Anna M. (Anna Morris) Holstein

Born in Pennsylvania in 1825, Anna Morris Holstein became known for her work during the American Civil War. She volunteered in military hospitals and organized relief for wounded soldiers, experiences that later shaped her best-known book, Three Years in Field Hospitals of the Army of the Potomac.

Her writing stands out because it comes from direct service rather than distant observation. It offers a practical, personal view of wartime nursing, hospital life, and the enormous behind-the-scenes effort required to care for injured men.

After the war, she remained active in civic and charitable work and also wrote about family and community history. Today she is remembered both as a wartime caregiver and as an author whose memoir preserves a firsthand record of Civil War aid work.