Anna M. (Anna Morris) Holstein

Born in Pennsylvania in 1824, Anna Morris Holstein became known for determined public service during the American Civil War. From 1862 through the end of the war, she worked in hospital service, and after the Battle of Gettysburg she served as matron-in-chief of a large hospital caring for thousands of wounded soldiers.

She later wrote about those experiences in Three Years in Field Hospitals of the Army of the Potomac, a memoir valued for its direct view of wartime nursing and relief work. She is also remembered for helping found the Ladies' Association of Valley Forge and for her role in preserving Washington's headquarters there.

Holstein died in 1900, but her legacy bridges several worlds at once: battlefield care, women's civic leadership, and historical memory. Her writing offers readers a grounded, personal account of war seen not from the command tent, but from the hospital ward.