+
Primary
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Documents Gallery: Diary of Civil War Nurse

For Students 9th - 10th
Interactive exhibition makes use of personal letters and diaries to document the life and experiences of Civil War nurse Amanda Akin.
+
Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Civil War Nurses

For Students 9th - 10th
This site tells the story of the women nurses during the Civil War, including Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton. From "Civil War Nurse" edited by John R. Brumgardt.
+
Article
A&E Television

History.com: How the Us Civil War Inspired Women to Enter Nursing

For Students 9th - 10th
Before the American Civil War, the majority of hospital nurses or "stewards" were men. But the war created a medical crisis that demanded more volunteers, and a lot of the people who took up the call were women. Amid this desperate need...
+
Article
A&E Television

History.com: How Civil War Medicine Led to America's First Opioid Crisis

For Students 9th - 10th
During the Civil War, military hospitals considered opioids to be essential medicine. Doctors and nurses used opium and morphine to treat soldiers' pain, stop internal bleeding and mitigate vomiting and diarrhea caused by infectious...
+
Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Dorothea Dix

For Students 9th - 10th
This page gives a brief biography of Dorothea Dix, nurse and social reformer, who was placed in charge of all the Union nurses in the Civil War. From the "Encyclopedia of the Civil War" by Suzanne LeVert.