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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Mary Ann Bickerdyke also known as Mother
3Bickerdyke was born July 19, 1817, in Knox County, Ohio; she
4attended Oberlin College and later received training as a nurse
5in a Cincinnati hospital where she worked for several years;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1847, she married Robert Bickerdyke and 9 years
8later, with their 2 small sons, the couple moved to Galesburg,
9Illinois; Robert Bickerdyke died shortly afterward; and
 
10    WHEREAS, During the Civil War, Mother Bickerdyke
11volunteered her considerable medical skills to help the
12hundreds of men who were dying, not from battle, but from
13typhoid, dysentery, and other diseases; she helped establish
14the hospital in Cairo, Illinois; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Throughout the war she continued to perform
16valuable service for the Union Army; traveling with the Army of
17Tennessee, she was present at 19 battles, including Shiloh and
18Sherman's March to the Sea; during this time, she worked not
19only as a nurse, but she also set up dietary kitchens and
20established laundry services, all the while she continued her
21fight to improve Army life for the enlisted men; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Mother Bickerdyke once argued with General
2William T. Sherman, refusing to leave the battlefield until he
3turned to another officer and exclaimed "She outranks me. I
4can't do a thing in the world.", and by the end of the war she
5had helped provide 300 hospitals for the wounded and sick; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Mother Bickerdyke was so greatly admired by
7General William Sherman, that he asked her to ride beside him
8as soldiers marched through Washington, D.C. after the war had
9ended; and
 
10    WHEREAS, After the war, she worked for the Salvation Army
11in San Francisco; she became an attorney dedicated to helping
12Civil War veterans with legal issues; she died peacefully on
13November 8, 1901; and
 
14    WHEREAS, A statue of her was erected in Galesburg and a
15hospital boat and a liberty ship, the SS Mary Bickerdyke, were
16named in her honor; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Mother Mary Ann Bickerdyke represents the
18sacrifices and contributions made by military and civilian
19nurses throughout the United States; therefore, be it
 
20    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE

 

 

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1SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Wednesday in May during
2Illinois Nurses week be designated as Mother Mary Ann
3Bickerdyke Day to honor the contributions of Mother Bickerdyke,
4military nurses, and all nurses in the State of Illinois; and
5be it further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge the citizens of this State to take
7cognizance of this event and to participate fittingly in its
8observance; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to the Illinois Nurses Association as an expression
11of our esteem and respect.