Irish Brigade has long passed into history as surpassing Alma and the
Sedan. Keenan’s cavalry charge at Chancellorsville saved the Union army
at the cost of 300 lives. The charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava
was described by a French officer as magnificent, but unmilitary--‘C’est
magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre.’ But Keenan’s charge was both
glorious and strategic. His troop rushed like a whirlwind upon 20,000
Confederates. His men were shot down or sabered in the saddle. The
steeds, maddened by wounds and uncontrolled by their dead riders,
plunged into the thick of the Confederate ranks, and so disconcerted and
appalled them that the main army of the Union had time to save itself
from otherwise inevitable destruction. Perhaps the most critical point
of the war was the success or the failure of Sheridan’s devastation of
the Shenandoah Valley, which was the great base of supplies for the
South. Sheridan’s historic ride, which saved the day at Winchester, was
the exploit of a Catholic. The Republic subsequently conferred upon this
son of the Church one of the highest and most responsible positions in
her keeping, the generalship of her armies.
“One of the first, if not the first band of trained nurses that offered
their services to the Government was the religious society of the
Sisters of Charity. Their title is their history. Their services in
hospitals and on the field did more than tomes of controversy to make
the Catholic Church better known, and consequently loved, by the
American people. The convalescing soldier by word and by letter spread
the information throughout the land that the ministrations of the
Catholic Sisterhood reminded him of a mother’s love and a sister’s
tenderness.
“The heroic devotion to duty of the Catholic chaplains, who made no
distinction of religion when a soldier was to be helped, endeared the
Catholic religion to many who met a Catholic priest for the first time
in camp or hospital. Our own noble-hearted Archbishop rendered such
service to the wounded soldiers in St. Louis that the Government offered
him a chaplaincy. Care of the body was often supplemented with the
higher care of the soul. In that parting hour, when mortality leans upon
the breast of religion, the example of devoted priest and religious
gently led many a soul into the hope and the consolation of divine
faith.
“God grant that our country shall never again reel under the shock of
war! Yet out of the nettle of danger has come the flower of safety.
Calumny, suspicion, distrust of our patriotism were struck dumb. Never
again shall we be taunted with secret antipathy to free institutions.
The banner of the stars was rebaptized in our blood. To the soldier of
the war the Church owes a debt of gratitude. He proved often by his
death that the religion which he professed, far from condemning his
patriotism, commended it as a virtue, and the faith that sustained him
in battle supported him when his heart poured out the blood of supreme
sacrifice upon the altar of his country. And though no memorial marks
his resting place the Church in every mass pleads for the repose of his
soul.
“The soldier stands as the highest value which we place upon our country
and her institutions. He says to all: ‘My country is worth dying for.’
In our thoughtless way we take liberty, security of life and property,
the blessings of religion and safeguards of law and all the beauty and
amenity of our civilization as a matter of course. Without the soldier
all these goods would perish. It is war that preserves and protects
peace. The soldier is the guardian of our homes. Honor him; make
peaceful and happy his declining years. Thank God with David for
preparing our hands for the sword, before whose blinding ray, in the
hand of the hero, domestic treason and foreign conspiracy slink into
their dens. Bless God for making us a nation of soldiers, as well as of
citizens. The war proved that the American soldier, North and South, is
without a peer in bravery, in discipline, in self-control. Whilst our
Republic gives birth to such heroic sons we may laugh armed Europe to
scorn.
“Soldiers, there is another battle, another field, a greater Captain
than even the archangel who led the embattled seraphim to war. You
divine my meaning. Be soldiers of the cross! Fight the good fight of
faith. Be sober, pure, charitable. The laurel that binds the warrior’s
brow on earth soon fades. The flowers of Decoration Day droop with the
setting sun. But the Divine Captain of our salvation will place upon
your brow, if you are faithful to the end, a crown that fadeth not away,
a wreath which you will receive amid the shout of the heavenly armies.”
XV.
THE SANITARY COMMISSION.
The purpose of the writer of this history, as already stated, has been
to furnish for the first time a full and detailed story of the labors of
the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War, but in doing that he has not
had the slightest intention of detracting from the splendid service
rendered by other bodies and other persons. One of the most notable
organizations that contributed its part in the humane work incident to
the war was the Sanitary Commission. It had its rise in a spontaneous
movement of the women in New England. It is said that 7000 branch Aid
Societies were connected with the Commission at one time. Charles J.
Stille, of Philadelphia, has written a history of the Commission, from
which most of the facts embodied in this sketch have been obtained.
Committees were sent to Washington, the part of the Government, the
Secretary of War, on the 9th of June, 1861, issued an order appointing
Henry and after much negotiation, involving tedious delay on W. Bellows,
D. D., Professor A. D. Boche, LL. D., Professor Jeffries Wyman, M. D.,
W. H. Van Buren, M. D., Wolcott Gibbs, M. D., R. C. Wood, surgeon U. S.
A.; G. W. Cullom, U. S. A.; Alexander E. Shiras, U. S. A., in connection
with such others as they might chose to associate with them, “a
commission of inquiry and advice in respect of the sanitary interests of
the United States forces.” They were to serve without remuneration from
the Government and were to be provided with a room for their use in the
city of Washington.
They were to direct their inquiries to the principles and practices
connected with the inspection of recruits and enlisted men, the sanitary
condition of volunteers, to the means of preserving and restoring the
health and of securing the general comfort and efficiency of the troops,
to the proper provision of cooks, nurses and hospitals, and to other
subjects of a like nature. The mode by which they proposed to conduct
these inquiries was detailed in the letter of the New York delegation to
the Secretary of War on the 22d of May. The order appointing them
directed that they should correspond freely with the department and with
the Medical Bureau concerning these subjects, and on this footing and
within these limits their relations with the official authorities were
established. To enable them to carry out fully the purposes of their
appointment the Surgeon General issued a circular letter announcing the
creation of the Commission, and directing all the officers in his
department to grant its agents every facility in the prosecution of
their duties.
On the 12th of June the gentlemen named as Commissioners in the order of
the Secretary of War (with the exception of Professor Wyman, who had
declined his appointment) assembled at Washington. They proceeded to
organize the Board by the selection of the Rev. Dr. Bellows as
president. Their first care was to secure the services of certain
gentlemen as colleagues, who were supposed to possess special
qualifications, but whose names had not been included in the original
warrant. Accordingly Dr. Elisha Harris and Dr. Cornelius R. Agnew were
unanimously chosen Commissioners at the first meeting, and George T.
Strong and Dr. J. S. Newberry in like manner at the one next succeeding.
At different periods during the war Rt. Rev. Bishop Clark, Hon. R. W.
Burnet, Hon. Mark Skinner, Hon. Joseph Holt, Horace Binney, Jr., Rev. J.
H. Heywood, Prof. Fairman Rogers, J. Huntingdon Wolcott, Charles J.
Stille, E. B. McCagg and F. Law Olmstead were elected by the Board
members of the Commission.
At the first meeting a “Plan of Organization,” prepared by the
president, was presented, discussed and finally adopted. On the 13th the
Commission, in a body, waited on the President and Secretary of War, who
gave their formal sanction to this plan of organization by affixing to
it their signatures. The experiences of the war suggested but little
alteration, even in the outline of this report, while to a strict
adherence to the general principles it embodied the Sanitary Commission
owed much of its wonderful success.
The plan reduced to a practical system and method the principles laid
down in the letters of the New York gentlemen to the Government
authorities and endeavored to apply them to the actual existing
condition of the army. Confining its proposed operations within the
limited sphere of “inquiry” and “advice,” which had been assigned to it
by the Government, it declared what it proposed to do and by what
methods in each of these departments of duty.
In order that its work might be carried on systematically and thoroughly
two general committees were created, one respecting “inquiry,” the other
“advice.” The object of the first was to determine by all the light
which could be derived from experience what must necessarily be the
wants and conditions of troops brought together as ours had been, to
ascertain exactly how far evils which had proved the scourge of other
armies had already invaded our own, and to decide concerning the best
measures to be adopted to remove all causes of removable and preventable
disease.
