McGee, Anita Newcomb (Administrators)

(1864-1940)

Acting assistant surgeon general of the United States during the Spanish-American War; helped establish a permanent Army Corps of Nurses; and volunteered as a nurse in the Russo-Japanese War. Anita Newcomb was born on November 4, 1864, in Washington, D.C. In 1888 she married a scientist, William John McGee, with whom she had three children. In 1892 she received her M.D. from Columbian University (now George Washington University) and then undertook postgraduate studies in gy-necology at Johns Hopkins University. She stopped practicing medicine in 1896 and took on a series of leadership positions in organizations including the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

When the United States declared war on Spain in 1898, McGee, as chairman of the DAR Hospital Corps, devised a method for her committee to screen all applicants seeking work as nurses for the U.S. Army. Overwhelmed by applications, Surgeon General George M. Sternberg accepted McGee’s plan. He established a Nurse Corps Division and appointed McGee acting assistant surgeon general that August. Instead of endorsing a volunteer ethic, McGee emphasized the importance of formal training. At the same time she pragmatically recruited "immunes" (individuals who had survived yellow fever and thus had developed an immunity), even those without medical training, along with graduate nurses. Her stance brought her into conflict both with the American Red Cross and with the recently organized Nurses’ Associated Alumnae, a national group of professional nurses.


McGee subsequently worked to recognize and formalize contract nurses’ contributions to the war effort. She helped to form the Society of Spanish-American War Nurses and for six years she served as its president. She also lobbied extensively to establish a permanent U.S. Army Nurse Corps, which was finally accomplished through passage of the Army Reorganization Act of 1901. McGee joined a group of Spanish-American War veterans and nursed Japanese troops during the Russo-Japanese War (1904— 1905). Japan gave her an officer’s rank and awarded her the Imperial Order of the Sacred Crown in recognition for her service.

Afterward McGee withdrew to private life. She died in Washington, D.C., on October 5, 1940, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

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