ISU to host SPs and the Civil War presentation

Military Hospital in Indianapolis as it looked during the Civil War

Since late August, the Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University has hosted the exhibit, “Binding Wounds, Pushing Boundaries: African Americans in Civil War Medicine.” The exhibit is sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health. The exhibit at ISU runs through Oct. 6 and is one of only two locations in Indiana where the exhibit will be on loan.

As part of the programs associated with the exhibit, Connie McCammon, a Sisters of Providence staff member, will present “Lest We Forget: The Civil War Service of the Sisters of Providence” Thursday, Sept. 27, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. (EDT) in the Special Collections Area of the ISU library. The Sisters of Providence played a unique role during the Civil War, serving as sister-nurses for the duration of the war at Military Hospital in Indianapolis and two short stints at an emergency hospital in Vincennes, Ind.

Come learn about these women who cared for Union and Confederate soldiers during this national tragedy. You’ll also learn how the war personally touched not only the sisters, but students at the Academy, the predecessor of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College.

SPs and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine

Last week, I spent several days on a Civil War pilgrimage to Gettysburg, Antietam, Harper’s Ferry and Manassas. On our way to Antietam (also known as Sharpsburg, Md.), we stopped at an awesome museum in Frederick, Md. — the National Museum of Civil War Medicine.

It rocked! There was information about the evacuation of the wounded, field hospitals, embalming, Dr. Letterman and his early version of triage, and, lo and behold, a brief entry on Sister Athanasius Fogarty and the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Sister Athanasius served as directress of Military Hospital during the Civil War. Needless to say, I was very excited and asked one of the docents if I could take a photo of the sign. She said yes and was quite pleased to know that I had a connection with the Sisters of Providence.

If you are ever in the Frederick area, I strongly recommend you check out this museum.

Confederate goose charged with treason!

There were many religious congregations that provided medical care to Confederate and Union soldiers during the Civil War. While the Sisters of Providence didn’t provide care directly on the battlefield, they did serve at military hospitals in Indianapolis and Vincennes.

While there was much misery as a Civil War nurse, there were glimpses of humor. Ellen Ryan Jolly in her book, “Nuns of the Battlefield,” tells the story of religious congregations that provided nursing care during the war. In the chapter for the Sisters of Providence, the author relates a humorous story about a Confederate goose charged with treason. To read this story, click here.

For more information about the Civil War service of the Sisters of Providence, click here.

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.

Gems from our Archives

The Sisters of Providence are truly blessed to have an Archives that is filled with artifacts, journals and papers documenting the history of this Congregation from its humble beginnings in Ruillé, France, to Saint Mother Theodore Guerin’s arrival at this sacred spot on Oct. 22, 1840.

One of the gems recently shared on our Web site is about the service of the Sisters of Providence during the Civil War, 1861-1865. The Congregation was asked by Governor Morton to run the Military (City) Hospital in Indianapolis. Mother Superior Mary Cecilia Bailly and the council gave their approval and appointed Sister Athanasius Fogarty as the directress of this facility. Sister Athanasius was well respected and well liked as a sister-nurse.

The necrology (obituary) of Sister Athanasius that resides in our Archives reveals more of the life and challenges of Sister Athanasius. It also demonstrates the gratitude of one man for Sister Athanasius’s devotion to the soldiers of the Civil War. Click here for her story.

Click here for more information on the service of the Sisters of Providence during the Civil War.