This Birth Place of Souls : The Civil War Nursing Diary of Harriet Eaton

After the battle of Antietam in 1862, Harriet Eaton traveled to Virginia from her home in Portland, Maine, to care for soldiers in the Army of the Potomac. Portland's Free Street Baptist Church, with liberal ties to abolition, established the Maine Camp Hospital Association and made the widowed Eaton its relief agent in the field. One of many Christians who believed that patriotic activism could redeem the nation, Eaton quickly learned that war was no respecter of religious principles. Doing the work of nurse and provisioner, Eaton tended wounded men and those with smallpox and diphtheria during two tours of duty. Eaton struggled with the disruptions of transience, scarcely sleeping in the same place twice, but found the politics of daily toil even more challenging. Conflict between Eaton and coworker Isabella Fogg erupted almost immediately over issues of propriety. Though Eaton praised some of the surgeons with whom she worked, she labeled others charlatans whose neglect had deadly implications for the rank and file. If she saw villainy, she also saw opportunities to convert soldiers and developed an intense spiritual connection with a private, which appears to have led to a postwar liaison. Published here for the first time, the uncensored nursing diary is a rarity among medical accounts of the war, showing Eaton to be an astute observer of human nature and not as straight-laced as we might have thought. This edition includes an extensive introduction by the editor, transcriptions of relevant letters and newspaper articles, and a comprehensive biographical dictionary of the people mentioned in the diary. "After the battle of Antietam in 1862, Harriet Eaton traveled to Virginia from her home in Portland, Maine, to care for soldiers in the Army of the Potomac. Portland's Free Street Baptist Church, with liberal ties to abolition, established the Maine Camp Hospital Association and made the widowed Eaton its relief agent in the field ... Doing the work of nurse and provisioner, Eaton tended wounded men and those with smallpox and diphtheria during two tours of duty. Eaton struggled with the disruptions of transience, scarcely sleeping in the same place twice, but found the politics of daily toil even more challenging ... Published here for the first time, Eaton's uncensored nursing diary is a rarity among medical accounts of the war, showing Eaton to be an astute observer of human nature and not as straight-laced as we might have thought. This edition includes an extensive introduction by the editor, transcriptions of relevant letters and newspaper articles, and a comprehensive biographical dictionary of the people mentioned"--Jacket MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict Contents 8 Introduction 14 THE DIARY 66 1862 | October 6 to December 31 68 1863 | January 1 to May 12 114 1864 | October 12 to December 24 164 Notes 198 APPENDIXES 210 Letters, Newspaper Accounts, and Official Correspondence Concerning Harriet Eaton 212 Biographical Dictionary 242 Bibliography 324 Index 340 A 340 B 340 C 341 D 342 E 343 F 343 G 344 H 344 I 346 J 346 K 346 L 346 M 346 N 347 O 347 P 347 Q 348 R 348 S 349 T 350 U 350 V 350 W 350 Y 351 Z 351 Contents......Page 8 Introduction......Page 14 THE DIARY......Page 66 1862 | October 6 to December 31......Page 68 1863 | January 1 to May 12......Page 114 1864 | October 12 to December 24......Page 164 Notes......Page 198 APPENDIXES......Page 210 Letters, Newspaper Accounts, and Official Correspondence Concerning Harriet Eaton......Page 212 Biographical Dictionary......Page 242 Bibliography......Page 324 B......Page 340 C......Page 341 D......Page 342 F......Page 343 H......Page 344 M......Page 346 P......Page 347 R......Page 348 S......Page 349 W......Page 350 Z......Page 351 Published for the first time, Harriet Eaton's nursing diary is rare among Civil War narratives. A church-sponsored relief agent, the widowed Eaton left children at home while she tended to soldiers in the field. Not one to mince words, Eaton tussled with co-workers and surgeons, illuminating the politics of military medicine and the moral challenges that beset aid workers.