It was primarily a social organization, but it also advocated for, and helped to secure, recognition and benefits for nurses who had served in the war.

The society worked to aid members in seeking employment, to care for them during illness, and to promote the honor of the Union.

The officers that year were: Elizabeth W. Ewing of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, president; Kate M. Scott of Brookville, Pennsylvania, secretary; Elizabeth Chapman of St. Louis, Missouri, senior vice president; Della A. Fay of Upper Jay, New York, junior vice president; Jeannette M. Morrill of Santon, Michigan, chaplain; Lydia L. Whiteman of Philadelphia, treasurer; Susanna Kripps of Philadelphia, press correspondent; Emily E. Woodley of Philadelphia, councillor; Mary Aston of Philadelphia, financial secretary; Fanny Titus Hazen of Cambridge, Massachusetts, installing officer; and Julia Magill of Florence, New Jersey, guard.

[6] Membership was open to applicants who had served at least three months as a paid or volunteer nurse during the Civil War.

[7] Documentation was required, and applications needed approval by the local Grand Army of the Republic post.

[7] An 1897 article listed some members of the organization: Dorothea Dix, Harriet P. Dame, Annie Wittanmyer, Nansy Biser, Susan Edson and Caroline Burghardt, Clara Barton, "Mother" Bickerdyke, Mary A. Livermore, and Mary S.

[4] Chief among the achievements of this association were the efforts of its leaders to secure recognition and benefits for the women who had served as nurses during the American Civil War.