Florence Nightingale of the South - Juliet Opie Hopkins (ca. 1840-1859*)
From the Richmond Daily Dispatch August 31, 1861:
Meeting of Alabamians.
At a meeting of the citizens of Alabama, held at the Ballard House in the city of Richmond, Va., on Wednesday evening, Aug. 28, to take into consideration some plan for organizing and adopting means to take care of the sick and wounded soldiers from the State of Alabama on service in Virginia, on motion of Col. Edmund, Harrison of Montgomery, Hon. W. P. Chilton was chosen Chairman. Mr. Chilton took the chair and explained the objects of the meeting in a short and patriotic speech, H. C. Jones was appointed Secretary, on motion of R N. Johnson.
Hon. John Gril Shorter then read the following letter from Mrs. Arthur F. Hopkins, asking for aid in her work of providing for the sick and wounded soldiers, and moved that a committee of seven be appointed to draft resolutions for the action of the meeting:
Where the Alabamians met - Ballard House, Richmond (1865; LOC - LC-DIG-cwpb-00445)
Richmond Aug.26, 1861.
Messrs. Chilton, Smith, Harrison and Shorter:
Gentlemen:
You are aware that I have been for nearly three months actively engaged in ministering to the wants and comforts of our sick and suffering soldiers wherever and whenever I could reach them; and, although I am still deeply interested in the cause, yet I feel that I can neither do justice to those who have confided to me this sacred trust with the means of relieving the soldiers, nor of the soldiers themselves. You will, therefore, pardon the call I have made upon you to take this matter under consideration, and form such an hospital association as, in your judgment, may be most conducive to the accomplishment of the great object of restoring and improving the health of our soldiers.
I hope you may find it practicable to organize, on your plan of proceeding, a moveable hospital to each regiment, somewhat in imitation of the plan adopted in the Crimean war. A cook and steward, furnished by your association, placed under the direction of the surgeon, would add greatly to the comfort and convenience of the regiment. I am gratified to learn that the Surgeon General has approved, the plan of furnishing a portable cooking-stove to each regiment. The Secretary and Treasurer would greatly relieve and enable me to give more attention to other departments of no less importance.
Until the establishment of the Alabama Hospital, on the 1st of August, my attention was directed to all the hospitals, and even now all calls made upon me for aid, where the necessities are great, are immediately responded to, regardless of the States of which the sufferers are citizens.
May God’s blessing rest upon your efforts.
Very respectfully,
Mrs. A. F. Hopkins. …
The rest of the article describes the parliamentary proceedings of officially thanking Mrs. Hopkins and setting up committees to organize and fund care for the wounded from Alabama.
Juliet Opie Hopkins was inducted into the Alabama Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999 for her hard work and leadership in caring for the sick and wounded during the Civil War. She established three hospitals in Richmond for the care of Alabamians. Hopkins closed these hospitals in 1863 because of shortages and the consolidation of services into the Confederate Medical Department. She went home to Alabama to work in hospitals in the state until the close of the war.
You can read about Mrs. Hopkins at Civil War Women Blog. According to Alabama Pioneers Hopkins was shot in the leg twice during the Battle of Seven Pines. The surgeons had to remove bone – she was lame for the rest of her life.
Juliet Opie Hopkins was buried at Arlington National cemetery and was honored during the war by being featured on an Alabama twenty-five cent note.
