Caroline Asenath Grant Burghardt (June 10, 1834 – February 6, 1922) was a Union nurse during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, who later practiced as a medical doctor in Washington D.C.

Early life

Burghardt was born in

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

, the daughter of John Budd Burghardt and Asenath Lucinda Grant. Her mother died when Caroline was a girl. She was working as a governess in New York at the outbreak of the Civil War. Poet and journalist

William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 – June 12, 1878) was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the '' New York Evening Post''. Born in Massachusetts, he started his career as a lawyer but showed an interest in poe ...

was an acquaintance of Burghardt's, and may have helped place her in a nursing role during the war.

Civil War service

On April 19, 1861, Burghardt reported to

Bellevue Hospital Bellevue Hospital (officially NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and formerly known as Bellevue Hospital Center) is a hospital in New York City and the oldest public hospital in the United States. One of the largest hospitals in the United States ...

where she was accepted for nurse training by the board of surgeons. 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 The Battle of Antietam ( ), also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, took place during the American Civil War on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virgin ...

, Gettysburg,

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth ...

, Winchester, and Alexandria. After Burghardt's service ended,

Dorothea Dix Dorothea Lynde Dix (April 4, 1802July 17, 1887) was an American advocate on behalf of the poor insane, mentally ill. By her vigorous and sustained program of lobbying state legislatures and the United States Congress, she helped create the fir ...

composed a "testimony of hospital services" regarding Burghardt's work during the war. In this letter, Dix commented on Burghardt's "superior fidelity and skill."

Career after the war

Burghardt continued her medical career well after the Civil War ended. In 1872, when she was 42 years old, Burghardt graduated from the medical school at

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

. Afterwards, she practiced

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

medicine and began her own medical practice in Washington, D.C. She also held positions in the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department, and the Bureau of Navigation. She served a term as President of the Civil War Nurses' Association, and made appearances at Civil War commemorative events into the 1900s.

Personal life

Burghardt received a pension of twelve dollars a month after February 28, 1891. She died in 1922, aged 87 years, in Washington D.C. Her grave is in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burghardt, Caroline Women in the American Civil War People from Great Barrington, Massachusetts American Civil War nurses American women nurses Howard University alumni American physicians 1834 births 1922 deaths