Florence Nightingale gave nursing a favorable reputation during the Crimean War (1853 – 1856). However, there was still plenty of skepticism about the idea of nursing as a respectable profession for women when the Spanish-American War began in 1890. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee (1864 – 1940) decided to do something about that. She dedicated her efforts and talents to professional nursing, which led to the creation of the United States Army Nurse Corpse, which she is credited with founding. Below are some interesting facts about that remarkable woman.
The Woman Who Organized American Nurses in Wartime
Anita Newcomb McGee was born in 1864 in Washington, DC, in an intellectual household. Her father was a renowned astronomer, and her mother an intellectual and granddaughter of the founder of the United States National Geodetic Survey. Unsurprisingly in such a household, the importance of education was stressed from an early age. McGee got her medical degree in 1892, and became one of the few female practicing doctors in the nation’s capital. When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, she trained and organized volunteer nurses.
Dr. McGee displayed considerable talent, and her organizational abilities led to her appointment as acting Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Army. She was placed in charge of nurses for the duration of the war. That made her the first woman authorized to wear an Army officer’s uniform. During the conflict, she wrote a manual on nursing that was adopted by the American military and formed the basis for nursing practices for decades thereafter. Some parts of McGee’s manual survive as standard procedures to this day.
The Creator of the US Army Nurse Corps
During the Spanish-American War, nurses worked either with volunteer organization like the Daughters of the American Revolution, or as contractors. There was no standardized nurse training, and the hierarchy was jumbled, which created difficulties. After the war, the nurses received no benefits. Dr. McGee lobbied for the establishment of a permanent nurse corps. Urged by the Surgeon General, she wrote the section of legislation that was subsequently enacted into law to establish the United States Army Nurse Corps in 1901, which made nurses officially members of the military who received veteran benefits.
In 1904, Dr. McGee led a contingent of volunteer nurses to serve in Japan during the Ruso-Japanese War. She established a field hospital for the Imperial Japanese Army, and trained Japanese Red Cross nurses. Given an officer’s rank by the Japanese government, she conducted inspections of field hospitals and hospital ships, and served as medical military attache with the Japanese army in Manchuria. She returned to the US after the war, resumed her medical practice, wrote about her war experiences, and lectured at the University of California. Anita Newcomb McGee passed away in 1940, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
National Museum of the United States Army – Anita Newcomb McGee
US National Library of Medicine – Changing the Face of Medicine: Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee
