History

PART TWO

THE ARMY NURSE CORPS

CHAPTER I

IN THE UNITED STATES

ORGANIZATION

The organization of the Army Nurse Corps, as it functioned during theWorld War, was based upon the following extract of act of Congress, February 2,1901:¹

SEC. 19. That the Nurse Corps (female) shall consist of one superintendent, to be appointed by the Secretary of War, who shall be a graduate of a hospital training school having a course of instruction of not less than two years, whose term of office may be terminated at his discretion, whose compensation shall be $1,800 per annum, and of as many chief nurses, nurses, and reserve nurses as may be needed. Reserve nurses mav be assigned to active duty when the emergency of the service demands, but shall receive no compensation except when on such duty: Provided, That all nurses in the Nurse Corps shall be appointed or removed by the Surgeon General, with the approval of the Secretary of War; that they shall be graduates of hospital training schools, and shall have passed a satisfactory professional, moral, mental, and physical examination: And provided, That the superintendent and nurses shall receive transportation and necessary expenses when traveling under orders; that the pay and allowances of nurses, and of reserve nurses when on active service, shall be $40 per month when on duty in the United States and $50 per month when on duty without the limits of the United States. They shall be entitled to quarters, subsistence, and medical attendance during illness, and they may be granted leaves of absence for 30 days, with pay, for each calendar year; and, when serving as chief nurses, their pay may be increased by authority of the Secretary of War, such increase not to exceed $25 per month. Payments to the Nurse Corps shall be made by the Pay Department.

THE SUPERINTENDENT

As outlined in the Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, the duties of the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps were as follows:

The superintendent, under the direction of the Surgeon General, has general supervision of the corps. She will, by authorized inspections from time to time and by reference to the prescribed reports and returns, keep herself constantly informed of the numbers, distribution, and competency of the individual members of the corps, and of its state and condition as a whole. She will communicate with nurses' training schools, nurses' associations, and similar professional bodies with a view to ascertaining where acceptable nurses for Army service may be available; will conduct the necessary correspondence concerning the qualifications of applicants for appointment in the corps; will make the professional examination of those who shall meet the required preliminary conditions; and when vacancies occur will recommend the appointment to the same of eligible applicants. She will prepare the questions for the examination of nurses for promotion to the grade of chief nurse, will rate the answers received thereto, and will recommend the promotion of those found qualified as their services shall be needed. She will make timely recommendations regarding the assignment, transfer, discipline, and discharge of chief nurses. She will endeavor by all suitable means within her power to maintain the usefulness of the corps as a part of the Medical Department of the Army, will propose to the Surgeon General as occasion requires appropriate measures for the promotion of its morale and efficiency, and will perform such other supervisory duties as the Surgeon General shall prescribe.

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CHIEF NURSES

Chief nurses were not to be appointed as such, but were to be selected by promotion from the grade of nurse.² A chief nurse invariably was to be assigned to duty when two or more nurses were serving at the same station.² On the other hand a chief nurse was not to be assigned to duty permanently, except by the Surgeon General, upon the recommendation of the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps.³ Nor was a nurse to be assigned permanently to duty as chief nurse until after she had passed a satisfactory examination.

Nurses who exhibited marked executive ability, good judgment, and tact were to be recommended to the Surgeon General by the commanding officer of a hospital or other Medical Department formation with which they were on duty for examination for promotion to the grade of chief nurse.

NURSES

Applications for appointment in the Nurse Corps, were to be made to the superintendent of the corps on proper blank forms furnished by the superintendent. As to other requirements, these were detailed as follows:⁴

** ** * *

(a) An applicant for first appointment must be between 25 and 35 years of age and unmarried. If not a citizen of the United States, she must before appointment make a declaration of her intention to become such, and, if she wishes to continue in the Nurse Corps, must at the proper time take out final naturalization papers.
(b) Applications from States and Territories where registration is required by law will be considered in the eases only of graduates of training schools which are acceptable to the State or Territorial boards of registration. In making appointments from among eligible applicants residing in such States and Territories preference will be given to those who are registered.
(c) Nurses who have had previous service in the Army Nurse Corps and are otherwise acceptable will be given preference for appointment over new nurses who qualify for the corps.

63. Physical qualifications.-The apllicant's physical fitness for service will be ascertained by a careful physical examination. The examination will be made when practicable by a medical officer of the Army at his proper station. When, however, this would require the applicant to make an unreasonably long journey, the Surgeon General may authorize her examination by a private physician of good repute in the vicinity of her residence. The applicant must )e not less than 60 inches nor nore than 70 inches in height; and must weigh not less than 100 pounds, nor more than 195 pounds. Marked disproportion between height and weight will be a cause of rejection. The medical examiner will send his report direct to the sulerilntendent and not give it to the applicant. Its contents will be regarded as confidential.
64. Moral, professional, and mental qualifications.-An applicant will not be eligible for appointment in the Nurse Corps unless she shall have graduated from a training school for nurses giving a thorough professional education, both theoretical and practical, and requiring a residence of at least two years in an acceptable general hospital of 100 beds or more; except that graduates of training schools connected with hospitals not meeting the above requirements may, upon submitting proof of at least six months' subsequent experience in a large general hospital, be put on the eligible list if found otherwise qualified. To ascertain the applicant's qualifications the superintendent of the Nurse Corps will request a certificate from the superintendent of the school from which the applicant graduated, showing: (1) The date of the applicant's graduation; and (2) her moral character and professional qualifications during her period of training, at the date of her graduation, and (so far as known) at the time of the application. If the applicant was trained under a former superintendent, the latter may also be asked for a certificate. These certificates will be regarded as confidential. Applicants must submit such other evidence of fitness as may be required.

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(a) The professional and mental examination of applicants will be in writing and will be conducted by the superintendent. It will ordinarily take the form of requiring from the candidates short essays or papers on practical professional subjects selected by the superintendent. The subjects selected will be furnished to each applicant with her application blanks and she will submit her essay with her formal application. The essay must be in the handwriting of the applicant. Typewritten papers will not be accepted.
65. Applicants who fulfill the prescribed conditions as to their physical, moral, professional, and mental qualifications will be placed on the eligible list for appointment as their services may be required.
66. No applicant will be appointed unless she shall agree to serve for three years.
67. A nurse who desires to continue in the corps after three years' service therein will apply for continuation of service by letter forwarded at least four months before the end of the three years to the Surgeon General, through the commanding officer of the hospital or other sanitary formation to which she is attached, who will forward therewith his recommendations in the premises and the recommendations of the chief nurse. If the recommendations of her commanding officer are unfavorable the nurse will be promptly notified of that fact. To obtain favorable action on such application the nurse must have had a satisfactory record for efficiency and conduct. The superintendent of the Nurse Corps wvill advise the SurgeonGeneral whether the applicant's record is such as to make her continuance in the corps desirable. Due notice will he given to the applicant and officers concerned of the action taken upon the application.
(a) A similar procedure for continuation of service will be followed toward the end of every period of three years of continuance in the corps.

From the time of its establishment by law in February, 1901,¹ up to the entry of the United States into the World War, the Nurse Corps had functioned evenly and without any radical change until the Mexican border uprising in 1916, when reserve nurses were assigned to the Army Nurse Corps to augment its numbers.⁵ This brought the membership from approximately 160 to 450.⁵ By April 6, 1917, after a short period of demobilization, 403 nurses remained in the Army Nurse Corps, of whom 233 were reserve nurses obtained through the American Red Cross.⁵

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF NURSES

At the time the United States declared war on Germany, the office of the superintendent of nurses, in the Surgeon General's Office in Washington, consisted of the superintendent of the corps and one clerical assistant, who occupied a very small space in a corridor of the State, War, and Navy Building. As the corps numbers increased, the detailed paper work increased, and called for more clerks and greater office space. Each week during the earlier months of the war, brought more clerks to the Nurse Corps section, until in May, 1918, when the entire Surgeon General's Office was moved to one of the Government temporary structures, Unit F Building, at Seventh and B Streets NW., where the office of the superintendent of the Nurse Corps occupied nearly all of one floor of a wing of this building. At one period during the war the staff consisted of the superintendent, 2 chief nurses, 19 nurses, and 75 clerks.⁶

In March, 1918, a chief nurse was assigned to duty in the Nurse Corps section to assist the superintendent in professional and administrative matters.⁷ On July 9, 1918, Congress made provision for six assistant superintendents who were to be appointed by promotion from other grades of the corps.⁸ Under

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this authority 3 assistant superintendents were appointed September 5, 1918,⁹ and 2 more on December 26, 1918, ⁵ as 1 former one had requested demotion from this grade on account of her health,⁵ and 1 had died.⁵

The Army Nurse Corps section of the Surgeon General's Office was an extremely busy section, throughout this time. All applications for service in the Nurse Corps, submitted through the Red Cross Bureau of Nursing Service, as well as those sent directly to the superintendent of the Nurse Corps had to be acted upon individually, particularly with reference to the physical examinations of the nurses, both before and after appointment. There were scores of letters from chief nurses, filled with their problems centering about Army customs, housing, feeding, and the maintenance of morale. Constant inquiries poured in from all sections of the country and beyond, concerning Army service; offers were received from women of all ages in all stations of life, either with or without nurses' training. Each day brought its quota of interviewers, reporters, and applicants for service. Countless telephone calls, conferences, preparation of speeches, articles, and publicity material, questions of transportation, epidemics which called for additional personnel at once, uniforms, interpretation of regulations, to say nothing of occasional complaints, were some of the matters that made each day a more than busy one.

