Lesson 04

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Reading Text

MARY SEACOLE, AN UNSUNG HERO OF THE CRIMEA

A portrait of an old, dark-skinned lady wearing three medals on her left breast was discovered in 2003. An antique dealer accidentally found it behind a framed print at a garage sale in Burford, U.K. He had no idea who the lady was, and when searching for some kind of clue, he only found the artist’s initials written on the back side of the painting.

After passing through various auctions, the person in the portrait was finally identified as Mary Seacole. The National Portrait Gallery in London confirmed that the painting was genuine and purchased it, quoting that “as a woman and as a West Indian of mixed race, she broke many barriers to make a huge contribution to Victorian society.” The portrait has been displayed there since 2004.

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Mary Seacole was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. Her father was a Scottish soldier, and her mother practiced traditional Jamaican medicine. Her mother ran a boarding house while caring for wounded soldiers as if they were her own family members.

By observing her mother, Mary learned the practice of traditional Jamaican medicine. Mary also traveled widely to take care of sick people. When she visited Panama in 1851, Mary managed to save her first cholera patient, and in so doing she gained extensive knowledge of this disease. In fact, she herself contracted and recovered from it while in Panama. Having overcome many difficulties, she gained a reputation for her work in treating cholera and other diseases.

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It was while she was in London in 1853 that she heard about the Crimean War and the collapse of the nursing system down there. Thousands of men were dying of cholera, dysentery, cold, and battle wounds because of a lack of proper medical care. She immediately applied to the War Office to go to the Crimea and help the sick and wounded soldiers. In the application process, she stressed that she had considerable experience treating sick soldiers in Jamaica. To her disappointment, her application was rejected. She asked herself, “Did these ladies shrink from accepting my aid because my blood flowed beneath a somewhat duskier skin than theirs?”

Nothing, however, could stop her from following her aspirations. Mary persevered and founded a firm with Thomas Day, a distant relative of hers, and they went to the Crimea with a large stock of medicines. Mary, who was then 50, was supposed to work officially as a sutler, someone who was allowed to sell goods to soldiers near the front. As soon as she arrived in the summer of 1855, however, Mary started to take care of the sick and wounded as if she were their mother. This is why the soldiers of the British army came to call her “Mother Seacole.”

One of the army doctors testified with admiration that despite the numbing coldness on the front line, Mary Seacole would care for the soldiers and provide them with tea, food, and words of comfort. She also braved enemy fire near the front lines trying to find soldiers in need of help. One news reporter described her as “a warm and successful physician, who doctors and cures all manner of men with extraordinary success. She is always in attendance near the battle field to aid the wounded and has earned many a poor fellow’s blessings.”

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At the end of the war in 1856, Mary turned out broke. She had spent all her personal wealth in the Crimea. She returned to England ill and poor. Fortunately, there were veterans who never forgot the amazing things that Mary had done on the battle field. Some army officers organized a benefit festival to raise funds in her honor. It was reported that to their surprise, thousands of contributors gathered and her name was shouted by a thousand voices. She was also awarded three medals for her bravery and her work from England, Turkey, and France, which is vividly depicted in her portrait. In 1857, with the help of her supporters, Mary published her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands. The last 25 years of her life, however, were spent quietly outside of public attention. She died on May 14th, 1881.

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During the Crimean War (1853-1856), Mary Seacole was from time to time compared to Florence Nightingale. Unlike Nightingale, Seacole had to overcome prejudice related to her race. Being a born healer, she made her own way to the war where she was needed. In fact, she risked her life to aid the wounded and bring comfort to dying soldiers. While Florence Nightingale became a legend, Mary Seacole was largely forgotten until the year 2003 when her portrait was accidentally discovered. Many people believe that she reappeared in history when a hero like her was needed most.

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The Crimean War and Inventions

Many inventions have been made during wartime. Some came about accidentally while others were developed as solutions to particular military problems. The Crimean War was no exception. The three-year war brought about some important inventions that are still in use today.

The weather was bitterly cold and damp during the Crimean War. So Lord Cardigan, a commander of the British forces, began wearing a woolen sweater with buttons down the front to keep warm. Thus the original cardigan sweater was born. Another invention at that time was the trench coat. In the beginning of the Crimean War, soldiers wore wool coats to keep warm in the bitter cold. To their disappointment, however, the wool coats would get soaked and become heavy in the rain. Soon water-resistant trench coats began to replace the old ones. Modern weather forecasting also got its start during that war. After British and French ships were destroyed during a storm on the Black Sea, the French government investigated the circumstances leading to the disaster and found that the storm could have been predicted. This encouraged the governments of France and Britain to start a weather forecasting service. Without doubt, all three cases are good examples of the old saying, “necessity is the mother of invention.”

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A Little History

The Crimean War (1853-1856)

The Crimean War was fought by Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire against Russia. It began in 1853 and lasted until 1856 mainly to cut down Russia’s presence in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.