1. Lorinda Anna Blair Etheridge was a Union nurse and vivandiere who served during the American Civil War.
18 Facts About Anna Etheridge
1. 2.
Anna Etheridge was one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross.
3.
Anna Etheridge was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
4.
Anna Etheridge was born Lorinda Anna Blair in 1839 in Wayne County, Michigan.
5.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Etheridge enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment, serving as a nurse and vivandiere.
6.
Anna Etheridge joined as a laundress when her husband enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment.
7.
Anna Etheridge later served as the daughter of the 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment.
8.
Anna Etheridge was described as young, attractive, modest, quiet, and hard-working.
9.
Anna Etheridge provided her with a horse, saddle, and sergeant's pay, while her nominal title was cook for the officers mess.
10.
Anna Etheridge typically wore a black riding habit with sergeant's chevrons.
11.
Anna Etheridge was famous for her courageous work under fire, her skirt often being torn by bullets.
12.
Armed with pistols for her protection and saddlebags filled with medical supplies, Anna Etheridge frequently rode into the front lines on horseback to aid wounded soldiers.
13.
Anna Etheridge embodied the ideal daughter of the Union, much unlike her husband.
14.
Anna Etheridge was in every battle of the Army of the Potomac except the Battle of South Mountain.
15.
At the Battle of Chancellorsville on the morning of May 3,1863, Anna Etheridge rode up to a general and his staff with a sack of hardtack and a dozen canteens filled with hot coffee.
16.
Anna Etheridge's service ended with the Fifth Michigan in Detroit on July 1,1865.
17.
Anna Etheridge was honored with the Kearny Cross for her bravery in service.
18.
Anna Etheridge died January 23,1913, and was buried with veteran's honors in Arlington National Cemetery.