So, it seems that I have hit upon a point of interest-- at least for myself. I have been a student of history since high school, a student of women's history since college. Having a women's history focus, I have not so much focused on wars. Men's history is all about war--who did what in which war to make themselves a hero and gain respect of the nation....yadda, yadda....blah blah. Wars are about killing and generally about which guy's (or nation's) ego is bigger than some other guy's ego. Not what I choose to study. Yet, I fully believe our history will teach us how to be great in the future and how to avoid going down the same wrong paths as our ancestors. The funny thing is that as I follow these wars, especially as I follow the women who seemingly were caught in the crossfire and had to make the most of their situation, I am finding awesome stories of resilience, ingenuity, and greatness. The stories of the women in the civil war are somehow rising to the top of my list. I find them inspiring. I hope you do too. It makes me wonder what future stories we will hear about the women who serve in the military now... But, for today, more about Sally Tompkins aka "Captain Sally": Born in "PoplarGrove,"Mathews City., Va., 9 Nov. 1833, after her husband's death, Sally's mother moved the family to Richmond, where Sally lived at the outbreak of civil war. When the government asked the public to help care for the wounded of F irst Bull Run, Sally responded by opening a private hospital in a house donated for that purpose by judge John Robertson. Robertson Hospital, subsidized by Tompkins' substantial inheritance, treated 1,333 Confederate soldiers from its opening until the last patients were discharged 13 June 1865. Because the hospital returned more of its patients to the ranks than any other medical-care facility, officers tried to place their most seriously wounded men in Tompkins' care. She used her high rate of success to convince President Jefferson Davis to allow her hospital to stay open even as his orders shut down other private hospitals in the city. To circumvent the regulation calling for all hospitals to be run by military personnel, on 9 Sept. 1861 Davis appointed Tompkins captain of cavalry, unassigned, making her the only woman to hold a commission in the Confederate States Army. Her military rank allowed her to draw government rations and a salary to help defray some of her operating costs. Only 73 deaths were recorded at Robertson Hospital during its 45-month existence. Tompkins remained a beloved celebrity in postwar Richmond, active in the Episcopal church and a popular guest at veterans' reunions and Daughters of the Confederacy meetings. The war, her continued charity work, and her generous hospitality to veterans eventually exhausted her fortune. In 1905 "Captain Sally" moved into the Confederate Women's Home in Richmond as a lifetime guest, dying there 26 July 1916, in her 83d year. An honorary member of the R. E. Lee Camp of the Confederate Veterans, she was honored with a full military funeral. 4 chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy are named in Tompkins' honor. *somewhere it is noted that her attention to cleanliness and sanitation were the secrets to her success. It is possible that her standards were somewhere paid attention to by later doctors who adopted similar standards of cleanliness.
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DawnWomen's history geek, mom, lesbian, theologian, dreamer. Archives
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