Record of Blameless Lives, “Strung Like Golden Beads on a Silver Thread.”
Record of Blameless Lives, “Strung Like Golden Beads on a Silver Thread.”
It is a sweet, and clean, and healthy book. The sketches are delightful reading. The writer has poetic touch and a felicity of phrase. Nothing is overdrawn. Mr. Barton writes without rhetoric, but with wholesome sentiment, and rescues from the convents the story of the part these Sisters took in the great drama of our Civil war. It has been a labor of love, and the author has strung like golden beads on a silver thread the record of the blameless lives of the Sisters and their absolute devotion
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“Magnificent Contribution to the Best Literature of Our Day.”
“Magnificent Contribution to the Best Literature of Our Day.”
It was a beautiful thought to collect in one splendidly illustrated volume the touching records of so many noble lives; to snatch from oblivion, as it were, the names of those heroic Sisters whose deeds of mercy and valor in our hospitals and on our battlefields have hitherto been known, in some instances, to God and themselves alone. Your book is a unique and magnificent contribution to the best literature of our day, and I wish it the success it so richly deserves.—Eleanor C. Donnelly, of Phil
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“Supplies a Chapter Essential to the History of the War.”
“Supplies a Chapter Essential to the History of the War.”
It supplies a chapter essential to the history of our Civil War. The Christian religion claims that its teachings have mitigated the horrors of war; and the conduct of the Catholic Sisterhoods, North and South, furnished a striking evidence of the truth of such claims, in the particular instance of our domestic conflict. It is such books as yours that accomplish the end which the Sovereign Pontiff, Leo XIII, most ardently desires, in the relations of Church and State—the perfect accord of the lo
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“The Whole Book Clean and Written in an Easy, Practical Style.”
“The Whole Book Clean and Written in an Easy, Practical Style.”
I offer you my sincere congratulations for having given us a volume that illustrates heroic charity, in a manner calculated to command the admiration of all men. Men may differ about politics, economics, creed, the relative merits of men of letters and affairs; they will be one, however, in recognizing the “Angels of the Battlefield” as the grandest types of all the Christian virtues—charity—the bond of the true brotherhood of man. The whole book is so clean, and written in such an easy, practic
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“Embodies the Work of Several Years of Research and Correspondence.”
“Embodies the Work of Several Years of Research and Correspondence.”
This large volume embodies the work of several years of research and correspondence on the part of the author. The war itself is the merest thread upon which are strung these tales of womanly heroism which have naught to do with political or sectional feeling. The brave Sisters find in this volume their appreciative historian. The Catholic Columbian “veterans should see that it finds a place in post libraries.” The author has been at pains to collect all the data he could find—anecdotes, thrilli
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“Will Take Its Place With Standard Histories of the War.”
“Will Take Its Place With Standard Histories of the War.”
This work is one of much more than usual interest. It will take its place with the standard books concerning the history of the great Civil War.—Camden (N. J.) Review....
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“Vivid Pictures of Sisters Who Have Gone to Their Reward.”
“Vivid Pictures of Sisters Who Have Gone to Their Reward.”
This interesting history gives especially vivid pictures of three Sisters who became conspicuous by reason of their superior attainments—Sister Anthony, Sister Gonzago and Sister Angela—all now gone to their reward.—Taggarts’ Times, Phila....
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The Data is “Presented in a Very Attractive and Pleasing Form.”
The Data is “Presented in a Very Attractive and Pleasing Form.”
This interesting book is handsomely bound and beautifully and profusely illustrated. It fills a gap in the history of the Rebellion. Mr. Barton, who is a trained and able writer, has expended considerable time in gathering the data about these noble women and he presents it in a very attractive and pleasing form. The volume abounds with the personal experience of the Sisters. The narrative is replete with thrilling and pathetic incidents.—Pittsburg Dispatch....
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The Writer “Presents a Book With Not a Dull Page in it.”
The Writer “Presents a Book With Not a Dull Page in it.”
The author of the book has succeeded in investing his work with an absorbing interest. While he fully accomplishes his motive in setting forth the numerous heroic acts and deeds of mercy of members of the Sisterhoods, he has so interwoven them with stirring incidents of the strife as to create a history that has an enduring value apart from its personal interest. He has made his selections with a judgment of what is most interesting and only acquired by a long experience in newspaper work. He ha
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“The Story of the Sisters Well Told in This Charming Book.”
