Philadelphia Archdiocesan Historical Research Center

by Christine McCullough-Friend

Women’s religious orders have served both Catholics and non-Catholics within the Philadelphia community since the establishment of the Diocese of Philadelphia two centuries ago. These women, who have and who continue to devote their lives to the betterment of society have played a pivotal role in social work, education and medicine.

As we begin to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, one example of this service that should be highlighted is the work of the Daughters of Charity (formerly Sisters of Charity) at Satterlee Military Hospital. The sisters ministered to thousands of wounded and dying Civil War soldiers from 1862 until the hospital closed in 1865. 

Nurses and staff

The 12-acre site where the Satterlee Hospital was located in West Philadelphia, bounded roughly by 40th to 44th Streets, from Spruce to Pine Streets, was at that time very rural, far removed from the cramped and crowded conditions of urban Philadelphia. The ‘pure country air’ afforded the soldiers an opportunity to rest and recover from their wounds.

The hospital, initially called West Philadelphia Hospital, was renamed Satterlee Military Hospital in honor of Richard Smith Satterlee, a distinguished army surgeon. The surgeon in charge was Dr. Isaac Hayes, an Artic explorer before he joined the army. The hastily constructed buildings were completed in just over 40 days. The 2,500-bed facility was not quite finished when 22 Daughters of Charity arrived on June 9, 1862.

Initially, the hospital was fairly ill equipped, especially with regard to the accommodations for the sisters. Beverages were served in wash pitchers and the food in basins. The sisters ate their meals earlier than the officers, sharing just four eating utensils reserved for officers’ use. The chapel was so small that some sisters had to exit the room so others could enter and receive Holy Communion.  

Satterlee Hospital became a self-contained city when a tent city was built on the grounds in 1863. The hospital increased its capacity to accommodate 4,500 wounded soldiers. A 14-foot high fence surrounded the property, which now sprawled south to Baltimore Avenue and west to 46th Street. On the grounds there was a post office, clothing store, laundry facility, carpenter shop, printing shop, dispensary, library, and three kitchens referred to as restaurants.

Although the official capacity of Satterlee was 4,500, the actual capacity exceeded this number. After the Battle of Bull Run, the wounded arrived by the hundreds. After the Battle of Gettysburg, they arrived by the thousands, swelling the hospital population to more than 6,000. During the Battle of Gettysburg which occurred during July 1863, the greatest number of wounded were admitted to the hospital in a single month. The following month of August saw the greatest number of deaths in any one month, averaging at least one per day. In just one year, patients consumed more than 800,000 pounds of bread, 16,000 pounds of butter and 334,000 quarts of milk.

During the war, more than 100 Daughters of Charity passed through the doors of Satterlee Hospital, ministering to the wounded soldiers’ spiritual and medical needs. The tiny chapel was soon expanded to seat 400 worshippers. Many soldiers often arrived several hours before mass to obtain a seat. Several wounded soldiers contributed generously to outfit the chapel properly, purchasing a set of stations of the cross and taking great pains to decorate the chapel for feasts and special occasions. 

The hospital’s chaplain was Father Peter McGrane who was stationed at St. Patrick’s at 20th and Locust Streets. Every day, Father McGrane traveled from St. Patrick’s to Satterlee to say mass, hear confessions, instruct and baptize and frequently arrange for burial. He labored throughout the war ministering to the wounded and dying. Archbishop James Wood also visited Satterlee several times to confirm many adult converts.

Father Peter McGrane, no date

The practice of military medicine during the war was an eye-opening experience. The wounds caused by the new and improved artillery met the outdated medical practices of understaffed field hospitals, resulting in an epidemic of needless deaths. Conditions began to improve with the advent of permanent army hospitals like Sattelee, staffed by experiences surgeons and dedicated sisters.

During its four-year existence, more than 50,000 wounded soldiers were treated at Satterlee. The contributions made by the medical professionals and the Daughters of Charity who staffed the hospital are immeasurable.

PAHRC holds a copy of a diary kept by a Daughter of Charity at the hospital from 1862 to 1865.

References:

Smith, Sara Trainer, ed. “Notes on Satterlee Military Hospital…from the journal kept at the hospital by a Sister of Charity.” Records of the American Catholic Historical Society 8, no. 4 (December 1897): 399-449.

