In July 1862, small band of Sisters of Mercy, led by Mother Mary Madeline Tobin, arrive at Beaufort and take charge of the military hospital at the Atlantic Hotel-once a fine report, now half-derelict and spoiled by looting. They find patients badly fed, suffering with little care and no sanitation. They demand food, clothing, cleaning and medical supplies. Quickly they transform the squalid place into a clean hospital that provides excellent care for wounded and ill men of both armies. They are among some 600 women from 21 religious orders who labor among the battlefield wounded. Four of the sisters die in service. All exhibit extraordinary commitment and perseverance and earn the undying loyalty of the soldiers to whom they minister-many of whom have never before encountered a nun and are at first confounded by their black and white habits, but quickly are won over by the sisters’ gentleness and competence.
