Centennial Commemoration of The Nuns of the Battlefield Monument

During the Civil War, the wounded and dying of both sides of the conflict were attended to by sister-nurses. The Nuns of the Battlefield monument highlights the role of Catholics, particularly Irish Catholics, in American history.

In 1914, Ellen Ryan Jolly, President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, shared her idea with the members of the Auxiliary to honor the sister-nurses with a monument. For the next ten years, the membership raised the funds to build and worked to find a suitable location. Many obstacles were faced but the courage and perseverance of one woman and her Hibernian organization resulted in this lasting tribute to the sister-nurses.

Representative Ambrose Kennedy of Rhode Island assisted in overcoming the obstacles. On March 29, 1918, a Joint Resolution of the House and Senate granted approval to the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians to erect a memorial to honor the various orders of Sisters who nursed wounded and attended to the dying during the Civil War. The Monument was designed and sculpted by Jerome Conner. Religious and civil leaders as well as one of the Sisters, Sr. Magdalene O’Donnell, were present at the dedication, held September 20, 1924.

The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, now in our 130th year, will celebrate a special milestone this year; we hope that you will be able to join us. The Centennial Commemoration of The Nuns of the Battlefield Monument will be held Saturday, September 21, 2024. The Centennial Commemoration will include a Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Dedication of the Wayside Marker at the Monument, and a dinner at the Army Navy Club.

The Nuns of the Battlefield memorial was erected by the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (LAOH) and dedicated as a U.S. national memorial in 1924. The monument is located at Rhode Island Avenue, across the street from St. Matthew’s Cathedral. The Monument honors Catholic nuns who served as nurses during the U.S. Civil War. These sister-nurses provided medical and spiritual care to soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Following the Civil War, the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians (then known as the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians) believed that it was important that the nation and history remember and honor the women religious who provided critical nursing and hospital administration expertise to the United States during the Civil War. In most cases, this expertise was unavailable in the military or in general society.

A majority of the nuns serving in the Civil War were Irish born or Irish American. The Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians was founded in the United States to provide resources and community to newly arrived Irish women. This connection between the Nuns of the Civil War and the LAOH, of Irish heritage and Catholic faith, prompted the LAOH National President, Dr. Ellen Ryan Jolly, to pursue her goal of commissioning and erecting the monument and having the U.S. Congress declare the Nuns of the Battlefield a national monument.

We should also note that the Monument is one of only a very few Civil War statues or memorials that recognize the contributions of women. When visiting this monument in 2015, I had to go to the back of the monument to see that the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ancient Order of Hibernians were responsible. As the National Irish Historian, I found this to be unacceptable. At the 2016 National Convention, I petitioned the delegation for a Wayside Marker sponsored by the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians to be placed to tell the story of the Monument and the Service of the Twelve Orders of Religious Sisters. This was approved. We started to raise funds for the Marker. We petitioned the National Park Service and worked closely with them in designing the Wayside Marker. The Wayside Marker will be a reality, unveiled at the Centennial Commemoration of the Monument.

I have been privileged to serve as the chair of this important Centennial Committee. I have worked with a very dedicated group of women that made this Wayside Marker happen. The LAOH today still proudly remembers the contributions of these Sisters annually at the monument, with a program attended by LAOH National Officers and members from the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and other states.

So next time you are visiting our nation’s Capital, find time to stop and visit the monument to these remarkable women.

Marilyn Madigan is the National President of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and a Deputy Director of the United Irish Societies of Cleveland. She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. John College and retired from Nursing at University Hospitals of Cleveland.