Mary Bell (Civil War nurse)

Mary Bell was born on July 28, 1840, in Hillsboro, Ohio.[1] She was a nurse and hospital matron in the Civil War.

Civil War service

Bell left Ohio in September 1863 to join the Civil War effort.[1] Her work began with her husband A.O. Hartley, who was a hospital steward, at Covington Barracks in Kentucky. While the two were in camp, there were outbreaks of diseases such as smallpox and spotted fever.[2] In November, Bell was ordered to Munfordsville, Kentucky, where she was soon appointed matron of a hospital by its head surgeon.[1] Part of her duties included taking special care of the patients' diets, often poor. Bell remained at this location until May 1864, when she went to a Jacksonville hospital as troops moved to the front.[1]

After the war

Ultimately, Bell's service in the Civil War lasted over three years.[2] Her husband did not survive the war; he was killed while performing his duties in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[3] After the war, Bell taught for a year at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as at other institutions for the following three years.[3] Bell later relocated to Albion, Michigan.[2]

References
  1. Holland, Mary G. (2002). Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women in the Civil War. Roseville: Edinborough Press. p. 23. ISBN 9781889020044.
  2. "Civil War Army Nurses 1861 ~ 1865". American History & Genealogy Project: Women of America. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  3. Holland, Mary G. (2002). Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women in the Civil War. Roseville: Edinborough Press. p. 24. ISBN 9781889020044.
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