The Spanish–American War Nurses Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those American nurses who died in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The rough-hewn, grey granite memorial was erected by the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses on May 2, 1905. It stands in the southwestern corner of Section 21, where the first Spanish–American War nurses are buried.
The memorial should not be confused with the Nurses Memorial. This tall marble figure of a nurse in a nurse's uniform and cape was erected in 1938. It also stands in Section 21, a short distance away. It is screened from the northern part of Section 21 by a copse of trees.Knuckle, p. 63; Styles, Moccia, and Evans, p. 9.
Nurses in the Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War was a ten-week conflict that occurred in the spring and summer of 1898. Cuba had been waging a war of independence against Spain since 1895, an effort largely supported by the United States (which had extensive economic interests on the island). To ensure the safety of American citizens and property in Cuba, the United States sent the battleship to Havana in late January 1898. The Maine exploded and was destroyed with large loss of life on February 15. American newspapers whipped up war fever, and held Spain responsible for the ship's destruction. The United States Congress enacted a joint resolution demanding independence for Cuba, and President William McKinley signed it into law on April 20. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations on April 21. The same day, the United States Navy began a blockade of Cuba. Spain declared war on April 23. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21.Trask, p. 57.
The Spanish–American War began on April 25, 1898, and ended on August 12, 1898. Cuban and Spanish dead vastly outnumbered American deaths. While 2,910 American military personnel died during the war, just 345 were combat deaths. The rest died of disease.Dyal, Carpenter, and Thomas, p. 67. The U.S. military barred women from serving in any capacity prior to the war.Sandhoff and Segal, p. 113. Although the Army had 791 nurses, they were all male, and far too few to provide the medical care needed. Soldiers resisted being transferred from combat units into the nursing corps, and few volunteers signed up for medical duty. Congress quickly authorized the military to hire female nurses—but on contract, not as military personnel. The army reached out specifically to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a patriotic society, to recruit women nurses. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, one of the medical doctors practicing in the United States, was asked to lead the DAR's recruitment effort. Of the 1,563 nurses recruited for the new DAR Hospital Corps, most served in hospitals in the United States. Only 76 were sent to Cuba, 30 to the Philippines, nine to Puerto Rico, six to Honolulu, and eight served aboard the hospital ship .McCallum, p. 392. It was the first time in American history where nurses were fully accepted in military hospitals.Judd, Stizman, and Davis, p. 52.
Although no nurses were killed in combat, 140 died of typhoid and 13 from other diseases. (One of the 13 died of yellow fever after being experimented upon by the army.) Since nearly all the nurses died in the United States, most were sent home to their families for burial. A handful died overseas, and were buried there. On July 8, 1898, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the repatriation of American dead, and appropriating funds for this purpose. Additional legislation was enacted on February 9, 1900; May 26, 1900; and June 6, 1900. Many of the dead were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, either because their families desired it or the remains could not be identified.Quartermaster Corps, p. 82-84. Accessed 2013-06-11.
The first Spanish–American War nurse to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery was Anna H. Campos, who died in Cuba on September 2, 1899. Her remains were repatriated about May 1900.She was not the first nurse buried in the cemetery. Three nurses from the American Civil War were buried there in the 1860s. See: McGee, p. 447. Accessed 2013-06-18. By February 1901, the military had repatriated a few of the bodies of nurses who had died overseas. For families which wished it, or where remains went unclaimed or unidentified, the bodies were buried at Arlington."Reports of Chiefs of Bureaus", 1901, p. 363. Accessed 2013-06-18. These nurses were buried in what is now Section 21. Over time, more military nurses were buried next to them, creating a "nurses' section".Gurney, p. 70. The U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps had control of Arlington National Cemetery at the time. In late 1906, Brigadier General Charles F. Humphrey, Sr., Quartermaster General, gave permission for any Army nurse who wished to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors."In the Nursing World", January 1907, p. 36. Accessed 2013-06-18.It was not until World War I that the section began to fill with nurses. Between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, 134 women in the Army Nurse Corps died from the Spanish flu or pneumonia. Four nurses died while on duty at the front in France (although not from combat injuries), and two died in an accident aboard the . Section 21 was formally designated as the section in which these and other nurses should be buried. See: Potter, p. 64.
Creating a memorial
In June 1899, Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee co-founded the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses to (among other things) commemorate the service of contract nurses during the Spanish–American War and serve as an advocate for nurses within the U.S. military."In the Nursing World", June 1899, p. 310. Accessed 2013-06-18. At the founding convention on August 7, 1899, Order members agreed to sponsor a $10,000"Proposed Monuments." The Reporter. November 1899, p. 31. Accessed 2013-06-18. "Nurses' Monument" ($ in dollars) to military nurses at Arlington National Cemetery."In the Nursing World", November 1899, p. 308. Accessed 2013-06-18. Order dues were 25 cents ($ in dollars), and the organization proposed that any dues money left over after the organization's expenses were paid should go toward the monument.Skaine, p. 53. By October 1, an additional $158.75 ($ in dollars) in contributions had been raised.
