Battlefield of Bandages Available Now for Download

Four years of hard work has finally paid off! My thesis, Battlefield of Bandages: A Case Study on Sanitation Policy, Medical reform, and Disease Prevention During the War of Rebellion, is available now for online download. Check it out! https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3507/

Pursuing my own National Treasure

Long post, but stay with me on this one. 🎩🏛🧦 As some of you may remember, last year we surveyed Chimborazo hospital (CSA) at the National Archives. After sifting through maps, surveying hospital fatalities and disease, and thumbing through endless special orders and correspondence from Chimborazo, we drove to Richmond, VA to see the hospital…

Ride electric scooters with us through the National Mall (short film)- Washington D.C. research trip 2020

This trip will always be one I cherish. This was my third trip to DC for research over the course of my college career but there was just something about this one being possibly my last trip as a college student, which made it a little bittersweet. Although I have applied to a Ph.D. program…

“Do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”

My day started off hectic, I was late- as always 🤷🏼‍♀️, threw lunchables in lunch boxes and finally got the boys to their grandma’s so I could get to MSU. It was not ideal, I was frustrated and had major anxiety, but as soon as I sat down here, looking at these documents, I felt…

The Limits and Strengths of the WPA Missouri Slave Narratives

Until the late 1930s, the narratives of former slaves living in Missouri were unheard. As many slaves were illiterate, documenting their experiences was commonly impossible. Due to the predominance of illiteracy, oral histories of former slaves were collected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1936 through a series of interviews with former slaves. As…

The Anaconda Plan: Using Vicksburg to Constrict Enemy Lines

Perched on top a majestic bluff sits the small town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. With a seat right on the Mississippi River, the town is a prime location for commerce and trade. This was especially true in the Summer of 1863 when the Confederate army held the city, making use of its steep bluffs and the…

Women Show Agency Within the United States Sanitary Commission

One of the most interesting aspects of my research of Civil War medicine thus far is the methods women used to achieve their agendas during the Civil War. Being opposed to women as volunteers, both Surgeon General Lawson and Finley maintained that protestant women should not be exposed to the kinds of conditions produced by…

The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Navigating the Muddy Waters of Religion versus Terrorism

Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, millions of Syrian citizens have fled the country to avoid oppression and murder at the hands of the Assad regime (Opposing viewpoints, 2017). This turmoil has led citizens to seek residence in neighboring countries and in 2015, the United States became another safe haven for…