West, Nathaniel. History of the Satterlee U.S.A. Gen. Hospital at West Philadelphia from October 8, 1862 to October 8, 1863. The Hosptial Press, 1863. (Call# IC0135)

I recently completed processing and creating a finding aid-available online- for the collection, Martin-Campbell-Furlong Family Papers, 1795-1963 (MC 90)  . Before moving on to another project, I wanted to bring attention to two more family members who are documented within this collection, Sarah Jane Campbell (1844-1928) and her sister Marianne Campbell (1840-1913). Jane and Marianne were two of the few 19th- and early 20th century prominent Catholic women feminists who advocated for women’s equality, specifically a woman’s right to vote. Both were very active within the women’s suffrage movement until the passage of the nineteenth amendment.

Sarah Jane Campbell

Jane, a prolific writer and speaker, was considerably visible within the suffrage movement. In 1892, she founded the Women’s Suffrage Society of Philadelphia, and served as its president for 22 years. She was also on the executive board of the Pennsylvania Women’s Suffrage Association and represented Philadelphia in the American Women’s Suffrage Association. She served as a delegate to the national and state conventions and was often in demand as a speaker. 

Marianne Campbell

The mouthpiece for Jane and Marianne’s views came in the form of the magazine Woman’s Progress in literature, science, art, education, and politics, which Marianne founded in 1893. Jane served as the magazine’s editor. Under the pseudonyms “T.S. Arthur” and “Catherine Osborne,” Marianne contributed many articles.

The periodical, according to its editor, was to “be a high class monthly magazine devoted to the best interests of Women. It is the intention of the editor,” the first issue’s editorial announcement notes,” to keep women informed of the various opportunities that are open to them; of their political status in different parts of the world; and of their work in Literature, Art, Science and Education.” In the journal, Jane called for political equality while writing essays about Catholic women’s past achievements in education and charitable work.

Jane and Marianne were also involved in numerous Catholic, civic, Irish-American, botanical, and historical organizations and associations, such as the American Catholic Historical Society for which Jane served as recording secretary for a time, as well as the City History Society of Philadelphia, the Audubon Society, St. Vincent’s Aid Society, the Civic Club, the Mercantile Club, and the Women’s Press Club among others. Long-time residents of Germantown, they were also actively involved in the social and cultural affairs of this section of the city.

Jane also contributed to several Philadelphia newspapers, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Record, and the Ledger writing about a multitude of topics. She also wrote children’s folk tales for the Record and contributed to Catholic publications, including the Rosary Magazine of New York, the Catholic Messenger, and the Records of the American Catholic Historical Society.

As an art teacher who worked in Philadelphia’s public schools for fifty-five years- her last position as Head of the Art Department at the Girls’ Normal School- Marianne was deeply devoted to and active in her profession. She was pivotal in the formation of the Teachers’ Annuity and Aged Society for the care of aged teachers. Marianne herself was an artist having studied at the Academy of the Fine Arts, often entering paintings in its annual exhibitions.

Although there is only a limited amount of documentation for Marianne Campbell, including a few letters, obituary notices, and estate items, there is a decent amount of correspondence to and from Jane Campbell. The majority of these letters are from Jane to the family of William J. and Elizabeth Martin Campbell who lived with Jane and Marianne. Some document Jane’s involvement in the suffrage movement as well as her involvement in numerous associations and clubs, and reveal her political, religious, and family loyalties. For example, in the following letter written from Portsmouth, Rhode Island- which had ratified the 19th amendment several months prior- Jane writes We are staying over here to attend a Jubilee Suffrage meeting, the practical dissolution of the Newport and Bristol Ferry Suffrage Society. The women in Rhode Island have Presidential Suffrage…so that they can pass their ballots in the Presidential elections. The Rhode Island Constitution gives the Legislature the power of conferring Pres. Suf. on women and the Legislature has done so. I saw the Providence Journal of yesterday…but there was nothing from Tennessee where the battle of the 36th state is being fought, maybe it is already decided but I have no means of knowing for perhaps some days. (Five days later, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment.)

Jane Campbell to her nephew John J. Campbell, August 13, 1920, p.1

Jane Campbell to her nephew John J. Campbell, p.2

Other materials relating to Jane include her will, and land deeds for the property she and Marianne purchased in Germantown.

PAHRC has an almost complete set of Woman’s Progress magazine (Call # PER-W).