flU-W' ^^'' j \ i i D^J- z*-^i ?*- y ^71]ONV-S01^ s ^/i SANITARY MEMOIRS WAR OF THE REBELLION. COLLECTED AND PUBLISHED UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSION, HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION BEING THE GENERAL EEPOET OF ITS WOEK DUEING -THE WAE OF THE REBELLION. CHARLES J. STILLE PHILADELPHIA J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO, 1866. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. E.63I PREFACE. THE Sanitary Commission at its session in July, 1865, adopted the following resolution : "Resolved, That the Standing Committee be instructed to employ such literary and clerical assistance as it may deem necessary in pre- paring a final History of the United States Sanitary Commission, at any expense which may be required in order to make a useful and dignified record of the work which the American people have done through its Agency." In pursuance of this resolution the Standing Committee decided, after careful deliberation, that the report of the Com- mission's work during the war should be presented to the public in three distinct parts, as follows : First : A General History of the Commission's origin, purposes, and methods of operation. Second: A Narrative of its Special Relief service. Third: An Account of the organization and practical working of its Supply System. I was assigned by the Committee to the task of preparing the General History, and the present volume is the result of my labors. It is now published by the Commission as the official Report of its operations during the war. With the view of rendering this final record complete and accurate, the Archives of the Commission, and those of nearly all its Branches, com- ^iii y PREFACE. prising many thousand documents have been placed at my dispo- sal, and much time and labor have been expended in examining, and classifying for historical purposes, the material contained in them. The principal difficulty has been so to employ the riches found in this great storehouse as to illustrate fully the subject, without encumbering its discussion with details which would prove wearisome to the general reader. I have been kindly assisted in , my work by several of my friends and colleagues, whose position as officers of the Commis- sion rendered them specially qualified to treat of certain import- ant portions of its history. Thus the chapter on "CONTRIBU- TIONS FROM CALIFORNIA AND THE PACIFIC COAST" in this volume has been prepared by Rev. Dr. Bellows, President of the Commission; that on its "FINANCIAL SYSTEM AND HISTORY," by Mr. George T. Strong, its Treasurer ; and that on the opera- tions of its "BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS," by Dr. B. A. Gould, its Actuary. The object of the Commission in publishing an official Report of its work is two-fold. It feels that the share of those who contributed in any way to sustain it should be commemorated by a lasting memorial, and it is moved by an imperative sense of its duty to posterity, to place on record for its example and guidance an account of the practical working of the most successful method of mitigating the horrors of war known in history. With this design, and in this spirit, this volume has been prepared. It has been found impossible in a general history such as this, to do that full justice to individuals which gratitude, and a sense of the value of their services, would dictate. In the other volumes, now in course of preparation, and which are confined to the explora- PREFACE. V tion of a limited and special field, this omission will in some measure be supplied. But the Commission feels, that while an expression of its grateful appreciation of the services and self-sacrificing efforts of its Constituents should not be withheld in any history of its work, the story it has to tell has a far deeper import and significance. If it can succeed by presenting a faithful record of its experience, in showing how grand a work of beneficence was done by the American people 'for their Armies through its agency, if it can impress upon the minds of those who may read its Report a belief in the truth of its theory, and the practical success of its methods, if it can teach those who come after us, when the misfortune of war befalls them, as it has done us, how much may be done to relieve its misery by a wise system of organized voluntary effort, if it can explain even imperfectly, how a vol- untary system can work efficiently in harmony with Government agencies, if, in fine, it can make clear how much there is in the necessary relations between such a system and the Government, to strengthen and encourage the action of popular sympathy, as well as to embarrass and weaken its efforts, then, the principal objects which the Commission has in view in publishing this record will be accomplished. The Commission is perfectly aware that in presenting a history of events of such recent occurrence, in which it has been neces- sary to speak of the acts of many persons still living, it has un- dertaken a task both difficult and perilous. While it has avoided in its Eeport the discussion of questions the importance of which ceased with the war, it has not hesitated to criticise with the utmost freedom the policy and measures of the Government, VI PREFACE. where they seemed radically defective in providing for the care and comfort of the sick and suifering of the Army. This has been done in no spirit of mere fault-finding, but with the higher object of teaching future generations to avoid the errors of the present. He who, at the termination of a successful war, bestows indiscriminate eulogy on all the measures adopted by the Gov- ernment for its prosecution, is not the best friend of his country, but rather he, who, having clearly seen its short-comings, does not hesitate to expose the evils which have flowed from them, and raises a voice of warning against their recurrence. C. J. S. PHILADELPHIA, June, 1866. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE NATURE AND OBJECT OP ARMY RELIEF. PAGE The Office and Teachings of History 17 Characteristics of the Late War The popular element in the war 18 Organization of popular benevolence 19 Nature of the sympathy felt for the volunteers 20 Peculiar dangers to which new troops are exposed 21 Ignorance and inexperience of their officers 22 Characteristics of the first volunteers 23 General neglect of precautionary measures 25 Apprehension felt for the result 26 Experience of the Crimean War 27 What was taught by that experience 28 The influence of such teachings in favor of similar measures here 30 The functions of the English Sanitary Commission 31 Condition of the Regiments on their arrival at Washington 33 American method of remedying great public evils 34 Preventive measures suggested 36 Dangers of extra-official intervention 37 CHAPTER II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE THEORY OF A PREVENTIVE SERVICE. The first relief movement made by the women of the country 39 Women's Central Relief Association of New York 40 First public meeting for army relief in New York 42 Dr. Bellows' interview with Dr. Satterlee, Medical Purveyor 43 Effect of statements made by Dr. Satterlee 44 Movement of certain Medical Associations in New York 45 Delegation sent to Washington 46 vii CONTENTS. PAGE Condition of things there Interview with General Scott Re-inspection 47 of troops Interview with the Acting Surgeon-General Views of the Delegation in regard to discipline Preventive scheme proposed Comparative value of preventive measures Objections to a merely advisory system ' Letter of the Delegation to the Secretary of War 53 Letter of the Acting Surgeon-General to the Secretary of War, asking for the appointment of a Sanitary Commission 54 Names of the Commissioners suggested by the Acting Surgeon-General... 55 Opposition in the War Department 57 Dr. Finley appointed Surgeon-General. His opposition 59 Contrast between the action of our government and that of Great Britain in the Crimea 61 CHAPTER in. ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Names of the Commissioners 63 First meeting of the Commission 64 Plan of organization 65 System of relief 67 Sketch of the Commissioners. Rev. Dr. Bellows 68 Professor Alexander Dallas Bache 70 Dr. Van Buren 71 Professor Gibbs 72 Dr. Elisha Harris 72 Dr. C. R. Agnew Mr. George T. Strong 73 Dr. J. S. Newberry 74 Resident or General Secretary 75 Appointment of Frederick Law Olmsted Theory of the relations be- tween the Government and the Commission 76 Confidential nature of those relations 78 Camp and Hospital Inspection 79 Financial policy of the Commission 80 Motives for declining Government support 81 Modes of raising money go Necessity of educating the public mind in regard to the value of a preven- tive system go Appeal to Life Insurance Companies g4 CONTENTS. IX / CHAPTER IV. INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. PASE Organization of the System of Inspection Inspection of Camps near Washington 85 Inspection of Camps at the West Action of Commission on the Keportof the Inspectors.... 87 The Battle of Bull's Run Inquiry into the causes of the Defeat.. 88 Reform in the Discipline of the Army 91 Lessons taught by the defeat 92 Condition of the Military Hospitals 93 Plans for Hospital buildings prepared by the Commission 94 ^Result of the New System 95 ^Plans of Inspection, enlarged and systematized 96 Six permanent Inspectors appointed 97 Influence of the work of Inspection in the Army 98 ^General results of systematic Inspection Relations with the Head of the Medical Bureau , 100 Various recommendations to secure greater efficiency in the service 102 /Ambulance Regiment 103 Complaints of a want of co-operation on the part of the Medical Bureau.. 104 Various departments of the Commission's work organized 105 The Commission's Report to the Secretary of War 106 CHAPTER V. RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU AND APPOINTMENT OF A NEW SUR- GEON-GENERAL. Military Expeditions in the early part of 1862 109 Preparation and distribution of Medical and Surgical Monographs 110 Re-organization of the Medical Bureau Ill Motives which led to action in this matter 112 The full scope of the Commission's work not then understood Defects in certain Government Bureaus at the commencement of the war 114 Difficulty in securing Government action 115 Sketch of the History of the Medical Bureau 116 Limited scale of its operations before the war 117 Hospital system before the war '. 118 No Inspection of Camps and Hospitals 119 Relations with the Quartermaster and Subsistence Departments 120 Evils resulting from the inadequacy of the Bureau 122 Objects proposed by the Re-organization 123 The subject brought before Congress 124 B x CONTENTS. PAGE Obstacles to its due consideration 1 4j/> Passage of the bill. Its provisions L Efforts to secure the appointment of the Surgeon-General 127 Dr. William A. Hammond 1: Interview of Dr. Van Buren with the Secretary of War 1 Appointment of Dr. Hammond as Surgeon-General 1 Difficulties of his position 134 Personal controversy between the Secretary of War and the Surgeon- General 136 CHAPTER VI. HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE IN THE WEST AND IN THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. HOSPITAL CARS. Development of the work at the West Dr. Newberry 138 Kesults of Dr. Newberry's labors in organizing the West 141 He establishes his Headquarters at Louisville Organization of Soldiers' Homes 142 Military operations at the West. Capture of Fort Donelson 143 Transportation of the wounded in steamers 144 Organization of Hospital Steamers by the Commission 145 Belief afforded by the Agents of the Commission Similar service after the battle of Shiloh 147 Various difficulties in the Hospital Transport Service 149 Hospital transports in charge of State Agents 150 Injurious effect of anti-national methods of relief 151 Transport service in the Peninsular Campaign 153 The Sanitary transport Daniel Webster 154 Peculiar difficulties of the service..; 155 Relations with Government officers while performing this service 156 Embarrassments of a volunteer service of this kind 157 Intervention of the Surgeon-General 159 Hospital Cars 160 Objects to be attained by them 161 Plan approved by the Quartermaster-General 162 Description of the Hospital cars 163 Development of the system Transfer of the cars to the Medical Bureau... 164 CHAPTER VII. SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. Popular error in regard to the work of the Sanitary Commission 166 CONTENTS. XI PAGE Organization of the Supply Department 167 Supply depots established 168 The sympathy and aid of the women of the country organized 170 Nature and motive of this sympathy 172 Objections to Volunteer and supplemental aid considered 174 Necessity of studying the special needs of the soldier 176 Council of women held in Washington 178 Aid of the Associate Members of the Commission invoked 179 Action of the Associate Members in different parts of the country Boston 180 New York Philadelphia 181 Cincinnati Chicago 183 General results of the supply organization 184 Canvassing Agents Sanitary Reporter and Sanitary Bulletin 187 Influence of the Aid Societies in favor of the National cause 188 Powerful effect of this influence in certain localities 191 Other services of Associate Members... .. 194 CHAPTER VIII. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CALIFORNIA AND THE PACIFIC COAST. Original design of the Sanitary Commission 197 Limited amount of money required at the outset 197 Contributions of supplies 198 More money required to meet its enlarged plans 199 Contribution of one hundred thousand dollars from California 200 State of the Commission's treasury at that time .". 201 Effect of this contribution 202 General attention attracted by it 202 Spirit of emulation excited by it 205 General sketch of California 206 Exciting nature of life in that region 209 How the people there were affected by the war 210 Their Patriotism 211 Thomas Starr King 212 California offers troops 213 First efforts to raise contributions for army relief 214 Eeport of the Secretary of the Citizen's Committee 214 California Branch of the Commission. Visit of Dr. Bellows 231 Organization of Aid Societies 232 System of canvassing on the Pacific coast. Its results 233 xii CONTENTS. PAGE Means resorted to to stimulate public interest 234 Sales at auction -34 Sack of sanitary flour 236 Sacramento 238 Nevada 239 Oregon Washington Territory 240 Idaho, Colorado, Vancouver, Peru, Costa Kica, Sandwich Islands 241 General conclusions 242 CHAPTER IX. DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES GENERAL AND BATTLE-FIELD RELIKK. Different forms of Army Belief 244 Principle on which relief was bestowed 245 Its design to Supplement the Government service 245 How it differed from other systems of Army Relief 247 Personal ministrations to the suffering 249 Machinery for the distribution of supplies 249 Eelief Agents 250 Vast scale upon which relief was afforded 251 Opinion of the Generals concerning the relief Work 253 Field Eelief Corps 255 Character and instruction of the Agents 255 System of paid Agents 258 Discipline of the Field Eelief Corps 259 Battle-Field Eelief 260 The Battle of Antietam 262 Suffering of the wounded for want of supplies 263 Preparations of the Commission for this battle 265 Transportation of Government supplies from New York 267 Success of the Commission's plans of relief 267 William Platt, Junior 268 The battle of Perryville 270 Independent transportation for Medical Supplies .. 271 Auxiliary Eelief Corps 272 Peculiar duties of this Corps 273 It enters upon its duties 275 Work at Belle Plain and Fredericksburg 276 Work at Fredericksburg continued 276 Peculiar advantages of 'this form of Eelief .. 277 Work in the Hospitals at City Point 280 CONTENTS. Xlll PAGE Fidelity and devotion of the members of this Corps 281 William Wilson ' 281 Charles H. Stanley Professor Hadley 282 Mrs. General Barlow 284 CHAPTER X. SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. Nature of the Special Belief Work 287 What induced the Commission to undertake it 288 Action of the Commission on this subject in June 1861 289 "Soldiers' Home" established at Washington 291 "Soldiers' Homes" at various other points 294 Characteristics of the relief afforded by them 295 Military discipline not violated 296 Feeding Stations for sick and disabled men 298 Their great value in certain emergencies 299 Convalescent camps 301 "Special relief in these camps 302 -f Belief of men returning from rebel prisons 304 This form of Belief at Wilmington and on the Bed Biver 306 Hospital Directory 307 The mode of consulting it, and its value 310 War-Claim Agency 310 Care of the wives and mothers of disabled soldiers 314 ^Tresh Hospital supplies at Washington 314 Employment of detectives Couriers 315 General results of Special Belief Service 316 CHAPTER XI. WARFARE AGAINST SCORVY CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG. General work in the West during the summer of 1862 320 The Army of the Tennessee and the Cumberland divided 321 Symptoms of Scurvy appear 322 Measures taken to check its progress 323 Condition of the Army of the Cumberland after the battle of Stone Biver. 324 The nature of Scurvy 324 Efforts of the officers to procure vegetables 325 Vegetables issued to the officers but not to private Soldiers 326 CONTENTS. Application of the Medical Authorities to the Commission for Aid Ship- ment of vegetables .................................................................... ^27 Farmers of the West called upon for contributions ................................ 329 Results of this appeal ...................................................................... 3: "Hospital Gardens ..................... ....................................................... ^2J Movements of General Grant's Army of the Tennessee .......................... 331 Work of the Commission in that Army before Vicksburg ....................... 333 Co-operation of General Grant ........................................................... 333 The Army in its march around Vicksburg ........................................... 334 Eeportof Dr. Warriner, Sanitary Inspector ......................................... 336 Vast contributions of supplies after the fall of Vicksburg ....................... 337 Character and services of the Commission's Agents at Vicksburg ............ 339 Supplies to garrisons on the Mississippi and its branches ........................ 340 CHAPTER XII. CHATTANOOGA. The Army of the Cumberland moves southward 342 Materiel of the Army. Difficulties of transportation 343 Embarrassment of the Medical Officers 345 Opening of the campaign 345 Limited supplies after the Battle of Chickamauga 347 Aid offered by the Commission 349 Feeding Stations established 350 The battle of Chattanooga 351 Condition of the Army during the winter of 1863-4 352 Change in the physical condition of the men 352 Prevalent types of disease 355 Belief of the garrison at Knoxville 356 Care of troops in garrison in the rear of the Army 356 Three-fold nature of the relief afforded 357 Feeding Stations 358 Hospital Visitors 359 Distribution of stores in Hospitals 360 Efforts to prepare Sherman's Army for the campaign in Georgia 361 Administration of the Hospital Service during the campaign 362 Work at the Feeding Stations 364 Appreciation of the Commission's work by the Commanding officers 364 CONTENTS. XV CHAPTER XIII. FREDERICKSBURG-fiETTYSBURG THE WILDERNESS. PAGE Improved condition of the Army after Antietam 367 First battle of Fredericksburg 368 Work of the Commission after that battle 369 MVbolen clothing provided for the men in Hospitals 370 Transportation of the wounded Feeding Stations 371 Condition of the Army during the winter of 1862-3 372 Battle of Chancellorsville 373 The Army moves northward 374 Preparations for the battle of Gettysburg 375 Battle of Gettysburg Agents and Supplies with the Army 376 Agents of the Commission made Prisoners of War 377 Supplies sent by way of Westminster 378 Scenes at the Commission's store-house in the town 380 Special Eelief Work Lodge and Feeding Station 381 Nature and extent of the work done 382 Belief to the wounded rebels at Gettysburg 385 Effect of this relief on the enemy 387 Great necessity of volunteer relief at Gettysburg 388 Commission's Agents on that field 389 The Army returns to the Rapidan 390 Preparations for the Spring Campaign of 1864 391 Work after the battles of the Wilderness 392 Vast accumulation of wounded Their transportation 392 The Army base transferred to Port Royal 395 White House Battles of Cold Harbor 396 The Commission's wagon train 397 City Point Losses in the campaign 397 Distribution of anti-scorbutics 398 Amount of work done in this campaign Expenses 399 CHAPTER XIV. MORRIS ISLAND OLUSTEE NEWBERNE. Commission's Agents with the expedition against Port Ptoyal 402 Reputed unhealthiness of the climate 403 Movement against Charleston Two Inspectors appointed 404 Transportation of discharged disabled soldiers 405 Landing on Morris Island 406 CONTENTS. Capture of the lower works Assault on Fort Wagner ........................... 407 Work of the Commission during these operations ................................. 4 Siege operations against Fort Wagner ................................................. 4 Large supplies of ice furnished the troops by the Commission ................. 412 The siege memorable in a novel aspect ................................................ 4 Low sickness rate among the troops after the fall of Fort Wagner ............ 413 Expedition to Florida ...................................................................... 4 The battle of Olustee ....................................................................... 414 Work of the Commission after that Battle ........................................... 415 General Keflections ......................................................................... 416 Agents of the Commission in this Department ...................................... 417 Work in North Carolina .................................................................. 419 Hospital Garden at Newberne ............................................................ 420 Yellow Fever at Newberne in September, 1864 .................................... 421 Aid afforded by the Commission ......................................................... 421 CHAPTER XV. DEPARTMENT OF THK GOLF. General Butler's Expedition 423 Sanitary Precautions taken by him Eesults 424 General Banks assumes command of the Army 426 The battle of Franklin 427 Siege of Port Hudson 429 "Soldiers' Home" at New Orleans 429 Improvements in the transportation of disabled men 430 4- Exchange of Prisoners Relief afforded 431 Bed Eiver Expedition 433 Supplies of vegetables to the Coast Garrisons 434 Character of the Agents 435 CHAPTER XVI. SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. XWor . vrw,,: ork enlarged in consequence of contributions from California 436 'Condition of the Hospitals in September 1862 , 437 ^pefects in the Hospital System at that time 437 Efforts of the Surgeon-General to remedy these evils ... 439 "A special inspection of Hospitals proposed Ho CONTENTS. XV11 PAGE Corps of Special Inspectors organized 441 Their instructions 442 They enter upon their work 443 ^General results Hospital buildings 444 Character of the Medical Officers in charge 444 This Inspection supplemental only 446 Various improvements suggested 447 Depots of supplies Government laboratories 447 New Supply table Hospital Clothing Boards of examination 448 ^Hospital Reports Army Medical Museum Hospital buildings 449 The Commission aids and encourages these Improvements 450 CHAPTER XVII. THE COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. Value of General laws 451 Early efforts to acquire statistical information 451 The nature and value of statistics 452 Statistics concerning the battle of Bull's Bun 453 Statistical Bureau organized 454 Indirect influence of its work in the early part of the war 456 Tabulation of the daily reports of General Hospitals 457 Tabulation of loss and gain returns 458 Ages of the troops and physical characteristics 459 Dr. Gould takes charge of the Bureau 461 Interesting results in regard to the ages of the men 462 The American Element shown to preponderate in enlistments 463 Investigation concerning the effect of forced marches 464 Present condition of the material in the Bureau 465 Scientific value of the work 467 CHAPTER XVIII. FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. Appointment of a Central Financial Committee 468 First appeals for money 469 Result of these appeals 470 Second appeal August 13, 1861 471 Circular letter of December 1861 472 Condition of the Treasury in the early part of 1862 472 Appeal in March, 1862 Its failure 473 C xviii CONTENTS. PAGE Hospital transport service 475 How far sustained by the Commission's Treasury 476 Contributions in the summer of 1862 477 Treasury Exhausted by the demands of these campaigns 477 California's contribution Its value direct and indirect 479 Contributions from December 1862 to July 1863 480 Vast increase of expenses 481 Last appeal issued in December 1863 481 Thanksgiving collections Sanitary Fairs 482 Some items of Expenditure at this period 484 State of the Treasury at the close of the war 486 Lessons taught by its financial history Total receipts 487 Receipts of the Branch Treasuries 488 Facilities afforded by Steamboat Express Telegraph Companies 489 Methods taken to insure exactness and fidelity in the disbursement of funds. 492 CHAPTER XIX. INTERNAL ORGANIZATION RELATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT. The Commission combined various methods to accomplish its object 494 The Board Its composition and functions 495 Meetings of the Board Nature of the business transacted 497 Standing Committee Its duties 499 Position and duties of the General Secretary 502 Number and character of the subordinate Agents 506 Adaptation of means to the end by the Commission 506 Its policy free from partisan influences 507 Kelations with the Government 508 Causes of awantof sympathy 510 The Commission a healthy stimulant to Government 513 Aid afforded by all officers on active service 514 Quartermaster's Department 514 General conclusions .. 516 THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. CHAPTEE I. THE NATURE AND OBJECT OF AEMY EELIEF. THE History of the great Rebellion, probably to a greater extent than that of any war, is fruitful in lessons which concern man as a citizen of The office and a state founded upon the ideas of modern History. * civilization. The highest office of all history, as is now universally recognized, is instruction, in order that from its teachings future generations may learn to avoid the errors of the past. When written with this intention, it has comparatively little to do with the details of mere military operations, or the intrigues of courts or cabinets, or even with the heroic achievements which have shed lustre on the national character. These are topics which have engaged al- most wholly the attention of those who have related the story of former wars ; and certainly there is enough in the annals of the war which subdued the Rebel- lion, when fittingly told, to serve the great pur- pose of keeping alive the national gratitude and per- 3 17 18 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. petuating the national glory. Still it is impossible to gain a complete and harmonious view of the lessons taught by the war, unless we embrace in it all the great agencies, many of them wholly novel in history, which combined to bring it to a successful termination. The American war was a popular one in the widest sense, not only a war the prosecution of which was characteristics maintained by unprecedented popular en- O f the Late War. thusiasm, but a war the origin, progress, and methods of which were all peculiar in this, that they were modified and controlled by the great popular ideas which lie at the basis of American civilization. If we wish, then, to gain any true view of the prin- ciples involved in the struggle, and to understand fully the novel and striking lessons which it developed, it is essential to study the nature of these popular ideas and their influence upon the modes adopted by the government in prosecuting the war. The power of the public opinion of a free people in controlling the military policy of a country has been remarked in other nations and in former wars. Never has there been an instance in History such as that presented in this country during the late war, in which every- thing which was accomplished, good or bad, was due to the impulse of popular ideas. Thus its history presents far more than that of any other war a true picture of the civilization of The popular eie- tne people who conducted it. It is not mentiuthe war. mere ly to the indirect influence of this popu- lar element upon the policy of the government, power- ful as it was, that the student of our recent history must direct his attention, but also to those organiza- NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 19 tions of popular enthusiasm, sympathy and benevolence wholly outside of the government, but all undertaken to strengthen its hands, without whose potent influence manifested in a thousand ways, the result of the war might have been disastrous. It would be indeed a matter of curious and interesting speculation to inquire how long and how effectively the government could have carried on the war without the aid of this organized popular sympathy. It is proposed in the following pages to give the history of one of these extra-governmental organizations, and to claim for it whatever may be due to the intelligence, humanity and patriotism of the American people acting through its agency with the design of promoting the health, comfort and efficiency of the vast armies called into the field to subdue the rebellion. The very first popular impulse which succeeded the grand burst of enthusiasm by which seventy-five thou- sand citizens were suddenly transformed at Organization of the call of their country into soldiers, was i e nce. directed to some rude and imperfect means of minis- tering to them such aid and comfort as was suggested by the anxious and tender solicitude of their friends, rather than by considerations of the necessities of a military organization. This impulse was as earnest, and as spontaneous, and as general, on the part of those who staid at home, as that which rallied round the flag of the country the very flower of its youth. Through- out the length and breadth of the land, men who were unable to bear arms, and women, true sisters of mercy, whose record of deeds of charity in this war forms perhaps the brightest chapter in its whole his- 20 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. tory, were inspired with a zeal and enthusiasm in behalf of those who went forth in their stead, which in its depth and earnestness, and at last, as experience was gained, in its practical efficiency, was wholly unparalleled in the annals of other nations. In other countries and in former wars, particularly in grand revolutionary uprisings, which have stirred the popu- lar heart from its lowest depths, evidence is not want- ing to prove the existence of a spirit of lofty sacrifice for the welfare of those who defended the cause with their lives. In most cases, however, this enthusiasm was not of long duration, and produced but a feeble impression upon the general progress of the war ; in all it lacked that peculiar element of organization so characteristic of our American system, which, when guided and directed by zealous patriotism, and practi- cal good sense and benevolent feeling, has made the history of this war quite as remarkable in those as- pects which concern the progress of humanity, as in the many lessons which it teaches of the successful determination of a free people to maintain its na- tionality. There were many reasons aside from zeal for the cause in which they were engaged, both in the character Nature of the of the volunteers raised immediately after STvfc^Jta- the fal1 of Sum ter, and the circumstances by tears. which they had been suddenly transformed into soldiers, which made them from the beginning peculiarly the objects of tender popular care and solici- tude. The nuclei of all the first regiments raised were the militia or volunteer companies existing in the various towns and cities throughout the country. NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 21 These companies represented all the available military organization of the country at that time outside of the regular army, and although they were composed wholly of young men of character, intelligence and courage, such as had never before made up the rank and file of any army, they were on many accounts those likely to suffer most seriously from the fatigues and privations of a soldier's life. Most of them had had no experience whatever of campaigning, and their knowledge of a soldier's duties was confined to the requirements of a holiday parade. Being generally residents in populous towns or cities, their habits were those acquired by the indoor-life of students, artizans, and tradesmen of dif- ferent sorts. Their officers were as ignorant as they, selected as they had been for their position in organi- zations which had existed before the war by their com- rades rather on the score of good fellowship, than because they were supposed to possess any military qualification whatever for actual service. In short, for any real efficiency, the military organization as it existed before the war, or as it was hastily improvised by regiments raised in a few days immediately after- ward, and then hurried on to the " front," was almost valueless. To the calm observer who knew anything of history, the view of this mass of enthusiastic and undisciplined men, calling themselves soldiers suggested p ecu i iardangers some sad forebodings. It constituted a pre- to which new t troops are ex- cious element of the vital force of the popu- posed. lation, and was composed precisely of that class of men who from their previous habits and modes of life were not only least likely to bear well exposure and priva- 22 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. tion, but also certain to become victims of diseases which have always proved the scourge of armies. Nothing but the unreflecting enthusiasm which was then the characteristic of the popular mind, or utter ignorance of the perils which encompass the soldier in the hospital or the camp, and which exceed ten-fold those of the battle-field, can explain the recklessness with which our best and bravest young men were then hurried into active service. The two great difficulties which threatened to make our military operations unsuccessful, were the ignorance ignorance and o f the officers in regard to the most elemen- inezperience of .. . ,1 . ji -U their officers, tary duties of their position, the absence, consequently, of all real military organization and discipline, and the self-reliant, independent habits of the private soldiers, who, willing and anxious to be instructed in their new duties, were not inclined to show much deference to mere official rank unsupported by a corresponding knowledge of the duties devolving on him who held it. Both of these difficulties were traceable to one source inexperience. Other na- tions, upon sudden emergencies, have been com- pelled to form an army in the face of the enemy, but they have had at least the skeleton of a military organization in long-tried officers, well versed in the details of the service. We were forced to try the novel experiment of improvising the most artificial and com- plicated of human organizations an effective and dis- ciplined army, under what had been hitherto esteemed insurmountable obstacles. It is not to be wondered at that those who judged the American people by foreign precedents felt their hearts sink within them at the NATURE AND OBJECT OF AKMY RELIEF. 