Maine Memory Network

Rebecca Usher was the daughter of Ellis Baker Usher and Hannah Lane.

The oldest of four sisters, she studied and later taught French at the Ursuline Convent in Three Rivers, Canada.

By the age of 20 she had returned to Maine.

Little is known of Rebecca's days before the war, but she likely occupied herself with teaching and managing the family estate.

Rebecca Usher (1821-1919), a native of Hollis, as she looked in about 1900, nearly half a century after her Civil War service.

Lincoln's call to arms in 1861 aroused the passions of men and women alike. Resolved to protect the Union, vast numbers of men shipped off to battle.

Left on the home front, women assumed many new responsibilities. They went to work in factories, took over the duties of the family business, and began organizing relief efforts.

Recruitment of Union nurses began in earnest after the Battle of Antietam in 1862. Forty-year-old Rebecca Usher, like many others, was eager to serve.

In spite of intense demand for nursing services, many women had difficulty securing a position.

Women generally were considered too frail or emotionally unstable. Victorian standards frowned upon women who ventured beyond the traditional boundaries of home and family.

Usher's duties consisted primarily of supportive nursing activities such as supervising meals, allocating clothing, and distributing supplies.

She took most pleasure in her role as caretaker and companion to the wounded -- talking to soldiers, or reading and writing letters back home.

Back in Maine, Rebecca' Usher's sisters, Ellen, Martha, and Jane, were active raising money and supplies.

Through the Buxton and Hollis Soldier's Aid Society and the Maine Camp Hospital Association they provided regular shipments of clothing, bandages, vegetables, crackers, and tobacco.

In January 1865, after 18 months at Chester, Usher signed on with the Maine Camp Hospital Association in City Point, Virginia. The organization's mission was focused specifically on serving the needs of the "Maine Boys."

At City Point, Usher joined Ruth Mayhew of Portland at the headquarters of the Maine Agency.

The women provided a place for Maine soldiers to come for food, supplies, and companionship.

They also traveled throughout the hospital wards, visiting the sick and wounded from Maine regiments, taking them extra rations of food whenever possible.

At war's end, Usher returned to Maine where she tended to the family estate until her death in 1912.

She was one of 20,000 women who worked in Union military hospitals during the war. Their dedication and achievements provided incalculable aid and comfort.

Further, the value of women's contributions resulted in significant consequences for society at large. By succeeding in what was previously a male domain, women like Rebecca took an important step toward greater social, economic, and political equality.