Mary Phinney von Olnhausen (1818–1902) was an American

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, and

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

. Historians look to the book extracted from her diaries -- ''" Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars"'' to understand the medical techniques of the Civil War.

Early life

Born in Lexington,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to Elias and Catherine Bartlett Phinney, a lawyer and her mother the daughter of a doctor, Phinney was well educated at several academies.

Family

When her father died in 1849 at age 69, the farm was sold and she "sought employment as a designer of print goods" at the Manchester Mills company in

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Gustav A. von Olnhausen (born in 1809) left

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

after the

German revolutions of 1848–1849 The German revolutions of 1848–1849 (), the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution (), were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated pro ...

and also due to financial troubles, which led him to sell of his property. In the 1850s He was making
meager
living as a chemist in a dye-house of the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

s, where he met Mary Phinney. They married on May 1, 1858 (she was 40 years old at the time) and he died two years later in 1860.

American Civil War

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, von Olnhausen served as a nurse at the Mansion House Hospital in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

and Mansfield General Hospital at Morehead, North Carolina. After the war, she was discharged in August 1865, returning home to help raise her brother's children in Illinois.

Franco-Prussian War

With the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, she volunteered to serve as a nurse with the

Prussian Army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

and was accepted on the basis of being the Baroness von Olnhausen. She served in field hospitals in Meung and Vendome.

Awards

Mary Phinney was awarded a

Cross of Merit for Women and Girls The Cross of Merit for Women and Girls (''Ehrenkreuz für Frauen und Jungfrauen'') was created on 22 March 1871 by Kaiser Wilhelm I, German Emperor, in his capacity as King of Prussia. The award was presented only to women, but was not a Ladies Or ...

in 1873 by

Kaiser Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

, which is similar to an

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

. Reprint of ''Das Verdienst-Kreuz für Frauen und Jungfrauen'', hrsg. v. L. Schneider, Verlag Alexander Duncker, Berlin 187
pdf
/ref> She died in Boston in April, 1902.

In popular culture

The book Adventures of an Army Nurse in Two Wars was edited in 1903 by James Phinney Munroe and published in 1904. It is based on the diaries and correspondence of Mary Phinney von Olnhausen. The first part of the book talks about the lives of the people that worked in the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria as well as her work at the Mansfield General Hospital at Morehead, North Carolina. The second part discusses her work as a nurse again in 1870 in the Franco-Prussian War. In 2015, the ''

PBS Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaim ...

'' produced ''

Mercy Street "Mercy Street" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album '' So''. Background and recording The song was inspired by the personal and confessional works of the American poet Anne Sexton, who wrote a play titled '' ...

'', a fictional mini series portraying life in the Mansion House Hospital where Phinney was stationed. The show relied heavily on her diaries and portrays Phinney as the lead character, played by

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Mary Elizabeth Winstead (born November 28, 1984) is an American actress and singer. Her first significant role was that of Jessica Bennett (Passions), Jessica Bennett on the NBC soap opera ''Passions'' (1999–2000). She went on to appear in se ...