23 prospect. How this apparently impossible task was finally and successfully accomplished, with what fearful waste of life and energy, and at what cost and sacrifice, the American armies became at last thoroughly trained and perfectly efficient bodies, capable of the highest military achievements, how in certain departments, such as the Quartermaster's and Commissariat bureaus, a success was gained beyond that recorded of any similar service in military history, it is not our province to dwell upon. We are concerned now with the dangers which threatened to impair the health, and therefore to de- stroy the efficiency of the soldier, dangers all the more serious because neither the public, who looked on with so much delighted enthusiasm as regiment after regi- ment was equipped and sent to the seat of war, nor the officers, who were entrusted with the responsibility of their precious lives, seemed to have any adequate conception of the absolute necessity of preventive measures to maintain this buoyant energy of our young men ever fresh and active. Indeed it seemed as if the whole affair was in the eyes of the multitude the gorgeous pageant of a summer's holiday, and the object in view one to be accomplished by a pleasant excursion of sixty or ninety days, absurd self-conceit shivered into atoms by the first actual shock of real war. In the early history of the war the troops were raised by companies under authority of the Governor of each state, and were not transferred to characteristics the military authorities of the United States un teers. until a sufficient number of companies were gathered together to form a regiment. In the interval between 24 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. their enlistment, and their transfer to the General Government, the men were collected in camps within the state, under its authority and became the re- cipients of its peculiar care. Each State had a Hospital Department, the main business of which was the selection of regimental surgeons, but which inci- dentally concerned itself about the health of the sol- diers while at recruiting depots within the State. As was to be expected, the degree of care bestowed upon the troops by these State Hospital Departments varied in almost every State. In some, an attempt was made to enforce a proper sanitary police, in others, almost every article which could be needed by the Surgeon in the performance of his duties was liberally supplied by the State authorities, while in most, in consequence of the short period which elapsed between the time of recruiting and that of the transfer of the regiment to the General Government, those precautions which were essential to the health of the soldier, and which, to be really available, should have been taken as soon as he began his military life, were almost wholly neglected. In one important State, where, in addi- tion to the constant concentration in camps of men enlisted for the general service, a reserve force of .fifteen thousand men was raised by the authority of the State for its own defense, which was to be retained within its own borders, no provision whatever was made in the law creating this force, that the Hospital Depart- ment should control in any way measures tending to the sanitary condition of the troops, the character of their clothing, the location of camps, or the erection of quarters. The condition of things in this respect NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 25 in Pennsylvania had its parallel in nearly every State. A loose impression prevailed that volunteers should not be controlled by the ordinary methods of military discipline. ISTo regular, normal, steady sani- tary system was practicable, where in some respects it was most needed. Gross neglect prevailed, therefore, in the recruiting camps, partly owing to a total igno- rance of sanitary laws, partly to the feebleness and defectiveness of the military organization, and partly to the incompetency of the officers, without whose intel- ligent and zealous co-operation nothing could be done. Thus the obstacles in the way of raising for an emergency a tolerably efficient army, formidable as they are to all governments, became ten-fold more so to the Government of the United States, which was forced in the hour of the greatest peril to adopt and make useful such rude military organizations as the different states chose to send them, organizations dif- fering in some respects, but all alike in this, that a large portion of the troops, owing to imperfect inspec- tion, were unfit for any military duty whatever, and that their officers, and especially the staff- officers, were almost universally without any knowledge of their new duties. While many watched with anxiety the utter neglect of every lesson taught by experience or common sense in the formation of that army on whose ef- General neglect f f ' ficiency the national life depended, and were leames,"" 1 filled with the gloomiest anticipations of the future, there was a strange blind confidence, a sort of careless insouciance in regard to the whole matter among the mass of the population. There was unbounded en- 26 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. thusiasm for the cause, and a perfect faith in the pluck and endurance of the volunteers, who were vaguely regarded as competent for any task that might be assigned them. If some skeptic, whose fears had been quickened by reading history, faintly whispered the necessity of discipline in the ranks, and of sanitary measures in the camps, in order to insure permanent success, he was told that the volunteer, from his very condition and previous habits, could not be trained in the same severe discipline as that found essential in a regular army, and that, after all, the American was a thoroughly self-reliant being, whose native qualities would insure his exemption from those evils which had demoralized armies made up of different material in former wars. This strange infatuation pervaded all ranks of the Apprehensions people, and as it seemed a foregone condu- ct, sion that discipline, such as that which ex- isted in other armies, could not be enforced in ours, of course little effort was made to introduce it among the volunteers. The effect of this absurd theory soon became apparent. The ignorance of the officers concerning their duties was manifest at the very first test. The injury to the health of the troops, and therefore to their morale and efficiency, mainly due to the ignorance, incompetency, and carelessness of their officers on their arrival at Washington, is now known to have been absolutely disastrous. Experienced mili- tary officers looked with dismay on the prospect of making an active campaign with such troops, while those who were more sanguine, only because they were more ignorant, could not fail to be oppressed with NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 27 an anxious fear lest the best strength of the nation should be uselessly sacrificed. But before the actual shock of arms took place, leading minds throughout the country, who saw most clearly the deep-seated cause of the evil, were thoroughly studying the whole subject, and anxiously searching for a remedy. At that time the experience of the Crimean war was fresh in the memory of all. That experience was a complete chapter by itself on sanitary sci- Elperi enc e oftiie ence. It taught the great truth that the fr^nwar. "cause of humanity was identified with the strength of armies." We were left to no vague conjecture as to the causes which produced the fearful mortality among the allied troops before Sebastopol, a mortality, which as has been truly said, has never been equalled since the hosts of Sennacherib fell in a single night. Public opinion in England, indignant and horror-stricken at this frightful result, long before the war closed, called loudly for investigation and remedy. The result has been a contribution of inestimable value to our know- ledge of every thing which concerns the vital questions of the health, comfort, and efficiency of armies. The results of these investigations, both in regard to the causes of the evil, and the wonderful efficiency of the remedies which were applied for its removal, had been recently given to the world in parliamentary reports, in the works of professional men, and especially in the in- valuable testimony of Miss Nightingale, so that all the conditions of the problem were perfectly known, and its solution could be arrived at with the exactness and certainty of a scientific demonstration. The descrip- tion of the causes which had produced a mortality in the 28 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. British army so fearful, that had it continued at the rate which was maintained in January, 1855, it would in ten months have destroyed every man in it, was so accurate, and bore so wonderful a resemblance to evils already known to exist in our condition, that the lesson seemed prepared specially for our warning and benefit. Earnest men who loved their country, and who had some humane consideration for the health and lives of those who were defending it, determined that some- thing should be done to avoid a similar catastrophe here. They knew that the British people had been able only to investigate and deplore the causes which had led to so direful a result. They felt that here a wise, thorough, and persistent effort should be made at the outset of the war, guided by the Crimean experi- ence, to forestal the insidious march of those diseases, which, if unchecked, would inevitably overwhelm our army and with it our country in ruin. The experience of the Crimean war taught those who consulted it the nature of the terrible dangers what was taught which encompass all armies outside of the eL. * battle-field, the possibility of mitigating them, and the sanitary measures, which in strict ac- cordance with the general laws of health should be adopted to provide for the safety of an army. But it taught many other things, which were far from encour- aging to the zeal of those who suppose that the ease of applying a remedy has in actual practice any due relation to the undisputed magnitude of the evil to be abated. They found, in the first place, a certain inflex- ible military routine in the management of everything connected with the administration of the Medical NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 29 Department of an army, the preservation of which in all its integrity was considered as essential to the very existence of the troops who might be per- ishing through its adherence to regulation and prece- dent, as any part of the military system. They found, too, that the medical staff, however much it might deplore the evil, was helpless to effect a remedy, for under the existing system it had no power to initiate, order and execute sanitary works. While the evidence was overwhelming that the plainest teachings of modern science had been neglected, not only in the construction of hospitals, but in the adoption of suit- able precautionary measures to insure the health and comfort of the soldier in camp, it was also evident that the natural jealousy which is the result of a certain esprit de corps in any thoroughly organized adminis- trative body, always manifests itself with a most deter- mined spirit against any plans which seek to infuse new life into that body even through the regular channels, and especially against any extra official effort to render its machinery less cumbrous and more efficient. While the experience of the Crimea, there- fore, clearly proved the cause of the evil and the nature of the remedy, it no less clearly proved the practical difficulty of applying that remedy outside and independent of government agencies, and the almost insurmountable obstacles of transferring to such agencies a portion of that zeal and enthusiasm for the welfare of the soldier which in modern times, at least, to the credit of the civilization of the age let it be said, is the strongest and most characteristic impulse of the people towards an army which is fighting its 30 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. battles. Still the success of Miss Nightingale's efforts in the hospitals at Scutari, and the astonishing results which were produced in the improvement of the health of the troops, by the adoption of the measures recom- mended and enforced by the Government Sanitary Commission which was sent out to the Crimea in April, 1855, led those to persevere who clearly saw the nature of the difficult task before them. Thus en- couraged they sought to initiate some methods which should anticipate and guard against, and not follow, as in the Crimea, the fearful havoc caused by the ne- glect of sanitary laws. The importance, therefore, of rousing public opinion to the absolute necessity of forcing upon the govern- The Muence of men t the adoption of precautionary mea- imel teachings in favor of simi- sures to insure the lives and safety of our lar measures. i i here _ troops in camps, in barracks and in hospi- tals, was the practical lesson which was taught by the Crimean experience to those who had studied it with a view of rendering it applicable to our needs. Some of these earnest-minded men became afterwards active members of the United States Sanitary Commission, but that organization bore no resemblance whatever, except in name, to the body which was sent out by the British Government in April, 1855. The latter was invested with plenary powers to do anything and everything which could improve the sanitary condition of the troops, whether in the camps or the hospitals. It will appear hereafter that our Sanitary Commission in its organization, methods, operations and results was wholly original, and peculiarly American in its characteristics. The occasion of its existence was un- NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 31 questionably an emergency which might prove and did prove in many respects similar to that which oc- curred in the Crimean war, but that war only taught the necessity of precautionary measures, and shed no light whatever upon the practical question how far it was possible to adapt those measures to our American system. Indeed, it will be seen as we proceed, how our peculiar condition and circumstances embarrassed the action of those among us, who sought to base the care of our army upon a system deduced from the positive results of experience. It will perhaps be found that it was almost as difficult to make our Government be- lieve in the necessity of taking such precautionary measures, as it became afterwards to convince those whose immediate duty it was to enforce them, that sup- plemental aid, and the advice of an unofficial organiza- tion might be so given as not to impair military efficiency and discipline. The powers conferred on the British Sanitary Com- mission were wholly unexampled in the history of the administrative system of Great Britain. The re- sults of its labors have been on the whole, The functions of perhaps, the grandest contribution ever made ^J^g 1 ^ 1 by science to the practical art of preserving mission. health among men required to live together in large masses. Its existence was due, as we have said, to the horror which was inspired by the accounts of the per- ishing army before Sebastopol, and to the wide-spread conviction that this result was attributable to causes which might be removed by wise sanitary measures. Three gentlemen, each distinguished for his practical acquaintance with the laws of hygiene and the prin- 32 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. ciples of sanitary science, Dr. Sutherland, Dr. Milroy, and Mr. Rawlinson, were appointed in February, 1855, by the Minister of War, Lord Panmure, Commissioners, to proceed at once to the Crimea, and there, on the spot, to reform the abuses to which the evil was due. They were told expressly in the letter which announced their appointment and defined their duties, that in the pro- secution of their labors they were not to be content with merely issuing an order, but that " they should see instantly that the work they ordered was com- menced, and superintend it day by day until it was finished. They were further directed to use all dili- gence in ascertaining whether any and what removable causes of disease connected with the camps and hospi- tals existed, to represent such defects to the military and naval authorities, to issue instructions for their removal, and to see that their instructions were complied with.' 1 ' 1 Thus it will be seen, that in all matters within the scope of their instructions, they were supreme, over-riding all considerations of rank, and introducing for the first time into the English system the practical heresy of breaking through all the solemn formalities of regulation, precedent, and red tape, upon the strict ob- servance of which the safety of the country, to the mind trained in official habits, absolutely depends. The re- sult justified this extraordinary, almost revolutionary, departure from the ordinary methods of administration ; the rescue of thousands from impending death will be its justification in history, while perhaps the stoutest defender of routine and precedent will now admit that this was one of the emergencies of that necessity which knows no law. No such extraordinary powers as were NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 33 conferred upon these Commissioners, and fully exercised by them when it was necessary to accomplish their object, were ever granted by the Government of the United States to any body of men outside of the regular military organization; but, perhaps, many will recall periods during the war when such a despotic authority wisely exercised by such a Commission as that sent to the Crimea, would have saved thousands of lives to the country and millions of dollars to its treasury. During the months of May and June, 1861, regi- ment after regiment arrived at the National Capital in a most unsatisfactory condition, so far as condition of the concerned their real efficiency as soldiers. J e e fr m ^ s y aiat These regiments had made their journey in Washington. cattle cars, as crowded and as ill-provided as if they were carrying beasts to the shambles; while most of them were utterly unprovided with any means of relief for those of their number who had become ill or exhausted from their long exposure. On arriving, no preparations had been made for their re- ception. Men stood for hours in the broiling sun or drenching rain, waiting in vain for rations and shelter, while their ignorant and inexperienced Commissaries and Quartermasters were slowly and painfully learn- ing the duties of their positions. At last, utterly worn out and disgusted, they reached their camps, where they received rations as unwholesome as dis- tasteful to them, and endeavored to recruit their wasted energies while lying upon rotten straw, wrapped in a shoddy blanket. The reality of all this fearful misery in such striking contrast with the gay and cheerful scenes which they had just left, soon 34 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. taught the soldier, who was in earnest, that true military discipline was not only essential to his efficiency but to his safety, and indeed to his very existence, as part of this vast human machine. With the more reflecting in many regiments, who were the smaller portion, an attempt was made to uphold it, while with the many, the irritation and annoyance constantly suffered, through the incapacity of their officers, engendered a dangerous spirit of mutiny. On all hands there was utter distrust in the organiza- tion, which not only cooled perceptibly their early en- thusiasm for the National cause, but which soon showed itself in the alarming prevalence of certain diseases, well-known in camps, which led officers of experience in the regular army to predict that fifty per cent, of the volunteers, before the end of the summer, would fall victims to diseases entirely preventible by wise mea- sures of precaution rigidly enforced. We shall recur again, more in detail, to the actual sanitary condition of the army before its advance into American me- Virginia. We refer to it now merely to Sh W What a J USt CaUSG f alarm f r itS safety existed at that time. No lover of his country, and no friend of humanity could fail to appreciate the reality of the danger. It is one of the fortunate peculiarities in our American life that when great evils force themselves upon the pub- lic attention as requiring immediate and practical remedy, earnest and thoughtful men are to be found who generally, by means of some formal organization, determine, with more or less force, to grapple with them. These attempts are often very crude and NATURE AND OBJECT OF ARMY RELIEF. 35 unsatisfactory in their origin, but they gain in strength and practical value as experience is acquired, and although many blunders are made, yet to such organi- zations is undoubtedly due nearly all that is grand, comprehensive, and far-reaching in conception, and successful in practice, in our American life. The nature of the crisis was so serious, and the principle by which any remedy could be applied by a scheme of voluntary organization so difficult of determination, that those who felt the evils most deeply, hesitated longest, for fear of making confusion worse confounded by any interference with government measures, how- ever defective they might be. But at last the fearful risks to the health and safety of the army, and the importance of the vast interests dependent upon its efficiency, gave rise to earnest, energetic measures. The evils themselves were so glaring, the danger from them to the health and efficiency of the army so imminent, and the Government apparently so helpless to provide an adequate remedy, that it was determined by some enlightened men, most of whom had been taught by their profession the value of preventive hygienic measures, to try the experiment of infusing some of the popular enthusiasm and popular sym- pathy into the cumbrous machinery of Government. This was to be done not irregularly or in the way of embarrassing intervention but strictly in aid of the Government plans, as far as possible, through Govern- ment means, and wholly in subordination to the great objects which the Government had in view in prose- cuting the war. This was the germ, the original con- ception of the functions of a Sanitary Commission, 36 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. but we are yet far removed from the fully developed maturity and power which this idea acquired. It is, of course, not intended to assert that this was the first attempt made by means of a voluntary - organization, to aid the acknowledged help- uggerte3 64 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. in the letter of the New York delegation to the Secre- tary of War of the 22d of May. The order appoint- ing them directed that they should correspond freely with the Department and with the Medical Bureau concerning these subjects, and on this footing and with- in these limits, their relations with the official authori- ties were established. To enable them to carry out fully the purposes of their appointment the Surgeon- Greneral issued a circular, announcing the creation of the Commission, and directing all the officers in his department to grant its Agents every facility in the prosecution of their duties. On the 12th of June the gentlemen named as Com- missioners in the order of the Secretary of War of the First meeting of 9th > ( with tn 6 exception of ProfeSSOr Wy- fhe commission. man W h } ia( j declined his appointment,) assembled at Washington. They proceeded to orga- nize the Board by the selection of the Rev. Dr. BELLOWS as President. Their first care was to secure the services of certain gentlemen as colleagues, who were supposed to possess special qualifications, but whose names had not been included in the original warrant. Accordingly Dr. Elisha Harris and Dr. Cornelius R. Agnew were unanimously chosen Com- missioners at the first meeting, and George T. Strong, Esq., and Dr. J. S. Newberry, in like manner, at the one next succeeding.* At the first session "a Plan of * The following named gentlemen were elected by the Board, Members of the Commission at different periods during the war ; Rt. Rev. Bishop Clark, Hon. R. W. Burnett, Hon. Mark Skinner, Hon. Joseph Holt, Horace Binnoy, Jr., Rev. J. H. Heywood, Prof. Fairman Rogers, J. Huntington Wolcott, Charles J. StilM, E. B. M'Cagg, F. Law Olmsted. ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 65 Organization," prepared by the President, was pre- sented, discussed, and finally adopted.* On the 13th the Commission, in a body, waited on the President and Secretary of War, who gave their formal sanction to this " Plan of Organization" by affixing to it their signatures. This Plan forms the Constitution of the Sanitary Commission. Plan of Q^^. It deserves careful study, not merely as a zationi statement of the methods by which it was proposed that the great truths of sanitary science should be practically applied to secure the health and efficiency of the soldier, but also as an evidence of the sagacity, foresight, and definiteness of aim of those who devised it. The experience of the war suggested but little alteration even in its outline, while to a strict adherence to the general principles it embodies, the Sanitary Commission owes all the wonderful success it has achieved. This plan reduces to a practical system and method the principles laid down in the letters of the New York gentlemen to the Government authori- ties, and endeavors to apply them to the actual existing condition of the army. Confining its proposed opera- tions within the limited sphere of "inquiry" and "advice," which had been assigned to it by the Government, it declares what it proposes to do, and by what methods, in each of these departments of duty. In order that its work might be carried on systemati- cally and thoroughly, two general committees were created, one respecting "Inquiry" the other "Advice." The object of the first was to determine by all the light which could be derived from experience, what must * See Appendix No. 4. 66 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. necessarily be the wants and condition of troops brought together as ours had been, to ascertain exactly how far evils which had proved the scourge of other armies had already invaded our own, and to decide concerning the best measures to be adopted to remove all causes of removable and preventible dis- ease. Each branch of "Inquiry," under this head, was referred to a distinct sub-committee. From the first was expected suggestions of such preventive measures as experience in former wars proved to be absolutely essential, to the second was entrusted the actual inspection, by its own members or their agents, of the camps and hospitals, so that the real condition of the army in a sanitary point of view, concerning which there were then many conflicting rumors, could be definitely known; to the third was referred all questions concerning the improvement of the health and efficiency of the army in respect of diet, clothing, quarters, and matters of a similar nature. In regard to the other branch of the duty assigned to the Commission under its appointment, that of "ADVICE," the Board took the same wide and compre- hensive views as had guided them in regard to the needful subjects of inquiry. Their scheme of organi- zation declares that the general object of this branch of their service shall be "to get the opinions and con- clusions of the Commission approved by the Medical Bureau, ordered by the War Department, and carried out by the officers and men." It will be seen by this enumeration of the functions with which the Commis- sion considered itself invested as an adviser of the Government, that it had no intention of wasting its ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 67 time in the barren and thankless task of merely counselling lazy, ignorant, or worthless subordinate officials. If it urged them to undertake some much needed reform requiring possibly hard work, it was to be understood that it controlled the power which could enforce compliance with its suggestions. It cannot be denied that the term "advice," as referring to the per- formance of a duty like this with which the Sanitary Commission considered itself charged, does not seem very appropriate. We must look, however, for its practical meaning and significance to all the features of the "plan," as defined by its projectors, and delibe- rately adopted by the Government. It is important that a clear conception of the true functions of the Commission in this matter of advice should be had, for thus only can its practical relations with the Government officials during the war be understood. So far it will be observed all the details of the plan pointed to a strictly preventive service, consisting in a thorough investigation of the causes of pre- System of relief. ventible diseases, and to advice to be given in a some- what peremptory form, perhaps, to the Government as to the proper remedies to be employed for their removal. All this was in strict accordance, no doubt, with the original conception of the Commission, and the space occupied by it in the "plan," is an evidence of the paramount importance attached to it as part of the general scheme, still the necessity of devising some general system by which the contributions of the country for the relief and comfort of the army, then diverted into many channels and often failing to reach their destination, could be rendered more practically 68 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. useful, and reach the soldier in a way more in harmony with the discipline and usages of the army, was not lost sight of in the organization of the Commission. It was proposed, in order to accomplish this object, that a Convention composed of delegates from Societies throughout the country working in aid of the soldier, should meet at an early day in New York, where the subject could be fully considered, and some wise gene- ral system of carrying out their plans agreed upon. This Convention was never held, and although the re- lief system occupied comparatively so unimportant a place in the proposed work of the Commission at the outset, still the wise counsels which it afterwards gave as to the organization of Aid Societies, and the wise methods it pursued in the distribution of the bounty of the country, at last made it the main channel by which that bounty was directed to the army. Indeed the interest excited in thousands of homes throughout the land whose inmates were members of these Aid Societies in favor of the Sanitary Commission, and who looked upon it only as the almoner of their vast offerings for the relief of the army, led to the popular error that it was only a relief association upon a grand scale, and quite overshadowed in popular estimation its original purpose, if not the exclusive and peculiar work which it proposed to engage in. The Commis- sion itself, however, never departed from the true scientific idea and conception of a preventive system, and always regarded the relief system, vast as was the place occupied by it in the war, as inferior in the im- portance of its results to those due to well-considered and thoroughly executed preventive measures. ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 69 Before proceeding to describe the measures which were adopted by the Commission to carry into practi- cal effect the object of its organization, it sketch of the may be well to glance at some of the more striking characteristics of those who had undertaken this hazardous experiment of Sanitary Reform in the army. The REV. DR. BELLOWS, to whom much of the credit of the original conception of a Sanitary Com- mission at all suited to the peculiar circumstances of this country was due, and who was with entire unani- mity selected as its President, possessed many re- markable qualifications for so responsible a position. Perhaps no man in the country exerted a wider or more powerful influence over those who were earnestly seeking the best means of defending our threatened nationality, and certainly never was a moral power of this kind founded upon juster and truer grounds. This influence was not confined to his home, the city of New York, although there it was incontestably very great, but it extended over many other portions of the country, and particularly throughout New England, where circumstances had made his name and, his repu- tation for zeal and ability, familiar to those most likely to aid in the furtherance of the new scheme. This power was due, partly of course, to the very eminent position which he occupied as a clergyman, partly to the persistent efforts and enlightened zeal with which he had long advocated all wise measures of social re- form, partly, perhaps, to his widely extended reputa- tion as an orator, but principally, and above all, to that rare combination of wide comprehensive views of great questions of public policy with extraordinary 70 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. practical sagacity and wisdom, which enabled him so to organize popular intelligence and sympathy that the best practical results were attained while the life- giving principle was preserved. He had the credit of not being what so many of his profession are, an ideologue ; he had the clearest perception of what could and what could not be done, and he never hesitated to regard actual experience as the best practical test of the value of his plans and theories. These qualities, so precious and so exceptional in their nature, ap- peared conspicuously in the efforts made by him to secure the appointment of the Commission by the Government, and it will be found that every page of its history bears the strong impress of his' peculiar and characteristic views. The first fruit which the Commission received from his labors was the " Plan of Organization," and in order to show how soon a grand idea was developed to its full maturity in his fertile mind, it is only necessary to say that this funda- mental law which, by a strange prescience, seemed perfectly fitted to meet all the emergencies which arose in a service hitherto untried and unknown, assumed the shape and form it now bears, during the labors of a single morning. With Dr. Bellows were associated several men of great public reputation, each possessing some peculiar qualifications by which the general success of the Professor Alex- work was assured. PROFESSOR ALEXANDER ander D a 1 1 k s DALLAS BACHE, the Vice-President, occu- pied, with peculiar fitness, the position to which he had been called. He was the head of a great national work, that of the Coast Survey ; he was a man of enii- ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 71 nent scientific reputation at home and abroad, and his judgment on all subjects, remarkably clear and true, was invaluable in the Council of an organization, which, if it effected the good it contemplated must con- stantly maintain cordial relations with the Govern- ment, and yet from the very nature of the case the utmost skill and delicacy were required to maintain those relations in all their integrity. The high official rank of Professor Bache, and his long experience as an officer of the Government were scarcely less ser- viceable to the Commission at the outset, than the unwearied zeal, stimulated by perfect faith in the idea it embodied, which distinguished him in his efforts to give practical effect to its methods during the whole period of its history. DR. VAN BUREN was one of the members of the Commission to whom it was indebted for services in the early period of its history, which when Dr. Van Buren. viewed by the light of experience it would seem im- possible to have dispensed with. To his eminent professional reputation which had done so much to secure a respectful hearing of the claims of the Commission at the outset, he joined a calm and sober judgment, not only of what ought to be done, but of what, with proper efforts, could be done. His former connection with the Medical Staff giving him a thorough knowledge of the defects of the system, gave also a practical value to his suggestions of remedy which it is impossible to over-estimate. The Commission did not hesitate to follow implicitly his counsel in all its suggestions of reform measures, and the following pages will show that the wisdom and 72 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. propriety of his advice has been fully confirmed by the experience of its whole history. PROFESSOR GIBBS was one of the members of the Commission from whose earnestness, wisely tempered Prof*** (Hbbi. judgment, and great scientific ability much assistance was expected by his colleagues. Perfectly convinced of the truth of the principle upon which the Commission was based, he devoted himself with untiring zeal to a special investigation of all the scientific questions (non-medical) which were brought before the Commission at the commencement of its work. This duty, as will be seen hereafter, became a most serious and responsible one, but the Commission was always satisfied that its reputation as a quasi- scientific body was safe in his hands. But his services were by no means confined to this special field of inquiry. His zeal and earnestness, his comprehensive and practical views upon all questions of general policy were always conspicuous, and while he com- manded the respect and confidence of his colleagues, he exerted a most important influence upon the whole work of the Commission. DR. ELISHA HARRIS, another of the Commissioners, had had greater opportunities for observing the prac- DT. ziiaha H- tical working of purely Sanitary measures than any of his colleagues. His position as Physician of the Great Quarantine Hospital at Xew York had led him to a thorough study of Sanitary laws. He had become familiar with all the methods adopted by the English Government to restore to health its shattered army in the Crimea, and his sug- gestions therefore