“The Story of the Sisters Well Told in This Charming Book.”
Many books have been written about the faithful work of women during the war, in hospitals and on the battlefields, but these books, at least those we have seen of them, are strangely silent about the work of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the same good cause. Some years ago we called the attention of Mr. George Barton, of Philadelphia, to this fact and suggested that a work of the Sisters in field and post hospitals during the war would afford ample material for a most interesting and edifying boo
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“It Should Appeal Especially to Veterans of the War.”
“It Should Appeal Especially to Veterans of the War.”
All sorts of books have been written about the late war, enough to fill a good-sized library and, I think, I have read them all, but Mr. Barton’s book is a new thing in that class of literature. The author has ventured on untrodden paths, with the result that he has given to the public a vast amount of interesting history that has not hitherto seen the light of day. “Angels of the Battlefield” should meet with a generous welcome from all classes and conditions of people, irrespective of locality
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Fills “A Gap in the Chronicle of the Gruesome Years of the War.”
Fills “A Gap in the Chronicle of the Gruesome Years of the War.”
This work will fill, we believe, a gap in the chronicle of those gruesome years. The unselfish deeds of other women have been often related, but the incessant and universal help of the Catholic religious of the battlefields has never yet been placed in an orderly fashion before the world.—Catholic Standard and Times, Philadelphia....
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The Effort “Was Well Worth Making, and the Task is Done Admirably.”
The Effort “Was Well Worth Making, and the Task is Done Admirably.”
In the “Angels of the Battlefield” is given a history of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Among all the agencies for relief of suffering in that dreadful conflict, none was more beautiful and more self-sacrificing than the work of these untiring Sisters. The effort was well worth making, and Mr. Barton has done his task admirably.—Philadelphia Evening Telegraph....
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The Reader “Brought Face to Face With the Sterner Realities of War.”
The Reader “Brought Face to Face With the Sterner Realities of War.”
The author in this work leads us into an entirely new field of literature. He treats of a subject never before taken up in such pretentious shape. So vivid are his pictures of the great conflict and of the noble and humane work done by these self-sacrificing “angels” that the reader comes face to face with the sterner realities of the war. The book is an altogether readable one, and is a worthy adjunct to the already published literature of the Civil War.—Burlington (N. J.) Democrat....
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All Will “Welcome This Delightful Volume With Its Sprightly Narrative.”
All Will “Welcome This Delightful Volume With Its Sprightly Narrative.”
Everyone who took part in the late war, on either side, will welcome this delightful volume of reminiscence of one of the most beautiful and touching aspects of that history so full of misfortune and horrors. The special friends and admirers of the Sisterhoods, whose members participated, will all seek to possess it, and also many Catholic apologists and students of American history. The narrative is sprightly and abounds in anecdotes. This publication well deserves the large sale it is sure to
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The “Clear, Crisp Newspaper English” One of Its Good Points.”
The “Clear, Crisp Newspaper English” One of Its Good Points.”
The fact that a writer has actually found a field or phase of our national history unrecorded, or as newspaper men would say, uncovered, by a book is sufficient to entitle this volume to mention by the newspapers. The work has been well done, not only as to the amount and systematic presentation of evidence, the authenticity of which is confirmed by numerous authorities of unquestionable standing, both in and out of the Catholic Church, but also in the manner of treatment, the language being the
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Illustrating “The Extent and the Superb Courage” of the Sisters.
Illustrating “The Extent and the Superb Courage” of the Sisters.
To the story of the part which our American womanhood played in the war for the Union Mr. Barton has contributed some new data in the field of our war literature which hitherto has been untouched. Moved by a spirit of gentle enthusiasm, Mr. Barton has painstakingly told in a book of several hundred pages how the Sistershoods of the Roman Catholic Church toiled in the lowliest and most perilous offices of the nurse, as they followed the armies into the very storm of shot and shell. The book is fu
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“A Comprehensive Book That Makes History, and Valuable History.”
“A Comprehensive Book That Makes History, and Valuable History.”
Mr. Barton has written a book that makes history, and valuable history. It is not one of the kind that, according to the proverb, his enemies (if he has any) need rejoice over, but a tribute to the noble band to which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond. The author gives us a compact presentation of the history of these noble women in the matricidal strike of the 60’s, a subject which has been hitherto sadly neglected. The humility of the Sisters made the collection
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“The Twenty-Seven Chapters of the Volume Crowded With Stories.”
