Transcript ARLEIGH SMITH

THE LIFE OF ANNE B. ETHERIDGE
1844 - 1913
Report by: Arleigh Smith
The Civil War was a time where men fought for
their beliefs regarding slavery and a way of life.
History tells many stories about the bravery of
soldiers, forgetting that without the bravery of
female nurses, many wouldn’t have survived. I want
to take the time to honor one of those brave nurses
who are often left in the shadows of our American
history. My attention was immediately drawn to a
women who not only worked in the hospitals, but
who also bravely followed the men
into battle.
Anne B Etheridge was born on May 3,1844 in
Detroit, Michigan . Her family was wealthy but
when Anne was young her mother died . On her
tenth birthday ,she and her father moved to
Milwaukee, Wisconsin . Anne spent most of her
childhood in Wisconsin with her father.
When Anne turned sixteen she married James
Etheridge. When her father ran into financial
difficulties and lost most of his money, he returned to
Michigan but Anne remained in Wisconsin with
James . Not long after her father left, her marriage
failed and she moved back to Michigan. While she
was living in Michigan the civil war broke out.
At the age of seventeen Anne enlisted as a
Daughter of the Regiment .A Daughter of the
Regiment is a woman who followed the army ,did
chores around camp, and nursed the wounded. She
traveled to a hospital in Alexandria for training.
Anne’s first job was to march with the Regiment
to Washington D.C where they joined the army of
Potomac .Anne’s first battle occurred at Blackburn’s
Ford ,Virginia . When the battle started Anne
wasted no time by rushing onto the battle field to
nurse the wounded.
The soldiers called her ‘Gentle Annie’ because she
was a gentle ,careful ,and kind nurse. She would fill
the saddle bags on her horse with bandages so she
could ride onto the battle field to help the wounded
soldiers.
At the battle of second Manassas , Anne was
almost caught by a confederate soldier while tending
to the wounded soldiers . That was when she came
to General Kearney’s attention and he quickly
advised she should receive a horse and a servant.
Anne only received the horse because General
Kearney was killed during the Union retreat.
Anne wore a sidesaddle skirt . She carried two
pistols under her belt in case she was captured , or ran
into trouble . She also carried bandages close by if a
soldier was wounded on the battle field and needed
her help.
After the fighting was over she searched the area
to find wounded soldiers who had not already seen
the doctor and were in desperate need of her help.
Anne sometimes could only offer comforting words to
some of the soldiers who were mortally wounded.
This compassion was displayed by soldier George
Hill’s last quote, “Annie, dearest friend, I am not
long for this world, and I wish to thank you for your
kindness ere I go. You were the only one who was
ever kind to me since I entered the army.”
After the battle of Chancellorsville , Anne was
shot in the hand when a Union officer tried to hide
behind her. Anne was only injured but the officer
was killed and her horse was wounded.
In 1863, Anne was one of two women awarded
the Kearny Cross. This award was named after
General Phillip Kearny and given for: “noble sacrifice
and heroic service to the Union army.”
In 1864 General Grant ordered all women to leave
the Union camps. Anne was very sad to leave her
regiment and was determined to continue to serve her
country in a similar fashion. She found this
satisfaction by joining the hospital service in City
Point, Virginia.
At the end of Anne’s three year enlistment, she still
did not quit. Instead she joined the fifth Michigan
regiment and cared for wounded soldiers at the
battles of Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor,
and Hatcher’s Run. She also helped thousands of
wounded soldiers who were wounded during the siege
of Petersburg.
She returned to Detroit, Michigan and remained
with her regiment until July 1865. After the war she
took a job at the Treasury Department. In 1878 she
was released from the Treasury Department. She
petitioned Congress for a pension for her wartime
service. She was granted $25 a month. Anne then
married a war veteran, Charles Hook in 1870.
Sadly in 1913 Anne passed away . Anne received a
veterans burial in Arlington National Cemetery in
Washington D.C.
1844
•Anne Blair was born in Detroit, Michigan.
1854
• Anne moved to Wisconsin.
1860
•Anne married James Etheridge.
1861
•Anne’s marriage failed and she moved back to Michigan. She also enlisted in the “Daughters of the Regiment”.
1862
•Anne received training at a hospital in Alexandria.
1863
•Anne received the Kearny Cross.
1864
•All women were forced to leave the camps and Anne joined the hospital service at City Point, Virginia.
1865
•Anne returned to Detroit with her regiment until the end of the war. She then took a job at the Treasury Department.
1870
•Anne married war veteran, Charles Hook.
1878
•Anne was discharged from the Treasury Department.
1886
•Petitioned Congress requesting a pension for her wartime service.
1887
•Congress approved a pension for $25.00 a month.
1913
•Ann passed away and was buried in The Arlington National Cemetery.
Bibliography
Shura, Mary Francis. Gentle Annie: The True Story of a Civil War Nurse, New
York: Scholastic , 1991
Civil War Women, “ Annie Blair Etheridge,” January 17, 2007, accessed September 7,
2009,
http://civilwarwomen.blogspot.com/2007/01/annie-blair-etheridge.html
s9.com Biographical Dictionary, “Annie B. Etheridge,” accessed September 7, 2009,
http://www.s9.com/Biography/Annie-B-Etheridge
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, “Anna Etheridge,” accessed September 7, 2009,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Etheridge
CivilWarTalk, “ Annie Etheridge Hooks, Nurse?Soldier—1839-1913,” November 8,
2007, accessed September 7, 2009,
http://civilwartalk.com/Resource_Center/General_Resources/Women/annieetheridge-hooks-nurse-soldier-1839-1913-a248.html