Each branch of “inquiry” under this head was referred to a distinct
sub-committee. From the first was expected such suggestions of
preventable measures as experience in former wars had proved to be
absolutely essential; to the second was entrusted the actual inspection,
by its own members or their agents, of the camps and hospitals, so that
the real condition of the army, in a sanitary point of view, concerning
which there were many conflicting rumors, could be definitely known. To
the third was referred all questions concerning the improvement of the
health and efficiency of the army in respect to diet, clothing, quarters
and matters of a similar nature.
In regard to the other branch of duty assigned to the Commission under
its appointment, that of “advice,” the Board took the same wide and
comprehensive views as had guided them in regard to the needful subjects
of inquiry. Their purpose was to “get the opinions and conclusions of
the Commission approved by the Medical Bureau, ordered by the War
Department and carried out by the officers and men.”
The interest excited in thousands of homes throughout the land, whose
inmates were members of aid societies in favor of the Sanitary
Commission, and who looked upon it only as the almoner of their vast
offerings for the relief of the army, led to the popular error that it
was only a relief association upon a grand scale and quite overshadowed
in popular estimation its original purpose, if not the peculiar and
exclusive work before it. The Commission itself, however, never departed
from the true scientific idea and conception of a preventive system,
and always regarded the relief system, vast as was the place occupied by
it in the war, as inferior in the importance of its results to those due
to well considered and thoroughly executed preventive measures.
The Commission at the close of the war established a pension bureau and
war claim agency for the benefit of disabled soldiers and their orphans
and widows. The entire money receipts of the Commission from 1861 to
1866 were $4,924,480.99, and the value of supplies furnished is
estimated at $15,000,000.
XVI.
“THE BLUE AND THE GRAY.”
“By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep on the ranks of the dead--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the one, the Blue;
Under the other, the Gray.
These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory
In the dusk of eternity meet--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the laurel, the Blue;
Under the willow, the Gray.
From the silence of sorrowful hours
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers,
Alike for the friend and the foe--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the roses, the Blue;
Under the lilies, the Gray.
So with an equal splendor
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,
On the blossoms blooming for all--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Broidered with gold, the Blue;
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.
So when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Wet with the rain, the Blue;
Wet with the rain, the Gray.
Sadly, but not with upbraiding,
The generous deed was done:
In the storm of the years that are fading,
No braver battle was won--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Under the blossoms, the Blue;
Under the garlands, the Gray.
No more shall the war-cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red:
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day;
Love and tears for the Blue;
Tears and love for the Gray.”
XVII.
A MIRACLE OF THE WAR.
The following interesting little incident is taken from Very Rev. W. C.
Corby’s book, entitled “Memoirs of Chaplain Life:”
“On the 29th of November, 1863,” says Rev. Constantine L. Egan, O. P.,
chaplain of the Ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, “we advanced to Mine Run
and formed a line of battle and bivouacked for the night. The enemy were
posted on the east ridge, about one mile from the stream called Mile
Run, on a centre ridge nearly 100 feet above the surface of the stream.
Their works could easily be seen by us posted on the west ridge of the
run. They were strongly fortified, their works bristling with abatis,
infantry parapets and epaulements for batteries. About 3 o’clock on the
evening of the 30th the order was given to charge the enemy’s line.
Seeing the danger of death before us I asked the colonel to form his
regiment into a solid square so that I could address the men. He did so.
I then spoke to them of their danger, and entreated them to prepare for
it by going on their knees and making a sincere act of contrition for
their sins, with the intention of going to confession if their lives
were spared.
“As the regiment fell on their knees, other Catholic soldiers broke from
their ranks and joined us, so that in less than two minutes I had the
largest congregation I ever witnessed before, or even since. Having
pronounced the words of general absolution to be given in such
emergencies and danger, I spoke a few words of encouragement to them.
* * “After talking to the soldiers and finishing my remarks, they arose
from their knees, grasping their muskets with a firm clinch, and went
back to their respective commands, awaiting the hour to expire to make
the assault.”
Smith Johnson, taking this as his theme, has written the following poem,
entitled “A Miracle of War,” and dedicated it to Father Corby:
Two armies stood in stern array
On Gettysburg’s historic field--
This side the blue, on that the gray--
Each side resolved to win the day,
Or life to home and country yield.
“Take arms!” “Fall in!” rang o’er the line
Of Hancock’s ever-valiant corps--
For to the left the cannons chime
With music terribly sublime,
With death’s unceasing, solemn roar.
With spirits ardent, undismayed,
With flags uplifted toward the sky,
There stands brave Meagher’s old brigade
Those noble laurels ne’er will fade
Upon the page of history.
“All forward, men!” No, pause a while--
Dead silence follows like parade
At “order arms,” for ‘long the file
There moves a priest with holy smile--
The priest of Meagher’s old brigade.
All eyes were toward him reverent turned,
For he was known and loved by all,
And every face with fervor burned,
And with a glance his mission learned--
A mission of high Heaven’s call.
Then spake the priest: “My comrades, friends,
Ere long the battle fierce will surge,
Ere long the curse of war descends--
At such a moment God commends
You from the soul all sin to purge.
“Kneel, soldiers; lift your hearts to God,
In sweet contrition crush the pride
Of human minds; kneel on the sod
That soon will welter in your blood--
Look up to Christ, who for you died.”
And every man, whate’er his creed,
Kneels down, and whispers pass along
The ranks, and murmuring voices plead
To be from sin’s contagion freed
And turned from path of mortal wrong.
Across the vale the gray lines view
The priest and those who, kneeling now,
For absolution humbly sue,
And joining hearts, the gray and blue,
Together make the holy vow.
* * * * *
The smoke of battle lifts apace,
And o’er the field lie forms of men,
With glazen eyes and pallid face--
Dead--yet alive, for God’s sweet grace
Has saved them from the death of sin.
SMITH JOHNSON.
XVIII.
LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG.
It has been aptly said that the battlefield of Gettysburg has become the
“Mecca of American Reconciliation.” By act of Congress a National Park
has been established there, observatories erected and everything
possible done to make the battlefield convenient and attractive to
tourists.
The National Cemetery at Gettysburg was dedicated November 19, 1863. The
oration was by Edward Everett. On this occasion President Lincoln made
the famous address that will never die. It was as follows:
“Four-score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a
great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great
battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that
field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that
the nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we
should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate--we cannot
consecrate--we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and
dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to
add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say
here, but it never can forget what they did here. It is for us the
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they
who fought here have thus far so nobly carried on. It is rather for us
to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve
that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that the government of the
people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.”
XIX.
THE FAITH AND THE FLAG.
While the work of the zealous Catholic Sisterhoods on the battlefield
and in the camp and hospital was for humanity in its broadest sense the
effect of their example and the beauty of their daily lives also had the
effect of clearing away the mists of prejudice that sometimes distorted
and clouded the views of honorable, well-meaning and worthy
non-Catholics. The writer has endeavored to present the history of the
labors of the Sisters in a straightforward and dispassionate manner.
He has dealt exclusively in facts and has, as far as possible, avoided
comment. It has especially been his aim to keep entirely clear of
sectional disputes or religious controversies. Hence it will be found
that the story of the work of the Sisters has reference, in the main, to
their devotion to suffering humanity. It was inevitable, however, that
men living in the atmosphere of sanctity created by these good women
should feel the consoling benefit of their silent influence. The result
was that non-Catholics began to take a broader and more kindly view of
their Catholic comrades and fellow-citizens, and long before the war
closed they realized that the faith and the flag were entirely
compatible.
A few years ago William J. Onahan, of Chicago, in an address,
incidentally touched upon this very point. Speaking of those who were
distrustful of the Church and its teachings he said: “If they could
realize the harmony and benevolent influence of her teaching, the number
of souls redeemed through her efforts and graces from despair and sin,
the wounded hearts solaced by her balm--the extent of human misery she
has removed or mitigated? Let them but think how that Church has
consecrated the marriage tie, sanctified the home, shielded the
unfortunate, lifted up the lowly and sorrow-stricken, staying the arm of
the oppressor, pleading for the rights of the poor against the power of
the tyrant and the greed of capital. Witness the asylums and the refuges
the Catholic Church has established all over the world for every
condition of infirmity and suffering--for the orphans, the foundlings,
the sick, the aged, the wayward and the fallen.
