Provincial Archives

Records of Daughters of Charity Service in World War I, RG 7-5-6

When the United States entered World War I in April of 1917, hospitals served by the Daughters of Charity were quick to join the war effort. Along with about 100 nurses recruited from Daughters’ hospitals nationwide, ten sisters went off to serve in the American Expeditionary Forces. These Daughters, from what was then the Western Province centered in St. Louis, were under the leadership of Sister Chrysostom Moynahan, Chief Nurse. Together with the civilian nurses, they formed the staff of Base Hospital #102 in Vicenza, Italy, the hospital unit operating closest to the nearby Italian Front. Called the Loyola Unit, the group had been formed by Dr. Joseph A. Danna of Loyola University Medical School in New Orleans; it was attached to the 332nd Regiment from Ohio and was brigaded with the Italian Armies.

The unit returned to the U.S. in May 1919. The Provincial Archives’ Records of Daughters of Charity Service in World War I includes diaries kept by three of the Sisters, correspondence, artifacts, individual and group photos of unit, and clippings. Of special interest is a set of glass plate negatives showing the Sisters’ departure from the U.S., their journey overseas, scenes of the war, and views of post-war Europe. These have been digitized and are available for viewing in the Provincial Archives.