A register preserved in the National Archives lists the names of about 2,773 women who served as nurses, cooks, and laundresses in U.S. Army hospitals during the Civil War. The entries are organized by location and reflect the size of each medical center. Smaller places appear as a single listing by city and state—for example, Columbus, Ky., with 10 women. Major hospital hubs are broken out by individual facilities. In Nashville, Tenn., for instance, 530 women are recorded across 25 separate hospitals and depots.
What the data reveal: A highly concentrated system, with large numbers of women serving in a relatively small number of states where major Union depots formed to support military operations, along with the national capital region extending across the Mid-Atlantic.
SPREAD THE WORD: We encourage you to share this story on social media and elsewhere to educate and raise awareness. If you wish to use any image on this page for another purpose, please request permission.
LEARN MORE about Military Images, America’s only magazine dedicated to showcasing, interpreting and preserving Civil War portrait photography.
VISIT OUR STORE to subscribe, renew a subscription, and more.