“See the admirable sisterhoods--to which no parallel can be found on
earth--the Sisters of Charity and Mercy, the Poor Handmaids of Jesus
Christ, the Sisters of St. Joseph, the nuns of the Good Shepherd, the
Little Sisters of the Poor and countless others, varying in the
admirable diversity of their charitable labors. Watch these sisters at
their appointed duties in the hospitals and asylums, in the hovels of
the poor, by the bedside of the dying--aye, in pesthouses and smallpox
hospitals, as well as on the battlefield, ministering to the dying
soldier--all bent on doing God’s work for God’s sake. Assuredly these
facts--these daily examples here before our eyes, within reach of our
feet in daily walk--assuredly these ought to serve toward dispelling the
false glare of prejudice.
“As a preliminary let me say I adopt without reserve or qualification
the language of the Baltimore Catholic Congress: ‘We rejoice at the
marvellous development of our country, and regard with just pride the
part taken by Catholics in such development.’ In the words of the
pastoral issued by the Archbishops of the United States, assembled in
the third Plenary Council of Baltimore, ‘we claim to be acquainted both
with the laws, institutions and spirit of our country, and we
emphatically declare that there is no antagonism between them.
“We repudiate with equal earnestness the assertion that we need to lay
aside any of our devotedness to our Church to be true Americans, and the
insinuations that we need abate any of our love for our country’s
principles to be faithful Catholics. We believe that our country’s
heroes were the instruments of the God of Nations in establishing this
home of freedom; to both the Almighty and to His instruments in the work
we look with grateful reverence, and to maintain the inheritance of
freedom which they have left us, should it ever--which God forbid--be
imperiled, our Catholic citizens will be bound to stand forward as one
man, ready to pledge anew their lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor.’
“Before turning to the question of the ‘rights and duties’ let me first
define what I understand by the term ‘Catholic Citizen.’ An American
citizen, whether by birth or adoption, who, having had the grace of
Christian baptism, believes and practices the teachings of the Catholic
Church--in other words a practical Catholic. Now we come to the question
of ‘rights and duties.’ What are our rights as citizens? No more, no
less, precisely, than those possessed by any other American citizen.
What are the rights we in common have with others? In general terms we
have the ‘right’ of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of
acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation and of
pursuing our own happiness.
“We hold, in the language of the Constitution of Illinois, that all men
have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according
to the dictates of their own consciences, that no man can of right be
compelled to attend, erect or support any place of worship, or to
maintain any ministry against his consent, that no human authority can
in any case whatever control or interfere with the rights of conscience.
We have a right to be protected in our persons and property; we cannot
be deprived of either without due process of law; the right of free
elections, to trial by jury, to equality before the law--but I need not
enter into detail of the ‘Bill of Rights’ which specifies the catalogue
of a freeman’s inheritance. The highest and most precious right,
however, is that of religious freedom, liberty to worship God without
let or hindrance and free from religious disabilities of any kind, and
next to their own rights as free men, to exercise it as shall best
promote the welfare of the city, State and nation.
“Catholics, then, are entitled to absolute equality before the law, and
this is according to the letter and spirit of the Constitution of the
United States, as well as of the several States now, I believe, without
exception. There is nevertheless an unwritten law, which operates as a
practical discrimination against Catholics in public life as effectually
as though it were so expressed in the Constitution. It is the law of
public opinion deriving its force and effect from popular prejudice. It
is a well-known fact that neither of the great political parties would
dare to nominate a Catholic for the Presidency, and the same is true as
to the office of Governor in the different States. Surely it would not
be claimed that no American Catholic could be found qualified by
position and ability for any of these high offices.
“Eternal vigilance, it has been said, is the price of liberty. Probably
if Catholics were alert in asserting their rights--in a just and
lawful, as well as in a reasonable manner--there would be less
disposition shown to infringe upon those rights, and to ignore their
claim to representation. Again, the government, whether National or
State, has no just claim or authority to deny the rights of conscience
to Catholics, whether they be employed in the service of the nation, in
the army or naval forces, in penal or reformatory institutions, in
asylums, or elsewhere. The State may lawfully and justly deprive a man
of his liberty and place him behind prison bars; but it has no right to
compel him while there to attend a form of religious worship in which he
does not believe; it should not deny or hamper the attendance and
ministrations of priest or elder whose services are sought by the
prisoner or State’s own ward. Justice and sound policy alike demonstrate
the wisdom of invoking the services of the Catholic Missionary for
Catholics, whether in jail or asylum, or on the frontier.
“General Grant testified that Father De Smet’s presence among the
Indians was of greater value to the Government than a regiment of
cavalry, and recent events on our Northern borders intensify the force
of this conclusion. The Catholic missionary is always a peacemaker.
Catholics ask nothing in the way of ‘privileges.’ We have no claim to
privileges. We only ask what we are willing to concede to
others--equality and fair play. If others are content to minimize
religious principles or to abdicate them entirely we must be excused if
we insist on holding fast to ours. We are on firm ground in that
respect; we do not care to follow others into the “slough of despond.”
We are persuaded that every vexed question occupying and disturbing the
public attention, dividing and distracting the people can be amicably
adjusted, provided the wise men of the nation and the States will take
these questions out of the hands of fanatics and bigots, who are only
too eager and anxious to inaugurate a reign of discord and religious
strife.
“Catholics, be assured, will have no part in this warfare, beyond
protecting and defending their rights--God-given and Constitutional
rights. They would be unworthy of American citizenship were they to be
content with less.
“We now come to the question of the ‘Duties of Catholics as Citizens.’
Let it be understood that in undertaking to answer this, as well as the
previous question under consideration, I speak for myself only as a
Catholic layman. I express my own thoughts and convictions unreservedly.
What are the ‘duties’ referred to? First, and primarily, I should say to
be American, in all that the term broadly implies. How do I define the
term American? It stands in my mind for liberty, order, education and
opportunities. It is the duty of the Catholic citizen to love liberty
for its own sake, order for the general good and to illustrate the
highest type and model of civic virtue. It is a duty to foster and
nourish the purity of home life and the domestic virtues, eagerly to
promote education and to make every necessary sacrifice for it, and to
see to it that Catholic children shall have the benefit of a sound
Christian education. Catholics should avail themselves of the material
opportunities and advantages offered in this wonderful age and country,
and strive to be in the front ranks in the march of progress.
“The field is wide and inviting, the race is open to all. The privilege
of American citizenship should be regarded as precious and priceless.
Because so easily acquired, perhaps, it is not sufficiently estimated at
its true value and worth. Think what American citizenship confers; see
what it assures! Equal part and membership in this mighty empire--the
equal advantage in its unsurpassed opportunities--the unqualified
privileges of its unequaled freedom. No standing armies here to be moved
at a monarch’s caprice, weighing down and oppressing the nation’s
energies, draining it of its life blood, sapping its vitality, and,
worst evil of all, menacing the peace of the world. No armed
‘constabulary’ to terrorize over a peasant population and enforce the
heartless edict of brutal landlords. No hereditary or favored classes.
No obstacle to the unfettered enjoyment of those rights which we possess
from God in the natural law, and that are guaranteed to us in the
Constitution and laws of the land--the right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness.
“What a future opens before us, what possibilities for ourselves and for
our children! Justly are the American people jealous of this
inheritance. It must be guarded with vigilant care, lest unworthy hands
and evil guidance should put it in peril. American liberty and the
opportunities of American life are too precious to the human family to
permit the one and the other to be wrecked or endangered. I rejoice in
every indication of patriotic public spirit, whether shown in devotion
and respect for the country’s flag or in reverence and admiration for
the nation’s heroes. We need all these demonstrations to keep alive in
this material age the ardor and purity of true patriotism.
