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Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent #23, Daughters of Union Veterans memorializes namesake, all Civil War nurses

Photo courtesy of Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent #23, Daughters of Union Veterans
REMEMBERING CIVIL WAR NURSE — On May 16 Sarah Elizabeth Palmer Tent #23, Daughters of Union Veterans member Molly Bennett and her cousin Amaiya Hunter-Jacob placed flowers on the grave of Sarah E. Palmer, Civil War nurse. Palmer was born in Sebec in 1831, the daughter of Samuel and Susan Palmer. The family moved to Dover when she was a child where she graduated from Foxcroft Academy. When the Civil War began, Palmer volunteered and was accepted as a nurse under Dorethea Dix, who held the most exacting standards for her nurses. At the conclusion of the war Palmer continued nursing as matron at a hospital for the insane in Trenton, New Jersey from 1865-68 when she returned to Dover. She was granted a pension from the government and was endorsed by the C.S. Douty Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Palmer died in January 1894 and was laid to rest in her family’s lot. As a final tribute, the American Legion Post places a flag at her grave and the DUV Tent holds a memorial service in remembrance of all the Civil War nurses who gave comfort and care to Union men.

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