Ada White Bacot
Ada White Bacot | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 31, 1832 Darlington District, SC |
| Died | April 11, 1911 |
| Resting place | Roseville Plantation, SC |
| Occupation | Confederate nurse |
| Years active | 1861-1863 |
| Spouse | Thomas Wainwright Bacot Jr.
Thomas Clarke (married 1863-1863) James Clarke (married 1876) |
| Children | 8 |
Ada White Bacot (December 31, 1832 – April 11, 1911) was a Confederate nurse for Civil War soldiers from 1861–1863.[1] She worked as a Civil War nurse at Monticello Hospital and eventually Midway Hospital in Charlottesville, VA.[2] In 1863, Bacot left the nursing profession for unknown reasons.[1]
Personal life
Ada White Bacot was born on December 31, 1832 in Darlington District, South Carolina.[1] She was the oldest of six siblings and attended St. Mary's Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1] Her father, Peter Samuel Bacot, was a wealthy plantation owner and owned Roseville Plantation.[3] Ada White Bacot was also a plantation owner and owned Arnmore Plantation, which she inherited from her late husband Thomas Wainwright Bacot Jr.[3] Wainwright Bacot was killed in 1856.[3] By 1860, Ada White Bacot was a widow and both of her daughters, Anna Jane and Emily Helen, had died.[4][5] Bacot adopted a foster child named Flora, but struggled to look after Flora and dreaded teaching her.[5] Bacot was Episcopalian and believed strongly in her religion.[5]
Career
Ada White Bacot became a volunteer nurse in the Civil War out of patriotism for South Carolina and as an act against Southern patriarchy.[3] Bacot began work at Monticello Hospital in Charlottesville, VA, in December 1861.[1] Monticello was one of the hospitals sponsored by the South Carolina Hospital Aid Association.[6] The Association used raised and donated funds, along with money from South Carolina governor Francis Pickens to maintain multiple hospitals for Confederate soldiers.[5] Bacot began work as a housekeeper and worked hard to keep the previously filthy hospital in good condition.[5][6] Eventually, Bacot took over the job of preparing food and doing laundry for wounded soldiers from Esse Habersham.[5] Women were rarely allowed to look after patients, and almost all the female nurses performed housekeeper jobs rather than having medical duties.[5]
Bacot saw that many of the soldiers were lonely and frequently wrote letters for soldiers and read the Bible to them.[5] Helping the soldiers made her feel as though she could help ease their sorrow and pain.[5] Much of Bacot's diary focuses on her interactions with coworkers and patients rather than her actual duties in the hospital, emphasizing her relationships over her work.[1]
A few of her closest companions were Esse Habersham, Dr. James McIntosh, and Dr. Edward Rembert.[5] Bacot later began work at Midway hospital, another Virginia hospital sponsored by the South Carolina Hospital Aid Association.[3] She left for Midway upon request from Dr. Rembert, but struggled with the decision because Dr. McIntosh did not want her to leave Monticello.[5] For unknown reasons, Ada White Bacot left the nursing profession in late 1863.[1]
Ada White Bacot is also commonly known to have signed an oath of allegiance to the United States, which was a strategic move (legally) used to maintain/protect her assets inherited from her father.[7]
Legacy
During her duties, Ada White Bacot met her second husband, Thomas Clarke.[3] Clarke, however, died just two months after they married in 1863.[3] Bacot and Clarke had a son, Thomas Alfred Chives Clarke, who was born in 1864.[3] Bacot later married James Clarke, Thomas' brother, and they had four children together.[3]
Ada White Bacot's work as a Civil War nurse left a lasting impact on her personal feelings of independence.[8] Her relationships with both patients and other hospital employees helped her to find a sense of satisfaction.[8] Bacot learned many lessons about herself and the work gave her confidence.[3][8] Ada White Bacot died on April 11, 1911 and is buried at Roseville Plantation.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bacot, Ada White". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
- ^ Waldron, Ann (March 1, 1995). ""Tending the Wounded Rebels"". The Washington Post. p. 14. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Davis, Ada Romaine (1996). "Review of A Confederate Nurse: The Diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863. Women's Diaries and Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 70 (2): 323–324. ISSN 0007-5140.
- ^ Weiner, Marli F. (1995). "Review of A Confederate Nurse: The Diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863". The Journal of Southern History. 61 (2): 382–383. doi:10.2307/2211602. ISSN 0022-4642.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bacot, Ada W. (Ada White) (1994). A Confederate nurse : the diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863. Internet Archive. Columbia : University of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-87249-970-6.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) - ^ a b Varon, Elizabeth R. (1995). ""A Confederate Nurse: The Diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863. Women's Diaries and Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South Series by Jean V. Berlin"". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 79 (1): 273–274 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Romaine Davis, Ada. Ada W. Bacot: A confederate Nurse’s story. Prezi, edited by Demeter Anderson, 9 Dec. 2016, https://prezi.com/p/qt8z-gltqw1c/ada-white-bacot/.
- ^ a b c Breeden, James O. (December 4, 1994). ""A Confederate Nurse: The Diary of Ada W. Bacot, 1860-1863 (review)"". Civil War History. 40 (4): 331–332 – via Project MUSE.