In "Reminiscences of a Southern Hospital, by Its Matron," Phoebe Yates Pember provides readers with a firsthand account of her experiences working as a matron in a Confederate hospital during the American Civil War. Pember's detailed descriptions of the daily life, challenges, and hardships faced by both medical staff and patients offer valuable insights into the realities of war-time medical care.

Throughout the book, Pember shares not only the medical aspects of her work but also the emotional toll that caring for wounded soldiers took on her. Her compassion and dedication to her patients shine through in her writing, making her a relatable and endearing narrator. Pember's vivid storytelling pulls readers into the hospital wards, allowing them to witness the suffering and resilience of the soldiers she cared for.

One of the most compelling aspects of Pember's memoir is her honest portrayal of the difficulties she faced as a woman in a male-dominated field during a time of great societal upheaval. Her reflections on the limitations placed on her by virtue of her gender add depth to her narrative and highlight the importance of recognizing the contributions of women to the war effort.

Overall, "Reminiscences of a Southern Hospital, by Its Matron" is a poignant and informative account of a little-known aspect of Civil War history. Pember's narrative is both engaging and enlightening, offering readers a unique perspective on the impact of war on the individuals who lived through it.

Book Description:
Phoebe Yates Pember served as a matron in the Confederate Chimborazo military hospital in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, overseeing a dietary kitchen serving meals to 300 or more wounded soldiers daily. Reminiscences of a Southern Hospital is her vivid recounting of hospital life and of her tribulations (and personal growth) as a female administrator. To follow her from day one, when she is greeted with “ill-repressed disgust” that “one of them had come,” and she, herself, “could only understand that the position was one which dove-tailed the offices of housekeeper and cook” to the day when she as exerts control over the hospital’s “medicinal whiskey barrel” is to watch a woman find herself. Besides describing “daily scenes of pathos,” Pember gives a horrifying account of the prisoner exchange of November 1864 (“living and dead . . . not distinguishable”), and also of the evacuation and burning of Richmond in 1865. Her memoirs were serialized in Cosmopolite magazine in 1866, then reprinted in book form in 1879 under the title A Southern Woman’s Story. Pember was honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp in 1995.