“True American patriotism is the inheritance and monopoly of no one
class or condition. Its title is not derived from accident of birth or
color, is not to be determined by locality. Montgomery, Pulaski,
Steuben, De Kalb, Rochambeau, the Moylans and Sullivans, fought for
American liberty in the Revolutionary days with an ardor and a fidelity
at least equal to that displayed by those “native and to the manner
born.” Jackson was none the less a typical American because of the
accident of his father’s foreign birth, or, as is sometimes intimated,
of his own. And who shall question the patriotic devotion of General
Shields, honorably identified with the early history of your own State;
of Meagher, of Mulligan, of Sheridan, of Meade and countless others I
might name.
“Apprehension is sometimes expressed at the growth of foreign influence
and the display of foreign customs, but this fear is after all puerile.
Under our system of government the foreigner who comes to stay is soon
assimilated, and while there may be here and there instances and
examples, the outgrowth of foreign habits and customs, not welcome to
American notions, yet these can be only passing and temporary accidents.
The foreigner, I insist, is all right, provided he is loyal to American
laws and government. We have no use for any other.”
XX.
A ROMANCE OF THE WAR.
This record of their life and conduct could not be brought to a more
appropriate close than by the recital of a touching romance of the war,
growing directly out of the work of the Sisters during that crucial
period. The episode upon which the story hinges gains added interest
from the fact that it constituted one of the actual occurrences of the
closing day of the war.
A few years before the first shot was fired upon Sumter a household that
was a perfect picture of domestic felicity existed in one of the large
cities of Kentucky. It consisted of four persons--father, mother, son
and daughter. The parents were in comfortable circumstances, and in
their life and conduct were all that the heads of a Christian family
should be. The son and daughter vied with one another in performing
those little acts of devotion and duty that go so far toward making up
the sum total of harmony and happiness that should ever reign about the
family hearthstone.
At the time our narrative begins the son was approaching his twentieth
year. He was a tall, handsome manly fellow, and by a course of
preparatory work was now about to begin the final years of study at the
West Point Military Academy. The daughter, a girl of unusual
intelligence and beauty, was two years the junior of her brother. Hers
was a devout nature, and choice and study led her to adopt the habit of
a Sister of Charity as the means for carrying out a desire to be both
useful and good during her transitory stay upon this earth.
Just at this period death, by one of these inexplicable strokes which
can never be made quite clear to the human intellect, carried off both
parents. The devoted children of such a loving father and mother were
naturally prostrated at such an affliction. But they rallied nobly, and
grief only served to bring out the better qualities of their nature.
After all that was mortal of their dearest ones had been consigned to
the earth they calmly sat down and rationally discussed their future
plans.
The result was just what might have been expected. Both resolved to
carry out their original design. The parting was a sad one--the man
going to complete his knowledge of a soldier’s life--the woman to her
convent home to receive the final vows and to learn the last lessons
concerning the philosophy of charity in its sweetest and grandest sense.
Many years passed and the brother and sister, in their widely separated
and totally different spheres of life, were as dead to one another as if
they had never lived under the same roof. The Civil War with all of its
horrors began. What had been the theoretical discussions of cabinets and
the political orations of legislators now developed into the fierce and
awful reality of war. It was no longer a question of what might or could
have been, the actual grim-visaged monster with all of the hideous ills
that follow was engaged in the work of death and destruction.
Men volunteered their services. After them came the nurses. One of these
was Sister S----, from one of the Northern houses of the Sisters of
Charity. In order to expedite her mission of mercy it was necessary that
she should enter the service of the Federal Government. The record of
her daily life from that time forth was the record of every member of
the Catholic Sisterhood that served during the war. Days of
uninterrupted work; nights of ceaseless watching.
Soon after the siege of Vicksburg word was telegraphed to Baltimore that
a corps of Sisters of Charity was needed at once to care for the scores
of sick and wounded then suffering in Louisiana. Only five Sisters were
available. They were sent at once, with Sister S---- in command. They
found travel seriously impeded from the start. This fact caused the good
Samaritans much anguish of mind, for the summons they received said that
many of the men would die unless they had the immediate attendance of
experienced nurses. When the Sisters reached Chattanooga they found that
a special train had been provided for the purpose of rushing them with
all possible speed to the City of New Orleans. On this train there were
also a number of Union officers carrying important sealed orders from
the authorities at Washington to the men in charge of the Union forces
in what was known as the “Department of the Gulf.” Sisters and officers
were filled with conflicting emotions, but all had one object in
common--the desire to reach New Orleans at the earliest possible moment.
With the Sisters it was a race for life--for lives that might be saved
by their exertions. With the men it was a race for honor--for promotion,
perhaps for official commendation from the General of the Army or the
President of the United States.
Finally the train steamed into the Crescent City, and the officers went
to seek their commanders and the sisters their patients, who were in a
small town on the Mississippi River. Sister S---- divided her small
force of nurses with such rare good judgment and executive ability that
in twenty-four hours all of the sick and wounded men were resting
comfortably. Suddenly came the order to depart and the Union troops all
left the town, taking with them such of the convalescent patients as
were able to bear the strain of travel. Twelve hours later a portion of
the Confederate army entered the town, bringing several hundred of their
sick and wounded. Sister S----, thinking that the call to duty in this
instance was no less imperative than it had been in the case of the
Union men the day before, started for the hospital, where the wounded
Confederates had been carried.
One of the Union surgeons who had remained behind with his wounded men,
placed a detaining hand upon her arm.
“Where are you going?” he said.
“To look after these men,” she replied.
“That is impossible,” he said. “You are in the service of the United
States Government, and you are are not permitted to serve under the
enemy. We have no objection to your nursing the wounded Confederates,
but it must be under the auspices of our generals. The Union forces will
probably regain possession of this town before nightfall, and then you
can wait upon both sides alike.”
“But I insist,” and the eyes of the usually mild-mannered Sister
sparkled as she stamped her foot in an emphatic manner. “I know nothing
of technical military rules, but I insist upon my right to nurse these
poor men.”
“I regret very much being placed in such a position,” said the surgeon
gently, “but I am here representing the Government.”
“And I,” responded the Sister, “am here representing something greater
than the Government.”
“What is that?” he asked in an incredulous tone.
“Humanity!” was the quiet reply.
The officer--a brave man obeying orders--did not utter another word, but
bowing his head opened the door and admitted the Sister and her
companions into the presence of the sick.
Scarcely a minute had elapsed when the surgeon heard the heartrending
shriek of a woman come from the interior of the building. Rushing in he
beheld the Sister kneeling beside a cot at the far end of the room. The
tears were pouring down her cheeks, but it was evident that they were
tears of joy. The bearded man upon the cot was seriously wounded, but
there was a placid expression upon his countenance as he kissed the
hands of the Sister.
Need this dramatic scene be explained to the reader. It was the son and
daughter mentioned in the beginning of this sketch--reunited after years
of separation. The one enlisted in the Confederate army, the other a
nurse serving under the Union Government. The sight drew tears from
rough soldiers who seldom betrayed emotion of any character.
The Sister lavished every attention upon her wounded brother. What would
have been a solemn duty under any conditions now became a work of love
and affection. But it was all in vain. He had been marked as a a victim
by the grim destroyer. In a few days he breathed his last, edified and
consoled by the presence of his Sister and all of the offices of
religion.
Funerals from the hospital always occurred at night, and this was no
exception. But the obsequies of the young Confederate officer were out
of the ordinary. Every one about the hospital, and, indeed, in the
town, evinced a desire to do something as a mark of respect to Sister
S----. The moon was shining brightly on the night of the interment, and
it looked down upon a ghostly procession that followed the body to its
last resting place. Six convalescent soldiers--three Union men and three
Confederates, acted as pall-bearers. The services of the church were
conducted by the chaplain. Sister S---- was the chief mourner. The other
sisters followed with lighted tapers. No one took more interest in the
proceedings or did more for the convenience of those concerned than the
surgeon with whom the Sister had the altercation a few days before.
After the war the Sister devoted herself to those works of charity and
mercy, which to a person with the desire and will are within reach in
times of peace as well as in times of war.
[Illustration]
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE.
