| Mary Loomis | |
| Occupation: | Nurse |
For the fictional character, see Psycho II (film).
Mary Loomis was a Union nurse during the American Civil War. Loomis served for a total of two and a half years.[1]
When the Civil War broke out, Loomis was living with her first husband, George W. Van Pelt, in Coldwater, Michigan. She enlisted in the service as a volunteer nurse alongside her husband in May 1861 as Mary Van Pelt; they were both in the 1st Michigan Light Artillery.[1] [2] She was later appointed to Hospital Number 13 in Nashville, Tennessee, to serve as the hospital matron.[3] She worked at this location from September 1862 until January 1863.[1] In Nashville, Mrs. Van Pelt served under a surgeon by the name of H.J.Merrick, MD. She then went on to the Number 20 hospital, also in Nashville, until May. Once again, Van Pelt served as a matron, this time under the surgeon J.R. Goodwin, MD.[4] Van Pelt only served in hospitals for a year of her service. The rest of the time, she was in camp with her regiment or marching from one place to the other with them.[2] Her husband died in the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, and Mary left the service shortly after in November.[1] [3]