“The Twenty-Seven Chapters of the Volume Crowded With Stories.”
The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and stories, some pathetic, some humorous, and others still historical. There are fleeting glimpses of Generals McClellan, Butler, Jefferson Davis and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a collection of non-Catholic tributes to the Sisters. There is a letter in the volume that reveals General Butler in a chivalrous light. Some of the Sisters of a convent at New Orleans had complained that their property was be
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“A Fascinating Volume that Perpetuates the Memories of the Sisterhoods in the Civil War.”
“A Fascinating Volume that Perpetuates the Memories of the Sisterhoods in the Civil War.”
To the annals of the war George Barton, an historical student of Philadelphia, has just added a fascinating volume entitled “Angels of the Battlefield,” in which he has endeavored to perpetuate the memories of the members of the Roman Catholic Sisterhoods who helped to care for the sick, wounded and dying in the Civil War. It is hard to obtain information from such people, and as military records are proverbially careless in such matters, the Sisters not coming within military jurisdiction, the
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“A Book Valuable as a Record and in its Literary Style.”
“A Book Valuable as a Record and in its Literary Style.”
Mr. Barton has presented to the public a valuable book, valuable as a record and valuable in its literary style. It is well described by a historical critic as a tribute to the noble band of women samaritans to which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond. The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who so readily and with such self-sacrificing heroism volunteered their humble services to help the sick and administer to the dying in the great Civil conflict receive in “Angels
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“The Descriptions of the More Important Engagements are Really Graphic.”
“The Descriptions of the More Important Engagements are Really Graphic.”
His facts, gathered from letters still extant, from conversations had with many of the surviving nuns, and the testimony of not a few who owed their lives from the ministrations of the Sisters, give a very complete and accurate account of his subject. He traces the work of the Sisters at times with a vividness that is startling. His descriptions of the more important engagements, especially of Shiloh, Antietam and Gettysburg, are really graphic, and they give us the truest idea of the noble char
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“It is Well to Let the World Know of Their Heroic Services.”
“It is Well to Let the World Know of Their Heroic Services.”
Although the noble Sisters who for the love of God went forth during the Civil War to nurse the sick and wounded do not desire to have their deeds perpetuated on earth, it is well to let the world know of the heroic services they rendered from 1861-5. The author presents in a compact form the history of the labors of the Sisters during this period in a most readable manner. The volume contains handsome illustrations of some of the more prominent generals and Sisters of the war. Several valuable
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“Praiseworthy Attempt to Give Plain Facts Without Comment.”
“Praiseworthy Attempt to Give Plain Facts Without Comment.”
The “News” compliments the author upon the excellence of his work and commends it to its readers. The labor of four of the most conspicuous Sisterhoods are detailed in a most complete and thorough manner. The book begins with the work of the Sisters of Charity, and then takes up in natural sequence the labors of the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of St. Joseph’s and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. There has been a praiseworthy and successful attempt to give plain facts without comment or unnecessa
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“Fleeting Glimpses of Many of the Great Characters of the Time.”
“Fleeting Glimpses of Many of the Great Characters of the Time.”
The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and stories, some pathetic, some humorous and others still, historical. There are flitting glimpses of General McClellan, General Butler, Jefferson Davis, and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a collection of non-Catholic tributes to the Sisters; while an appendix furnishes the reader with some interesting and important facts that it was deemed advisable to separate from the text.—The Union and Times, Buffal
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Right Rev. I. F. Horstmann, D. D., Bishop of Cleveland.
Right Rev. I. F. Horstmann, D. D., Bishop of Cleveland.
It was a happy thought for you, even at this late hour, to gather together some of the glorious records of the labors of the noble bands of Sisters on the field and in the hospitals during the war. Gather up the fragments lest they be lost. These victories of charity ought to be at least as memorable as the bloody triumphs of the battlefield.—Ign. F. Horstmann, Bishop of Cleveland....
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An Indorsement from the Editor of a Well-Known Latin Journal.
An Indorsement from the Editor of a Well-Known Latin Journal.
“Angels of the Battlefield.” A History of the Labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Auctore Georgio Barton. The Catholic Art Publ. Co., Burd Building, 9th and Chestnut str., Philadelphia. Pretium, tela $3.00, corio Russico $4.00; editio elegans, corio Marocanno $5.00. Liber hic iconibus venustissimis illustratus, chartae laevissimae impressus, historiam complectitur rerum gestarum virginum Sanctimonialium, in bello civili Americanorum curam militum sauciorum gerentium. Historia ce
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Translation.
