Cornelia Hancock

From Freepedia

Cornelia Hancock (1839 - 1926) was born in New Jersey. She began her Civil War nursing career auspiciously when she arrived with other women volunteers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania July 1863. Hancock was the only one of the group not to be accepted as a volunteer nurse. Nonetheless, she found her way to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and began what became a well known and respected service as a nurse in the field.

During the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, Hancock worked in the II Corps hospital of the Depot Field Hospital at City Point.

After the war she opened a school for African Americans in South Carolina. In Philadelphia she founded several charity organizations and remained active in social work until her death in 1926. Her popular collection of wartime letters is still in print.