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“Economy Rules the Day:”
The Civil War Sacrifices of Judith Walker McGuire
by Tim Sheehan

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Hospital Work (continued)

On 18 July 1861, McGuire first bestowed her time to sickly soldiers at a temporary hospital located in a small meetinghouse near Millwood, Clarke County, Virginia. During this visit, she talked to one soldier suffering from typhoid fever. She broke the ice by asking about the soldier’s life at his home, believing that doing so showed interest, in which “they at once feel themselves among friends.” In the Diary, McGuire narrates to the reader this soldier’s experience as an Alabama widower, whom left his children and farm to the care of his elderly parents. They both shed tears when he displays the locks of his children’s hair. McGuire did not visit hospitals often during the remainder of 1861 most likely due the fact that the hospital set up in Millwood was only a temporary shelter to house the wounded. (38)

McGuire had limited skills in aiding sick and wounded soldiers. After locating rooms to rent in Richmond, Virginia, she decided to devote some time to the Robertson Hospital in Richmond during March and April of 1862, McGuire read the Bible at her “post by the bedside of the soldiers.” Although McGuire may have lifted the spirits of those she encountered at the Robertson and Millwood hospitals, she’s more of a companion than a nurse. McGuire’s philosophy on the matter of contributing to the war effort was that “we all do what we can in our own little way; and surely if we have nothing but prayer to offer, great good must be effected.” (39) Being a refugee without property to donate, and lacking nursing knowledge, McGuire could only lift the spirits of hospitalized soldiers.

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This page last updated 23 August 2008