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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE PHILANTHROPIC EESULTS

THE WAB IN AMERICA.

t-

PHILANTHROPIC RESULTS

TIIE WAR IN AMERICA.

COLTJ.CTKD FROM

OFFICIAL AND UTlIEll AUTHENTIC SOlJUCEiJ,

An Amei'ican Citizeix.
Dedicated by permission to the United States Sanitary Commission.

NEW YORK :
aiKLDO.t & Co., 335 liroiidway ; Boston, Roild & Lj-NCOL-N ;
lX>M)UiV, Tlil'DNER & Co.
1S04.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in flio year 1864, by
¦W\Ts"KOOP, HALLENBECK & THOMAS,
In the Clorks's onico of tho District Court Of tlio United States, for
tlie Southern District of Now Yorl<.

i,

PRESS OF WYNKOOP IIALI.ENIIECK i THOMAS,
113 Fulton Btrcct. New Yorl;.

PREFACE.

¦1

In the summer of 1863, a merchant of
New York, deeply impressed with the
spirit of patriotism which had led tho
people of the loyal States to pour out
their treasure and to give their personal
service without stint for their country,
was led to procure the preparation aud
publication of a pamphlet, on the philan
thropic results of the war, for gratuitou.s
circulation abroad. The eagerness with
which our own citizens sought for copies
of that pamphlet, which gave statistics
of the contributions to the wauts of our
soldiers and their families to the spring
of 1863, induced him to believe that a
more extended and complete record of
the nation's philanthropy in connection

PEEFACE.
with the war would prove attractive
and interesting. He has therefore caused
the narrative and statistics to be brought
up to February, 18G4, and, taking advan
tage of the Metropolitan Fair for the
benefit of the Sanitary Comnaission, has
published a large edition, and presented
it as his gift to the Commission. That
it may stimulate the loyal hearts of the
nation to acts of still greater sacrifice,
and cause the fire of patriotism to burn
with a yet higher and holier fiame, is his
earnest desire.
P- S. — In addition to those presented
as above to the Commission, Messrs.
Wynkoop, Hali.enbeck & TiioJiAS, the
printers of this work, have generously
donated one thousand copies to the Me
tropolitan Fair, and several other gentle
men a hundred or more copies each.

THE PHILANTHROPIC RESULTS

WAR IN AMERICA.

CHAPTER I.
Condition of the countkv ATTiiiicosijiEN'CEstF.NT ofthe
War.— Sl'ONTANEOUSNESS OF TIIE CONTIlIDmoNS OF
TIIE PEOPLE  Advances madb by the State Leo i.sla-
TUKES.— SunSCltlPTIONS OF CITIES, BANKS, OOllPOll.V"
TIONS, AND PRIVATE CITIZENS.— CONTBIBUTIONS FOR
ORGANIZINQ and EQUIPPING KEaiMHXTS.— BOUNTIES
RAISED BY" St.ITES, COUNTIES, CITIES, TOWNS, AND
PRIVATE CITIZENS, IN THE SCMMEU OF lSf)2, AND
SINCE TIIAT TIME  JIONEY' EXPENDED FOR STATE DE
FENSE  Appropriations made b\' State Lebisla-
TuuES for sick and wocndeu soldiers.
The history of the benevolent enter
prises growing out of the civil war has
been so remarkable, so unlike anything
in the previous e.xperience of mankind,
that it deserves a special record. Ordi
narily, philanthropic efforts encounter,
from their inception to their consumma-

8
tion, so much of tlie innate selfishness of
our race, that a truthful narrative oftheir
progress exhibits a succession of painful
labors, on the part of those who seek to
promote them, to convince those who are
expected to contribute of the necessity of
the case, and of their obligation to give ;
and while in a good cause the few give
freely and heartily, the many only yield
their dole to earnest and perhaps repeated
solicitation. If the philanthropic work is
one requiring continuous contributions
from year to year, the solicitations must
be repeated, with perhaps increasing
urgency and vehemence of appeal, or the
supply of means will diminish.
But in the philanthropic contributions
made to objects connected with the pre
sent war, there has been such an abnega
tion of selfishness, such an earnest desire
to give, such an unwillingness to be de
nied the privilege 01 giving, as have made
the time an epoch in the history of bene
volence. For about three years the calls

on the liberality of the people have been
increasing, and with every successive
month they have increased almost in a
geometric ratio ; but the calls have been
met with so much promptness, and have
so often been anticipated by their earnest
zeal, that the greatest difficulty has been
to direct the full flowing streams of cha
rity into such channels as should most
effectually and economically accomplish
the objects desired by the liberal donors.
To show how this has been done is our
pleasing and grateful task.
The winter of 1860-61, had not been
one of financial prosperity. Dark and
threatening clouds hung over the nation's
destiny. The Ship of State tossed on a
stormy sea, and the arm of her pilot was
neither steady nor strong. Traitors and
mutineers were numerous in her crew,
and some of them were high iu command
on her quarter-deck. The Secretary of
the Treasury, a hearty sympathizer with
the seceding States, and a few- months

10
later a general in the Eebel army, had so
thoroughly impaired the national credit,
that the Government six per cent, bonds,
which at the beginning of his cabinet ser
vice he had bought up before maturity at
117, could not now be sold, even for a
loan of ten millions, at 86. The Army
was sent to remote points, the Navy care-
full}'- stationed on the other side of the
globe ; the arms intended for the use of
the citizens of the Union in case of inva
sion or 'civil war delivered to the States
vvhich wei'e now one after another mar
shaling themselves in rebellion to the
Government, and the weak and selfish old
man who was for the time Chief Macis-
trate, acknowledged himself powerless to
breast the storm.
Business was paralyzed by the impend
ing danger ; the greater part of the
Southern debtors repudiated their obliga
tions to creditors at the North, either
voluntarily oi' under tho express command
of their State Governraents, and the

r

11
losses thus sustained led to extensive
bankruptcies. The day laborer, the arti
san, the mechanic, the operatives from
the manufactories, and the clerks from the
stores sought employment, but in vain;
there was not a full day's work for men
in any department of labor except in till
ing the soil.
It was in the midst of this horror of
darkness that the proclamation of the
President of the United States, announc
ing the fall of Fort Sumter, and calling
for troops to defend the Capital from trea
son and rebellion, fell upon the nation's
ear, and woke an instant response in the
nation's heart.
There was no lack of men ready to
peril their lives in the defense of their
country ; the stagnation of business might
in part account for this, but neither was
there any lack of the necessary means
for supplying the equipments, uniforms,
and rations of the voluntary soldiers of
the Eepublic. The national credit was

12 ',
indeed, as we have said, at a low ebb ;
incapacity and treason had brought it to
this condition, but the Legislatures of
most ofthe loyal States met in extra ses
sion, and without waiting to discuss the
probability of their reimbursement by the
National Government, voted with great
unanimity large sums for arming and
equipping troops. In some ofthe States
the amounts thus voted were far beyond
what they had ever dreamed of raising
for State purposes. The aggregate
amount thus advanced by the States
within three weeks after the President's
proclamation was $23,240,000, and
within a year had reached the sum of $37,-
701,991. Ofthis sum about $12,000,000
was refunded to the States bythe Govern
ment before July 1, 1862, and a portion of
the remaindersince that time. The border
States, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky,
and Missouri, and the Pacific States, Cali
fornia and Oregon, did not at this time
raake any legislative grants, though in

13
the summer, Kentucky and Missouri
made appropriations for Home Guards.
The large sums thus voted ¦ for the
opening of the war were not unwillingly
contributed ; on the contrary, men of all
parties advocated the appropriations, and
the people who must pay for these loans
by heavy tax were more urgent than even
their representatives that the grants
should be liberal. The action of the
Legislatures met a hearty approval at the
ballot-box, and there were no complaints
of heavy debt or oppressive taxation.
But it was not the State Legislatures
alone which came forward thus promptly
to aid the Government. Nearly eveiy
city and considerable town throughout
the loyal States made its subscription,
both by vote of its municipal authorities
and by the spontaneous contributions of
its business corporations and citizens.
Before the 6th of May, 1S61, New York
city had contributed $2,173,000; Phila
delphia, $330,000; Boston, $1GS,000;

14
Cincinnati, $280,000; Buffalo, $110,000;
and other cities and towns in like propor
tion. An imperfect list, which gave the
amounts contributed in loss than half
the cities and towns which had sub
scribed for the equipment of troopsi
showed ari aggregate of $4,877,000.
The entire amount considerably exceeded
$7,000,000. From these two sources,
then, in the first three weeks of the re
bellion, a sum exceeding $30,000,000 was
furnished toward the outfit of the volun
teer army.
Was this vast outpouring of treasure
by a people who, at the time, were suf
fering under financial disaster, the mad
impulse of a sudden, frantic excitement,
which soon passed away, leaving only re
gret for the extravagance it had prompted,
or was it rather the deliberate action of
a nation, to whom its institutions were
dearer than life or property? The sub
sequent history of the war proves that
the latter was tho true explanation of this
almost lavish liberality.

15
It was soon found that the task of
quelling the Eebellion was one of gigan
tic proportions ; that the conspirators
had been for years maturing their plans,
and that their treason could only be
crashed out by the array of an over
whelming force. In his message of July
4th, President Lincoln suggested the pro
priety of calling fbr 400,000 men, and
voting $400,000,000 for the work. Con
gress re.sponded by authorizing calls for
one million of men,* and $500,000,000.
The work of raising and equipping such
au army was entirely beyond the expe
rience of any man in this country ; be
yond, iudeed, the experience of any men
of modern times ; for large as some of
the armies of modern Europe have been,
no single power had ever called a million
= Congress probably inteuded to authorize tho rais
ing of only 600,000 ; but iu reality, two scp,ir.<ite nets,
July 22, and July 2-5, were passed, each authorizine
the raising of 500,000 men. Under these acts, 780,000
worp actuallv rai.sed.

16
of new troops into the field within a
twelvemonth. While the Government disbursed liber
ally forthe bounties, uniforms, equipment,
arming, and rations for these troops, there
were other expenses connected with the
organizations of the regiments which
were met from private or municipal
sources, of very large amount in the aggre-
gate,larger in sorae regiments than others ;
but in those from Eastern States averag
ing somewhat more than $25,000 (some
regiments cost over $75,000), and in the
W°estern States from $15,000 to $20,000.
The regiments thus raised to January,
1802, numbered somewhat more than
eight hundred, and the amount paid by
corporations, associations, and individuals,
for recruiting purposes to that time, was
not less than $L6,000,000. From that
period to January, 1864, over one thou
sand regiments have been raised, though
at a somewhat smaller average expense.
Careful inquiries indicate tho present cost

17
of placing a regiment in the field, aside
from the Government expenditure, and
bounties of all kinds at about $15,000.
This would make the entire cost of re
cruiting borne by corporations, associa-
tionsandindividuals, between $31,000,000
and $32,000,000, which is probably a
very low estimate.
The disasters which befell the Army of
the Potomac, and the extraordinary exer
tions made by the Confederate authorities
to call into the field as large a force as
possible, led the President, in July, 1862,
to issue a call for three hundred thousand
three years* troops, and in August, a sec
ond, for three hundred thousand more, for
nine months. An enrollment was order
ed, preparatory to a draft, which it was
supposed would be necessary tor raising
the second quota, but great exertions
were made by the States, counties, and in
dividuals, to encourage volunteering, by
the offer of liberal bounties, extra°pay,
and provision for families, and in most of

18
the States, these exertions wcre so far suc
cessful, that the quotas were neariy or
quite filled without resort to conscription.
The sums raised for bounties, &c., were
in many of the States very large ; in
New York, the State off'ered a bounty of
$50 ; the county of New York $50 ad
ditional, the county of Kings $60, and
some of the other counties $75 or $100,
while the subscriptions of wards, districts,
and individuals, increased the amount in
some instances to $250 or even $300.
The average bounty paid in the State was
computed to be over $150 per man, aside
from that off'ered by the General Govern
ment. In several of the New England
States this amount was exceeded. In
Rhode Island, and in Massachusetts, and
Connecticut, in many towns, the amount
of bounty (with the State appropriation)
was $300, $330, and in one or two cases
as high as $375 per man, and the average
for these three States was over $200. In
Philadelphia an appropriation of $500,000

19
was made by the city, and a fund raised,
by subscriptiou, of $486,270.49 for the
purpose of paying bounties, and aiding the
families ofthe volunteers. Inmost ofthe
Western States, very considerable sums
were paid as bounties either by States,
counties, towns, or cities. In many in
stances pledges were also given by weal
thy citizens to pay specified sums monthly
to the families of volunteers. In tho
State of New York, the amount thus paid
for bounties and aid to farailies prior to
July, 1863, by the State, counties, towns,
cities, associations, and individuals, was
not less than $17,500,000. In Connecti
cut it was nearly $6,000,000 ; in Massa
chusetts more thau $7,500,000 ; in Ver
mont nearly $3,000,000. The lack of
bureaux of military statistics ia most of
the States renders our information on
these points indefinite, but when four of
the loyal States, three of them small in
territory, expended $34,000,000 for ihis
purpose, it is not possible that the aggre-

20
gate from all the loyal States could havo
fallen short of $55,000,000. The expira
tion of the term of service of the troops
which had enlisted for two years, and of
the nine months men, and the necessity
for bringing into the field an army suffi
ciently formidable to crush the rebellion,
which, though sorely crippled, was still
rampant, led to the enactment of the en
rollment, or as it is usually termed, the
conscription act of March, 1863, and the
proclamation of the President of a draft
for 300,000 men in May, 1803. Volun
teering for the filling up of tho old regi
ments and the organization of new ones
had been progressing, though slowly,
through the winter and spring. The
draft did not yield so large a force as was
expected: only about 50,000 of those
drawn, serving either in person or by
substitute ; and the formation of veteran
regiments coraposed of those who had
been for one year or more in the service,
was resolved on. The United States

21
Government off'ered tho liberal bounty of
$402 to each man who should re-enlist.
In October, 1863, the Government called
for 300,000 volunteers, offering the sarae
bounty to those who had already served,
or $302 to new recruits, and in January,
the Presidentincreased the call to500, 000,
of which, however, the drafted men, and
those enlisted under the call of October,
were to form a part. The regiments
whose term of service would expire in
the spring of 1854, wcre allowed to re-
cnlist, and receive the bounty if they
chose, and form a portion of the new
force. In default of a sufficient number
of volunteers being secured by April, the
enrollment act, modified by Congress, was
to be enforced, and a draft proclaimed.
These measures led to renewed exertions
to stimulate volunteering, both for the
purpose of avoiding the draft, and to fill
up as speedily as possible the wasted
numbers of the arraies in the field. The
terrible battles of Chaucellorsville, Get-

22

tysburgh, and Stono River, tho sieges of
Vicksburg and Port Hudson, and the
severe engagement of Chickamauga, and
the battles around Chattanooga, had oc
casioned great loss of life, and had pei-
manently disabled many thousands for
future service. Probably not less than
100,000 Union soldiers were hors du com
bat frora these and other engageraents of
the year. Tho rebels, meanwhile, were
straining every nerve, and by the most
relentless conscription were forcing every
man between the ages of 17 and 60 into
their ranks, and nothing short of the ut
most exertion would enable the Govern
ment to meet them with equal numbers.
To facilitate volunteering by increasing
still further the liberal bounties offered
by the Government was seen to be tho
dictate alike of patriotism and sound
policy, and the State Legislatures, coun
ties, cities, towns, and individuals again
contributed largely to this object. In the
State of New York, the Legislature ap-

23
propriated $8,841,098 ; Boards of Super
visors, $13,033,291.75; Common Councils
$3,079,008.50 ; and towns andindividuals
about $4,000,000 more, making a sum
total of $28,953,998.45, from that State
alone. Massachusetts paid $7,625,436 ;
Connecticut, $2,000,000 ; Vermont,
$2,000,000, Iowa, $1,250,000; Indiana,
$3,500,000, and other States in like pro
portion. The aggregate of the boun
ties thus paid, aside frora those allowed
by the General Government, exceeded
$75,000,000.--' There had been also expended during
this period, by particular States, large
sums for State defense or protection
against dangers which threatened them
individually ; thus Maine, Massachusetts,
aud New York had made appropriations
for harbor and coast defense and State war
vessels. Pennsylvania, for harbor defense
and protection of her southern line against
invasion, and had, besides, met with very
heavy losses iu consequence of the rebel

invasion in the summer of 1863 ; Ohio,
Indiana, and Illinois had raised troops for
defense of the Ohio river frontier. Ken
tucky, Missouri, and Maryland had raised
and maintained considerable bodies of
Home Guards and local militia for service
in protecting their States from the ma
rauding bands of therebels ; and Iowa and
Minnesota had raised troops to put down
the Indians who had risen upon the
whites in those States. The militia of
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
New York, and. Ohio had also been called
out to the number of 100,000, to repel
the invasion of Pennsylvania and Mary
land, in June, 1803, and though they
were paid by the United States Govern
ment while in actual service, the expen
ditures for their outfit, &c., came upon the
States. The aggregate expenditure for
these purposes, as neariy as can be ascer
tained, was about $12,000,000, without
taking into account the losses of private
property by the rebels and the Indians.