EXPANSION

After the outbreak of war, and the camps and cantonments, with their necessary hospital facilities, were being established at an amazing rate, it was necessary to take steps which would afford a greater supply of nurse personnel. Early in December, 1917, an article was inserted in the newspapers of the country through the publicity committee of the War Department, setting forth the urgent need for nurses in the Army hospitals, ⁵ and a form letter stating that it was estimated that 20,000 nurses would be needed by the Army in the following year was mailed on December 4 to all schools of nursing, nursing associations, and central directories.¹⁰ In less than a month over 2,000 replies had been received by the Surgeon General's Office.¹¹ On January 25, 1918, the committee on public information prepared a memorandum for the Secretary of War, in which it was stated that approximately 30,000 nurses would be needed for Army service during 1918, and that it was believed that the supply of graduate nurses in the country would be sufficient without calling upon any who were not graduates.¹² As a result of the wide publicity given the need for nurses, applications poured in by the hundreds, and a growing clerical force was kept busy rushing transportation orders to the new appointees.

From the nucleus of 403 nurses in the Army Nurse Corps in April, 1917, was developed a corps which at its peak in November, 1918, numbered 21,480.⁵ Nurses were assigned to duty at the cantonment hospitals, general hospitals, and at many hospitals connected with the Coast Artillery posts, aviation stations, recruit camps, and ports of embarkation, located in all parts of the country.⁵

RATIO OF NURSES TO PATIENTS

Nurses were assigned to hospitals in the ratio of 1 to 10 beds, the assignments being made from time to time on requisition for them by commanding officers of hospitals.¹³

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QUALIFICATIONS FOR ELIGIBILITY

As stated above, in time of peace, regulations required that nurses eligible for appointment in the Army Nurse Corps be citizens of the United States between 25 and 35 years of age, and unmarried.¹⁴ With the waiving of certain requirements, the age limit was extended to include the ages of 21 and 45, and nurses who were citizens of allied countries were declared eligible, provided they met the other requirements.¹⁵ The provision that nurses must agree to remain in the corps for three years was altered so that they could serve for the period of the emergency instead of for three years if they elected to do so.¹⁵ The moral and professional qualifications have been quoted above; no changes were made as regards professional qualifications during the period of the war.

CITIZENSHIP

Many questions arose in the office of the superintendent of the Nurse Corps concerning citizenship requirements of nurses. The decision made was that citizens of the United States, native or naturalized, were alike acceptable for service, and that no discrimination should be made as far as the matter of obtaining citizenship was concerned, if the loyalty and fidelity were unquestioned. It should be noted here that it was thought best not to assign to units that were serving under the allied forces nurses from alien enemy countries who were naturalized citizens or who bore names strongly suggestive of such alien enemy origin.¹⁵

SPECIAL TRAINING

Especial note was made of any particular qualifications possessed by nurses, such as experience in the administration of anesthesia, psychiatric nursing, and orthopedic work. Specialist nurses entered the corps under the same terms as did other nurses, and so far as was possible, were assigned to duty where there was need for specialized services.

ANESTHETIC SERVICE

The demand for expert anesthetists led to an arrangement by which several members of the corps were sent to the Mayo clinic, St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, Minn., to take a course in the administration of anesthesia.¹⁶ For six weeks during April and May, 1918, five nurse members of a mobile operating unit were detailed to the Mayo clinic for an intensive course in anesthetics.¹⁷Again, early in September, 1918, 15 nurses from several cantonments were sent to Rochester to receive instruction, after which they returned to their own stations to instruct other nurses, officers, and corps men.¹⁸ The object of this training was to supply an adequate number of specialists in anesthesia administration for the benefit of the surgical service both in the United States and overseas.

On September 23, 1918, the Acting Surgeon General wrote to the commanding officers of various hospitals, directing them to build up a strong department of anesthesia, by training hospital personnel by some particular person designated in the respective letters.¹⁹ Nurses who subsequently took such a course were rated on their proficiency by their commanding officers, and the reports were submitted to the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps.²⁰

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COLORED NURSES

Before the World War, no colored nurses had ever served in the Army Nurse Corps. Many of them, however, were anxious to join the corps if arrangements could be made, because of the relatively large number of colored troops in the Army, and as early as December, 1917, they were in communication with the director of the American Red Cross bureau of nursing service, offering their services.²¹ The superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps advised that they be permitted to enroll in the American Red Cross, but that they be made to understand that their assignment as reserve nurses in the Army was uncertain.²² The question of separate quarters for them was the greatest problem in connection with their appointment.²³ However, in July, 1918, tentative plans were made to send colored nurses in groups of 20 to several posts which had large numbers of colored troops.⁵ The American Red Cross was asked on July 16, 1918, to submit the names of 40 colored nurses for service in the United States.²⁴ Delays in the provision of separate quarters and mess for these women resulted in their not being assigned to duty until after the signing of the armistice, when Camp Sherman, Ohio, and Camp Grant, Ill., were each supplied with nine colored nurses.²⁵One of these women was relieved from service shortlv after her assignment because of ill health, but the others remained until the summer of 1919, when the reduction of the nursing force necessitated their release.²⁶ In the fall of 1918 a few colored nurses were employed locally for emergencies at Camp Pike, Ark.,2 and Camp Sevier, S. C.²⁷

CUBAN NURSES

In April, 1918, the chief of the bureau of nursing, Habana, Cuba, wrote to the Surgeon General of the Army, offering the services of a small group of graduate nurses of Cuba, for duty in the Army hospitals of the United States.²⁸ On July 18,1918, The Adjutant General of the Army notified the Surgeon General that the Secretary of War had authorized the assignment of Cuban nurses to the nursing service of the Army in Porto Rico, and directed that he confer with the chief of the Cuban Nurse Corps regarding the details of this service.²⁹ However, early in August, 1918, before any further action was taken in the matter, the chief of the bureau of nursing in Cuba wrote to the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps asking to be allowed to withdraw the offer which in April she had made, to place at the disposal of the Surgeon General a small group of Cuban nurses. She stated that the obligatory military service bill had become law in Cuba, and the supply of nurses in Cuba was not adequate to serve both with their own troops and with those of the United States.³⁰

CIVILIAN NURSES

For many years the employment of civilian nurses in Army hospitals had been authorized by regulations, ³¹ and during 1918, this authorization was used in the employment of nurses under contract, to supplement the Army Nurse Corps.5 They were employed in large numbers by the commanding officers of Army hospitals during the influenza epidemic of 1918. At that time, in response to many inquiries, the Surgeon General sent telegrams to all general hospitals, base hospitals, department surgeons, and surgeons at ports of embarkation,

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which stated that to meet the emergency conditions, civilian nurses might be employed locally at $75 per month, with a subsistence allowance of one ration a day, lodging, laundry, transportation, and $4 a day in lieu of traveling expenses on joining their first station and on returning home from their last station.³² Nurses who were not graduates, and nurses' assistants who might be employed during the emergency, would be given from $30 to $50 a month, according totheir experience, with the same allowances as the graduate nurses.³²

Besides these contract nurses, there were certain others who, because of their experience in civilian hospitals and special qualifications, were authorized to make inspection trips to various cantonment hospitals.³³ They submitted reports to the Surgeon General on the conditions found at the various posts, and offered recommendations based on their observations.

A number of other nurses served under contract as instructors in the Army School of Nursing.³³ There were numerous reasons why many of these women could not be appointed in the Army Nurse Corps, but because of their age, education, and experience, they were highly desirable in the various branches of the School of Nursing. Many of them left important positions in civilian schools of nursing to enter these contracts.

Certain other contract nurses were on duty in Washington, D. C., under the jurisdiction of the Army attending surgeon. They served in the dispensary and emergency rooms and as visiting nurses.³³

The selection and employment of the contract nurses who made inspections and also of the instructors were handled by the Army Nurse Corps section, but in the case of civilian nurses at posts to meet emergency conditions, these matters were arranged locally

INCREASE OF AVAILABLE NURSE POWER

The committee on nursing of the general medical board of the Council of National Defense lent its efforts toward an expansion of the nursing forces of the Government.³⁴ Since graduate nurses only were eligible for military service, the civilian supply of the country was becoming seriously depleted. In previous wars the solution to the problem had been found in accepting women for service who had had short period of training as aides, and during the early part of the World War it had been contemplated sending 25 such aides abroad with each hospital unit.³⁴ Before this was accomplished, however, the British and French Governments requested that only graduate trained nurses be sent overseas.³⁴ In order to increase the available nurse power, the committee then began a campaign for students to enter schools of nursing, and by April, 1918, 7,000 more students than usual had entered training schools in the United States.³⁴

NURSES' AIDES

In December, 1917, the question of the advisability of training nurses' aides for dutv in Army hospitals to offset the possible shortage of nurses, was discussed at a meeting of the nursing committee of the Council of National Defense, but at this time it was decided to let the matter rest until a more immediate need should be indicated.⁵ On January 24, 1918, the Surgeon Gen-

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eral advised the Secretary of War that it was not planned at that time to employ any but graduate nurses in Army hospitals, but that should a shortage of graduate nurses occur, steps would be taken to establish courses for nurses' aides in civil hospitals in the United States. Candidates for such courses would be selected from among young women who had taken the course in home care of the sick and in elementary hygiene under the American Red Cross, and also from among other women who were considered suitable.³⁵

