The World War I American Red Cross Uniform of Miss Annie Early Wheeler

Lt Col (Ret) William K. Emerson

    Few women served overseas as either nurses or in support of nursing services, during both the Spanish American War and World War I. Miss Annie Early Wheeler, born on July 31, 1868, the daughter of General Joseph Wheeler^*, was one of these few, exceptional women. The Alabama Historical Commission owns the uniform she wore in France during World War I, and displays it at the Joseph Wheeler home. The white two story house, surrounded by enormous shade trees, was Annie Wheeler’s home through most of her life and it was her residence at the time of her death in 1955.

    During the Spanish American War, Congress authorized the army’s surgeon general to contract with up to 1,500 women as nurses and the army ultimately reached a maximum of 1,158 nurses^[1]. During this early service women wore standard white civilian ward uniforms -- their only insignia was a red enamel Maltese cross worn on the left collar. By 1899 the army specified the ward uniforms to be blue and white, but until World War I, army nurses had only uniforms used on the hospital wards, as they wore civilian clothing when on travel and away from hospitals for an extended period^[2].

Figure One. Annie Wheeler in her Spanish-American War nurse uniform. She served both in Cuba in 1898 and in the Philippines in 1899.

    While General Wheeler served in Congress representing northern Alabama the family lived in Washington, and Annie was a member of the social set in the capital. When the Spanish-American War broke out Annie volunteered to go to Cuba and eventually Clara Barton put Annie in charge of a new hospital where she worked with the sick and wounded. A year later she went with her father and brother to the Philippines and served as a nurse in a military hospital^[3].

    An 1898 photo of Annie Wheeler in her uniform is shown in figure one. Her service is well documented.  In January 1899, House Resolution 330, (55th Congress, 3d Session), was introduced in the US House of Representatives. This resolution recognized “the patriotic devotion and unremitting attention of Miss Annie Early Wheeler as nurse to private soldiers of the Army of the United States during the war with Spain. . . .” Although the resolution authorized that a gold medal be prepared by the Director of the Mint, this never accomplished since the Senate never passed the resolution.

    Annie returned to private life in northern Alabama, but at the age of 50 returned to serve with the Red Cross in France and England during the Great War. In the interval between the wars, nursing had changed and required more formal schooling, plus the Red Cross had become a more active organization. During World War I the American Red Cross supplied nurses to the War Department to supplement those nurses directly employed by the army. The War Department wanted all personnel overseas to have uniforms and this meant both army and Red Cross nurses had to adopt standard clothing for wear outside medical facilities^[4]. As a result ARC personnel began to wear gray whipcord uniforms which included a single breasted, four-button, lapel style tunic. These coat collars had a variety of trim, each color showing a distinctive function^[5].

Figure Two. Annie Wheeler in her World War I American Red Cross uniform. The photo was probably taken in early 1919.

    Miss Annie Early Wheeler’s coat, now at the Joseph Wheeler home near Courtland, Alabama, generally matches the description of the World War I ARC prescribed uniform. The coat has dull silver ARC buttons, and cloth belt fastened with a button, the prescribed bronze metal US letters on the shoulder loops, and on the lower left sleeve, one gold colored V, indicating over six months’ service overseas^[6]. Accompanying the coat is a long matching skirt with two pockets, each fastened with a small ARC button, and also a long ARC cape which buttons with four large ARC buttons and that also has on the collar, the same style of colored collar trim as used on the lapel coat.

    The British had a significant influence on the US uniforms during World War I, and the distinctive ARC collar trim is somewhat similar to that used by British officers. The ARC adopted trim in a range of colors to show functions other than nursing. These colors are listed in Table I^[7].

    Annie Wheeler’s coat and cape collar trim are both a light blue, which must be interpreted as horizon blue, given the ARC trim colors listed in the table. A photo of the 1-1/16 inch wide collar trim, with a narrow 3/16 inch wide black central ribbed tape and a medium 5/8 inch diameter ARC dull silver button, is shown in figure three. Wheeler’s petite stature is shown by the small coat and skirt.

Figure Three. Annie Wheeler’s coat collar showing the typical American Red Cross light blue trim with black center stripe and dull silver button. The coat’s lining is white silk.

    The front of Annie Wheeler’s coat is shown in figure four. While regulations call for it to be fastened with four buttons, this coat’s third button is covered by a cloth belt, which is itself fastened with a button. The belt’s back is held with two hooks sewn into the coat rear side seams. Large pockets, both above and below the belt, are fastened with 7/8 inch diameter dull silver buttons. Shoulders carry plain cloth epaulettes, 1-3/4 wide at the base. On the coat’s left cuff is a gold colored V showing more than 6 months’ service overseas.

Figure Four. The front of Annie Wheeler’s World War I American Red Cross gray coat. The gold colored V on the left sleeve shows she served more than 6 months overseas.

Figure Five. Back of the Wheeler coat showing the two black metal hooks.

    The heavy, unlined, long skirt with two pleated pockets had hook and eye fasteners to close it at the waist, and snaps to fasten up the top seam. Thirty-five inches long, it has an 80 inches circumference at the bottom and a trim 24 inches diameter waist.

Figure Six. The long World War I Wheeler skirt. In this photo one corner is laid over the front.

    The cape generally matches the coat and skirt, except that the lining is light blue cotton, the same as the collar trim. The cape has four buttons generously spaced down the front, plus the two long straps, each of which has one end sewn into the inside collar. The free ends of these two straps are designed to button together so one strap has a small ARC button on one end and the other a button hole. After wrapping the two straps in opposite directions around the large coat collar, these straps button together to secure the neck opening. In this manner these straps act like a top button on conventional heavy top coat, closing the neck opening. The collar is very wide and could be turned up to cover the ears and sides of the head and the collar underside is lined in light blue. On the cape shoulders the cloth epaulettes are unusual since they are sewn in at the neck and buttoned at the shoulder. These epaulettes carry the prescribed dark bronze metal U.S. letters, and also red enameled crosses not called for in regulations.

Figure Seven. The cape, which fastens with four large buttons and two long decorative strips sewn in at the neck, is lined with light blue cotton, as is the underside of the collar.

Figure Eight. Detail of the reverse cape epaulette, sewn in at the neck and fastened near the shoulder with a button. The dark metal U.S. letters and the enameled red cross appear on both shoulders.

    Annie Wheeler died in 1955 as a result of a fall and a consequential hip fracture. She is buried in the family cemetery at the rear of the Wheeler home. Her niece inherited the farm and in 1993 donated the 50 acres, 13 historic buildings, and their contents, including the World War I uniform, to the State of Alabama^[8].

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[*] Joseph Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1859, became a lieutenant general in Confederate service and during the Spanish-American War, a major general of volunteers and for three months of 1900, a brigadier general in the regular army.

[1] Historical Highlights of the Army Nurse Corps.  U. S. Army Health Service Command, n. d., p 2; WD, Annual Reports, 1901, vol. 1, part 2, p. 599.

[2] WD, Surgeon General’s Office, unnumbered circular, June 20, 1899.

[3] Undated fact sheet from Pond Springs (the Wheeler home).

[4] WD, Medical Department … in the World War, vol 13, Washington, GPO, pp. 302-3.

[5] American Red Cross, American Red Cross Uniforms, n.p., n.d. (circa 1919).

[6] WD, General Orders 6, January 12, 1918.

[7] American Red Cross, American Red Cross Uniforms, n.p., n.d. (circa 1919).

[8] Undated fact sheet from Pond Springs (the Wheeler home).