as to the practical measures to be ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 73 followed here, founded upon that experience, were, of course, of the very highest value. DR. AGNEW brought to the service of the Commis- sion the valuable experience he had gained while per- forming the duties of a Medical Director of Dr.c.E.Agnew. the troops then being raised in New York. He soon exhibited a practical skill, executive ability, and at all times a perfect generosity of personal toil and trouble in carrying on the Commission's work which gave him, during its whole progress, a com- manding influence in its councils. Oppressed by serious and responsible professional cares he never- theless watched over with keenest interest the details of the Commission's service, and he set an example of self-sacrifice and disregard of personal interest when the succor of the soldier claimed his attention, or required his presence. It is not too much to say that the life-saving work of the Commission at Antietam, the relief which it afforded on so vast a scale after the battles of the Wilderness, and the succor which it was able to minister to thousands of our soldiers returning to us from rebel prisons diseased, naked, and famishing, owed much of their efficiency and success to plans arranged by Dr. Agnew, and carried out at personal risk and inconvenience under his immediate superinten- dence. The arduous and responsible post of Treasurer fell to the lot of Mr. GEORGE T. STRONG, and the exact- ness and fidelity with which he discharged Mri Q^^^ T its duties during its whole history, were Stron ' scarcely less conspicuous than the unwearied zeal with 10 74 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. which he strove to direct aright its general policy by his wise and judicious counsel. DR. NEWBERRY was recommended as a man of broad views, of enlarged experience, and of high Dr. John s. scientific reputation. The peculiar sphere Newberry. j n which his great abilities shone forth most conspicuously during the war was the Western Department, where he was charged with the super- intendence of the Commission's work as Associate Secretary. Still his advice and general views founded upon personal observation of the wants of that great field, made him a most valuable member at the Council Board of the Commission. His suggestions in regard to everything concerning the armies operat- ing in the West, exerted so controlling an influence as to shape wholly the policy of the Commission in carrying on its special work among them. These eight gentlemen were the true founders of the Sanitary Commission. By them the earliest deve- lopment of its policy was shaped and guided, to them, and to the General Secretary whom they appointed, the merit of whatever was wise in its conception, or practical, efficient, and life-saving in its plan and method during its whole history, is justly due. On this account it has seemed best to sketch some of the modes by which the peculiar qualifications of each were made to advance the general design. The other mem- bers of the Commission, Dr. Howe of Boston, Dr. Wood, Acting Surgeon -General, Colonel Cullum of General Scott's Staff, and Major Shiras of the Subsis- tence Department, all rendered valuable aid at the com- mencement, but other pressing duties of a public nature ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 75 soon absorbed their attention, and thus the Commis- sion was deprived of the benefit of their counsel and experience. It will be observed on referring to the Plan of Orga- nization that it was designed that the office of Resident Secretary should be one of the highest im- Besident or &en- portance. He was to be charged with the eral Secretar y- chief executive duties of the Commission, to correspond constantly with its President, and to reside in Wash- ington, where he was expected to maintain intimate personal relations with high Government officials. By him were to be appointed the agents of the Commis- sion, charged with the inspection of camps and hospi- tals, and with the duty of giving the " advice" of the Commission where the case needed advice. They were to receive their instructions from him, and their reports were to be made to him. It was made his business also to see that the recommendations of these Inspec- tors received the attention of the proper Government authorities, and were duly enforced. In short, he was to be the General Manager of the Commission, respon- sible for the faithful performance of all the work which it had undertaken, even in its minutest details. It was of course not easy to find a man wholly qualified for such a position. It was necessary that he should possess perhaps the rarest combination of qualities found in human experience. He must unite great ad- ministrative capacity with unswerving faith and reli- ance upon great fundamental principles of policy, and his capacity was to be tested in a field of labor perfectly new, and hitherto wholly unexplored, at least in this country. The Commission, after a good deal of deli- 76 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. "beration, decided that Mr. FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, at that time Architect in Chief and Superintendent of Appointment of the Central Park in New York, possessed the oimsted. essential qualities requisite for this position, and he was induced to accept it. How he performed the duties of the office, how much the Commission is indebted to his earnestness of purpose and his extraor- dinary power of organizing labor in a new field, it will be the business of the historian to tell in almost every page of this work. It is only necessary to say here that by the public, to whom the name of Mr. OLMSTED was familiar as the author of the most complete and philosophical account ever published of the condition of the Southern country before the war, and as the Director of a great public work, the successful manage- ment of which had been marked by incorruptible integrity, and the rarest administrative ability, his ap- pointment was universally regarded as a sure guaran- tee of the success of the Commission's plans. The original qualities of Mr. OLMSTED'S mind as well as his peculiar training gave him, in truth, some very great advantages in the novel and extraordinary position to which he had been called. The theory of the Commission in regard to its relations with the Theory of the Government had been from the first, that it relation between the Government would carefully avoid doing any thing to and the Commis- >i .,.,... rio^ impair the responsibilities of Government officials, or undertake in any way to perform duties which rightly belonged to them. In its view the Government machinery was the true and proper agency for performing the Government work. If that machi- nery was found defective or unable to accomplish what ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 77 the novel circumstances of the times demanded, then its business was to urge in the proper quarter that the machinery might be so enlarged or modified as to suit the emergency. But the Commission always scrupu- lously avoided interfering with Government farther than to proffer its aid. In other words, it sought to do its work through Government channels, and by means of existing Government agencies. Its whole system of Inspection, of Relief, General and Special, and of the distribution of Hospital supplies, and indeed its whole organization, was based on this theory. Its object was to supplement Government deficiencies, not in any way to substitute itself for the Govern- ment organization ; but on the contrary to endeavor to secure from every Government official the full measure of his responsibility. The delicate and difficult task of determining exactly where the Government respon- sibility ended, and that of the Commission began, de- volved practically upon its General Secretary, who was charged with the administration of its executive ser- vice. Any mistake in this matter at the outset would have been fatal to all hope of success ; nothing but constant collision, resulting at last in the withdrawal of the Commission from the field, would have marked any unwise interference with the details of the recognized usages and regulations of the army. Fortunately, the matter was in the hands of one whose studies and experience had thoroughly trained him in a science little understood in this country, that of administra- tion. The foundation of that science is the principle that each agent of any organization shall have his share of responsibility for the work exactly defined, and that 78 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. he shall then be accountable to his superior officer for the thorough and faithful performance of that par- ticular portion of the work, and nothing more. Pur- suing this plan, and insisting upon its constant ob- servance by his subordinates, the General Secretary soon placed their relations with the officers of the army upon the most friendly and cordial footing. Thoroughly understanding the distinct field occupied by the Government and the Commission, he 'insisted that each should maintain a proper recognition of the other's work. The remarkable fact, that during the whole war, there was scarcely a single instance of discourtesy or official insolence towards men occupy- ing the anomalous position held by the Agents of the Commission in the army, is due perhaps quite as much to the constant observance of this rule, as to the personal character or personal services of the Agents themselves. The position which the General Secretary occupied towards the Government was a very delicate one in Confidential na- another respect. It was designed that he tnie of those re-.. t > -, /.- .,,,. i i should be on a confidential footin with the War Department, and this, of course, involved a com- munication to him of so much of the plans of cam- paigns as might be necessary to enable the Commis- sion to make due preparation for the performance of its appropriate duties. It also increased his responsi- bility in the selection of Agents who must necessarily be with the army without any recognized military status, but who nevertheless must know much of the plans of the General, and the movements of the troops. It was essential, therefore, that those men, in addition to ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 79 their special qualifications, should possess great discre- tion, and be of undoubted loyalty. Besides, the plan of operations in the various branches of the service pro- posed by him must receive the approval of the War De- partment, and he was to be responsible for their execu- tion in the spirit in which they were conceived. It was natural, therefore, that he should deem it essential for the satisfactory execution of the Commission's work, that he should control its Agents and operations throughout the whole field. Feeling deeply the re- sponsibility of his own position, he knew that he could only properly discharge it by insisting that every one in the executive service of the Commission should re- ceive instructions only through him, and faithfully re- port to him the execution of his orders. The machinery composing the internal organization of the Commission being thus complete, no time was lost in setting resolutely to work to perform c and Hos . the duties which had been devolved upon it. P ital HP 604100 ' The two great wants at that time, in the opinion of the Commission were an exact knowledge of the condition of the troops, so as to ascertain what sanitary measures were most essential, and some definite plan of raising money to sustain its work. It was thought best that both these objects should be prosecuted simultaneously, as it was evident that an application to the public for money would be greatly aided by a truthful statement of the actual needs of the army as observed in the camps and the hospitals by competent and trustworthy men. The President and Dr. Newberry proceeded on a tour of inspection of the camps at the West, while the other members of the Commission undertook to 80 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. visit those at Fortress Monroe, and in the vicinity of Washington and New York. Before separating how- ever, they signed two papers, one addressed to the people of the country at large, the other specially to the Managers of Life Insurance Companies, stating their plans, and asking for contributions to enable them to carry them into execution. The whole policy of the Sanitary Commission in regard to raising the funds necessary to a proper sup- Finanoiai policy port of its work, was so peculiarly Ameri- of the Commis- . . , . sion. can in its character, and exerted so marked an influence upon every step of its progress during the war, and it resulted in such immense contributions to its treasury, that the reasons which dictated it deserve careful consideration. It might be supposed that an organization called into official existence at the request of the Medical Bureau, having no other end or object than to aid the operations of that Bureau, making use of Government channels only to convey the stream of popular bounty for the relief of the Government service, might naturally claim to be supported, as are the other branches of Government work by Government pay. But from the very first, the design of the founders of the Commission was settled, that it should do its work only on the principle of that voluntary system of organization, which is one of the most striking characteristics of our American civilization, and which, with its free and untrammelled spirit has done such marvellous things for the country in every department of labor. All it asked, therefore, from the Government was permission to work; the inspiration which led its members to hope for success ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 81 came from the people themselves, and to that public opinion, which is the true sovereign in this country, they held themselves alone, but always responsible. They felt that they could here undertake a task which would have been impossible in any other country, not merely because this was a peoples' war, as it has some- times been called, but because experience had taught them that their task, so far as enlisting the sympathy and support of their countrymen was concerned, was comparatively easy. It was not necessary to create any interest or enthusiasm in the cause, but simply to win confidence in the system which was proposed, by instructing the public as to the necessity of its adop- tion, as the best means of meeting the emergency. Besides these motives for adhering persistently to the voluntary system motives which have been so long operative in the American mind, that Motives for de- their action seems almost instinctive when L^Tfupport." 1 any great organized effort is to be made there were other reasons for an unwillingness to apply to the Government for pecuniary aid. Among others, it was deemed essential that the Commission should be wholly free from that sort of control which would have been the inevitable accompaniment of depend- ence on the Government for means to execute its work. The mere suspicion that in any way it could be made an instrument of Government patronage would have wholly destroyed its usefulness. Above all things it was important that it should be entirely out of the reach of unscrupulous politicians, who, if they gained a foothold, would strive in some way to 11 82 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. degrade it from its high position, and make it subserve their own selfish ends. The Commission, therefore, full of faith in the sym- pathy and intelligence of the people, appointed its Modes of raising Secretary and other officers, and prepared to money. g to work without a dollar in its Treasury. It was satisfied that all that was necessary to secure con- tributions was, not to convince the public that some- thing must be done for the army outside the Govern- ment agencies, but that the preventive and precaution- ary measures which it advocated were best suited to promote the true interests of the soldier. It was idle to tell people then, and it has proved equally idle to tell them at any period of the war, that the Government could do, and was doing all that was possible or desir- able. The countless forms of popular sympathy growing more clamorous and persistent in their offers of relief as the war went on, and after experience had improved the efficiency of the Government agencies, all bore unmistakable evidence of the irrepressible determination of the American people to manifest in some way their direct personal interest in the soldier. However defective some of the schemes which grew out of this state of popular feeling may have proved as to the true mode of affording relief, they all be- tokened the existence of a spirit in the highest degree creditable to the humanity and civilization of the country, a spirit prompted by the universal instinct, that it was impossible for any Government, with its utmost zeal and efforts, to bestow that tender care upon the soldier which the American people desired he should receive. The task then of the Commission ORGANIZATION OF THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 83 was limited to proving that preventive means were the best adapted to accomplish this general desire. The difficulty was at the start only, for no doubt was felt that the experience of a few months of the neglect of sanitary measures among the troops would Educatin g * h x public mind hi afford the saddest and most conclusive evi- regard to the dence of the truth of the Commission theory. ventLe system. But it was very undesirable that lessons of wisdom should be learned at so fearful a cost. The Commis- sion endeavored to popularize the general elementary truths of sanitary science, and to enforce their applica- tion by a picture of the terrible results which had followed the violation of sanitary laws in the British army during the Crimean and Indian campaigns. There was much in the experience of other countries in relation to this subject to discourage them in their attempt. History shows that there are no measures upon which it is more difficult to fix public attention, and thereby assure efficient action than those of a strictly preventive nature. While the pestilence is far off we sit still, idly hugging to ourselves the delusion that in some way we shall escape its visitation. The general principles of sanitary science, particularly as applied to armies are so obvious and simple, that more than a hundred years ago they were advocated in England upon the same grounds, and almost in the same terms, as have been employed in our own day. Yet neither the elaborate works of Sir John Pringle, on Diseases in the Army, nor that of Dr. Lind on the modes of preserving the health of seamen, nor the immortal work of John Howard, on Prisons and Hospitals, had succeeded in gaining a proper recogni- 84 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. tion of sanitary laws, and their due administration in the public service. Information on the subject there was in abundance; never indeed was a scientific truth more plainly demonstrated; what was needed was to urge its practical application to the cure of existing evils. The Commission wisely addressed itself in the first instance to the Manaers of Life Insurance Com- to Life panics, as to men of more than ordinary intelligence and influence, whose direct in- terest lay in fostering every well-considered scheme of a life-saving kind. The first contributions in large amounts came from these institutions. The New England Life Insurance Company gave one thousand dollars. This example was soon followed by the various Life Insurance Companies in New York, one of them, the Mutual, having given in all, nine thou- sand dollars in aid of the Commission's Treasury. In order to stimulate contributions, and to organize the financial affairs of the Commission upon a sure basis, certain prominent gentlemen in New York were invited to act as a Central Auxiliary Finance Com- mittee.* Through the exertions of these gentlemen large sums were contributed by public institutions and private individuals throughout the country, and suf- ficient money was obtained to enable the Commission to give its experiment a fair trial. * The following named gentlemen composed this Committee: Hon. Samuel B. Ruggles, Christopher R. Roberts, Robert B. Minturn, George Opdyke, Jona- than Sturges, Morris Ketchum, David Hoadley, J. P. Giraud Forster, and Charles E. Strong. CHAPTEK IV. INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. IN addition to the work of inspection undertaken by different members of the Commission in various parts of the country two competent gentlemen, Dr. Tomes and Mr. Dunning, were employed to make cer- tain specific inquiries in relation to the condition of the camps at Fortress Monroe. Their re- Organization of ports did not cover the whole ground which inspection. was afterwards explored by the gentlemen engaged in the great inspectorial work of the Commission, still they formed the basis of that work, and they contained information as to the actual condition of the army which confirmed the worst fears of those who had sent them forth. Mr. Olmsted, assisted by Dr. Harris, investigated the condition of twenty camps of volunteers in the neighborhood of Washington, in the early inspection of the days of July, and his report of that ex- animation embodies an exceedingly interesting ac- count of the condition of the newly-raised troops as observed before they had received the actual shock of battle. In this report Mr. Olmsted points out speci- fically some of the more obvious evils which attracted his attention. He says "that a complete system of drains, so essential to the health of the men, did not 85 86 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. exist in any of the camps, that the tents were so crowded at night that the men were poisoned by the vitiated atmosphere, that the sinks were unnecessarily and disgustingly offensive, that personal cleanliness among the men was wholly unattended to, that the clothing was of bad material and almost always filthy to the last degree, and that there was scarcely a pre- tence of performing the ordinary police duties of a military camp." There seemed to be an abundance of such food beef and pork as the Subsistence De- partment was permitted by law to furnish, but under the regulations no green vegetables could be issued, and of course none were provided. The consequence was that the army was generally believed to be in great danger of decimation by scurvy or dysentery. The cooking was said to be, of all the subjects, that on which the army most needed instruction. While this ignorance continued serious results must ensue to the troops from eating ill-prepared food. Mr. Olmsted traces in his report all these difficulties of the service to their true source the inexperience of the officers, and the consequent want of discipline among the men. He says (p. 14) "that he is com- pelled to believe that it is now hardly possible to place the volunteer army in a good defensive condition against the pestilential influences by which it must soon be surrounded. No general orders, calculated to guard against their approach, can be immediately en- forced with the necessary rigor. The Captains es- pecially have, in general, not the faintest comprehen- sion of their proper responsibility, and if they could be made to understand they could not be made to per- INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 87 form the part which properly belongs to them in any purely military effort to this end.' r The report of Dr. Bellows and Dr. dewberry of the condition of the various camps at the West, visited by them, told substantially the same story, inspection of . ,, . Camps at the Everywhere were conspicuous those irignt- west. ful evils which are inseparable from a bad military organization, and defective administration. The result was a perfectly shiftless condition of things which betokened the early demoralization, if not actual mutiny of the army. The alarming state of affairs revealed by these reports made a profound impression upon the mem- bers of the Commission, and at a session Action of Com- held early in July, it sought by every % means at its command, to induce the Gro- inspectors, vernment to adopt measures to avert some of the more obvious dangers to the National cause which those Reports had indicated. It strongly urged that means should be taken at once to provide accommodations near the railroad station at Washington for the use of troops arriving and departing, that some system should be adopted by which the soldier could trans- mit to his family a part or the whole of his pay, that a rigid system of camp police should be enforced, that competent cooks should be employed, that a stricter discipline, which should keep the men out of the dram-shops in Washington, should be maintained, and that a liberal supply of fresh vegetables should be issued. Of these recommendations, though urged upon the Government with anxious pertinacity, very few were then adopted. The extraordinary laxity 88 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of discipline which at that time prevailed in the army seemed to have invaded every branch of the Govern' ment, and it was not until the terrible events of the next few weeks had demonstrated the necessity of discipline that it was willingly submitted to, and thoroughly enforced, and formed the basis of the system by which the army under General McClellan was re- organized. It may be supposed that with the thorough know- ledge of the real condition of the army which the The Battle of Commission had thus acquired, the result of Buirs Bun. the battle of Bull's Run could not much surprise its members. The battle itself proved the existence of some of the highest qualities of the soldier among the volunteers, but the disgraceful rout and confusion with which it ended, caused by a panic and a delusion, and the utter demoralization which followed it, showed plainly that the most brilliant courage in battle may be rendered wholly useless by radical defects in organization and dis- cipline. The Commission, as was its duty, had reiter- ated its warning to the Government in regard to these defects, but the advice which it had given, and which it had striven so hard to enforce, had been wholly unheeded. In order to ascertain accurately the causes which produced the fearful condition of things after the inquiry into the battle of Bull's Run, so far as they were Causes of the . . . Defeat. dependent upon the condition, physical and moral, of the men, and to determine how far the result was due to causes which a proper foresight could have guarded against, the Commission insti- INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 89 tuted, immediately after the battle, a minute inquiry into the whole subject. The nature and extent of this inquiry may be inferred when it is stated that it con- sisted of seventy-five questions, embracing almost every conceivable subject connected with the history of the battle. These questions were placed in the hands of seven Inspectors of the Commission, and answers were obtained from very many officers and men who had taken part in the battle, and these answers comprised nearly two thousand items of information. The questions referred to such points, among others, as these: the strength of the Regiments, their last meal, the first movement on the 21st, (the day of the battle,) the degree of vigor of the troops at the com- mencement of the battle, and the causes of exhaustion before it began ; the Commissariat service ; the extent of the exhaustion during the battle and its causes; the desertion of their commands by the officers ; the causes of the retreat; the distance passed over in accomplish- ing it; the physical and moral condition of the troops during its continuance; and the extent and degree of demoralization and its causes. The answers were carefully collated and tabulated by Mr. E. B. Elliott, the accomplished Actuary of the Commission, and it is believed that there is no instance in history in w T hich the causes of the loss of any considerable battle have been so thoroughly sifted and examined, on the spot, and within a week after the disaster, and in which the minutest details, affecting the result, have been so carefully preserved and their influence so accurately noted. The facts developed by this inquiry have of course a general interest wholly independent of any 12 90 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. question affecting the sanitary condition of the army. They proved so clearly the inefficiency of the Government measures in regard to the care and dis- cipline of the volunteers, that it was deemed prudent to withhold it from general circulation at the time.* It was adopted, however, by the Commission as its guide in the renewed efforts it proposed to make to induce the Government to adopt the only true means of avoiding similar disasters hereafter. It clearly proved the value of the recommendations made by the Commission previous to the opening of the campaign. In certain Regiments, the Second Rhode Island for instance, whose sanitary condition, in the largest sense, had been reported satisfactory before it left its camp for the battle-field, no taint of demoralization was visible. But in regard to the mass of the troops, and especially such portions of them as had been noto- riously neglected by their officers ever since they had arrived in Washington, it was very evident that their utter demoralization could be clearly traced to this ne- glect. For in such Regiments the depressing effect of long abstinence from food, exhaustion before the battle, an over-tasking of their physical powers in it, and the horrors of the retreat were wholly unchecked by the force of discipline. The men who had never been taught their duty as soldiers, now became a hungry and ferocious mob. The streets of Washing- ton presented a strange aspect for some days after the battle, and no where has the painful scene been better described than in this report of Mr. Olmsted. "The * It now forms Document No. 28 of the Commission and ia accessible to the public. INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 91 appearance of the streets," he says, "was in the strongest possible contrast to that which could be imagined of a city placed by a strong necessity under the severe control of an effective military discipline. Groups of men wearing parts of military uniforms and some of them with muskets were indeed to be seen ; but upon second sight they did not appear to be soldiers. Rather they were a most woe-begone rabble, which had perhaps clothed itself with the garments of dead soldiers left on a hard-fought battle-field. No two were dressed completely alike ; some were without caps, others without coats, others without shoes. All were alike excessively dirty, unshaven, unkempt, and dank with dew. The groups were formed around fires made in the streets, of boards wrenched from citizens' fences. Some were still asleep, at full length in the gutters and on door steps, or sitting on the curbstone resting their heads against the lamp-posts. Others were evidently begging for food at house-doors. Some appeared ferocious, others only sick and dejected, all excessively weak, hungry, and selfish. There was no apparent organization: no officers were seen among them, seldom even a non-commissioned officer. At Willard's Hotel, however, officers swarmed. They, too, were dirty and in ill-condition; but appeared in- different, reckless, and shameless, rather than dejected and morose." In this alarming condition of things the Govern- ment utterly paralyzed and helpless, sent for General McClellan, and being taught at last by the Reform in the & ., Discipline of the near prospect ot the enemy s advance to Army. Washington the real danger of its position, it invoked 92 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. for its salvation that spirit of discipline which it had previously so lightly valued. It had been said that it was impossible to enforce discipline among volunteers. General McClellan, with the cordial co-operation of the Government, now determined to try the experi- ment. The result was, what might have been ex- pected from the uncommon power of organizing possessed by the General, and the intelligence of the troops. Writing in September, Mr. Olmsted says; "Ten times the rigor of enforcement in regard to the regulations, that had been previously used with volunteers, has made the best of an ineffective system, and shown what might have been done with volun- teers before July. Even the demoralized Regiments, with but very few exceptions, are now in better con- dition, better spirit, in better health, than they were when they received the order for the advance to Bull Run. The very measures which the Commission urged, which it was said could not be enforced, would not be submitted to, and would be useless with volun- teers, are now rigidly enforced, are submitted to with manifest satisfaction by volunteers and are obviously producing the most beneficent results, and this equally in the new and in the older Regiments. The most exact disciplinarians are the favorites of the volun- teers; the best disciplined Regiments are the most contented Regiments." The lesson taught by the battle of Bull's Run was unquestionably the most wholesome lesson learned by Lessons taught tne people of the North during the whole by the defeat. war k u t j n our g ra titude, when we remem- ber that its stern teachings first settled the real duties INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 93 and position of the soldier, and placed the relations of the Government towards him on a juster and more rational basis, and forever scattered to the winds the poisonous doctrines with which the public mind and conscience had been drugged, we should not forget the fearful cost of blood and national humiliation at which that lesson had been learned. While the army was being re-organized under General McClellan, several subjects more immediately connected with the health of troops de- Condition of the manded the attention of the Commission. P it a i s . In no Department of the Government were its pre- parations less suited to meet the emergency than in that of the Military Hospitals. At the outset, from the necessity of the case, buildings constructed for totally different purposes were converted into Hos- pitals, and in the important matters of location, ventilation, accommodation for the patients in the wards, and conveniences outside of them, these build- ings combined those conditions which have been recognized by modern science as most unfavorable to the recovery of the sick. The attendants, the nurses, and the administrative staff generally, of those at least in the vicinity of Washington, were so un- qualified for their positions, that any civil hospital under such a management, would have been con- sidered a disgrace to the science and humanity of the country. This condition was made so apparent from an investigation made by Dr. Van Buren and Dr. Agnew, two of the most competent observers in the country, in the latter part of July, that the Com- mission thought it its duty to protest against its con- 94 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. tinuance, and to advise the Government to erect Hospitals specially adapted for the proper accommo- dation of the sick and wounded. It was recom- mended that arrangements should be made in them for the reception of fifteen thousand patients. These Hospitals were to be built according to what is known as the " Pavilion System," each ward forming one of a series of detached wooden buildings, capable of ac- commodating forty or fifty patients, and provided with all the appropriate conveniences needed by them. The report stated that this was the best modern system of Hospital construction, and if adopted would save both lives and money. The subject was thoroughly discussed during the September and Octo- ber sessions of the Commission. In their efforts to secure reform in this important matter the Members of the Board had the hearty co-operation of those Government officials to whose special Department, the execution of the plans for these Hospitals when approved by the Secretary of War, would be assigned. General Meigs, Quartermaster-General, General Van Vliet, Quartermaster of the Army of the Potomac, and Dr. Tripler, the Medical Director of that army, were all present during these discussions. They exhibited the greatest interest in the subject and requested the Commission to submit drawings and plans of buildings such as it would approve for Plans for Hospi- Hospital purposes. On the 26th of Sep- roritj* tem t>er, these plans, prepared under the commission. direction of a Committee consisting of Dr. Gibbs, Dr. Van Buren, and Dr. Agnew, were sent to the Government authorities. The subject was again INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 95 further discussed during the October session, and by the close of that month, the Commission had the satisfaction of learning that the plans submitted by it had been finally adopted by the Secretary of War with some slight modifications. The Government seemed disposed in this instance to invoke the direct aid and counsel of the Commission in a greater degree than it had ever done before. The War Department not only adopted the Commission's plans as a whole, but they requested certain of its members, supposed to possess special qualifications, to aid its own oificers in the selection of sites for five model Hospitals which were afterwards erected in accordance with these plans. For once, the suggestions of the Commission were met with a frank, cordial, and generous spirit on the part of the Government. Thus was inaugurated that great Hospital system, one of the noblest triumphs of the war, making slow progress indeed until after the re-organization of the Medical Bureau, but afterwards, when fully Eesult of the developed, resulting in the erection of build- New System. ings upon substantially the same plans as those first adopted, at all points where General Military Hospi- tals were located. The arrangements thus made for the care of the vast number of sick and wounded of the army were on a scale unprecedented in history, not only in their vastness, but in their fulfillment of all the requirements of humanity and science. The result has been, as is well known, a far lower rate of mortality here during the war than has ever been observed in the Military Hospitals of other countries, and it is well worthy of consideration how far this 96 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. result, so gratifying to our National pride and to our instincts of humanity, is due to the early, persistent, and at last successful efforts of the Sanitary Commis- sion to induce the Government to make suitable arrangements for the reception and care of the sick and wounded of the army. The Commission, while striving to settle upon a proper basis this momentous question, had not ne- - glected measures looking to the gradual - development of that part of their plan from the faithful execution of which they antici- pated the most permanent and satisfactory results the Inspection of Camps and Hospitals. The preliminary surveys which had been made, and which have been already referred to, although far from exhaustive in their character, had revealed so much of the real con- dition of the army, that they confirmed its estimate of the importance of maintaining constant and minute inquiries extending over all the various armies. The Commission watched with the greatest anxiety the slow progress of improvement in the health and morale of the army under the new system of discipline inaugurated and enforced by General McClellan, and it sought to discover in what way it could aid him, as well as the Generals in command in other parts of the country, in their efforts to promote the efficiency of the troops. The state of its Treasury having somewhat im- proved after the battle of Bull's Run, it was deter- permanent mined to employ six competent gentlemen as Inspectors of Camps. Of these Dr. Buell instructions. wa g assigned to the Camps in Missouri, Dr. INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 97 Aigner to Cairo, 111., Dr. Douglas to General Banks' Column in Northern Virginia, Mr. Dunning to Fort- ress Monroe, and Dr. Tomes and Mr. Knapp to the Department of the Potomac. It was of course fore- seen that the first difficulty would be to establish harmonious relations with the officers of the Regi- ments in the performance of a duty which was cer- tainly inquisitorial, and might be deemed meddle- some. The gentlemen selected as Inspectors were chosen with special reference to their power of ren- dering the faithful performance of this duty as little unpleasant as possible. They were minutely instructed to observe, with the greatest care, all the requirements of military etiquette, to advocate the most exalted ideas of military discipline, and above all things, and by every means in their power, to magnify and make honorable the arduous and respon- sible offices of the Surgeon. They were furnished with a list of questions, one hundred and eighty in number, prepared and arranged with the greatest care by the Secretary, assisted by those members of the Commission whose scientific knowledge suggested cer- tain special topics of inquiry.