Medal

Object Name:

Medal

Object ID:

2013.019.03

Date:

1870-1890

Description:

Medal. Gold. Heart medallion with vertical pin. Cross bottony and diamond suspended from rectangular gold bar pin by two gold chains. Crossed swords atop scroll-like bar pin. Bottony cross engraved "18th. A.C." Diamond engraved "3 / Corps". Heart engraved "24th Corps." Bar pin engraved "H.P. DAME." Reverse of bottony cross engraved "2d. N.H.V." Presented to Civil War nurse Harriet P. Dame (1815-1900) of Concord, NH.

Material:

Metal
Gold

Dimensions:

H-2.5 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 Dame.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase, Katharine Prentis Murphy Fund

People:

Dame, Harriet P. (1815-1900)

Subjects:

Civil War, Nurses, Nursing