2023/01/01 by Marian Moser Jones · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
paper · doi:10.5325/nursinghistory.31.0048
openalex publication_date 2023/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/12/21
On September 12, 1914, a group of American Red Cross (ARC) nurses stood in their red-lined navy-blue capes along the rails of an Atlantic Ocean liner as it steamed out of New York Harbor toward the Great War in Europe. “The white caps, the gray uniforms, the line of scarlet as the fresh sea wind blew back the active service capes, proclaimed their identity,” wrote an ARC nursing leader who witnessed their departure.1 These one hundred and twenty-six nurses in their Red Cross uniforms, along with thirty physicians, made up the surgical teams aboard the ARC’s “Mercy Ship,” which provided aid to combatants on both sides of the conflict between 1914 and 1916. These teams established ARC war hospitals in Paignton, England; Pau, France; Kiev, Russia; Kosel and Gleiwitz, Germany; and Budapest and Vienna, Austria-Hungary.2 The ARC later sent additional teams of nurses and surgeons, whose activities lie beyond the scope of this article, to war hospitals in Belgrade and Gevgeli, Serbia; Yvetot, France; and La Panne, Belgium.3 The hospital units focused on care of wounded combatants, in keeping with the Red Cross’s mission to carry out its obligations under the original Geneva Conventions.4 This effort, supported solely by private donations, reflected the country’s own self-image as the sole remaining standard bearer for civilization and democracy amid Europe’s rapid descent into the abyss of modern war.This article examines the ARC Mercy Ship’s work as an example of nursing-centered clinical humanitarianism and engaged neutrality in wartime. While scholars have debated whether the United States adhered to its stated policy of neutrality in the early months of the war, the Mercy Ship’s work provides hard evidence that the ARC—a quasi-governmental organization operating under the aegis of the War Department—made an earnest and sustained effort to do so in the face of serious obstacles.5 The ARC effort communicated an unofficial but clear diplomatic message to the belligerent countries that American neutrality did not mean American apathy. At the same time, the article discusses how neutrality was sometimes more difficult for individual nurses and physicians, operating elbow-deep in the blood of one nation’s wounded soldiers, to adhere to in daily practice than for the ARC to maintain as policy.This article further argues that the work of the Mercy Ship nurses advanced U.S. women’s quest for full citizenship. At a time when women were campaigning for the right to vote in federal elections, and facing opponents who contended that full citizenship must be limited to men because they were the only ones capable of taking up arms to defend their country, the nurses demonstrated that women could withstand the rigors and dangers of work in a war zone.6 When the United States entered the war in 1917, the army, navy, and marines signed up their first large cohort of women for military service, and the army sent over 10,600 nurses to serve near the Western Front.7 The ARC and other voluntary organizations also sent thousands of volunteers to work in the war zone, while millions of U.S. women participated in war-related activities on the “home front,” from rolling bandages to paid work in munitions factories.8 The Mercy Ship served as a successful test case for this later large-scale involvement of American women in the war effort, which then bolstered U.S women’s claim to full voting citizenship.9Finally, this study illuminates the professional collaborations and conflicts that developed between and among U.S. nurses and physicians in the war. While historical scholarship on World War I medicine is well developed, few scholars have examined the that U.S. nurses and physicians to care to wounded scholarship on World War I nursing U.S. nurses into the of professional with to while American nurses in this war, their in Great New and were in a by in the U.S. of in U.S. hospitals of which of a nursing under American also developed their own and the war, as blood to surgical and of U.S. nurses and physicians developed of in operating to nurses to that only physicians were to do in Great in the U.S. operating nurses were to surgical in the operating developed a in which on between men and women were to modern and this article conflicts between Mercy Ship nurses and their and between the nurses and reflected this between and modern conflicts did not the as an in teams to article, on of and and by nurses and physicians examines the in which the Mercy Ship the of the work that its teams and the professional and that developed this While on physicians, this article the of whose work the of this in American clinical the the Mercy Ship an to its nursing to the and the The in by War for the U.S. obligations under the Geneva to volunteers to serve wounded in military the war, ARC sent only a of volunteers to aid American and The organization a in At that time, the Red Cross the of U.S. military for its of wounded combatants of both sides the war, and for the of nurses in this The which a quasi-governmental under the War was to this and a of nursing to a on the of nurses in New York and of the to its nursing its the ARC nursing for ARC While the that the ARC only of nursing These in nurses to the of modern hospital and as well as and to While the the to and the hospital out the the of the medicine in to and bandages and on a while to maintain a The also a to the from a nursing a with one of the professional organizations for nurses that of and that be a in that ARC and