A Most Estimable and Devoted Lady: The Indomitable “Mother George”

In the final days of the Atlanta campaign, the 56-year-old Mrs. Eliza E. George of the U.S. Sanitary Commission observed the spires of Atlanta from the safety of her hospital camp behind Union lines and pondered the events of the past three months. “I am within two miles of Atlanta and have seen the city a number of times from a hill a short distance from camp. The hill is so densely shaded with forest trees that we cannot be seen,” she wrote. Cannon fire and musketry echoed in the distance and a pall of smoke added a dusky hue to the heat of a late August Georgia afternoon.

Eliza George had led an extraordinary life. Born in Bridport, Vermont in 1808, she married Woodbridge C. George and had three daughters, one of whom married Sion Bass who was killed while serving as colonel of the 30th Indiana at the Battle of Shiloh. The death of her beloved son-in-law prompted the Widow George (her husband had died before the war) to volunteer her services with the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Rebuffed initially due to her advanced age, Eliza persisted by stating “true, I am old, but my health is good, and I desire to do something for those who every day expose their lives for our country. If unable to go through as much as some, I will engage never to be at all troublesome or in the way.” She served initially at hospitals in Memphis, Tennessee and Corinth, Mississippi, then worked with Mother Bickerdyke to establish a hospital at Pulaski, Tennessee. Eliza became known to the troops as “Mother George.”

An image from Mother George's gravestone in Fort Wayne, Indiana depicts her ministering to a sick soldier in a Federal camp. She truly lived a life of service and gave her life furthering the cause. A Federal surgeon described her as a "most estimable and devoted lady."

Sent South by Governor Oliver Morton of Indiana at the end of May 1864 “to look after the sick and wounded soldiers belonging to the Indiana regiments,” she joined the Atlanta campaign and dove right into her work. “We arrived in time to witness one of the saddest sights I ever witnessed,” she commented. “An ambulance train brought in 1,200 men. A large number were slightly wounded, or at least wounded in the hands and feet, some with two fingers carried away, some through the hand. There were 75 amputated legs and arms, some men wounded in the head, in fact in every form our manner. They all suffered their full share.” Stories were told of her courage under fire and of her tender care of the wounded soldiers. “On one occasion she sat for 20 hours holding a wounded soldier in her arms an applying ice to stop the flow of blood from a wound. There was nobody to relieve her but once or twice when relief was made available, the soldier begged so hard for her to stay that she forgot her own weariness and applied the ice again,” the Indianapolis News stated.

          By the end of August 1864, the indomitable Mrs. George had become a beloved presence in the hospitals of the 15th Army Corps. “I have a tent very well filled with sanitary supplies; it is something of a novelty, being the first and only thing of the kind thus far in the front and elicits much praise for Indiana. I am indebted to the Christian, U.S., and Western Commissions…for each have supplied me liberally and will continue to while I continue to give good satisfaction as a distributer. My tent is far famed and receives as many customers as a fancy store,” she commented.

Eliza E. George, 1808-1865

Her activities met with the approval of the suffering soldiers and the army’s medical department. Surgeon William Lomax of the 12th Indiana praised her “earnest full heart” and called her a “most estimable and devoted lady.” A circular letter signed by three surgeons of the Fourth Division, 15th Army Corps called her “the soldiers’ best friend- a dispenser of material and spiritual comforts to the wounded and suffering patriot, and untiring worker in their behalf,” and lauded her “tender devotion of a mother’s care so acceptable to the helpless condition of the sick and wounded. Should we enter upon another campaign during your sojourn in this department, we would be most thankful to have you with us.”

Mother George would embark on one more campaign with Sherman’s army as the following extraordinary letter explains. Written on August 25th, 26th, and 29th as the Army of the Tennessee marched into the final battle of the Atlanta campaign at Jonesboro, Mrs. George provides a rare woman’s perspective behind the lines of Sherman’s army.

 

U.S. Sanitary Commission Hospital

Fourth Division, 15th Army Corps, near Atlanta, Georgia

August 25, 1864

          I want to give you a little idea of where I am and what I am doing; ere I leave this beautiful spot which might be termed a sylvan retreat were it not for the cries of distress and moans of the dying which hourly assail my ears. I am within two miles of Atlanta, have seen the city a number of times from a hill a short distance from camp. The hill is so densely shaded with forest trees that we cannot be seen, otherwise we might be shelled out as it is within range of their lead messengers.

