Caroline Burghardt

Caroline Burghardt was a Union nurse during the American Civil War. A native of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Burghardt was working as a governess in New York at the outbreak of the Civil War. On April 19, 1861, Burghardt reported to Bellevue Hospital where she was accepted for nurse training by the board of surgeons. Her training lasted until June 8, 1861, when she traveled to Washington to begin acting as a nurse in the war. Bughardt served as a nurse until September 6, 1865. She was stationed at numerous noteworthy locations, such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Fortress Monroe, Winchester, and Alexandria. After Burghardt's service ended, Dorothea Dix composed a "testimony of hospital services" regarding Burghardt's work during the war. In this letter, Dix commented on Burghardt's "superior fidelity and skill."

Burghardt continued her medical career well after the Civil War ended. In 1872, when she was 42 years old, Burghardt graduated from the Howard Medical School. Afterwards, she practiced homeopathic medicine and began her own medical practice in Washington, D.C. Burghardt received a pension of twelve dollars a month after February 28, 1891.