Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: The Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-FieldsEdmonds, S. Emma E. (Sarah Emma Evelyn)
History
Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: The Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields
Edmonds, S. Emma E. (Sarah Emma Evelyn)
Edmonds, S. Emma E. (Sarah Emma Evelyn), 1841-1898; Nurses -- United States -- Biography; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Hospitals; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Medical care; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Participation, Female; United
"Oh, what an amount of suffering I am called to witness every hour and
every moment. There is no cessation, and yet it is strange that the sight
of all this suffering and death does not affect me more. I am simply eyes,
ears, hands and feet. It does seem as if there is a sort of stoicism
granted for such occasions. There are great, strong men dying all around
me, and while I write there are three being carried past the window to the
dead room. This is an excellent hospital--everything is kept in good
order, and the medical officers are skillful, kind and attentive."
The weary weeks went slowly by, while disease and death preyed upon the
men, and the "Soldiers' Cemetery" was being quickly filled with new made
graves. The kindness of the soldiers toward each other is proverbial, and
is manifested in various ways. It is a common thing to see soldiers stand
guard night after night for sick comrades--and when off duty try, to the
utmost of their skill, to prepare their food in such a way as to tempt the
appetite of those poor fellows whom the surgeons "do not consider
sufficiently ill to excuse from duty;" but their comrades do, and do not
hesitate to perform their duty and their own also. And when brought to
camp hospital, helpless, worn down by disease, and fever preying upon
their vitals--those brave and faithful comrades do not forsake them, but
come several times every day to inquire how they are, and if there is
anything they can do for them. And it is touching to see those men, with
faces bronzed and stern, tenderly bending over the dying, while the tears
course down their sunburnt cheeks.
There is scarcely a soldier's grave where there is not to be seen some
marks of this noble characteristic of the soldier--the tastefully cut sod,
the planted evergreen, the carefully carved head-board, all tell of the
affectionate remembrance of the loved comrade. You will scarcely find such
strong and enduring friendship--such a spirit of self-sacrifice, and such
noble and grateful hearts, as among the soldiers. I think this is one
reason why the nurses do not feel the fatigue of hospital duty more than
they do; the gratitude of the men seems to act as a stimulant, and the
patient, uncomplaining faces of those suffering men almost invariably
greet you with a smile. I used to think that it was a disgrace for any
one, under ordinary circumstances, to be heard complaining, when those
mutilated, pain-racked ones bore everything with such heroic fortitude.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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