It was believed that a practical course of not less than one month in an approved general hospital that had at least 50 beds would be sufficient prepa ration for the aides who would be selected to serve in military hospitals. After further details were settled regarding the training to be given them, it was announced that such aides would not be called upon for service until the supply of graduate nurses became inadequate to meet the need.⁵ However, in September, 1918, the commander in chief, A. E. F., asked for 1,250 nurses' aides for service overseas.³⁶ As a result of this request the Surgeon General, on November 2, 1918, requested that the director of the American Red Cross Bureau of Nursing Service recruit 1,500 nurses' aides for service overseas, who should be between the ages of 30 and 45 years, and unmarried.³⁷ Plans were consummated relative to the uniform to be worn by such employees, and appointment forms were prepared in the Surgeon General's Office. Before any aides were sent overseas, however, the signing of the armistice occurred, and the American Red Cross was notified that in all probability nurses' aides
would not be called into service either in this country or abroad.³⁸

THE ARMY SCHOOL OF NURSING

In February, 1918, the chief inspecting nurse of the Army made her first trip of inspection to the Government military hospitals, and after this trip made the recommendation that an Army School of Nursing be established which would provide for the patients in Army hospitals the kind of student care that is provided in civil hospitals.³⁴ Following consultations between the superintendent of the Nurse Corps and many authorities in nursing education, including medical men and women holding important positions in their professions, and upon their recommendation, on March 30, 1918, the Surgeon General requested authority of the Secretary of War for the establishment of such a school, but this request at this time was disapproved.⁴¹ The recommendation was repeated on May 24, 1918, and the establishment of the Army School of Nursing was approved by the Secretary of War on May 25, 1918.⁴² On this same date the chief inspecting nurse was appointed director of the Army School.⁴³ The order so appointing her was amended on May 27, 1918, to read "dean" of the Army School.^{44 a}

PUPIL NURSES

At the same time at which he requested nurses' aides for service abroad, the commander in chief, A. E. F., requested that 25 (or more if possible) second or third year pupil nurses be sent overseas from each of the parent

^a The activities of this school have been incorporated in Volume VII, Training, Chapter VI, p.441

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institutions attached to the Base Hospitals Nos. 1 to 50, abroad.³⁶ This was according to a plan inaugurated by the Medical Department, A. E. F., by which it was hoped a solution to the problem of an adequate supply of nurses had been acquired. This plan had been outlined in August, 1918, in letters to the parent institutions connected with the base hospitals, from the Surgeon General.³⁹ On October 16, 1918, the Surgeon General informed the dean of the Army School of Nursing that he approved the policy of sending student nurses overseas and that it was desirable to take steps to enroll students for such duty.⁴⁰

CHIEF NURSES

As stated above, one chief nurse must be on duty wherever two or more nurses might be serving; consequently, with the rapid opening of new camps and cantonments in 1917, and the assignment of nurses to the hospitals there, a great many chief nurses had to be appointed. In so far as it was possible to do so, candidates for chief nurseship were selected from women already in the corps, but during the earlier months of the war such a source of supply could not begin to meet the demand. Fortunately, hundreds of leaders in the nursing profession in civil life eagerly responded to the summons when the matter was brought to their attention. They entered the Army Nurse Corps either directly or through the American Red Cross nursing service;⁴⁵ a brief period of service in the case of most of the nurses gave them the necessary knowledge of Army methods. The American Red Cross nursing service was on the alert to recognize and recommend nurses whose experience indicated executive ability.

During the winter of 1917-18 the superintendent of the Nurse Corps repeatedly wrote to the various chief nurses of the Army, urging them to be on the lookout for possible chief nurse material, and instructed them to have such nurses make request to be examined for promotion.⁴⁶ She impressed upon them the fact that many chief nurses would be needed overseas in the near future, and that the need was acute.

CHIEF NURSE EXAMINATION

At the time war was declared, the examination for promotion to the grade of chief nurse was given in elementary hygiene, arithmetic, and pertinent questions concerning the Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army.⁴⁷ The main points considered, however, aside from the technical questions of the Manual, were executive ability, good judgment, and tact. The reserve nurses who were sent abroad in charge of the nurses of base hospitals were not required to take the examination prescribed for the regular corps, but the professional standing of these nurses in their own communities had great weight in the minds of those who appointed them. These latter points were not deemed any less important when, in June, 1918, the examination was limited to questions on the Manual for the Medical Department.⁴⁷

The questions in the chief nurse examination were prepared by the superintendent and the replies were graded by her.⁴⁸The examination had to be taken under the supervision of a medical officer, deputized by the commanding officer of the hospital, to conduct the examination.⁴⁹ If the applicant passed the examination and was needed in chief nurse capacity, she was appointed to

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that grade and given a station at once.⁴⁹ The duties of an Army chief nurse are similar to those of a superintendent of nurses in a civil hospital. She has charge of nurses' quarters and mess, and the arrangement of hours of duty and the assignment of nurses. In addition to this she must prepare numerous reports and have charge of all correspondence with the Surgeon General's Office pertaining to the nursing personnel at her station.⁵⁰

DISTRIBUTION

ASSIGNMENTS TO HOSPITALS

At the outbreak of war nurses were stationed in 4 general hospitals, 5 base hospitals, 5 camp hospitals, I hospital train, in the Attending Surgeon's Office, Washington, and in the Surgeon General's Office.^{5 a} The weekly report made at the time the armistice was signed showed that nurses were on duty in 37 general hospitals, 3 department base hospitals, 35 camp base hospitals, 41 hospitals at posts, arsenals, and recruiting depots, 5 embarkation hospitals, 3 debarkation hospitals, 36 aviation stations, and 9 miscellaneous stations in the United States.⁵

ARMY NURSES ON TRANSPORTS

On June 10, 1919, the chief of the Transportation Service requested that Army nurses be assigned to duty on trans-Atlantic transports.⁵¹ To this request the Surgeon General replied that the department was willing so to assign nurses, to be selected from among those at the ports of embarkation, to give professional care to passengers on transports.⁵² Thereafter, until November 15, 1919, nurses for transport duty were drawn from the Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J.,⁵³ but on that date authority was given by the Surgeon General to obtain nurses for transports from General Hospital No. 41, Fox Hills, Staten Island, N. Y.⁵⁴ The chief nurse of the hospital had charge of the selection of nurses for transport duty, a detail much desired by the majority of nurses. When two or more nurses were assigned to the same transport, one of them was designated supervising nurse, but this duty did not call for the grade or pay of a chief nurse.⁵⁵

THE RUMANIAN EXPEDITION UNIT

Early in November, 1917, the acting chairman of the American Red Cross war council advised the Surgeon General that he had received the approval of the Secretary of War for the organization of an expedition of 100 Army medical officers for service in Rumania.⁵⁶ The request from Rumania included not only medical officers but nurses also.

On November 14, 1917, the Secretary of War approved the Surgeon General's recommendation that 12 nurses be sent with the unit of medical officers to Rumania; ⁵⁷and on November 16, 1917, the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps requested the director of the Amierican Red Cross bureau of nursing service to nominate 10 reserve nurses for duty in Rumania, as it was expected that they would sail with the medical officers of the unit on December 5 from San Francisco.⁵⁸ An Army chief nurse and another member of the

^a Nurses were stationed also at hospitals in our foreign possessions.

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Regular Nurse Corps were ordered with the 10 reserve nurses whose names had been proposed by the American Red Cross. The group left San Francisco on the U. S. Army transport Sheridan, expecting to go to Rumania by way of Manila and Hongkong.⁵⁹ However, by the time they had proceeded 50 miles out to sea, a cablegram was received directing them to return to await further orders.⁶⁰ Accordingly, the unit reported at the Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, Calif., to await War Department decision in the matter.⁶¹ On December 28, 1917, The Adjutant General advised the commanding officer of the unit that no nurses would sail with the Rumanian expedition,⁶² and subsequently the plan for sending any Medical Department personnel was abandoned.⁶³

THE ITALIAN UNIT

Base Hospital No. 102 was organized in the summer of 1918.⁶⁴ The personnel included 36 medical officers, 100 graduate nurses, 10 of whom were Sisters of Charity, 1 dietitian, 2 stenographers, and 2 laboratory technicians.⁶⁴ When the nurses and Sisters of Charity of this hospital reported to the American Red Cross equipment bureau in New York City, the question arose as to the uniform to be worn by the Sisters of Charity.⁶⁴ They insisted that they had entered the service with the understanding that they might be allowed to retain the garb of their order, and for that reason it was decided to permit them to do so.⁶⁴ War Department instructions, issued shortly afterwards, specified that Army nurses who were members of Catholic orders might wear their distinctive garb while traveling and that when such garb was worn they should also wear a device to mark them as members of the Army Nurse Corps.⁶⁵ While on duty they would be required to wear a distinctive cap prescribed by the Surgeon General.⁶⁵

On August 4, 1918, Base Hospital No. 102 unit sailed from Baltimore, Md.⁶⁴The hospital was located at Vicenza, Italy, where it functioned for seven months.⁶⁴

PORTO RICAN DUTY

Early in June, 1918, 49 nurses and 1 dietitian mobilized at New York City for duty in Porto Rico.⁶⁶ They sailed July 20, 1918, and after an uneventful five-day trip reached San Juan, Porto Rico. The chief nurse of this group informed the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps that their hospital was a very large, spacious building, fitted up much more completely than some of the camp hospitals in the United States. On the other hand, the group experienced great difficulty in obtaining supplies, many things they could not get, and what they could get was so high a price as to be almost prohibitive.⁶⁷

