Catholic Nuns during the Civil War
The Catholic Sisters of Charity and the Civil War
In Lincoln 's inaugural address on March 4, 1861 , he pronounced that the Union could not be dissolved by an act of secession (Ward 34). On April 12, 1861 , the first shot was fired upon Fort Sumter , and so began the Civil War in the United States . On April 9. 1865, Grant and Lee met at the Appomattox Court House, for the surrendering of the Confederate Army, and then the Civil War officially ended. In the four years of conflict between these dates, our nation lost by death and disease 600,000 men. The task of caring for so many dying, sick and maimed men was an ordeal. Four Orders of Catholic Sisterhoods participated in caring for the wounded and dying. The orders were: Sisters of Charity, Sisters of St. Joseph, Sisters of Mercy, and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. The work of the Religious Catholic Sisters during the Civil War was commendable . When the war began, the Sisters were the only organized and trained female nurses. The surgeons "liked them because they had been bred to discipline". Even President Lincoln had a high opinion for the tremendous service of the Catholic Sisters during the Civil War.
Read it all:
http://www.angelfire...ilwarchaplain2/
