10 Facts About Orianna Andrews

Orianna Moon Andrews was an American physician who was one of the first women in America to hold a medical degree.

Orianna Andrews served as a doctor for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.

Orianna Andrews attended the Troy Female Seminary for a year, which provided the required courses in sciences and mathematics to allow her to enroll in the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Orianna Andrews submitted her doctoral thesis in 1856 and graduated the following year.

Orianna Andrews wrote to the military commanders of Virginia, offering her skills to the war effort of the Confederate States of America.

Orianna Andrews was employed as the superintendent of a team of nurses in a makeshift hospital at the University of Virginia.

Orianna Andrews wrote to Brigadier General Philip St George Cocke asking to be moved to the front, and her sister Lottie Moon wrote to him in support as well.

Orianna Andrews was not moved, but instead left the service when she married Dr John Summerfield Andrews in November 1861.

Orianna Andrews returned to Albemarle County to give birth to her first son in the following year.

At the time of her death, Orianna Andrews had six living sons, although another six children had died in childhood.