Nuns of the Battlefield

During the Civil War, more than a thousand sister-nurses from twelve congregations, most of them Irish American, cared for soldiers from both North and South on battlefields and in hospitals. Despite anti-Catholic and anti-Irish prejudice in society and among fellow lay nurses, they persevered, helped bring thousands of men back to health, and contributed to the creation of a network of Catholic hospitals. Ellen Ryan Jolly, president of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, spent ten years gathering proof of their service after being told there was no evidence for honoring them. She documented what she found in her book The Nuns of the Battlefield, and her efforts led to a memorial dedicated on September 20, 1924, a turning point in Irish American history as a once vilified minority received public recognition in one of the first memorials honoring women.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States