* These questions were intended to elicit information of the most exact and minute kind in regard to the actual condition of the men. They embraced such subjects as the site and general condition of the camps, the ventilation and condition of the tents, the bedding and clothing of the men, the source and quality of the water, the charac- ter of the rations and cooking, the general discipline of the camp, the character of the Medical Officers, the * See Documents of the Commission, Nos. 19, 19a. 13 98 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. sickness and mortality among the troops and its causes, and the nature of the Hospital accommoda- tion. These inspections were thoroughly and carefully made, and the study of the facts brought to light by them convinced the Board that by this means alone could it gain light to guide them in the performance of the duty which had been confided to it. But such was not the only nor perhaps the most important object had in view by the Commission in influence of the instituting this system of Inspection. It was ^P ec ^ that ^ e Agent, while pursuing his inquiries in the camps, would be listened to as an adviser also. The result did not disappoint this confident expectation. It would appear, at first sight, that the Commission was attaching undue im- portance to this portion of its work. To send a body of men, however respectable in personal character and attainments, and however inoffensive in their bearing towards those in authority, but without the slightest power to order the removal of evils which they might observe, to send such men into a Military Camp to inquire into matters which involved the competency of the officers for the proper performance of their duties, would seem at first sight a plan likely only to excite contempt, if not provoke insult from that class of officers, who really most needed advice and instruction. But no such result attended the experiment. The Inspectors were almost universally received with courtesy by the officers, and their suggestions were listened to with the greatest interest and attention. The specific evils in the camps which were pointed out by them might not always be cured, but this INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 99 was due in almost all cases to the same ignorance of the proper mode of remedying them, as that which had permitted their existence. The want of informa- tion on the part of some of the officers as to the nature and scope of their duties was very extraordi- nary, but the prevalent disposition was an anxiety to learn, as the prevalent feeling was a sense of their responsibility. When some of these men were told that their duties were not confined to mere routine drill and parade, and that the same army regulations which required a Captain to instruct his men in the manual, also enjoined upon him a daily inspection of the pots and kettles, bedding and clothing of his Company, their surprise was almost ludicrous. The suggestion that a Captain of Volunteers was to be expected to perform such duties was often indignantly repelled; he had not come into the army to keep a boarding-house, or act the chamber-maid. But with the great mass of the officers, suggestions like these led to serious reflection, and a determination to per- form all the duties of their position, however unex- pected or irksome they might prove. Thus it hap- pened, all through the war, that the system of Inspec- tion, although without the shadow of a military authority to enforce its recommendations, proved of the greatest benefit to the soldier, for if it did nothing else it taught the officers that they were to be the fathers of their men, as well as their leaders, and by timely suggestions of their duty it helped them to help themselves. This system of Inspection was maintained during the whole war as a distinguishing feature of the Com- 100 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. General reimite mission's work. As GVGTj day's experience inspecn. ma afforded new evidence of the value of this mode of prosecuting inquiry, it was gradually ex- tended to other fields of labor connected with the army organization, and always with the most 'favorable results. It will be seen hereafter in what various ways through its agency vast good was accomplished. It is not, perhaps, too much to say, looking back now to the full development of its capacity as a measure of prevention, that by its means many lives were saved, and some of the more obvious causes of disease either forestalled or removed. But before the war had lasted six months the Commission was satisfied that as an aid to the Government in ascertaining exactly the nature of the evils which impaired the efficiency of the army, by teaching the officers the importance of certain special duties towards their men, and in maintaining, as the representative of the people in the army a perpetual stimulus to the per- formance of those duties faithfully, it had proved an Agency of inestimable value. It soon became clear that the Commission, in its dis- interested labors could not reckon upon the aid and Eolations with co-operation of the Medical Bureau. It soon the Head of the Medical Bureau, appeared that the Surgeon-General had no admiration for the Commission, and no sympathy what- ever with its methods of accomplishing the objects of its appointment, to which, as we have said, he had reluct- antly consented. At the same time it was equally clear that all the old traditions of the army conceived in a spirit which never looked beyond the wants of ten or fifteen thousand men, and for that reason, if for INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 101 no other, wholly inapplicable to the existing emergency were to be maintained in all their vigor. It was hardly to be wondered at that a gentleman grown gray in the service, full of that esprit de corps so natural, so honorable, and in its place so useful among military men, who had spent long years in perfecting the details of a service which he conscientiously be- lieved to constitute a well ordered system fully adapted to the wants of the army, should dislike suggestions of radical change, or that he should especially resent the interference of so anomalous and unprecedented an Agency as the Sanitary Commission. With due respect for the personal character and former services of the Head of the Bureau, the Commission plainly perceived that his devotion to routine and his undis- guised hostility to their body would render all their plans for promoting the health and efficiency of the army practically worthless. The evidence of a daily growing want of harmony between the views of the Surgeon -General and themselves was furnished by the reports of all their Inspectors, and by their own observa- tion. After some hesitation the grave step of request- ing the Government either to remove the Surgeon - General from his post, or place him in honorable retire- ment was resolved upon. This measure was adopted by the Commission on the 12th of September. The Commission acted in this matter under the conscien- tious conviction that it would be impossible to execute the task confided to it by the Government unless such a change were made, and its relations with the Medical Bureau placed upon a more friendly and cordial footing. No such change was then made, 102 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and the evils which were deplored by the Commission, the far-reaching results of which were clearly foreseen, produced their natural fruit in the total inadequacy of the Medical Department to meet the claims upon it, a state of things which lasted until a thorough re- organization of the Bureau was effected principally by the agency of the Sanitary Commission. At the same time the Commission made some other important recommendations with a view of improving Various recom- ^he efficiency of the service, and looking mendations to secure greater specially to securing the careful and humane ler^cT 711 * treatment of the sick and wounded. In these recommendations they had the cordial aid and co-operation of General McClellan, but even his power, vast as it was at that time, could not pierce the hard- ened mass of routine and precedent which then impeded the efficient action of so many of the Govern- ment agencies. It was asked in the first place, that the General commanding the Army of the Potomac should select his own Medical Director, who should be responsible to him, and not to the Medical Bureau. This was rendered necessary in the opinion both of the Commission and the General, by the defective organi- zation of that Bureau, and its apparent utter inability to appreciate in any true spirit the responsibilities of its position. Although the application was enforced by the statement that the most "insufficient provision had as yet been made for the wants of the sick and wounded of that army, and that it was now too late to embarrass the hand that would seek to supply the crying deficiencies with any other responsibility than such as was due to the General commanding," yet it INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 103 was of course contrary to all precedent, and was there- fore denied. The Commission also asked that an "Ambulance Regiment" should be created under General McClel- lan's direction, with the utmost promptness, Aml)u i ance Ee _ and that, in view of the utter want of ex- ^ mii perience, the neglect, and even the positive inhu- manity of the soldiers detailed as nurses, as well as in order to secure the services of all enlisted men in the discharge of their ordinary military duties a corps of nurses, men, and women also, if deemed expedient, should be engaged for the special care of the sick and wounded. This application met the same fate as that concerning the position of the Medical Director. The neglect of these recommendations vastly increased the horrors of the Peninsular Campaign. The want of proper arrangements for the transportation of the sick and wounded, and the character of the nurses provided by the Government during that campaign were such as to be in the highest degree disgraceful to the reputation of the country for administrative ca- pacity, and for humanity. It is not, of course, intended to assert that this sad condition of things arose from any wilful neglect of duty on the part of the subor- dinate officers of the Bureau. It was due to that utter inadequacy of means to the end in view which its chiefs were unable to comprehend, and to the blind guidance which they afforded to a Government which with equal blindness was willing to follow it. Finally the Commission asked that in view of the unreasonable, and indeed illegal, attitude assumed by the Medical Bureau toward a body specially appointed 104 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Complaints of a by the President to advise and assist it want of co-ope- . . . . ration on the in its labors, its relations with that Bureau should be placed on a basis of entire con- fidence and co-operation, its disinterested counsel should be received without jealousy, and its re- quests when made in writing should be granted, or reasons given in writing why they were denied. No answer was vouchsafed to this application, and the Commission with heavy heart, but undiminished cour- age, was left to pursue its thankless task in the cold shade of Government neglect and indifference. The truth was that the Commission had already made it- self too much felt as a power in the army to gratify those in official authority, but it was also too deeply set in the affections of the people to render an open attack upon it prudent. It was disposed to rip up too many old abuses, to disturb too profoundly the self- complacency of those who thought that the most diffi- cult problems of the time could be solved by some easy process of routine and precedent ; it was far too inquisitive, earnest and persistent to invite the sym- pathy of those who had so long borne rule in the offices at Washington. Not a word was whispered against the purity and disinterestedness of the motives of its members, or the wisdom of its counsel, or the extreme delicacy with which its Agents respected the acknow- ledged rights of official authority, but it was meddle- some, because it seemed determined to get at the root of the evil, and very troublesome because it suggested methods of reform hitherto unknown to the bureau- cracy of the Government. Its members were, doubt- less, it was said, good men, but they were sentimen- INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 105 talists, not because they recommended measures wholly unwise, but because it was impossible for any one, however able, not thoroughly versed in the details of the service, to suggest any reform, however apparently judicious or necessary, which could have any practical value. But the members of the Commission did not look to Government for encouragement; all they asked, as has been said before, was permission to work. They found their reward in their own consciences, and although humiliated by the evident want of sympathy with their arduous labors manifested by the authori- ties, they looked with the utmost confidence to being sustained by that High Court of Errors and Appeals called in this country Public Opinion, a tribunal which does not hesitate to reverse very often the judg- ment of Presidents, of Secretaries, and even of Chiefs of Bureaus, and force them all at last to submit to decrees based not on considerations of prescription and usage, but upon the eternal laws of right and justice and humanity. The Commission was busily engaged during the latter portion of the year in introducing into every division of the army its system of Inspec- various aepart- tion. The important questions concerning ent8 ? f th , e - Commission's voluntary contributions of hospital supplies, work organized. the extent and character of the relief which should be given to soldiers in " irregular circumstances," and the collection, arrangement, and preservation of the vital statistics of the army were also carefully studied. Having been thoroughly considered in all their aspects, and the exact nature of the duty to the Commission in relation to them being clearly defined and settled, 14 106 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. separate departments were created under the general organization of the Commission, which should have these subjects in special charge. The operations of these departments form, in popular estimation at least, the most conspicuous feature of the Commission's work, and it will be necessary therefore hereafter to present a somewhat detailed account of their true scope, and the methods by which their designs were accomplished. We need say here only that their early establishment in the history of the Commission is an evidence of the thorough and conscientious spirit with which the work was entered upon, and of the broad foundation upon which all its plans for improving the health and effi- ciency of the army were based. The vast increase of the army during the first six months of the war, seventy-five thousand men having been called out early in May, and eight hundred thousand during the month of July, only made clearer to its members their percep- tions of their duty, and stimulated them to renewed activity and vigor. Towards the close of the year the Commission pre- sented to the Secretary of War an elaborate report of The commis- the result of its labors.* This report, pre- SLXo* P ared b y the General Secretar y> Mr - oim- War - sted, was as remarkable for the wide and comprehensive survey it presented of the peculiar needs of the newly raised volunteers, as for the clear and definite statements it made of what the Commis- sion had done, and what it proposed to do in aiding to supply those needs. The report attracted universal attention at home, and inspired the public with confi- * See Doc. No. 40. INSPECTION OF CAMPS AND HOSPITALS. 107 dence both in the Commission's plans, and in the sound judgment of the men who had devised them, while it extorted unwilling praise even from foreign and un- friendly journals. It exhibited a picture of the actual condition of the army made up from the results of nearly four hundred inspections. The returns from these inspections embraced every column of the army, and they were carefully tabulated by the Actuary of the Commission. The Secretary was thus enabled to survey the whole field, and to speak with positive certainty as to the real condition of things. The important ques- tion of " encamping," with its manifold ramifications, was thoroughly examined by the light of the experi- ence thus gained. Camp sites and drainage, the tents with their poor material and want of ventilation, and the defectiveness of the camp police were treated upon at large, and the necessity of measures to improve their condition pointed out and enforced. The clothing of the men, their want of personal cleanli- ness, the defectiveness of the cooking arrangements, and the general absence of strict discipline in the army and its causes, were topics that furnished a most instructive and interesting chapter of the Report. The vastly important questions of the prevailing dis- eases in the army with their tendencies, the hospital accommodations, and the qualifications of the surgeons were discussed at great length, and with much force, and the grave defects of the military administration in these respects fearlessly exposed. Many other sub- jects affecting the condition of the troops were brought to the notice of the Government, and the whole Report must be considered as the most exhaustive and autho- 108 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. ritative expost of the various causes which affect the true efficiency of an army that has ever been made public. While the dangers of the condition were thus boldly presented, the remedies for existing evils were clearly indicated. Not the least characteristic feature of this Report is the tone of perfect sincerity, earnest- ness, and ardent love of country which pervades it throughout. The Commission felt the responsibility of its position, and while not unmindful of the deli- cacy of its relations with the Government, it was de- termined that no false spirit of compromise with evils which were poisoning the very life-blood of the Repub- lic should degrade its policy. Perfectly convinced of the enormity of these evils, and the possibility of the removal of most of them by timely and judicious measures, and determined to urge constantly upon the Government the absolute necessity of the performance of its duty, the Commission did not hesitate to define thus the position it occupied : "The one point which controls the Commission is just this: A simple desire and resolute determination to secure for the men who have enlisted in this war that care which it is the duty and the will of the nation to give them. That care is their right, and in the Government or out of it, it must be given them, let who will stand in the way." CHAPTER Y. EE-OEGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUEEAU AND APPOINT- MENT OF A NEW SUEGEON-GENEEAL. THE early months of the year 1862, it will be re- membered, were not marked by military operations which resulted in great battles, at least on Military Ex pe - land. The period was one rather of prepa- pat f ration and expectancy, than of actual con- 1862. flict. The expeditions of General Burnside to Roan- oke Island, that of General Sherman to Port Royal, and that of General Butler to New Orleans, were each accompanied by Agents of the Commission, Inspec- tors and Relief Officers, who, as far as the limited means at their disposal permitted, endeavored to apply its methods to the care of the health, and to the im- provement of the efficiency of the men in these several armies. In each of these expeditions, the troops suffered much from ignorance on the part of their officers, as to the best mode of caring for them while on shipboard, and when they were trans- ferred to their new quarters on land. A judicious distribution of suitable "Sanitary" stores was made, and many practical suggestions offered by the Agents of the Commission looking to the improvement of the 109 110 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. condition of the men, were adopted by the military authorities. While the Commission did not neglect its duty of providing for the wants of these distant expeditions, Preparation and j^g c hj e f attention was fixed upon plans for distribution of . i Medical and the general improvement of the military administration, so far as it related to the hygienic and sanitary interests of the army. Among the practical inconveniences which had been observed by its Inspectors in the prosecution of their work, was the want of familiarity on the part of many of the Surgeons with those latest teachings of medical science, which would enable them to treat skilfully and successfully the sick and wounded under their charge. The low standard of professional ability in the army at that time, was perhaps unavoidable, for the Surgeons had been selected from civil life, in many cases, with hardly greater care than had been shown in the choice of the other officers of the Regiments. Besides, they were called upon to treat diseases in the Military Hospitals, with which they had been little familiar in private practice, and under circumstances in which they were necessarily unable to consult books which might have enlightened their ignorance. In view of this condition of things, the Commission requested certain of its Associate Members, men of eminent professional reputation in various parts of the country, to prepare a number of concise treatises, recording the latest results of medical investigation, concerning those diseases which expe- rience has proved always prevail in large armies. The gentlemen applied to performed their task with RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. Ill remarkable skill and fidelity, and the result was that these treatises or monographs, embracing a com- pendious system of instruction on many important medical and surgical questions arising in military practice, formed for the Army Surgeons a portable medical library, of great value. These monographs, nineteen in number, were prepared at intervals, and distributed by the Commission to all the Medical Officers of the army. The mode thus adopted for increasing the efficiency of the service is another illus- tration of the wide and comprehensive views taken by the Commission of the nature of the duty confided to it. These little manuals were gladly welcomed by the Surgeons, and perhaps nothing contributed more to maintain cordial relations between them and the Agents of the Commission, than this practical proof of the enlightened and liberal policy adopted by it, a policy which was prompted by an earnest desire to help them to help themselves. [See Appendix, No. 8.] But the great work of the Commission, without the accomplishment of which it was felt, that all else it might do, would prove but of partial and Re-organization , ~. , i T- of the Medical temporary benefit, was the RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. Its members were convinced, that while the existing sys- tem continued with its utter inadequacy of means to the end, and especially with the positive indisposition shown on all occasions by its higher officers so to modify its arrangements as properly to provide for all the needs of the new condition, there could be no per- manent improvement in the care of the sick and wounded. They determined, therefore, to strike at the 112 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. root of the evil, and to insist upon a thorough reform, to be effected through the legislation of Congress. There were many considerations which induced them to undertake the task of urging Congress to pass such a bill, a task always arduous and distasteful in its nature, even when the dearest interests of humanity are involved in the success of such an effort. Aside from their convictions of the absolute neces- sity of the measure itself, perhaps one of the strongest Motives for this motives which influenced them, was a hope M*' that they might be thus relieved from their own painful and thankless functions. They felt that their work would be in a great measure completed as soon as the needed reform was accomplished by legisla- tion, and when some portion of that life and energy and effectiveness which was then beginning to be observed in some of the other important branches of the military service had been infused into the Medical Bureau. Ex- perience had taught them the folly of attacking evils in detail, while the principle of the evil still existed in full force in the system itself. If the particular evil was abated by their agency, yet other evils not before con- spicuous soon forced themselves, hydra-headed, upon their observation, until they seemed to be engaged in a task not only wearisome and endless, but utterly barren of results at all commensurate with the labor required for the radical reform of abuses. They hoped then to embody in a measure to be sanctioned by Congress, provisions which would force the Medical Department to do through its regular official channels the work which the Commission had hitherto done so partially and so unsatisfactorily. If they could succeed in this RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 113 way in securing the appointment of a Surgeon -General who should have some adequate conception of the real wants of the Army, and capacity and energy enough to carry into execution such a liberal system of pro- viding for those wants as Congress might be induced to prescribe, and particularly if a thorough system of inspection could be established and enforced by official authority, they felt that vast progress would have been made in accomplishing the very purposes which it was the object of their appointment to secure. Their struggles with the War Department and the Medical Bureau had been unceasing ; their suggestions of re- form were often unheeded ; their warnings of certain impending danger had induced no proper precautions ; they had tired out everybody in authority with their importunity for the remedy of abuses, and they now determined to make an effort to give that practical effect to their plans by force of law, which they had tried so long, and in vain to do by argument and per- suasion. If they could succeed in this object they would gladly return to the Government the imperfect and inadequate powers which had been conferred upon them, and with entire confidence retire from the field, placing the responsibility for the humane and proper care of the sick and wounded upon that department of the Government, where they had always contended it rightfully belonged. It will be observed that at this period the Sanitary Commission could have formed a very imperfect idea of the labors which the future had in store for it. At that time its system of Hospital and Battle-field relief, and many other branches of its work had just been 15 114 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The MI scope of commenced. It was impossible to foresee the g rand developement of its plans which was caused by subsequent events. At that time every part of its system was subordinate to the preventive service, its treasury was low, its Hospital supplies which during the war amounted to over fifteen millions of dollars in value, were comparatively limited, and a general impression prevailed that the war would not be of long duration. Hence the thoughts and energy of its officers were concentrated upon an effort to render this preventive service thorough and practical, and as the best means to that end they endeavored to secure a re-organization of the Medical Department. It should be remarked, that there was nothing unusual or offensive in thus directing the attention of Defects in cer- Congress specially to the defects of the tain Govern- * * ureaus at Medical Bureau. These defects were con- the commence- i i *j. *^ i i ment of the war. spicuous, simply, because it was inevitable, that an administration which had performed its work creditably during the time of peace, should be un- suited to the emergencies of a war of colossal propor- tions. The necessity of finding new means to accom- plish different ends, was just as apparent in all the branches of the Government service in direct relation with the Army, as it was in the Medical Bureau. No popular outcry was needed to procure a complete re- organization of the Quartermaster's and Subsistence departments, or of the Corps of Engineers. In each of these important branches of the service, and in the selection of officers to command the different armies, the time-honored principle of promotion by seniority RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 115 had been ignored. The evidence was constant and irresistible, that without some such changes the Army could not be kept together as an organized force. The Government did not hesitate therefore one moment to sacrifice routine, usage, and precedent, to what was clearly the law of absolute necessity. The reason why the defects of the Medical Bureau were not at once in like manner recognized and remedied, was undoubtedly, because the evils arising from those defects, were to persons unfamiliar with the subject not as obvious and as immediate in their results, at the outset of the war at least, as those existing in the other Bureaus. The mass of mankind, and particularly of those called upon to govern in an emergency such as that of the Rebellion, concern themselves only Difficulty in se- with practical difficulties. They have per- mentation? 