Nuns of the Battlefield — Civil War Nurses Memorial

Sometimes you can walk past something a million times before you actually see it. That was the case with this memorial located at the intersection of Rhode Island Avenue and M Street, NW,  just east of Connecticut Avenue.

I’m not really sure what first drew my attention to it. From what I’ve been able to find out, its the Civil War Nurses Memorial and was erected in 1924 by the Ladies Auxiliary to the Ancient Order of Hibernians of America. The sculptor responsible for the bronze relief and sculpture was Jerome Connor.

The upper inscription reads: They comforted the dying, Nursed the wounded, carried hope to the imprisoned, gave in His name a drink of water to the thirsty.

The lower inscription reads: To the memory and in honor of The Various Orders of Sisters who gave their services as nurses on battlefields and in hospitals during the Civil War.

The main panel image figures represent the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Sisters of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Sisters of Saint Dominic, Sisters of Saint Ursula, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Sisters of the Poor of Saint Francis, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, and Sisters of Divine Providence.

As an addendum, I thought this historical photograph from the Library of Congress collection (#thc 5a48096) was also interesting, as it was probably taken shortly after it was erected.The figures on the left and right represent Patriotism (with shield) and Peace (winged) respectively, which follow.