Faces of Civil War Nurses: An Exhibit

In partnership Military Images magazine and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall is proud to welcome a new temporary exhibit, “Faces of Civil War Nurses,” featuring portraits and personal stories of women who served as nurses during the Civil War. The exhibit first debuted in 2025 at the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum in Washington, DC.

It is estimated that over 20,000 women served as volunteer nurses during the war, enduring long hours and multiple tours of duty across both front-line battlefields and at numerous hospitals and communities across the country. Forbidden from serving in “indelicate” medical settings at the outset of the Civil War, women quickly broke down social conventions in caring for the sick and wounded, risking both disease and the brutal realities of war. These women provided invaluable aid, from changing bandages and cooking food to comforting the dying, and innumerable other tasks.

“During the Civil War, thousands of courageous women stepped beyond traditional roles to serve as nurses, caring for the wounded and sick in the chaos of war’s brutal realities. In this exhibit, you’ll stand face to face with life-sized portraits of 20 of these intrepid pioneers who shaped the future of nursing and redefined the role of women in American society,” said Military Images Editor and Publisher Ron Coddington. “This is a rare glimpse into their resilience, sacrifice, and humanity.”

The exhibit will be on display in the Lincoln Gallery at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall through May 9. The building is open Mondays from 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Tuesdays – Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; and Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For questions, please contact Espy Post Curator Jon-Erik Gilot at gilotj@carnegiecarnegie.org.