A Civil War Nurse

Guest Post by Julia Olsen

Kate Davis is a representation of nurses during the Civil War. She was born January 13^th, 1816, making her 45 when the Civil War first began. Kate was originally born in Maryland and migrated to Milwaukee after getting married. She spent most of her days as a housewife to her husband. She was caring but also stern and would not let any funny business slide. Her husband worked as a part of the wheat shipping industry in Milwaukee. She also had two sons who were following in her husband's footsteps in this industry. After the onset of the war, her husband and two sons volunteered to join to serve their country after a strong sense of patriotism. They enlisted with the 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, which started into service on August 21st. This was the same regiment that John L. Mitchell was placed into. Their departure left Kate with very little to do around the house, so instead of sitting around she decided to do something after hearing in June of 1861 that nurses were allowed to volunteer. She didn’t actually start volunteering until September 1862. She was stationed at a general Union hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee where she cared for soldiers who had been wounded, comforted patients, fed patients, managed patients, cleaning, and more. She was faced with hardships she had never experienced before. She worked twelve to eighteen hour shifts. The soldiers treated the female nurses badly and wouldn’t take her seriously, so she was always having to prove herself. She also had to face death as she heard stories from the soldiers, soldiers dying in the hospital, and even received a letter that her youngest son died. She was faced with all of this but still stayed the strong, brave woman she was coming into this. She knew what she signed up for. Once the war was over she did not acclimate well back into being a housewife. She saw that women should have a say and can contribute to the workforce. She became an advocate for women's rights.

Follow Kate Davis on Twitter at @KDcivilwarnurse