Page 64 - Cousins - Celebrities, Saints & Sinners

Union Hospital at Georgetown, DC, for six weeks in 1862–1863. She intended to serve three
months as a nurse, but halfway through she contracted typhoid and became deathly ill, though
she eventually recovered. Her letters home—revised and published in the Boston anti-slavery
paper Commonwealth and collected as Hospital Sketches (1863, republished with additions in
1869)—brought her first critical recognition for her observations and humor. She wrote about
the mismanagement of hospitals and the indifference and callousness of some of the surgeons
she encountered. Her main character, Tribulation Periwinkle, showed a passage from innocence
to maturity and is a "serious and eloquent witness". Her novel Moods (1864), based on her own
experience, was also promising.
After her service as a nurse, Alcott's father wrote her a heartfelt poem titled "To Louisa May
Alcott. From her father". The poem describes how proud her father is of her for working as a
nurse and helping injured soldiers as well as bringing cheer and love into their home. He ends
the poem by telling her she's in his heart for being a selfless faithful daughter. This poem was
featured in the book "Louisa May Alcott: Her Life, Letters, and Journals (1889)". The poem is
also featured in the book "Louisa May Alcott, the Children's Friend" that talks about her
childhood and close relationship with her father.

References:
1. Relative Finder, associated with FamilySearch, and the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS)
2. Wikipedia.org
3. Learn more – Louisa May Alcott
4. LDS Family Tree #

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