Mary Ann Bickerdyke
| Mary Ann Bickerdyke | |
|---|---|
Mary Ann Bickerdyke in 1898
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| Birth name | Mary Ann Ball |
| Nickname(s) | "Mother" Bickerdyke |
| Born |
July 19, 1817 Knox County, Ohio |
| Died | November 8, 1901 (aged 84) Bunker Hill, Kansas |
| Buried | Galesburg, Illinois |
| Years of service | 1861–1865 |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Bickerdyke |
| Relations | Two sons |
| Other work | lawyer, advocate for veterans |
Mary Ann Bickerdyke (July 19, 1817 – November 8, 1901), also known as Mother Bickerdyke, was a hospital administrator for Union soldiers during the American Civil War and a lifelong advocate for veterans. She was responsible for establishing 300 field hospitals during the war and served as a lawyer assisting veterans and their families with obtaining pensions after the war.
Mary Ann Ball was born on July 19, 1817 in Knox County, Ohio to Hiram and Annie Rodgers Ball. She was one of the first women who attended Oberlin College in Ohio. She married Robert Bickerdyke in 1847, who died in 1859 just two years before the Civil War. Together, the Bickerdykes had two sons.
She later moved to Galesburg, Illinois where she worked as botanic physician and primarily worked with alternative medicines using herbs and plants. Bickerdyke began to attend the Congregational Church in Galesburg shortly after she became a widow.
Mary Bickerdyke served in the Civil War from June 9, 1861 to March 20, 1865, working in a total of nineteen battles. Bickerdyke was described as a determined nurse who did not let anyone stand in the way of her duties. Her patients, the enlisted soldiers, referred to her as "Mother" Bickerdyke because of her caring nature. When a surgeon questioned her authority to take some action, she replied, "On the authority of Lord God Almighty, have you anything that outranks that?" In reality, her authority came from her reputation with the Sanitary Commission and her popularity with the enlisted men.
Dr. Woodward, a surgeon with the 22nd Illinois Infantry and a friend of Bickerdyke's, wrote home about the filthy, chaotic military hospitals at Cairo, Illinois. The letter was read aloud in their church and Galesburg's citizens collected $500 worth of supplies and selected Bickerdyke to deliver them (no one else would go). After meeting Mary Livermore, she was appointed a field agent for the Northwestern branch of the Sanitary Commission. Livermore also helped Bickerdyke find care for her two sons in Beloit, Wisconsin, while she was in the field with the army during the later part of the war. Her sons complained about living in Beloit. She stayed in Cairo as a nurse, and while there, she organized the hospitals and gained Grant's appreciation. Grant endorsed her efforts and detailed soldiers to her hospital train, and when his army moved down the Mississippi, Bickerdyke went, too, setting up hospitals where they were needed. Bickerdyke became a matron of the hospital in only five months.
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