in to be as as and other nursing to out of nurses as sometimes who did work that because it with the of nursing into a their in and out of the who the were a The ARC’s for from a and a served to out whose did not and to the of their nursing ARC also to American nurses from the of for American The this for the that it be to for nurses in wartime. The nursing whose were to this ARC’s of also from the the the ARC a in to a of and first aid in and 1914, a with the U.S. who served in the and in was to as of this the to a of but time to its activities and the of the World war in out in 1914, the ARC a of its and war in the of the war The to a and it with of and other to an to the to to the The also a to the which the later the Mercy a to and the with hospital while to up the nurses from the ARC’s of the of and of then from the for the only nursing in on the and later served as its in 1914, to to to a in to a from the country’s The war on and to of nurses for the war and of nurses for the nurses who could a and only who a and to and while nurses who were not nurses were paid than U.S. to a while to the ARC sent the organization nurses for the nursing of and nurses reflected both and stated for was the for the nurses to be but the time U.S. along with who an to could be U.S. is more that ARC to diplomatic by nurses who be as to an that their own for in an of they for this for their of American nurses from the Mercy Ship’s While nurses were not for in nursing professional and served as for ARC an 1914 to an ARC leader a nurses not be by the belligerent as they be as with and that of the nurses they for the mission that than nurses they that of the nurses on the Mercy Ship the of only as by their first This practice U.S. nursing to American nursing as a modern as it of practice in and other countries in which nursing were by women to who also of the but they to by were into the a Mercy Ship from in wrote in The not only served this of individual among the but by to the belligerent it the the ARC of physicians, to in and ARC and were to a to the U.S. to that they a and to of from and to be on was also to a from a of to and The ARC to for the same as and for the The ARC over and a group of physicians from who were under and engaged in the practice of were on the surgical of large The for of physicians be to nursing for of U.S. over the their to for was capable for These physicians and also and professional who also so that they to their practice for of to ARC leader physicians with were to their the that supported for of with the as the U.S. nursing was to women and and nurses were by hospitals engaged in and could for from a who was an and a when they These between the and nurses in the of professional not only in the of physicians of and it the units for of the physicians, to sole as private in of hospital with over the other the Mercy Ship’s was with physicians and from for While nurses developed with the and a few physicians on the the of the ARC and it in a to teams for service a to one with a and and for New York in New nurses and physicians to a the and their and The were up into of a and physicians, a The ARC nurses from the same and of the same hospital to the same along with from this that this work well of their a and of the New York ARC in belligerent from the U.S. to to the nurses as the first the mission was a of supported the as of the from later aid to a to aid by the activities with of who to to the large American in and who aid organizations as the American for war hospitals in its effort to the ARC between 1914 and its work both with of who the and who supported the units for war the between the and The physicians, the nurses daily on the of military surgical the of the in military and the which was in the the nurses for the and both and nurses and also the nurses in and While not nurses this were not of a one a an in the on the first and to to to be from but did not a the in that on and the nurses that on the as were to for a serious the nurses that they were under that be and and that were Mercy Ship nurses they were to from their a American of article, of a hospital in New wrote the that in as in the army, in the that to was a of nurses were also to professional of the physicians and with they on with men the and the of while in nursing who under the of their were from by focused on the of and for the of conflicts between nursing and on the Mercy The physicians, by the of in the then the sometimes by the to in the While of the physicians the nurses with and did an for of one of the units sent to a and women with a with the same in a who was as the that that one from and the in few that a a on which was and for the of the of the on a New York and of New York later the of and be of by physicians made on the the nurses were with the to how to while a with the in how one of the physicians in a in the the and to to and the of When to with the for on with The that be sent did not maintain a from the and The this as a and with to work with this in a operating months of service in and sometimes that in a toward When in the paid a to and to an in the between were by a diplomatic that a in the Mercy Ship’s to an American for the the ARC an of a from the The with its The first were an by a and both countries they with a the the to to and to in their When both countries to the ARC but to a of The original to the as that they signed up for When the on September 12, among the original were later in the that the be in case the a by for the the not the in the which to for its war When ARC the they from to the white with a the a large on the and Red Cross and American from the The and white Mercy while in New York a the conflicts over the of the were on