May, 1866. Colonel Higginson, in alluding to his personal services, said
he would tell of his better half. When Colonel Hawley went as commander
of the Seventh Connecticut to Port Royal, to do his share of conquering
and to conquer, he took with him a thousand bayonets on one side, and a
Connecticut woman with her school-books on the other (applause). Where
he planted the standard of the Union, she planted its institutions; and
where he waved the sword, she waved the primer.

ELLEN E. MITCHELL.

This lady, better known among those to whom she ministered as "Nellie
Mitchell," was at the opening of the late war a resident of Montrose,
Pennsylvania, where, surrounded by friends, the inmate of a pleasant
home, amiable, highly educated and accomplished, her early youth had
been spent. Her family was one of that standing often named as "our
first families," and her position one every way desirable.

Perhaps her own words extracted from a letter to the writer of this
sketch will give the best statement of her views and motives.

"I only did my duty, did what I could, and did it because it would have
been a great act of self-denial not to have done it.

"I have ever felt that those who cheerfully gave their loved ones to
their country's cause, made greater sacrifices, manifested more heroism,
were worthy of more honor by far, than those of us who labored in the
hospitals or on the fields. I had not these 'dear ones' to give, so gave
heartily what I could, myself to the cause, with sincere gratitude, I
trust, to God, for the privilege of thus doing."

Miss Mitchell left her home in Montrose early in May, 1861, and
proceeded to New York city, where she went through a course of
instruction in surgical nursing at Bellevue Hospital, preparatory to
assuming the duties of an army nurse. The unwonted labors, the terrible
sights, and close attendance so impaired her health that after six weeks
she concluded to go to Woodbury, Connecticut, where she remained with
friends while awaiting orders, and in consequence did not join the army
as soon as she otherwise would. Being absent from New York, one or two
opportunities were lost, and it was not until September that her labors
in the military hospitals commenced.

She had intended to give her services to her country, but after
witnessing the frequent destitution of comforts among those to whom she
ministered, she decided to receive the regular pay of a nurse from the
Governme