Social life in connection with Army service in Porto Rico helped to compensate for the difficulties encountered, so, on the whole, the nursing service was enjoyable, and it was with pleasant memories that on January 20, 1919, the unit returned to the United States after six months' service.⁶⁷

THE SIBERIAN UNIT

In September, 1918, plans were made to send Base Hospital No. 93 to Siberia for duty with the American Expeditionary Forces there.⁶⁸ One hundred nurses and one dietitian were designated for duty with the hospital and were

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sent to New York City, to be equipped for this service.⁶⁸ Base Hospital No. 93 was to have sailed on October 5, 1918, from San Francisco, Calif., and consequently the members of the unit proceeded to San Francisco on the 28th of September.⁶⁹ However, on October 1, 1918, before their arrival, a recommendation was received by the War Department from headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia, to the effect that 1 chief nurse with a staff of 25 nurses and 1 dietitian be sent there instead of the base hospital unit originally scheduled for Siberia.⁷⁰ As a result, the 27 women who were selected to proceed sailed from San Francisco as part of Evacuation Hospital No. 17, and arrived in Vladivostock on November 4, 1918.⁷¹

For a few months after their arrival in Siberia the nurses were pleased with the duty there. For quarters they were assigned to Russian barracks, which were fixed over into apartments. The chief nurse in her reports to the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps was enthusiastic about the way the nurses were adjusting themselves and about the interest they all showed in their work.72 However, by the spring of 1919, the morale of the group of nurses was considerably lowered, and many were requesting either discharge or transfer to the United States.⁷² This condition had been foreseen by the chief surgeon, A. E. F., Siberia, because in March of that year he had requested the Surgeon General to change the conventional two years of foreign duty in this instance to one year, the second year to be served in the Philippine Department.⁷³ This request was approved by the Surgeon General in a communication which stated that nurses who had served one year in Siberia might be transferred to the Hawaiian or the Philippine Department for duty, provided vacancies existed at the time in those places.⁷⁴ The last group of Army nurses left Siberia on April 1, 1920, and reported at Manila, P. I., for duty in the Philippine Department.⁷⁵

STATUS

In July, 1917, a paragraph was inserted in Army Regulations which gave to members of the Army Nurse Corps authority in matters pertaining to their professional duties (the care of sick and wounded) in and about military hospitals next after the officers of the Medical Department.⁷⁶ In May, 1919, the above regulation was changed by the omission of the words "pertaining to their professional duties (the care of sick and wounded).\u001d

Regulations in the Manual for the Medical Department previous to 1918 held that the ward master of each ward was directly responsible to the ward surgeon.⁷⁷ He was to be in charge of his ward, and the enlisted assistants and patients in it, and would be obeyed and respected accordingly. Under this arrangement there had been considerable confusion about the relative authority of the head nurse and ward master. Little trouble regarding this matter had existed prior to the Mexican border mobilization in 1916, but with new personnel of all sorts unfamiliarity with Army hospital regulations and customs naturally brought about a certain amount of friction. In March, 1918, an important point was settled when a change in the Manual for the Medical Department placed the full responsibility of ward management upon the head nurse by the ruling that the head nurse of a ward was responsible only to the ward surgeon

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and was to be in charge of the ward, the nurses, the enlisted personnel, and other persons assisting in the nursing care of the patients, and of the patients under the direction of the ward surgeon.⁷⁸

THE QUESTION OF RANK

Early in the war, a need of rank for members of the Army Nurse Corps was felt. It was believed that a number of unfortunate occurrences could have been avoided, had nurses been given a definite status. While in many instances regulations regarding rights and privileges, etc., stated that nurses in those regards were to be treated as officers, as, for example, in matters of transportation, it frequently happened, especially in traveling, that because persons in charge of details of transportation did not know the regulations, and also because the facilities for transportation requested were not always forthcoming, under pressure of circumstances, nurses were assigned to transportation accommodations which were neither suitable nor proper. Moreover, to the thousands of new members of the Army there was no indication upon the uniform to show to what class the nurses belonged, and on account of this in many cases they were not accorded the respect commensurate with the dignity and responsibility of their position. Such experiences during the war demonstrated that a different status and a recognition of it would have to be awarded Army nurses in order to interest future desirable nurses in the service and also to retain those already there, but the main argument for rank was the need of a definite status.

During the early part of 1918, the matter of increased pay occupied the more immediate attention of Nurse Corps members than did the question of rank, and while agitation was afoot for the passage of the pay bill, nursing organizations outside the Army brought before Congress a bill conferring relative rank on Army nurses.⁷⁹ This bill was referred both by the Senate and the House of Representatives to the Committee on Military Affairs, but the passage of the bill did not occur until the summer of 1920.⁸⁰

ASSOCIATION OF NURSES WITH ENLISTED MEN

The social association of members of the Army Nurse Corps with the enlisted personnel of the service has always been contrary to the traditions and policy of the Medical Department. The advent of war brought the question to a place of prominence, because, during the World War in the enlisted branches of the military service were to be found men from all walks of life, among whom were included relatives and friends of Army nurses. In many posts remote from towns or cities it was difficult to provide suitable recreation for the nurses, and equally difficult to show a great many of the nurses that a ruling which precluded social relations with enlisted men was for their protection and the good of the corps. This decision had nothing to do with social equality or inequality, but was imperative for the maintenance of military discipline, as, according to regulations referred to above, nurses were to be regarded as having authority in and about military hospitals next after officers of the Medical Department. This authority could not always be asserted when nurses associated with enlisted men. In cases where an enlisted man was a relative or

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friend of a nurse, it was possible for the chief nurse to arrange matters in such a way that calls could be made under proper conditions.⁸¹

The policy caused considerable dissatisfaction at times when the few social functions of an Army camp included enlisted men. Civilian women employees not having to have official relations with soldiers were naturally not barred from such association, and at places where recreation was scarce such a ruling worked hardship on that account. In some cases a commanding officer who was particularly anxious about the morale of the enlisted men of his command would have permitted nurses and enlisted men to attend the same social affairs had it not been for the chief nurse's objections.⁸²

A helpful, although not fully satisfactory step, was taken in defining the status of members of the Army Nurse Corps, when on July 31, 1918, a change in Army Regulations included nurses in the list of officers next after cadets.⁸³

PAY

At the time of its establishment by law in 1901 the pay of members of the Army Nurse Corps was $40 per month and maintenance, and $50 per month and maintenance when on duty without the limits of the United States.⁸⁴ A chief nurse received $25 a month in addition to her pay as nurse.⁸⁴ This pay table had been established at a time when graduate nurses in civilian hospitals were receiving $25 a week for private duty and $60 and $65 a month for institutional work as floor nurses. In 1910 the pay was increased to $50 a month, with $5 increase for every three years' completed service, for a period of nine years, making the maximum pay $65 a month after nine years' service.⁸⁵ The act of July 9, 1918, increased the base pay to $60 per month and maintenance, with $5 per month increase for each completed three years' service, and an additional $5 increase after 12 years' service.' This act also provided for $30 per month additional pay for all chief nurses and $10 per month extra for foreign service." At this time nurses in civil life were receiving $35 and $40 per week for private duty and at least $75 a month as a minimum wage for general duty in hospitals. Laundering of uniforms was included. This act also raised the pay of the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps from $1,800 per year to $2,400 per year, and authorized the appointment of not more than six assistant superintendents at an annual rate of $1,800, and for each army or separate military force beyond the continental limits of the United States one director at $1,800 per year and not exceeding two assistant directors of nursing service at $1,500 per year.⁸

PAY WHILE PRISONERS OF WAR

Under date of July 16, 1918, a decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury held that nurses who were reported missing or held as prisoners of war were not entitled to pay during the period of their absence from duty, ⁸⁶ but after several protests this decision was modified on September 27, 1918, when the comptroller ruled that if an Army nurse was held as a prisoner of war by the enemy, through no fault on her part, she should be treated as on a full-pay status.⁸⁷ No definite ruling was made regarding nurses who were missing, but, as with officers and enlisted men, each case was to be considered individually upon its own merits according to the evidence obtained.⁸⁷

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PAY WHILE ON LEAVE OF ABSENCE

The leave year of a member of the Nurse Corps was to be reckoned in each case from the date of the letter of her appointment.⁸⁸ A leave credit of two and one-half days for each month of completed service, and leave with pay under her appointment was to be allowed, against which was to be charged all absence on leave with pay.⁸⁸ Leave credits were not to be allowed for periods of absence without pay; unused leave credits could accumulate to an aggregate not exceeding 120 days. Leave to the amount of the accumulated unused leave credits were to be granted whenever the exigencies of the service permitted.

PRIVILEGES

ALLOTMENT OF PAY

Before the World War the allotment privilege was not accorded to nurses, but on May 15, 1917, the War Department extended to nurses the benefits of the ordinary Army allotment known as the Class E type.⁸⁸ The first allotments were made in June, 1917, by 56 Army nurses, and payment was made on these allotments in August.⁹⁰

WAR-RISK INSURANCE

On October 6, 1917 members of the Army Nurse Corps were made eligible to compensation for disability or injury incurred in line of duty.⁹¹ This act also provided for Government insurance against permanent disability or death at moderate rates.⁹¹ A large proportion of the members of the corps availed themselves of this privilege.