Translation.
“Angels of the Battlefield.” A history of the labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War, by George Barton, author. The Catholic Art Publishing Company, Burd Building, 9th and Chestnut sts., Philadelphia. The work is illustrated with the finest engravings and printed on very fine paper. It relates to the work of the various Sisterhoods in caring for the wounded soldiers in the late American Civil War. A history of healing wounds and cleansing the bloodstains therefrom is certainly more
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Pleasure Taken “in Complimenting the Author on His Splendid Production.”
Pleasure Taken “in Complimenting the Author on His Splendid Production.”
We are personally acquainted with the author, have read the book carefully, and take great pleasure in complimenting Mr. Barton on his splendid production. While the battle scenes, camp life and other stirring events of the war period from 1861-5 have received attention from the bright minds, and the facts recorded on the pages of history in every civilized country, yet this book by Mr. Barton is the first that treats exclusively on the great work accomplished by the Catholic Sisterhoods in the
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“Recounts Many Incidents Which Will Be Read With the Deepest Interest.”
“Recounts Many Incidents Which Will Be Read With the Deepest Interest.”
“Angels of the Battlefield” is a well printed, generously illustrated volume of more than 300 pages, containing no inconsiderable amount of information about the services rendered by Sisters of different religious orders during the Civil war. Mr. Barton writes feelingly of their devotedness and self sacrifices, and recounts many incidents which will be read with the deepest interest. The author has wisely touched upon the leading events of the years 1861-5, and thus rendered the volume more acce
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“This Comprehensive History of Mercy Reads Almost Like a Romance.”
“This Comprehensive History of Mercy Reads Almost Like a Romance.”
“Angels of the Battlefield” is an elegantly bound volume, in cloth, with gilt back and front, and beautifully illustrated. The book is crowded with incidents and stories, pathetic, humorous and historical, and the story of the self-sacrificing work of the Sisters is told in a compact and comprehensive form. This history of mercy reads almost like a romance.—Boston Daily Globe....
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“Tribute of Permanent Preservation Well Carried Out and Richly Deserved.”
“Tribute of Permanent Preservation Well Carried Out and Richly Deserved.”
It is a noble record, North, South or West, and the tribute of permanent preservation so well carried out by Mr. Barton is richly deserved. We cannot afford to let the noble deeds of our women in the Civil war, any more than those of our men, die out from our recollection and gratitude. The Catholic Sisterhoods were active in the work of helping and nursing in the Civil war, as they are in all wars and epidemics. Their work was so unobtrusive that there has been difficulty in getting the data ne
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“The Nobler Literature of the World Gains By This Work.”
“The Nobler Literature of the World Gains By This Work.”
One of the most beautiful stories of the Civil War has been fittingly told at the end of thirty-two years. The materials were not easily gathered, for, as the author remarks, a genuine humility has stood in the way of the collection of the data, but the work has been done, and the nobler literature of the world gains by its performance. As the self-sacrificing Sisters ministered to all whom they could reach during the war, never asking whether the uniform was blue or gray, so a striking and appr
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Author of the Work has Succeeded in Compiling “a Fascinating Volume.”
Author of the Work has Succeeded in Compiling “a Fascinating Volume.”
The book fills 300 pages with its accounts of the different Sisterhoods and their leading members. Incidentally it brings in many of the great men of the sixties, such as Archbishop Hughes, whose labors for the Union have made him immortal; Archbishop Kenrich, Archbishop Ryan, General McClellan, General Butler, Abraham Lincoln, Archbishop Elder, General Grant, Archbishop Spaulding, General Anderson, General Wood, General Rosecrans, Governor Morton and Col. Mulligan. The author in his endeavor to
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“Performed His Task With Excellent Judgment and in a Broad Spirit.”
“Performed His Task With Excellent Judgment and in a Broad Spirit.”
The author of this book has performed his task with excellent judgment and in a broad spirit. Most of the stories given were gathered in personal interviews, by examination of various archives and records, and by an extensive correspondence with Government officials, army veterans and Superioresses of Convents and communities. The gentle ways, the fathomless sympathies of the Sisters soothed and cheered the soldier who lay sick and wounded. The Sister seemed to the sufferer like a link to his mo
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