Civil War
Dr. Mary Walker’s Civil War
If you’re interested in the American Civil War, you’ve probably heard of Dr. Mary Walker. You probably know that she: 1) Worked as a surgeon in the war 2) Is the only woman to have received the Medal of Honor 3) Wore pants long before it was common for women to wear pants. All those…
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How the United States Sanitary Commission Elbowed Women to One Side in the American Civil War
Last week, while writing about the use of hospital transport ships in the American Civil War, I promised to tell you the story of how a group of men hijacked Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell’s Women’s Central Association of Relief to form the United States Sanitary Commission. It is a story that will feel all too familiar…
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Hospital Transport Ships in the American Civil War
I must admit, I did not expect to write another blog post about Civil War medicine any time soon. That’s not where my head is these days. But the recent mobilization of Navy hospital ships to help the embattled medical systems in New York and Los Angeles led an old friend and regular reader to…
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