19. Outranking William Tecumseh Sherman
When an Army surgeon questioned Mary Ann Bickerdyke’s authority, she retorted that she was acting: “On the authority of the Lord God Almighty. Have you anything that outranks that?” On another occasion, when members of US Grant’s staff complained to William Tecumseh Sherman of Bickerdyke’s defiance of some regulations, he threw up his hands and exclaimed: “She outranks me. I can’t do a thing in the world“.
In addition to running hospitals, Bickerdyke accompanied Union armies, braving shot and shell to scour the battlefields for wounded men missed by stretcher-bearers, who might still be saved. Those whom she personally rescued included General John “Black Jack” Logan, commander of XV Corps, who had been wounded and left on the field for dead at Fort Donelson. By the time the war was over, Bickerdyke had helped set up over 300 field hospitals, and had been the difference-maker in saving the lives of thousands.