Upon our right is the hospital of the First and Second Divisions, a little to our left are the hospitals of the 15th and 17th Army Corps and altogether we make a very respectable little city. Like all other cities, we have our resting place for the dead. Attached to each division is a spot of ground rudely enclosed where sleep those noble brave, heroic men that have battled for the right and given their lives to save their country from being made a second Mexico. A board with the name, rank, and regiment marks each grave and though the thunder of cannon is hourly sounding in our ears, it will disturb their slumbers no more.

We have but 22 men in our hospital today not including surgeons and attendants. We have sent our sick and wounded to Marietta preparatory to a move. I have a tent very well filled with sanitary supplies; it is something of a novelty being the first and only thing of the kind thus far in the front and elicits much praise for Indiana. But I am not indebted to Indiana alone for my goods; the Christian, U.S., and Western Sanitary Commissions each have supplied me liberally and will continue to while I continue to give good satisfaction as a distributer. I have been very fortunate in securing the confidence of the other Commissions; it enables me to distribute more generously and my heart fairly dances with joy when I get an opportunity to send anything to the men lying in the rifle pits. My tent is far famed and receives as many customers as a fancy store, and I hope my friends at home will aid in keeping up my stock of goods.

The scenes of death and horror became part of Mother George's everyday existence during the Atlanta campaign. The above image from Adolph Metzner depicts Confederate casualties from the Battle of Shiloh but would have been recognized on nearly any battlefield of the war. 

August 26- I shall finish this letter and send it if it is in two pieces! Yesterday I laid aside my letter to attend to supper. The order came to move; we ate our supper and in 30 minutes were loaded up and drove out of the lines driving some two miles. Some of the men complained of Dr. Kates’ selection of ground. It was on a hill directly opposite and in range of a Rebel battery. The men were ordered to take the horses from the ambulances but not to unharness them. I made my bed in the ambulance and slept finely.

Soon after daylight there came a shell which exploded within 30 yards of us. Those who knew the danger expressed more fear than I did. Soon came another about ten yards nearer. Our division started without orders and within ten minutes after we left, came another one that exploded within seven yards of where we stood as we were standing in the advance line. Had we remained there much longer we might have been hurt of badly scared at least. We are now in a beautiful grove awaiting orders and have not unloaded or pitched a tent. I am sitting in the ambulance writing and have just eaten my dinner. I am suffering more from the heated atmosphere today than any other day this summer.

If the Rebels do not conclude to quietly evacuate Atlanta today or tonight, we may possibly take a little trip South. Should we get along well, so that my services can be dispensed with, don’t you think it would be a good idea for me to attend the [Sanitary] Fair? Dr. Moore tells me if I get this letter mailed for many days, I shall be indebted to some carrier for it. We have cut loose from all communication with the North and it may be days or weeks before we will again be within reach of postal communication. If I am taken prisoner, I must abide my time. The little good I have been enabled to do today has paid me for the risk.

Surgeon William Lomax
12th Indiana Infantry

Major Baldwin, Captain Nelson, George A. Craw, and Captain Farran were to see me yesterday. The men are all well but wearied. This has been a long hard campaign and our troops are all wearied physically but their spirit is strong, the conviction of right and duty as firm as ever. If the defenders of our flag and national honor were not classed with felons and denied the right of citizenship, our pending elections would all be right.

August 29- It would be contraband to tell you where I am, but I am in the midst of war 30 miles from a place of acknowledged safety. It will be doubtless be many days ere I can hear from home again. We are where there are but two ways to settle the question: success in battle or a foot race. Our troops have thus far been successful in all they have undertaken. I humbly pray the God of Hosts that they may continue to be. Military men pronounce this one of the greatest movements of the day. I am pained to learn of the state of things at home and at Indianapolis. Is it possible that our country is to be bartered cheaper than Esan sold his birthright? I have a chance to send this to headquarters and must close. My health is good.