In many of the States, special appro
priations were made or a contingent fund
allowed to the Governor to be used for
the relief of sick and wounded soldiers,
either in hospitals, on the field, or on their
way home. These appropriations amount
ed to about $900,000.
3

CHAPTER II.
CoNTRinUTIONS FOR THE C0.MF0RT OP SoLDIERS AND TUE
RELIEF OP TUEIR FAMILIES  TlIE " UNION VOLUN
TEER Eefresument Saloon" and the " Cooper Suop
«EI'RESUMENT SaLOON," OF PlIILADELPm.!  TlIE
" Union Relief Association," op Baltijiore  The
" Subsistence Comjiittee," op Pittsbuuo  Otiier
SI.MILAR organizations ELSEWUEHE  TUE SlSIl'LTA-
NEOUS IMPULSE TO WORK FOR THE SOLDIERS, AT TUB
OJ-ENINO OF TIIE -H-AH.— TlIE Wo.iIAN's GeNTEAL ASSO
CIATION OF llELiEF IN New YoiiK  The obioin op
the United States Sanitary Cosi.mission  Its pro-
P0.=iED SPUEUH OF ACTION.— Dr. WoOd'S APPLICATION
IN iT.s iiKiiALp— Authorization by tue Seouetary
OF War and the President  Its constituent Mem
bers. The cry that the Capital was in danger,
echoed through the land after the memo
rable proclamation of the President on
the 15th of April, 1801, and the volun
teer soldiery who rallied at once for its
protection against thetreasonabledesigns
of the rebels, came forward in such haste
that, in many cases, they were not pro
vided with sufficient rations or necessary
change of apparel. To provide these for
them tasked tho utmost energies of the

27
patriotic men and women of the country,
Everywliere the sewing-machines, those
"swift -fingered sisters of charity," wcre
driven at theii' utmost speed, and paused
net even for the rest of the Sabbath, in
preparing needful articles of clothing, and
the needle-women, scarcely less swift in
their labors of love, worked till the gray
dawn streaked the east, and after the
briefest possible interval of rest, returned
anew to their toil. Food was prepared
iu immense quantities, but still not
enough for the, hungry mouths to be filled,
and while all deemed it a privilege to do
what they could for the soldier, the want
of system and organization in the work
was such that there was danger, after all,
that some would suffer. As a matter of
fact, some did suffer. The regiments
which poured in quick succession from
the Eastern States into New York, and
from that city into Philadelphia, were not
onl)', as was inevitable, crowded in too
large numbers upon the transport ships.

but they were often for twenty-four hours
or more without food. The spontaneous
mstincts of patriotism among the work
ing classes in the vicinity of the landings,
in both cities, exhibited itself in haste°n-
ing to the cars with food from their own
scanty stores to appease the hunger of
these famishing citizen soldiers In Phil
adelphia, the efforts of a few generous
bui humble souls thus to supply the
wants of the volunteers gradually grew
up into organized institutions of relief
and refreshment. At first, it was a poor
man boiling coffee for the soldiers on the
sideM^alk, and his neighbors, as poor as
liimself, hastening with their loaves of
bread, their slices of bacon, aud other
articles of food, tothe wharves, whenever
the signal-gun told of the arrival ofa re-
giment; erelong there were two bands
vieing with each other in their care for
the regiments which continued to come,
oftenest at night," on their way to the
theatre of war. One occupied a portion of

29

a large cooper-shop, the other an old boat-
liouse, and by and by, as their quarters
grew too small, other buildings wcre add
ed, and among them, small hospitals for
the soldiers taken sick on their journey.
Thus grew up, in a rivalry of good works,
the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon,
and the Cooper-shop Refreshment Saloon,
both consecrated to the service of sup
plying freely the wants of tho soldiers in
transit to and from the army of the Po
tomac. The citizens of Philadelphia have
contributed liberally and heartily to the
support of both, and the committees of
both organizations, composed almost
wholly of men and women of the work
ing classes, have toiled indefatigably for
noarl}' three years, often laboring through
nearly the whole night in the prepara
tion of meals, to have them ready for the
soldiers on their arrival. One of these in
stitutions (the Union Volunteer Refresh
ment Saloon) reports tlie furnishing of
400,000 incnls to soldiers, the dressing of
3*

30
the wounds or medical attendance upon
over 10,000 sick and wounded soldiers,
and the furnishing of lodgings to about
20,000 This has been accomplished from
the e.xpenditure of about $40,000 in money
and $17,000 in sanitary stores and pro
visions. The other, the Cooper-shop Re
freshment Saloon, to December, 1S63,
had e.xpended $40,232.22 in money, and
had fed 214,109 soldiers. They had given
temporary attention to the wounds of a
large number of soldiers in transit, and
had had over 600 under treatment in their
hospital. The heroic and protracted sacrifices
made by the excellent people who have
consecrated themselves to these blessed
labors of charity and love of country,
are deserving of being held in ever
lasting remembrance. The example thus
set was very soon imitated in other cities.
Baltimore, whose Union men had, at first,
to resist the flood of disloyalty which
swept over the city, and stained it with

31
the blood of some of the noblest sons of
Massachusetts, was the foremost in this
work. Her Union citizens were tried and
true, and in the month of May, 1861,
they began, in a humble way at first, to
provide for the wants of the soldiers who
passed through the city, amid much ob
loquy and reproach; but soon gaining
strength, they organized the Union Relief
Association, and up to the 25th of June
1863, had fed 451,039 soldiers and ex
pended in this work of benevolence,
$61,693.49. Nowhere in the Union does
the fire of patriotism and philanthropy
burn wnth an intenser and purer flame
than in Baltimore. A similar organiza
tion, called the "Pittsburgh Subsistence
Committee," was established very early
in the war at Pittsburgh. Up to Juno,
1863, over 200,000 soldiers had been fed
by it. At Cincinnati, Louisville, and St.
Louis, organizations of au analogous char
acter were established in tho summer of
ISOl.

32
The proclamation of the President, as
we have already intimated, evoked the
patriotic aud earnest sympathies of the
women of the nation, as well as those of
the sterner sex. Everywhere fair hands
were at work, and fair brows grew grave
with thought, of what could be done for
those who were going forth to fight the ^
nation's battles. With the characteristic '
national fondness for organization. Ladies'
Aid and Relief Societies were formed every
where. One, "The Soldiers^ Aid Society,"
at Cleveland, Ohio, bearing date April 20,
ISOl, only five days after the President's
proclamation ; another at Philadelphia,
" The Ladies' Aid Society," adopting its
constitution on the 2()th of April, and a
third, " The Woman's Central Association
of Relief, of New York," on the SOth of
the same month. By the middle of May
there were hundreds of these associations
formed. As yet, however, they hardly
knew what was to be done, or how,
when, and where to do it That lint was

33
to be scraped, bandages prepared, socks
knit, flannel shirts made, and other work
of a similar kind performed, they were
aware, but what further was to be done,
and how the articles prepared were to be
distributed to the army without waste,
was a matter of uncertainty. There was
a strong impulse on the part of many of
the younger ladies to devote themselves to
the work of nursing the sick and wounded ;
the noble deeds of Florence Nightingale
had surrounded her with a halo of saint-
lincss which they would give life itself to
win, but raost of them knew little of the
arduous duties of a hospital nurse, and,
as yet, happily, there were very few
sick and no wounded to be uursed. The
Woman's Central Associalion of Relief
had among its officers some gentlemen of
large experience in sanitary science, and
of considerable knowledge of military
hygiene, and they wisely gave a practical
turn to its labors fi'om the first. Those
who desired to become army nurses were

34
required to pass examination as to tiieir
qualifications, and then to attend a course
of instruction and training at one of the
hospitals and under the direction of emi
nent physicians, for their duties. The
Association was apprised that its first duty
was to ascertain what the Government
would and could do, and then help it by
working with it, and doing what it could
not do. Other organizations of gentlemen
were attempting by different, yet in the
main, similar measures, to render assistance
to the Government. Among these were
the "Advisory Committee of the Board
of Physicians and Surgeons of the Hospi
tals of New York," and " The New York
Medical Association for furnishing Hospi
tal Supplies in aid of the Army," both
new associations, called into existence by
the exigencies ofthe war. Fraternizing
with each other, as they well might, since
they all looked to the accomplishment of
the same end, these associations resolved
to send a joint delegation to Washington,

35
to confer with tlic Government, aud as
certain by what moans they might best
co-operate with it, for the benefit of the
soldiers ofthe nation.
On the 18th of May, 1861, Messrs.
Henry W. Bellows, D. D., W. H. Van
Buren, M. D., Elisha Harris, M. D., and
Jacob Ilarsen, M. D., representatives of
these three associations, drew np and for
warded to the Secretary of War a com
munication setting forth the propriety of
creating an organization which should
unite the duties and labors of three asso
ciations, and co-operate with the Medical
Bureau of the War Department to such
au extent that each might aid the other
in securi ng the wel fiirc of the army. For
this purpose they asked that a mixed com
raission of civilians, military oflicers, and
medical men, might be appointed by the
Government, charged with the duty of
methodizing and reducing to practical
service the already active but undirected
benevolence of the people townrds the

30
army, who should consider the general
subject of the prevention of sickness
and suffering among the troops, and sug
gest the wisest method which the people
at large could use to manifest their good
will towards the comfort, security, and
health of the army. They referred to the
commissions which followed the Crimean
and Indian wars, and brought to light
the vast amount of suffering which had
been needlessly endured there, and begged
that, in this case, the organization might
precede tho war, and prevent so far as pos
sible the suffering which would otherwise
ensue. They suggested, also, the ap
pointment of cooks and nurses for the
armj^ and stated that the "Woman's
Central Association of Relief " stood ready
to undertake the training of both in their
duties. On tho 22d of May, R. C. Wood, M. D.,
then Acting Surgeon-General, now in
charge of the Western Medical Depart
ment, followed this communication by a

37
letter addressed to tho Secretary of War,
urging tho establishment of the desired
Commission as a needed adjunct to the
new, extensive, and overwhelraing duties
ofthe Medical Bureau.
On the 23d of May, the delegation ad
dressed to the Secretary of War, a " Draft
of powers, asked frora the Government,
by the Sanitary delegates to the Presi
dent and Secretary of War." In this pa
per the powers desired, were stated as
follows :
"l.The Commission being organized for
the purposes only of inquiry and advice,
asks for no legal powers, but only tbe
official recognirion and moral counte
nance of the Government, which will be
secured by its public appointment. It
asks for a recommendatory order, ad
dressed in its favor to all officers of the
movement, to further its inquiries ; for
permission to correspond and confer, on
a confidential footing, with tlie Medical
Bureau and the War Department, prof-

38
fering such suggestions aud counsel as
its investigations and studies, may from
time to time, prompt and enable it to of
fer. " 2. The Commission seeks no pecu
niary remuneration from the Govern
ment. Its motives being humane and
patriotic, its labors will be its own re
ward. The assignment to thera of a
roora in one of the public buildings, with
stationery and other necessary con
veniences, would meet their expectations
in this direction.
" 3. The Commission asks leave to sit
through the war, either in Washington,
or when and where it may find it most
convenient and useful ; but it will dis
band should experience render its opera
tions embarrassing to the Government,
or less necessary and useful than it is now
supposed they will prove."
Concerning the objects of the Corarais
sion, the delegation say •

39
" The general object of the Corarais
sion is through suggestions reported from
time to time, to the Medical Bureau and
the War Departraent, to bring to bear
upon the health, comfort and morale of
our troops, the fullest and ripest teach
ings of sanitary science, in its application
to military life, whether deduced from
theory or practical obsei-vations, from
general hygienic principles, or from the
experience ofthe Crimean, the East In
dia, and the Italian wars. Its objects are
purely advisory."
They indicate the following specific
objects of inquiry :
" 1. Materiel of the Volunteers, The
Commission proposes a practical inquiry
into the material ofthe Volunteer forces,
with reference to the laws aud usages of
the several States, in the matter ofin-
spectious,,with the hope of assimilating
the regulations with those ofthe army pro
per alike in the appointment of raedical
and other officers, and in the vigorous ap-

40
plication of just rules and principles to re
cruiting and inspection laws. This in
quiry would exhaust every topic apper
taining to the original materiel of the
army, considered as a subject of sanitary
and medical care.
IL Prevention. The Commission would
inquire with scientific thoroughness into
ihe subject of diet, cooking, cooks, cloth
ing, huts, camping grounds, transports,
transitory depots, with their expenses,
camp police, with reference to settling
the question, how far the regulations of
the army proper, are or can be practically
carried out araong the volunteer regi
ments, and what changes or modifications
are desirable from their peculiar character
and circumstances? Everything apper
taining to outfit, cleanliness, precautions
against damp, cold, heat, raalaria, infec
tion, and unvaried or ill cooked food,
and an irregular or careless commissariat,
would fall under this head.
"III. Jiclicf.Thc Commission would in-

41
quiro into the organization of Military
Hospitals,general and regimental ; the pre
cise regulations and routine through which
the sei-vices ofthe patriotic women ofthe
country may be made available as nurses ;
tho nature and sufficiency of hospital
supplies ; the method of obtaining and re
gulating all other extra and unbought
supplies, contributing to the comfort of
the sick ; the question of ambulances and
field services, and' of extra medical aid;
and whatever else relates to the care, re
lief, or cure of the sick and wounded,
their investigations being guided by the
highest and latest medical and military
experience, and carefully adapted to the
nature and wants of our immediate army,
and its peculiar origin and circumstances."
The President and S ecretaiy of War
were not at first disposed to look with
any great favor upon this plan, which they
reo-arded r nther as a sentimental scheme
concocted by women, clergymen, and
humane physicians, than as oue whose

42
practical workings would prove of incal
culable benefit to the array which was
rapidly coming into existence. The earn
estness of its advocates, their high posi
tion, and the evidence which was adduced
that they only represented the voice ofthe
nation, produced some effect in modifying
their views, and when tho Acting Sur
geon-General asked for it, as a needed
adjuvant to the Medical Bureau, likely
soon to be overwhelmed by its new du
ties, they finally decided, though re
luctantly, to permit its organization.
Accordingly the Secretary of War, on
the 9th of June, decided on the creation
of such a Coraraission, the President ap
proving. The title first given to the new
organization was " The Commission of
Inquiry and Advice in respect of the
Sanitary Interests of th6 United States
Forces," but was subsequently changed
to " The United States Sanitary Commis
sion."
It was composed of the following gentle
men : Rev. Henry W Bellows, D. D.,

43
President, New York ; Professor A. D.
Bache, Vice President, Washington;
Elisha Harris, M. D., Corresponding Sec
retary, New York ; George W. Cullum.
U. S. A., Washington ; Alexander E.
Shiras, U. S. A., Washington ; Robert C.
Wood, M. D., U. S. A., Washington;
Wilham H.Van Buren, M. D., New York ;
Wolcott Gibbs, M. D., New York , Cor
nelius R. Agnew, M. D., New York ;
George T. Strong, New York ; Frederick
Law Olmsted, New York ; Samuel G.
Howe, M. D., Boston ; J. S. Newberry,
M.D, Cleveland, Ohio, To these were
subsequently added Horace Binney, Jr.,
Philadelphia ; Rt. Rev. Thomas M. Clark,
D. D., Providence, R. L; Hon. Joseph
Holt, Kentucky ; R. W. Burnett, Cin
cinnati, Ohio ; Hon. Mark Skinner,
Chicago, niinois; Rev. John H. Hey
wood, Louisville, Kentucky ; Professor
Fairman Rogers, Philadelphia ; J. Hun
tington Wolcott, Boston ; and about five
hundred associate members, iu all parts
of tho country.

