Cyclone in Calico!

In my previous post of Pioneering Women of Civil War America (Fifteenth Installment) about Harriet Tubman, I promised I’d feature another woman of Civil War times who was a “Cyclone in Calico!” Let me now present to you:

Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke (1817 – 1901)

Background information regarding Mary Ann’s youth is scant, but her adulthood is incredibly varied and highly respected. In fact, Dr. Benjamin Woodward, who was in charge of Union Army hospitals in Cairo, Illinois, and worked alongside her during the Civil War, asserts this:

“She was a large, heavy woman of 45 years, strong as a man; muscles of iron; nerves of steel; sensitive, but self-reliant; kind and tender; seeking all for others, nothing for herself.”

I’ll work backwards for this post in relating now—versus saving it until near the end—what I believe in Mary Ann’s adulthood outlines her credibility for accomplishing her pioneering deeds:

Attendance at Oberlin College (Ohio) for an unknown duration which didn’t result in a four-year degree. However, any amount of higher learning certainly helps to round out a person;

Previous training as a nurse; and

Her sound reputation as a botanical physician (uses plants and herbs in healing) got her elected by the people in her hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, to deliver the $500.00 they’d raised to support the sick and wounded soldiers to Dr. Woodward, and she stayed on. Thus, her career in nursing and hospital administration began.

So. . .

What were Mary Ann’s incredibly varied accomplishments?

During the Civil War:

With the Union Army in Cairo, Illinois, she alone supervised the merger of six regimental hospitals into one. All together and, with the help of the United States Sanitary Commission, she helped to organize three hundred hospitals throughout the Civil War.

Her Other Remarkable Hospital Work Included:

Securing buildings for her hospitals.

Reaping nurses from the healthy guards versus the convalescing soldiers.

Traveling to raise money and donations and maintain an inventory of supplies.

Shaping the first US Army laundry: instead of burning or burying bloodied or soiled clothing and linens, she had them salvaged throughout the hopsital or sent contrabands (slaves who had escaped across Union lines) out to the battlefields to collect more. Then, she cleaned them by two hand-powered washing machines and mangles (wringers) that she’d also procured.

General Ulysses S. Grant permitted her to fulfill her job anywhere within Union territory; with her honorable pass, she:

As the lone female aboard, rolled up her sleeves and took over supervision on an elegant riverboat converted into a floating hospital on the Mississippi River by the United States Sanitary Commission.

Roamed the battlefields by lantern treating and evacuating the wounded, and this quote by her evidences that:

“I served in the Civil War from June 9, 1861, to March 20, 1865. I was in nineteen hard-fought battles. I did the work of one, and I tried to do it well.“

Two nicknames were bestowed upon her: MOTHER BICKERDYKE by her soldier-patients for her compassionate renderings and CYCLONE IN CALICO for her fast and furious ways of getting any job done!

Deservedly so, both Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman had a high regard for Mary Ann. The proof in the pudding is in the dedication on the below park statue of Mary Ann in her hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, which reads in part:

Mother Bickerdyke. 1861 Army Nurse 1865. She Outranks Me. General Sherman.

Post Civil War, Mary Ann:

Is the only known woman—there could have been women soldiers in disguise—to ride in the Grand Review or parade of Union forces in Washington, D.C., led by General George Meade to celebrate the war’s end. General Sherman insisted that Mary Ann ride beside him, and her horse was lavished in forget-me-not flowers.

Joined forces with the Salvation Army.

Initiated 300 destitute war veterans to migrate to Kansas for free land.

Became amongst the first women to become certified as a pension attorney, encouraging hundreds of war veterans and nurses—except herself—to secure. It took twenty years, but she finally and reluctantly accepted a pension of $25.00/month from Congress for her wartime activities. Had a hospital boat and Liberty ship were named after her.

I’ll end here with the hopes that you’ve enjoyed this post and that I’ve whet your appetite to learn more about MaryAnn Ball Bickerdyke at the following places:

Video on My Complimentary Civil War Women Website.

Article Online at Ohio History Central.org:
History of Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke

Book on Amazon:
The Woman Who Battled for the Boys in Blue. Mother Bickerdyke; Her Life and Labors for the Relief of Our Soldiers. Sketches and Battle Scenes and Incidents of the Sanitary Service by Margaret Davis Burton

Stay Tuned for the Next Installment of Pioneering Women of Civil War America, Which Promises to Feature. . .

. . .Subversive Sisters from the South!