Caroline Burghardt
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Caroline Burghardt | |
|---|---|
 Caroline Burghardt, from an 1897 publication. | |
| Born | June 10, 1834 |
| Died | February 6, 1922 (aged 87) Washington, D.C., US |
| Known for | nurse in American Civil War, medical doctor, federal employee |
Caroline Asenath Grant Burghardt (June 10, 1834 – February 6, 1922)[1] was a Union nurse during the American Civil War, who later practiced as a medical doctor in Washington D.C.
Burghardt was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, the daughter of John Budd Burghardt and Asenath Lucinda Grant. Her mother died when Caroline was a girl.[1] She was working as a governess in New York at the outbreak of the Civil War.[2] Poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant was an acquaintance of Burghardt's, and may have helped place her in a nursing role during the war.[1][3]
Civil War service
On April 19, 1861, Burghardt reported to Bellevue Hospital where she was accepted for nurse training by the board of surgeons.[2] Her training lasted until June 8, 1861, when she traveled to Washington, D.C. to begin acting as a nurse in the war. Burghardt served as a nurse until September 6, 1865. She was stationed at numerous locations, such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Fortress Monroe, Winchester, and Alexandria.[2] After Burghardt's service ended, Dorothea Dix composed a "testimony of hospital services" regarding Burghardt's work during the war.[4] In this letter, Dix commented on Burghardt's "superior fidelity and skill."[2]