...And We're Back!

A very belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone!  I'm sorry I dropped off the map like that.  School work took precedence over the blog.  But now I'm back, and I have a buffer built up so when papers interrupt I still have something to post.  My dream this semester is to not miss an update.  My goal (i.e. my realistic dream) is to miss as few as possible.  I have three months to whip this thesis into shape.  Here's hoping I can do it!

Anna Platt
Pension File: 808722, 504548
P.O.: Washington, D.C.
Service: served at Ward C, Armory Square Hospital, February, 1863 to the close of the war
Applied: 1886
Status: Accepted (Special Act)

My first nurse of the semester is something of an old friend.  Last semester I took a class on Civil War music, and ended up writing a paper on how nurses used music in hospitals to help legitimize their presence. Anna Platt was one of the nurses I examined--her co-worker, Amanda Akin Stearns, published her diary/letters after the war (The Lady Nurse of Ward E), which records all kinds of musical activities, some of them starring Platt.  Of course, I couldn't resist pulling out her pension file to see what exactly was in there.
There isn't much in the file of a personal nature, or on the details of her service, only the usual glowing testimonials as to her devoted and loving care.  If you want details on that, I highly recommend The Lady Nurse of Ward E--it's a fascinating read.  The file does reveal something about her life post-war, though.  Platt, fondly known to Stearns as 'Sister Platt,' served for two years at Armory Square Hospital.  When she finally left the service, Platt almost immediately contracted typhoid and brain fever.  The prognosis wasn't pretty: Platt was delirious for three weeks and her family didn't think she'd pull through.  But Platt proved them wrong and pulled through, though her health was never what it was.
Moving on, we know Platt's father died shortly after in 1871, leaving Platt and her mother on their own.  Platt managed to support the two of them by obtaining a government job (I'm not sure what it was, but she was most likely a clerk).  By 1886 though, Platt was out of a job and out of options, so she turned to the Army Nurses Association (love these women).  Platt's private act was introduced to Congress on June 30, 1886, but Congress didn't reach it that session (seems to happen regularly).  The same thing happened in 1888, despite the ANA's not so subtle nudge to get a move-on.  The bill put forward that session stressed Platt's many sacrifices, the loss of her health, her mother's age (she was by now 93), and their lack of any means of support.  The ANA also asked Congress to date the bill from 1886, so that Platt could receive arrears dating to when her petition was first put forward.  At $25 a month, that's almost $600.
Three guesses how that went over in Congress.  The bill did not pass that session, and again sat in limbo until 1890, when it was finally passed.  Based on the file, I'm not sure if Platt received arrears or not.  In fact, after this point, the record is blank--I only have the legislative file, not the full pension file.  I put in a request, but the searchers at the Archives couldn't find the file.  If anyone has examined Platt's file before, please let me know!  I'd like to finish up Platt's story.