No book on the war, that has been published in recent years, has met
with a more generous reception than has been accorded by the reading
public to the “Angels of the Battlefield.” Congratulations and
expressions of good-will have come from all classes of persons.
Following will be found brief comments from letters and from notices of
the secular and religious press. These references are in most cases mere
excerpts from lengthy reviews of the book. Of course it has been
impracticable to publish quotations from all of the newspapers, but
those that are given are of a representative character.
Archbishop Ryan’s Eloquent and Earnest Letter of Recommendation.
I beg to thank you for the copy of your book, “Angels of the
Battlefield,” which you were kind enough to send to me. I have read it
with great satisfaction and beg to congratulate you on your success in
presenting the touching and edifying scenes in which Charity sent her
Angels into both camps alike, to heal the sick and console the dying, to
chasten triumph and comfort defeat.
The mission of these “Angels of the Battlefield” was to remove the
strong prejudices that impeded the progress of the Church. It was like
the mission of Saints Peter and John to the poor lame man at the porch
that was called beautiful of Solomon’s temple. The nation, wounded and
crippled by the war, was sent in through the beautiful gate of Catholic
charity to view the true temple of God. And of those who never belonged
to the fold of the Catholic Church how many can cry out with honest
Captain Jack Crawford, quoted by you. “My friends, I am not a Catholic,
but I stand ready at any and all times to defend these noble women, even
with my life, for I owe that life to them.”
I earnestly recommend your excellent book to all with whom my opinion
may have any influence.--Most Rev. P. J. Ryan, D. D., LL. D., Archbishop
of Philadelphia.
A Very Flattering Tribute from the Governor of Pennsylvania.
I am more than pleased with the work. It is a valuable addition to our
war literature. I cannot but recommend your subject matter and approve
of your literary style. I congratulate you heartily on the graceful and
deserved tribute to the women who served so faithfully and loyally the
cause of humanity during the dark days of our nation’s struggle.--Gen.
Daniel H. Hastings, Governor of Pennsylvania.
High Praise from the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the
Republic.
General J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the
Republic, writes:--
“I have at length had an opportunity to carefully read your volume,
“Angels of the Battlefield,” and wish to thank you for the pleasure you
have given me. Your book is a valuable addition to the literature of the
War. You have depicted those scenes with rare fidelity and without
exaggeration, which so frequently justified the title you have
selected.--Very truly yours, J. P. S. Gobin, Commander-in-Chief.
Particularly Happy in Avoiding Sectional, Political or Religious
Controversies.
There is a praiseworthy attempt to give plain facts without comment or
unnecessary coloring. The author has been particularly happy in avoiding
sectional, political or religious controversies. Although many volumes
have been written concerning the work of women in the war, this book is
said to be the first connected and consecutive history of the
self-sacrificing labors of the Catholic Sisterhoods during that great
conflict.--The Washington (D. C.) Post.
Comment from the Official Organ of the Historical Society of Quebec,
Canada.
As might be expected, the work is full of interest, and is an eloquent
tribute to the faith that produces such heroines. There was difficulty
in collecting the data for the genuine humility so characteristic of the
Sisters would move them to hide, rather than publish, the deeds, in
themselves so heroic, but in their eyes only what their duty,
enlightened by faith and enkindled by charity, demanded of them. In
order to make the narrative as consecutive as the scattered notes
permitted, a sketchy account of the war is introduced.--Le Courrier Du
Livre, Quebec, Canada, official organ of the Quebec Historical Society.
Cordial Words from Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary
Bishop of Philadelphia.
“I have read your beautiful work, ‘Angels of the Battlefield,’ from
beginning to end, with the greatest pleasure. It is certainly a most
delightful book, and I trust and hope that it will have readers
everywhere.”--Right Rev. Edmond F. Prendergast, D. D., Auxiliary Bishop
of Philadelphia.
General Miles, the Head of the Army, and the “Angels of the
Battlefield.”
“Recently I had occasion to call on General Miles, the ranking officer
of the army, the Miles who gained such distinction as one of Hancock’s
fighting commanders. When I entered his office, at the War Department, I
found him reading a book in which he appeared to be deeply interested.
Having the curiosity which comes to newspaper men, both by nature and
from training, I could not restrain myself from asking the General the
name of the book. It proved to be “Angels of the Battlefield: A History
of the Catholic Sisterhoods in the War of the Rebellion,” a work by a
near friend and professional colleague of mine, Mr. George Barton.--“S.
M.” in Philadelphia Evening Star.
The work possesses “the Light and Interest Which Belongs to Incidents
from Life.”
The author has been able to gather from personal interviews with Sisters
many narratives which give to his pages the light and interest which
belong to incidents from life. He possesses the vivid sympathy with
action and suffering, without which a history of this kind would be no
better than dry bones. The author is rightly touched by the heroism that
surrounded those cots, where enemies lay side by side in an agony,
which, for many, could only obtain surcease in the grave. Some
incidental descriptions of battles are animated, and we are sure our
readers will find themselves moved for the better by this narrative of
heroic charity on the part of the nuns, and soldierly heroism on that of
the men to whom they ministered.--The Catholic World Magazine, New
York.
Record of Blameless Lives, “Strung Like Golden Beads on a Silver
Thread.”
It is a sweet, and clean, and healthy book. The sketches are delightful
reading. The writer has poetic touch and a felicity of phrase. Nothing
is overdrawn. Mr. Barton writes without rhetoric, but with wholesome
sentiment, and rescues from the convents the story of the part these
Sisters took in the great drama of our Civil war. It has been a labor of
love, and the author has strung like golden beads on a silver thread the
record of the blameless lives of the Sisters and their absolute devotion
to duty. Literature and libraries are enriched by this contribution to
impartial history.--The Monongahela (Pa.) Daily Republican.
“Magnificent Contribution to the Best Literature of Our Day.”
It was a beautiful thought to collect in one splendidly illustrated
volume the touching records of so many noble lives; to snatch from
oblivion, as it were, the names of those heroic Sisters whose deeds of
mercy and valor in our hospitals and on our battlefields have hitherto
been known, in some instances, to God and themselves alone. Your book is
a unique and magnificent contribution to the best literature of our day,
and I wish it the success it so richly deserves.--Eleanor C. Donnelly,
of Philadelphia.
“Supplies a Chapter Essential to the History of the War.”
It supplies a chapter essential to the history of our Civil War. The
Christian religion claims that its teachings have mitigated the horrors
of war; and the conduct of the Catholic Sisterhoods, North and South,
furnished a striking evidence of the truth of such claims, in the
particular instance of our domestic conflict.
It is such books as yours that accomplish the end which the Sovereign
Pontiff, Leo XIII, most ardently desires, in the relations of Church and
State--the perfect accord of the love of our faith with the love of
country.--Rev. Joseph V. O’Connor, of the diocese of Philadelphia.
“The Whole Book Clean and Written in an Easy, Practical Style.”
I offer you my sincere congratulations for having given us a volume that
illustrates heroic charity, in a manner calculated to command the
admiration of all men. Men may differ about politics, economics, creed,
the relative merits of men of letters and affairs; they will be one,
however, in recognizing the “Angels of the Battlefield” as the grandest
types of all the Christian virtues--charity--the bond of the true
brotherhood of man.
The whole book is so clean, and written in such an easy, practical style
that it is more fascinating than a classical novel--even than a
well-written sensational one. After reading it through one feels like
reading it to some friend, and calling his attention to its many
beautiful passages and the thrilling episodes in which it abounds. It is
a volume that all can read with ease and interest--not alone in clubs
and homes, but in the refectories and community-rooms of our convents.
From cover to cover it is, in every chapter, calculated to edify all and
inspire thoughts and aspirations that are good, sweet and
elevating.--Rev. William Walsh, of the diocese of Nashville, Tenn.
“Embodies the Work of Several Years of Research and Correspondence.”
This large volume embodies the work of several years of research and
correspondence on the part of the author. The war itself is the merest
thread upon which are strung these tales of womanly heroism which have
naught to do with political or sectional feeling. The brave Sisters find
in this volume their appreciative historian. The Catholic Columbian
“veterans should see that it finds a place in post libraries.”
