Louise Maertz
Louise Maertz (c. 1837 — February 4, 1918) was an American Civil War nurse, writer, and clubwoman based in Illinois.
Early life[edit]
Louise Maertz was born in Quincy, Illinois, the daughter of Charles Augustus Maertz and Ottilia Obert Maertz. Both of her parents were German immigrants.[1] Louise was sent to Germany for medical treatment at age 18, and toured Europe during that time.[2]
Career[edit]
As a young woman during the American Civil War, she volunteered as a nurse, at first locally in Illinois, and then in Helena, Arkansas, and St. Louis, Missouri, among other assignments. She caught malaria in 1863, at an Army hospital in Mississippi.[3] She helped set up the Soldiers' Home in New Orleans.[4] In 1895 she donated money to the Blessing Hospital in Quincy, in memory of her father, for a men's ward.[5]
Maertz wrote several books, including A New Method for the Study of English Literature (1884),[6] and a biography of her father (1903).[5] In 1895, during thirtieth anniversary commemorations of the end of the Civil War, she published a detailed memoir of her time as a nurse with the Union Army.[7]
In 1869, she was a founding member of the "Friends in Council," a women's study club in Quincy.[8] Late in life she served on the board of the Quincy Historical Society, and in that capacity saved the John Wood Mansion from demolition in 1907.[2] She was also active in the Quincy Humane Society.[9]
Personal life[edit]
Louise Maertz died in 1918, aged 80 years. There is a plaque in Quincy, Illinois, placed by the Quincy Women's Club, honoring several "Pioneer Women" of the town, including Louise Maertz.[8] At her death, her estate funded the establishment of a "waif's home" for black children in Quincy.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ "Charles Augustus Maertz" in William Herzog Collins, Cicero F. Perry, eds., Past and Present of the City of Quincy and Adams County, Illinois (): 602-605.
- ^ a b Amy Kaiser, "Louise Maertz: A Lesson in How to make a Difference" Herald Whig (August 27, 2012).
- ^ Kathleen S. Hanson "Down to Vicksburg: The Nurses' Experience" Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society 97(4)(Winter 2004).
- ^ Historical Society of Quincy and Adams Counties, "Memories of a Civil War Nurse by Arlis Dittmer" (November 1, 2015).
- ^ a b Arlis Dittmer, "Once Upon a Time in Quincy: Book Reveals Life of Early German Family" Quincy Whig-Herald (February 1, 2015).
- ^ Louise Maertz, A New Method for the Study of English Literature (S. C. Griggs & Co. 1879, later edition is 1884).
- ^ Louise Maertz, "Midland War Sketches IV" Midland Monthly (January 1895): 79-85.
- ^ a b Helen Warning, "Women's Study Club was Bold Innovation" Quincy Herald Whig (January 30, 1977).
- ^ "Annual Report of the Quincy Humane Society" Humane Advocate (March 1909): 96-97.
- ^ "To Build Waif's Home" Kansas City Sun (February 23, 1918): 1. via Newspapers.com
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