Answering a call to duty

On May 17, 1861, the Sisters of Providence took charge of of all “domestic arrangements” at City Hospital, Indianapolis. This hospital had been turned over to the federal government for the care of soldiers during the Civil War. Indiana Governor Oliver P. Morton asked the sisters for their help.

WoodsUp.com, our children’s Web site, documents the sisters’ service at this facility. From April to August 1861, 640 patients were registered in the hospital, with 430 of those inflicted with measles. To read a partial entry of the surgeons’ report and the surgeons’ appreciation for the Sisters of Providence, click here.

To learn more about hospital routines during the Civil War, click here.