44

CHAPTER in.
TaE United States Sanitary Commission continued 
Its orqanization. — Its medical pudlioations. — Its
services IN THE FIELD. — ThE THREE DEPARTMENTS OV
THE Sanitary Com.misson'3 work  I. Sanitary IN'
SPECTION or Preventive service  Its subdivisions
— II. General Relief. — Hoiv administered. — III
Special Relief. — IIcmes. — Lodges  Ho.spital Di
rectory.— Other modes op Special Relief. — RE'
CEiPTS op the Commission.— In money. — In Supplies,
— The latter drawn from the Branches  Sani
tary Pairs — The Western Sanitary Commission,
— Its oroanization  Its ¦work  Its receipts.
It is a matter of wonder, that in a field
so wholly new, the delegation should have
so fully comprehended the duties which
would be incumbent upon the Commis
sion, and the range of its future operations.
There were indeed certain features of its
work which, of necessity, could only be
developed by tho bitter experiences
through which it was called to pass ; and'
in the end, the great lack in the Govern
ment Medical Service, compelled it to as
sume more of the executive and less of
the advisory functions. StiU it has never

45
failed to bear in mind that it was created
to aid by its advice,' counsel, and where
needed, its direct help, the medical de
partment ofthe Government service, and
has ever been ready to withdraw from
every duty which that Department, under
its constantly increasing efficiency, could
successfully perforra.
Under its charter, it at once proceeded
to organize its action and to appoint com
mittees from its members to visit every
camp, recruiting-post, transport, fort,
hospital, and military station, to ascer
tain and report all abuses, and to perfect
such organization as might insure a
higher degree of health and comfort for
tlie soldiers.
The medical merabers of the Commis
sion undertook to consider the questions
which might arise concerning the diseases
of the camp, and their medical and sur
gical treatment, from the iiighcst scien
tific point of view, and guided by
the rich and abundant experience of

46
European army surgeons, to prepare
brief medical and surgical tracts adapted
to tho wants of tho volunteer surgeons of
the Army. Araong these tracts, of which
many thousands have been circulated,
were " Advice as to Camping ;" "Report
on Military Hygiene and Therapeutics ;''
" Dr, Guthrie's Directions to Army Sur
geons on the battle-field ;" " Rules for
preserving the Health of the Soldier;"
"Quinine as a prophylactic against mala
rious Diseases ;" " Report on the value
of Vaccination in armies ;" " Report on
Amputation;" "Report on Amputation
through the foot and at the ancle joint;"
" Report on Venereal Diseases ;" " Report
on Pneumonia ;" " Report on Continued
Fevers ;" " Report on Excision of Joints
for traumatic cause;" " Report on Dys
entery;" "Report on Scurvy;" "Re
port on the Treatment of Fractures ia
military surgery ;" " Report on the nature
and treatment of Miasmatic Fevers ;"
" Report on the treatment of Yellow

47
Fever ;" " Report on the treatment of In
fectious Diseases," &c. It is no more than
justice to tho able aui;hors of these essays,
to say that they take rank with the best
medical and surgical treatises extant, and
have been of incalculable value to the
surgeons in whose hands they have been
placed. Three important committees were ap
pointed, one to communicate the matured
counsels of the Commission to the Gov-
eiTiment, and procure their ordering by
tho proper Departments; a second to
maintain a direct relation with the army
officers and medical men, with the camps
and hospitals, and by all proper methods
to make sure of the carrying out of the
sanitary orders of the Medical Bureau
and the War Department ; and a third to
be iu constant communication with the
State Governments, and the public be
nevolent associations interested iu the
army. This plan of organization was approved

48
by the Secretary of War, on the 13th
June, 1861, and on the 21st of that
month the Commission issued its first
address to the public. This was soon
followed by an eloquent appeal to the
Life Insurance Companies, and another
to men of wealth throughout the country
for aid in the prosecution of its work.
The members of the Commission, as such,
received no compensation, but the pur
poses of the organization would require
a very considerable number of paid em-
ployfo, and would involve heavy expenses
for publications and supplies, which could
only be purchased with money. Acon
siderable number of associate merabers
were elected at this time, who gave their
services in raising means for the oper
ations of the Commission, and Ladies'
Associations, in all parts of the country,
prepared clothing and supplies of all sorts,
and forwarded thera to its depots.
The members of the Commission visit
ed, during the summer of 1861, the

I

49
difl^erent camps of the widely-extended
armies of the Republic, and carefully in
spected and reported upon their sanitary
condition and needs.
The necessity of the services of the
agents of the Commission on the field
immediately after, or when practicable,
during the progress of, important battles,
was felt, as soon as such battles occurred.
At first, owing to the difficulties of pro
curing transportation for its supplies to
the field, in consequence of the depen
dence of the Medical Bureau upon the
Quartermaster's Bureau for transporta
tion, it could not reach the field so eariy
as its officers desired, and in some of the
earlier battles, there was great suffering
(partially ameliorated, it is true, by indi
vidual effort and enterprise), in conse
quence. But the Commission soon found
it necessary to have its own independent
transportation, and this both by land and
water ; its hospital transjjorts, its wag
ons aud ambulances, and its ambulance
5

60
railroad cars. In July, 1863, it added to
these the plan of attaching to each army
corps a Superintendent of Relief, with his
assistants, wagons, ambulances, and sup
plies, to remain constantly with his corps
and minister to its needs.
It has, throughout, worked in harmony
with the United States Government, and
especially with the Medical Bureau, to
vvhich it has proved of great service.
That bureau, which, at the commence
ment of the war, was utterly inadequate,
though from no fault of its own, to the
vast work before it, is now well regulated
and admirably organized, having a corps
of three thousand skillful and responsible
surgeons, and fifteen thousand hired
nurses experienced in their duties.
But even with this large force, trained
as it has been by the arduous duties
to which it has been called, there are,
and must be, numerous instances wdiere
the most perfect working of the Govern
ment machinery cannot remedy suffTcring

~

^

51
and misery which a more flexible system
can relieve. The presence of incipient
scurvy among the troops on Morris
Island, and the forces engaged in the siege
of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, was de
tected and remedied by the sending at
once of large amounts of fresh vegetables
and anti-scorbutics by the Commission
to those points, which reached them
promptly, and arrested the disease, while,
by the necessarily slow movements ofthe
Government, many weeks must have
elapsed ero tho needed remedies could
have been furnished, and meantime half
the forces engaged would have perished.
" Potatoes and onions," says one of the
energetic lady agents of the Commission
in Chicago, " captured Vicksburg." "The
supplies of fresh vegetables and anti-scor
butics sent by the Sanitary Commission
to Morris Island, saved the army of the
South," is the testimony of an impartial
but thoroughly competent witness, who
spent ten months in the hospitals of that
department in 1803.

62
The work of tho Sanitary Commission
now comprehends tho following distinct
departments of labor : 1st. The preven
tive service or Sanilarxj Inspection, which
requires a corps of Medical Inspectors,
whose timo is passed with each army
coi-ps in the field, visiting camps, hospi
tals, and transports; skillful and experi
enced physicians, who watch the perils
from climate, malarious exposure, from
hard marching or active campaigning,
from inadequate food or clothing, grow
ing out of imperfect facilities of transpor
tation, and report to the Chief Inspector
of that army, and through hira to the
Chief of Inspection at Headquarters, for
remedy, or to the Associate Secretary in
charge, or to Relief Agents under their
control, and thus see to the supplying of
tho needs of that portion of the army,
and the adoption of the necessary mea
sures for the improvement of its sanitary
condition. From the reports of these
Inspectors the materials arc gathered

r

53
which are digested into such forms as to
be of permanent value in the Commis
sion's Bureau of Statistics. To this de
partment belongs also the corps of Spe
cial Hospital Inspectors, selected from the
most learned and skillful physicians ofthe
country, who, from time to time, make
the circuit of all the general hospitals
of the army, (now 233 in number), and
report upon their wants, condition, pro
gress, personnel, and capacity for improve
ment. The substance of these reports is
confidentially made over to the Surgeon-
General. A third agency, in connection
with this preventive service, is the pre
paration and circulation of medical tracts,
and information important and indispen
sable to the officers, soldiers, and espe
cially the medical men in the field. The
titles of these medical tracts we have al
ready given, but the Commission has also
published many giving important sugges
tions to the officers and men, not proper
ly medical in their character.
5*

64

II. The Department of General Reluf, —
The supplies of food, clothing, bandages,
hospital furniture, clothing, aud bedding,
delicacies for the sick, stimulants and
cordials, for the wounded on the field,
the sick and wounded in camp, field, regi-
mentaf, post, and general hospitals, come
from the branches of the Commission, of
which there are twelve, having depots in
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Balti
more, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago,
Buffido, Pittsburg, Detroit, Columbus,
and Louisville. Each of these branches,
which are variously denominated as La
dies' Aid Societies, Relief Associations,
&c., has its distinctly defined field, frora
which it draws its supplies, and has frora
one hundred and fifty to twelve hundred
auxiliary aid societies, in the towns, ham
lets, and villages, and, in tho cities, in the
different churches, of its field. The stores
collected by the branch are received at
its depot, opened, assorted, each kind by
itself, repacked, and reports of the luiiii-

50

ber and amount of the supplies thus ac
cumulated, arc sent every week to the
principal office of the Commission, or to
the Associate Secretary of the Eastern or
Western Department, as the case may be,
and shippeil, according to orders received,
to the army where they are needed, with
the utmost promptness. One of these
branches (the "Woman's Central Associa
tion of Relief") reported, among the
stores forwarded from its depot, from May
1, ISO I, to Nov. 1, 1863, 47 L,318 pieces of
clothing, 291,810 pieces of bedding, and
over 85,000 packages of fruit, vegetables,
jellies, wine, condensed milk, beef-stock,
groceries, pickles, lemonade, &c.,ofa total
value of $506,831.14, beside $35,551.38
in money. The supplies thus furnished
are distributed with great care to avoid
waste, and to suppleraent the food, cloth
ing, and medicines which the Government
is bound to furnish — the object being to
do what the Government cannot, and to
avoid duplicating its sup[dics of what it

BO
can and should furnish. Care is exercised
also to avoid imposition, while no sufferer
in need is allowed to suffer when tho
Coraraission can supply his wants. The
Commission is national in its character,
and supplies the soldiers of one State as
readily as those of another. Nay, more :
the rebel wounded, when left on the
field, or in temporary hospitals within
the Union lines, or when sent to camps
and hospitals as prisoners, have uniformly
received its bounty and its assiduous care.
It has had in this matter, at times, to con
tend, both among the people and on the
field, with that exclusive feeling which
would limit its beneficence to the soldiers
of a single State or regiraent ; but often
est the agents of these local organizations
have, from the feeling which such exclu-
siveness has caused among the soldiers,
turned their stores into the depots of tho
Comraission, ond theraselves aided iu their
distribution to the soldiers, without dis
tinction of locality. The Field Relief

67
Superintendents, already mentioned, wiio
accompany each army corps, belong to
this department of general relief.
III. 2Vtc Department of Special Rclif, —
This department is under the general
superintendence of Rev. F. N. Knapp,
Associate Secretary of the Commission
for the East, at Washington, aud of Dr.
J, S. Newberry, Associate Secretary for
the West, at Louisville. It furnishes
homes to soldiers, where shelter, food, and
medical care and general superintendence
are furnished for those soldiers who are
not yet under the care ofthe Government,
or have just got out of their care, or have
somehow lost their status and cannot im
mediately regain it — recruits, ox men on
leave, sick leave or furlough, going to
and fro ; men without skill to care for
theraselves, ignorant, underwitted, or vi
cious ; men discharged prematurely from
the hospitals ; men found in the streets,
or left behind by their regiments. Of
these classes, about 2,300 aro accommo-

68
dated daily or nightly in the homes of
the Commission at Washington, Cincin
nati, Cairo, Louisville, Nashville, Colum
bus, Cleveland, and New Orleans.
There aro also belonging to this depart
ment five lodges — ^horaes on a smaller
scale — where the wearied soldier, sick
or feeble, may await his opportunity of
obtaining his pay, from the Paymaster-
General, or landing sick from a steamer
or cars, and unable to reach the hospital
to which he may belong, can find rest,
food, and medical care, till he can be
transferred to the hospital, or is able to
rejoin his regiment. There are now two
of these at Washington, one at Alexan
dria, one at Memphis, and one at Vicks
burg ; and others are established tempo
rarily, as occasion may require, at other
points. The hospital cars, of which there
aro several, between Washington and New
York, and between Louisville and Mur
freesboro', Tennessee, fitted up with ham
mocks in rubber slings, and with a small

69 «
kitchen for preparing the necessary food
forthe sick and wounded, and under the
charge of a skillful surgeon, belong to this
department; as do also the Sanitary
steamers, the Clara Bell, on the Missis
sippi, the New Dunleith, on the Cumber
land, and the Elizabeth, on the Potomac.
These arc used both for the transmission
of necessary supplies, and the transpor
tation of the wounded. In this depart
ment, also, the Commission have estab
lished agencies at Washington, Philadel
phia, and New York, for obtaining for the
soldiers, and their families, pensions, boun
ties, back pay, transportation, aid in cor
recting the soldiers' papers, where there
are errors in form, or recoverins: them
their positions when they have wrong
fully been set down as deserters, and saving
them frora sharpers. Tho Cominission
have also established Hospital Directories
at Washington, Philadelphia, New York,
and Louisville. In these four directories
are registered tho names of all soldiers iu

60
the two hundred and thirty-three hospi
tals, and as far as possible, the regimen
tal and post hospitals throughout the
country, and these arc constantly receiv
ing additions from the reports sent regu
larly frora such hospitals. By applying
to these Directories, information will be
furnished to friends without cost, other
than that of postage or telegram, of the
location and condition of any soldier who
is or has been within a year, an inmate
of any U. S. military hospital. At the
Washington officeof the Commission, the
names of patients in the hospitals in East
ern Virginia, Maryland, District of Co-
,lurabia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Florida, and Louisiana, are recorded ; at
Philadelphia, those in Pennsylvania hos
pitals ; at New York, those in Now York,
New Jersey, and New England ; at Loui.s-
villc, those in Western Virginia, Ohio, In
diana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
The officers in charge require the name.

Y

61
rank, company, and regiment ofthe person
inquired for, und where he was when last
heard from. About 550,000 names have
been thus recorded, and the information
afforded by these directories to the friends
of the sick and wounded has been of in
calculable value, often leading to the pre
servation of life, and to the relief of that
raost terrible raental anguish, the torture
of a dread uncertainty.
Still another measure of special relief,
on which the Commission has expended
more than $30,000, is the sending of sup
plies, so long as it was permitted, to our
soldiers who were prisoners at Richraond,
and there undergoing the terrors of cold,
nakedness, and starvation. It also sent
on every flag-of-truce boat frora Fortress
Monroe, ample stores of clothing, cor
dials, nourisliiug food, medicine, and re
storatives, for the poor fellows who were
exchanged, and who, but for this timely
relief, would have many of them died on
the voyage. It has organized a system
G

62
of furnishing fresh supplies to the hospi
tals around Washington at prime cost,
which it brings from Philadelphia in arc
tic cars, thus preventing frauds and the
commissions formerly obtained by the
hospital stewards, and furnishing more
and better supplies to the inmates ofthe
hospitals for less money. It has caused
reforms to be instituted iu our own con
valescent and parole camps, aud in the
prison camps of the rebels, which our
Government hold as prisoners, promoting
the health and comfort of both in every
possible way. Its agents and superin
tendents have often brought off" men un
der fire from the battle-field, and four of
them were taken prisoners by the rebels,
after Gettysburg, and notwithstanding
the kindnesses bestowed by the Commis
sion on rebels, wounded and prisonci-s,
were subjected to the meagre fare and in
tolerable filth of Libby prison and Castle
Thunder, for months, when two of them
were finally released on parole.

