Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1902 — REUNION OF WAR NURSES. [ARTICLE]

REUNION OF WAR NURSES.

They Recently Held a Grand Encttnpmeat at Washington. The first week of December in Wash* ington belonged to the women—llia nurses who have been helping Uncle Sam in his war work daring the last four years. They had a grand encampment and reunion at the national capital. President Roosevelt received them in due form; a special reception was tendered* to them by the Secretary of War, and an elaborate program was carried out for their entertainment. These are the women who took care of our soldiers in the camps at Montauk, Chattanooga and Jacksonville, in Cuba and at Porto Rico, at Tien-tsin, at Pekin, and in tiie Philippines.. They are all members of the Society bf Spanish-Amer-ican War Nurses, and each member most have served at least one month ns the year 1898, under contract with the surgeon general of the army. Picturesquenew was lent to the occasion by the presence of four Indian women, belonging to a Catholic sisterhood (trained graduate nurses and members of the organization), who were with the Seventh army corps at Jacksonville and in Cuba. During the Spanish conflict, no fewer than 1,500 contract nurses were employed by the War Department. Dr. McGee, their chief, was appointed as an acting assistant surgeon, ranked relatively as first lieutenant, and had the right to wear shoulder straps if she had so desired. She was the only woman officer in the United States army. It was she who wrote the paragraph in the bill which, when passed by Congress and approved by President McKinley, established the Army Nurse Corps.