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She married Jared Brainard in 1856. [2]
They lived in Bryon. [3] Later they moved to Rockford. [4][5]
Mary passed away in 1905. [6][7]
When her husband enlisted with the 74th Illinois Infantry, in August 1862, Mary joined him as the regimental nurse. When they left Camp Fuller that September, she was the only woman on the train. When they arrived in Kentucky she was appointed head matron of the Hospital #9 at Lebanon, Kentucky. Her husband was also assigned to hospital duty and from November 1862 to April 1863 they worked together. As matron, she actually outranked her husband who was a private.
In May and June 1863, Jared was listed as sick at Lebanon and she was working at Hospital #14 in Louisville. In September he was sent to Louisville and discharged due to chronic pneumonia. At the same time she fell seriously ill with malaria and they both returned to Rockford.
Because of her work, Mary was awarded a pension by an act of Congress. [8] She is listed in the 1929 1929 Illinois Roll of Honor (War Veteran Burials) [9]
In April, 1923, the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War named their unit, or "tent" as the national organization called them, after Mary J. Brainard.
Mary began writing when young. When she was 18 the local paper published her poetry. While she was in Louisville, she wrote for the Courier Journal. She had three books of poetry published after the war, "Esther Gray and Other Poems" in 1871, "Memorial Pictures of War and Peace", reflections on her war experience in 1873 and "Heart Offerings" in 1881. She wrote as "Aunt Mary" for the Golden Censor, a religious publication in Rockford.
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C > Conger | B > Brainard > Mary Jane (Conger) Brainard
Categories: United States, Authors | Court Street United Methodist Church, Rockford, Illinois | 74th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, United States Civil War | Nurses, United States Civil War | Bangor, New York | 1850 US Census, Ogle County, Illinois | 1870 US Census, Winnebago County, Illinois, Rockford Township | 1900 US Census, Winnebago County, Illinois, Rockford Township | Rockford, Illinois | Greenwood Cemetery, Rockford, Illinois