What was the life of a civil war nurse like?
The nurses in the Civil War played a big role in the war. At the beginning of the war, nurses only showed up as volunteers at military hospitals. After some of the first major battles were fought, they started organizing nursing corporations to help care for the hurt and injured soldiers. Famous nurses were usually expected to organize agencies to supply the soldiers. They also worked in a lot of battles by delivering care to soldiers on both sides. The nurses had many respnsibilities and were sometimes forced to make very important and critical decisions. As well as nursing and healing the soldiers, the nurses had other important jobs: they had to make sure that all soldiers were fed properly, that they had all physical necessities such as clothing, and most importantly, they had to make sure that the soldiers' emotions and spirits were up and healthy. Some nurses also managed suplplies and worked in the kitchen and did laundry. In some cases, the nurses were like mothers, daughters, or sisters to the soldiers. In order to be a nurse in the Civil War, you had to have a lot of knowledge, determination, and most importantly, physical and emotional strength.