(^

I

63
In these labors it has constantly had
tho aid and co-operation of the Medical
Department, and where it could be be
stowed, that of the Quartermaster's De
partment, and the generals and command
ing officers in the field have, alraost
without exception, given it their hearty
sanction and assistance. Without these,
its work would have been fourfold more
exjDcnsive than it has, bu^ even with this
assistance, it has necessarily had to incur
large expenditures, and has distributed
supplies to an iramense value. At the
commencement of its work, when it was
expected that the war would be a brief
one it made its appeals to the public for
fifty thousand dollars, a sum which it was
thought would suffice to accomplish its
purposes ; but with the increasing pro
portions of the war, increasing means
were fouud necessary. While, of most
descriptions of supplies, tiieir stock de
rived from the branches was ample, there
were some, such as the best qualities of

64

65

wines and brandies, quinine, &c., which
could only be obtained by cash purchases.
Tho transportation of their supplies,
though much of it was given by railroad
corapanies, was still very expensive, while
the maintenance of their homes, lodges,
offices and directories, required a heavy
outlay. The Commission, as such, re
ceived no compensation, and of its offi
cers, the President, Vice-President, and
Treasurer, received no pay ; while the
Associate Sjcretary for the West, the
only other member of the Comraission
now in service (except the Executive
Coraraittee), having left his residence and
practice at Cleveland for Louisville in the
Commission's, sei-vice, has a moderate
salary. The Commission has regarded
it necessary for the proper perforraance
of its extensive, varied, and onerous
duties, to employ paid agents, and has in
its employ about 200 ; to none of them
are salaries paid so large as they could
receive iu other business, but they re-

ff-

f

t^

main in tho work because they love it.
The affurenatc of salaries is now about
$15,000 por iiionih, and of othcr expen
ses from $30,000 to $35,000 per month,
raaking a total sura of $45,000 to
$50,000 per month. The expenditure of
supplies varies with the occurrence of
great battles. During, and immediately
after, the battles at Gettysburg, supplies
to the value of $75,000 were distributed
there. To the army of the Cumberland,
within ten days after the disastrous battle
of Chickamauga, 6,000 packages were
sent ; and immediately after Chattanooga,
5,000 packages and boxes went forward.
The receipts of the Commission, from
its organization in June, 1861, to March,
1864, have been in money $1,133,628.28 ;
of this amount neariy $700,000 has been
received from the States and territories ou
the Pacific slope, including about $550,000
from California alone. Aside from this,
its branches have received iu money to
i\I;u-ch J, ]S()4, about $650,000, wliichlias
6*

66
been expended in the purchase of supplies,
in local relief, and in the support of
establishments of special relief under
their direct charge. The value of sup
plies contributed cannot of course be
exactly ascertained ; it has, however, been
estiraated as carefully as possible, and
considerably exceeds $7,000,000.^
During the autumn and winter of
1863-4, a series of Fairs have been held
in several of the principal cities of the
Union, in the interest of the Commission
and its branches. These fairs have been
more gigantic in their conception and
execution, and have yielded larger returns
than any enterprises of the kind ever
atterapted in this country. The first of
these was held at Chicago, and its de
velopment and magnificent success was
due in a great measure to the energy and
executive ability of Mrs. A. H. Hoge,
and Mrs. D. P. Livermore, tho leading
spirits in the Chicago branch ofthe Com
raission, or as it is now officially known,

67
the Northwestern Sanitary Commission.
The Executive Committee visited the
principal cities and large towns of North
ern Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, and
aroused an intense enthusiasm forthe work.
Contributions poured in from all quar
ters, and as a renewed manifestation of
the patriotism*and loyalty of the North
west, the Fair was worth infinitely more
than it cost. The gross proceeds, when
the account is completely closed, will
fall but little short of $100,000, and will
yield a net result uf about $85,000. This
branch of the Sanitary Commission has
been inferior to no other in efficiency.
It has furnished, from the beginning of
the war to January, 1864, over$l, 500,000
value of supplies, besides raising large
amounts of money, which have been
mostly expended in the purchase of sup
plies andthe support of the Cairo Agency
and Horae for sick and wounded soldiers.
Tho next of these great Fairs was held
in Boston, and awakened anew the cn-

OS
husiasm of the people of the Old Bay
State, an enthusiasra which has not ma
terially flagged from the first moment
of the war. The net receipts, thus far
(the account is not yet closed), have been
about $140,000. To this succeeded one
at Cincinnati, which called forth the ener
gies of the people of the Ohio Valley,
and resulted in a great success not only
financially but in the increase of patriotic
fervor. The gross receipts were over
$263,000, and the net proceeds about
$240,000. Fairs for tho same purpose
were held soon after at Albany, at Wash
ington, D. C, and at Yonkers, N. Y,, the
net proceeds of the first (the only one
which has reported) were about $30,000.
On the 22d of February a Fair wasopeu-
ed at Brooklyn, N, Y., to which the peo
ple of Long Island generally contributed.
Its gross receipts were $425,000, and
the net amount realized was $400,000.
The Metropolitan Fair, to commence in
New York city on the 28th of March,

i*';

't

69
wi.l, it is believed, eclipse in the vastness
of its receipts, all of those which have
preceded it, and perhaps yield an amount
greater than the aggregate of the whole.
It has enlisted tho sympathies, the contri
butions, and the earnest labor of all
classes. These Fairs prove conclusively
that the people, so far from being wearied
of the war, and tired of making sacrifices
for it, are only now beginning to realize
its magnitude, and to contribute in some
proportion to their means, to its needs.
The unanimity of sentiment which pre
vails araong ihe masses-as to the necessity
of a vigorous prosecution of the war, to
the utter overthrow of the rebelhon, has
been, from the first, the controUimr mo-
tive in these liberal sacrifices for the sol
diers. But vast as the resources and expen
diture of the United States Sanitary Com
mission, and much as it has done for the
army, it has not acted alone in these mea
sures of relief and solace The Western

70
Sanitary Commission, whose headquarters
are at St. Louis, au organization wholly
distinct from tho one already described,
has borne an honorable part in the work
of providing for the wants of sick and
wounded soldiers on the field, in camp,
and post, aud general hospitals, and on
the hospital steamers, on the Mississippi,
Tennessee, and Curaberland rivers. Like
the United States Commission, it knows
no State boundaries, but ministers alike
to the soldiers who come from the East
and the West, although from its location
it has ministered only to the western ar
mies. It derived its first authority to act
from the following order of Major-General
Fremont :
Headquabteks, Western Depaktmbnt, )¦
St. Louis, Mo., Sept. 0, 1801. J
Spix'ial Orders, No. 159.
With a view to the health and comfort
of the Volunteer troops in and near to
the city of St. Louis, a Sanitary Commis-

71
sion is hereby appointed, to consist of
five gentlemen, who shall serve volun
tarily, and be removable at pleasure. Its
general object shall be to carry out, under
the properly-constituted military authori
ties, and in compliance with their orders,
such sanitary regulations and reforms as
the well-being of the soldiers demand.
The Coraraission shall have authority
under the dirccdons of the Medical Director,
to select, fit up, and furnish suitable
buildings for Armj^ and Brigade Hos
pitals, in such place, and in such manner
as circumstances require. It will attend
to the selection and appointraent of wo
men nurses, under the authority and by
the direction of Miss D. L. Dix, General
Superintendent of the nurses of Military
Hospitals in the United States, It will
co-operate with the Surgeons of the
several hospitals in providing male nurses,
and in whatever manner practicable, an i
by their consent. It shall have authority
to visit the different camps, to consult

72
with the Commanding officers, aud the
Colonels and other officers of the several
regiments, with regard to tho sanitary
and general condition of the troops, and
aid them in providing proper means for
the preservation of health and prevention
of sickness, by supplies of wholesome
and well-cooked food, by good systems of
drainage, and other practicable methods
It will obtain from the community at
large such additional means of increasing
the comfort and promoting the moral and
social welfare of the men, in camp and
hospital, as may be needed, and cannot
be furnished by Government regulations.
It will, from tirae to time, report directly
to the Commander-in-chief of the depart
ment, the condition of the camps and
hospitals, with such suggestions as can
properly be made by a Sanitary Board.
This Comraission is not intended in any
way to interfere with the Medical Staff",
or other officers of the army, but to co
operate with them, and aid tliem in the

73
discharge of their present arduous and
extraordinary duties. It will be treated
by all officers of the array, both regular
and volunteer, in this Department, with
the respect due to the humane and
patriotic motives of the members, and
to the authority of the Commander-in-
chief. This Sanitary Commission will, for the
present, consist of Jas. E. Yeatman,
Esq. ; C. S. Greeley, Esq. ; J. B. John
son, M. D. ; George Partridge, Esq.; and
the Rev. William G. Eliot, D. D.
By order of Major-General John C.
Fremont. J. C. KELTON,
Assistant Adjutant- General.
The authority conferred by this order
was recognized aud confirmed by Major-
General Halleck, who added Dr. S.
Pollak to the Commission, aud still later,
viz., December 16, 1862, by an order
from the Secretary of War (Hon. E. M.

74

Stanton), extending tho field of its labors,
and reappointing the merabers of the
Commission as at first constituted.
This Commission has not devoted its
attention to as wide a range of topics as
the United States Sanitary Commission,
but has confined itself to the work of
superintending hospitals, furnishing sup
plies, appointing nurses, visiting and
caring for the sick and wounded of the
army of the Southwest Frontier, the Dis
trict of East Arkansas, the armies opera
ting on both sides of tho Mississippi, and
the Mississippi Naval Flotilla ; it has at
all times acted in concert with the Medi
cal Directors and Inspectors of these ar
mies, and on account of their efficient
supervision of the condition aud sanitary
wants of the armies under their charge,
has not found it necessary to appoint
separate medical inspectors. It has the
superintendence of twelve hospitals (one
for officers and another for military prison
ers), having accommodations for about

75
eight thousand patients, besides ten large
hospital steamers and floating hospitals;
it has established Soldiers' Homes, and
Soldiers' Lodges, at St, Louis, Memphis,
aud Columbus, Ky,, and agencies at He
lena, Milliken's Bend, and Springfield,
Mo. and has prepared, published and dis
tributed, a large edition of a " Treatise on
the Preservation of the Health of the
Soldier, the cooking of food, the prepara
tion of diet for the sick, the duties of
nurses and attendants, and the organiza
tion and general management of Hospi
tals," It has, during the year past, given
special attention to the necessities ofthe
freedmen in the Mississippi Valley, and
its officers have interested themselves in
the adjustment of wages, and in securing
just and considerate treatment of the
emancipated slaves from those who have
rented the plantations, which had been
abandoned by Rebel owners. Tlie com
mission have expended about $40,000 in
the relief of freedmen. It has also kept

70
a registry of the location and condition
of invalid and wounded soldiers in the
Western armies.
From the commencement of the war
to May 1, 1863, this Commission had re
ceived cash donations to the amount of
$151,381.18, and sanitary stores and
supplies of the estimated value of $395,-
335.96, making a total of $546,716.14,
and the expenses incurred in the collec
tion and distribution of this large amount
were only $8,848.86, or 1|- per cent, of
the entire amount received and distribu
ted. The amount of cash and sanitary
stores received since that time, make the
aggregate of its receipts, to March 1,
1864, about $1,750,000 since the war com
menced. This Commission wiU hold at
St, Louis, during the spring of the pres
ent year, a large Fair, to replenish its
treasury, and its abundant and useful la
bors give good reason to hope that it will
elicit large contributions from the patri
otic citizens ofthe country.

II
!I

77

CHAPTER IV.
Other Sanitary Commissions  The Iowa State Sani
tary Commission — The Indiana State Sanitary
CoMMissio.v — Similar organizations elsewhere. 
Tn,i New England Soldiei^s' Relief Association 
State and other Relief Associations not connec
ted wrrn the National Oroanization.i.— State
AGENCIES AT NeW YOUK, PuiLADELPiriA, WASHING
TON, Louisville, and elsewhere  The Ladies' Aid
SociirrY or PniLADELpniA  Citizens' Volunteesi
Hospital at Philadelphia,— Tub use of Hospitals
donated elsewuiuie  ambulances for sick an'd
wouN-DED Soldiers, built and maintained byPhila-
BELPHiA Firemen — Individual Contributions to
Soldiers in hospitals and on the field, not con
nected WITH ANY OF these ORGANIZATIONS.
Two or three of the Western States
have established organizations dependent
partly upon legislative grants, and partly
upon contributions, for the care ofthe sick
and wounded soldiers of their respective
States, and their families, to which they
have, unwisely as it seems to us, given
the name of " State Sanitary Commis
sions." There should not be, and with
most of these agencies there is not, anv
7*

78
recognition of State lines in the distribu
tion of supplies to the soldiers who havo
succumbed to disease or wounds iu fight
ing our national battles, or serving in our
national armies. They are all soldiers of
our common republic, and it is a matter
of no moment whether their local alle
giance is due to a State on the west
ern, northern, or eastern frontier, or in
the States which constitute the heart of
the body politic. There are, however,
services which may be more appropriate
ly rendered to a soldier by his own State,
or its representatives, than by others ;
such as the furnishing means of reaching
home during a furlough, or of reaching
his regiment when he has been detained
from it by sickness ; the procuring of the
allotment of his pay or bounty, or the
rendering him contented by care for his
family. Iu these, and many other ways,
a State organization may do much to in
crease the soldier's efficiency and comfort,
Tho Indiana State Sanitary Commission,

?^

79
fostered and prompted by he energetic
and patriotic Governor of that State, has
accomplished much good in this way, and
up to February, 1864, has expended
$320,000 in its succor of Indiana soldiers.
The Iowa State Sanitary Commission has
been also very efficient. It has expended
$175,500 to February 1, 1S64, An or
ganization of a similar character, though
we believe not with the same name, ex
ists in Wisconsin, having originated with
the late laraented Governor, Louis P,
Ha,rvey, who lost his life in a journey to
the field of Shiloh, to distribute its boun
ties. It has contributed largely to the
aid of the soldiers, and its benefactions
have not been confined to those from
Wisconsin, In Illinois, there is an officer
called a Commissioner-General, whose
function it is to collect stores and supplies
frora the towns and counties of the State
and send thera forward for distribution,
after each great battle. In New York, a
State Soldiers' Depot was established in

80

July, 1863, in Howard street. New York
city, and received an appropriation from
the State Legislature of $200,000, which
combines the character of a Soldiers' Horae,
hospital, aud reading-roora, and has its
couriers on each train on which New York
and other soldiers corae from the army
of the Potomac, and meets them coming
frora other points, by steamers or other
wise, cares for the comfort of the sick and
wounded, administering, under the direc
tion of its surgeon, cordials and nutri-
, ment while in transit, protects them from
the sharpers who would plunder them
and in every way looks after their inter
ests. It lias expended since its organiza
tion iu June, 1863, about $65,000 in
money, and has distributed clothing, &c.,
to the amount of over $10,000 more. It
has fed and lodged over 15,000 soldiers,
and given aid and counsel to thousands
more. The plan for establishing national
cemeteries iu tho vicinity of our great
battle-fields, at Gettysburg, Antietam,

81
Chattanooga, &c,, has been greatly pro
moted by its earnest advocacy.
One of the best, as it is really one of
the most national, ofthe institutions of
this class, is " The New England Soldiers'
Relief Association," located at 194 Broad
way, Nevv York, and organized April 3,
1 802. Its founders and supporters were
New England men and women, but its
doors ha've been opened to, and its chari
ties lavished upon, the soldiers of every
State. That a soldier was on furlough,
or sick or wounded, discharged, or in
trouble, has been ever a sufficient pass
port to its halls, aud its sympathies.
Since its organization, it has received, re
gistered, lodged, fed, aided, and clothed
sick and wounded or disabled soldiers
from thirty-one States, the District of
Columbia, the regular army, the navy,
and the Invalid Corps, to tho number of
about 46,000, and has fed or lodged, aud
rendered assistance to many thousands
more, who were not sick, wounded, or di.s-

82

abled. It has a Hospital Record and Di
rectory, very full and complete, of the in
mates of all the military hospitals of New
York and New England, which is kept up
to date by daily reports from each hospital,
and gives full particulars in regard to the
location, condition, and final disposition of
each patient. This register contains about
40,000 names, and is so coraplete that
the Sanitary Coraraission, in February,
1864, relinquished theirs for that Depart
ment, in its favor. It has an excellent
hospital for the sick or wounded soldier,
with a skillful surgeon, careful attend
ants, and assiduous volunteer night
watchers ; furnishes an asylum to those
unfortunate soldiers who, discharged from
the service without means, find thera
selves homeless and shelterless, giving
them a home till employment can be pro
vided for them. It also interests itself in
procuring transportation, bounties, and
back pay fbr the soldiers, and furnishing
information to the friends of those who

83
are sick, or have died, relative to procur
ing their dues. Religious services are
conducted every Sabbath at its rooms.
Since August, 1863, it has had two cou
riers at the expense of the State of Mas
sachusetts, running between New York
and Washington, and caring for all sol
diers in the cars. The work of the As
sociation has been conducted with a very
small money expenditure, only about
$28,000 iu cash having been received by
its Treasurer. It has, however, received
very considerable amounts of supplies of
clothing, food, delicacies for the sick, &c.,
&c., probably to a vnlue not less than
$200,000. It could, however, make a
good use of a much larger amount. Much
of the service rendered, including that of
the Superintendent, is voluntary, and
without compensation. Indeed, the Su
perintendent has, in addition, paid large
sums from his own pocket, for the relief
of soldiers, in cases where such relief
could not properly conic frora the State

84
funds, or the funds of the Association.
Colonel P, E, Howe, the Superintendent
of this Association, acts also in the ca
pacity of State Military Agent for the
States of Maine, New Hampshire, Ver
mont, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minne
sota, and Indiana, and is authorized to
render such assistance as may be needed
to the soldiers of those States coming to
New York,
Most of tho other loyal States have
military agents at New York, and some
of them at Philadelphia, At Washington,
each of the loyal States, east of tiie Rocky
Mountains, has a representative body,
composed of citizens of those States, re
sident temporarily or permanently at
tho capital, Merabers of Congress, &c,,
who interest themselves in the welfare of
the soldiers of their respective States,
raise raoney among themselves, and col
lect supplies from their States, which are
distributed in the hospitals around Wash
ington, or in many cases sent to the front.

