Janet Jennings
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Janet Jennings (1842 - December 31, 1917) 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 ...
and reporter, most notable for her work on the ''Seneca'': a ship used to travel back from
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
during the
Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
. While on the ''Seneca'', Jennings took care of hundreds of wounded and ill patients despite an almost complete lack of medical resources. __TOC__


Background and early life

Janet Jennings was born in 1842 in
Green County, Wisconsin Green County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,093. Its county seat is Monroe. Green County is included in the Madison, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The land of G ...
, where she grew up in a family of twelve children. Jennings started her career as a teacher in
Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the town of Monroe to the north and the town of Clarno to the south. It is nicknamed the "C ...
, but she later left for
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
to join the
American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
and help care for one of her brothers, who was wounded in the war. As a member of the Red Cross, Jennings was an associate of
Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...
, and aided other wounded soldiers in 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 ...
. Jennings stayed in Washington D.C. after the end of the Civil War to work as a reporter at the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
, later reporting for various newspapers.


Nursing in the Spanish American War

After the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Jennings searched for ways she could support the war effort as a nurse. She left for Cuba as part of the Red Cross in June 1898. After fighting in Santiago, the medical ship ''Relief'' was supposed to leave to bring wounded to the U.S., but with more fighting expected, the ship was told to stay in Santiago. Instead of the ''Relief'' with its updated and adequate medical supplies, the ''Seneca'' was chosen to transport the injured troops back to the United States. On July 13, Jennings volunteered to help on the ''Seneca'' and tend to the wounded as they were brought back to the U.S. The ship was over capacity with injured soldiers, understaffed with doctors and nurses, and without adequate medical equipment. Due to the lack of doctors and nurses on board, Jennings worked around the clock in an attempt to help as many patients as possible. After six nights at sea, the ship finally made port near
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Forty of the soldiers on the ship wrote her a letter, thanking her for the heroism she showed in the dire situation. Newspapers across the country heralded her as the “Angel of Seneca” for saving numerous lives during her week aboard the Seneca.


Journalism

After leaving the Treasury Department, Jennings began working as a reporter. Jennings was a journalist for several newspapers including the ''
New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'', the ''Independent'' (New York City), and the ''Chicago Herald - Tribune''. When Jennings volunteered to go with the Red Cross to Cuba, her intention was to travel to Cuba as a reporter for the Red Cross’s work, despite the restrictions on female reporters at the time. After returning from Cuba on the ''Seneca'', Jennings wrote a statement about the injustice of sending wounded soldiers back on ships with insufficient medical and other resources. In addition to her work writing for newspapers, Jennings wrote two books, ''Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest American'' and ''The Blue and the Gray''.


Death

Jennings died in 1917 of a stroke. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Green County, Wisconsin next to her parents and siblings.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Janet 1842 births 1917 deaths People from Monroe, Wisconsin