FRONT PAGE
CAMPUS NEWS:
Improvements
HPV
VACCINE
CA FIRED
FUNDRAISER
CHAPLAIN
PETROCELLI
MORTENSON
ART
CLUB
EDWARDS
SENIOR PROFILE
CORREIA
A&E:
AMERICAN CLOCK
DVD PREVIEW
SPORTS:
ROB'S BLOG
PAST ISSUES
Shunned in her lifetime, she may get recognition at Cathedral
by Angela Bussiere
Exchange Staff
The Rindge Historical Society plans to meet with the Board of Directors of the Cathedral of the Pines to see if a plaque can be placed in the Bell Tower dedicated to the first female military chaplain, Elvira "Ella" Gibson.
The Rindge Historical Society is proposing the plaque because the tower is dedicated to the women who have served in the military. In the 1860s, Gibson was appointed chaplain of the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery.
Amy Raymond, a member of the Historical Society, said, "In spite of her contributions during the Civil War, there has never been any official recognition of her service to her country."
Before running off to war "she lectured and wrote propaganda for the Northern newspapers," Bussiere said. Gibson was also a school teacher in Rindge and in the surrounding areas.
Gibson defied the status quo of her times, Bussiere said. Women during this time usually married one man, had children, and settled down to run a house old. Gibson taught for a career, "legally changed her name, went to Washington alone to pursue a career in journalism, married and ran off with a soldier to join his regiment, nursed, fought, and acted as chaplain," Bussiere said.
After working as chaplain, Gibson divorced her second husband and continued to write. She remained "politically active for the remainder of her life," Bussiere said.
Gibson was also involved in other political issues such as slavery. Raymond said, "She became well known for her work in the cause of anti-slavery and temperance."
Bussiere said, "Ella
was a woman ahead of her time and was shunned during her lifetime."
|
|
|
|