Sister O’Connell, Sisters of Charity gave
care, healing to wounded at Richmond

Sister Anthony O’Connell, a nurse with the Sisters of Charity in Cincinnati, was somewhat of a legend during the Civil War.

In the medical field, she was respected for her knowledge and skill. To the wounded, she was an Angel of Mercy. And, to those in military command, she wasn’t one with whom you should lock horns.

Sister O’Connell was one of six Sisters of Charity who journeyed to Madison County to treat the wounded following the Battle of Richmond (Aug. 29-30, 1862). The sisters left Cincinnati with a train of 40 ambulances and traveled through Confederate lines to reach Richmond. Once there, for three weeks they treated those who needed attention, whether Union or Confederate.

The Richmond trip actually was but one of many for the sisters. Through the course of the war, they served on the Eastern Front in parts of Ohio, Virginia and Maryland and in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Georgia in the Western Theater.

In a report about the Richmond visit, Sister O’Connell noted, “much might be said of our work, but God alone could tell the story.”

“En route from Cincinnati,” she wrote, “we witnessed sights, the most appalling; the grounds were covered with wounded, dying and dead bodies. Some of the dead bodies were only partially covered, hands and feet protruding. The weather being bad added not a little to this scene of action …”

Sister O’Connell is said to have “served with distinction … on the front lines of the Civil War.” She became personally acquainted with Jefferson Davis and knew a number of generals on both sides of the conflict.

Her medical skills allowed her to intervene to save soldiers’ limbs from amputation. And some describe her word as being law with officers, doctors and soldiers once she had established herself as a prudent and trusted administrator and nurse. She and other sisters often were chosen to treat wounded prisoners of war since they showed no bias in serving Confederate, Union, white or black soldiers.

Some two months after the beginning of the war in 1861, Sisters of Charity nurses were recruited to visit Camp Denison near Cincinnati. A measles outbreak had occurred and the sisters were needed desperately. Contagious diseases, of course, led to the death of many Civil War soldiers and smallpox was among the most dreaded maladies.

At one camp, Sister O’Connell learned plans were being made to burn a tent and the patient in it, as soldiers were afraid to approach a smallpox case.

“That’s murder!” she screamed at the officers and volunteered to care for the man by herself until his recovery.

Throughout the war, the need for nurses was desperate and the Sisters of Charity continued to respond. In total, more than 40 sisters served in army encampments, on battlefields, in tent hospitals and warehouses set up to receive casualties. They also served on the floating hospitals that transported the sick and wounded along the river system.

Sister O’Connell was regarded as the leading spirit of the Sisters of Charity throughout the war. In the order’s historical accounts, it was recorded that Sister O’Connell was personally acquainted with generals from both sides and often was able to pass through lines without difficulty.

Confederate President Davis and Sister Anthony often shared a meal, sometimes when Davis apparently was in disguise. According to reports, Sister Anthony “was very reticent about telling how she knew him, whether by her own cleverness or because he acknowledged his disguises to her and trusted her.”

Sister Anthony died Dec. 8, 1897 at age 83. The native of Limerick, Ireland was born Mary Ellen O’Connell and immigrated with her family to Boston in 1821.

For years after her funeral, Civil War veterans assembled on July 4 at her gravesite at Mount St. Joseph, Ohio and honored her with tributes and their gratitude.

At the recent Battle of Richmond Re-enactment Weekend (Aug. 24-25), Sisters Judith Metz and Andrea Koverman attended on behalf of the order and were presented with a memorial wreath. A Sisters of Charity display detailing the order’s service at Richmond was housed in Battlefield Park’s Slave Quarters.