.LU

i

85
before, during, or after a battle. The
Sanitary Commission has now become
the almoner of some of these organiza
tions, as from its peculiar facilities it
raight well do with all of thera ; but prior
to July, 1863, they had distributed in
raoney and stores, the amount, as e.stima-
ted, of $1,030,000, There have been also
sirailar State agencies connected witli
most of the Western States, at Louis
ville, Nashville, St, Louis, &c.
There have been a few Ladies' Aid So
cieties which have not affiliated them
selves with either the United States Sani
tary Commission or its branches, or the
Western Sanitary Comraission, preferriuf
for some reason, independent action.
Prominent among them is the Ladies' Aid
Society of Philadelphia, an association
organized on the 26th of April, 1861, and
which has labored assiduously frora that
time to the present, promoting by eveiy
means in its power the physical and
moral welfiu-e of the soldier. It has a
8

86
number of auxiliaries in the State, and
has had its efficient Secretary, Mrs, John
Han-is, iu the field and ministering iu per
son to the wants of the sick and suffering
soldiers, with, for the most part, two or
three assistants, since the first battles on
the Peninsula in the spring of 1 862. It
had expended in money, to November 1,
1863, $19,380, and had sent from the
Philadelphia office, food, clothing, &c., to
the value of over $60,000, besides other
supplies sent direct from various points
to Mrs, Harris, to an aggregate amount of
probably not far from $200,000. The
Soldiers' Aid Society of Hartford, Connec
ticut, has been another association which
has acted independently, and has expend
ed about $20,000 in money and over
$50,000 in supplies. In most of the larger
cities there have been associations of a
similar character, which have either dis
tributed their food, clothing, &c., by spe
cial, and usually unpaid agents, or have
forwarded them to some of the State or-

r

87
ganizations — at Washington, Louisville,
&c,, or have consigned them to individu
als engaged in this work in tho army, or
at prominent points. The aggregate
amount of such contributions is large,
though composed of a thousand little rills.
The aggregate sent to Washington and
its vicinity, including Baltimore, up to
July, 1863, was ascertained by careful
inquiry to be somewhat more than
$1,350,000, and to Cincinnati, St, Louis,
Louisville, Cairo, Nashville, Memphis and
New Orleans, to not less than $1,600,000.
The amount of sup]dies of delicacies,
extra food, cordials, clothing, and bed
ding furnished to teraporary and perma
nent military hospitals, aside from those
furnished by the Sanitary Commissions,
has been very large. In the summer and
autumn of 1862, the civil hospitals ofthe
northern cities were filled to overflowing
with the sick and wounded, and numer
ous churches, barracks, and other build
ings wcre temporarily used for hospital

88 ¦f
purposes, and the resources of the Medi
cal and Quartermaster's Bureaux were
completely drained in supplying hospital
clothing and furniture, and ordinary pro
visions and medicines, long before tho
half were fully supplied. Contributions
poured in freely from the people of what
was needed, and kitchens were establish
ed in connection with most of tlie hospi
tals, iu which ladies of the highest social
position, in their turns, served and pre
pared the delicacies which would be most
grateful to the sick. Papers, periodicals,
books, stationery and postage were fur
nished in liberal quantities to tho conva
lescent, and letters written to the friends
of the patients by these volunteer nurses.
After the Government had established its
own perraanent hospitals (though a con
siderable number of thera were hospital
buildings furnished rent free by cities or
towns) the same course was pursued in
most of them, but in a considerable num
ber the supplies were furnished by tho

89
Sanitary Commission, The value of these
supplies furnished by private hands to
several of these hospitals, in New York,
Philadelphia, and Washington, has been
carefully ascertained, and averaging the
expenditure as proportioned to the inmates
of most of the hospitals of the period
(some fared better and few worse) the
contributions for this purpose could not
have been less in value than $2,200,000-
One of these hospitals, now under the
charge of the Government, originated in
the philanthropic spirit of the citizens of
that portion of Philadelphia residing in
the vicinity of the Baltimore station-
house, in Broad street. After the ffreat
battles before Washington, in the summer
of 1862, trains, freighted with the
wounded, poured into Philadelphia, and
no provisions having been made for their
quiet and speedy transfer to the hospitals,
most of Avhich were at considerable dis
tance, they were temporarily placed iu
churches, or the station-house, often
8*

90
greatly to their discomfort, and sorac^
times with a fatal result. The citizens
of the vicinity, a large portion of them
mechanics, laboring by day in the busy
manufactories of that vicinity, were
greatly distressed at witnessing this suf
fering, and resolved, though with but very
small available means, to erect near the
station-house a hospital for the teraporary
accommodation of sick and wounded sol
diers. A landholder generously gave them
the use of some vacant lots on the corner
of Broad and Prince streets ; others con
tributed lumber, furniture, heating ap
paratus, bath-tubs, and some, money.
One poor Irishman wheeled a half-worn
stove to the new hospital, "He had
nothing else to give," he said, " aud must
do something for the sogers," The hos
pital was erected, and furnished with five
hundred beds in fifteen days, at a cost of
over $9,000, It was subsequently en
larged, so as to give accommodations for
seven hundred beds, and has, in addition,

Y

'A

91
two kitchens, bath-rooms, and a large
dining-room. It has received over 2,500
patients in a day, and has lodged more
than 700 at night. Nearly 40,000 sol
diers have been admitted since it was
opened. It has received, in money, about
$23,300 to March 1, 1864, and expended
about $20,000. It has received also in
clothing, food, liquors, and delicacies, not
less than $30,000.
The feeling of sympathy and patriot
ism which has actuated the masses of the
people, manifested itself in numberless
instances of thoughtfulness and tender
ness, even frorn classes, among whom it
was hardly to be looked for. A memor
able example of this occurred in Philadel
phia, where, when the wounded were
brought to the city, and carried, not per
haps so gently as they might have been,
in hired conveyances, to the hospitals, the
firemen said to each other : " These poor
fellows deserve tenderer care and handling

92
than they will receive from hired hack-
men ; wc will build ambulances for thera,
and carry them to tho hospitals ourselves."
To this thoughtfulness it is owing that
there are now twenty-six of these am
bulances, luxurious affairs, costing from
$500 to $800 each, drawn by two horses,
and kept always ready in the engine
houses of the fire companies for the trans
portation of sick and wounded, and that
in these they are carried, attended by fire
men, and handled as gently as a mother
would handle her infant, to the hospitals,
and without any compensation.
The individual contributions to the be
nefit of the soldiers and their families, not
coming into the treasury of any organiza
tion, were in the aggregate of vast
amount ; how vast can never be known,
even with approximate accuracy, but that
they must have risen to millions of money
or money value, is past question. At the
commencement of the war, wdien great
numbers of clerks and mechanics enlisted

93
for three raonths in the militia regiments,
their employers, with very few excep
tions, voluntarily offered to pay, and did
pay, their salaries during their absence,
and restored them to their positions on
their return. The same thing occurred,
though not to quite the sarae extent, in
the summer of 1862 and 1863, in both
which seasons the militia of New York,
Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and other cities
were called out. One of the wealthiest
citizens of New York, Cornelius Vander-.
bilt, Esq., presented to the Government
his magnificent steamship the " Vander
bilt," which had cost him over a million
of dollars, and was at that time worth in
cash, $800,000, Several of the great ex
press lines offered to carry goods intended
for the soldiers, free ; others reduced their
prices on such goods one-half, and through
out the war, sanitary stores and tho agents
and delegates of the Sanitary and Chris
tian Commissions havo been very gene
rally, wc might almost say universally,

94
carried free over the principal railroads of
the country, and tho messages of both
have been borne ou the telegraph lines
without charge.
The supplying ofthe wants ofthe fam
ilies of the soldiers, has been to a lai;gc
extent a work of private beneficence,
and has involved the payment of much
larger sums than many suppose. So, too,
the sending or giving to the soldiers spiall
sums for the purchase of luxuries, tobac
co, and the like, has in the aggregate
amounted to hundreds of thousands of
dollars. The establishment of soldiers' asylums
or homes, by several of the States, or as
has been the case in raost instances, by
voluntary contribution under a State
charter, institutions where the maimed or
crippled soldier, who is without a homei
may find comfort and light employment
when he desires it, is another of the man
ifestations of the interest vidiich the na
tion feels in its soldiers. The same spirit
is exhibited, though iu a somewhat sadder

')

95
way, in the establishment of orphan asy
lums for the children of soldiers deceased
in the war, and of homes for soldiers' wi
dows ; the provision made in many of our
literary institutions for the free education
of soldiers' sons and daughters, and the
readiness with which employment is fur
nished to a disabled soldier in any capa
city which he can fill. Very often, too,
it is seen in the shy, respectful, but diffi
dent way in which, as fearful of giving
pain, money is slipped into the hand of
the maimed, wounded, or crippled soldier,
not to encourage or sanction mendicity,
but in love for the cause to which he has
sacrificed a limb or suffered a wound,
There is almost universally among our
people, a feeling of reverence for the bat
tle-scarred and wounded soldier, as for one
who, standing face to face with death in
the struggle for our country's life, has
only come off victor by fearful struggle
and terrible suffering, God grant that
naught in the future may abate this reve
rential love.

96

CHAPTER V.
The necessity for moral and religious instruction
AND consolation IN THE ARMY  ThE EFFORTS OP
THE Young Mens' Christian Associations  The or
ganization OP the United States Christian Com
mission.- .Its purposes.— The importance op com-
IlINING physical relief WITH SPIRITUAL TEACHING.
—The LAD0113 of the Christian Commission  What
IT HAS accomplished  OTHER INSTITUTIONS FOR SUP
PLYING TIIE JIOllAL AND IlKLIOIOItH WANTS OF TUE AR
MY — Bible Societies.— Tract Societies  Publica
tion Societies — Missionary Societies.— Individual
EFFORTS.
While the Sanitary Coriimission and
the numerous othcr societies and associa
tions were doing what they could for the
improvement ofthe physical condition of
the soldier, the maintenance of his health,
and his restoration from sickness, acquired
in a malarious climate, the repairing of
war's fearful ravages, and tho soothing of
the pangs of dissolution, there was a
strong and growing feeling in the minds
of the religious public, that these ends
and aims, though good, and by no meaus

S^

h

97
to be neglected, were not all which the
condition of our array demanded,
Tho soldier has a soul as well as a
body, a soul to be blighted and polluted
by the vices of the camp, or to be kept
pure and holy for that change of worlds
which to so many must come with fear
ful suddenness. It was needed that the
Christian influences, from which so many
had gone forth to the camp and battle
field, should not be replaced by intoxica
tion, blasphemy, and obscenity; that the
obscene book and the pack of cards should
not take the place of the Scriptures, the
Christian narrative, or tho religious news
paper ; that the Sabbath should not be
desecrated beyond what the exigencies of
the service demanded. They would have
the Gospel, with its benign influences, fol
low the soldier into the camp ; they would
stimulate his courage by giving it a high
er and holier basis ; animate his patriot
ism by making Christianity its foundation,
and enliven his faith in the future triumph

98

of his cause, by showing him that it was
the cause of God. For the sick ' and
wounded they would invoke healing mer
cies for both soul and body from the
Great Physician, and point them, in the
struggle with the last enemy, to Him who
is tho Abolisher of Death, the Conqueror
of the Grave.
It was in consequence of these con
victions that, from the commencement of
the war, the Young Men's Christian As-
sicialions, in most of the larger cities and
towns ofthe loyal States, had contributed
largely, not only in money and supplies,
to the relief and comfort of the soldiers,
but in personal service. Many of their
members were in the army, and the
sympathy felt for them by those who
remained at home prompted to efficient
action for the spiritual as well as physi
cal needs of the army. After every con
siderable battle, members of these asso
ciations were dispatched with money,
sanitary stores and supplies, and religious

99
and moral reading matter, for free distri
bution to the sufferers. One Young Men's
Christian Association, that of Brooklyn,
N. Y,, had contributed in this way more
than $28,000 for this purpose, and had
given in addition the voluntary sci-vices
of several of its merabers in distributing
supplies aud caring for the sick and
wounded on the battle-fields of the East
and the West. Others had done neariy
as much, sorae, perhaps, even more.
At a convention of these Christian
Associations, held in Nev/ York, Novem
ber 10, 1861, it was resolved to organize
frora the representatives of these bodies
a United States Christian Commission,
and the following persons were appointed :
Rev. Rollin H. Neale, D.D., Boston;
George H. Stuart, Esq., Philadelphia;
Rev. Bishop E. S. Janes, D.D., New
York ; Rev. M. L. R. P. Thompson, D. D.,
Cincinnati; Hon. Benjamin F. Ma-
nierre. New York; Colonel Clinton B.
Fisk, St. Louis ; Rev. Benjamin C. Cutler,

100

D.D., Brooklyn ; John V. Farwell, Esq.,
Chicago ; Mitchell H. Miller, Esq., Wash
ington ; John D. Hill, M.D., Buffido.
During the succeeding year Mr. Manierre
and Rev. Dr. Cutler resigned, and their
places were filled by the appointment of
Jay Cooke, Esq,, of Philadelphia, and
Rev. James Eells, D.D., of Brooklyn.
Soon after its appointment tho Cora-
mission met in Washington, and organ
ized by choosing George H. Stuart, of
Philadelphia, Chairman, aud B. F. Ma
nierre, of New York, Secretary and
Treasurer. Its headquarters were at first
established iu New York, and Rev. A,
M, Morrison was appointed Secretary,
when it was ascertained that the labors
of the two offices would be too much for
one man, Mr. Morrison's services were
rendered gratuitously. Some months
were occupied in the organization of
branches, in obtaining from Government
and from railroad and telegraph lines,
passes, and in adjusting the details for

101
the vast work which soon began to flow
in upon them, and it was not till the
summer of 1802, that the Commission
was fairly ready for its work; meantime
its headquarters had been removed to
Philadelphia, and Rev, Williara E, Board-
man appointed Secretary in place of Rev,
Mr. Morrison, resigned.
Its objects, as declared in its circulars,
were " to arouse the Christian Associa
tions and the Christian men and women
of the loyal States to such action toward
the men in our army and navy as would
be pleasing to the Master ; to obtain and
direct volunteer labors, and to collect
stores and money with wdiich to supply
whatever is needed, reading matter and
articles necessary for health, not furnish
ed by Government or other agencies, and
to give the officers and men of our ai-my
and navy the best Christian ministries, for
both body and soul, possible in their
circumstances." The Commission is organized upon tho
9*

102

principle of voluntary, unpaid agency.
Its Chairman, a merchant of Philadelphia,
not only devotes almost his entire time
to its semce, but furnishes office-room
and storage, clerks, porters, &c,, to con
duct the business correspondence and
pack the stores and supplies, free of
charge. The railroad companies have
uniformly given free passes to its dele
gates, and the telegraph corapanies free
transmission to its messnges. It has
been largely aided by grants of Bibles,
religious books, tracts, &c., from tho
Bible and publishing societies, and dona
tions of newspapers, religious and secular,
from the publishers of those papers ; its
delegates are volunteers, whose expenses
of living are alone furnished by the
Commission, and who spend some weeks
or months in ministrations of kindness to
the sick and wounded ; it has also em
ployed a very large corps of volunteer
chaplains to visit the regiments and
brigades of tho army, and manifest their

103
sympathy with the soldier, and seek to
improve his physical and moral condition.
While thus a voluntary systera, it acts
only under the sanction and with the
approval of the Government and its offi
cers. Tho surgeons and chaplains ofthe
army are among its best friends. Under
standing fully that there is sometimes
" more gospel in a loaf of bread than in
a sermon," it bestows the loaf of bread
where it is needed, and the Gospel also.
Its distribution of its stores of food,
clothing, medicines, &c., arc made with
the approval and consent of tho proper
officers only, and have amounted to sorae
what more than half a million of dollars
in value, in the two years since its or
ganization. During that period it has
commissioned 1,503 Christian ministers
and laymen to minister to men on battle
fields, in camps, hospitals, aud ships ; has
distributed 565,275 copies of the Scrip
tures, 602,556 copies of hymn and psalm
books, 1,410,061 othcr books, 156,145

104
pamphlets, 3,326,250 religious news
papers, and 22,930,428 pages of tracts.
It has received over $400,000 iu money,
and over $700,000 in stores, books, and
donations of other descriptions. During
the winter, it has aided the regiments in
camps to erect temporary chapels, of
logs with canvas roofs^ in which they
have held religious meetings with bene
ficial effects.
Other religious organizations have in
curred large expenditures in the prorao
tion of the spiritual welftire of the na
tional army and navy. The American
BibleSociety has donated Bibles and Tes
taments, either directly or through its
auxiliaries, to the amount of about
$300,000; and about one-sixth of this
amount has been in grants to the rebels,
the Bibles and Testaments, having, by
permission of the United States Govern
ment, been sont by flag of truce to the
rebel lines aud received there by their offi
cers.