The author has been at pains to collect all the data he could
find--anecdotes, thrilling incidents and statistics concerning the good
nuns. His book is very entertaining. We can well believe that it will
delight many an old soldier who knew the tender ministrations of the
angels of the battlefield. Veterans should see that it finds a place in
the post libraries, where such useful adjuncts are found.--Providence
(R. I.) Visitor.
“Will Take Its Place With Standard Histories of the War.”
This work is one of much more than usual interest. It will take its
place with the standard books concerning the history of the great Civil
War.--Camden (N. J.) Review.
“Vivid Pictures of Sisters Who Have Gone to Their Reward.”
This interesting history gives especially vivid pictures of three
Sisters who became conspicuous by reason of their superior
attainments--Sister Anthony, Sister Gonzago and Sister Angela--all now
gone to their reward.--Taggarts’ Times, Phila.
The Data is “Presented in a Very Attractive and Pleasing Form.”
This interesting book is handsomely bound and beautifully and profusely
illustrated. It fills a gap in the history of the Rebellion. Mr. Barton,
who is a trained and able writer, has expended considerable time in
gathering the data about these noble women and he presents it in a very
attractive and pleasing form. The volume abounds with the personal
experience of the Sisters. The narrative is replete with thrilling and
pathetic incidents.--Pittsburg Dispatch.
The Writer “Presents a Book With Not a Dull Page in it.”
The author of the book has succeeded in investing his work with an
absorbing interest. While he fully accomplishes his motive in setting
forth the numerous heroic acts and deeds of mercy of members of the
Sisterhoods, he has so interwoven them with stirring incidents of the
strife as to create a history that has an enduring value apart from its
personal interest. He has made his selections with a judgment of what is
most interesting and only acquired by a long experience in newspaper
work. He has, therefore, succeeded in making a book of over three
hundred pages with not a dull page in it. It is safe to say that no one
who reads the introductory chapter will willingly lay the book aside
until the whole work has been absorbed.--Major John W. Finney, in the
Pottsville Miners’ Journal.
“The Story of the Sisters Well Told in This Charming Book.”
Many books have been written about the faithful work of women during the
war, in hospitals and on the battlefields, but these books, at least
those we have seen of them, are strangely silent about the work of the
Catholic Sisterhoods in the same good cause. Some years ago we called
the attention of Mr. George Barton, of Philadelphia, to this fact and
suggested that a work of the Sisters in field and post hospitals during
the war would afford ample material for a most interesting and edifying
book. He saw the matter in the same light we did and set himself to the
task. The result is this admirable work. The labors of all the Sisters
are given in this charming book in detail and in chronological
order.--Rev. L. A. Lambert, LL. D., in New York Freeman’s Journal.
“Illustrations in Perfect Taste from the Beginning to the End.”
Typographically the work is a masterpiece. The seventeen half-tone
illustrations are beautifully executed; besides they are in perfect
taste from the frontispiece, Thomas’ “Innocent Victim,” to the closing
scene, “Lincoln at Gettysburg.” The volume is bound in red, with green
trimmings, and the lettering is tastefully brought out in gilt, giving
an artistic effect of coloring, pleasing to the eye and in keeping with
the interior exquisiteness of finish. As a holiday book the publishers
could not have improved on the “Angels of the Battlefield.”--The
Connecticut Catholic.
“It Should Appeal Especially to Veterans of the War.”
All sorts of books have been written about the late war, enough to fill
a good-sized library and, I think, I have read them all, but Mr.
Barton’s book is a new thing in that class of literature. The author has
ventured on untrodden paths, with the result that he has given to the
public a vast amount of interesting history that has not hitherto seen
the light of day. “Angels of the Battlefield” should meet with a
generous welcome from all classes and conditions of people, irrespective
of locality or religious belief; it should appeal especially to the
veterans of the war, many of whom now living have experienced the
practical charity and kindness of the gentle members of the various
Sisterhoods. The general appearance of the book is very attractive and
makes it suitable for presentation purposes.--Congressman James Rankin
Young (S. M., in the Philadelphia Evening Star).
Fills “A Gap in the Chronicle of the Gruesome Years of the War.”
This work will fill, we believe, a gap in the chronicle of those
gruesome years. The unselfish deeds of other women have been often
related, but the incessant and universal help of the Catholic religious
of the battlefields has never yet been placed in an orderly fashion
before the world.--Catholic Standard and Times, Philadelphia.
The Effort “Was Well Worth Making, and the Task is Done Admirably.”
In the “Angels of the Battlefield” is given a history of the labors of
the Catholic Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Among all the agencies for
relief of suffering in that dreadful conflict, none was more beautiful
and more self-sacrificing than the work of these untiring Sisters. The
effort was well worth making, and Mr. Barton has done his task
admirably.--Philadelphia Evening Telegraph.
The Reader “Brought Face to Face With the Sterner Realities of War.”
The author in this work leads us into an entirely new field of
literature. He treats of a subject never before taken up in such
pretentious shape. So vivid are his pictures of the great conflict and
of the noble and humane work done by these self-sacrificing “angels”
that the reader comes face to face with the sterner realities of the
war. The book is an altogether readable one, and is a worthy adjunct to
the already published literature of the Civil War.--Burlington (N. J.)
Democrat.
All Will “Welcome This Delightful Volume With Its Sprightly Narrative.”
Everyone who took part in the late war, on either side, will welcome
this delightful volume of reminiscence of one of the most beautiful and
touching aspects of that history so full of misfortune and horrors. The
special friends and admirers of the Sisterhoods, whose members
participated, will all seek to possess it, and also many Catholic
apologists and students of American history. The narrative is sprightly
and abounds in anecdotes. This publication well deserves the large sale
it is sure to have.--The (St. Louis) Church Progress.
The “Clear, Crisp Newspaper English” One of Its Good Points.”
The fact that a writer has actually found a field or phase of our
national history unrecorded, or as newspaper men would say, uncovered,
by a book is sufficient to entitle this volume to mention by the
newspapers. The work has been well done, not only as to the amount and
systematic presentation of evidence, the authenticity of which is
confirmed by numerous authorities of unquestionable standing, both in
and out of the Catholic Church, but also in the manner of treatment, the
language being the clear, crisp newspaper English, without which no book
need be expected to meet with any great degree of popular success.--The
Camden (N. J.) Post.
Illustrating “The Extent and the Superb Courage” of the Sisters.
To the story of the part which our American womanhood played in the war
for the Union Mr. Barton has contributed some new data in the field of
our war literature which hitherto has been untouched. Moved by a spirit
of gentle enthusiasm, Mr. Barton has painstakingly told in a book of
several hundred pages how the Sistershoods of the Roman Catholic Church
toiled in the lowliest and most perilous offices of the nurse, as they
followed the armies into the very storm of shot and shell. The book is
full of anecdotes of historic value in illustrating the extent and
superb courage of the labors of these useful women. Let us hope that
when the true history of the Civil War shall be written, as it has yet
to be, there will be a place in it for them as among the noblest of
their sex.--“Penn,” in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
“A Comprehensive Book That Makes History, and Valuable History.”
Mr. Barton has written a book that makes history, and valuable history.
It is not one of the kind that, according to the proverb, his enemies
(if he has any) need rejoice over, but a tribute to the noble band to
which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond.
The author gives us a compact presentation of the history of these noble
women in the matricidal strike of the 60’s, a subject which has been
hitherto sadly neglected. The humility of the Sisters made the
collection of data difficult, but stories included in the work have been
gathered after much painstaking effort.--Louis N. Megargee in the
Philadelphia Times.
“The Twenty-Seven Chapters of the Volume Crowded With Stories.”
The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and
stories, some pathetic, some humorous, and others still historical.
There are fleeting glimpses of Generals McClellan, Butler, Jefferson
Davis and other characters of the time. One chapter is devoted to a
collection of non-Catholic tributes to the Sisters. There is a letter in
the volume that reveals General Butler in a chivalrous light. Some of
the Sisters of a convent at New Orleans had complained that their
property was being damaged by the military operations in that vicinity,
and in response the General sent a reply couched in language that
presents the man in a new light to those not intimately acquainted with
him.--Philadelphia Inquirer.
