The Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial by Jerome Connor (sculptor) and Ward Brown (architect) was dedicated in Washington, DC, in 1924.
This memorial honors the various orders of nuns who nursed the sick and wounded soldiers in the Civil War. A large bronze relief panel six feet by nine feet depicts life-sized figures of twelve nuns dressed in various habits. At either end of the relief are bronze figures. On the north end, the bronze angel of patriotism wears a helmet and armor but carries no weapons, indicating the nuns’ peaceful mission. The angel of peace sitting on the south end is a figure of a woman dressed in a lace bodice and short head scarf with her wings curving behind her.
An inscription honoring the nuns is carved on the monolith above the bronze panel: “They comforted the dying, nursed the wounded, carried hope to the imprisoned, gave in his name a drink of water to the thirsty.” Below the panel is inscribed, “To the Memory and in Honor of the Various Orders of Sisters Who Gave their Services as Nurses on Battlefields and in Hospitals during the Civil War.”
This photo and description of the Nuns of the Battlefield Memorial are part of materials from the “Civil War Monuments in Washington, DC” registration form in the National Register of Historic Places.