105
The American Tract Society, New
York, entered very heariily, and very
early, into the work of supplying their
books, tracts, and papers to the army and
navy, and found them readily received,
and eagerly read by the soldiers and sail
ors. They state that nearly every regi
ment in the Union army has received
more or less oftheir publications; they
have been supplied from the General De
pository of the Society, and its agencies
at commercial cities, aud at camps, recruit
ing stations, and hospitals, in all the
Western, Middle, and Northern States,
and at camps and hospitals in front, in
the different departments of the army.
The secretaries and agents of the Society
have made frequent visits to different
divisions of the army, and army mission
aries havo traversed the camps in .their
faithful visitations. Libraries have been
established iu the hospitals; hundreds of
ships of war and gunboats have been
supplied \vhen fitting out, and their chap-

106
lains, pious officers or sailors, are supplied
from month to month. As a result, it
may be said that there is scarcely a camp
upon the field, or regiment in the ranks,
or ward in the hospital, or mess in the
navy, where the publications ofthis So
ciety have not been distributed, or where
they do not find a welcome reception.
Since the war commenced, the Society
has issued more than 300 distinct publi
cations, with special reference to the sup
ply ofthe array and navy, and the freed
men. Of these, there have been printed
and bound 1,217,000 volumes, 2,735,096
tracts, and 649,000 cards and hand-bills,
making a total of 4,602,090 publications,
nearly all of which have been distributed
in the army and navy. Besides these,
there have also been circulated in the sarae
quarters, many thousand copies of " The
Child's Paper," and more than a million
copies of the " American Messenger," in
English and German. This distribution,
and tho army work of the Society, includ-

107
ing tbe labors of agents, colporteurs,
and army missionaries, visiting the en
campments and hospitals in the different
departments, have cost the Society about
$100,000. Not less active and earnest has been
the American Tract Society, at Boston,
one of whose Secretaries has devoted him
self wholly to the work of visiring the
army and superintending the distribution
among the camps of the East the publi
cations of that Society, while its efficient
Western Secretary has performed a simi
lar work in the armies of the West. Both
"entlemen have exerted themselves also
in personal ministrations to the sick and
wounded soldiers. This Society has pub
lished a large number of different works
with special reference to the wauts of the
army and navy, and of these has issued :
Of bound volumes, 527,000 ; of tracts,
2,358,400; of papers, 231,232; or a total
of publications of 3, 1 16,632. They have
also sent a large number of these books

108
and tracts, of a more general character,
to the hospital and other libraries, &c„
but of these they have no exact account.
The expenditure of the Society in its
army and navy work, to March 1, 1864,
has been $70,229.85. The American
Sunday-School Union, the Christian Al
liance, the Presbyterian Board of Publi
cation, the Presbyterian (N. S.) Publica
tion Committee, the American and
Foreign Bible Society, the American
Baptist Publication Society, the Episco
pal Tract and Prayer Book Society, and
the Reformed Dutch Board of Publica
tion, have also each e.\pended very con
siderable sums in the circulation of their
publications in the army. The publishers
of religious aud literary periodicals and
newspapers have also contributed, aside
from those sent through the Christian
Commission, largo quantities of their
papers and periodicals to the army, raany
of them having a small fund set apart for
this pui-pose. The aggregate value of

109
these publications aud papers, exclusive
of those of the Tract Societies, is not far
from $126,000. Scvcralof tho Missionary
Societies have also sent their missionaries
to labor for the spiritual good of the
army, and have met with encouraging
success in these efforts. Of the expendi
tures incurred in these movements we
have been unable to obtain any informa
tion. The Societies which havo taken a
part in this work are the American Home
Missionary Society, the American Mis
sionary Association, the American Bap
tist Home Mission Society, and the Free
Mission Societj'', and perhaps some others.
There were not wanting, too, instances
of individual laborers, self-supported
messengers of good to the soldier, who
sought, without thought of pecuniary
reward or profit, to promote his spiritual
interests. 10

110

CHAITER ATT.
Personal services in the Aid Societies, in the nosn-
tals, and in the field. — The services rendered in
this way throuoii the sanitary commission. —
Services of delegates of the Christian Commis
sion.  Voluntary independent services op clergy
men, FHYSICIANS, AND OTHERS. — WOMAn'S LABORS IN
THE WAR. — Incidents.
We have thus far spoken mainly of the
philanthropy evoked by the war in its
pecuniary aspects, as so much money or
money's worth contributed to some one
or other of its many modes of relief ; but
there is aphilanthropy, alove of our fellow-
man, of a far higher character than this,
and leading to nobler and greater sacri
fices than those of gold or silver, or perish
able goods. These are all good and in
dispensable to the accomplishment ofthe
great purposes desired ; but, by the side
ofthe spirit of self-sacrifice, the gift of
personal service, the devotion of an earn
est and generous nature to the work, how
poor and worthless do they seem !

Ill
In this regard, also, the philanthropy
of our country has not been wanting.
History records with admiration the
heroic spirit of self-sacrifice of the Gre
cian mother who sent forth her only son
to the battle-field with a shield bearing
the device, " Return with this, or upon
it." In yet higher colors does it paint
the fearless spirit of the women of Car
thage, who, by the side of their fathers,
brothers, lovers, and sons, endured cheer
fully the horrors of the Roraan siege, and
when suffering the tortures of incipient
starvation, cut from their heads their
beautiful tresses, to furnish bowstrings
to their brave defenders. To our own
time, and our loftier, riper civiliza
tion, has it been given to make greater
and more glorious sacrifices than these ,
to hallow its offerings upon the altar of
our country, b}'' moistening them with tho
heart's best blood ; to give the best pow
ers of highly gifted natures to the minis
trations ofa patriotic tenderness, and not

112
unseldom to lay down, in these ministra
tions, lives of priceless value and of an
gelic purity.
The war has not been conducted with
hireling troops, mercenary wretches, pro
cured at so much per head, aud only fit to
be food for powder. No ! each State has
given to the service the purest, gentlest,
noblest blood which flowed in the veins
of its sons ; its men of high culture,
genial nature, and lofty aspiration ; cler
gymen deeply versed in theologic lore
but yet more deeply familiar with the
human heart, and its joys and sorrows ;
lawyers, whose eloquence thrilled all
hearts, as their legal attainments and
acumen had won for them high renown •
physicians, whose skill and scientific
knowledge made them the leaders of their
profession ; professors, who, leaving the
universities whose chairs they had filled so
well, assumed, with the utinost cheerful-
[ness, subordinate positions, where they had
been accustomed to command ; statesmen.

113
whose words of fire had echoed from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, and caused a na
tion's heart to quiver with patriotic emo
tion. Promptly and joyfully they offered
themselves to the work of defending their
country, not always, perhaps not in a
majority of cases, in positions of com
mand, for hundreds of such men have been
found as privates in the ranks.
One of the Rhode Island regiments was
almost wholly composed of the most emi
nent citizens of that little commonwealth,
and numbered a half hundred of college
graduates, manj'^of them eminent as profes
sional men, iu the ranks of its privates. A
Vermont regiment numbered two score
men of collegiate education araong its pri
vate soldiers. An Illinois regiraent (the fa
mous Normal Regiment) was made up al
most exclusively of teachers. Massachu
setts sent her noblest sons to the war, in
all grades of rank, and ofttimes received
them back, " dead on the field cf honor."
The names of her Webster, Willard, Wil-
10*

114
son, Putnam, Stearns, Stevens, Fuller,
Manross, and Shaw, with those of many
others, fallen on the field of battle, slial'l
be held in everiasting remembrance. Nor
they alone. Every State mourns, but
with a lofty pride, its gallant dead; and
the hearts of kindred, torn by the sudden
aud terrible stroke, yet cherish with a
fonder and holier love the banner under
which they fought and died.
Often, those who have been thus be
reft, have themselves proved the most
earnest and efficient ministrants to the
sick, the suffering, and the wounded ; dis
tilling from their own wounded and sor
row-stricken hearts the balm of consola
tion to those who had been called to suffer
for their country, and assuaging their own
grief by imparting consolation to others.
Some of the tenderest nurses of the hospi
tal, or the wounded on the field, have
been those on whose souls lay the shadow
of a great affliction ; who had come per-

116
haps at first to minister to their own loved
ones, but finding them past all need of
earthly solace, havo turned to those who
might yet be saved to servo their countiy,
and to defend its institutions, and with a
sad but loving zeal, sought their restora
tion to health.
There have been few instances iu his
tory of a more sublime devotion to a great
and good object than have been exhibited
by some of the officers of the Sanitary
Commission, For a period of almost
three years, its President has given, with
out fee or reward, to its service, the best
hours of every day, and has borne its
great and varied duties, and the measures
for the best development of its rapidly
increasing powers of usefulness, upon his
heart — a work sufficient to task to the
utmost the powers of any man, whatever
his business capacities. The members of
the Executive Committee of the Commis
sion, all men whose professional or busi
ness position made large demands upon

116
their time, have hardly fallen short of
their President in their arduous labors.
The medical members of the Commission,
occupying the very highest rank in the
profession, have given much time, thought,
and labor, to its duties ; and the Special
Medical Inspectors, men who have a
world wide reputation, in their arduous
round of visiting the Military Hospitals,
have conferred a benefit onthe nation, for
which money could not compensate.
The regular Medical Inspectors, too, as
well as the volunteer assistants ou hos
pital transports, in camp hospitals, and
on the battle-field, have given theraselves
to the work with an earnestness and zeal
which money could not buy, and, in too
many instances, have sacrificed their lives
to the intensity of their labors of mercy.
The General Secretary and Associate Sec
retaries havo not been wanting in ability,
energy, and patriotism, and the prompt
ness and harmony with which all their

117
plans are executed speak well for the
spirit which pervades them,
Tho officers of the Western Sanitary
Cominission, and of the Cliristian Com
mission, and the delegates ofthe latter,
whether clerical or lay, have shown all
the ardor and zeal of volunteers, together
with the capacity for quiet, steady, pro
tracted hard work, often under very try
ing circumstances, which indicates the
true character of their patriotism.
In other organizations, or working in
dependently, but with a full appreciation
of their relative duties to the Soldier and
the Government, there are many mou who
have won for themselves the undying re
membrance of the soldier, aad of Him
who said, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto
one ofthe least of these my brethren, ye
did it unto me,"
This patriotic impulse to render aid
and comfort to our soldiers at any sacri
fice of tirae or service, has been especially
manifest on the occasion of great battles.

118
Immediately after the battle of Shiloh,
and again after Antietam, and Fredericks
burg, Stone River, Gettysburg, Vicks
burg, and Chickamauga, physicians and
surgeons, the most eminent in their pro
fession, volunteered by scores to go to
the battle-field, orthe temporary hospital,
and exerted their best skill for the care
and healing of the country's defenders.
Clergymen, pastors of large and wealthy
congregations, sought the opportunity of
ministering to the sick and dying soldier,
of breathing into the ear, fast growing
dull to earthly sounds, the words of spirit
ual consolation, and of receiving from lips
soon to become silent in death, utterances
of faith and messages of love. Senators
and Representatives in Congress; Judges
of the highest Courts, and members of
the bar, of the most brilliant reputation,
sought, in ministrations to these wounded
and dying heroes, to taste tho luxury of
doing good. Among those not connected
with tho learned professions, too, there

119
was the same earnestness aud self-sacri
fice. In more than one instance, men brought
up in luxury, with all the advantages of
high and generous culture and foreign
travel, but who, ennuyed by a life '^th-
out an object, had been almost ready to
regard existence as a burden, have found
in the work of alleviating the sufferings
of the soldier their true vocation, and
have given to it their best energies, realiz
ing in their heightened enjoyment, that
" Tho act of raercy is twice blessed ;
It blesses iiim tliat gives and liim that tai:os ."
In this work of holy philanthropy, how
ever, woman has borne the most glorious
part. Here as ever, in sorrow and an
guish, as a ministering angel, she has done
her holiest work, and won her bright
est trophies. Could the sacrifices,
the self-denials, the persistent, wearing
labor, and the moral heroism of the wo
men ofthis country, during the past three
years, be fully recorded, the narrative

120
would be without a parallel in the annals
of history, for its thrilling interest, its
deep pathos, aud its sublime courage.
But while such a record can only be
made by Him who knows the secrets of all
hearts, there are occasional glimpses af
forded to us, which show the spirit which
has actuated so many of them. It is not by
any means the educated and gifted alone
wdiohave been the heroines ofthis period,
if utter self-abnegation, and a devotion
which rises above all else to comprehend
alone the ideas of God and our country,
constitute heroism. In that little ham
let on the bleak and barren hills of New
England, far away from the great city, or
even the populous village, you will find a
mother and daughter living in a humble
dwellinc;. The husband aud father has
lain for many years 'neath tho sod in the
graveyard on the hill slope ; the only
son, the hope and joy of both mother aud
sister, at the call of duty, gave himself to
the service ofhis country, and left those

121
whom he loved as his own life to toil at
home alone. By and by, at Williams
burg, or Fair Oaks, or in that terrible re
treat to James River, or at Cedar Moun
tain, it matters not which, the swift speed
ing bullet laid him low, and after days,
or it may be weeks, of terrible suffer
ing, he gave up his young life on the al
tar of his country. The shock was a
terrible one to those lone dwellers on tho
snowy hills. He was their all ; but it
was for the cause of Freedom, of Right,
of God ; and hushing the wild beating of
their hearts, they bestir themselves, iu
their deep poverty, to do something for
the cause for which their young hero has
given his life. It is but little, for they
are sorely straitened; but the mother,
though her heart is wrapped in the dark
ness of sorrow, saves the expense of
mourning apparel, and the daughter
turns her faded dress; tho little earnings
of both arc carefully hoarded, the pretty
chintz curtains which had made their
ll

122
humble room cheerful are replaced by
paper, and by dint of constant saving,
enough money is raised to purchase the
other materials for a hospital quilt, a pair
of socks, and a shirt to be sent to the
Relief Association, to give comfort to
some poor wounded soldier tossing in
agony in some distant hospital. Surely,
He who noticed the widow's two mites
which made a farthing, will record in
His Book such deeds of love as these.
Take another case, as reported by one
of the Ladies' Aid Societies. In one of
the mountainous counties at the North,
in a scattered farming district, lived a
mother and daughters, too poor to obtain
by purchase the material for making hos
pital clothing, yet resolved to do some
thing for the soldier. Twelve miles dis
tant, over the mountain, and accessible
only by a road almost impassable, was
the county town, in which there was a
Relief Association. Borrowing a neigh
bor's horae, either the mother or daugh-

123
ters came regularly every fortnight, to
procure from this society garments to
make up for the hospital. Tliey had no
money ; but though the care of their
few acres of sterile land devolved up
on them alone, they could and would
find time to work for the sufferers in
the hospitals. At length, curious to
know the secret of such fervor in the
cause, one ofthe Managers of the Associa
tion addressed them : "You have sorae
relative, a son, or brother, or father, in
the war, I suppose?" "No!" was the
reply, " not now; our only brother fell
at Ball's Bluffi" " Why, then," asked
the Manager, "do you feel so deep an
interest in this work?" " Our country's
cause is the cause of God, and we would
do what we can, for His sake," was the
sublime reply.
Or take yet again this incident of the
Great Northwestern Sanitary Fair, rela
ted by Rev. F. N. Knapp : "Among the
wagons which had drawn up near the

124
rooms of the Sanitary Commis,don to un
load their stores, was one peculiar for its
exceeding look of poverty ; it was worn
and mended, and was originally made
merely of poles. It was drawn by three
horses, which had seen much of life, but
little grain. The driver was a man past
middle age, with the clothes and look of
one who toiled hard, but he had a
thoughtful and kindly face. He sat
there quietly waiting his turn to unload.
By his side, with feet over the front of
the wagon, for it was filled very full, was
his wife, a silent, worn-looking woman ;
near the rear of the wagon was a girl of
fifteen, perhaps, and her sister, dressed
in black, carrying in her arms a little
child. Some one said to the man (after
asking the woman with the child if she
would not go into the Comraission Rooms
and get warm), ' My friend, you seem to
have quite a load, hero, of vegetables.
Now I am curious to know what good
things j''ou are bringing the soldiers; will

125
you tell mc what you have ?' ' Yes,'
said he ; ' here are potatoes, and here are
three bags of onions, and there are some
rutabaga, and there a fev/ turnips, and
that is a small bag of meal, and you can
see the cabbages fill in ; and that box
with slats has some ducks in it, which
one of them brought in.' ' Oh, then, this
isn't all your load alone, is it?' 'Why,
no! Our region, just where I live, is
rather a hard sod, and we haven't any
of us much to spare, any way ; yet for
this business we could have raked up as
much again as this is, if we had had time.
But we didn't get the notice that the
wagons were going in, till last night
about eight o'clock, and it was dark and
raining — so I and my wife and the girls
could only go round to five or six of the
neighbors, within a mile or so ; but we
did the best we could. We worked
pretty much all the night, and loaded,
so as to be able to get out to the main
road and start with the rest of them this
il*

126
morning. But I can't help it, if it is
little ; its something for those soldiers.'
'Have you a son in the army?' 'No,'
he answered, slowly, after turning round
and looking at his wife, ' No, I haven't,
now, but we had one there once ; he's
buried down by Stone River ; he was
shot there. And that isn't just so,
either. We called him our boy, but he
was only our adopted son ; we took hini
when he was little, so he was just the
same as our boy, and' (pointing over his
shoulder, without looking back) 'that's
his wife, there, v/ith the baby. But I
shouldn't bring these things any quicker
if he were alive now, and in the army,
I don't know that I should think so much
as I do now about the boys away oflf
there,' "
In none of these cases, nor in the thou
sands of others of which they are but the
representatives, could the desire for ap- .,
plause or fame havo had any part in this
earnest devotion to the cause of their

127
country ; there was no room for that; but
the toil, hard, wearing toil, unmitigated
by aught of poetry or romance, was one
ofthe noble expressions ofa self-sacrificing
philanthropy. Among those who deserve a high place
ou the roll of Christian philanthropists
are the hundreds of noble women, who,
for the space of three years past, have
toiled on regularly, week after week, go-
in.i; to their work at the rooms of the
Ladies' Aid Societies, or to their self-im
posed labors at the hospitals or Homes for
Soldiers, as regularly as the raerchant or
banker goes to his business, and sacri
ficing to it the enjoyments of luxurious
homes more cheerfully than if it were a
festive gathering. To say that they have
done this work of Christian love as a duty,
is a phrase too cold ; they have deemed it a
privilege, a matter of rejoicing, thus to
make sacrifices for tiieir country.
Nor would our record approach com
pleteness did we fail to give due honor to

128
those gifted woraen, who, delicately
trained and nurtured, have gone from all
the allurements of home, the enjoyments
of society, the endearments of friends, to
minister personally to the fevered and the
maimed, in the crowded hospital, in the
camp, or amid the horrors of the battle
field. We have not the space, nor is it
consonant with the purpose ofthis work,
to give the names of the scores of these
heroines, but we can briefly indicate their
abundant labors.*
They have, many of them, been mem
bers of families of the highest social
position iu the Northern States, refined,
cultivated, winning, and womanly ; and
havo left homes where they were tender
ly cherished, and surrounded by every

° It is gratifying to learn, as wo do from a recently
published announcement, that a biographical record
of tho dccd.s of jno.st of tlic-io '¦ Heroines of the Civil
War" is in preparation by a thoroughly competent
writer, and is to bo published scon by Mr. K. C. Miller,
of Now York.