LAND GRANTS

Service in the Army Nurse Corps for a minimum of 90 days during the World War entitled nurses so serving to a credit on the three-year residence requirement on a homestead for the period of their service up to two years.⁹²

BONUS

Army nurses who reported for duty on or before November 11, 1918, and whose service was honorable, were entitled to the $60 bonus upon their separation from the service.⁹³

RETIREMENT

Both before and during the World War, nurses, although a part of the Army, were considered as neither enlisted nor commissioned personnel. They were appointed by the Surgeon General with the approval of the Secretary of War.⁸⁴

Just prior to our entering the World War, in 1917, it was foreseen by members of the Nurse Corps that retirement for them after a specified period of service would eventually become an important issue. Therefore, on January 18, 1917, in a memorandum to the Surgeon General, concerning the Army Nurse Corps, the superintendent of the corps set forth her reasons why retirement was such an important measure.⁹⁴ At this time it was proposed that

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members of the Army Nurse Corps who had served 16 years in the corps be retired on 51 per cent of the rate of pay that they were receiving at the time of retirement, with an additional 2 per cent for each year of service in excess of 16, but not to exceed 25 per cent of such pay, provided that members of the corps who were incapacitated for service by disability incurred in line of duty be allowed 75 per cent of the rate of pay they were drawing at the time of retirement.⁹⁴ It was proposed further that retirement be compulsory at the age of 55 years.⁹⁴ Though the Army appropriation bill which was sent to Congress in the fall of 1917 provided for increase of pay and for retirement at the expiration of 25 years' service on three-quarters pay,⁹⁵ the clause pertaining to retirement was eliminated before the bill became law.

A later bill, seeking retirement privileges for members of the Army Nurse Corps after 20 years' active service at 75 per cent of their pay at the time of retirement, exclusive of foreign-service pay, was introduced in both Houses of Congress in the summer of 1919.⁹⁵ It passed the Senate but failed to reach the floor of the House before the closing of Congress. ^{96 a}

FURLOUGH FARES

Among other privileges, nurses were entitled to furlough-fare rates when traveling on leave of absence.97 These rates reduced one-way fares to one-third their ordinary cost and round-trip fares to two-thirds their ordinary cost, and were effective June 10, 1918.⁹⁷

VICTORY MEDAL

As a constituent part of the Army, any Army nurse who served on active duty between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, whose service was honorable, was entitled to the Victory Medal.⁹⁸

UNIFORM

THE INDOOR UNIFORM

An indoor uniform for members of the Army Nurse Corps was adopted in1899,⁹⁸ since which time details of material and style have been prescribed by the Surgeon General.¹⁰⁰ With modifications of specification in 1910 and 1915, the uniform in September, 1917, consisted of a waist, a skirt, a belt, a collar, a cap, and the badge of the corps, which was a gold caduceus, superimposed in the center by the letters "A. N. C." in white enamel.¹⁰¹

THE OUTDOOR UNIFORM

Previous to the time that the United States entered the World War and particularly before any members of the Army Nurse Corps were sent overseas, there was no prescribed outdoor uniform for the corps. When, however, nurses were ordered to Europe in the spring of 1917, the need for an outdoor uniform was appreciated, not only for reasons of convenience and economy but also for purposes of identification. Therefore, on May 17, 1917, the Surgeon General recommended to the War Department that an outdoor uniform

^aThe retirement bill became law May 13, 1926.

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for nurses, consisting of an olive-drab woolen skirt, coat and overcoat, a hat, a white or olive-drab shirt waist, and tan shoes be adopted.¹⁰² Since the suddenly increased demand for olive-drab materials would have made such a uniform most difficult to obtain, the plan to have this material was discarded, and on May 31, 1917, the blue-serge outdoor uniform of the Army Nurse Corps was adopted.¹⁰³ Part of this outdoor uniform was a dark-blue serge street dress, which after a few months was changed to a dark-blue serge Norfolk suit, with which either white or navy-blue shirt waists were to be worn.¹⁰³ Besides this were the dark-blue overcoat, the hat, tan shoes, and tan gloves.¹⁰³ The caduceus and the letters "U. S." in bronze were to be worn with this uniform, but on May 31, 1917, upon recommendation of the Surgeon General,

FIG.1.- Nurses' outdoor uniform

the Secretary of War approved the change in the badge by the addition of the letters "A. N. C." superimposed on the caduceus in gilt.¹⁰³ This uniform was to be worn at such times as the Surgeon General might prescribe, and might be worn at any other time when the nurse was not on duty.¹⁰⁴

ATTEMPT TO OBTAIN CLOTHING ALLOWANCE

In August, 1917, legislation was proposed to provide members of the Army Nurse Corps with a suitable clothing allowance, but the Quartermaster General recommended as an alternative that an increase in pay be procured and that nurses be required to furnish their own uniforms.¹⁰⁵ In consequence, the monthly pay of nurses was increased $10 only, ⁸ which proved inadequate in view of the fact that the increase in cost of uniform equipment was proportionately greater.

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COMPULSORY WEARING OF THE UNIFORM

The use of the outdoor uniform at all times was not mandatory until after the passage of the pay bill of 1918. Meanwhile, many chief nurses had declared themselves to be in favor of making the wearing of the uniform of the corps compulsory, particularly for the protection of the nurses themselves.

In August, 1918, the Surgeon General informed the commanding officers of all the hospitals where nurses were on duty as to specifications, cap pattern, and other data concerning the indoor and outdoor uniform of the Army Nurse Corps, and directed that all nurses then in the service purchase the suit, hat. and necessary waists within three months.¹⁰⁶ All nurses who entered the service thereafter were to purchase the required garments within three months following their entry.¹⁰⁶The uniform was to be worn at all times when not on duty in the hospital.¹⁰⁶ The American Red Cross was now to omit from the equipment of nurses ordered overseas the articles mentioned above, but was to continue to issue the other equipment previously given.¹⁰⁶The American Red Cross cape of dark blue, lined with red, was issued to all nurses on duty in the United States or abroad, and was to be worn with the Nurse Corps insignia and the letters "U.S." ¹⁰⁶ Upon the reduction in nursing force, however, brought about by the signing of the armistice, the order which directed that all nurses purchase the outdoor uniform within three months was revoked.¹⁰⁷

FIG 2.- The American Red Cross cape of dark blue

UNIFORM AND EQUIPMENT FOR NURSES GOING OVERSEAS

THE GRAY INDOOR UNIFORM

The nurses attached to the first base hospital units which sailed overseas found the laundry problem there a serious one. On June 29, 1917, the chief nurse of Base Hospital No. 5, which was one of our hospitals on duty with the British Expeditionary Force, France, informed the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps that the nurses there were finding the white indoor uniforms highly unsuitable, as the hospital was nearly all under canvas tents and the uniform became soiled very quickly.¹⁰⁸ Aprons had been adopted, but they did not solve the difficulty. The only laundry for an area in which were located from 10 to 15 hospitals which had from 1,200 to 1,800 beds each did not include any of the nurses' uniforms, and the personal laundry was done by French peasants in an unsatisfactory manner, due largely to the shortage of water in that region in winter.¹⁰⁸ For these reasons she recommended the adoption of

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a uniform, made of such a material as gray crepe, over which the nurses might wear a white apron.¹⁰⁸ This recommendation and one from the chief nurse of Base Hospital No. 12, dated July 8, 1917, that a dark-blue crepe uniform to be worn with an apron be authorized for nurses overseas, ¹⁰⁹ resulted in authority dated August 9, 1917, for the American Red Cross to provide each overseas nurse in the Army with four medium gray uniforms, to be worn with a white apron.¹¹⁰

INADEQUACY OF EQUIPMENT

The American ambassador at London informed the Secretary of State on July 12, 1917, that the American nurses were in several respects ill equipped.¹¹¹

FIG. 3.- The gray, indoor uniform

Reports were reaching him to the effect that their underclothing was too thin, the white uniform was unsuitable, and they should have been provided with mackintosh, sou'wester hat, and high rubber boots.

