Etheridge, Anna (Civil War, American)

(1839 or 1844-19 13)

American Civil War medic. Anna Blair was born on May 3 near Detroit, Michigan, but the year of her birth is uncertain; both 1839 and 1844 are cited. She moved to Wisconsin as a child, living a comfortable life as the daughter of a merchant farmer. She later married James Etheridge and returned to Detroit at the outbreak of the Civil War. As the Michigan Volunteer Infantry was mustered, there was a general need for the auxiliary support of nurses and laundresses. Anna Etheridge joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a daughter of the regiment, assuming the duties of a battlefield medic. Although many women initially responded to the call for volunteers, only two other women served with the 2nd Michigan for a significant time, nurse Jane Hinsdale and a disguised soldier, Sarah Emma Edmonds, who was known as Franklin Thompson. James Etheridge also enlisted and appears on the roster of the regiment.

Anna accompanied the unit to Washington, D.C., in May 1861 and participated in the battle of Blackburn’s Ford, Virginia, in July. She served on the front lines, delivering water and first aid to the wounded on the battlefield during her first engagement with the enemy. She followed the 2nd Michigan on campaign, seeing combat at First Bull Run and nursing the sick in camp.

During the Battle of Williamsburg, Anna gained the attention of General Phil Kearny, who commended her work. Later, while treating the wounded at Second Bull Run, a soldier was hit and killed by artillery fire during her ministrations. General Kearny again commended her courage and promised her a horse and the rank of sergeant. Kearny was killed before she received the rank, but the regiment did provide a horse. Anna subsequently had two animals shot from under her. She was often seen riding through the lines, receiving cheers from the men, who called her Gentle Annie. In one incident, she incited the entrenched troops to cheer, giving away their position to the Confederates and drawing fire. In 1863, Anna received the Kearny Cross for courage.


Anna preferred to remain with the Army of the Potomac and moved from the 2nd Michigan to the 3rd and 5th Michigan Infantry. She was present at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, where she was wounded in the hand. In July 1863, she was seen in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg and at the Third Corps Hospital. When General Ulysses S. Grant gained control of the Army of the Potomac in 1864, he ordered all women to rear echelon hospitals. Anna served at City Point, Virginia, and on hospital ships, although she also spent time with her unit in the field. She was mustered out with her regiment in 1865.

It is unclear what became of James Etheridge, but after the war, Anna married Connecticut infantry veteran Charles Hooks. He was disabled, and she worked for the Treasury Department until she was unfairly dismissed in 1878 so that another person could be hired. Many men from her regiments wrote on her behalf, but she could not reclaim her employment. She applied for a wartime service pension in 1886 and received the stipend in 1887. Anna Etheridge died on January 23, 1913, in Georgetown and was buried at Arlington Cemetery.

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