Mary Ann Bickerdyke was born in Ohio in 1817. She was one of the first women to attend Oberlin College. She became a botanical doctor, using alternative medicines like herbs and plants. After the Civil War broke out, a friend who was a regimental surgeon wrote her a letter describing the terrible conditions in a hospital he worked at. She helped raise $500 of supplies and then delivered them. She was appalled by what she saw and immediately initiated a clean-up of the very unhygienic conditions. She stuck around and was appointed to the Sanitary Commission, an organization to aid wounded and sick soldiers. Her efforts came to the attention of Generals Ulysses Grant and William Sherman who became admirers of hers. She went on campaigns with their armies and established field hospitals. She was beloved by the soldiers and became known as “Mother Bickerdyke” or the “Calico Colonel”. She developed a reputation for disregarding rank when she battled for the well-being of the wounded. When an officer once challenged her authority to tell him what to do, she famously responded: “On the authority of the Lord God Almighty. Have you anything that outranks that?” In another incident, she confronted a drunken doctor who had neglected proper feeding for the soldiers in his care. When he was fired, he went to complain to Gen. Sherman. He said: “I can do nothing for you. She ranks me.”
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