MANNER OF OBTAINING EQUIPMENT

Nurses in the meantime were being ordered abroad, and pending congressional action which would provide for equipment the Surgeon General requested the war council of the American Red Cross to make some provision for nurses, both regular and reserve, who were ordered to Europe.¹¹² This the American Red Cross agreed to do at a cost of approximately $200 per nurse.¹¹³ Previous to this time the uniform had been furnished to reserve nurses by the American Red Cross and had been purchased by regular members of the Army Nurse Corps, although some parts of the equipment had been purchased by both regular and reserve nurses. The articles of equipment which the American Red

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Cross furnished to nurses were added to from time to time, and finally included a hat, an outdoor uniform, a coat or heavy ulster, a cape, gloves, two white shirtwaists, two flannel shirtwaists, four gray wash uniforms, six or eight aprons, six sets of collars and cuffs, several caps, two pairs of black woolen "tights," one steamer blanket, one sleeping bag, one gray sweater, one poncho, one blanket roll, one raincoat, one rain hat, one pair rubber boots, one pair of moccasins, three pairs of shoes, six pairs of stockings, heavy underwear, and pajamas.¹¹⁴

GRATUITOUS ISSUE OF CLOTHING

On July 28, 1918, a recommendation was received at War Department from the commanding general A. E. F. to the effect that all nurses whose pay did not exceed $75 a month should be gratuitously equipped before sailing overseas.¹¹⁵ A decision was rendered by the Judge Advocate General in September, 1918, to the effect that since nurses were a component part of the United States Army, they were as much entitled to a gratuitous issue of clothing as were troops.¹¹⁶ As a result of this decision, War Department, December 17, 1918, directed that members of the Army Nurse Corps were to be issued a single initial outfit upon their first entry into the service.¹¹⁷ This initial outfit was to consist of a navy-blue Norfolk suit, overcoat, flannel waist, velour hat for winter, straw hat for summer, two sets of insignia "U. S.," and two pairs insignia, badge of corps. The following additional articles were authorized for issue in the case of nurses ordered overseas for duty with the American Expeditionary Forces: Six gray cotton uniforms, one gray woolen sweater, one gray woolen muffler, one raincoat, one blanket for use on transport, one sleeping bag, and one trunk locker. This equipment was to be supplied by the Quartermaster Department without cost to nurses who had not already received equipment from the American Red Cross.¹¹⁷ The maroon-lined blue cape was added to the list of equipment in January, 1919.¹¹⁸

The equipment of the first of our nurses who were ordered to Siberia was furnished by the American Red Cross.¹¹⁹ In August, 1919, when 14 additional nurses were under orders for Siberian duty, the Surgeon General requested of and received authority from War Department to equip these nurses with the moleskin coat lined with sheepskin, fur cap, fur gloves, and arctics, usually furnished to troops serving in Alaska and Siberia.¹²⁰

CAMPAIGN BADGES

In 1919 members of the Army Nurse Corps were authorized to wear campaign badges for service not only in the World War but also in previous campaigns, a privilege which hitherto had been granted only to officers and enlisted men.⁹⁷

CHEVRONS

In the summer of 1918 War Department authority was given to members of the Army Nurse Corps to wear wound and service chevrons under the same conditions as were officers, field clerks, and enlisted men.¹²¹ This action was taken in response to a recommendation from the commanding general A. E. F. that the war-service chevron privilege be extended to include members of the Army Nurse Corps.¹²²

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VICTORY BUTTON

Nurses who served honorably in the Army Nurse Corps for a minimum of 15 days during the period of the war were entitled to the Victory Button, issued for wear in the lapel of civilian clothes.¹²³

MOBILIZATION AND TRANSPORTATION OVERSEAS

Mobilization as applied to members of the Army Nurse Corps, consisted in assembling the nurse personnel of the units destined for overseas, which were for the most part scattered among several cantonments; equipping these women with uniforms; the preparation of pay accounts, insurance and allotment papers, passports, and identification cards. Upon the Office of the Surgeon General devolved the duty of arranging for suitable mobilization stations and of ordering nurses to such stations, but to the chief nurses of these mobilization centers fell the task of the detailed paper work, keeping track of the large groups of women under their supervision, and the instruction of new chief nurses in regard to Army Regulations, Army customs, and the conduct of all the affairs of these large groups of women who, for the most part, so recently had become a part of the Army Nurse Corps and for whose affairs there naturally existed different business methods. The question alone of the care of the health of these units of nurses was a serious one, not to mention their recreation, conduct, immunization, and general morale.

The first mobilization station for nurses was opened June 15, 1917, with its headquarters at United States Quarantine Hospital, Island No. 3, Ellis Island, New York.⁵ The personnel consisted of one chief nurse, three Army nurses, and three enlisted men of the Medical Department.⁵ This station eventually accommodated approximately 350 nurses.¹²⁴

On September 8, 1917, arrangements were made for the mobilization of 250 nurses, who were awaiting transportation, at United States Army General Hospital No. 1, Williamsbridge, New York City.⁵ This station was considered undesirable for the purpose, because there were no suitable accommodations there for women, a condition which existed until February, 1918.125 Consequently, late in September, 1917, when patients began to be admitted in numbers to General Hospital No. 1, the nurses who were mobilizing there were transferred to St. Mary's Hospital, Hoboken, N. J.⁵ Because this latter station in turn proved to be undesirable, on December 17, 1917, the old Colony Club at 120 Madison Avenue, New York City, was opened as a substation to accommodate the overflow of nurses from Ellis Island.⁵ This building housed 130 nurses, who were subsisted at the Martha Washington Hotel.

Since, in the latter part of March, 1918, it proved necessary to use Ellis Island for hospitalization purposes, the nurses who were there awaiting transportation overseas were transferred to United States Army General Hospital No. 9, Lakewood, N. J., until other arrangements could be made.⁵ There they remained until in April, 1918, mobilization headquarters for nurses were established at the Holley Hotel, Washington Square West, New York City.² This was one of a chain of hotels in New York City with which the Government contracted to accommodate nurses who were awaiting transportation overseas. Not long afterwards, the Crescent Athletic Club was utilized for a similar purpose;⁵

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and in September, Hotel Albert, on University Place, was made the mobilization headquarters This proved much superior to previous places, since it had accommodations for 600 nurses, besides large trunk rooms and greater office space.¹²⁶

The units of nurses which went overseas before any nurses' mobilization stations were in existence, usually accompanied the medical officers of their respective base hospitals, not knowing their destination. They received their orders within the shortest possible period of time before sailing, and received much less personal equipment than the units which sailed later. Subsequently as rapidly as orders could be issued, the nurses of base hospital units destined for overseas were furnished with their necessary travel orders, and with instructions as to taking the oath of allegiance. They then proceeded to whatever station to which they had been directed, there to await transportation.

Days spent at the mobilization stations were full of interest and intense excitement. Every morning each nurse had to be present at roll call, followed by military drill.¹²⁴ After the matter of passports, inoculations, uniform, and equipment had been attended to, there were the rounds of shopping and sightseeing. It should be noted here, however, that nurses were never allowed to stay away from the mobilization station over night and only for a few hours at a time during the day, because it was never known when sailing orders for a unit might arrive.¹²⁴

In January, 1918, the nurse personnel of one of the base hospital units awaiting transportation at Ellis Island were temporarily distributed among five of the cantonments in order to meet the great need for nurses which existed in those places.⁵After March, 1918, this practice continued because of the nursing needs in the cantonments and the lack of space for mobilization. Until August,1918, the procedure in organizing the nursing personnel of base hospital units was to assign nurses to duty as members of particular base hospitals and to keep them attached to their respective hospitals all through their cantonment service as well as after mobilization. On August 12, 1918, the Surgeon General furnished to commanding officers of all hospitals a plan dealing with the selection of nurses for base hospitals abroad.¹²⁷ According to this plan, commanding officers of the various large Army hospitals were to be asked from time to time to submit to the Surgeon General the names of nurses on duty in their respective hospitals who were professionally, physically, and otherwise suitable for overseas service, giving preference to length of service, but omitting those who desired home service only.

In April, 1918, the chief nurse at the nurses' mobilization station, New York City, notified the superintendent of the Army Nurse Corps that she had about 500 nurses on her pay rolls that month.¹²⁸ In May she had over 1,300 on her pay roll. Five hundred and fifty-five of these had been requested by the commander in chief, A. E. F.,¹²⁹ and while in New York they were housed in seven different hotels with no chief nurse attached to the group.¹²⁸

Difficulty was experienced in getting the nurses to understand how much baggage they could take overseas. In spite of instructions to the contrary, some would arrive at the point of mobilization with two or more trunks, several suit cases, and in many cases insufficient funds for their incidental needs.¹²⁸ A

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memorandum was issued by the Surgeon General's Office early in January, 1918, which stated that nurses ordered abroad might take with them only a steamer trunk not exceeding 36 inches in length, one suit case or large satchel, and one blanket roll. It also advised each nurse to have if possible $50 in cash before leaving the United States.¹³⁰

It should be noted here that no member of the Army Nurse Corps, either regular or reserve, was assigned to overseas service against her will.

As early as July, 1917, a school of instruction in conversational French was organized in St. Paul's Chapel, Trinity Parish, New York City, for the benefit of soldiers, sailors, doctors, and nurses. About 4,000 nurses took the course offered. A chaplain of St. Barnabas Guild for nurses was responsible for these arrangements having been made.¹³¹

FIG. 4.- Nurses' rest house, Sunset Hill, Redbank, N. J. REST HOUSES

Early in 1918, Sunset Hill, Redbank, N. J., the estate of a New York philanthropist, was turned over to the Medical Department for the use of nurses who were in need of rest and recuperation. ¹³² A chief nurse was stationed there who managed the place and acted as hostess. ¹³² The first nurses to arrive at the Rest House had an idea that they were being sent there as mental cases and were reluctant about accepting its privileges, but once they saw the place, they wished to remain.¹³³ Unfortunately, it was necessary to close Sunset Hill in October, 1918, on account of its inadequate heating facilities, but the following spring it was reopened, and this time it functioned until November, 1919.¹³³ When it was closed in October, 1918, another estate, Greystone, Riverdale on the Hudson, N. Y., was given for the same purpose.¹³⁴ During the period of its use, scores of nurses benefited greatly by its advantages.

