Brother Sebastian Brogan

July 19, 2002

Nursing care of some sort or another is part of the human existence. Originally, much of it was probably done by family members and other times by special religious orders or by physicians in training. Only occasionally was it done by specially trained individuals. The Roman army, for example, had a special class of troops called contubernalis, literally "tent companions," perhaps from the time when hospitals were tents. Later, as hospitals became more permanent, those who took care of the sick were called adjutants or simply attendants.

In the United States, the first training schools for nurses, known as the Nightingale model schools, were established in 1873. But people performed nursing roles before that, especially in wartime. Even in peacetime, they achieved a reputation for their ability to care for the sick and afflicted.

One of the more famous women in this nurse category is Sojourner Truth (1797-1883?), known as an abolitionist, lecturer, advocate for women's rights-but also a nurse.

Born a slave, her given name at birth was Isabella, and her last name varied during her lifetime. She was for a time known by her father's surname (Baumfree or Bomefree), at other times by the name of her owners, Hardenbergh, Neely and Dumont among them. She managed to escape from her last owner, and the family who had sheltered her paid $20 to buy her freedom. For a time, she took their name and was known as Isabella Von Wagener.

In 1843, however, she heard a voice that she believed came from God, and took the name of Sojourner Truth. After that, she began preaching. She soon became a powerful speaker for abolition.

In 1864, when she was about 67, she was received by President Lincoln and was appointed a counselor by the National Freedmen's Relief Association and worked in Freed-man's Village in Arlington Heights, Va. There, she taught women how to cope with the deplorable conditions in which they lived.

In September 1865, she was appointed to work with a physician at Freedmen's Hospital in Washing-ton. For more than two years, she nursed African-American soldiers at the severely understaffed hospital. She also taught the newly recruited "nurses" how to change bandages, wash wounds and make beds.

She organized a group of women to clean the hospital and brought order to the chaotic conditions. She also asked Congress to provide funding for training nurses. In short, she became a nurse as it was defined and was an advocate for nursing.