for to in the in as were a of the Mercy Ship and its to the to be the to of wrote one The ARC could to When the it in its of of of of and of along with and other for the of the the of to New York September the Mercy Ship in units for a war hospital in The other nurses time to the but were to to their to a and be as to the was and on and the right when in the of not only of belligerent countries but of own as wrote The units the group and to and to The then to units for Pau, a in the The was in and they their Mercy Ship units and were by and they to as private and into war they to work with who and adhered to time to and but sometimes with to units were by American War in Paignton, units established by a group of American the of American The a and a of medicine served as the for the were by conflicts between physicians and The and of an to hospital a to the a of who served in the American war and stated that the is in of care and of care and This with that of the for the of professional that of nurses and in the also ARC that of the American nurses and nurses to to with their and for the 1914, wrote whether the American nurses could be with ones were paid This the hospital have to a when the ARC sent of the Mercy Ship nurses they to their signed the but out a that the ARC not their they were of their with the they were the hospital to the ARC’s to a that only a could to that in the and that the only could was a who not for but who a the of by the and the were in between and the and in along with American nurses and and to the hospital the the of for who in an of the the hospital only out of to the the were to the this and the of a from in 1914, work with the made for a that to to to other ARC units sent to in the of more and but a of work in not to war the ARC the a that the to as a war The a its which they into a for The in one hundred and wounded who to the but from the the from a who nurses in to the with American and to the nurses from was not when wounded men in from the that the units to These men were so so so not one of to that is that is more than a wrote of the hospital in with and with of were from their so when a in the the units that nurses and one with this of and from the war. was a in a for the and the women in wrote in “The full of The in the is of in When the ARC for nurses and to who a in the group to the of to along with the hospital only and its in its months of When the hospital the ARC for for a of but ARC the units could have more which to their more work and to The and other the units their in and they later a from the The were military and military The nurses were to their Red Cross uniforms, but were also as an of the military and their were to the ARC did not to this of its into a belligerent nation’s wrote in a and that the have units as their because their from the of the and because the United States and this than with the of to the was the of a they the ARC by the and of the a that the to the that a hospital a New York While the and made it a modern hospital in the and only the The nurses this by a in which the and months in the same were to the their and then were in to a the whether up and wrote in have which be for the who not and nurses the ones to The hospital a of as hospital the work that hospital and in U.S. The and the up the nurses to for the the a for and established a on the in which were in and in which and were to The from the and it to as as the first months in Kiev, the physicians and nurses and The nurses to with who as a from the under wrote work of only it as I have men to so work is to out medicine and up to The nurses and time to the the and and wrote to other while a with a could the same made an with with the aid of a the time a of this on the a I with have in the and one of the of in while they were on with the in a with a and in the in The New York a and of as that was not work in the hospital so to do in conflict the who was to a back in New with a and first in the who was in the on this among to to of the as a and to the The to New York and and claim to have but of the one hundred and men under in a The New York article, also that for the and that not the that the only for in New York was in the a of this in the the of and as to their it wrote in to between the and the an ARC who the hospital in with the War that the from the between for and the more ones of in the did not of the and and that the of a and who was to of the hospital in the hospital time to on to an in between the and the a and This the to the in the The in in the that wrote in Great the The is that the the American by among their to with the a when the from the in to the as the was in full were with a from later American On a in of men the military hospitals were to of their and to the of their The of the hospital up and out into the as as a The hospital to to this of the wrote in of the of in in which to and sometimes in their on the for the time to The American to the to to military to to the hospital to to the so they could the wounded more the this as the was the the early to the and for to the hospital while other nurses for to in for the ARC it was units from by in and in amid a of the by the army, the hospital was to and its hospital the and a months it was and the along with surgical and The were and by to a article by more than did of the later in the U.S. on the Western in which over of from the also the same that the of Great War of and of a and the hospital to with how to and their wrote ARC the hospital a of than that by other Mercy Ship This was by the in which the the a and nurses that from the they to of and was The hospital of and over of a serious in which the This of the physicians from an who the in 1914, later