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The Spanish–American War Nurses Memorial is a memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States that commemorates those American nurses who died in the Spanish–American War in 1898. The rough-hewn, grey granite memorial was erected by the Order of Spanish–American War Nurses on May 2, 1905. It stands in the southwestern corner of Section 21, where the first Spanish–American War nurses are buried. The memorial should not be confused with the Nurses Memorial. This tall marble figure of a nurse in a nurse's uniform and cape was erected in 1938. It also stands in Section 21, a short distance away. It is screened from the northern part of Section 21 by a copse of trees.〔Knuckle, p. 63; Styles, Moccia, and Evans, p. 9.〕 ==Nurses in the Spanish–American War== The Spanish–American War was a ten-week conflict that occurred in the spring and summer of 1898. Cuba had been waging a war of independence against Spain since 1895, an effort largely supported by the United States (which had extensive economic interests on the island). To ensure the safety of American citizens and property in Cuba, the United States sent the battleship to Havana in late January 1898. The ''Maine'' exploded and was destroyed with large loss of life on February 15. American newspapers whipped up war fever, and held Spain responsible for the ship's destruction. The United States Congress enacted a joint resolution demanding independence for Cuba, and President William McKinley signed it into law on April 20. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations on April 21. The same day, the United States Navy began a blockade of Cuba. Spain declared war on April 23. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21.〔Trask, p. 57.〕 The Spanish–American War began on April 25, 1898, and ended on August 12, 1898. Cuban and Spanish dead vastly outnumbered American deaths. While 2,910 American military personnel died during the war, just 345 were combat deaths. The rest died of disease.〔Dyal, Carpenter, and Thomas, p. 67.〕 The U.S. military barred women from serving in any capacity prior to the war.〔Sandhoff and Segal, p. 113.〕 Although the Army had 791 nurses, they were all male, and far too few to provide the medical care needed. Soldiers resisted being transferred from combat units into the nursing corps, and few volunteers signed up for medical duty. Congress quickly authorized the military to hire female nurses—but on contract, not as military personnel. The army reached out specifically to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a patriotic society, to recruit women nurses. Dr. Anita Newcomb McGee, one of the medical doctors practicing in the United States, was asked to lead the DAR's recruitment effort. Of the 1,563 nurses recruited for the new Nurse Corps, most served in hospitals in the United States. Only 76 were sent to Cuba, 30 to the Philippines, nine to Puerto Rico, six to Honolulu, and eight served aboard the hospital ship ''USS Relief''.〔McCallum, p. 392.〕 It was the first time in American history where nurses were fully accepted in military hospitals.〔Judd, Stizman, and Davis, p. 52.〕 Although no nurses were killed in combat, 140 died of typhoid and 13 from other diseases. (One of the 13 died of yellow fever after being experimented upon by the army.)〔 Since nearly all the nurses died in the United States, most were sent home to their families for burial. A handful died overseas, and were buried there. On July 8, 1898, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the repatriation of American dead, and appropriating funds for this purpose. Additional legislation was enacted on February 9, 1900; May 26, 1900; and June 6, 1900. Many of the dead were buried at Arlington National Cemetery, either because their families desired it or the remains could not be identified.〔(Quartermaster Corps, p. 82-84. ) Accessed 2013-06-11.〕 The first Spanish–American War nurse to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery was Anna H. Campos, who died in Cuba on September 2, 1899. Her remains were repatriated about May 1900.〔She was not the first nurse buried in the cemetery. Three nurses from the American Civil War were buried there in the 1860s. See: (McGee, p. 447. ) Accessed 2013-06-18.〕 By February 1901, the military had repatriated a few of the bodies of nurses who had died overseas. For families which wished it, or where remains went unclaimed or unidentified, the bodies were buried at Arlington.〔("Reports of Chiefs of Bureaus", 1901, p. 363. ) Accessed 2013-06-18.〕 These nurses were buried in what is now Section 21. Over time, more military nurses were buried next to them, creating a "nurses' section".〔Gurney, p. 70.〕 The U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps had control of Arlington National Cemetery at the time. In late 1906, Brigadier General Charles F. Humphrey, Sr., Quartermaster General, gave permission for any Army nurse who wished to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors.〔("In the Nursing World", January 1907, p. 36. ) Accessed 2013-06-18.〕〔It was not until World War I that the section began to fill with nurses. Between April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918, 134 women in the Army Nurse Corps died from the Spanish flu or pneumonia. Four nurses died while on duty at the front in France (although not from combat injuries), and two died in an accident aboard the ''SS Mongolia''. Section 21 was formally designated as the section in which these and other nurses should be buried. See: Potter, p. 64.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Spanish–American War Nurses Memorial」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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