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Commander William L. Dike, USN (ret.)
is the author of U.S.S. Red Rover: Civil War Hospital Ship. According to the
book description, “U.S.S. Red Rover, as a hospital ship, may seem rather primitive compared to modern medical facilities,
including modern hospital ships. Her story, however, is of significant consequence as it relates at least three military and
medical advances: the use of African-American personnel in the military, the establishment of nursing with the Sisters of
the Holy Cross being the forerunners of the Navy Nurse Corps, and the utilization of a maritime vessel for the first time
as a hospital ship. This narrative relates, from official records and related sources, the dynamics that enabled this transformation
to come to fruition. Well known is the fact that the development of ironclads during the War between the States was a major
advance in modern warfare. Less well known, but equally significant, are the advances resulting from the utilization of Red
Rover as our first hospital ship. This narrative tells that story in well-documented detail.”
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