"Aunt Becky's" Elbow

[John Hartwell]

Sarah Palmer Young

a.k.a. "Aunt Becky"​

Sarah Young was a nurse first with the 109th New York field hospitals. She was present at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, among other battles. In 1913, she was interviewed by a reporter for the San Francisco Call Bulletin (August 16th):

The boys began calling me 'Mother,' but I would not allow that, so one of the doctors in the hospital said: 'I'll give you a name that you'll keep to your last day,' and he christened me 'Aunt Becky,' and every one calls me that now. Why, I wouldn't get my mall if It came addressed to 'Mrs. Sarah Young!'

[At Petersburg] We had a lot of men who were very sick, and I knew they would die If they were not taken away. But we could get no exchanges for them. So I called at the quartermaster's office, and there was a lot of tickets of exchange lying on his desk, which I shoved off with my elbow. And when I got back found I had 'captured' fourteen of them! Without a word to anybody I pinned them on the worst cases, and had a nurse carry them down to meet the sick from the other divisions as they were being taken to the boats, and they all got off safely.

Well, when the doctor came around the next morning and asked for the missing men he was told by the nurses, 'They have gone to Washington.' 'By whose orders?' he asked, and when told, 'By Aunt Becky's.' he was furious and threatened to discharge me, asking on whose responsibility I had sent the men off. I told him on my own, as the men would have died if kept there.' So he went off to General Grant and reported the whole transaction, but the general laughed and said: 'I have nothing to say. Aunt Becky, outranks me.' I didn't get discharged, and every one of those men got well!​

Aunt Becky told her own story in The Story of Aunt Becky's Army Life (1879) [Also available for Kindle at $0.99]

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Love Aunt Becky!! Thanks for her link, Jno. She must have been seriously unstoppable. When I refer to the nurse who made her own dress from mattress ticking, it's Aunt Becky. Nursing so long, hers had worn out. She just detested the bejammers out of fashionable women who came with fashionable men, inspecting the hospitals and refused to be one.

Well, you grew up with women in the same gene pool as Sarah Palmer. Would you complain about her or admit she outranked you, too? Gee whiz. She even looks like my Aunt Carrie. I just corrected my posture.

 

[donna]

Thanks for this thread. Just love "Aunt Becky".

 

[Cumpston1862]

A number of years ago it was my Sons of Union Veterans of the American Civil War Camp's privilege to refurbish the flag pole at the site of Aunt Becky's final post and supply a military headstone as well. Once these tasks were completed a dedication was held that was well attended by several government and military officials as Aunt Becky rather wrote the book quite literally on the "can do" military nurse. Several of her descendants were also in attendance. Her "final post" incidentally is at Woodland Cemetery in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

@Cumpston1862 , so sorry to have missed this for over a week! What a lovely post, thank you! I just looked for her thread here and cannot find it, in case her family would care to know how well we think of her. Sometimes do not use names in thread titles ( like an idjit ) although thought I did, when creating hers. Once had a relative of another nurse find her thread here. Since I'm flattened by all these women, it was a little surreal and more than wonderful, being able to say hello. Like touching History.

It was some years ago and still remember her writing so clearly. Like a quite a few others, Mother Bickerdyke among them, 100% of her energy, love, devotion and time was earmarked for wounded men. We were so lucky to have her, luckier to have her words.

 

[Equestriangirl93]

Thank you for sharing such a great story!!! She was truly a remarkable woman. God bless her and may we always remember their sacrifices.......So glad to see that she has a military headstone in honor of her service.......

 

[John Hartwell]

Aunt Becky's diary: Matron, IX Corps Hospital, City Point, 1865:

"Why the others were discharged was quite a mystery for the time. Some said it was because the surgeon in charge disliked women in general, but as he doubtless had wife, mother, or sister, that could not be. But the women were sent away, and I, alone of my sex, was left in the Ninth Corp Hospital at City Point.

"The stewards and myself had our own table, and the cooks prepared our meals, and it was strange again to me to see only men about, wearing the blue uniform, and to hear only their harsh voices in the camp.

"Still, when the desire for female society pressed strongly upon me, I visited the nurses of other corps, where hospitals were in close proximity to ours, but time did not lie heavily on my hands, allowing discontentment to spring up in my mind like weeds,overshadowing duty.

"March 8. -- The rain pours down in floods, and it is lonely in my dark tent, but I got one ray of light in the shape of a letter from Mrs. Young, my dearest friend in Maryland, and it cheered my heart wonderfully to hear from her.
I have a dog in my tent to keep the mice away, and I think he will have hard work to do his duty. I shall have to tie him up to-night to keep him.