129
luxury; and for months, and sometimes for
years, have encountered the inconveniences
of hospital life, or the still greater discom
forts oflife in the carap, an ambulance or
a tent their home by day or by night, and
the soldiers' ration, often scanty aud some
times unpalatable, their only fare — to
" dress the sores, bind up the wounds,
cheer the spirits, and medicine the mala
dies of those whom sickness and battle
have stricken." " Why," it is often asked,
" should these women, thus richly en
dowed, have gone forth to this work,
when others, perhaps, equally competent,
have remained at home in ease and com
fort?" " Becau.se," we answer, " the love
of country and of our glorious institutions
burned so fiercely iu their hearts, that
they must act ; the necessity to do some
thing for those who were doing so much
for their country's presei'vatimi, wa.s likc^
a fire in their bones ; they could not rest."
To many of tliem, too, there came the
conviction that this struggle wasintiiuiite-

130
ly connected with that high and peculiar
civilization whose crowning glory it has
been to elevate Woman. The success of
the rebellion, they felt, was the triumph
of barbarism ; its result would be to de
prive the sex of the opportunity for free
and full development, intellectual and
moral, and for a constant and beneficent
use of all those admirable powers which
God has given to woman. It was then,
also, in behalf of their sex, whose social,
intellectual, aud moral position was im
periled bythe triumph ofthe slaveholding
power, and would be degraded by its des
potism, if it were successful, that these
noblewomen have done their utmost to
succor and encourage their fiithers, broth
ers, sonF., or lovers, in the defense of a na
tion's honor, and a nation's liberties. Glori
ously have they acquitted themselves in
this work. Amid almost superhuman labors
and fatigues, amid perils by water and by
land, in temporary hospitals, where the ene
my's shot and shell came hurtling through

131
the walls, and now and then killed some
wounded and helpless jiatient ; in the rear
on battle-fields where the heavy missiles
from rifled cannon ploughed deep fur
rows around them ; on burning sands,
amid the fierce blaze of the summer's sua,
at Morris Island, or on the gulf coast, or
tossing upon the stormy Atlantic in hos
pital ships, they have never faltered ; and
in more thau one instance have maintained
their position and continued their ministry
when the surgeons have fled in terror, aud
the army itself had commenced a disor
derly retreat. The work accomplished
by some of these women on the hospital
transports, in the waters that bound the
Peninsula, in the summer of 1862, was
sublimer in its heroism and self-sacrifice
than any battle of the war, and was yet
more beautiful for the spirit, of cheerful
ness and alacrity in which it was per
formed. Not less sublime was the devo
tion which was manifested at Shdoh, at
Harrison's Landing, at Antietam, at

132
Fredericksburg, at Stone River, and at
Gettysburg. It is no matter of wonder
that the soldiers have given to so many of
these women the name of "angel," nor
that a rough but large hearted soldier, ly-:
ing in one of the hospitals of St. Louis,
should have said to the gentle nurse who
had so tenderly soothed his pain, "When
you get to the gate of heaven, they won't
ask you for a countersign; they'll let you
right in!"
Several of these heroines are the widows
of Generals slain in the service, who, hav
ing theraselves tasted the bitter cup of
anguish, delight to allay as far as possible
the suffering of others ; one is the widow
of a patriotic Governor of one ofthe AVest-
ern States, who lost his life in the atterapt
to bring relief to the wounded after the
battle of Shiloh ; others have lost sons or
brothers in the conflict, but many have
been led to the work only by that broader
sympathy which includes all their patri
otic countrymen as kinsmen in the cause
of liberty.

133
The history and labors of each are full
of interest and pathos, but we cannot
give them. Of one, a woman of rare
gifts, and extraordinary culture, young
and gentle, and of one ofthe noblest and
best families of Massachusetts, we may
say, that from the day after the battle of
Bull Run, when she pressed the hands of
the wounded soldiers of that fight, in an
agony of distress not less than their own,
aud with streaming eyes ministered to
their necessities, up to the present time —
in all the battles of Virginia and Mary
land, and later, iu the deep sands, and un
der theburniug sun of Morris Island, amid
the thunders of the bombardment of Fort
Sumter, and the terrible slaughter in tlic
assaults on Wagner — her whole thoughts,
time, and energies, have been given tothe
care and help of the sick and wounded
soldiers of our country, and nothing has
been able to draw her from tliis blessed
work. Of another, a matron of high social
12

134
position, it may be said, that on the Pe
ninsula and at Harrison's Landing, before
Washington, at South Mountain, and
Antietam, at Fredericksburg, Chancellors-
ville, and Gettysburg ; and later still, after
the battles of Chickamauga and Chatta
nooga, she has toiled as few women could
have done, to cheer the spirits and to
soothe the anguish of the soldier, to
give spiritual instruction and consolation
to tho dying, and to lead them to the
source of all comfort. She has encoun
tered perils and dangers, from which most
women would have shrunk ; has become
familiar with the horrors of war, whether
exhibited on the field of carnage or in
the crowded hospital ; has more than once
made her way, with garments soaked in
human gore, through the long lines of,
wounded and dying soldiers, kneeling by
the side of each, to impart some word of
comfort, or to wipe the death-damps from
their brows. Amid all these scenes, she
retains tho modesty, tho retiring difli-

135
dence, and the unwillingness to speak of
herself, or her labors, which characterizes
the true heroine.
There are others, and many of them,
as deserving, perhaps, of a record in our
pages for their sacrifices and labors, but
our limits do not permit us to name them
here. Of all of them, it may be said as
of her who anointed the Saviour's feet,
" she hath done what she could,"

136

CUAlTl'Ml VII.
Contributions and i.ahors in behalf of the Freedmen.
—Societies orhani/.ed foktheir iielief and instroc-
TioN. — The Fueedmen's Bureau at Wasuinrton. —
TUK VEKSECUTION OF CMOOI'I.E OF COI.Oll IN NeW VoUK
DURINO THE JUI.V I'lOTS. — PROMPT AND LIBERAL RE-
VAHATI0N3 MADE BY VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS OF
CITIZENS.— Funds also raised for Police who hai;
AIDED IN rUTTINU DOWN THE RIOT.— TlIE WniTE
Refugees and their needs.
The clairas of another class, reduced to
destitution by the war, to be relieved,
were beginning to press upon the consid
eration of the charitable. In those sec
tions of the Southern States, invaded and
occupied by our troops, the slaveholders,
when compelled, from their active par
ticipation in the rebellion, to abandon
their estates, left, for the most part, the
feeble and infirm slaves upon their plan
tations — the old or sickly women, and
the young children — and compelled the
able-bodied slaves, the "prime hands,"
as they were called, to go with them to

137
the interior, or sold thera in the States
where slavery was yet regarded as safe.
Many of these afterward cscupcd, and
came into the employ of the Union forces
in various capacities. But the feeble and
infirm could not be suffered to perish ;
and arrangements were made, under
Government direction, to employ such of
them as- were able to work, on the plan
tations which had been abandoned, or in
work in the vicinity ofthe camps, and to
allow moderate rations for their suste
nance. It was found, however, very
soon, that they needed clothing, superin
tendence, schools for the children, &c.,
&c. ; and while, so far as they were able,
they wcre willing to pay moderate prices
for these supplies, a considerable portion
must be donated. Frecdmcn's Relief
Societies were accordingly organized in
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincin
nati, Chicago and St. Louis; and clothing,
agricultural implements, books of instruc
tion, &c., Ac, forwarded to them. The
12»

138
Bible and religious publication societies
appropriated large numbers of simple
reading books, primers, and Testaments
for their use, and the Missionary Societies,
as well as the Freedmen's Relief Societies,
sent teachers and missionaries among
them. Schools were opened for all who
would attend (and this included nearly
all the freedraen, from three years old to
eighty), at Washington, Norfolk, New
born, Hilton Head, Beaufort, Fernandina,
New Orleans, Vicksburg, Milliken's
Bend, Memphis, and elsewhere. In this
work the Western Sanitary Commis
sion has borne a noble part. Its Presi
dent, Judge Yeatman has for more than
six months past devoted almost his whole
time to the investigation of their condi
tion and wants and to devise means for
their employment at fair wages, and with
humane treatment. In January of the
present year, he prepared, in connection
with Mr. Mellon, agent of the Treasuiy
Department, such regulations for leasing

139
abandoned plantations, as will secure to
the freedmen just compensation and
kind care. In the autumn of 1863,
special contributions of clothing, &c.,
were solicited for the thousands of
freedmen and their familii.s, in the Mis
sissippi Valle}'-, who were too old and
infirm, or too young, to be able to
work (the able bodied men and women
having been either employed in the array
or driven off by their rebel masters). The
appeal was made at the instance of Gen.
Grant, and met with a hearty aud grati
fying response. In all about $382,000
have been contributed for the relief and
instruction ofthe freedmen.
The large numbers of emancipated
slaves who have come into our lines since
the promulgation of the President's proc
lamation, and their docility and eager
ness to do all they can for their own sup
port, and for the Government which has
emancipated them, has rendered a special
Department of Governmeut necessary

140
for the management of aftliirs connected
with them. The Freedmen's Relief So
cieties have accordingly urged the erec
tion of a Freedmen's Bureau upon Con.
gress, and a bill for its organization is now
before that body.
In July, 1803, a mob, composed prin
cipally of the most degraded portion
of the population, ravaged New York
for four days, committing highway rob
bery, arson, and murder at will. The
pretext for their atrocious brutality was
the attempted enforcement of the draft •
the real motive which actuated their
leaders was hostility to the Government,
This mob were guilty of the most horrible
acts of cruelty toward the people of color
of the city. Peaceable, unoffending
negroes v/ere hung, drowned, beaten to
death, aud their houses sacked and burned
by these incarnate fiends. This cruel
persecution of a quiet and inoffensive
people induced a, decided reaction of feci.
ing in their favor on the part of the

141
citizens generally. The sum of S42,600,
beside clothing to the value of many
thousands of dollars, was promptly con
tributed for their relief, and S55,000 more
was subscribed for the benefit of the po
licemen or their families who had been
injured in putting down the riot. Other
contributions to a considerable amount
were subsequently made for the relief of
the colored children and others who were
sufterers by the riots.
The Unionists of the Southern States,
many of whom had suffered everything
but death, and thousands death itself, at
tiie hands of the rebels, also claimed
Christian charity and aid at the hands of
their brethren at the North. They were
di'serving of it ; many of them had ad
hered, with a love stronger than death,
to tiie old flag, and had been loj-al when
all around them were drawn away by the
specious pleas of the leaders of the rebel
lion. They had taken calmly, even jo}'-
fully, the spoiling oftheir goods, and had

142
welcomed most heartily the advent of the
Army of Freedom ; but intensely loyal as
they were, they were naked and starving,
and the relief which the army could afford
thera was but slight. The appeals made
in their behalf were responded to with
cheerfulness, and in New York, Boston,
and Philadelphia neariy $160,000 in money
and clothing, in large amounts, v/ere con
tributed to their relief. The Government
has taken measures to supply, as far as
practicable, the more urgent wants of
these deserving citizens, and to mitigate
their suflerings.

143

CHAPTER VIII.
Aid TO sufferers in foreign countries.— The Lanca-
BniRE AND DeRBYSHIBE OPERATIVES  ThE IbISH SUF-
febers.-The French operatives.— Other mo vejients
OF philanthropy.— The Allotment system in the
ARMY, — The National Cemeteries at Gettysburg,
Chattanooga, Stone Eiver, and Antietam  The
impulse given to Home and Fobeicn JIissionary
operations and to otherbenevolent enterprises.—
The canceling of chdrch debts, eaisino of Cler.
gymen's salaries, erection of new churches, ic,
etc — Conclusion,
TriEKE v.'as still another apjical to the
sj'mpathies of the nation, aud this tirae
from over the sea. The sudden fiiUinc: off
of imports from England and France, at
the commenceineut of the war, leaving
many of the manufacturers, for a time,
without a market for their goods, occa
sioned much embarrassment and many
failures among them ; and before the sur
plus of goods had been exhausted, the
rapid rise in the price of cotton, resulting
from the necessary state of blockade, ren
dered production unprofitable, and the

144
subsequent scarcity of that staple made
it impossible to keep the mills eraployed.
Under these circumstances, nearly four
hundred thousand of the operatives in the
cotton raills of Lancashire and Derby
shire, and those dependent upon them,
were thrown out cf employment, and soon
began to suffer from starvation. They
bore up bravely under their privations as
long as it was possible ; and fully satis
fied that the war in this country to put
down a rebellion caused by, and based
upon slavery, was a just one, they stead
ily refused to throw the blame of their
sufferings upon the United States Govern
ment, though often solicited to do so by
English sympathizers with the South.
Their condition was daily growing .more
desperate ; and though subscriptions for
their relief were made iu England to the
amount of $9,000,000 or S10,000,000,
there was still a large amount of suflering
to be relieved. The loj^al American peo
ple felt that it was due to themselves that

145
they should manifest their hearty sympa
thy with their brethren in distress, espe
cially since that distress had grown, in
part at least, out of the inevitable conse
quences of tho war, and those who were
the chief suflerers fwm it had been their
firm friends under the most trying cir
cumstances. The movement for sending
aid to them was hailed with joy in nl
quarters ; contributions poured iu from
all the principal cities, and from country
towns as well.
An eminent shipping house offered a
new and capacious vessel, to bear the
gifts of the nation to England ; it was
soon freighted and dispatched, but could
not carry all that was oftcred. The Corn
Exchange freighted (iu part) another ves
sel, and a considerable amount was for
warded in bills of exchange, Pliiladel-
jihia also contributed a ship-load of pro
visions to these suflerers. The aggregate
amount contributed for the relief of the
I-anca shire and Derbvshire operatives,
13

146
was about 8252,000, A few thousand
dollars were also contributed for the
French operatives of the Department of
Seine Infcrieure, Rouen, &c,. wlio were
sufiering, though in a less degree.
But the charities of the nation did not
stop here. No sooner were supplies for
warded to the English operatives, than it
was found that extensive suffering and
incipient stan'atioii were threatening a
large portion of the manufacturing dis
tricts in Ireland, and that but little aid
was bestowed upon them by the English
Government or people. Tho Irish people
were bound to us by strong ties; they
had offered their services freely for the
war, and on every battle-field they had
proved their valor and shed their blood.
Wc could not turn a deaf ear to their ap
peals for help, and again, and up to the
present time, contributions have flowed
iu liberally for their as,si3tancc, and more
than $120,000 havo been raised for their
relief.

