U.S. Army Directive Establishing the Army Nurse Corps, 1901

U S. Army Nursing Corps

Pamphlet

[Military][Nursing][Women in Medicine] Military directive establishing the Army Nurse Corps, 1901. General Orders, No. 113. Headquarters of the Army, Adjutant General’s Office. Washington, August 22, 1901. Washington: War Department, 1901. First edition. 10 pages. Bound with cloth tape, lacking wrappers as issued. A foundational federal directive outlining the regulatory framework for the newly established Army Nurse Corps, as authorized by Section 19 of the Act of February 2, 1901—legislation intended to increase the efficiency of the U.S. military’s permanent establishment. This pamphlet marks a critical milestone in the formal integration of women into the military medical apparatus and reflects early 20th-century gendered labor structures within federal institutions. It defines duties, pay, appointment qualifications, leave policies, and uniform standards for female nurses employed by the U.S. Army. Of particular historical note is its stipulation that the superintendent must be a graduate of a hospital training school, emphasizing the formal credentialing of women in a field long dominated by informal care roles. The directive further outlines pay rates for chief and reserve nurses, entitlements to quarters and medical care, and the procedural logistics of leave and illness, rendering it an early articulation of professional military nursing policy.

The text includes sixteen numbered provisions covering areas such as applications for appointment, travel reimbursements, illness treatment, and efficiency reporting. Paragraph 15 specifies the required uniform, including “a waist and skirt of suitable white material, adjustable white cuffs, shoulder collar, white apron, and cap according to patterns prescribed by the Surgeon General’s Office.” Such mandates reinforce both the militarization and gendered expectations placed upon early 20th-century women in uniform. A marginal annotation in red ink on the cover notes that this issue was “amended by G.O. 54, W.D. 1908,” signaling its eventual revision, which adds bibliographic and institutional value for those studying the evolution of military nursing. Light toning. Red pen annotation on page one noting the order's amendment in 1908. Overall very good to near fine condition. A comprehensive government document that institutionalized women’s medical labor within the Army.

Item #21971

Price: $385.00