111 haps too much to do with the troubles of the present, to incline them to take precautions against evils which they think uncertain, or which at any rate can bear their fruit only in the future. It became therefore the imperative duty of those, who had studied the causes of the inefficiency of armies, to urge upon the Govern- ment the adoption of wise measures of precaution in everything which related to the vital question of the health of the troops. Their business was to instruct those who seemed profoundly ignorant of the ele- mentary principles of the subject, that it was just as essential to success, that the health and comfort of the soldiers should be carefully looked after, as that arrangements for their food and shelter, and for selecting the most competent officers to com- 116 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. mand them, should be thoroughly organized and carried out in practice. The history of the Medical Department previous to the war, is that of a Bureau whose operations were sketch of the confined to the wants of fifteen thousand Mdi Bureau. men on a peace establishment. Its person- nel consisted at the outbreak of the Rebellion of a Surgeon-General, twenty-six Surgeons, and eighty Assistant Surgeons. Of the Surgeons many were in- capacitated for all duty, and one-half were unfitted for service in the field. The average length of service of the first thirteen on the list was thirty-two years, and that of the remaining, twenty-three years. By an act passed in 1834 a rigid examination of candidates for the post of Assistant- Surgeon in the Army was made necessary, and many young men of promise were thus introduced into the medical staff. These officers were scattered at isolated points on the frontier, without access to books, having no contact with their professional brethren in civil life, and with very little opportunity while their duties confined them to the medical care of a single company of soldiers, of improving themselves in a knowledge of that science which is perhaps of all others the most progressive. At these remote garrisons they were kept for at least five years, and the consequence was, that unless, in rare and exceptional cases, their professional am- bition became deadened from the simple want of a stimulus to preserve it in proper activity. Zeal for professional advancement indeed too often became subordinate to the interest which was felt in questions of military rank and precedence, petty subjects, the RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 117 discussion of which in the absence of loftier topics enlivened the dull routine of garrison life. The pro- gress of the war proved that many of these Surgeons, particularly the younger among them, removed to a wider sphere of action, and permitted to carry out a more liberal system, recovered from the pressure, by which their energies during years of the mechanical performance of mere routine duties had become im- paired. Some of them indeed during the war gained great and deserved distinction by the executive ability which they displayed in the administration of some of the higher offices of the medical staff. Still the tendency of the condition of things by which the Surgeons of the army were surrounded before the war, was necessarily towards complete stagnation in respect of everything which could stimulate a true professional zeal. Bril- liant indeed must have been the powers, and strong the thirst for professional knowledge which could long have resisted the deadening influence of a long exile from the great centres of science and civilization. The operations of the Bureau before the war, were on a scale, and conducted upon a system, which may be inferred from the limited number of the Limited scale of members of the staff, and the dispersion of before the war. the Army in small detachments, in garrisons along our extensive frontier. The arrangements existing in European armies for the care of the sick and wounded, which had improved with the increasing knowledge of medical science, and the more general diffusion of humane principles, were considered inapplicable to our limited establishment. Our Medical authorities there- fore, as they had no occasion to imitate them, con- 118 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. cerned themselves little about such improvements. It seems incredible, upon any other supposition, that de- ficiencies, such as were supplied during the war, could have existed at its commencement. It is perhaps still more extraordinary that any one who was at all fa- miliar with the subject, could have supposed it possible that the old machinery, however modified, could have been made to perform the new work demanded of it. Before the war no such establishment as a General Hospital existed in the army; the military hospitals Hopitai system were all Post Hospitals, that at Fort Lea- before the war. venworth, the largest, containing but forty beds. It was necessary, therefore, to create in the midst of the crisis the entire system by which these establishments, so indispensable to the operations of a large army in the field, are governed. There were at that time no suitable buildings, no trained, efficient and numerous medical staff; no well-instructed nurses, no regulations or arrangements for a suitable diet for the sick, or provision for their clothing ; no properly understood relations between General Hospitals and Regimental Hospitals ; no means for supplying promptly proper medicines, and no arrangements for the humane and careful transportation of the sick and wounded. As we have before said, patients were crowded in the early part of the war into buildings wholly unsuited for their successful treatment. The agony and suffering which were endured by them during the first nine months of its continuance, owing to the delay in the construction of proper General Hospitals, can never be accurately known, but it is not easy to over-estimate it. The vivid recollection of the RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 119 horrors of these miscalled Hospitals, which were ap- parent at that time to the most careless observer, is all that is necessary now to justify the strenuous efforts which were made by humane men throughout the country, to effect a radical change in the whole system. Previous to the war, there was no organized system of Inspection of Camps and Hospitals, as a means of enabling the Medical Department to per- NO inspection of form its duties intelligently and thoroughly ; P it a is. indeed no officer, bearing the name of Inspector, or invested with functions, such as have been for many years considered indispensable in foreign armies, could be found in ours. The greatest improvement in all modern administrative service, has been the adoption of a system looking to the prevention of evils. The true principle has been ascertained to be, not to wait until the evil is developed, but to anticipate it, hence of all services in an army, that of the Medical Staff whose business it should be, not merely to take care of sick men, but also to make provision, that those in health should not become sick, requires the constant vigilance and intelligent inquiry of a thorough system of Inspection. By such means alone, can the causes, which threaten the health of the troops, be ascertained and their consequences guarded against. Inspectors, with such functions, would seem to be the eyes of the Head of the department, and in any intel- ligent administration of its affairs, their reports would be relied upon, to enable him to determine the general policy to be pursued in the performance of his duties. In no respect perhaps was the old Medical Bureau in its attempt to apply its methods to the 120 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. vastly increased needs of its new position, more obviously deficient, than in this essential particular. The practical administration of the affairs of the Bureau was also much impeded, by its strangely com- plicated relations with the Quartermaster's and Sub- with sistence Departments of the Army. To the the QuartermaB- tor and Subsist- first of these belonged by law, exclusively tne construction of Hospitals and their equipment, the vital matter of the transportation of the sick and wounded, and the performance of a number of other duties, seriously affecting the sanitary condi- tion of the troops. To the other, the supply of their food, which in any large view of the question, as affect- ing their suitable alimentation, was a medical or at least a hygienic matter of the very first practical im- portance. The Medical Bureau was wholly powerless to control the action of either of these Departments and so to shape their policy, towards those who were sick, or towards those who being well, were in danger from neglect of proper precaution of becoming sick, that they might receive the benefit of the vast modern improvements, which have been made, in this direc- tion. Before the war, while the army was small, and the number of the officers of the Medical Staff so in- considerable, that the Surgeon -General was able to detect the non-accounting by any one of them, of the most trifling article issued, the evils arising from so clumsy a system, were not very serious. There were no General Hospitals, and therefore it was unnecessary for the officers of the Quartermaster's Department, to provide any but the rudest form of accommodation, for a small number of men. There were no large depots, RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 121 filled with thousands of recruits, drawn from a class, who lived comfortably in their own homes, and hence the ordinary ration had produced no inconvenience to those who enlisted in the regular army. But when the war began, the whole scene changed. Almost im- mediately came the demand for properly constructed General Hospitals, and a suitable alimentation, for the newly raised volunteers. The Medical Department was in popular estimation responsible for the whole difficulty, whereas, even had it then been able to see clearly the evil, it would have been powerless to provide a remedy. By law, and by regulation, the Quarter- master's Department was charged, as we have seen, with the duty of erecting and equipping the military hospitals. Its officers naturally hesitated to construct them on the vast scale, and with all the appliances, which were called for by those outside the Government, who claimed to have thoroughly investigated the sub- ject. The proper construction of Hospital buildings is of course, a purely scientific question, understood only by Medical men, who have had practical expe- rience in the needs of such institutions. It was not to be expected, that a matter so foreign to the ordinary duties of the officers of the Quartermaster's Depart- ment, could be properly studied by them, particularly at the time, when their strength was overtasked by the immense labor required for the performance of duties more in the line of their ordinary service. To bring about a harmonious combination between these two Departments, to get the Medical Bureau in the first place, to see the absolute necessity for the erection of suitable buildings upon a large scale, without delay, 16 122 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and then to convince the Quartermaster's Department of the propriety of executing the plans, on the requisi- tion of the Medical Bureau, was a matter, which in- volved in the condition of things at that time, serious difficulties, and required most patient and persistent effort, to accomplish. The utter absence of any control by the Medical Bureau, direct or indirect, over the quantity or com- ponent parts of the army ration was also a defect, the result of which was clearly visible in the sickness which occurred in the early part of the war, among the new recruits, in consequence of the food provided for them being unsuited in its character, and not com- posed of a sufficient variety of articles. These were some of the more obvious evils of the system, which existed at the commencement of the ETiiB resulting Rebellion, evils which soon made them- ftom the bade- se i ves f e u j n fa e confusion, embarrassment. quacy of the Bureau. and inefficiency of the whole service of caring for the sick and wounded. These evils were apparent to any one who took the trouble to examine into the practical workings of the system. They be- came more and more painfully impressed upon the Sanitary Commission every day, for scarcely a day passed in which some shocking instance of inhumanity and neglect was not brought to its notice, which \vas fairly attributable to them. It was determined that its duty could only be properly performed, not by at- tempting to fix the responsibility of this condition of things on the officials who had been trained under the existing system, but by an effort to uproot the system itself, as wholly worthless for the purpose in view. It RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 123 was proposed to substitute a new organization founded upon some proper appreciation of the real wants of the case. Representing the popular benevolence of the country towards the Army, and with a full view of all the facts, the Sanitary Commission was satisfied that nothing less than such a complete re-organization would cure the difficulty. It commenced, therefore, a movement to effect it, as we have said, by Congres- sional legislation. It asked for certain specific objects in the proposed change. It desired, in the first place, that the princi- ple of promotion by seniority, among the Objects proposed higher officers of the staff, should be aban- doned. It wished to see at the head of the Bureau, a young man of active and vigorous habits, and decided character, with professional ability and practical ex- perience, which would enable him to grapple with the difficulties of the situation, who, while introducing all the improvements of modern science, in the humane and skilful care of the sick and wounded, would have energy enough to enforce their universal adoption in practice. It urged also that a complete and thorough system of Inspection should be established, and that a special corps of Inspectors should be appointed, through whose agency the reform of evils should be faithfully carried out. It asked that General Hospitals should be erected, wherever needed, upon plans recog- nized as best by universal European experience, and that the construction of these Hospitals should be superintended by officers who had some knowledge of the requirements of such buildings, and who would exhibit some zeal and energy in executing the plans. 124 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. It wished that the transportation service of the sick and wounded should be transferred from the Quarter- master's to the Medical Department, and that an en- larged Ambulance system, under the special control of that Department, should be created. It was anxious that a large accumulation of medicines and Hospital supplies should be constantly maintained in the depots of the Medical Purveyors, so that the evil consequences, which had arisen from the long delays in furnishing such supplies, should not again occur. It wished also that some arrangements should be made, by which men who were languishing in Hos- pitals from diseases which rendered them incapable of further military service, should be discharged and sent home, and that those who remained under treat- ment should be provided with Hospital clothing and a proper diet. In bringing this subject before Congress, in order to secure the proper legislation by which the objects we The subject have enumerated should be accomplished, Congress. the Sanitary Commission was, as we have said, only the exponent of the anxious desire of the American people, who demanded the best possible care for the suffering of the Army. Its efforts were aided, of course, by the influence of many professional and benevolent men throughout the country, and no less effectually, though perhaps more quietly, by some of the junior members of the Medical Staff itself, who were perfectly aware of the deficiencies of the system, and welcomed gladly the prospect of the enactment of any law likely to add to the reputation of the corps for efficiency. Reforms as radical as those proposed by RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 125 the Commission make slow progress, even where their necessity is most obvious. Class interests and vested rights are always respectable things, particularly when they are represented in the persons of those excellent men, excellent in their purity of character and mo- tive, whom the proposed reorganization would dis- place. It became therefore necessary to enlighten the Military Committees of both Houses of Congress upon the absolute necessity of a change, and to base the proposed action upon the broad ground that it was essential to the preservation of the Army. It was difficult to make Congress understand, in the midst of all its preoccupations, the importance of the subject. Considerations of mere humanity obstacles to its seemed to have but little influence. It was t ion. generally admitted, that the evils complained of ex- isted, but it was said that their importance and their consequences were exaggerated. To correct these false impressions, the Commission resolutely set itself to work. After all the usual means of influence with members of Congress had been resorted to, consisting in personal appeals, the earnest recommendation of the project by persons of position throughout the country, visits of influential deputations to Washington, discus- sions in the newspapers, and the like, the Commission was at last rewarded on the 18th of April, 1862, by the passage of a bill entitled, " An Act to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of the Army." This Bill, although omitting some important fea- tures which had been proposed, still substantially cre- ated a system for the future operations of the Medi- 126 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Passage of the cal Department, which the Commission had BUI. Its provi- . _ . sions. striven so long to secure. By this most important law, the appointment of the Surgeon-Gene- ral and of the higher officers of the staff, was to be made from the most competent officers of the whole corps, thus ignoring the usage of promotion by seni- ority. This was a most important step in the right direction, for if the Surgeon -General could be really appointed on the ground of qualification only, as the Bill directed, an efficient head of the whole system was secured, and vast progress towards a satisfactory re- sult was made. Eight Medical Inspectors were also provided for by the Bill, and it may be here said in passing, that far larger powers of remedying evils were supposed to have been conferred upon them by it than they ever actually exercised in practice. Provi- sions were embodied in the Bill in reference to the transportation of the sick and wounded, and to the General Hospital administration, which experience had shown to be so much needed, and which those who were interested in the subject had striven so long and so wholly in vain to introduce under the old system. The law, of course, presented a mere outline or general sketch of the principles of the re-organization of a Medical Bureau such as Congress desired to establish, for in an administrative service of this kind, it is im- possible, in a general measure, to provide for all the details which clothe the skeleton, and give life and vigor to the whole body. These details based upon the general principle of the law, must be the work of him who administers the service, so that on him de- volves a task for any practical purpose quite as im- RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 127 portant as that of the Legislature itself. Hence the vast importance of selecting a man as Surgeon-General to set the machinery in motion, who was thoroughly imbued with a sense of the value of the principles es- tablished by the law, and who would be wholly in earn- est in his desire to reduce them to practical application. The post was one of singular difficulty and embar- rassment, and yet of such peculiar honor and distinc- tion, that its attainment naturally became an object of the ambition of some of the ablest men of the Medical Staff of the Army. The Sanitary Commission which had watched with so much care and anxiety the pro- gress of the measure which it had proposed Efforts to secure to Congress, and could at last congratulate Appointment of the Surgeon- the country on its adoption, felt that its task General. was only half done, until a competent man was selected for the post of Surgeon- General. The qualities essential to an officer occupying such a position had long been the subject of careful inquiry and study, upon which much light had been shed by the daily intercourse of the members of the Commission with some of the officials of the old Bureau. As has been stated, the removal of the incumbent, had been urged upon the Government in September 1861, upon the ground, that he lacked the essential requisites, for the successful administration of the Bureau, even as then organized. Under the re-organization, it was necessary to seek for a man, who would thoroughly develop in practice, its salutary provisions. Among the officers of the Medical Staff, whose zeal, intelligence,and successful administration of his duties, had commanded most thoroughly the confidence and 128 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. admiration of the Inspectors of the Commission, was Dr. William A. ^H. WlLLIAM A. HAMMOND, at that time, Hammond. an Assistant Surgeon in the regular Army. He had been employed since the outbreak of the Re- bellion in organizing General Hospitals at Chambers- burg, Hagerstown, Baltimore and Wheeling, and his appreciation of the wants of such establishments, and the enlarged and liberal spirit with which he attempted to supply their deficiencies were so conspicuous, that they could not fail to attract the attention of the In- spectors of the Commission. These Inspectors, who were Medical men, and fully competent to form a correct judgment on the subject, entertained a very high opinion of Dr. Hammond's administrative capacity In the reports made by them to the Commission, they spoke in unqualified terms of praise of the reforms introduced by him into the Hospitals at some of these places, and of the rapidly improving condition of the patients in them, as due to the measures adopted by him. In this way, Dr. Hammond's name first became known to the members of the Commission. He was not only a stranger to all of them, save one, but with that excep- tion his existence even, was previously unknown to any one of them. As they were searching in vain, among the officers of the Medical Staff, with whom they had made acquaintance in Washington, for some one, whom they could recommend for the post of Surgeon-General, their attention had been thus directed to Dr. Ham- mond. Upon further inquiry it appeared, that Dr. Hammond was comparatively a young man, who had served more than eleven years previous to the war, as an Assistant Surgeon in the army. He had acquired, RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 129 while in the service, a very high reputation among his professional brethren in civil life, as a man of science, and of great powers of original observation. A repu- tation of this kind in an officer of the Medical Corps, the period of whose service had been mostly passed, in garrisons on the remote frontier, was so unusual, that it at once suggested the possession on his part of great force and vitality of intellect, and a capacity for broad and comprehensive views of policy, which the long continued influence of narrow routine and formal- ism tends to crush out of less gifted minds. It ap- peared also, that Dr. Hammond's reputation was not merely, that of a man of science and professional skill, but that his career in the Army had been marked by the faithful and successful performance of his special duties as a Medical Officer, within the limited sphere in which those duties permitted him to work. He had given to the subject of Hospital construction and administra- tion, the great need of the time, more thought and study probably, than any member of the Medical Staff. His opinions on this all-important matter, had been in a great part formed, or modified by a thorough examination of the great military hospitals in different countries of Europe. He was perfectly familiar with foreign military systems, so far as the administration of their medical service was concerned, and such an experience at a time when it was easy to see the defects in the existing system here, but not so easy to suggest the best practical remedy, would prove of course, of immense value, in settling the details of the new or- ganization. In addition to these essential requisites for the position, he had exhibited a zeal and interest, in 17 130 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the reputation of the Medical Staff of the Army, which was esteemed a very important element in forming an estimate of his pretensions as a candidate. At the outbreak of the Rebellion he held the office of Professor of Physiology and Anatomy in the Univer- sity of Maryland, and was besides engaged in lucrative practice as a Physician in Baltimore. Scarcely a year before, he had resigned his position as Assistant Surgeon to enter upon a wider field of duty, and to prosecute his favorite studies under more congenial auspices. When the war broke out he did not hesitate at once to abandon his Professorship, and to re-enter the Army at the foot of the list of Assistant Surgeons. He had been constantly and actively employed ever since, and his great merit had been recognized as we have said at a very early period, by the Inspectors of the Commission. He was besides, thoroughly impressed with the deficiencies of the existing system, and he cor- dially agreed with the officers of the Commission, and other humane men, both as to the nature of the abuses, and the necessity of making strenuous efforts to remove them. In the autumn of 1861, the Commission had been thoroughly convinced by the information it had gathered from every quarter, that he was the best man for the place. At that time it urged the removal of the existing Head of the Bureau, and the appoint- ment of Dr. Hammond as his successor. Insurmount- able difficulties arose however, not only from the diffi- culty of displacing the actual incumbent, but also from a strong personal dislike, entertained by Mr. Cameron, then Secretary of War, toward Dr. Hammond, a dis- like which had its origin, it was said, in an old family RE- ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 131 quarrel. It is pitiable to record, that there were great reasons to fear, lest the inefficiency of the Medical Bureau, involving the precious lives and health of so many thousands of our countrymen, would be perpetu- ated on grounds like these. The failure to secure his appointment at that time however, gave further oppor- tunity for inquiry, and the evidence became more and more clear, that the first impressions as to his peculiar fitness, were well founded. These impressions were strongly confirmed, by an event, which occurred about this time. In their efforts to procure the appointment of a suitable Surgeon- General, the Commission did not neglect, as may be supposed, to invoke the interven- tion of General McClellan, all-powerful at that time. No one knew better than he, the defects of the system, and no one was more anxious for reform, and especially for the appointment of a competent officer, as Head of the Bureau. In a conversation with the President of the Commission, in which the General expressed his great desire to accomplish so important an object, he took up an Army list, and going over the names of all the members of the Medical Staff in rotation, dis- cussed with remarkable intelligence the peculiar qualifications of each. To each one, subjected to such a scrutiny, some objection existed in his opinion, which would render his appointment injudicious, until towards the foot of the list, he came to the name of Dr. Ham- mond. He said at once, " He is our man. He is the only one of the whole corps, who has any just concep- tion of the duties of such a position, and sufficient energy, faithfully to perform them." When therefore the Bill for the reorganization of the Medical Depart- 132 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. ment became a law, the Commission felt itself justified on every account, in urging upon the President of the United States the appointment of Dr. Hammond, as the one fit to be made, if the provisions of the law direct- ing, that that officer should be selected on the ground of qualification only, were to be regarded. Strange to say, they were met by an influence, which sought the ap- pointment of one of the senior Surgeons of the statV. a gentleman, eminent for his long service in the Corps, and well known as a model of kindness and courtesy, not only by the officers of the Commission, but by all, who had been brought in contact with him, in social and official intercourse, during his long residence in Washington. But in this matter, the interests in- volved were too grave, to allow the members of the Commission to heed considerations like these. The law, which they themselves had framed, as well as every humane consideration, prescribed, that the only test of a candidate, should be his peculiar qualifica- tions for the office. Mr. Stanton, who had been recently appointed Secretary of War, in order to enlighten his conscience interview of DT. fully upon the pretensions of the respective candidates, and recognizing the part which the Commission had taken in establishing the new system, sent to New York for Dr. Van Buren, one of its most active members, and desired him to come to Washington, in order that he might consult him on the subject. In his interview with the Secre- tary, in pursuance of this invitation, Dr. Van Buren declined to advise him, in his individual capacity, in regard to the appointment. He told him that the Bill RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 133 just approved was the creation of the Sanitary Com- mission, which had given the whole subject careful study and attention, and had also thoroughly in- vestigated the claims of all the candidates for the position of Surgeon-General, and could therefore speak with a full knowledge of the subject, that the result of their inquiries pointed to Dr. Hammond as the best man for the place, and that its members therefore urged his appointment, and that his own opinion coincided with theirs. The Commission was much encouraged by this evidence of a disposition on the part of the Secretary to execute the law in its true spirit, so far as Appointment of the appointment of a Surgeon -General was Jr.Hammondas Surgeon-Gene- concerned. Amidst the clamor which then L prevailed at Washington, urging the selection of differ- ent persons, from considerations of personal friendship or partizan influence, it was most grateful to observe that the functionary, with whom the decision in the main rested, was seeking to perform his duty conscien- tiously by ascertaining the real value of the preten- sions of the candidates. This favorable augury, urged the Commission to renewed efforts to secure Dr. Ham- mond's appointment. The result was that numerous petitions were presented to the President of the United States signed by the most eminent Medical men in the country, bearing exalted testimony to Dr. Hammond's fitness, and urging his appoint- ment. These petitions no doubt settled the ques- tion, for, as the President remarked, it was impossible to resist the weight of evidence in his favor, given by the Medical profession of the whole country. The 134 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Commission of Surgeon-General of the Army was accordingly bestowed upon him on the 2oth of April, 1862. No one probably ever succeeded to a more arduous and embarrassing position. A young man, taken Difficulties of MB from near the foot of the list, and pro- position, moted over the heads of those who num- bered almost as many years of service as he did of life, could not expect to find many warm friends or cordial supporters among his former official superiors. This natural result was aggravated by personal controversies which had arisen among the different candidates, and their supporters during the canvass for the office. But this was a small mat- ter compared with the work which was to be done. The whole Department was to be re-organized on true principles, the capacity of the new incumbent for such a work was to be tested to the utmost, and he was to prove, that the extraordinary confidence which had been placed in him by his friends was not ill-founded. The first thing necessary to give efficiency and practi- cal value to his plans, was that he should be sur- rounded by fit Agents, who appreciating his views, would earnestly strive to shape the new policy by them. The Bill had provided as a most essential fea- ture of the plan for the appointment of an Inspector- General, and eight Medical Inspectors, whose business it should be, not only to enlighten the Head of the Bureau as to the actual condition of camps and hospi- tals, but who should have also power to enforce the adoption of measures ordered for the remedy of abuses. It was provided that these officers should be appointed RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 135 immediately after the passage of the Bill, so that the whole machinery could be put in working order at once. The appointment of these officers was unac- countably delayed. A list of such persons as the Surgeon-General deemed competent for these positions, selected from the regular and volunteer staff, had been presented by him to the Secretary of War. Still no action was taken. Many of the active friends of the measure, apprehensive that it would be shorn of all its efficiency if incompetent men were selected for these most responsible posts, were unceasing in their efforts to cause them to be suitably and speedily filled. The nominations were withheld until a resolution passed the House of Representatives, inquiring why they had not been made in accordance with the provisions of the Bill. Meanwhile a rumor became prevalent in Washington, that some of these Inspectorships were to be given to personal friends and connections of pro- minent party-leaders in Congress. It seemed after all, to the sorrow and dismay of those who had worked hardest for reform, that the poison of political corrup- tion was to be introduced into a body where it was likely to produce its deadliest effect. At last the nominations were made ; many of them were of men wholly untrained for this special work, while that of the Inspector-General, was one which experience proved, was eminently unwise. Of those suggested by the Surgeon -General as proper persons for Inspec- tors, only four were appointed. Thus he was obliged to go to work, surrounded by a set of men as confi- dential advisers in whose selection he had had almost no share. At the very outset therefore were the plans 136 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of the Surgeon -General for the improvement of the service crippled by a refusal to provide him with the means which he deemed necessary to carry them into execution. This controversy unfortunately was the cause, ' or at least the beginning, of a want of cordiality be- - tween the Secretary of War and the Head ^ ^ ne Medical Bureau, the effect of which is War and the dearly traceable in every part of the his- Bnrgeon-Oene- , , . . rai tory of Dr. Hammond s administration. Into the merits of this personal controversy it is not the business of the Sanitary Commission to inquire, farther than it may be necessary to show the bad effect which it produced upon the interests of the sick and wounded. It will be our duty to point out, as we advance in the history, the manner in which those for whom the nation had demanded the tenderest care, suffered from a want of co-operation between the War Department and the Surgeon-Gene- ral. The interest of the Sanitary Commission in this controversy rests wholly upon public grounds. As a Commission, whatever may have been the opinion and action of its individual members, it has refrained from defending Dr. Hammond, when his personal integrity, or the technical offence of exceeding his authority, were in question. But it does feel itself called upon to vindicate his administration upon the highest grounds, those which rest upon a belief that it was so conducted by him, that those who suffered through the casualties of war, received a skillful and humane treatment unexampled in military history. This is its duty, not merely because the Medical Bill RE-ORGANIZATION OF THE MEDICAL BUREAU. 137 was its creation, and Dr. Hammond its candidate for the post of Surgeon-General, but because it is con- vinced, that so far as he was permitted to act freely, he did a work while in that position, which will always be regarded by men of science and the friends of hu- manity as one of the proudest monuments of the civi- lization of our age and our country. 