Isabella was born in December 1823 in Scotch Ridge, Charlotte, New Brunswick, Canada. She lived with her parents, immigrants from Scotland, on a farm.
She married William Fogg in 1836 when she was 13 and they moved to his home town of Calais, Maine. They had at least three children: Jeanette (1842-1918), Charles F., and Hugh M. (1843-1880). After William died (before 1861) Isabella supported herself and son Hugh as a seamstress and tailor.
In 1850 Isabella was living with her family in St. Clair, St. Clair, Michigan. Her name was misspelled Isabel Morison. [1]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
H N Morison | head | M | 51 | Connecticut | lumberman |
Ann Morison | daughter? | F | 34 | England | |
Isabel Morison | daughter | F | 23 | Canada | |
Catherine Morison | daughter | F | 28 | West Indies | |
Clara S Morison | daughter? | F | 14 | Michigan |
In 1860, Isabella was living in the 3rd Ward in Calais City, Washington, Maine in the home of Anne Barker.[2]
Household | Role | Sex | Age | Birthplace | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anne D Barker | head | F | 61 | Massachusetts | |
Annie D Barker | F | 22 | Maine | printing | |
John Barker | M | 26 | Maine | clerk | |
Anna Scott | F | 22 | New Brunswick | dress maker | |
Viola Morren | servant | F | 12 | New Brunswick | servant |
Isabella Fogg | F | 38 | New Brunswick | tailor |
In April, 1861, Isabella’s son Hugh joined the militia and became a part of 6th Maine Infantry.
Isabella decided to join in the Union effort by offering her services to the state of Maine and accompanied a Maine regiment to Annapolis, Maryland to help out in hospitals. She volunteered for a Spotted Fever ward – a very risky assignment. In the spring of 1862, Isabella offered to help the Sanitary Commission of Washington care for the growing numbers of wounded. Throughout May, she tended the wounded and sick on the hospital ship USS Elm City. Her work was so impressive that a military surgeon invited her to serve at the front. From May 1862 to November 1864 she nursed at numerous sites, including Antietam and Gettysburg.
Hearing from her son Hugh about the appalling conditions of the sick and wounded in his regiment, she immediately headed off with supplies for them. Their need was enormous, too big for her to handle. She decided that it was critical for there to be an organized relief effort. Isabella returned to Maine and began campaigning for such an effort. The Maine Camp Hospital Association was created in November 1862, with field operations to be led by Isabella and committee member Harriet Eaton. The two women delivered supplies to Harper's Ferry.
She left the Camp Hospital Association in 1863 and served with the U.S. Christian Commission.
In January of 1865, while caring for soldiers on the hospital ship USS Jacob Strader on the Ohio River, Isabella fell through a hatchway and permanently injured her spine. She was bedridden for two years.
Although now an invalid for life, according to her diary, she was solaced and penetrated with deep gratitude to God that he so long preserved her in health and strength, enabling her to witness the triumph of the right and the dawn of peace.
Isabella had cared for the wounded on twenty-nine battle fields while being exposed to enemy fire at least eight times. She risked her life continually at the front, often caring for men with infectious diseases and was hospitalized more than once. During one battle, while tending to a wounded soldier, a shell flew in and killed the soldier, but spared her. She received recognition and gratitude from generals Grant, Meade, Burnside, Hooker and Chamberlain.
She became the first woman to receive a Civil War pension, and the only one pensioned for injuries suffered during the war. [3][4]
Isabella passed away on 23 Dec 1873 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Forest City Cemetery in South Portland, Cumberland, Maine.[5](Her death records incorrectly state that her father was William Fogg.)[6][7]
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M > Morrison | F > Fogg > Isabella (Morrison) Fogg
Categories: Nurses, United States Civil War | Charlotte County, New Brunswick | Calais, Maine | Forest City Cemetery, South Portland, Maine