Approval for the memorial was not quickly forthcoming. A memorial committee was established by the Order of Spanish War Nurses, chaired by Miss Esther Hasson of New York. But by November 1901, the Secretary of War Elihu Root had not yet given approval for the memorial. Fundraising, too, was going slowly, and only $265.63 ($ in dollars) was in the order's memorial fund."Reports of Societies", November 1901, p. 123, 125. Accessed 2013-06-18. The order received word that the Army had set aside a site near the western corner of what is now Section 21 for the memorial in late 1902."Reports of Societies", January 1903, p. 309. Accessed 2013-06-18. But this decision was not a formal one. In the late summer of 1903, however, Dr. McGee received assurance from Secretary of War Root and Quartermaster General Humphrey that the order could erect a memorial in Section 21. However, General Humphrey requested that order erect a simple, artistic monument rather than anything elaborate."Official Reports of Societies", November 1903, p. 131. Accessed 2013-06-18.
Choosing a design At the order's annual meeting on August 22, 1903, the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses debated the nature of the memorial they wished to erect. The original intent of the order was to honor all trained nurses, untrained "immune" nurses,An "immune nurse" was one who had already had a disease (typhoid, yellow fever, measles, etc.), and thus was now immune to it. She could work with those soldiers or sailors who suffered from the same disease she had recovered from. These nurses often had little training. Catholic sisters, male contract nurses, and any enlisted hospital corpsmen buried in the section. But none of these were actually buried at Arlington in the section assigned for the memorial. In fact, by July 1903, only two immune nurses and two soldiers were buried in Section 21."Official Reports of Societies", November 1903, p. 131-132. Accessed 2013-06-18. President McGee said members had expressed their disinclination to commemorate all nurses from all wars buried at Arlington, and the order was barred from erecting a memorial to itself. McGee proposed that the memorial honor all female nurses from the Spanish–American War (whom she called "our comrades"), or just trained female nurses. She asked the delegates to consider the issue, and make an explicit choice when it voted the following day."Official Reports of Societies", November 1903, p. 132. Accessed 2013-06-18.
Later that day, the Committee on Monument issued its report to the membership Committee chair Esther Hasson noted that several designs had been submitted, including one from Tiffany & Co. (although the process for requesting designs was not reported in the media). The cost of the more elaborate memorials was in the $3,000 range ($ in dollars)."Official Reports of Societies", November 1903, p. 135. Accessed 2013-06-18. However, Hasson said, Quartermaster General Humphreys had indicated in July 1903 that the Army's preference was for a simple stone memorial with an inscription, a design which would cost less than $1,000 ($ in dollars). The committee noted that this eliminated any memorial incorporating a bronze tablet, bas-relief figures, or elaborate carving. The committee noted that its preference was for a simple monument approximate in size and cost to that suggested by the Army. The Monument committee submitted a resolution proposing that the monument fund be raised to $3,000 ($ in dollars); that a committee of three be appointed by the chair to produce a monument acceptable to the committee and the Secretary of War as quickly as possible; and that this monument be dedicated to "deceased army nurses in the National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia". The motion passed. The chair immediately appointed Miss Amanda J. Armistead, Miss Isabelle J. Walton, Miss Edith H. Rutley to the Special Committee on Monument.
On August 23, the Special Committee on Monument made a verbal report to the order (the contents of which were not revealed in the media), which was followed by vigorous discussion. But the members voted to delay action until next annual meeting in September 1904."Official Reports of Societies", November 1903, p. 136. Accessed 2013-06-18.
By November 1903, the memorial fund stood at only $346.66 ($ in dollars)."In the Nursing World", March 1904, p. 187. Accessed 2013-06-18.
The 1904 annual meeting of the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses was scheduled for early September at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. However, at the request of Dr. McGee, the meeting was postponed until November 7, 1904 (although the meeting location was not altered)."Official Reports of Societies", September 1904, p. 961. Accessed 2013-06-18. When the order met in St. Louis, the membership voted unanimous to erect a nurses' memorial with all due speed. But no design for the monument was chosen."Proposed Monuments and Monument News", January 1, 1905, p. 56, 58. Accessed 2013-06-18. The total cost of the memorial was also not reported, but Dr. McGee requested that each member donate $2 ($ in dollars) to bring monument fund to amount needed."In the Nursing World", April 1905, p. 270. Accessed 2013-06-18. By November 1, 1904, just $187 ($ in dollars) had been raised, bringing the monument fund to $546.84 ($ in dollars)."In the Nursing World", July 1905, p. 35. Accessed 2013-06-18.