When wounded soldiers were carried off the Gettysburg Battlefield during the Civil War, many encountered nurses such as Mary Goldsborough.
She offered them care and comfort. She was a southern sympathizer, but she cared for them all, regardless of whether they wore Union blue or Confederate gray.
Goldsborough, of Baltimore, was named to the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame for her war service. But her name is not a familiar one to most.
A group of Maryland Ensemble Theatre actors want to change that. They tell her story and those of six other women involved in the Civil War through "Finally Heard," a theater production being performed at 8 tonight and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Carroll Arts Center in Westminster.
The show is being presented in conjunction with the First Call weekend in Westminster for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The production is being sponsored by the Carroll County Office of Tourism.
"Finally Heard" was originally written 16 years ago after a group of writers did considerable research about the roles of women in the Civil War effort. The most poignant stories have been selected and acted out on stage, Gene Fouche, one of the production's original writers, said.
The show was brought back this year due to the looming 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg in July and renewed interest in the Civil War, Fouche said.
"You don't hear the stories of these women," Fouche said. "You think of the Civil War, and it's always the men, but there were some phenomenal women involved in the war effort as well."
In addition to Goldsborough's story, the MET actresses will showcase Elizabeth Van Lew and Mary Elizabeth Bowser. Van Lew, a Richmond socialite, sent Bowser, a former slave worker for her family, to spy on Jefferson Davis during the Civil War.
Bowser was brought in to serve as a servant for Davis, the leader of the Confederacy. He thought she was illiterate. She was not. After being freed as a slave by the Van Lew family, she studied in Pennsylvania. She was able to obtain war secrets that she passed on to the Union.
"She would memorize the war strategies and maps, take it to [Van Lew], and she would get that information to Gen. [Ulysses S.] Grant," Fouche said.
The Carroll County Arts Council is preparing several Civil War events this year for the 150th anniversary. In June, the Arts Council is planning an art exhibit honoring the 150th anniversary, featuring works depicting some aspect of the Civil War.
But first comes the stories of several women and their Civil War roles from the Maryland Ensemble Theatre, which annually performs "A Christmas Carol" at the Carroll Arts Center.
The show got rave reviews in Frederick and it's important for those in Carroll to have the opportunity to see it, Carroll County Arts Council Executive Director Sandy Oxx said.
"Certainly, there is a wealth of Civil War programming in this area, especially this year as we observe the 150th anniversary," Oxx said. "But this program is unusual in that it focuses on women. Audiences have had scarce opportunities to consider the Civil War from this angle and it is one that certainly must be considered."