18 CHAPTER VI. HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE IN THE WEST AND IN THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN HOSPITAL CARS. WHILE the Commission was thus striving to secure the re- organization of the Medical Bureau as the best Development of method of advancing the cause of sanitary ew! reform in tne Army, its P lanS for a C0m ' plete and systematic development of its work in the Valley of the, Mississippi had been laid upon a broad and sure foundation. Its affairs, in that region, were confided to the superintend- ence of Dr. J. S. Newberry of Cleveland, Ohio, its Secretary for the Western Department. The methods adopted by him for turning the great tide of patriotic sympathy at the West into the channels of the Com- mission, were characterized not only by true adminis- trative capacity, but also by a wonderful knowledge of the peculiar temper of the people whose co-operation he desired to gain. The result was a most remark- able degree of practical efficiency and success in the organization he established. In commencing his work, Dr. dewberry's ambition was a great and noble one. His mind, trained by habits of scientific investigation, had been from the beginning deeply impressed with the value of the Commission's 138 HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 139 theory as the true method of Army relief, and with that generous ardor, characteristic of the higher order of minds when the full significance of a great truth is revealed to them, he determined that all within his influence should share his enthusiasm. That sphere afterwards became a wide one, since it embraced the whole Northwest, and he lost no time in employing every means of enlisting the leading men in that region in favor of a National and Catholic system of relief as opposed to one founded upon local and Stateish ideas. His plan was to establish Branches of the Commission in each of the great centres of population and influence. These Branches were to be composed of the Associate members residing in the different lo- calities. To them was to be confided the task of in- structing the public in regard to the Commission's plans and methods, of founding in every town and village tributary organizations, and of so arranging their work that their contributions should be sent regularly to the Branch Depots, and thence to a general depot for distribution in the camps and in the Hospitals. With this object in view, hoping to con- centrate all the energies of the Western people in the execution of this great work under the same sys- tem and by the same methods, Dr. Newberry went, in September, 1861, to St. Louis, where an association which had taken the name of the " Western Sanitary Commission," had been established under the auspices of General Fremont. It was found impossible to induce the gentlemen composing this association to abandon their independent organization, although they professed a willingness not to interfere with the work 140 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of the United States Sanitary Commission east of the Mississippi, provided that the field was fully occupied by the Agents of the National body. Not discouraged by the failure to secure at St. Louis a complete co-ope- ration with his plans, Dr. Newberry proceeded to Chicago, where he met a very different reception. He had a conference with some of the leading men in that city, explained to them the nature and purposes of the Commission, and soon received from them promises of hearty support and complete sympathy. " The Chi- cago arid Northwestern Branch" of the Commission was accordingly formed, and entered upon the work with an earnestness, and prosecuted it with a vigor and success during the war, which was certainly not sur- passed by any of its sister branches. The most im- portant practical result, however, of this movement was the gaining, at this great centre of influence, of an assured position early in the war, from which radi- ated, during its whole progress, not merely the warmth which kept sympathy for the soldier constantly active, but light also, which pointed out the best way to manifest that sympathy. From Chicago Dr. Newberry returned to Cleveland, and established there a Branch, which had for its ablest and most efficient auxiliary the " Soldiers' Aid Society of Northern Ohio," one of the earliest of the relief societies brought into existence by the war. Thence he proceeded to Columbus, to Cin- cinnati, and to Louisville, where he was met by the same cordial spirit of sympathy which had greeted him at Chicago, and organized branches composed of the Associate Members resident at each of those places. Branches at Indianapolis and at Detroit were or- HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 141 ganized about the same time. At Pittsburg also, one of the most important contributing depots under the control of the Commission during the war was soon after established. The labor, skill, and judgment necessary to accom- plish this great work of organization are very inade- quately represented by the mere statement of Results O f Dr. what was done. The Associate Members at f ewberr y' 8 la ' bors in orgamz- the West, like the rest of the public, needed ^g the West, instruction as to the nature and value of the novel and peculiar methods proposed by the Sanitary Commission, and the merit of Dr. dewberry's suc- cess is to be tested not merely by the capacity of the instructor, but also by the ignorance of those who came to him to learn. Personal conferences with lead- ing men, the wide distribution of explanatory docu- ments, appeals in the newspapers, public meetings, and various other means of enlightening opinion on the subject were unceasingly resorted to. The result was, that before the end of the year the Western mind had been educated into a firm belief of the superior value of a preventive system, and of a National method of organized supplemental aid as the true means of Army relief. The continuous stream of supplies which the Western people poured into the depots of the Commission during the war is the best evidence of the earnestness and intelligence of that belief. The confidence of that people in the methods of the Sanitary Commission during the war never wavered. It is very clear that this result was attributable in a great degree to the personal influence of Dr. dewberry, 142 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and to the skillful and judicious policy pursued by him. Having thus organized the home field, Dr. Newberry proceeded to Louisville, at that time the Head Quar- H establishes ters of the Army, which was to drive the urfl?L Q omv rebels out of Kentucky. He established ^iiie. there the central office of the Western Department. The first point to be settled was the precise nature of the work to be done in that mili- tary district. Dr. A. N. Read and Dr. Prentice were appointed Inspectors, and were instructed to make a thorough investigation of the condition of the troops under General Thomas and General Nelson. During the autumn and winter these gentlemen inspected nearly all the regiments in Kentucky, and distributed among them a very large amount of stores. The con- duct of these Inspectors in the discharge of their novel and delicate duties, made a most favorable impression in the Army. They received from the Medical Direc- tor a public acknowledgement of their services, and what was more important, laid the foundation of that cordial co-operation, and entire harmony between the Medical authorities and the Agents of the Commis- sion, which contributed so greatly during the war to its usefulness and influence in the armies of the West. In the meantime, on the first of February, 1862, a Soldiers' Home was established by the Kentucky Organization of Branch at Louisville, and shortly after- Soidiers 1 Homes. warc i s another at Cairo, under the special auspices of the Chicago Branch. These were the first of thpse great resting-places for the feeble and weary soldier created by the Sanitary Commission at the HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 143 "West, and they afforded on a vast scale, a peculiar and grateful relief not surpassed in its value by that be- stowed by any of its numerous agencies.* Military operations on a large scale, calling for a full development of all the methods of relief organized bv the Commission, began in the Western Militaj r pera- J f ' tions at the States in the early part of the year 1862. West, capture On the 12th of February Fort Donelson, on 0]li the Cumberland River, was invested by a large force under General Grant, and a most obstinate struggle for its possession continued for several days. The loss of life on both sides was very great, and many wounded were left on the field. As soon as the news of the victory became known throughout the West, there was manifested in all its large towns and cities an earnest and general desire to aid in some way in pro- viding for the immediate relief of the suiferers. The Army which had achieved the victory had been hastily moved from its base to the battle-field, and it was well understood, that suitable arrangements for the care of the large number of wounded, thus suddenly thrown upon the resources of the Medical Department, were impracticable. To the ordinary difficulties which at that time embarrassed the administration of the Medical service at every step, difficulties due to want of experience, defective organization, limited supplies, and the absence of a forecasting preparation, there were added those arising from the impossibility of establishing General Hospitals near the scene of * During the war thirteen of these homes were in full operation in the West, where more than six hundred thousand soldiers were lodged, and two million, five hundred thousand meals were given. 144 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. conflict, which should unite the conditions essential to the proper treatment of the patients. The sur- rounding country was utterly destitute of all that was essential to such establishments, and it was too far from the base of military operations to render it desirable on other accounts to establish them there. It was determined then, by the Medical authorities, that all the sick and wounded of the army, who could Transportation be removed, should be transported by steam- in steamers. ers to the Hospitals on the Ohio River. At first sight it would appear, that such a plan was not only a wise and safe one, but that it was one compara- tively easy of execution. To move a large number of suffering and helpless men, upon the large rivers of the West, in commodious steamers, properly fitted up with all the needed conveniences, to well organized Hospitals, under skillful and careful superintendence, would not appear to be a very difficult undertaking, and at any rate, it would seem, of all the modes of providing for those who had been wounded, that, which would produce the least discomfort to the sufferers. The theory was simple enough, but to reduce it to practical effect, required foresight, and preparation, and means of execution, which were not then possessed by the Medical Department. A service of Hospital Transports in the special charge of the Medical Director of the Army, should have been organized be- fore the expedition sailed, and these Transports should have formed just as essential a part of it, as the boats which conveyed the ammunition or food of the Army. The Medical officers were not to be blamed, for they had HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 145 no control whatever of the means of transporting the wounded ; that was the business of the Quartermaster's Department, which overwhelmed with its own special duties, could hardly be expected, to give due attention to the organization of an entirely novel mode of ac- complishing the work. This was one of the countless practical illustrations of the consequences of a rigid adherence to routine in the early part of the war. The Hospital Transport project was then a novel one, and the official authorities were not disposed to try experiments. Voluntary sympathy and the organized benevolence of the country, taught the Government at Fort Donelson a lesson upon the value of this service on the Western waters, and the best mode of conduct- ing it, which proved of inestimable value to the suffer- ing soldier, in all the subsequent military operations in that part of the country. Let us look at the manner, in which this great scheme of beneficence was inaugurated, by the Sanitary Com- mission and others, outside the Govern- organization of ment Agencies. On the receipt of the news, Hos P ital St ^m- ' era by the Com- of the surrender of the Fort, the Branch mission. Commission at Cincinnati procured with some diffi- culty a steamer and loading it with stores, gathered in two days, suitable for the relief of wounded, pro- ceeded without delay down the Ohio. The Boat was accompanied by a large number of the members of the Commission at Cincinnati, and by some of the most eminent surgeons of that city. At Louisville they received on board Dr. Newberry, the Associate Secretary, a number of the agents of the Commission, and a further supply of stores for the wounded. On 19 146 UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSION. their arrival at the Fort, they found affairs in a most deplorable condition. There were two boats in the employ of the Government, the " City of Memphis" and the "Fanny Bullitt," misnamed Hospital Boats, for they were Hospitals only as any unfurnished receptacle for vast numbers of suffering men, is a Hospital. The first named boat had been sent from Cairo on the news of the battle. It brought a limited supply of such hospital stores, as could be spared from the Commission's Depot at that place, and was accompanied by Dr. Aigner, the In- spector on duty there. Dr. Douglas also, had hastened down from St. Louis, and arrived about the same time with additional stores. Most of these supplies had been already appropriated by the ill-provided Regimental Surgeons, to eke out the deficiencies in the land Hospitals, so that the Government boats became mere places of deposit for the severely wounded, and were destitute of everything, which could contribute to their comfort, or facilitate their recovery. Their con- dition is thus described by an eye-witness : " Some were just as they had been left by the fortune of war (four days before); their wounds, as yet, un- dressed, smeared with filth and blood, and all their wants unsupplied. Others had had their wounds dressed one, two, or three days before. Others, still, were under the surgeon's hands, receiving such care as could be given them by men overburdened by the number of their patients, worn out by excessive and long-continued labor, without an article of clothing to give to any for a change, or an extra blanket, without bandages or dressings, with but two ounces of cerate to HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 147 three hundred men, with few medicines and no stimu- lants, and with nothing but corn meal gruel, hard bread, and bacon, to dispense as food." The Agents of the Commission, not without con- siderable resistance on the part of the Medical Di- rector, succeeded in obtaining access to these Belief afforded boats, and several days and nights were the Commission. passed by them, in relieving the pressing wants of the sufferers by means of the stores, which had been brought from the depots of the Commission at Cincin- nati, Chicago and other places in the West. They succeeded with some difficulty in obtaining permission to transport, on their return to Cincinnati, such of the wounded as they were able to accommodate on the steamer which had conveyed them to the Fort. More than eighty were thus brought by them to a Military Hospital at Cincinnati under all the favorable circum- stances which a properly furnished boat, and the most careful nursing could provide. Again, after the battle of Shiloh, which took place in the early part of April, the officers of the Commis- sion at the West, enlightened by their ex- similar service , after the battle perience as to the proper mode ot trans- porting the wounded in Hospital Boats, became ac- tively engaged in the same humane service. The extent and character of this service, and its inestima- ble value to those, who were its objects, are well set forth in the following extracts from the Report of Dr. Newberry on the operations of the Commission after that battle. " For the space of a mile or more the bank of the river was lined with steamers, closely packed together, 148 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. loaded with troops, stores and munitions of war. Each of these steamers was discharging its cargo, living or inanimate, upon the steep and muddy bank, and soldiers, forage, provisions, clothing, artillery, army wagons and ambulances the reinforcements and supplies of the great army which covered the hills for miles around poured on to the shore in a noisy, turbulent, chaotic flood. "Immediately on hearing of the battle, the Chicago Branch Commission, with its accustomed promptness, despatched a special train to Cairo, taking large quan- tities of supplies, and a corps of surgeons and nurses, all under the care of Rev. Dr. Patton and Dr. Isham. These reached the scene of action on the Louisiana government hospital boat on Friday evening. The good which they accomplished by their services and much needed stores, can hardly be estimated. "The Cincinnati Branch Commission was also most creditably represented at Pittsburgh. Two first-class steamers, the Tycoon and Monarch, were fitted out as hospital boats by the Commission, furnished with every comfort and even luxury for the wounded, and manned by a large and efficient corps of surgeons and nurses. These boats were under the care, respectively, of Drs. Mendenhall and Comegys. After dispens- ing with liberal hand of their stores to the sufferers at the Landing, they both returned, carrying loads of wounded, all thoroughly and tenderly cared for, to the hospitals on the Ohio." Dr. Newberry, with Dr. Prentice and Dr. Douglas, Inspectors of the Commission, were present, striving to direct the zealous labors of so many workers, with HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 149 that order, regularity, and system which would render them most efficient, and most extensively useful. Thus it will be perceived, that at Shiloh the Agents of the Commission held the foremost rank as active laborers. The greater number various aimed- of the steamers which had been sent to ti " '* ? e Hos ; pital transport that battle-field, had been equipped as Hos- service. pitals, and furnished with the necessary supplies from the depots of the Commission, while the personnel was composed largely of its officers and members through- out the West. There were also, as has been said, many boats not under the control of the Commission. The Government had sent as many as five or six from St. Louis, which had been almost wholly equipped and supplied by the Western Sanitary Commission. The truth is, the wonderful success which had attended the Commission's experiment of transporting the wounded in Hospital Boats after the surrender of Fort Donel- son, had stimulated a great variety of organizations, and even the State Governments, to provide similar means of relief, designed to be made use of in the event of another battle, and the occurrence of that of Shiloh, on the banks of so large a river as the Tennessee, caused the assembling of a large fleet, em- ployed on the same errand of mercy. Those in charge of these boats, had only this in common, that they were acting wholly outside of Government agencies, and that they all hoped in some way to relieve suffering. Still the efficiency of the means at their disposal was much impaired by a defective organization, and by that absence of a due sense of responsibility and sub- ordination which are essential to the success of all 150 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. associated effort. Owing to this inherent defect, a vast amount of energy, which had been expended in send- ing boats to the battle-field provided with a large amount of supplies, and numerous attendants, was compara- tively wasted. It seems ungracious to criticise the work of any body of men engaged in an effort to relieve the suffer- trana- ing, even if their methods are not wholly in of state agent* accordance with true principles, but there was one feature in the mode adopted by those who had charge of the steamers sent by the State Govern- ments of Ohio, Indiana, and -Illinois, which was so obviously wrong in principle, and so entirely in con- trast with the National and Catholic spirit which characterized the operations of the Commission at all times, that it deserves notice. These boats were in- tended solely for the reception of wounded men be- longing to each of these States respectively, and all others were rigidly excluded from them. When it is remembered that the army which fought at Shiloh was composed of men coming not only from all the States of the West, but from other portions of the country also, that they had defended with equal valor the same flag, and had suffered from the same cause, when it is further considered, that from the nature of the case it was impossible that each State represented in that Army could provide specially for the care of the wounded among its own citizens, the indiscreet zeal, which was willing to recognize State lines even in its ministrations of mercy on the battle-field, can hardly be too strongly condemned. It was only another de- velopement of that obnoxious heresy of State- so vc- HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 151 reignty, against which the whole war was directed, and its practical injury to the national cause in creating disaffection among the troops who were not recipients of its peculiar care, was scarcely less great, than its violation of those sacred laws of humanity, which make no distinction in the relief bestowed upon the suffering, except to seek first for those who most need succor. Against this State-ish spirit the Sanitary Commission resolutely set its face at all times, and in every form, as hostile alike to the dictates of humanity and true patriotism. It recognized in the Union army, wherever serving, Union soldiers only. It al- ways refused to receive benefactions intended for the use of particular regiments, and the money in its treasury, and the supplies accumulated in its depots, were regarded as a common stock to be used for the general benefit. It was an organization wholly National in its design, and in its objects and methods it was inspired by a thorough devotion to the National cause in its widest sense. Its influence, therefore, ex- tended far beyond that which was due to the mere bestowal of relief on the battle-field, and the constant efforts it made to inculcate a National spirit in the care of the soldier, produced an effect, both in the Army and the country at large, which powerfully contributed to the success of the National arms. The general policy pursued by the Governors of States, and the permanent agents appointed by most of them in reference to the supposed needs injurious effect of such of their citizens as were enrolled in ^^^. the Army, was a fruitful source of embar- lief - rassment to the Government during the whole war. 152 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. If the action of the State authorities had been confined to efforts to improve the general administration of the service, and thus to benefit all alike, its influence would have been irresistible, and its effect most salutary. But while convinced of the defectiveness of the Gov- ernment methods, the Governors of the various States seemed anxious only to remove their own citizens from suffering the evils resulting from them. The conse- quence was, of course, an entire want of harmony in opinion and action between the Federal authorities and these zealous State officials, as to the proper relations of the Government to the soldier. The War Depart- ment was constantly besieged by applications on be- half of the different State authorities, demanding that the sick and wounded should be removed from the General Military Hospitals, and sent to the States from which they had come, to be there cared for. It was proposed that these men should be treated in Hos- pitals organized by the State authorities, or in United States Hospitals located within the limits of the State. It will be readily perceived, that if applications of this kind had been listened to, the Government might as well have abandoned at once not only all control over the sick and wounded of the Army, but also all hope of maintaining an effective discipline over those who remained in the ranks. To such an extent had the evil reached at one time, that General Grant found it necessary, during his great expedition against Vicks- burg, to prohibit the transportation of men in his Army disabled by wounds or sickness to any point north of Memphis. Thus only could he hope to retain the services of those who might regain their HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 153 health and strength during their treatment in Hospi- tals. If half the energy wasted by the Governors of various States in the vain attempt to supplant the Federal authorities in the work they were doing so imperfectly, had been concentrated in a determined effort to force them to do it more thoroughly, we should not now have to tell that the horrors of Shiloh and other bloody battle-fields were mitigated only by the voluntary, and partial efforts of humane and zealous, but irresponsible persons. It would have been our grateful duty rather to have related that these horrors were prevented by that regular, steady, forecasting action of the proper Government agencies, belonging to a perfectly organized system, directed by officers thoroughly trained in a knowledge of their duties. Notwithstanding all the objections which experience has proved to be inherent in the volunteer system of Hospital Transports organized by the Com- Transport ser- mission in the West, there were reasons e ^ th Pe ~ nmsular Oam- founded upon the prospects of the cam- paign. paign on the Peninsula, for which the Army of the Potomac was then preparing, which induced the Commission to place at the disposal of the Govern- ment its limited capacity of performing the same humane service towards that Army, which it had undertaken on the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers. On the 18th of April 1862 the Acting Surgeon- General approved of the proposition of the Sanitary Commission to assist in transport- ing by steamers to Hospitals at the North, such of the sick and wounded, as the Medical Director 20 154 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of the Army of the Potomac should confide to its care. The Secretary of War immediately directed a steamer, then in the employment of the Quartermaster's Department to be transferred to the Commission to be fitted up and properly supplied by it for this pur- pose. Accordingly the " Daniel Webster " a vessel capable of transporting with proper arrangements two hundred and fifty patients was assigned to it, and a volunteer force, composed of several of the higher officers of the Central Staff, a large number of male nurses, and a few ladies accompanied it to York River. During the voyage from Alexandria the steamer was thoroughly refitted, and properly equipped with beds and bedding and other conveniences, required for the patients, and the force on board was organized and in- structed in the duties, which would devolve upon them. The steamer arrived in the river during the siege of Yorktown. The Commission had already dispatched The Sanitary thither in anticipation of events, a large Webster. * amount of supplies for the use of the Army, and was provided with two large boats, used as store- houses, besides a well-filled depot on shore. A glance at the condition of things on their arrival, revealed to its Agents, the same deplorable deficiency in adequate pre- paration for the reception of the sick and wounded, which had so often before been observed. The first sick men whom they saw, were found crowded in a number of log huts, which had been previously used by the rebels as barracks. The place was a most pesti- lential one, surrounded by swamps, and there, the un- fortunate soldiers who had been attacked by sickness, were dying by scores, of fever, still clothed in their HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 155 uniforms, and even wearing their caps. It would hardly be correct to call such a place a Hospital. There were few attendants, no clothing, no medicines, and the surgeons in charge seemed bewildered in their helplessness. Permission was readily obtained from the Medical Director, that these wretched men should be looked after by the Agents of the Commis- sion who had arrived in the Webster, and that the sick, who were in a condition to be moved, should be with the least possible delay, placed on board of that vessel, and transferred to a Northern Hospital. In the course of the day, nearly two hundred and fifty men were removed by the Agents of the Commission, were carefully nursed, were provided with clean clothing and suitable food, and soon found themselves surrounded with all the comforts and conveniences of a well regulated hospital. The change in their condi- tion was most remarkable. No sooner had the vessel left the sickly shores of the Peninsula, than nearly all the patients became convalescent, and not a single man died on the voyage to New York. The Commission was cheered by this first result of its experiment, and encouraged to persevere in this life-saving service. In the meantime Yorktown was evacuated, and the Army advanced. This of course rendered necessary the removal of the Regimental Hospitals, and Peculiar aiffi- their inmates were sent down to Yorktown ser vice. in order that they should be at once embarked in Transports and sent north. But no adequate prepara- tions had been made by the authorities to meet such an emergency. The " Ocean Queen," a steamer of vast size and capacity, had that very morning been 156 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. placed in the hands of the officers of the Commission, to be fitted up as a Hospital Transport in the place of the Webster, just sent to sea. Of course nothing was yet ready on the " Queen," but the officers in charge of the sick from the Hospitals, insisted upon depositing them upon the decks of that vessel. No time was lost in use- less complaint, and in a few hours, those in charge of her, by the most unremitting labor, and by drawing upon the supplies of the Commission which had been placed on their storeboats, were enabled to provide tolerably for the comfort of those who had thus been thrown upon their care. This event, occurring at the very outset of their operations in this new field of labor, will serve to illustrate some of the difficulties and embarrassments, by which the efforts of the Agents of the Commission to aid the Government in the trans- portation of the sick and wounded were surrounded. In order to understand more fully the practical nature of these difficulties it will be necessary to with consider the exact relations of the Commis- Government offi- cers while per- sion to the Government in this business. * Ite position from a variety of causes was a most trying one, and the service was performed under all the conditions of a presumed authority without command, and of rights without powers. The Commission never undertook to perform the whole service of Hospital Transports on the Peninsula; it proposed to aid the Government in the work by equipping as many vessels as the limited means at its disposal would permit. It was supposed of course, that the number of the boats under its charge would bear but a small proportion to those in HOSPITAL TEANSPOET SEEVICE. 157 the employment and under the direct management of the Medical Director. It had nothing to do with the transportation of the wounded from the field of battle or the hospitals to the boats ; its duty in theory began on the boats themselves. In practice, it was responsi- ble for the care of all those who were hurried, without the slightest attention to their first wants, from "the front" to the base on the river. By an agreement between the Commission and the Medical Director, certain boats were to be reserved for a certain description of cases only, and their points of destina- tion were to be regulated by the nature of the disability of the patients thus selected. All these wise provi- sions were wholly neglected in practice. Owing to the absence of some proper representative of the Medical authorities, no such selection of patients was made, and day after day, a vast crowd of sufferers, differing in every respect, except in a desire to escape from the horrors they had endured, were forced upon the boats in charge of the Commission. By virtue of the same agreement, these boats were to have been placed under military discipline. But this provision also was neglected, and in Embarrassments addition to their proper duties in the care of a voh f e . r service of this of the sick, the Agents were obliged to ^a- manage and pacify disorderly and insubordinate crews. The exigencies of the Quartermaster's Department also, interfered with their well-arranged plans for the orderly and regular disposal of the sick and wounded. More than once it happened, that after undergoing all the labor and expense of fitting up a steamer which had been assigned to them, for hospital purposes, they were 158 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. suddenly ordered to return it to the officers of that De- partment, as it was required for other needs of the mili- tary service. Thus it was impossible to foresee, not only for a week, but even for a single day, how many boats would be at their disposal, or the number of patients they would be called upon to provide for. Add to this the utter absence of all control of the crews, the impossibility of calculating upon the continuous and effective services of volunteer Surgeons and nurses, who might and often did forsake their duties at an hour's notice, and the uncertainty of the whole matter of the relations of the Commission to the Government, arising from a want of harmony between the action of the Sur- geon-Greneral and that of the Medical Director, and it will be readily perceived, that the officers of the Commission, who were fully imbued with that spirit which taught them to do everything they attempted with thoroughness and system, soon found themselves in a most painful and harassing position. It was with the greatest difficulty that these officers were able to do a tithe of what they hoped to do, for the relief of the vast masses, who suffered from the casualties of war during the Peninsular campaign. Nothing but the patient and untiring zeal and energy, and great administrative capacity of Mr. Olmsted who directed the service, and the unwearied toil and devotion of a portion of his Volunteer Corps with Mr. Knapp at its head, saved the experiment from proving a total failure. Notwithstanding the formidable obstacles thus encoun- tered at every step, the Commission succeeded in trans- porting from the Peninsula in a comparatively com- fortable condition, more than eight thousand sick and HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 159 wounded men. This result fell far short of its expec- tations, and was hardly commensurate with the im- mense labor it called for. But it is a great satisfaction to remember that the most arduous and harassing duty performed by the Commission during the war, was in some degree instrumental in mitigating the horrors of its most disastrous campaign. This transportation service occurred, it should be stated, at a time when the machinery of the re-organized Medical Bureau was being put in order, and intervention of just after the appointment of the new Sur- geon-General. The arrangements for the whole Medical service of the army of course absorbed at that time the attention of that officer, and he was probably not fully aware of the mismanagement of the affairs of his Department, by his representative in the Army of the Potomac. Towards the close of the month of May, in consequence of representations made by the Commission to him of the state of things in the Pe- ninsula, a plan for properly systematizing the Commis- sion's work in the transport service, and of defining more accurately its relations to the Government, was agreed upon. This plan consisted chiefly in substi- tuting hired surgeons and nurses for volunteers, and in the introduction of strict military discipline and sub- ordination in the control of the steamers and their crews. The Commission agreed to assist the Surgeon- General by examining at New York into the fitness of all candidates for surgeons and nurses. This plan, however admirable, and based upon the sad experience of the failure of that which had already been tried, was never put in operation. Indeed the necessity for 160 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the transportation service in that quarter, soon ceased. Until the Medical Director of the Army of the Po- tomac was relieved, however, and a wise and humane system under an efficient officer introduced, the utterly inadequate provision made to relieve the agonies and the sufferings of the victims of the Peninsular cam- paign, still continued to be a disgrace to the civi- lization of the country. It is satisfactory, however, to know, that the experience gained in that campaign concerning the mode of transporting the sick and wounded, was of great value in creating a proper system, under Government officers, for the perform- ance of this service in other parts of the country during the remainder of the war. Although this was the last attempt made by the Commission to convey those who had suffered from the Hospital can. casualties of war to proper Hospitals by water, it was not discouraged by its comparative want of success from making an effort to provide suitable transportation for the same class of sufferers by land. Its failure to induce the Government to organize an Ambulance Regiment, has been already noticed, but every battle-field bore testimony to the absolute necessity of such a provision. The armies as they advanced into the enemy's terri- tory, operated, as is well-known, on long lines of Rail- ways, which connected them with their base of sup- plies. As the disabled men accumulated at "the front," it became of course necessary, that many of them should be removed on these Railways to points where large General Hospitals had been established. This involved usually a long journey, and it was essential HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 161 to the humane treatment and recovery of the patients, that their removal should be made with the utmost tenderness and care. In the Peninsula and at the West, those who had been wounded in battle, and the inmates of Regimental Hospitals, whom it was thought desirable to get rid of, were placed in common burden cars, where, like so many sheep, jarred and jolted by every movement, without any of the comforts and con- veniences which their condition demanded, and without proper food, clothing, or attention, they often passed hours and even days in indescribable agony. There was scarcely a practical abuse in the whole adminis- tration of the Medical service which called more loudly for remedy. The ingenuity of Dr. Harris, a member of the Commission, who had observed the fearful sufferings produced by this mode of transportation in the Penin- sula, solved satisfactorily the problem of conveying sick and wounded men on Railways, with as much ease and comfort to themselves as if they had been making the voyage by water, in properly equipped steamers. In the attainment of the desired results, the objects to be at- following were some of the more essential tamed by them. objects to be considered : 1. Specially adapted appli- ances and furniture for the comfort and security of the patients in railway cars, and the special preparation and exclusive use of a sufficient number of easy-running cars for the conveyance of the more serious cases. 