Mary Whitney Phelps

Mary Whitney Phelps. Born to a sea captain in Portland, Maine, this energetic redhead was orphaned at a young age when her father died at sea and her mother died soon thereafter. , Mary wed John Smith Phelps, a young lawyer, in Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1837. The couple settled in Springfield, Missouri, the same year. During John's prolonged absences as a statesman, Mary bore the major responsibility for farm management and dedicated herself to operating local schools. , During the Civil War, May not only collected and transported supplies to Union armies at the battles of Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge, she also nursed wounded and dying soldiers. When she learned that General Nathaniel Lyon's body had been abandoned in Springfield after the Battle of Wilson's Creek, she made arrangements for a coffin and concealed the body until relatives arrived from Connecticut to claim it. , In 1866, the United States Congress recognized Mary's services during the Civil War and awarded her $20,000. She continued working with area orphanages and started a new school that ultimately served 250 orphaned children by 1868. , When the war ended, Mary became associated with the Confederate Burial Association. The association brought the remains of the Confederate soldiers who died at Wilson's Creek to a new Confederate Cemetery adjoining the Springfield National Cemetery. She also became a member of the National Woman Suffrage Association, serving as a vice president in 1869. , Mary Whitney Phelps is buried beside John in the Phelps' plot at Hazelwood Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.