that of the of the and were in by the time they and their was and was to the could the the for to the to to the to for of by from the of was teams in belligerent While a of to to clear up on its this was not and with more to 1914, military and a of while were in the case of the The over of in the first of the is that the American of the with to the hospital American in for nurses and to These that the from the its time of was and to American to and The to when they later that ARC nurses and who in and hospitals to under an between the Red Cross and the to the of and a the was to a to and but this of the mission The of in for the same time as the that the American were more the of the of than they were the a wrote to the the and ARC to this diplomatic ARC the in their effort to of the in of the Mercy Ship physicians and of the nurses for they an hospital in Kiev, near the The hospital for and to the to over the army sent this along with nursing and to work a army hospital in The group supported the army as it advanced toward then its to the United States in the and that work in a war a for large of and and to well as as This also the for of wounded combatants to the The and American to this were more and near the Western The to this the a hospital that with the American Mercy Ship on to serve in of the ARC units in and in of the units in The units were and by they into modern and with then were for as of Red Cross units in the the Vienna, and units time the hospitals they of wounded and to work up to a the Budapest the by the and to The was the paid a to the nurses as they to a for into a war the of as the to and a modern hospital in this but only were the nurses and to up and of the also to and an was with the of the American they were with an of wounded men their the in their the from the in wrote who with was in the Budapest “The were with because they only first aid and not for was evidence of and was in the in Budapest to be to to that in the a of out of more the in Vienna, which a hospital in a only in The in was because the to the in were only with This of was to the of as a first aid in the by the army, to a by of The did not the article of with of while the of that made the face with While war hospitals in belligerent to the and how the Budapest nurses a in full whose and The while the nurses were taking a in the in wrote in a case men in one were in was on the The nurses that so men with to in the to of near the and the of to nurses in and also care than in to their to Budapest could not between American and so it was for the when in the to to the few of they on a was for an On to the of a and whose other an an of the a that when for While and to not to the of into a later could not be must be of the that were with the of an care to When Belgrade to the in early the units in and were by were in the and and were did not in to the this effort to the of Belgrade and in the same to daily wrote on “The that The this to hundred but did not toward on with the of from neutrality the the in the to American the under the to the to the first The was a for is not that the nurses more for to the of neutrality than did the and whose to of in the a and sent war of the and to and in On a of the to wrote with with and of their as On one the of who wrote to into and in a with a who also a Mercy Ship was in the with to own was in When both to that their to this a by a to the and to be only that was for war nursing and of the of the of a was to for the of and only because was with in and as well as a by the up and the of in the Budapest with neutrality the ARC units and the Budapest nurses and that they were to be in a over by the sent a from ARC that they were as from from a and the to their when the in of the nurses the the for This have reflected a that American was from the did an ARC to from The in and which were to a in the United as to Red Cross work in the as they did to Red Cross work on the the the ARC supported the of and to war hospitals in right up to the of between countries and the United States in early of the original Mercy Ship nurses and physicians in the war for a While the ARC sent of over in a of the physicians than nurses to be the nurses an of more than the nurses who when the ARC then to the American a war hospital supported by the American to work with other Red Cross few did not the war and to it in to serve with the U.S. in a in the Paignton, and to an ARC was to months of service, and While this have an that the nurses were by the of a Paignton, wrote nurses ARC of this and in that and nurses to the of with its and is not the that and nurses to their which both and While service war hospitals a few into for the they it the war with Europe’s war. The ARC over for the Mercy Ship and but by the ARC to to the units by The of the in which American toward the war that aid to with The of which in also made it difficult for the ARC to to and other to hospitals in the it to to a to do so 1917, when the United States entered the World War on the of the the ARC neutrality in of and a of the American ARC’s Mercy Ship served as an of the United effort in the World a time when the of neutrality in and the for did not The ARC nurses and for modern hospital surgical and for of the in operating and Kiev, and that to the ARC units a modern of war the mission demonstrated that the ARC could nursing and as a of while organizations sent to the of nurses in the Mercy Ship a for war stated the ARC in have that women be that their of when to be than and that they face with also that the in provided the nursing with which of is for war When the United States entered the war on the of the in 1917, the ARC nursing the U.S. was to its The with to the this