147
Our volunteer soldiers have not been
unmindful of the responsibilities which
the nation's trust and large-hearted liber
ality has iraposed on them. An Act of
Congress has been passed providing that
the soldier may, under certain regulations
which render fraud impossible, allot such
portion of his pay as he desires for the
benefit of his family, or those dependent
upon him; and in several of the States,
citizens ofthe highest character and stand
ing have given their semccs ¦without fee
or reward as commissioners, to visit the
regiments, and procure from the men
allotments for their families. In the State
of New York, as a result of this efTort,
over $8,000,000 per annum is thus for
warded to soldiers' families ; in several
of the other States, the amount, though
smaller, is in about the same proportion
to troops they have iu the field. In the
aggregate, more than $25,000,000 per
annum is thus saved from tho greed ofthe
Butlcrs, or the rapacity of tho gamblera,

148
and other harpies, wdio always follow an
army to plunder ita soldiers.
The proposition to consecrate a Na
tional Cemetciy for the heroes who fell at
Gettysburg, was welcomed most heartily
throughout thelo}''!! States, and the Legis
latures of the several StatoG, as well as
citizens iu all quarters, have contributed
liberally to the fund necessary for ita com
pletion and adornment ; and similar mea
sures are in progress for gathering, iu ap
propriate graves, witli the only honors a
nation can bestow, the gallant dead of
Antietam, Stone River, and Chattanooga.
On th<5 monuments which shall crown
those heights, and stand as r.entlnels over
the raighty and heroic dead, future ages
shall read the names of those who loved
their country's honor and freedom better
than life.
Amid all these demands upion the libe
rality of ll noble and generous people, it
is a fiict of deep interest, that no one of
the charitable organizations ofa peaceful

149
time has been stinted ; the orphan asy
lums, homes for the friendless, asylum.s
for the aged and indigent, the dispensa
ries, infirmaries, and hospitals, the asso
ciations for the relief of the noor, and all
those charities which luu-o their claims
upon the public, alike iu times of peace
and war, have been abundantly supported,
and many new ones for tlic relief and
maintenance of the children of deceased
or disabled soldiers, or for giving to the
crippled soldier himself a home, v.dierc he
may spend the evening of life in quiet and
comfort, have sprung up, and received
largo contributions. The great religious
societies, whether national or denomina
tional, liave had a larger income than in
times of peace ; schools and colleges havo
been amply supported, and many of the
latter liberally endowed ;* the salaries of
*Yalo College has received endov.-incnts fo the
amount of moro than half a million of dollars since
the commonccmcnt of tho -war, and many other col
leges and universities sums varying from -JoO.OOO to
$800,000. 13*

150

the clergy have been very generally in
creased, and in hundreds of instances
debts, which had crippled the activity and
impaired the usefulness of churches and
congregations, havo been paid off during
the past j'car.
In this hasty sketch of the charities
evoked by the war, we have necessarily
omitted all mention of many of the ac
tive organizations which have devoted
themselves to the welfare of the soldiers ;
and have, of course, been unable ro givo
oven an appro.ximate statement of the
vast amount contributed directly by in
dividuals to the objects of their bene
ficence. Wc have, however, as we be
lieve, demonstrated conclusively, that,
neither in ancient nor modern times, has
there been so vast an outpouring of a
nation's w^ealth for tho care, the comfort,'
and the physical and moral welfare of
those who have fought the nation's bat
tles or been the sufltrers from its condition
of war.

161
While then, in this regard, the record
of the United States is one which con
fers the highest honor upon its humanity,
its philanthropy, aud its patriotism, it is
yet, when viewed aright, no matter of
surprise that the national heart should
have been thus stirred to its innermost
depths ; for never, in tho history of the
huraan race, was there a rebellion so ut-
teriy unjustifiable in its character; or
which, aiming at the subversion of a
benign Government, only that it might
rear upon its ruins a despotism, liaviiig
slavery for its corner-stone, vras so well
calculated to call forth the scorn and ab
horrence of all good and honorable men.

STATISTICAL TABLES.

KoTE.— In tho following Statistical Tables it has
heen necessary, ia sonio instances, to cstinmto the
amounts contributed by small societies, individuals,
&c., iu tho aggregate. Wherever this has been ne
cessary, it has only been done after tho most careful
inquiry and investigation, .and a comparison of the
views of cautious and well-informed persons, and tho
lowest estimate has invariably been t.akeu. It U be
lieved, therefore, that tho amounts aro, in nearly
every case, below the actual sums contributed.

Tabular Statement of tha Contributions for vari
ous purposes, connected, directly or indirectly,
with the War, to February, 1804.

1. Amount erpendrd hy the States
/ortlu: equipment am/, .:n.aintc-
nanc^ of trtK^)ii jwt reimbursed,
or guarantr:c'.l, lo be reimburscil,
by the General Oovernment :

BlalQO 
.New Hampshiro (estimated).
Vermont 
Mass.ichiiectts 
Rhode Lsiand 
Connocticiit 
New York 
Now Jersey (citimatcd) ....
rennsylvania 
Obio (ostimatod) 
Indi.aua 
"U'iacousln 
Iowa 
KuQS.IS 

Carried forv,'ard.

$40,000 00
60,000 00
75,000 00
1,003, •¦ill 85
005,847 7J
802,0(10 04
8,340,913 CO
if}\ ,320 o:j
1, -'.45,000 0'
1,000,000 00
450,000 00
250,000 00
420,000 00
40,000 01,

$10,057,323 69

153

rrougbt forward.

]I. Ilmmtin, Eilra Pay, and .il.
hiwancc trt i'Um,i/(V.s rf Volun
teers, made bij ,^Jtutcs :

jraine 
Nnv Ilamp-hire (cfatimated) 
Vermont 
Ma,'^saohitPcLt3 
Jvliodo Jslaiitl 
CrlinerLiCilt 
\rw York 
Xcv; ,Ier3cy (e.stlmated) 
JJarvland 
Ohio 
Indiana 
JlichiRon 
AViscunsin 
Iowa  ,. 

ni. Moncip contributed &'/ Cities,
Tonms. Cortxtrationi^,ar,d Indi-
I'uif'a/,:, for raisintj and re-
eruiting icfjim'm'ji, a.^ijU from
t)Ounties ami relitfto FamitUs:
misr.i 
lnlS62 
Iu ISlill 
In January and Fcbrnary, 1SG4...

IV. P'Our-tici a't'd M,l to Fdniilic.^
,f V:ilitnt,'.r.^, c',n'.rihut..xl by
Consul.?, Ti'ii'ia, Cili'is, Corpo-
ration.', and IiKliitidaais in
cadi ,'^inte :
JIaino (estim.itcd) 
New Hampshire 
^'c^nlOrlt 
Sias.saehnsctts 
lllKnio Inland 
Connecticat 
Carried forward 

$4,000 1.225
2,000 7,026
2,008
4,169,
1^.602' i.soo: 100 :
6,000
3/100. 1,400: 720'
314:

,000 00
,003 00
,000 00
,430 00
.350 00
,707 84
,947 OC
,0110 CO
,000 00
,000 00
,000 00
,000 00
000 00
,000 00

7,120,000 00
16J60,000 00
8,«b0,000 00
2,000,000 CO

1,200,000 00
SOO.OGO 00
,000,000 00
1,815,285 3l>
'94,1. S;5 00
.t.Th1);;go co

AOGRKOATK.
$10,837,3^1 60

47,585,600 84

81,230,000 CO

flO,:-:5,4rO SC| jri2,T52,S21 43

154

Brought forward 
Now York 
Nev; Jersey (estimated) 
PcuDSylvaaia (of ¦which rhiladol.
phia contributed over flvo mil
lioa dollars) 
Delaware 
Maryland  ,
Ohio (estimated) 
Indiana 
Illinois 
Michigan (estimated) 
Wisconsin 
Iowa 
Minnesota (cstim,ated)  ,
Missouri (estimated) 
Kansas 

V. Stale Contributior.sfor Side and
. Wounded Soldiers, Governors'
Contingent i'und or SiKCiaJ
Appropriations.
Maine 
Vermont 
Blassachusetts 
Connecticut 
Now York 
Maryland 
Indiana 
Illinois 
Michigan 
Wisconsin 
Iowa 
Minnesota (estimated) 
Missouri 

VI. ConlrHndirms of States to Na
tio-nal Defense, not included
under any of the forcgoitig
heads:

$10,625,470 36
27,165;272 83
4,300,000 00

Maine, for harbor defenses.
Carried forward 

12,200,000 00
60,000 00
800,000 00
10,750,000 00
3,500,000 00
4,720,000 00
1,350,000 00
2,135,000 OO
1,260,000 00
150,000 00
600.000 00
¦ 100,000 00

$25,000 00
40,000 00
35,400 00
23,041 00
260,000 00
10|000 00
100,000 00
69,000 00
43,000 00
40,000 00
100,000 00
20 000 00
60,000 00

AaaRBOATE.
$02,752,821 43

$200,000 00

$200,000 00

79,595,743 19

810,041 00

$173,104,603 OJ

155

Brought forward 
Jlassachuaetts, for harbor and
con^t defeases, and SLato war
vessels 
New York, for harbor defeases.
kc 
Pennsylvania, for harbor defenses
aud protcctloa from invasion..
Ohio, for prolcction of river lino . .
Indiana, for S tat o Legion — 
iLirylnnd. for Hnrao Guards, and
to repel invasion 
Kentucky, forllomo Gnards, ^c..
Missouri, for Homo Guards and
State Militia 
Iowa, for borUor defensa 
Miouosota, for defense against In^
dians  -••¦

VU. ConJnhutionft by IndivitluaU
or Assf/CLiUums, for the fjeneral
purj}'>t!r.<i nf Nalinnal Defense.
d:c.^ iwt ciiumeixUcd above "
Cornolins V.indcrbilt, Now Vork.
Tlio sLf:uushlp " Vanderbilt "
proaontcd to iho Governmeut—
Appraised value 
Tf. H. AspinwaU — Commissions
presented to tbo novcrnment.
Othcr individuals — Ccmmissions,
kc.j donated 
Loyal Leagues — Cash raised for
organization of colored regi
ments, &c 

Total contributions from States
counties, towiis, cities, corpora
tionp, and individuils, fnr aii!
and relief of BOidioiS and thoii
families, and for purposes ol
national derensc.not reimbursed,
or to be roimburscdjby thoGcQ'
cral Govcrnmcat 

$200,000 00
1,500,000 00
1,000,000 00
3,500,000 00
1,800,000 00
140,000 00
700,000 00
1,000,00 J CO
2,600,000 00
200,000 00
500,000 00

5300,000 00
25,000 CO
30,000 00
150,000 00

Aggeeoatk.
$173,164,608 02

13,040,000 00

1,005,000 00

$1S7.':OO.COS''2

156

Yin. Cinttributicm,^for the Care a??/'
Comfort nfSoldicr.'i, ivhdher in
Camp, or ,Sick ami IVoiunkd,
oml for their I'amiUcs, from
Associations (ind individuals:

AGOREOiTB.

United State.? Sanitary Commis
sion, in money 
rcceip.s from fairs in Brooklyn.
Albany ,Ponghkcep5ic,aiid Yo;ik
ors, not yet jinid over — iibout..
United States Sanitary Cnmmis-
fiion — Supplies — estimatiMl vahir
Philadelphia Branch of Sonitary
Commission, not included in

i;l,33,C2.S 23
550,OC0 00
7,000,000 GO
l.::j,000 CO
300,000 00
130,000 on
1,750,000 00
175,500 00
320,000 00
450,000 00
400,000 00
700,748 36
28,000 CO
200,000 00
10,380 00
210.000 00
75,000 00

Cincinnati Bruuch,not iucUulcd in

Northwestern Sanitary Commia-
siou (Chicago Branch) . ...

"Western Sanitary Commission—
in money and supplies, csti
mated value by oflicers of Com-
Iowa SlntoSaniUi-y Commission-
money and supplies 
Indiana Stato Sanitary Commia-
siou — money and supplies  '. .
Illinois Commissioner -General —
monej'" and supplif^s 
United States Christian Commis
sion — in money 
United States Cliristian Commis
sion — sujiplica 
New Englarid Soldiers' Relief As-
New England Soldiers' Relief As
Ijidies' Aid .Society, Philadelphia
Ladies' Aid Society, Phii.idclphia
— STipplics nl ];omo UlHco, and
sent toS*T.rcl,Try in (he field...
Soldier.S' Atd Socieiy, of ]I,irtford.
Coancclicut— money aod sup
plies 
Carried forward 
£13,569.250 CA
157
BroiiRlit fQrw.->rd 
Union KelH'l'AW(ici;ilion, nf l):illi-
niore,aini utiicr liiltiinoro asso
ciations — ill money 
Union Relief .Vosuciation, of Balti
more, .tc. — suppl ie.s 
Slate I'u-lii.'f Asbociation.s at Wash
ington — money and siip|)Mes 
Other ri.'lief a^suciations. luo-st and
M'etL.notconiiretud Willi the n.l-
^ tional organizations (csiinialcd)
Union Voltiii(''cr Kefrcbhmeiit Sa
loon , I'll iladelph ia — money 
Union Volnnlecr Ui-rre,'ilinieiit Sa
loon, l'i:iladelpli|.i_,siip|ilics, ..
Cooper Phop Uelre;--hmcnt Saloon,
I'liilailelpiii.i— HHiiiey 
Oioi'er .'-Imp liefrcsliment Saloon.
riiiladelplii.i — supplies 
Subsi,=lenco Commiltee, PitLs-
luirgh — nionoy and Bupplies 
CM.izons'Volunteei- Hospital, I'hil.a-
drlplna — money, labor, and sup-
pi ie,s 
St,ile &v.,,1ht.s' Depot',' NewYoili
eity — nif'uey 
State i^oldil•^s' Depot, Now Yorl;
city — supplies 
OLIi,-.-- Soldiers' Homes, Rests, ^c. .
not cinncetod with tlioSaniUari
Commissions, in tho principal
citie,s 
Amerir.an Ili'jlo Society .an'd "its
.auxiliaries, bibles and testa
ments distributed to soldiers
.and to re lie Is 
American Ti-act Society, New
YorU", for books and tracts dis-
ti'ibiitod to soldiers, and servi
ces of Missionaries and colpor
teurs 
Amcru,i;i 'I'ract .Society, 'so'ston',
for lio,'ks and tr.aets di'strlbutecl
to soMicrs, and services of Atis-
i^ionarios and colporteurs 
Carried .''orward. .
$13,500,250 C4
80,000 00
170,000 00
1,030,000 OD
1,200,000 00
40,000 00
17,000 OC
40,CS2 22
16,000 00
35,000 00
23,047 2.
60,000 o:
10,000 00
180,000 OC
300,000 00
100,000 00
I $i';,020,7C) DC
16S

Brought forward 
Othcr religious societies, Mission
aries and publicfitions 
Supplies and money distributed to
armies in Virginia and the de
partment of tho South, and to
hospitals inWasbington,throng]i
Individuals not connected with
any of tho National organiza
tions 
Sloney for postage, stationery,
ncv.'spapcrs, books, and sap-
plica, distributed to hospitals
by private individuals not con-
Eected with National organiza
tions 
Supplies aud money for w.irdcd to
Western armies, camps, and
hospitals, directly from towns.
cities, and villages, and not
passing through other organiza
tions 
Ambulances for sick and wounded.
built aud maintained by Phila
delphia flrcmcn 
Asylums aud homes for disabled
soldiers and for children of de
ceased soldiers In New York
aud elsewhere 
Young I-Icn'3 Christian Asaocia-
lious. aside from contributions
through the Christian Commis
sion 
Board of Trade, Chicago, for
" Board of Trady Begiments"...
Stale Military .Agents, in New York
and Philadelphia 
Expenses in procuring the passage
of tho Ambulance Corps Bill...
Total of contributions forcaro and
comfort of soldiers hyassocia-
tlous and individuals 

516,920,765 0(3
125,000 03

1.350,000 00
1,200,000 00
4,000,000 00
20,600 00
220,000 00
123,000 00 I
65,000 do: i
12,000 00
3,500 00 '

$24,044,865 OG

159

IX. Cimtrihii'ian^ for Sufferers
ahnxui.
lulcrnatinnal Pclief Fund, Now
York, f'>r I-^uiciu-hire sunerer-s. .
Corn Exchange Fund, fur liinca-
siiiro siirfjrers 
Philadolpliui contriltulions for
jAncii^'liiro suirfrors 
Relief ul" French operatives 
Ship-Ioiid of iirovitinns for h"i>li
sufferers, contributed by A. T.
Stewart, NewYork 
Contribulicns for Libh relief, In
Kew York 
Contributions for Irish relief, iu
Brooklyn 
Contnb\itiou5 for Irish relief, else
where 

X. Oniiribulions /c' Freedmen.
iS"Jfi'.rcrs from Uic A'tt'.s, awl
WhiUliefv(f'.es.
Frcedmon'd Ro'tcf Association,
New York — numoy and supplie?
Othcr Freedmen's Belief jVssocia-
lions aud co.itributions 
Aid to Frcednieu by ilissionary
Societies, kc 
Amount cniitribnlcd to Merchants'
Committee, Now York, for re
lief uf colored persons Injureil
or rnObed during the New York
riots  I
Amount conlributod for Police in
jured In the riots  I
Aid to white Union refugees from
ihcSouth 

5^132,140 74
60,000 00 !
CO. 000 on
b.ooo 00' I!
30,000 00;
30,0C0 00 !
15,000 00'
45.o:o CO

$172.14^ 13
150.000 00
60,000 00
42,600 00
55,000 00
150,000 00'

S3S0.U0 74

$030,644 13

KiiCArnvLMiOH.
Total cf:ntril)utlons from .Statos,
cuunMes, town-!, kc. , fur aid mul
relief of soldiers :iud their fiuni
lies, and for purposes of National
defense 
Total contributions for caro and
comfort of soldiers, kc, by as
sociations and Individuals 
Coutribntinns for sullcrers abroad.
Contributions for Frsodmen, suf
ferers from the riot^, and white
refugees .; 

Amount of Philanthropic Kesn^t';
or War 

5187,200,608 62

24,014,805 06
380.140 74

639,644 13

AaCKHOATB.

$212,274,259 45

YALE UNIVERSITY

001926G18b