“A Fascinating Volume that Perpetuates the Memories of the Sisterhoods
in the Civil War.”
To the annals of the war George Barton, an historical student of
Philadelphia, has just added a fascinating volume entitled “Angels of
the Battlefield,” in which he has endeavored to perpetuate the memories
of the members of the Roman Catholic Sisterhoods who helped to care for
the sick, wounded and dying in the Civil War. It is hard to obtain
information from such people, and as military records are proverbially
careless in such matters, the Sisters not coming within military
jurisdiction, the author was compelled to obtain his material by the
slow process of personal application to the witnesses of the many
affairs in which these Christian workers were the chief actors. The
Sisters received no pay, and the only gifts they accepted were upon the
condition that the gift would in turn be given again, in order to do
good among those who most needed it. Their services will never be
forgotten, and the story of their devotion and sacrifices will ever be
one of the prettiest chapters in the annals of the Union.--Margherita
Arline Hamm in the New York Mail and Express.
“A Book Valuable as a Record and in its Literary Style.”
Mr. Barton has presented to the public a valuable book, valuable as a
record and valuable in its literary style. It is well described by a
historical critic as a tribute to the noble band of women samaritans to
which every kindly heart, irrespective of religious faith, will respond.
The Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, who so readily and with such
self-sacrificing heroism volunteered their humble services to help the
sick and administer to the dying in the great Civil conflict receive in
“Angels of the Battlefield” a just and due recognition of their moral
courage and heroism.--The Chattanooga (Tenn.) Times.
“The Descriptions of the More Important Engagements are Really Graphic.”
His facts, gathered from letters still extant, from conversations had
with many of the surviving nuns, and the testimony of not a few who owed
their lives from the ministrations of the Sisters, give a very complete
and accurate account of his subject. He traces the work of the Sisters
at times with a vividness that is startling. His descriptions of the
more important engagements, especially of Shiloh, Antietam and
Gettysburg, are really graphic, and they give us the truest idea of the
noble character of the Sisters, who amid such scenes of carnage pursued
uninterruptedly their mission of love and mercy. “The Angels of the
Battlefield” should be read by everyone who desires to possess a
complete knowledge of the war.--The New World, Chicago.
“It is Well to Let the World Know of Their Heroic Services.”
Although the noble Sisters who for the love of God went forth during the
Civil War to nurse the sick and wounded do not desire to have their
deeds perpetuated on earth, it is well to let the world know of the
heroic services they rendered from 1861-5. The author presents in a
compact form the history of the labors of the Sisters during this period
in a most readable manner. The volume contains handsome illustrations of
some of the more prominent generals and Sisters of the war. Several
valuable pictures of battles are also given.--The Church News,
Washington.
“Praiseworthy Attempt to Give Plain Facts Without Comment.”
The “News” compliments the author upon the excellence of his work and
commends it to its readers. The labor of four of the most conspicuous
Sisterhoods are detailed in a most complete and thorough manner. The
book begins with the work of the Sisters of Charity, and then takes up
in natural sequence the labors of the Sisters of Mercy, the Sisters of
St. Joseph’s and the Sisters of the Holy Cross. There has been a
praiseworthy and successful attempt to give plain facts without comment
or unnecessary coloring. It is one of the best books of the year.--The
Harrisburg News.
“Fleeting Glimpses of Many of the Great Characters of the Time.”
The twenty-seven chapters of the volume are crowded with incidents and
stories, some pathetic, some humorous and others still, historical.
There are flitting glimpses of General McClellan, General Butler,
Jefferson Davis, and other characters of the time. One chapter is
devoted to a collection of non-Catholic tributes to the Sisters; while
an appendix furnishes the reader with some interesting and important
facts that it was deemed advisable to separate from the text.--The Union
and Times, Buffalo.
Right Rev. I. F. Horstmann, D. D., Bishop of Cleveland.
It was a happy thought for you, even at this late hour, to gather
together some of the glorious records of the labors of the noble bands
of Sisters on the field and in the hospitals during the war. Gather up
the fragments lest they be lost. These victories of charity ought to be
at least as memorable as the bloody triumphs of the battlefield.--Ign.
F. Horstmann, Bishop of Cleveland.
An Indorsement from the Editor of a Well-Known Latin Journal.
“Angels of the Battlefield.” A History of the Labors of the Catholic
Sisterhoods in the Civil War. Auctore Georgio Barton. The Catholic Art
Publ. Co., Burd Building, 9th and Chestnut str., Philadelphia. Pretium,
tela $3.00, corio Russico $4.00; editio elegans, corio Marocanno $5.00.
Liber hic iconibus venustissimis illustratus, chartae laevissimae
impressus, historiam complectitur rerum gestarum virginum
Sanctimonialium, in bello civili Americanorum curam militum sauciorum
gerentium. Historia certe modestior vulnera medentium cruoremque
abstergentium quam vulnera infligentium & sanguinem profundentium,
legendo tamen non minus digna, praesertim siquis humanitatem non e
ferocia iudicare cupiat. Opus nobis placet, fortasse & aliis humanitati
studiosis placebit.--Arcade Mogyorossy, Editor Praeco Latinus,
Menstruum-Gentium-Latinum.
Translation.
“Angels of the Battlefield.” A history of the labors of the Catholic
Sisterhoods in the Civil War, by George Barton, author. The Catholic Art
Publishing Company, Burd Building, 9th and Chestnut sts., Philadelphia.
The work is illustrated with the finest engravings and printed on very
fine paper. It relates to the work of the various Sisterhoods in caring
for the wounded soldiers in the late American Civil War. A history of
healing wounds and cleansing the bloodstains therefrom is certainly more
noble than that of the infliction and the shedding of blood. The reading
is not less worthy, especially if one does not wish to judge our race by
its barbarity, but by its virtue. It has been very gratifying to us, and
perhaps will be so to others who endeavor to humanize mankind.”--Arcade
Mogyorossy, Editor Praeco Latinus Menstruum-Gentium-Latinum.
Pleasure Taken “in Complimenting the Author on His Splendid Production.”
We are personally acquainted with the author, have read the book
carefully, and take great pleasure in complimenting Mr. Barton on his
splendid production. While the battle scenes, camp life and other
stirring events of the war period from 1861-5 have received attention
from the bright minds, and the facts recorded on the pages of history in
every civilized country, yet this book by Mr. Barton is the first that
treats exclusively on the great work accomplished by the Catholic
Sisterhoods in the Civil war.--Clearfield Republican.
“Recounts Many Incidents Which Will Be Read With the Deepest Interest.”
“Angels of the Battlefield” is a well printed, generously illustrated
volume of more than 300 pages, containing no inconsiderable amount of
information about the services rendered by Sisters of different
religious orders during the Civil war. Mr. Barton writes feelingly of
their devotedness and self sacrifices, and recounts many incidents which
will be read with the deepest interest. The author has wisely touched
upon the leading events of the years 1861-5, and thus rendered the
volume more acceptable to general readers than it would otherwise be. He
is to be congratulated on the services he has rendered to the cause of
religion and truth.--The Ave Maria.
“This Comprehensive History of Mercy Reads Almost Like a Romance.”
“Angels of the Battlefield” is an elegantly bound volume, in cloth, with
gilt back and front, and beautifully illustrated. The book is crowded
with incidents and stories, pathetic, humorous and historical, and the
story of the self-sacrificing work of the Sisters is told in a compact
and comprehensive form. This history of mercy reads almost like a
romance.--Boston Daily Globe.
“Tribute of Permanent Preservation Well Carried Out and Richly
Deserved.”
It is a noble record, North, South or West, and the tribute of permanent
preservation so well carried out by Mr. Barton is richly deserved. We
cannot afford to let the noble deeds of our women in the Civil war, any
more than those of our men, die out from our recollection and gratitude.
The Catholic Sisterhoods were active in the work of helping and nursing
in the Civil war, as they are in all wars and epidemics. Their work was
so unobtrusive that there has been difficulty in getting the data
necessary for this record, but by means of personal interviews and the
examination of records and newspaper files the author does justice to
the devotion of these good Sisters.--The Baltimore Sun.
