Ellen May Tower

Spanish American War

Ellen May Tower of Byron, Michigan was the first U.S. Army nurse to die on foreign soil during the Spanish-American War, and was the first woman to receive a military funeral in Michigan. Twenty two American women died as a result of service in the Spanish American War.

Born on May 8th,1868 in Byron, Ellen went to Western Michigan University and studied to be a nurse.

She volunteered as a U.S. Army nurse and her salary was 30$ per month. She contracted Typhoid Fever and died on Jan. 20, 1899, at the age of 30, in Puerto Rico. This was one day before the Treaty of Paris, which ended the war.

Ellen's funeral was the first military funeral ever accorded a woman in Michigan. It was held in the evening at the Light Guard Armory in Detroit. Many dignitaries attended and the next morning over 5,000 people arrived at Bryon to attend the service at the Opera House.

Ellen's cousin made a 10 foot monument of her, which is shown below.