America 250 Series:
Serving the Dear Neighbor Without Distinction: The Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling in the Civil War
In the early 1860s, as the United States moved toward civil war, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling were navigating upheaval of their own. In 1860, the small community became an independent diocesan congregation under Bishop Richard Vincent Whelan with just five women led by Mother Stanislaus Matthews. Within months, both the nation and the Sisters would be tested by crisis.
The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 coincided with political division in Virginia, where Wheeling was located. While eastern Virginia joined the Confederacy, western counties resisted secession. The result was the creation of a rival Union government in Wheeling, and the formation of the state of West Virginia in 1863. The Sisters found themselves living and ministering at the center of a divided region.
The community also faced internal challenges. Mother Stanislaus died in October 1860, only months after the congregation’s founding. Sister Immaculate Feeny then assumed leadership at just twenty-five years old, but by 1864 she resigned. Leadership then passed to Sister de Chantal Keating, who was sent from New York to guide the community forward.
It is in the Sisters’ Civil War–era diary that we see how they lived their mission during this time of national conflict. The entries reveal a ministry shaped by urgency, compassion, and resilience.
Wheeling became an important military center with soldiers from both the Union and the Confederacy being brought there for treatment or imprisonment. As a result, the Sisters’ work at Wheeling Hospital expanded rapidly. In March 1864, they were asked to take charge of dozens of military patients, and within three days, forty-seven men were admitted in serious condition.
The Sisters’ diary captures both the scale of the need and their response. They cared for soldiers from both sides of the conflict, living out their charism of serving “the dear neighbor without distinction.” Union and Confederate soldiers were nursed in adjacent beds, and the Sisters tended to all with the same dedication. In a time of deep division, their ministry offered a quiet but powerful witness to compassion beyond political loyalties.
In July 1864,approximately two hundred injured soldiers arrived unexpectedly. The Sisters described placing the men on blankets across the floor and providing what comfort they could after the soldiers’ journey. “We are busy enough,” one entry records, “but can do a great deal to soothe their miseries.”
The government eventually assumed control of the hospital as a United States General Military Hospital, and the Sisters were commissioned as army nurses.
The hospital returned to its usual operations when the war ended in 1865, but the impact of the conflict remained. The Sisters had endured years of uncertainty and loss, yet they remained faithful to their calling. Sisters Ignatius and de Chantal were awarded the Grand Army of the Republic’s Bronze Medal in recognition of their service.
The Civil War diary of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling offers a glimpse into how women religious responded to a defining moment in U.S. history. In the midst of division and suffering, they chose compassion. Their witness reminds us that even in times of conflict, acts of care can bridge divides and affirm our shared humanity.
As we approach America’s 250th anniversary, their story continues to speak to our own time. It invites us to serve others with courage, generosity, and a spirit that recognizes we are all one.
Hoye, Sr. Ann. (2002). Seasons of Nature and of Grace: History of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Wheeling 1853-2003.
Excerpt from the SSJs of Wheeling Civil War Diary dated July 27th, 1864.
Images of Mother de Chantal Keating and Sr. Ignatius Farley. Mother de Chantal and Sr. Ignatius were both recipients of the Bronze Medal of the Grand Army of the Republic for their service as nurses during the Civil War.
Article submitted by Jessica Novotny, Assistant Director, CSJ Archives & Records Retention