Civil War Female Nurse & Sanitary Commission

Item MED-11663

Description

Mary Ashton Rice Livermore was a Civil War nurse as well as an American journalist, abolitionist and advocate of women’s rights.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, she volunteered as an associate member of the United States Sanitary Commission. She organized many aid societies, visited army posts and hospitals and in 1863, organized the North-western Sanitary Fair in Chicago which raised $86,000. President Lincoln donated his own copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, which was auctioned off at $10,000. Livermore eventually became the co-director of the Chicago branch with Jane Hoge, another soldier’s aid advocate. The two women completed a hospital inspection tour across Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. With a thorough understanding of the needs of the hospitals, Hoge and Livermore sent $1 million worth of food and supplies to hospitals and battlefields most in need. In addition to her nursing services, Livermore was also a prolific writer. She authored numerous books of poetry, essays, and stores and was recognized member of the literary guild.

After the war, Livermore devoted herself to the promotion of women’s suffrage and the temperance movement. Among her other accomplishments with regards to women’s rights, she was the first president of the Association for Advancement of Women.

Information from Wikipedia.

Note:  Clipped Livermore signature is affixed to the back of the CDV.