McGuire, was a volunteer at the hospital and included a number of vivid descriptions of nursing the patients while there. Running a hospital was not without its trials. Richmond depended on imports for trade and when the blockade tightened along the coast, the city faced riots in the streets. When supplies were difficult to get within the city, The Robertson Hospital hired a blockade-runner to bring necessities from abroad. Since Sally and a number of the other ladies had remained constant at the hospital through the war, they ultimately won the love and respect of their patients. Sally faced a number of marriage proposals from former patients out of gratitude for what she had done, all of which she declined. More than 1,300 men fortunate to be sent to Robertson Hospital called her simply "Captain Sally." After the War When Richmond was evacuated in April 1865, Sally and several volunteers chose to stay at the hospital to treat the last of the patients. Through a negotiation with the Union medical director, Sally was allowed to keep her hospital open for another two months after the war. Once the hospital was finally closed, Sally traveled around Virginia visiting a number of old friends and relatives. She also volunteered to teach Sunday school at the St. James Episcopal Church and remained an active member there for most of her life. Sally was a local hero in Richmond. She hosted a reunion for her patients in the Grand Confederate Reunion of 1896. Veterans traveled near and far to pay their respects to a fragile lady who had saved their lives so many years prior. She remained unmarried throughout her life and stayed active for many years in charitable work. Eventually, Sally's family fortune ran out, and she went to live in the Confederate Women's Home as an honored guest in 1905. Death, legacy Upon her death in 1916, Sally Tompkins was buried with full military honors at Christ Church in Mathews County. She joins the ranks of women like Clara Barton who responded to the urgent needs which were presented during the Civil War, especially after the Battle of First Bull Run when the realities of warfare became stark in both the Union and Confederate capital cities. They helped develop nursing into the skilled profession it was to become. Sally Tompkins reported obsession with cleanliness led to progress in sanitation during treatment. Her