"March 9. -- After a rainy night the morning has dawned beautifully. The dog in his endeavors to catch the mice, and the mice in their efforts to get beyond his reach, together, kept me awake nearly all night.
I am so tired of seeing only men, that I could go to the other extreme and become a nun with a good heart. They invade my tent when I wish its privacy; and no doubt these lords of creation think nothing in the world is so agreeable to me as their delightful company."
​

She should have had a cat. Quieter, more efficient, and wouldn't have had to be tied up (no cat's about to run out into the rain and mud like some stupid dog!) She also needed a "DO NOT DISTURB" sign, in big, bold letters, so even a man might notice it (no guarantees on that, though!).

 

[AnnaLee]

So he went off to General Grant and reported the whole transaction, but the general laughed and said: 'I have nothing to say. Aunt Becky, outranks me.' I didn't get discharged, and every one of those men got well!

Sometimes in order to protect your patients you have to do what you have to do. Aunt Becky was a heroine! Thanks for the interesting post. I need to read her diary.

 

[JOHN42768]

Where there is a will, there is a way. Many thanks

 

[Larryh86GT]

Great story. Shoved off with elbow = sticky fingers?

 

[WJC]

Sarah Palmer Young View attachment 176315 a.k.a. "Aunt Becky"​

Sarah Young was a nurse first with the 109th New York field hospitals. She was present at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, among other battles. In 1913, she was interviewed by a reporter for the San Francisco Call Bulletin (August 16th):

The boys began calling me 'Mother,' but I would not allow that, so one of the doctors in the hospital said: 'I'll give you a name that you'll keep to your last day,' and he christened me 'Aunt Becky,' and every one calls me that now. Why, I wouldn't get my mall if It came addressed to 'Mrs. Sarah Young!'

[At Petersburg] We had a lot of men who were very sick, and I knew they would die If they were not taken away. But we could get no exchanges for them. So I called at the quartermaster's office, and there was a lot of tickets of exchange lying on his desk, which I shoved off with my elbow. And when I got back found I had 'captured' fourteen of them! Without a word to anybody I pinned them on the worst cases, and had a nurse carry them down to meet the sick from the other divisions as they were being taken to the boats, and they all got off safely.

Well, when the doctor came around the next morning and asked for the missing men he was told by the nurses, 'They have gone to Washington.' 'By whose orders?' he asked, and when told, 'By Aunt Becky's.' he was furious and threatened to discharge me, asking on whose responsibility I had sent the men off. I told him on my own, as the men would have died if kept there.' So he went off to General Grant and reported the whole transaction, but the general laughed and said: 'I have nothing to say. Aunt Becky, outranks me.' I didn't get discharged, and every one of those men got well!​

Aunt Becky told her own story in The Story of Aunt Becky's Army Life (1879) [Also available for Kindle at $0.99]

Thanks for sharing this great story about an American hero!

 

[John Hartwell]

Great story. Shoved off with elbow = sticky fingers?

Oh, actually I think they sort of 'accidentally' stowed themselves away in her pocket.

 

[Mrs. V]

What a neat post! Thanks for the link to her writings. I just told a group of my collegues that I just keep finding out more and more interesting things about the Civil War. Now all I have to do is figure out how to sneak them into my presentations.

 

[John Hartwell]

All in a Day's Work:

July 3, 1864, according to Aunt Becky's Army Life (pp. 95-6):

"July third. Learning that one of our One Hundred and Ninth men lay at Division Hospital badly wounded, and could not live, I resolved to make a visit up to the front and see if anything could be done for him.

"There seemed no way open, only that I should go on horseback, and, looking about me, I found that Colonel Catlin had gone up to Washington sick, and unable to do duty, leaving his horse at City Point. One of our boys, John Lawrence, who was doing duty at the hospital, proposed to accompany me, I on the colonel's horse; and in the morning at six o'clock we started our journey.

"The great noble creature which I rode was so worn and poor, that the side-saddle which I borrowed of one of the ladies of the Second Corps turned repeatedly, myself and the bag of articles which I was taking up from the Christian Commission rolling off together. Lawrence tightened the girth, and on we went over the lonesome road literally lined with the graves of our dead.

Aunt Becky on Col. Catlin's worn-out horse.
​

"My riding habit seemed to attract considerable attention from its novelty, being a striped bed-tick, thick and of great service in my work, and a black hat which I had worn in my hospital rounds. Soldiers laughed and stared at us as we rode along, but unheedingly we were enjoying the fresh morning air.