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DISPOSITION OF NURSES RETURNING FROM OVERSEAS

In March, 1918, the surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., requested of the Surgeon General instructions as to the disposition of nurses who had been returned to the port from overseas, some ill, some desiring discharge, and some who already had resigned.¹³⁵ The Surgeon General directed that such nurses who were ill and also those that had been recommended for discharge be sent to United States Army General Hospital No. 1, New York City, for observation, treatment, or duty, according to the needs of the case.¹³⁶ At the same time, the Surgeon General instructed the chief surgeon, A. E. F., that, when nurses were returned to the United States for any reason, reports in each case setting forth the facts were to be sent on the same boat as the nurse.¹³⁷ Until this had been done, no action could be taken at the ports in the United States and nurses were held at General Hospital No. 1 for long intervals, awaiting the arrival of the necessary information.

DEMOBILIZATION STATIONS

Shortly after the signing of the armistice, 650 nurses who were awaiting transportation were sent overseas,⁵ and then the task of demobilization began with the disposition of the remainder of the 1,445 who were at the mobilization station at that time. By the middle of December, 1918, arrangements had been made with the manager of the Knott chain of hotels in New York City to extend the contract already made to include members of the Army Nurse Corps and civilian women employees who were returning from Europe, as well as those who had been expecting to embark for Europe.¹³⁸ The various demobilization stations for nurses in and around New York City were under the jurisdiction of the surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J.;¹³⁸ the nurses who returned via Newport News were under the jurisdiction of the surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Newport News, Va.¹³⁹ As the work of demobilization became heavier and heavier, and hundreds of nurses wished their immediate relief from service upon their return to the United States, blanket authority was given to the surgeons at the ports of embarkation mentioned above to accomplish this purpose.140 If a nurse was found to be in need of rest or recuperation, she was sent to one of the rest houses for a reasonable period, or if in need of treatment, she was assigned to one of the adjacent hospitals for the necessary care. In the case of nurses who wished to continue in the service, requests were forwarded to War Department, where proper orders were prepared.

CASUALTIES

CONNECTED WITH OVERSEAS TRANSPORATION

The first war casualties connected with the Army Nurse Corps were two members of Base Hospital Unit No. 12, who were aboard the S. S. Mongolia. On May 20, 1917, the day following that of sailing, a gun on deck was discharged during target practice, and, as the result of a faulty shell, three nurses were injured, two of whom died on the following day.¹⁴¹

In July, 1917, the S. S. Saratoga, including among its passengers 65 nurses, was accidentally rammed by the S. S. City of Panama while still in New York Harbor.¹⁴² The Saratoga sank rapidly and the nurses with the others had

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barely time to board the lifeboats and small vessels in the harbor, where they remained until proper orders were given for their return to Ellis Island.¹⁴² Since there was no law by which the Government could reequip and reimburse these nurses, the war council of the American Red Cross immediately appropriated a sum sufficient to reequip the nurses and to give each one $30.¹⁴² One week after this had been accomplished the unit sailed for Europe aboard the S. S. Finland.

Of the more than 10,000 nurses who were transported overseas and back the only casualties were in the cases mentioned above.

DEATHS

During the period from April 6, 1917, to November 11, 1918, there were 134 deaths among members of the Army Nurse Corps in the United States.^{143 a} Influenza and pneumonia caused by far the greatest number of these deaths.

Members of the Army Nurse Corps who died during their Army service were buried with military honors. In November, 1918, a plot in Arlington National Cemetery was assigned for the burial of Army nurses, and since that time nurses have been buried there if their families so desired.¹⁴⁴

REFERENCES

(1) 31 Stats. 753.
(2) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, par. 58.
(3) Ibid, par. 59.
(4) Ibid, pars. 62 to 67, inclusive.
(5) Weekly report, numerical status of Army Nurse Corps. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(6) Return of the Nurse Corps. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O. Efficiency Report, S. G. O. On file, Record Room, S. G. O.
(7) Letter from Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, dated March 19, 1918. Subject: Transfer Army Nurse Corps Personnel. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Fort McPherson) (N).
(8) Act of Congress, approved July 9, 1918.
(9) Orders, Surgeon General's Office, September 5, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 201 (Aubert, Lillian), 201 (Rutley, Edith H.), 201 (Kershaw, Edith A.).
(10) Form letter from the Surgeon General, United States Army. Subject: Urgent Need of Nurses, Army Hospitals, December 4, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(11) Memorandum to Surgeon General from Dora E. Thompson, January 2, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 111.1-1 (Estimates for Appropriations 1919).
(12) Memorandum from Committee on Public Information to Secretary of War, January 25, 1918. Copy on file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(13) Circular letter from the Surgeon General to commanding officers of hospitals, February 19, 1918. Subject: Administration. Copy on file, Historical Division, S. G. O.
(14) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, par. 62.
(15) First indorsement, Surgeon General's Office, August 8, 1917, to Director General of Military Relief, American Red Cross, Washington, D. C. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 186329-C.
(16) Letter from Lieut. Col. R. P. Sullivan, M. C., to Maj. E. Starr Judd, M. C., July 22,1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 353 (Anesthesia, Rochester, Minn.) (F).
(17) Special Orders, No. 98, Walter Reed General Hospital, April 13, 1918, par. 6. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Rochester, Minn.) (F).

^aOne death occurred also in the Philippine Department.

312

(18) Letter from Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, September 4, 1918. Subject: Transfer of Army Nurse Corps Personnel. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Rochester, Minn.) (F).
(19) Letter from Acting Surgeon General to commanding officers of various hospitals, September 23, 1918. Subject: Anesthesia. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 730 (Anesthesia).
(20) Copies of memoranda for Dora E. Thompson from various commanding officers. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(21) Letter from Jane A. Delano to Dora E. Thompson, December 18, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(22) Letter from Dora E. Thompson to Jane A. Delano, December 19, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(23) Correspondence filed, Record Room, S. G. O., 622 (Camp Grant, Ill.).
(24) Letter from Dora E. Thompson to Jane A. Delano, July 16, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(25) Correspondence pertaining to colored nurses. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Camp Grant, Ill.), and 211 (Nurses, Camp Sherman, Ohio.).
(26) Individual records of colored nurses. On file, Army, Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(27) Report on colored nurses at Camp Sevier, S. C., in 1918, prepared by Sayres L. Milliken, Assistant Superintendent, Army Nurse Corps. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(28) Letter from M. Eugenie Hibbard, Chief of Bureau of Nursing, Havana, Cuba, to Surgeon General, United States Army, April 12, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Cuba) (F).
(29) Third indorsement from The Adjutant General to the Surgeon General, July 19, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Cuba) (F).
(30) Letter from M. Eugenic Hibbard to Dora E. Thompson, August 2, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Cuba) (F).
(31) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, par. 104.
(32) Telegram from Surgeon General to commanding officers of various posts, October 2, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 248.5 (Allowances for Civilian Employees).
(33) Act of Congress, approved May 12, 1917.
(34) Report of Committee on Nursing, General Medical Board, Council of National Defense, April 1, 1918, to March 31, 1919. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(35) Memorandum from Surgeon General, United States Arimy, to Secretary of War, January 24, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(36) Cablegram No. 1676, September 10, 1918, from commander in chief, A. E. F., to The Adjutant General. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Nurses, Student, A. E. F., France) (Y).
(37) Letter from Surgeon General to general manager, American Red Cross, November 2, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Nurses' Aides).
(38) Letter from Surgeon General to Chairman, Red Cross War Council, February 11, 1919. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Nurses' Aides).
(39) Letters from Surgeon General to various base hospital headquarters, August 16 and 17, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Nurses, Student, A. E. F., France) (Y).
(40) Memorandum indorsement from Surgeon General to dean, Army School of Nursing, October 16, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Nurses, Student, A. E. F., France (Y).
(41) Letter from Surgeon General to Secretary of War, March 30, 1918. Subject: Estimate of an Army School of Nursing. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 352 (A. S. of N.).
(42) Memorandum from Surgeon General to Secretary of War, May 24, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 352 (Army School of Nursing).
(43) Office Order, No. 43, S. G. O., 1918.
(44) Office Order, No. 46, S. G. O., 1918.

313

(45) Personal history records. On file, Army Nurse Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(46) Correspondence on file, Army Nurse Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(47) Types of chief nurse examinations. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(48) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, paragraph 57.
(49) Ibid., paragraph 59.
(50) Ibid., paragraph 311.
(51) Letter from Chief of Transportation Service, United States Army, to Surgeon General, United States Army, dated June 10, 1919. Subject: Assignment of Army Nurses to Transports. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 573.2.
(52) First indorsement by Surgeon General on above letter, June 12, 1919. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 573.2.
(53) Telegram from General Hines to commanding general, Port of Embarkation, N. J., June 18, 1919. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken) (N).
(54) Letter from Surgeon General to surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., November 15, 1919. Subject: Army Nurse Corps. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, G. H. 41) (K).
(55) Letter from Sayres L. Milliken to Lvda M. Keener, principal chief nurse, General Hospital No. 41, Staten Island, N. Y., November 22, 1919. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(56) Letter from Eliot Wadsworth, acting chairman, American Red Cross War Council, to Surgeon General, United States Army, November 9, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 370.2-1 (Medical Expedition to Rumania) (F).
(57) Approval of Secretary of War of request to assign 12 nurses to Rumanian Unit, dated November 14, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, A. E. F., Rumania) (Y).
(58) Letter from Dora E. Thompson to Clara D. Noyes, November 16, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Rumania) (F).
(59) Telegram from General Murray, San Francisco, to The Adjutant General, December 10, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 541.-1 (Transportation on Transports) (BB), U. S. A. T. Sheridan.
(60) Letter from Mina Keenan, chief nurse, A. N. C., to Dora E. Thompson, dated December, 1917. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(61) Return of the Nurse Corps at Letterman General Hospital, San Francisco, Calif., for month ending January 1, 1918. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(62) Telegram from The Adjutant General to Col. Walter D. McCaw, M. C., December 28, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 370.2-1 (Rumania) (F).
(63) Telegram from The Adjutant General to the commanding general, Western Department, December 29, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 370-2-1 (Rumania) (F).
(64) Account of Loyola Base Hospital Unit No. 102, October 13, 1922, by Sister Isabella, former member of Base Hospital No. 102. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(65) Bulletin No. 51, War Department, August 31, 1918 (421 A. G. O.).
(66) Orders pertaining to nurses in Porto Rican Unit. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Porto Rico) (F).
(67) Article entitled " My Experiences of the Great War, 1917-1918, " by Anna B. Carlson, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(68) Letter from Acting Surgeon General to surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., September 17, 1918. Subject: Nurses and Dietitians for Base Hospital No.93. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Base Hospital 93) (J).
(69) Report of changes, nurses' mobilization station, New York City, September 28, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, N. Y. C.) (F).

