To Bind Up the Wounds: Catholic Sister Nurses in the U.S. Civil War - Paperback

by Mary Denis Maher (Author)

The contributions of more than six hundred Catholic nuns to the care of Confederate and Union sick and wounded made a critical impact upon nineteenth-century America. Not only did thousands of soldiers directly benefit from the religious sisters' ministrations, but both professional nursing and Catholics' acceptance within mainstream society advanced significantly as a result. In To Bind Up the Wounds, Sister Mary Denis Maher writes this heretofore neglected Civil War chapter in rich detail, telling a riveting story shot with suspicion and prejudice, suffering and self-sacrifice, ingenuity, beneficence, and gratitude.

Back Jacket

The contributions of more than six hundred Catholic nuns to the care of Confederate and Union sick and wounded made a critical impact upon nineteenth-century America. Not only did thousands of soldiers directly benefit from the religious sisters' ministrations, but both professional nursing and Catholics' acceptance within mainstream society advanced significantly as a result. In To Bind Up the Wounds, Sister Mary Denis Maher draws upon personal papers of individual sisters, archival material of the twelve orders that provided nurses, and official medical and military records to write this heretofore neglected Civil War chapter in rich detail. She tells a story of riveting interest, shot with suspicion and prejudice, suffering and self-sacrifice, ingenuity, beneficence, and gratitude.

Author Biography

Sister Mary Denis Maher, PhD, is a certified archivist and director of the archives for the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, in Richfield, Ohio. A member of the Sisters of Charity, she is also professor emerita of English at Ursuline College.