"At ten o'clock we reached the Division Hospital, and I made inquiries for the wounded man, Private Kresge, and was taken to his side. It was the third day, and his wound yet undressed.

"I rolled up my sleeves, and went to work over the horrible fissure, now festering with the putrid discharges. The doctor said I had better do something for those who were likely to live, not waste my time and strength on a dying man.

"I replied that if he died it made no difference; he would not be buried with the shameful evidence of our neglect still upon him; he could be no worse than e was, and I should not let him lie with his wounds untouched.

"The doctor hoped I would not hurt the man any more than I could help, and with this precautionary remark, ordered one of the nurses to assist me, and we went to the hard task.

"The rifle-ball had gone in at the back of his neck, tearing through, and coming out at his nostrils. As we syringed the cleansing preparation into his ear, it discharged at both apertures, and was a painful operation for all of us, yet he bore it bravely. When he was made as comfortable as possible, we found two more whose condition was as pitiable as his had been, and we washed and dressed their wounds also, and gave them something to eat."
​

I thought I'd try to see what I could find about this "Private Kresge," 109th New York Regiment. Did he survive that horrible wound? And, what became of him?

The New York Service Records are not yet available online, but I found a roster of the 109th:

Another source credits him with presence at the Battles of the Wilderness, Sulphur Springs, Gaines Farm, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg.

Aunt Becky had misremembered his rank when she wrote her account, but had, in fact, saved his life. He was granted a full disability pension in the year of his discharge, and returned to New York. Where he settled at Trumball's Corners, in the town of Newfield (Tompkins County). There he married, and had three children. He was able, despite his terrible wound, to work steadily as a carpenter (self-employed according to the census records).

That wound impressed the marshall recording the 1890 enumeration of civil war veterans:

It was, indeed, a "(bad) bad wound." But he survived it by some 35 years, thanks to a very determined lady on a worn-out horse.

His Find-a-Grave entry gives records his death in 1899, but has incomplete family information:

Philip Kresge jr, (son of Philip and Eve Weiss Kresge), born Pennsylvania, c. 1830
Married: Anna M. Singer (c.1840-1926)
Children: Frederic (1875-?), Ada (1879-?), Ina (1885-6)​

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

"My riding habit seemed to attract considerable attention from its novelty, being a striped bed-tick, thick and of great service in my work, and a black hat which I had worn in my hospital rounds. Soldiers laughed and stared at us as we rode along, but unheedingly we were enjoying the fresh morning air.

Ah ha! There it is! Her bed ticking dress! Loved in her book somewhere, she got tired of wearing shreds and made her own dress from bed ticking.

This woman was what, over 40 when setting off for the war? What a peach. Thanks again for so much on her, and somehow conveying this woman's life force- pretty unstoppable.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

"Why the others were discharged was quite a mystery for the time. Some said it was because the surgeon in charge disliked women in general, but as he doubtless had wife, mother, or sister, that could not be. But the women were sent away, and I, alone of my sex, was left in the Ninth Corp Hospital at City Point.

Just came across something written by Sophronia Bucklin about being sent away. I think this happened to her several times- all it apparently took was denting a male ego. Aunt Becky was no less insistent about the welfare of wounded, wonder what difference in these women kept her from attracting the ill will of those in charge?

So there's a reenactor impression, Aunt Becky's mattress ticking dress! Sidesaddle! It may not be possible to find a sorry enough horse though. Someone would call the ASPCA.

 

[Seduzal]

Thanks for sharing this awesome story of a women of greatness. A women of Honor to nurseing wounded and die ing soldiers and also among other things. Enjoyed reading this article.

 

[risha]

There's such an abundance of information on CWT. I had not heard of her. Those men were very lucky Aunt Becky was there, as if she was their guardian angel. Great story, amazing woman. Thank you for sharing.

 

[John Hartwell]

Just came across something written by Sophronia Bucklin about being sent away. I think this happened to her several times- all it apparently took was denting a male ego. Aunt Becky was no less insistent about the welfare of wounded, wonder what difference in these women kept her from attracting the ill will of those in charge?

I think friends in higher places often had something to do with it. A well-placed general on her side, whether it's a Sherman or a Butler, could make all the difference. Also, many women are endowed with (or develop) a natural, irresistible tact that allows them to, somehow, magically soothe ruffled male feathers -- others are not.

We also have to recognize that a few of these women, however dedicated and hard working, were simply domineering harridans who complained about everything, and kept a hospital in a discontented uproar.

 

[1SG]

Amazing determination, I shared this story with my relatives that are Nurses