Ann Bradford Stokes (1830–1903) was an American

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

. A former

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, Stokes eventually volunteered in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as a nurse on the in 1863. She is the first American woman to receive a military

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

for her own services and was one of the first African American women to serve as a nurse in the Navy.

Biography

Stokes was born in 1830 into

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

as Ann Bradford in

Rutherford County, Tennessee Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of a 2023 estimate, the population was 367,101, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the Univer ...

. In January 1863, she had escaped slavery and was taken aboard a ship. That same month, she volunteered to work as a

on the

hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating healthcare, medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navy, navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or ...

USS ''Red Rover'' where she assisted

Sisters of the Holy Cross The Sisters of the Holy Cross are one of three Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Religious congregation, congregations of nuns, religious sisters which trace their origins to the foundation of the Congregation of Holy Cross by Basil Moreau in Le Ma ...

. Stokes was assigned the rank of "first class boy" and was paid for her work. Stokes worked until October 1864 when she resigned due to exhaustion. She married Gilbert Stokes, who had also worked on the ''Red Rover'' and they moved to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. After Gilbert died in 1866, Stokes remarried in 1867 to George Bowman. She applied for a military

first based on her marriages in the 1880s, but was turned down. Later, after learning to read and write, she applied again for a pension based on her own

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

and she was granted a pension of $12 a month in 1890. Not only was Stokes one of the first African American women to serve as a nurse in the US. Navy, but she was also the first American woman to receive a pension for her own service in the military. Stokes lived in

Belknap, Illinois Belknap is a village in Johnson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88 at the 2020 census. History File:Belknap-post-office-il.jpg, Belknap Post Office, September 2017 File:Belknap-Community-Church-il.jpg, Belknap Community Chu ...

until she died in 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stokes, Ann Bradford 1830 births 1903 deaths African-American nurses American women nurses Female United States Navy personnel People from Johnson County, Illinois People from Rutherford County, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War 19th-century American slaves United States Navy sailors 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 19th-century African-American women African-American United States Navy personnel 19th-century African-American people History of nursing