2. The perfect ventilation and care of the cars occupied by the patients. 3. The means of preparing and serv- ing food in them, and a suitable provision of surgical and medical supplies. 4. The employment of surgeons 21 162 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and nurses exclusively devoted to the business of rail- way Hospital Transportation. 5. The running of special Hospital trains. 6. Such care in the loading, unloading, and movement of the patients as would best insure them from needless change of posture and suffering. Believing it possible to accomplish these most im- portant objects by means of railway ambulances pro- pian approved perly constructed, Dr. Harris laid the plans nLJr-oenerai. and drawings of his proposed Hospital car before the Quartermaster-General, General Meigs. That enlightened officer was at once struck with its adaptation to the humane purpose for which it was designed. He directed that certain of the cars at that time in the Government establishment at Alexandria should be placed at the disposal of Dr. Harris, to be fitted up in accordance with his plans. The co-operation of the three railway companies owning the line between Washington and New York was soon after secured. Cars were at once arranged by them for the service of the transportation of the wounded, a portion of the expense of the equipment only being borne by the Sanitary Commission. One of these corporations, that of the Camden and Amboy Rail Road Company, pre- sented to the Commission a Hospital Car thoroughly furnished, as its contribution towards helping forward this great work of mercy. In the West, where all the rail roads leading to " the front" were wholly under the control of the Government, this improved system of railway ambulances was soon afterwards introduced principally through the influence of Dr. Newberry, the Western Secretary. HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 163 The earnestness of his recognition of their value, and the anxious solicitude with which he watched over the regularity of the service, may be inferred from the fact that at his suggestion the Sanitary Commission purchased a locomotive engine which was used exclu- sively in moving the Hospital train, thus insuring the rapid conveyance of the patients by means which could not be withdrawn for the other exigencies of the mili- tary service. A very slight description of these Hospital cars will give some idea of the increased comfort provided for the patients conveyed in them. The ordi- Description of nary field and hospital litter or stretcher C ars. was used in loading, unloading, and carrying the patients. These simple litter-beds, with pillows, mat- tresses, and comforts attached, were then ingeniously and securely swung in tiers three high, and end to end upon light stanchions, and there suspended by stout tugs of India rubber, which gave sufficient elasticity to obviate all jar to the bed and its patient. Thirty of these beds were thus swung along the side of each Hospital car. A number of invalid chairs and a broad couch filled the remainder of the available space. A pantry furnished with medicines, utensils, beverages, and substantial food, ready for serving to the patients hot or cold, made up the sum of creature comforts, while nurses, abundantly provided with towels, socks, blankets, sponges, etc., kept every man clean and warm, however long the trip or stormy the weather. All the usual appliances and skill of a well regulated Hospital were at hand. The expense of fitting up these cars was borne in a 164 UNITED STATES SAXITARY COMMISSIOX. great measure, as we have stated, by the Commission, and the officers in charge of them were appointed by it. In the autumn of 1862, the transportation service between Washington and New York was begun, and was continued daily with the utmost regularity, and growing efficiency till the close of the war. In the West the system had a rapid developement, and during Deveiopementof the progress of the war more than thirty of the system. these ambulances were in constant use. The Hospital train from Atlanta to Louisville made the journey of more than five hundred miles according to an established time-table, and reached its destination with the exactness and speed of trains on well-managed rail roads in time of peace. Between New York and Boston also, there were cars arranged for the conveyance of the sick and wounded similar in all respects to those which we have described. The service on this line was under the immediate supervision of the Boston Associates of the Commission, and all its details were most carefully and successfully managed by their Secretary, Mr. JOHN S. BLATCHFORD, who in this, as in all other forms of Army relief undertaken by the Commission in Boston during the war, was most conspicuous for his zeal and capacity. The whole number of sick and wounded soldiers conveyed by these Hospital cars during the war was in the East about 100,000, and in the West about 125,000. It will be observed that the introduction and general adoption of this system of railway ambulances had been Transfer of the secured without the direct intervention of the cars to the Med- r . , T > . icai Bureau. Medical Uureau. 1 he whole subject of trans- portation, as we have said, was within the jurisdiction, HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE. 165 and governed pretty much by the arbitrary discretion of the Quartermaster's Department. The proper business of the Medical officers was to look after the patients during their transportation, not to provide them with the means of conveyance. When the experiment proved a success, the Commission, faithful to its policy of non-interference with Government officials in their appropriate sphere, desired to transfer to the Medical Bureau that portion of the work which had been con- fided to it by the Quartermaster's Department. The management of the Hospital cars, therefore, was placed in charge of the officers of the Medical Bureau. The Commission, however, never lost its deep interest in maintaining the service in the utmost efficiency, and until the close of the war many of the agents employed in it were paid from its treasury, and nearly all the suitable food provided for the patients came from its storehouses. To Dr. Solomon Andrews, Jr., the Chief Surgeon of Hospital Trains in the East ; to Dr. Henry Janes, the Medical Director of Camp Letterman at Gettys- burg ; and to Drs. Barnum and Myers, in charge of the service in the West, unbounded praise is due for the zeal and faithfulness with which for nearly three years they conducted all the work of the railway Hos- pital Trains. CHAPTER VII. SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. THE chief business of the Sanitary Commission during the war in the opinion of those who had not Popular error in studied its system, as a whole, was the collec- regard to the ^ work of the tion and distribution of voluntary supplies, samtary Com- for the relief O f the soldier on the battle-fidd and in Hospitals. It was natural perhaps, that this should be the general impression, for the needs of that portion of its work, were brought more constantly before the public attention than those of any other ; by far the larger portion of its funds was expended in main- taining it in proper efficiency, and its operations re- sembled more nearly those undertaken by other voluntary associations, engaged in the work of Army relief. Still, as has been said, a system of relief, based on such methods, occupied at the outset, in the plan of the Commission, a very subordinate, although still important place. The vast proportions it afterwards assumed, during the progress of the war, were due to circumstances, which it was impossible to have foreseen from the beginning. It was true, that from the very first, the want of adequate supplies for the sick and wounded in the Hospitals, seemed to forebode almost 165 SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 167 as great danger to the efficiency of the army, as the neglect of proper precautionary measures. Still, it was thought, in judging of the comparative importance of urging upon the Government, and the public, the adoption of some means of providing for these two classes of needs, that it was more essential to insist upon those of prevention, than upon those of cure. There were many reasons for this opinion ; among others, may be mentioned, the necessity of educating the public mind in regard to the true value of preventive measures. It was supposed also that an imperious, ever pressing necessity forcing the Government to make the same adequate provision for those who were in the Hospitals, as for furnishing food and arms to those who were in the ranks, would soon prove a stern teacher, whose lessons could not in the nature of things remain long unheeded. The Commission was disappointed in a great mea- sure in this expectation, and after a short expe- rience of those great and pressing wants Organization of ,. . TT- . , ,. , the Supply De- ot patients in Hospitals, which were unre- par tment. lieved by the ordinary and proper Government agencies, it determined to organize that department of its work, which embraced the collection and distribu- tion of voluntary supplemental supplies. In the first letter addressed by the New York delegation to the Secretary of War, asking the appointment of a Sanitary Commission, one of the objects which it was urged, might be gained by the services of such a body, was the determination of the best methods, of aiding the Medical Bureau with such supplies, as the spon- taneous benevolence of the people was eager to furnish. 168 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The desire was also expressed, that such volunteer action might be harmonized with that of the regular authorities, in a way, as efficient, and as little embar- rassing, as extra-official co-operation could be. This statement of the design of the Commission, to aid the Government with the least possible interference with its ordinary methods, embodies the fundamental prin- ciple, which underlaid all its work, especially in that department of relief, technically so called, where its Agents were brought into constant and often very delicate relations with the Government officials. In its Constitution or Plan of Organization one of its ob- jects is stated to be, " to secure contributions from patriotic and benevolent individuals and associations, and to organize, methodize and reduce to serviceable- ness, the vague and haphazard benevolence of the people towards the Army." Immediately after the Commis- sion was appointed, and its plans became known, it began to receive from individuals and associations throughout the country, a great variety of articles in- tended for the Hospitals, while extra Hospital clothing, and such additional comforts as seemed most needed, had been purchased by its funds. On the 5th of September, 1861, the General Secretary enlightened by the experience of the results of the dis- Suppiy depots tributlon in the Camps and Hospitals of established. more than sixty thousand such articles which had been confided to the Commission, reported to the Board, that depots for the reception of such extra governmental supplies should be established by it in some of the large cities. It was estimated that unless the Government system could be SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 169 speedily and greatly improved, a capital of fifty thousand dollars and an income of five thou- sand dollars a month, at least, in addition, would be needed to establish and carry out a proper national method of supplemental and extra govern- mental Hospital supplies. This project was approved by the Board, and depots of supplies were accordingly established at New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Wash- ington, Cincinnati and Wheeling. On the 5th of October, this arrangement was anounced to the public in a circular which was widely distributed, addressed " to the Loyal Women of America." In this circular it was stated, that "the labors of the Commission had been hitherto directed chiefly to induce precaution against certain diseases, which had scourged almost every modern European army, but that, as experience was gained, it became evident, that here as elsewhere, Government alone could not completely provide for the humane treatment of those, for whom the duty of pro- viding as well as possible was acknowledged." The task of aiding the Government in this matter, seemed to devolve peculiarly on the women of the country. This duty was pointed out and enforced, and the ad- vantages to be derived from the well considered system organized by the Commission, enabling it to bestow that aid, systematically and in perfect subordination to the general plans of the Government, were dwelt upon. The women were therefore urged to form societies in every neighborhood, and to devote themselves for a time to the sacred service of their country. It was suggested that energetic committees should be ap- pointed by these societies, who should call from house 22 170 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. to house, and from store to store, and obtain contribu- tions in materials suitable to be made up, or money for the purchase of such material, and that the loyal women, composing these societies should meet on fixed days to make garments from the material so procured. Thus it will be seen that the Commission, with a wise foresight and a perfect comprehension of some of The sympathy the most novel and striking characteristics and aid of the . ..... women of the of our American civilization, sought to make the women of the country its agents in the vast work of supplying, the most palpable and obvious of all the deficiencies of the Government in its care of the Army. Much has been said and written upon the part taken by American women in support- ing the National cause during the war, but the full extent of the influence they exerted, can hardly be understood, without adverting to the peculiar position which they occupy in a democratic society like ours. Women, in history, have often been the inspirers of men, rarely their fellow-workers. The power which they wielded in the late war, was due to the exercise of those gentler, domestic virtues, which find their birth- place, and ordinarily their only sphere of action, within the narrow limits of home. The influence of these qualities has been little observed in other wars ; here, exceptional circumstances, arising from the pecu- liar structure of our society, first gave an opportunity for a developement on a vast scale, of that same tender, generous spirit of devotion on the part of woman to those who were suffering in the cause of their country, as was excited by the needs of her own kindred. Of course, this spirit of zeal and devotion was not SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 171 created by the war, for it had long manifested itself in an organized form, in every part of the country, where any of the countless forms of human suffering required succor. But the peculiarity is, that here, organizations for such benevolent purposes, had been for a long time under the control and management almost exclusively of women. The admirable plans arranged by them for conducting such societies, and the wonderful suc- cess, which had attended these schemes, both in their organization and practical result, first suggested the employment of their extraordinary zeal for kindred purposes on a much larger scale, and in a novel field of labor. The Commission was convinced that in the intelligent zeal and devotion of these women, in their habit of prosecuting benevolent labors by organized effort, and in their general familiarity with the prin- ciples and methods, which insure success in such undertakings, it had discovered a precious source for a regular, systematic, and bountiful supply of all that the soldier could need in the way of voluntary and supple- mental aid. It was its constant effort during the Avar, so to direct their zeal in this work, and so to instruct them in regard to their labors, that the greatest possible practical benefit should result to the soldier. It was wholly unnecessary to stimulate this zeal, or urge to self-denying labor, in so sacred a cause. The intense feeling of nationality, characteristic of all classes, the ardor of which no reverses or discouragements could chill, burned with ten-fold intensity in the hearts of the women of the country. Denied a participation in the actual toils and dangers of the strife, they eagerly sought to manifest the depth of their sympathy, by 172 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. work suited to their sex. If they could not lead those they loved in battle, they could, almost before its smoke had cleared away, bind up their wounds, minister to their sufferings, and set them an example of heroic courage, patience and self-sacrificing devotion, which would inspire them with fresh and undying enthusiasm for the cause. Strong as was the love of country as a motive for persistent and intelligent effort for the relief of the Nature and mo- soldier, there was another which, appealing more peculiarly to their household affec- tions, served constantly to keep alive their zeal. The vast majority of those who had gone forth to fight the battles of their country, went from well-ordered and comfortable homes. While they carried with them into the Army, the healthy influence of such a train- ing, that influence was constantly preserved, by the consciousness that they were the objects of the anxie- ties and prayers of wives and sisters, who sought to relieve their overburdened hearts by working for those loved ones, who were absent and in danger. The sen- timent of profound love of country aided in almost every instance by an impulse of personal affection to- wards some one at least who might suffer in its cause, was soon crystalized into those organizations which did such wonderful and effective service during the war. It produced more than- seven thousand Aid Societies, tributary to the Sanitary Commission, composed wholly of women, all of whom were engaged in the common work of Army relief. Its material result was the col- lection and distribution of supplemental supplies, valued at many millions. The estimated value of the SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 173 stores distributed by the Commission to the Army during the war was about fifteen millions of dollars. Of this sum at least four-fifths was made up by the value of the contributions in kind from the homes of the country. To how many a weary sufferer in the Hospi- tals or on the battle-field these supplies gave life and strength and comfort, none but the Recording Angel can tell ; what an influence for good, this generous and constant stream of bounty flowing directly from the homes of the country to the . Army, exerted in improv- ing the morale, and stimulating the patriotic devotion of the soldier, it is not difficult to conjecture. In all this work there is positively nothing of which history has given us an example. The women of our country bore no resemblance to that type of ancient virtue, the Spartan Mother, who as she delivered the shield to her son, on the eve of battle, uttered the deepest wish of her heart, as she told him, " Either with this or upon this ;" their work claims no praise for reasons for which we are asked to admire the Roman Matrons, who, while their husbands were absent in the Army, occupied them- selves in their own homes, preparing clothing for their slaves and dependents ; their influence was quite unlike that of woman in the days of chivalry, when a romantic sentiment of devotion impelled to deeds of heroic courage. But in all that invests the social position of woman in our day with real dignity, valuing her sympathy with Truth and Right as a mighty moral power, it was a work full of a significance as novel as it was consoling. This appeal to the women of the country to aid the Government with supplemental Hospital supplies, was 174 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of course based upon the assumption, that Volunteer and either it ^ n()t d Qr wafi n()t supplemental aid considered, that the necessities of the case required. There was a natural objection to this plan of volunteer aid, which had occurred to many reflecting people, and which had been fully considered by the Commission before embarking in so important an undertaking. It was said, that it was the duty of the Government to meet all these wants in the fullest manner, and that any attempt, outside its agencies, to eke out its defi- ciencies, would result in a relaxation of zeal, on the part of the authorities, in the performance of their proper functions. It was also feared by many, that the distribution of these gifts of the people would embarrass the officials in the due exercise of their au- thority, especially in the Hospitals. These were objec- tions made at the outset, and reiterated with great apparent plausibility as the war went on, and as the Government standard of providing for the sick and wounded improved. Still the Commission, watching constantly for an opportunity of throwing this labor on the Government, where in theory it properly be- longed, was never able to do so without neglecting its duty. So entirely was this the case, that after hostili- ties had ceased, and more than three months after Lee had surrendered, the Commission was called upon to supply antiscorbutics for a corps of 25,000 men which had been sent to Texas, unprovided with any means of guarding against that form of disease, to which it must have been known by some one in authority, they were peculiarly liable in that part of the country. But at the outset of the war, or at least as soon as the vast SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 175 armies called for by the Government, began to take the field, there was no pretence that there was any adequacy of provision on its part for the humane care of the suf- fering soldier. At that time, owing to the enormous and sudden demand, deficiency was the rule, a regular or abundant provision the exception, in all the Supply De- partments of the Army. When arms and clothing could not be furnished for the newly raised regiments, when the Quartermaster-General was forced, in the month of October, 1861, publicly to solicit donations of blankets for men in active service, it is not to be wondered at, that articles of the first necessity were wanting in the Hospitals and on the battle-field. Hos- pital clothing there was none, the supply even of the commonest medicines was exceedingly scanty and ir- regular, and no provision had yet been made for a suitable Hospital diet. The only dependence aside from voluntary offerings for such delicacies as were needed by the sick, was the " Hospital fund," a pre- carious resource, arising from a commutation in money of the value of that portion of the ordinary ration not consumed by the patient, a fund which in most cases under the management of inexperienced officers was not productive. There was a universal complaint of neglect in the Hospitals, and the question was, not whether they were well provided for by the Govern- ment, but how best to supply their acknowledged defi- ciencies without impairing the responsibility of the officers in charge of them. This was indeed the only question, for, as we have had occasion so often to re- mark, the impulse of the roused benevolent feeling of the people towards the Army, was wholly irresistible. 176 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. All that could be hoped for, was, so to direct and con- trol it, that it might produce a result in some measure commensurate with the zeal, generosity and energy, which were its main characteristics. If this irrepressible energy was not to be wasted, trustworthy information from some recognized autho- Neoessity of rity was needed as to the real wants of the stndyingthe so i c iier, an j judicious advice as to the best special needs of ' the soldier. mode of supplying them. The natural impulse with those who had friends in the Army was of course directed first, to the aid of some particular soldier, while the zeal of a neighborhood was quickened by the desire to help the men who had gone from its immediate homes. But it was soon found, that it was impracticable to reach the soldier in this way. It was discovered that, in the movement of an army, all the resources of the government were taxed to the utmost to furnish transportation for the men themselves with their indispensable provision of shelter, food and arms. The order to advance was the signal for leaving behind every pound of superfluous baggage, which, if taken, might encumber the march. Of course it was impos- sible for the soldier to carry with him such articles for his comfort, as had been sent to him from his home, and experience proved that on a long march the men would often rather throw away their blankets and their overcoats, and even their rations, than endure the fatigue of carrying them. Thus it happened that a large portion of the gifts of the people, sent directly to their friends in the Army never reached their desti- nation or contributed, in any way, amidst the priva- tions of active campaigns, to- their health and comfort. SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 177 But even if this difficulty could have been sur- mounted, there was found in the natural ignorance that prevailed concerning the real wants of the men and their comparative importance, another obstacle to the practical usefulness of all this well meant zeal. As no one knew anything, by experience, of a soldier's life, and as it was so difficult to find out exactly how far the government proposed to care for them, the imagination of the kind-hearted took the widest range in seeking for methods to relieve his necessities. Who has forgotten those strange appendages to the head gear of the first three months' men called " Havelocks," the work of so many busy hands and warm hearts, remembered now, only as an illustration of the wasted labor and energy of a true but misguided zeal ? Who does not recall the strange medley of articles called delicacies, which, together with many things of essential value to the suffering soldier, were poured indiscriminately into the Hospitals, during the early months of the war, or the indignation of excitable philanthropists, men and women, when they were told that the patients could not be the recipients of their peculiar care, but must be left in the charge of the Surgeons, who, alone, could be permitted to provide for their treatment and regulate their diet ? The nature, then, of the supplies and the mode of distributing them, were soon found to be practical questions, not to be solved by a mere sentiment of pity, or even by a spirit of devotion to the welfare of the soldier, no matter how pure its motive, but solely by considerations growing out of the exigencies of the military service. There was here a wide field for the 23 178 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. exercise of the truest humanity, but it was a field, ut- terly unlike that in which any one had heretofore labored, and its proper and successful cultivation required a special instruction. The Commission, therefore, recognizing with all the world the need of supplemental supplies, sought to Council of wo- organize a system by which those most Washington, needed should be provided in abundance, and distributed in such a way as to accomplish the best practical result for the common benefit of the whole Army. As a means of securing a concert of action among the \vomen of the country, the Com- mission invited certain societies, from which it had hitherto received its principal contribution of supplies, to appoint Delegates, who should meet in Washington, and after fully discussing the subject in all its bearings, advise the Commission as to the best mode of effecting its object. This conference, or " Women's Council," as it was called, was held in November, 1862, and was attended by ladies representing the chief auxiliaries of the Commission in different parts of the country; Its plans and methods w r ere laid before them by Mr. Olmsted and Dr. Newberry ; the peculiar relations of women to the war, and the aid which might be ren- dered by them to the sick and suffering by means of a system of organized effort were earnestly discussed. With entire unanimity the Council agreed that it was the duty of the women of the country to provide as- sistance and consolation for the sick and suffering " abundantly, persistently, and methodically," and that such aid should be as far as possible an expression of pure patriotism and love of the Union. To perform SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 179 this duty properly, they resolved, that associations should be formed in every village and town with this distinct purpose in view, and that whatever was thus provided, should be thrown into a common stock for the relief of all soldiers who might suffer. They de- cided also that the best system for the distribution of these gifts, was that adopted by the Sanitary Commis- sion, by means of which relief was as freely afforded at points most remote from loyal communities, as at those nearest to them. This was the great source of the wonderful supply organization of the Commission, and out of jt, owing to the zealous, enlightened, and unwearied labors of the societies which were repre- sented in this Council flowed a stream constant and abundant, the vast proportions of which were only less remarkable than the perpetual refreshment it admin- istered to the sick and weary of the Army. These Councils or conventions of representative women were held from time to time, as the changing circumstances of the war seemed to require them, and they always resulted in perfecting the details of the general or- ganization, in stimulating those engaged in work for the soldier to renewed zeal, and in confirming the loy- alty of the women of the country to the principles and methods of the Commission. As another step towards carrying out their plans for a supply organization, the Commission invoked the powerful aid of a body of men throughout Aid of the ASSO- the country whom they had appointed As- ^ ^! s.ociate Members. At the beginning of the sion invoked. year 1862 more than four hundred such members, representative men in their respective communities, 180 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. had been selected. Their duties were defined in a cir- cular issued in June, 1861, "to consist in efforts to promote the establishment of auxiliary associations and so to direct the labors of those already formed, for the aid and relief of the army, that they might strengthen and support those of the Commission." When the depots were established by the General Sec- retary at the various points already referred to for the reception of supplies, the Associate Members re- siding at those places were requested to take charge of these depots, to see that they were constantly replen- ished, and to hold the stores accumulated in them sub- ject to the order of the central office of the Commis- sion. In pursuance of the request contained in this circular, the " supply business," as it was called, was actively entered upon by the Associate Members. In accordance with the policy of the Commission, as has been already stated, their efforts were principally Action of the directed to war ds aiding their countrv- women Associate Mem- . . here in different to methodize and enlarge their plans of * gathering supplies, and in organizing a system by which the depots, at all the large centres, should be kept replenished. In Boston, the Associates of the Commission transferred their work, at an early Boston. day, to the New England Women's Auxil- iary Association, an organization conspicuous, during the whole war for its vigor and energy. By its active efforts, . Aid Societies, tributary to its depot, were established throughout all the eastern portion of New England, and it thus became, to use the words of General Meade, " one of the principal sources whence flowed the inestimable blessings and benefits conferred SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 181 by that noble association (the Sanitary Commission,) upon the sick and suffering soldiers." In New York, as has been already stated, the work of Army relief was begun by that great society, the Women's Central Association of Relief. Its managers soon New York. became convinced of the wisdom of the plans and methods adopted by the Commission, and made a formal application to be recognized as one of its Branches, stipulating only, that all the stores accumu- lated in its depot should be subject to the orders of the proper officers of the Commission. Their request was granted, and the success of their efforts in gathering supplies was as great, as that spirit of perfect faith in the methods of the Commission, and that harmonious co-operation with it in all its work which marked the whole period of its history. It laid under contribu- tion the state of New York, and apart of New Jersey, and it soon succeeded in establishing a network of auxiliary organizations of singular efficiency and in- fluence throughout those states. In Philadelphia, the work of gathering supplies from benevo- Philadelphia. lent societies and individuals, made but slow progress, while under the direct charge of the Associates. Their zealous efforts to support the general policy of the Commission were rewarded, however, by the con- tribution of large sums of money, by which, supplies of a kind needed in the army, and not provided by the homes of the country, were procured. Following the example of Boston and New York, it was determined to transfer the whole business of collecting supplies in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Western New Jersey to a number of ladies who afterwards took the name of the 182 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. "Women's Pennsylvania Branch." This society prosecuted its labors with great zeal during the con- tinuance of the war. It established, in the district under its special jurisdiction more than three hundred and fifty Aid Societies tributary to it. From these societies a vast amount of valuable contributions was received which aided materially in the support of the great supply work of the Commission. These three associations became the great centres of supply, by which such wants of the armies operating east of the mountains as could be provided for by contributions in kind, were met. While the Associate Members in each of these three cities aided and encouraged by their influence the prosecution of this supply work after its active man- agement had passed into the hands of the women, the co-operation in it of those resident in Philadelphia was more direct and constant than anywhere else. " The Women's Pennsylvania Branch" industriously engaged in that portion of it which embraced the collection of articles from its numerous tributaries, and the dis- covery of new sources of supply. The management and disposal of these supplies so as to meet the requi- sitions of the Central Office at Washington, and the wants of local military Hospitals, besides an import- ant Special Relief work including the Hospital Directory, the Employment Bureau, and the War Claim Agency, remained under the direct control of the Associates. The details of this great business were managed by their Superintendent, MR. ROBERT M. LEWIS, a gentleman to whose rare judgment, wisely tempered zeal, and persistent earnestness of purpose SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 183 was due in a great measure the impulse which resulted in gathering money and supplies of the value of more than a million and a half of dollars, as the share of Philadelphia and the district dependent upon it, in maintaining the work of the Commission. For more than three years he conducted the affairs of the Agency at that place with unceasing assiduity and consummate skill, abounding in labors, which had no fee or reward save the consciousness that he was among the foremost in that noble army of workers at home, which was the true reserve force and support of that in the field. There were, besides these, a large number of socie- ties, not affiliated with the branches, which preferred to send their local contributions direct to the Central Dep6t at Washington. In the West, also, the same great work was organ- ized by the Associate Members of the Commission. In Cincinnati, in Columbus, and especially in the West. in Cleveland, they exhibited a zeal and enterprise which resulted in the formation of Aid Societies di- recting nearly all the vast resources of the patriotic sympathy of the great State of Ohio towards the Army through the channels of the Commission. The unwearied zeal and personal toil of the Asso- ciates at Cincinnati after the battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh have been already referred to, Cincinnati. and they there set an example of a good work which stimulated the friends of the Commission throughout the West to similar efforts, as occasion called for them during the war. The extraordinary success of the officers of the Commission in Ohio in gathering con- tributions, and the wonderful energy which they dis- 184 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. played in placing them at the disposal of the sol- dier just when most needed, attracted the attention of the Legislature of that state, and received its official commendation and approval. The North-Western Chicago. Branch of the Commission at Chicago was one of the most efficient of all its auxiliaries in collecting supplies, and its various tributaries scattered through- out the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, did more for the relief of the soldier, probably, in proportion to their means, than those of any other section of the country. Nowhere had the Commission warmer or more enthusiastic friends than at Chicago. It was most fortunate in enlisting at an early period the active sym- pathy of some of the most influential and trusted men in that important place. The names of the gentlemen who conducted the operation of its Agency there, Judge Skinner, Mr. E. B. McCagg, and Mr. E. W. Blatch- ford, were alone a tower of strength to its cause through- out the North-West, and the Commission reaped the benefit, in the vast contributions of that region, of their wide-spread reputation and active exertions. The history of these Aid Societies forms in itself a wonderful chapter in the annals of philanthropic labor. General results It has seemed to the Commission of such of the supply or- . 