Lucy Fenman Barron served as a Union nurse during the American Civil War from March 1861 until March 1863.[1] She enlisted in the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, and spent the first two months of her service at Camp Reed in Erie.[1][2] Barron served in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia, even serving at Harper's Ferry until the surrender in September.[1][2] According to Barron, some of the places she served looked more like houses than hospitals.[1] She even spent some time under Confederate occupation, though she enlisted with the Union.[2] One of the moments Barron shares in Mary G. Holland's book of letters is preserving a soldier's life until he could be baptized, only to die minutes later.[3]

Lucy Fenman Barron
An older white woman, her hair caught in a snood with a bow on top; she is wearing a dark collar and drop earrings.
Lucy Fenman Barron, from an 1897 publication.
AllegianceUnited States
Unitnurse with the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry

After surviving the war, Barron retired in Eureka, California.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Holland, Mary Gardner (2002). Our Army Nurses:Stories from Women in the Civil War. Roseville: Edinborough Press. p. 17. ISBN 9781889020044.
  2. ^ a b c d Hall, Richard E. (2006). Women in the Civil War Battlefront. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. p. 226. ISBN 9780700614370.
  3. ^ Holland, Mary Gardner (2002). Our Army Nurses:Stories from Women in the Civil War. Roseville: Edinborough Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781889020044.