Medal

Object Name:

Medal

Object ID:

2013.019.02

Date:

circa 1886

Description:

Medal. Bronze. Maltese cross suspended from red, white, and blue silk ribbon that is attached to a rectangular bar pin at top. Arms of cross engraved, "WOMANS / RELIEF/ CORPS/ 1883"; soldier, boy, Goddess of Liberty, woman, and child with flags in background, encircled in wreath of stars, at center of cross. Monogram "FCL" in relief, centered on bar pin. Reverse of cross engraved, "PATENTED / MAY 4. AND / SEPT. 28. 1886." Presented to Civil War nurse Harriet P. Dame (1815-1900) of Concord, NH.

Material:

Metal
Bronze
Silk

Dimensions:

H-3.2 W-1.5 inches

Provenance:

Shortly after the 2nd Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers left to fight in the Civil War, Harriet P. Dame (1815-1900) of Concord joined the regiment as a nurse on April 1, 1861. Born in Barnstead to James C. and Phebe (Ayer) Dame, Harriet was at the Battle of Bull Run and cared for the wounded at the Emmett House. She stayed with the soldiers from the 2nd NH Regiment throughout the war, mostly in the field, and was captured by the Confederates twice. Harriet was at the Battle of Gettysburg and took care of the wounded soldiers until the last one was brought to the General Hospital. She remained with the 2nd NH Regiment until the last soldier mustered out on Christmas Day 1865. In 1867 she accepted a job at the Treasury Department in Washington and lived there until 1899. She became a fixture at annual soldiers' reunions until she died on April 24, 1900, at Concord.

This collection was purchased from the wife of a descendant of the nephew of Harriet P. Dame.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Dame, Harriet P. (1815-1900)

Subjects:

Civil War, Nurses, Nursing