Mary Livermore
Mary Livermore (1820-1905)
Mary Livermore was a 19th century American social reformer, suffragist, and journalist. During the Civil War, she volunteered as an associate member of the United States Sanitary Commission. The government authorized the Commision to provide medical care and other services for Union soldiers.
As an agent of its Northwestern branch, Livermore attended a council of the national sanitary commission at Washington in December 1862. She also organized many aid societies and visited army posts and hospitals as part of her duties.
In 1863, Livermore organized the 1863 Northwestern Sanitary Fair in Chicago. The event raised a total of $86,000. President Lincoln donated his own copy of the Emancipation Proclamation to the event. It fetched $10,000 at auction.
"It was Mother Bickerdyke with a lantern still groping among the dead. Stooping down and and turning their cold faces toward her, she scrutinized them searchingly , uneasy lest some might be left to die uncared for. She could not rest while she thought any were overlooked who were yet living."
Women's involvement in this massive relief effort was notable. In previous wars, women had acted as nurses, prepared food, knitted socks, and stitched clothing for soldiers. Livermore's contributions required adminsitrative skills, organizational achievement, and assertiveness. After the war Livermore she turned these qualities to the promotion of women's suffrage. On February 11, 1869, Livermore called to order the first women's suffrage convention ever held in Chicago.
This section features images and selected text from her work: Livermore, Mary A. My Story of the War: A Woman’s Narrative of Four Years Personal Experience as a Nurse in the Union Army. . . Hartford, Connecticut: A. D. Worthington and Company, 1888. SPC. 973.775 L785M1888
"Sometimes when a soldier fell she took his place, fighting in his stead with unquailing courage—always fearless and daring, always doing good service as a soldier."