 

Alma Wolcott Bennett served at Hospital No. 1 in Nashville, Tennessee

The indomitable Mrs. George continued her merciful labors on behalf of the troops at the battle of Jonesboro. On September 11, 1864, Surgeon Cake of the 53rd Ohio acknowledged her “untiring devotion to the comfort and welfare of the suffering inmates of our Division field hospital during the ever-memorable campaign just closed in the capture of Atlanta. You have been in the field with us at the battle of Blackjack Hill, at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, at the battle of Atlanta on the 22nd and 28th of July, and lastly at the battle of Jonesboro in all of which our division took an active and conspicuous part. You have been the solders’ best friend. We all appreciate highly your kind offices, your Christian and lady-like deportment, and hope for a reward of your labors in the knowledge that the grateful hearts of the many you have served and benefitted are with you. May God bless you with health and strength to carry on your patriotic and truly benevolent enterprise and that friends at home appreciate your invaluable labors.”

She continued to follow the fortunes of the western armies, serving the needs of the sick and wounded after the battles of Franklin and Nashville then followed the army into North Carolina. There she met her final challenge: caring for the 11,000 haggard and starving survivors recently released from prisoner of war camp at Salisbury, North Carolina. It was in Wilmington, North Carolina on May 9, 1865 that “Mother George” joined the ranks of “those noble brave, heroic men that have battled for the right and given their lives to save their country.”  She succumbed to typhoid fever less than two weeks after the Confederate surrender that ended the war in the Carolinas. Her remains were sent home to Fort Wayne, Indiana where she received a burial with full military honors at Lindenwood Cemetery. The Sanitary Commission of Indiana erected a beautiful stone in her memory.

Our Angel of Mercy

 

Sources:

Letters from Mrs. Eliza G. George, Fort Wayne Daily Gazette (Indiana), June 10, 1864, pg. 2; also, September 17, 1864, pg. 2

Letter from Surgeon William Lomax, 12th Indiana Infantry, Surgeon William M. Cake, 53rd Ohio, Surgeon Richard Morris, 103rd Illinois, and Assistant Surgeon Sidney S. Buck, 103rd Illinois, Fort Wayne Daily Gazette (Indiana), September 30, 1864, pg. 2

Find-A-Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/19737867/eliza-e.-george

Sadler, Hilary A. Mother George: Fort Wayne’s Angel of Mercy. Fort Wayne: Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County, 1964.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on t...
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true ...
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of h...
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Ma...
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on se...
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my ...
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm...
Read more

I Want to See a Battle: A Hoosier at Shiloh

Image
W riting in his diary, Private Manius Buchanan of the 29 th Indiana recalled the eagerness with which his regiment marched towards Savannah, Tennessee with the sounds of the battle of Shiloh ringing in their ears.           “The forced march was kept up until 2 p.m. when we were halted until 4 p.m,” he noted. “The rest was really needed, but the continual question is ‘Why are we stopped here?’ The sound of battle increased in volume and anxiety to be up and doing grows more intense. As I am weak from a late sickness, I am urged to fall to the rear; but no, in common with all, I want to see a battle and fear this will be my only chance.” The regiment would go into action the following afternoon, and of the four neighborhood boys who had enlisted together in Co. B, only Buchanan escaped unscathed. One afternoon's exposure to the horrors of battle was all it took to satisfy this Hoosier's desire to see the elephant. “I wanted to see a battl...
Read more

An Interview with Forrest in May 1864

Image
  “The noise of battle is the only music that ravishes the senses of Forrest.” I t was May 1864. Back east, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac were locked in the deadly dance of the Overland Campaign while in Georgia, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army squared off against General Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of the Tennessee in the campaign for Atlanta.       Based in relatively quiet northern Mississippi, General Nathan Bedford Forrest bided his time waiting for a Federal advance from Memphis. Earlier in the month, General Samuel Sturgis led a brief campaign into Mississippi but Forrest was sure Sturgis would venture out again. In the meantime, he tried to keep his reorganized command intact despite persistent demands from his superiors that he return the absentees and deserters who inflated his ranks (nearly 1,000 in number) to their original commands.      Around this same time,  an old acquaintance from Me...
Read more