“The Nobler Literature of the World Gains By This Work.”
One of the most beautiful stories of the Civil War has been fittingly
told at the end of thirty-two years. The materials were not easily
gathered, for, as the author remarks, a genuine humility has stood in
the way of the collection of the data, but the work has been done, and
the nobler literature of the world gains by its performance. As the
self-sacrificing Sisters ministered to all whom they could reach during
the war, never asking whether the uniform was blue or gray, so a
striking and appropriate characteristic of this book is the fact that
the narrative is interwoven without regard to the opposing lines of
armies.--St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Author of the Work has Succeeded in Compiling “a Fascinating Volume.”
The book fills 300 pages with its accounts of the different Sisterhoods
and their leading members. Incidentally it brings in many of the great
men of the sixties, such as Archbishop Hughes, whose labors for the
Union have made him immortal; Archbishop Kenrich, Archbishop Ryan,
General McClellan, General Butler, Abraham Lincoln, Archbishop Elder,
General Grant, Archbishop Spaulding, General Anderson, General Wood,
General Rosecrans, Governor Morton and Col. Mulligan. The author in his
endeavor to perpetuate the memories of the modest members of the
Catholic Sisterhoods, who helped the sick and wounded in the Civil War,
has compiled a fascinating volume.--Irish-American, New York.
“Performed His Task With Excellent Judgment and in a Broad Spirit.”
The author of this book has performed his task with excellent judgment
and in a broad spirit. Most of the stories given were gathered in
personal interviews, by examination of various archives and records, and
by an extensive correspondence with Government officials, army veterans
and Superioresses of Convents and communities. The gentle ways, the
fathomless sympathies of the Sisters soothed and cheered the soldier who
lay sick and wounded. The Sister seemed to the sufferer like a link to
his mother. He was far more ready to unbosom his thoughts to the Sister
than to the doctor. In his last moments he would give the Sister his
messages, and asked to hold her hand as his life drifted away.--The
Western Chronicle.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Greeley’s “American Conflict.”
[2] There were 2261 known battles, engagements and skirmishes during the
war.
[3] It is probable that scattering members from one or two other orders
did praiseworthy work during the war, but diligent inquiry has failed to
bring forth any specific facts concerning their labors.
[4] Life of Archbishop Hughes, by John R. G. Hassard.
[5] “The Irish in America.”
[6] From “War and Weather,” by Edward Powers (c. e.), Delavan,
Wisconsin, 1890.
[7] Dr. John Shaw Billings was born in Switzerland County, Ind., April
12, 1839. He received his degree in medicine in 1860, and the following
year was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in the Medical College of
Ohio. The same year he was appointed an assistant surgeon in the United
States army, in which position he continued until placed in charge of
the hospital at Washington, in 1863. He was later appointed medical
inspector of the Army of the Potomac. In 1894 he was appointed surgeon
general, and placed in charge of the division of vital statistics. In
addition to this he has been medical advisor to trustees of the Johns
Hopkins University.
[8] Rev. Louis Hippolyte Gache, S. J., was born June 18, 1817, in the
department of Ardeche, France. His early studies were pursued at the
College of Bourg, St. Andeole. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was
appointed chaplain of a Louisiana regiment in the Confederate army.
Owing to losses in battle, sickness, etc., the regiment ceased to exist
in two years, and Father Gache from then to the close of the war was
attached as chaplain to military hospitals. At the end of the conflict
he returned to Grand Coteau, remaining there a year. He was then
transferred to the new province of Maryland, now that of New
York-Baltimore, becoming a professor in Loyola College. He has occupied
various posts of responsibility since that time, and only last year
(1896) celebrated his golden jubilee or fiftieth year in the Society of
Jesus, at the Church of the Gesu, in Philadelphia.
[9] One of the nurses who did splendid service in the South was Sister
Mary Gabriel. She was the daughter of the late Henry W. and Barbara
Kraft, of Philadelphia. When little more than a child she entered the
novitiate at Emmittsburg, Md., an action which even then had been
delayed a year in deference to her father’s expressed wish. At the end
of two years she was professed on the Feast of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin, 1842.
Her first mission was the Charity Hospital, New Orleans, where she
entered upon what proved to be a long life of devotion to the poor sick.
Soon after her arrival she contracted the dreaded yellow fever while
nursing stricken patients, and her life was despaired of. She recovered,
however, and was again at the post of danger in the plague-stricken
city. During the war she labored among the dying soldiers at Mobile and
Holly Springs. Twice in later years she visited Philadelphia, the second
visit following retirement from active duty. It was during this second
visit and while she was staying at St. Joseph’s Hospital that she
celebrated her golden jubilee. Her superiors finding her so full of
vigor and zeal, again assigned her to active duty, and at her own
request she was returned to the Charity Hospital, New Orleans. This
devoted Sister passed to her reward about the fall of 1896.
[10] The accuracy of this story is vouched for by several persons who
were eye-witnesses of the incident. One of these was Major John C.
Delaney, now of Harrisburg, Pa.
[11] Father Burlando was a notable member of the Congregation of the
Missions, commonly knows as Lazarists Fathers. A sketch of his useful
career will be found in appendix vii at the end of this volume.
[12] The interesting event took place on April 12, 1877.
[13] Rev. Hugh J. McManus, December, 1896; Rev. Eugene J. Bardet, March,
1897; Right Rev. Mgr. Toner, September, 1897.
[14] For this valuable list of names the author is indebted to an
admirable article from the sympathetic pen of Sara Trainor Smith in the
Records of the American Catholic Historical Society.
[15] In order to preserve the continuity of the narrative as much as
possible the most important work done by Sister Anthony and other Mother
Seton Sisters has been outlined in Chapter VII.
[16] Annals of the Sisters of Mercy.
[17] Many of the facts in the foregoing chapter have been gleaned from
the annals of the Sisters of Mercy, which have been ably edited by
Mother Mary Carroll.
[18] The author desires to express his thanks to General James R.
O’Beirne, of New York city, who aided him very materially in obtaining
the material in question.
[19] From the Congressional Globe containing the debates and proceedings
of the second session of the Thirty-seventh Congress, page 158. Vol. 1.
[20] In an address delivered in Pittsburg about 1890.
[21] The fiftieth anniversary of the foundation in Philadelphia of the
Sisters of St. Joseph was celebrated May 5, 1897, at the Mount St.
Joseph’s Novitiate, in Chestnut Hill. About ninety priests from
Philadelphia and adjacent dioceses were present, and the venerable
Monsignor Cantwell, who, with Bishop O’Hara, of Scranton, was the only
one then living who extended the hand of welcome to the three Sisters
who came from St. Louis fifty years previous, was among the guests.
There were present also about two hundred visiting Sisters from the
various Catholic institutions in the city and several from Rochester, N.
Y., and Flushing. L. I. Archbishop Ryan made a brief address of
congratulation to the pupils and the community. He said that forty-five
years ago he knew the Sisters of the St. Louis Community, and that he
had watched their astounding growth with much interest. He paid a
glowing tribute to the beneficence and charity of the community, and
prayed that God would cause them to prosper in the future as He had done
in the past.
[22] Father Lambert is one of the most notable priests in the United
States. His ancestors on his mother’s side came over with William Penn
and eventually settled in Mt. Holly, N. J. Father Lambert had some very
interesting experiences as an army chaplain. He is a writer of some note
and has been a worker in Catholic journalism for many years. His best
known work is probably his “Notes on Ingersoll,” which had a tremendous
sale.
[23] From Father Corby’s “Memoirs of Chaplain Life.”
[24] A “Story of Courage,” by Rose Hawthorne and George Parsons Lathrop.
[25] A “Woman’s Story of the War.”
[26] This interesting narrative was originally published in “The
Philadelphia Times” and afterwards in Father Corby’s “Memoirs of
Chaplain life.”
[Transcriber’s Note:
Obvious printer errors corrected silently.
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.]
End of Project Gutenberg's Angels of the Battlefield, by George Barton