Nuns of the Battlefield

Nuns of the Battlefield. Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial.

"As they went from cot to cot, distributing the medicines prescribed, administering the cooling, refreshing, strengthening draughts as directed, they were veritable Angels of Mercy" , Abraham Lincoln

, Ellen Ryan Jolly was on a mission. The President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish American Catholic Woman's Organization, was told that her idea for a memorial to Catholic nuns who served as nurses during the Civil War was lacking. She was told there was no proof of the sister-nurses' service. Jolly spent the next ten years working to set the record straight. What she found was extraordinary and was documented in her book The Nuns of the Battlefield., Sister-nurses from twelve congregations, over a thousand in number and mostly Irish American, cared for troops from North and South on battlefields and in hospitals., They did so despite anti-Catholic and anti-Irish attitudes among society at large including their fellow lay nurses. The sister-nurses persevered, bringing thousands of men back to health, and creating a network of Catholic hospitals in the process., Ellen Ryan Jolly also persevered. Her reward was the completed memorial, dedicated on September 20, 1924. The event marked a turning point in Irish American history. Once a vilified minority, Irish Americans were now recognized with a memorial, one of the first honoring women. In less than 40 years, the first Irish American Catholic would be elected President of the United States., Memorial Facts , Sculptor Jerome Connor , Materials Bronze statue, Stony Creek granite , Cost $60,000 ($1M in today's dollars) , Dedication September 20, 1924 , Religious Orders Represented , Sisters of St. Joseph , Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel , Sisters of St. Dominic , Sisters of St. Ursula , Sisters of the Holy Cross , Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis , Sisters of Mercy , Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy , Sisters of Charity , Daughters of Charity of Emmitsburg , Sisters of Charity of Nazareth , Sisters of Divine Providence, (captions) , Ellen Ryan Jolly looks on as Cardinal William O'Connell speaks at the dedication of the Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial. Library of Congress , A sister-nurse feeds a soldier in a field hospital. Library of Congress , A Daughter of Charity tends to a hospitalized soldier. Library of Congress , A Sister of Mercy reading to a wounded soldier in a hospital tent after the Battle of Vicksburg. Sisters of Mercy of the Americas , The Angel of Patriotism (above) wears a helmet and armor but carries no weapon, indicating the nuns' peaceful mission; the figure on the opposite side of the memorial represents the Angel of Peace. , This exhibit is made possible by The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.