On July 15th 1863, Emily Bliss Souder stepped off the locomotive at Gettysburg, PA to assist surgeons, physicians, and other volunteer nurses in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg. The battle, which ravaged the small town and farmlands over the course of five days, was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War. Souder was one of hundreds of female volunteers who assisted in nursing the dying and wounded soldiers and civilians.