USA, register över sjukhusanställda, 1861-1865

About the U.S., Carded Service Records of Hospital Attendants, Matrons and Nurses, 1861-1865

General collection information

This collection consists of cards that include information about the employment records of attendants, matrons, and nurses working at hospitals during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865.

The cards include names of the hospital employees, the positions they held, and payroll information. They also include the date of the original record, and the hospital where they worked. The records come from hospitals in cities throughout the United States.

Other than the person's name, the cards do not include biographical information, such as birth dates and places or the names of family members. These cards were produced by the Union Army.

Using this collection

The following information has been transcribed from the employment cards:

The collection has been fully digitized and arranged alphabetically by the employee's last name. The employment cards can be used to learn when and where your ancestor served in the hospital system and the role they played within their hospital.

Collection in Context

The employment cards were created by the Adjutant General's Office of the U.S. War Department. They are primary sources produced during the American Civil War, but their quality is diminished because the information they contain was transcribed from original documents. Information on the cards may have been changed or omitted during the transcription process. The original cards are housed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Thousands of soldiers were wounded during the war and hundreds of thousands were stricken by diseases. Wounded soldiers were initially attended to in temporary hospitals set up near battlefields. Once their condition was stabilized, soldiers were sent to permanent hospitals to recuperate.

Cleanliness was a priority for the matrons, nurses, and attendants who cared for the recovering soldiers in these city hospitals. Clothing, bedding, floors, and bedpans needed daily cleaning and meals needed to be cooked. Direct contact with the patients included delivering meals, changing bandages, and administering medicine. Many nurses also found time to sit and talk with the soldiers and help them write letters home.

Bibliography

Backus, Paige Gibbons. "Everyday Life in a Civil War Hospital." American Battlefield Trust. Last modified March 25, 2021. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/everyday-life-civil-war-hospital.

National Archives. "Carded Service Records of Hospital Attendants, Matrons and Nurses, 1861 - 1865." Accessed February 18, 2022. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/655658.

Ohio State University, EHistory. "Statistics on the Civil War and Medicine." Accessed February 18, 2022. https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/cwsurgeon/cwsurgeon/statistics.

University of Southern California. "Research Guides: Evaluating Primary Sources." Accessed February 18, 2022. https://libguides.usc.edu/primarysources/evaluate.