Sarah Middleton Robbins Broadhead (11 December 1831 – 21 March 1910, in Winslow, Pennsylvania) was a teacher, diarist, and resident of

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

during the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

. She was the author of ''The Diary of a Lady of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from June 15 to July 15, 1863'', which is a primary historical source for what happened during the battle and especially how it impacted the residents of the borough. It has been called the most comprehensive written document on the role of women in the Civil War."Marker dedicated to Battle of Gettysburg nurse turned historian" ''The Current of Northfield, Linwood and Somers Point'', 11 June 2015, pg. 1

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

quoted entries from the diary in his 1990 documentary series, '' The Civil War''.

Biography

Civil War years

Sarah Broadhead lived with her husband Joseph and their then four-year-old daughter Mary at the western end of Chambersburg Street, Gettysburg. She was a teacher by profession and the Broadheads were members of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. The diary tells of her life during that month and relates information that would have otherwise been lost. When the battle raged outside their house the family took shelter in their basement. She describes the aftermath of the battle in detail and the destruction and human toil that resulted. She helped nurse the survivors, taking three wounded soldiers into her home. She wrote that there were things she would never forget. The account she gave was deeply personal. The

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the American Civil W ...

provided aid and supplies to the field hospital located at the Lutheran Seminary. In 1864, Sarah had her diary privately published, printing 200 copies, as a 24-page pamphlet. She gave copies to family and friends who inquired about her experiences during and after the battle. She donated 75 copies of the diary to the commission to be sold to raise funds at the

Great Central Fair The Great Central Fair was a Sanitary Fair that happened in June 1864. It took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was a fundraiser for the United States Sanitary Commission. History The Great Central Fair took place from June 7 until June 2 ...

, held in Philadelphia in June 1864.

Later life and death

About 1885, Joseph and Sarah moved, for reasons unknown to history, to what soon thereafter became

Linwood, New Jersey Linwood is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 7,092,Ginnie Wade Mary Virginia Wade (May 21, 1843 – July 3, 1863), also known as Jennie Wade or Ginnie Wade, was a resident of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Battle of Gettysburg. At the age of 20, she was the only direct civilian casualty of the battle ...

Tillie Pierce Tillie Pierce (also known as Matilda Alleman) was the author of ''At Gettysburg, or What A Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle: A True Narrative''. Published more than a quarter of a century after the Battle of Gettysburg, the book recounted her expe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadhead, Sarah Middleton Robbins 1831 births 1910 deaths Women in the American Civil War People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War People from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania People from Linwood, New Jersey American Quakers American women diarists American diarists Writers from Pennsylvania Writers from New Jersey