Anne Hastings, really?

Just some thoughts --

If Anne Hastings had been a nurse in the Crimea with Florence Nightingale, then she would certainly be knowledgeable in nursing, more so than many of the American women who volunteered in Civil War hospitals. For this reason, it is perfectly believable for Miss Hastings to resent Nurse Mary suddenly appearing at the hospital as head nurse. The problem I have with the character is that she carries a flask and drinks while on duty, and is blatantly carrying on an affair with one of the surgeons (If Matron Brannon knows about it, everyone who works there would know about it). From what I've read on Miss Nightingale, she sent nurses packing back to England for less, and, historically, such behavior would not have been tolerated in a Civil War hospital, north or south.

As to Nurse Mary -- why would Dorothia Dix name her head nurse? She had no nursing experience except for caring for her husband in his final illness. She is also rather young and attractive -- two strikes against any woman applying to Miss Dix for a nursing position. I saw nothing in Mary's interview that would give Miss Dix a reason to place Mary in such a position.

Then there is the term "head nurse." I have never read of a Civil War hospital having a "head nurse." Civil War military hospitals, those set up behind the lines, had a position called "Matron." The matron was responsible for the care of the men in the wards, which meant that the supervision of nurses would fall under her charge. The hospital already had a matron in Mrs. Brannon. Did Dix appoint a woman in a position over the matron? I've never come across a situation like that.

And about Matron Brannon. I like the character and the actress' portrayal, but Mrs. Brannon, most likely, would never have been named Matron. Unfortunately and unpolitically correct, nurses at established military hospitals were chosen from the middle- and upper-classes. Lower-class women, immigrant women, and African-American women were relegated to the hospital kitchen or the hospital laundry. There were instances were they became nurses, and, in front line field hospitals, Mrs. Brannon could easily bully her way into such a position, but, behind the lines, a class structure was in place.

This leads me a little of topic. The sick and wounded soldiers were not receiving their meals in a timely fashion, and this adversely affected their recovery. Miss Hastings and Matron Brannon seemed to have done nothing to change this. Nurse Mary tried, and was told by the Surgeon in charge to take matters into her own hands. She does by creating her own mini-hospital kitchen. It would have been more dramatic and accurate if the writers had taken an episode from history. Hannah Ropes was the matron of Union Hospital in Washington City (Washington, D.C.) When the hospital steward (technically, her male counterpart) began selling hospital supplies on the black market and abusing the patients, Hannah went to the surgeon in charge. When he ignored her plea, she went to Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. Stanton ordered the arrest of the steward and placed Matron Ropes under his protection -- she could nurse at the hospital as long as she wanted without repercussions from the surgeon, and Stanton had aides checking in on this.

I'm sorry for such a long-winded post, but I could not help myself. I have been a Civil War re-enactor for 22 1/2 years - most of that time spent portraying a contract surgeon (like Dr. Foster) and studying Civil War medical care. During that time I also earned a Master of Arts in History with a concentration in American Civil War Studies.

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