Historical Marker

Ursuline Convent in the Civil War

Before the Confederate recapture of Galveston on January 1, 1863, the nuns of this monastary declined an evacuation offer. During and after the battle the east wing was used as a hospital for treatment of wounded from both sides. Young Lieutenant Sidney Sherman, mortally wounded, died here in the arms of Mother St. Pierre Harrington. The Confederate medical director's report said , "all our exertions would have failed but for the noble conduct of the ladies of the Ursuline Convent." A Memorial to Texans Who Served the ConfederacyErected by the State of Texas, 1963.