314

(70) Cablegram No. 34 to The Adjutant General from Graves, Vladivostok, Siberia, September 30, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, A. E. F., Siberia) (G).
(71) Return of the Nurse Corps for the month ending November 30, 1918, Evacuation Hospital No. 17, American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(72) Correspondence from Katherine Hannan, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(73) Letter from chief surgeon, American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia, to Surgeon General, United States Army, March 14, 1919. Subject: Tour of Duty, Army Nurse Corps. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 311 (Nurses, A. E. F., Siberia) (Y).
(74) First indorsement from the Surgeon General's Office to chief surgeon, American Expeditionary Forces, Siberia, dated April 11, 1919. On file, Record Room, S. G. O. (Nurses, A. E. F., Siberia) (Y).
(75) Special efficiency reports, nurses, Army Nurse Corps, Evacuation Hospital No. 17, American Expeditionary Force, Siberia, dated March 9, 1920, and April 1, 1920. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(76) Paragraph 1421½, Army Regulations, C. A. R. No. 58, July 6, 1917, and C. A. R. No. 88, May 13, 1919.
(77) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, paragraph 279.
(78) Changes Manual for the Medical Department, No. 7, paragraph 279, Manual for the Medical Department, 1916.
(79) Bill H. R. 12698.
(80) Act of Congress, approved June 4, 1920, section 10.
(81) Letter from Dora E. Thompson, to Edna M. Beyrer, Chief Nurse, Army Nurse Corps, December 1, 1917. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(82) Correspondence on file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(83) Paragraph 9, Army Regulations, C. A. R. No. 88, May 13, 1919.
(84) Act of Congress, approved February 2, 1901.
(85) Act of Congress, approved March 23, 1910.
(86) Decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury, July 16, 1918.
(87) Decision of the Comptroller of the Treasury, September 27, 1918, to the Secretary of War. Subject: Army Field Clerks. A. G. O., 221.51.
(88) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, paragraph 89.
(89) Fourth indorsement from Quartermaster General to Surgeon General, May 15, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 173914.
(90) List of members, Army Nurse Corps, to whom allotments were first made. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 243-1.
(91) War risk insurance act, October 6, 1917.
(92) Act of Congress, approved February 25, 1919.
(93) Revenue act, approved February 24, 1919, section 1406.
(94) Memorandum by superintendent, Army Nurse Corps, January 18, 1917. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(95) Act making appropriations for the support of the Army for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919.
(96) Bill H. R. 6501, Sixty-sixth Congress, introduced June 23, 1919, and Senate Bill 2496, Sixty-sixth Congress, introduced July 15, 1919.
(97) Circular No. 175, War Department, April 8, 1919.
(98) Paragraph 68, subparagraph 4, Changes, Compilation of Orders, June 12, 1919.
(99) Circular, Surgeon General's Office, June 20, 1899.
(100) Manual for the Medical Department, United States Army, 1916, paragraph 93.
(101) Ibid., paragraph 97.
(102) Letter from Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, May 17, 1917. Subject: Army Nurse Corps, outdoor uniform. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 79494.
(103) Memorandum approval of Secretary of War, May 31, 1917, for change in uniform. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 79494.

315

(104) Changes, Manual for the Medical Department, No. 3, September 29, 1917.
(105) Second indorsement from Quartermaster General to The Adjutant General, September 6, 1916. On file, A. G. O., 322.31 (EE) (Misc. Division).
(106) Form letter from Surgeon General to commanding officers of hospitals, August 15, 1918. Subject: Army Nurse Corps Uniform. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421 (Nurses' Uniforms).
(107) Memorandum from Surgeon General to commanding officers of hospitals, December 5, 1918. Subject: Reduction of Nursing Force. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(108) Letter from Carrie M. Hall, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, to Dora E. Thompson, June 29, 1917. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(109) Letter from Daisy D. Urch, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, to commanding officer, Base Hospital No. 12, July 8, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 79494-22.
(110) Third indorsement from Surgeon General to commanding officer, Base Hospital No. 5, British Expeditionary Forces, France, August 9, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 79494-24.
(111) Dispatch 6587, July 12, 1917, from the American ambassador at London to the Acting Secretary of State. Copy on file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(112) Letter from Surgeon General to Director General, Military Relief, American Red Cross, September 26, 1917. Copy on file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-1 (Uniforms).
(113) Letter from Director General, Military Relief, American Red Cross, to Surgeon General, November 1, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-1 (Uniforms).
(114) List of equipment furnished by American Red Cross to members Army Nurse Corps ordered overseas. Stencil A-214. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-1 (A. E. F.) (Y).
(115) Cablegram No. 1523, par. 3, from commander in chief, A. E. F., to Quartermaster General, dated July 27, 1918. Copy on file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-1 (A. E. F.) (Y).
(116) Second indorsement from Judge Advocate General to The Adjutant General, September 20, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421 (Uniforms for Nurses).
(117) General Orders, No. 134, War Department, December 17, 1918.
(118) General Orders, No. 19, War Department, January 29, 1919.
(119) Letter from Surgeon General to chief surgeon, A. E. F., Siberia, April 9, 1919. Subject: Uniform Equipment. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, A. E. F., Siberia) (Y).
(120) Letter from Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, August 23, 1919. Subject: Uniform Equipment, Army Nurse Corps. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-1 (A. E. F., Siberia) (Y).
(121) Paragraph 74X, Changes No. 5, Special Regulations No. 41, July 17, 1918.
(122) Cablegram No. 1024, April 29, 1918, par. 1, subpar. k, from commander in chief, A. E. F., to Surgeon General. Copy on file, Record Room, S. G. O., 421-4 (A. E. F., France) (Y).
(123) Circular No. 187, War Department, April 14, 1919, as amended by Circular No. 206, April 22, 1919, and Circular No. 528, November 25, 1919.
(124) Correspondence from Edith A. Mury, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, to Dora E. Thompson. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(125) Correspondence from Anna B. Carlson, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, to Dora E. Thompson. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(126) Letter to Dora E. Thompson, from Mary C. Jorgensen, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, August 6, 1918. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(127) Letter from Surgeon General to commanding officers of various hospitals, August 12, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(128) Letter from Mary C. Jorgensen to Dora E. Thompson, April 29, 1918. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.

316

(129) Paragraph 1, Cablegram 1037, from Pershing to The Adjutant General, May 2, 1918.On file, Record Room, S. G. O., Confidential Cable File.
(130) Memorandum prepared in Surgeon General's Office, stencil 613, January 1918. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(131) "War Work in the Diocese of New York." On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division.
(132) Letter from Surgeon General to surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., April 18, 1918. Subject: Convalescent Home for Nurses at Seabright, N. J. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 601 (Seabright, N. J.) (S).
(133) Correspondence from M. Estelle Hine, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps, to Dora E. Thompson, 1918. On file, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(134) Correspondence from Minnie A. Winslow, chief nurse, Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(135) Letter from surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., to Surgeon General, March 23, 1918. Subject: Nurses Returning from Overseas. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, General).
(136) First indorsement from Surgeon General to surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., March 30, 1918. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., (Nurses, General).
(137) Letter from Surgeon General to chief surgeon, A. E. F., March 30, 1918. Subject: Nurses Returning from Overseas. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses).
(138) Letter from surgeon, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J., to Surgeon General, December 3, 1918. Subject: Accommodation for Women Returned from Overseas. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, N. J.) (N).
(139) Letter from The Adjutant General to the commanding general, Port of Embarkation, Newport News, Va., April 27, 1918. Subject: Nurses Returning from Overseas. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses G. H. 9) (K).
(140) Letter from the Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, January 4, 1919. Subject: Nurses Returning from Overseas. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Port of Embarkation, Newport News, Va.), and S. G. O., 211 (Nurses, Port of Embarkation, Hoboken) (N).
(141) Telegram from Maj. C. C. Collins to the Surgeon General, May 21, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 165902 (Old Files).
(142) History of American Red Cross Nursing. The Macmillan Co., 1922, 364.
(143) Data filed under "Deceased," Army Nurse Corps Section, Personnel Division, S. G. O.
(144) Letter from Acting Quartermaster General, United States Army, to Surgeon General. November 4, 1918. Subject: Assignment of Plot for Army Nurses in Arlington. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 293-1.