Pleasant Prairie in Kenosha County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

Cordelia A.P. Harvey

Photographed By Paul F, September 28, 2010

1. Cordelia A.P. Harvey Marker

Inscription. Wisconsin women rallied to support the Union during the Civil War. They became nurses, hospital matrons, sanitary agents, and ministers. Cordelia A. Perrine Harvey attained national prominence for her role in promoting convalescent aid for sick and wounded soldiers.

Cordelia had moved with her family to Southport (Kenosha) in 1840. She married Louis P. Harvey, who became governor in 1862. That April, Governor Harvey drowned while visiting Wisconsin troops wounded at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. Mrs. Harvey thereupon dedicated herself to improving conditions for hospitalized soldiers. She criticized military hospitals for improper sanitation, urging that disabled soldiers be sent northward to medical centers near their homes where care would be better.

In 1863 Cordelia Harvey met Abraham Lincoln and convinced the President to approve the establishment of recuperation hospitals in the North. The first of three such hospitals in Wisconsin opened in Madison. (The other two were in Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien.) The Harvey United States Army Hospital in Madison was redesignated the Wisconsin Soldiers’ Orphans Home in 1866. It operated under Mrs. Harvey’s direction until 1867, and it closed in 1874.

Erected 1991. (Marker Number 305.)

Topics and series. This historical marker

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is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Wisconsin Historical Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1840.

Location. 42° 31.339′ N, 87° 56.994′ W. Marker is in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, in Kenosha County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Interstate 94 and Wisconsin Highway 165. Rest Area-Tourist Info Center No. 26, westbound lane I-94, North of Illinois state line, Kenosha County. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pleasant Prairie WI 53158, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Name “Wisconsin” (within shouting distance of this marker); Green Bay Ethnic Trail (approx. 3.1 miles away); Thirty-Second Division Memorial Highway (approx. 6½ miles away); Auto Production in Kenosha (approx. 7.1 miles away); John Bullen (approx. 7.4 miles away); John McCaffery Burial Site (approx. 7.4 miles away); Kenosha Veterans Memorial (approx. 7½ miles away); Lovell G.A.R. Post 230 Civil War Memorial (approx. 7½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Pleasant Prairie.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. This

Photographed By Paul F, September 28, 2010

2. Cordelia A.P. Harvey Marker

is a list of other markers related to Governor and Mrs. Harvey.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 1, 2010, by Paul Fehrenbach of Germantown, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 1,461 times since then and 24 times this year. Last updated on October 1, 2010, by William J. Toman of Green Lake, Wisconsin. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 1, 2010, by Paul Fehrenbach of Germantown, Wisconsin. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.