1 . special interest and importance as to require, for its full development and illustration, a distinct volume in which a detailed account of the methods and results of their operations should be presented. It is impossible, in any other way, to do justice to the vast labors of those who conducted them, or to present such a lesson of this great mode of organizing popular be- nevolence as may be useful to posterity. These asso- SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 185 ciations, with their affiliated tributaries, formed, in an important sense, the main stem or trunk of the Com- mission, rather than its branches, for through them chiefly flowed that stream of life-giving nourishment which maintained the whole body in perpetual vigor. Without them, indeed, that body might have had but a dwarfish growth. It is not easy, therefore, to overrate the importance of their efforts as shaping the policy and results of one of the most important departments of the Commission's work. It might indeed be an interesting- subject of speculation to discuss the probability of its success as an organization, had it confined itself wholly to its original design of securing the adoption of a thorough preventive service. Whether popular senti- ment was at any time during the war so enlightened as to appreciate fully the paramount necessity of such a service, and to provide the means of carrying it on, to the exclusion of other forms of Army relief, may well admit of a doubt. But this appeal for ar- ticles to supply wants, which were obvious to the most unreflecting, made a deep impression on the great popular heart, and it resulted not only in obtaining means for supplying these special wants, but also, in- directly, in furnishing the Commission's Treasury with money, by which the other and more scientific portions of its work were supported. In this way, the labors of these Societies were of inestimable service in educating the public mind to a due conception of the character and value of the Commission's theory, and of the wide scope of its operations. It is impossible to do full justice to the patient and untiring energy, zeal and devotion of the members of these societies, or to the systematic, 186 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. intelligent, and successful methods of conducting their operations which distinguished them during the war. Where these qualities were so conspicuous among the multitudes engaged in this sacred work of self-denial, it is scarcely necessary to point to individuals as bright and shining examples of their influence, still justice and gratitude alike demand from the Commission the avowal of its conviction, that to the enlightened and zealous labors of such women as Miss May and Miss Stevenson, at Boston, Miss Collins and Miss Schuyler at New York, Mrs. Grier and Mrs. Moore at Philadel- phia, Mrs. Rouse and Miss Brayton at Cleveland, Miss Campbell at Detroit, and Mrs. Hoge and Mrs. Liver- more at Chicago, is due not merely a large proportion of the supplies distributed in the Army, but also much of that enthusiastic spirit of devotion to its general policy as an agent and exponent of popular sympathy, which pervaded all classes during the war. When it was determined to induce these Soldiers' Aid Societies to become tributary to the Commission, and to adopt its channels as the best means of distri- buting their gifts, it was found that a larger number than was supposed had already sprung into existence, and were actively working. It needed but little effort to convince their members that the agency for which they had been seeking, as the best almoner of their bounty, was close at hand. The peculiar advantages which the Commission possessed for distributing wisely and with the best practical results, contributions for the relief of the soldier were set forth in numerdus circulars and other documents. Very soon, most of these societies became auxiliary to the Commission, and SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 187 their gifts soon swelled the amount of its stores to an extent far beyond what had been anticipated by the most sanguine. Various other means were taken to quicken and enlighten the zeal and labors of the members of these societies. A complete canvassing system of canvassing by means of special A s entSi Agents was adopted. These Agents made frequent visits to the societies, presented statements of the needs of the soldier, explained the modes adopted in giving relief, and frequently illustrated the value of the work in the Hospital, and on the battle-field by relating incidents occurring within their own personal observation. A constant correspondence was kept up concerning the work in which they were engaged between the officers of the great central re- ceiving depots and their tributary branches, and thus each remote society was kept fully informed of the special needs of the soldier at particular periods or in particular localities, as observed by the agents of the Commission engaged in the work of distribution. In order more fully to enlighten those upon whom the Commission depended for its stock of supplies, two periodical publications, one at the West, the Sanitary Re- Sanitary Reporter, the other at the East, the t^sSiet^ 1 Sanitary Bulletin, were established. They were issued every two weeks, and containing in the letters and reports of the Agents of the Commission with the Army in the field, the latest accounts of its actual work, they carried to each society the evidence of the practical results of its labors. At the meetings of these societies, it was customary to read such portions of these publications as appeared most likely to in- 188 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. terest and encourage those who were working for the soldier. By these varied means, the zeal of the women of the country was kept alive, and their faith in the influence of methods adopted by the Commission, was these Aid Socie- * ties in favor of preserved and strengthened. The Village ^ a Aid Society or sewing circle soon became the nucleus of the patriotic feeling, and self-sacrificing efforts of the particular locality in which it was held. As the war went on, these societies, so far from di- minishing in numbers or efficiency or in the amount of their contributions, actually increased in all these respects, with every increasing demand on their energy and resources. The extraordinary constancy which was maintained by most of them during the war, in their efforts to aid the soldier, was one of their most remarkable characteristics. The women had evidently enlisted for the war ; there was nothing intermittent or spasmodic about their labors, their zeal kept pace with the triumphant march of their brethren in the field and there can be little doubt, that had the struggle con- tinued for years longer, the women of the country would have been found just as persistent in their self-denying labors, as when their enthusiasm had been first roused. This unmistakeable feeling, thus exhibited, had, of course, a far deeper significance, and a far wider in- fluence than that which resulted in merely sending gifts to the soldier. It can hardly be doubted that the existence and support of such a society, in any par- ticular town or village during the war, exercised there a powerful effect upon public opinion in favor of sus- taining the National cause. It was impossible to work SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 189 constantly and in a self-sacrificing spirit, for the relief of the soldier, without imbibing a feeling of intense sympathy for the cause which he was defending. Such a spirit could not be confined to the women, and its legitimate result was, to encourage husbands and brothers in loyal devotion, by the example of their wives and sisters. Among the many influences which contributed to the general support of the Government during the war, especially in the rural districts, one of the foremost unquestionably was an intense desire, on the part of those who stayed at home to aid and encourage those of their friends, who were absent in the Army. In maintaining so healthy a sentiment, it will readily be seen, that these efforts of the women were not without a controlling power. Their labors indeed, viewed in this more general light, were very significant in another aspect. The Aid Societies of the Sanitary Commission worked for the National cause because they worked for the National soldier only. Nothing had been more difficult, at first, than to divert the warm impulses of the hearts of women from efforts to minister to the necessities of those, who, going from their own households, seemed to have peculiar and special claims upon their sympathy. But when they were convinced, not merely that distribution to par- ticular individuals or regiments was impracticable, but also that a true and lofty conception of their duty re- quired them to recognize all National soldiers as equally deserving their aid, they gave a practical illustration of their devotion to the National idea in its broadest sense. The heresy of state sovereignty with its natural fruit of local jealousies and a petty, narrow, 190 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. unnational spirit, had its counterpart in much that was observed here while we were engaged in a terrible struggle to preserve our own life, by extirpating every trace of so poisonous an element. Some allusion has already been made to its hurtful influence as exhibited in the attempt of some of the State Governments to provide for the care of their own sick and wounded exclusively, and sectional jealousies and pretensions, as is well known, fomented too often by a pure spirit of demagogueism, appeared in a much more offensive form during the war. The imperious need of the time was the inculcation of a thoroughly National senti- ment which, above and beyond everything else, should recognize only one country and one destiny. This principle once thoroughly rooted in the popular mind, everything was safe, and the result of the struggle could not be doubtful. The Sanitary Commission, not only because it was a necessity in the practical admin- istration of its work, and because it was always re- garded by its officers as a species of bureau of the National Government, but because it anxiously desired to uphold National principles and a National policy, strove unceasingly, both in its appeals to its constitu- ents for supplies, and in its distribution of them in the Army, to recognize in every man who wore the uniform, a National soldier only. It can hardly be doubted that its constant adherence to this principle in all its methods and operations, contributed powerfully to foster that intense spirit of nationality, which, un weakened by the fierce strife of parties, brought us safely through the war. The interest of the communities, in the midst of SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 191 which these societies were working, was further stimu- lated by lectures, concerts and other exhibi- p OW erM effect tions of various kinds, the claim of the ofthis ^ ence in certain locali- soldier on the gratitude of those who were ties. at home being always the inspiring theme on such occa- sion. By expedients of this sort, their treasuries were kept filled, their contributions in clothing and all kinds of supplies became abundant, and an un- flagging spirit of devotion to the welfare of the soldier, was perpetually kept alive. An intelli- gent appreciation of his particular wants, was also one of the characteristics of these organizations. Did scurvy invade the Army, and threaten to paralyze its efficiency, circulars were issued from the Head Quar- ters of the Commission, asking for contributions of fresh vegetables, in order that the dreaded evil might be extirpated. In response to these appeals, contained in what were called in the history of the Commission, "Potato Circulars" and "Onion Circulars," thousands of barrels of these esculents were gathered in a short time by the members of these societies from the farmers of the North-west, and sent without delay to the distant fields of military operations, where the effect they pro- duced may be inferred from the declaration of one of our most distinguished Generals, that the Sanitary Com- mission had saved by these means the Army engaged in the siege of Vicksburg. The ability to perform such a work was due entirely to the perfect system adopted by the Commission in organizing the benevo- lence of the country. The ingenuity of the women in discovering new methods of enlisting the sympathy and interest of the 192 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. sanitary Fairs- people in working for the soldier, when the old ones had somewhat lost their freshness, was very remarkable. The ordinary, regular, steady work of these societies had resulted in very large contributions. As time went on, their production, as we have said, so far from diminishing increased, notwithstanding the gradual exhaustion of home supplies, and the con- stantly advancing price of materials. Still the wants which prevailed during the campaigns of 1863 had been so great and so urgent, and the prospect of an in- creasing demand in the future seemed so imminent, that it was determined to adopt a bold experiment for re- plenishing the funds of the Commission, and to test the strength of that public interest which had been awak- ened in the general subject of Army Relief. This was no less than an attempt to organize, on a grand scale, those novel exhibitions popularly termed "Sanitary Fairs," the unparalleled success of which was not only a most remarkable proof of popular confidence in the plans of the Commission, but also one of the most striking illustrations of the profound gratitude and affection felt by the popular heart towards the soldier which occurred during the war. It is not our purpose here to give a detailed account of these bril- liant displays of patriotic sympathy. That task is in other and competent hands. The material aid which was furnished by these Fairs was hardly more oppor- tune, than the evidence they afforded of the undimin- ished interest which was felt in the welfare of the sol- dier was gratifying. Beginning at Chicago in the au- tumn of 1863, these Fairs, held afterwards at Cincin- nati, Cleveland, New York, Boston, Brooklyn, Phila- SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 193 delphia, Pittsburg, and Albany, added more than three millions of dollars to the funds of the Commis- sion and its branches throughout the country. It need hardly be said, that the whole conception of these great exhibitions was as peculiarly novel and American as their success was unexampled. Everything was crowded into them which the busy brains, or the warm hearts or the skillful hands of our country-women could create or gather as a fit offering of their gratitude to the soldier. The products of the farm, the manufactory, the machine shop, the delicate workmanship of the skilled artisan, works of art and beauty, of taste and utility, represented there the sympathy of all classes of the community for the suffering soldier. The months of previous preparation,, necessary to perfect the arrangements for these gigantic exhibitions, the appeals to all classes through large districts of country for contributions, the stirring events of the campaigns in progress, all helped with wonderful effect, to turn the thoughts of every one into the same channel, and to keep alive an excitement and interest in the work, which soon became contagious, and from the influence of which few escaped. The quiet, unas- suming but hard-working Village Aid Societies had suddenly become partners in a grand scheme which appealed not only to their long-tried sympathy for the soldier, but to their local pride, and to that love of novelty and excitement, which is so wonderful a stimulus of activity in all undertakings. It was feared at one time, by the cooler and wiser heads of the Commission, that the extraordinary labors attend- ant upon preparing and conducting these great Fairs, 25 194 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. would inevitably be followed by a reaction, and that the old normal, steady system of gathering supplies, which had been in use since the beginning of the war, would seem tame and spiritless after the excitement had passed. Such an apprehension, however, proved groundless. It seemed, after all, that the efforts of the women, on behalf of the soldier were based on no transient emotions, but on sober convictions of duty. As long as the need lasted throughout the war, just so long were they ready, with warm hearts and full hands, to minister to him. Thus, the surplus stock of the homes of country, in every description of clothing and bedding, and in articles of delicate food, intended for the comfort of the sick, was poured with a lavish bounty into the depots of the Commission. From many of these homes where the contributions in kind appeared smallest, the spirit which dictated the offer- ing was really the grandest and most self-sacrificing, for not seldom they represented the widow's mite, cheer- fully shared with those, who were supposed to be more needy than herself. These were some of the means by which the Com- mission was able not only to rouse the patriotic sym- other seme*, pathy of the masses in different sections Members. of the country, but also, so to guide the strong impulse of home affection as to render it the great source of the power wielded by it in the work in which it was engaged. The Aid Societies as has been already mentioned, were placed at first under the immediate charge of the Associate Members, residing in different localities. Practically, however, after their work began, their relations were with the SUPPLEMENTAL HOSPITAL SUPPLIES. 195 Central offices of the Commission, from whom they received instructions as to special wants, and in obedi- ence to whose requisition, they sent their accumulated stores to the distributing dep6ts. But the functions and duties of the Associate Members did not, by any means, end here. The valuable assistance, rendered by some of them, in the preparation of monographs on Medical and Surgical subjects, for distribution among the Army Surgeons, has already been noticed. As they were men of position and influence, in their respective communities, they were looked to, also, as Agents for devising means for replenishing the treas- ury of the Commission. A vast amount of money, was required, not merely to place the contributions in kind of the Aid Societies in the hands of the soldier, and to purchase those articles that could not be fur- nished by them, but also, for the support of the general work of the Commission. Each Branch had besides, its local treasury, and the funds belonging to it were used not only for the purchase of those articles, for which requisition was made by the central authorities, but also for the purpose of afford- ing relief to local Military Hospitals, and in aid- ing soldiers in irregular circumstances. This last branch of their service, involved great labor in many parts of the country. In the large cities particularly, where numbers of troops were constantly passing and repassing, and Hospitals were established, which were crowded with patients during the war, the Branches found it necessary to establish Homes and Lodges, and Bureaus of information, supported by funds from their own treasuries. These various 196 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. means of relief proved as useful to the particular objects of their care, as the similar establishments managed by the Commission at points nearer to the scene of hostilities. CHAPTER VIII. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CALIFORNIA AND THE PACIFIC COAST. WHEN the Sanitary Commission entered upon its undertaking, seventy-five thousand men had been called into the field, and it was hoped they Original design would prove sufficient to put down the commission. Rebellion. This army then seemed a very large one, and it was solicitude for only seventy-five thousand troops that called the Sanitary Commission into ex- istence. Fifty thousand dollars, it was thought, not without grounds, would suffice to enable a scientific Commission to render all the services such an Army could require from a careful study of the whole subject of military hygiene, from thorough inspection, and such systematic appeals to the War Department and the Medical Bureau, as would keep the authorities accurately informed as to the dangers, wants, and deficiencies of each regiment, camp, and hospital, and secure the prompt and efficient super- vision of the Military and Medical authorities over the health, life and comfort of the men. It was with these hopes and views, and with this inadequate idea of the cost of its undertaking Limited amount that the Sanitary Commission first got to J n ' t T t "; work. For a few months its labors were ntset - 197 198 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. very much confined to camp inspections, and to matters strictly scientific and preventive. To what belongs directly to camp police, it added a careful re-examina- tion of the questions of diet and cooking, of quarters and tents, of uniforms and knapsacks and shoes, as affecting comfort and endurance, and examined an im- mense number of patented inventions having reference sometimes to camp equipage, sometimes to prepara- tions of food. Its monthly expenses did not exceed for the first six months an average of five thousand dollars. From the first, boxes and bales of comforts for the soldiers had been forwarded to the Sanitary Commis- sion, but not in such quantities as to em- barrass its small depot, or to give any special trouble in distributing them. For the first six months neither the Eastern nor the Western Army went far enough from home to make any general agency indis- pensable. But in the second six months, the supplies poured into the hands of the Commission became cumbrous in quantity, and the Commission began gradually to feel how much it was depended upon to meet the wants of an ever-growing army, which the longer it was in the field, and the further it went from its base, became more deficient in the ordinary appli- ances of personal comfort and safety, more exposed to sickness, and more dependent on the nation's bounty to be extended to it through some vehicle more flexible than the Commissariat and Quartermaster's Depart- ments. There was a double embarrassment which the Sani- tary Commission encountered at this stage of its ex- istence. CONTRIBUTIONS FKOM CALIFORNIA. 199 Its own success in drawing to itself supplies, in- volved the necessity of a costly machinery of store- houses, Officers, aCCOUntantS, agents Of in- More money re- spection and distribution, of wagons and ^ uired J mee * its enlarged horses, which it had no obvious means of plans- creating and supporting. The people freely gave their supplies made with their own hands, or raised on their own farms. But for one dollar in money they found it easy to raise and send forward ten dollars worth of supplies. Such was the disproportion of supplies to the cost of their distribution, that the Commission trembled at the responsibility it had as- sumed, and often thought the day near at hand when it must abandon its enterprise. Another embarrassment arose from the discovery that the more it did, and the better it did it the more it must do. The field kept continually widening. As its labors became known and appreciated, it was more and more drawn upon by the army and every successful effort it made to distribute its supplies, only made new and increased efforts necessary. The state of its treasury meanwhile com- pelled it to be most cautious. It could form no plans with boldness for the want of means. The people had not in the first year of the war, become accustomed to the immense expenses which war demands. The Governmental reports had not then familiarized their ears with hundreds of millions, nor had the expansion of the currency lessened their sense of the value of money. The Treasury of the Commission therefore, although always fed with a steady stream of small gifts, was still always threatened with exhaustion because its means ran out 200 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. nearly as fast as they ran in, and the outlay seemed increasing out of all proportion to the income. It was just at this crisis when the Commission's plans for a thoroughly national work were embarrassed with Contribution of the practical difficulties of a feeble and in- thVnaLYdoUa 6 ade( l uate su ppty of money which there from California, appeared to be no adequate means of increas- ing; when a system of canvassing the country for money and supplies was hindered by the want of means to support canvassers in the home field ; when the desire to prevent local associations and State Agencies from becoming their own distributors was thwarted by an inability to announce that the Commission had agents of its own in the military field, numerous enough and at so many different points, as to qualify it to assume the effective distribution of all the Nation's supplementary supplies ; when the want of money in considerable advance of its current expenses forbade it from laying plans ahead, with that breadth, forethought and wisdom which it knew the case re- quired it was just at this point of time, and at this crisis in its history, when three months more of such trials as had embarrassed the Commission for the three months preceding, would have probably brought it to a premature death, that the news reached the public that the Mayor of San Francisco had telegraphed the President of the United States, that a hundred thousand dollars had been raised in that city for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers, and had asked his advice through what channel this magnificent contri- bution should be applied. The President consulted the Surgeon-General, Dr. Hammond, who immediately CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CALIFORNIA. 201 recommended that the Sanitary Commission should be selected as the almoner of California's bounty. The President adopted the advice, and on October 14th, 1862, the President and Treasurer of the Commission received a draft on Eugene Kelly & Co., of JNTew York, drawn by Donahoe, Ralston & Co., of San Francisco, and dated September 19th, 1862, for one hundred thousand dollars in current funds ! This hundred thousand dollars, with all it im- plied, was the making and saving of the United States Sanitary Commission. Up to that state of the period the largest cash balance in the Commissio ^' 8 treasury at that treasury at the end of any month had time. been twenty-four thousand three hundred and forty- three dollars, (April 30, 1862). The whole receipts to October 1, 1862, had been within one hundred and seventy thousand dollars ; showing for fifteen months and over, only an average sum of about eleven thousand dollars of cash, to carry on the work with. The supplies were coming in very dispro- portionately to the money, and without money to move and manage them were useless. On October 1st, 1862, the balance in the treasury was only sixteen thousand seven hundred and twenty-three dollars and ninety- one cents, while the disbursements of the previous month had been twenty-six thousand six hundred and forty-six dollars and one cent, and the receipts only twenty thousand nine hundred and sixteen dollars and eighty cents. With so small a margin of resources as the Commission had during the first fifteen months of its existence, it is easy to infer how contracted its enter- prise, and constrained its policy necessarily were and 26 202 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. how little vigor it had to contend with State Associa- tions and local Relief enterprises. When then on October 14, 1862, the Commission received the magnificent sum of one hundred thou- Effect of this sand dollars, as its first contribution from Contribution. California, more than half as much as it had received in all, up to that date, it can readily be un- derstood how it was at once emboldened to break the fetters which doubt and anxiety had fastened upon its policy ; how strengthened it was in its ability to main- tain its difficult and unpopular plan of resisting sectional schemes of Relief for special commands in the Army ; how much abler it was to contend with the jeal- ousies and rivalries of at least one powerful Branch which was more than half-disposed to go into the field itself as an independent organization, and utterly de- stroy the unity of the Commission's operations ; how enlarged its capacity of extending and perfecting its machinery in all parts of the Army, so as to leave all Relief Associations without excuse for withholding their supplies on the ground of inadequate arrangements for their distribution, on the part of the Commission. The news of California's noble contribution to the United States Sanitary Commission arrested universal five thousand dollars, while the sum total reached the extraordinary amount of fifteen thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight dollars and fifteen cents. We must here acknowledge the great indebtedness of the Com- mission, to its correspondent in Honolulu, Alex. J. Cartwright, through whose patient and long-continued faithfulness, all the moneys from the Hawaiian Islands have been forwarded. Idaho, sent five thousand three hundred and one dollars and thirty-one cents. Colorado one thousand and twenty-five dollars. Vancouver's Island Idaho, Colorado, two thousand one hundred and ninety-five p e ru,CostaKica! dollars and sixty-one cents. Peru, two thousand and two dollars. Costa Rica, eighty-four dollars. We have then this extraordinary show of liberality from Americans on the Pacific Coast and General result. adjacent islands. California $1,233,831 31 Nevada 107,642 96 Oregon 79,371 19 Washington Territory 20,918 92 Sandwich Islands 15,968 15 Idaho 5,301 31 Colorado 1,025 00 Vancouver's Island 2,195 61 Santiago de Chili 5,066 62 Peru 2,002 00 Costa Rica... 84 00 $1,473,407 07 Thus it appears that nearly a million and a half of si 242 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the whole five millions of cash received into the Trea- sury of the Sanitary Commission, came from the Pacific Coast. Of the remaining three and a half millions, two million seven hundred and thirty-six thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight dollars and eighty-four cents were the results of Fairs, leaving only about seven hundred thousand dollars as the total amount contri- buted in cash by all other sources of a spontaneous kind. It will not be forgotten, that the other sections of the country supplied stores to the amount of fifteen oondu- millions of dollars in value, and gave its most precious wealth, the lives of two hun- dred thousand men to the conflict, risking a million and a half of its sons in the perilous fight. But the Pacific Coast would as gladly have given its men and its supplies, if they could have been received, and would not have withheld its money either. The noble generosity of its contributions must be re- membered forever. No such splendid beneficence of a state to distant objects, for general purposes under unknown almoners, over whom the State had no con- trol, and where no visible monument was to remain, was ever yet recorded. The consent of the people in a common effort, which no jealous sectarian or political rivalries could alienate them from, their confidence in the United States Sanitary Commission and constancy to it to the last, are extraordinary proofs of their trusting, unsuspicious temper, thorough disinterested- ness and sympathetic patriotism. California may rightly put upon her State shield, the claim to have been the largest, promptest, most efficient helper and CONTRIBUTIONS FEOM CALIFORNIA. 243 nurse of our sick and wounded soldiers in the great War for National Unity and Life. Considering her distance and her youth, what more honorable and lasting memorial of her splendid part in the war could she have, or ought she to desire ?* * See appendix No. 5 for a detailed account of the contributions from Cali- fornia and the Pacific Coast. CHAPTER IX. DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES GENERAL AND BATTLE-FIELD RELIEF. HAVING thus traced the principal methods by which the vast contributions of Hospital supplies confided to Different fonni the Commission during the war were of Amy Beiiet gathered, it remains to explain in what man- ner, and upon what principle they were distributed for the relief of the sick and suffering of the Army. The word " Relief," as used by the Sanitary Commis- sion, was a technical term, and embraced a number of distinct modes of ministering to the necessities of the soldier, according to the different circumstances in which he might be found requiring assistance. Thus, the work of relief was divided into General and Special relief. The first concerned the wants of the inmates of General, Field and Regimental hospitals, and of men in camp or on the march ; the other, the care of sick and needy soldiers in the vicinity of military depots, discharged men, paroled prisoners, and that vast class of sufferers known as soldiers in "irregular circumstances" or, in other words, those that had no legal claim upon the ordinary provisions of the government for assistance. Another distinct form of relief was what was called, Battle-field relief, a term which sufficiently explains its object. 244 DISTEIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 245 In undertaking to administer these different forms of Relief, it was necessary in accordance with the Com- mission's theory, to ascertain accurately the Principle npon real wants of the Army, so that aid bestowed. should not be afforded, even where it seemed needed, unless it was withheld for some reason which justi- fied intervention outside the Agencies of the Gov- ernment. It was important to distinguish carefully, between those wants for which the only radical remedy could be found in an improvement of the military ad- ministration, and those which, inevitably occurring, even under the best administered system, might be properly relieved by the contributions of public benevo- lence. This subject had been carefully studied by the Commission in the light which had been shed upon it by the reports of its Inspectors, and as its design to experience rendered the practical working s *pp lement th o Government of the Army system more familiar, a service. very clear view was gained of the true sphere of the Government on one side, and of the Com- mission's special field of labor on the other. Its fundamental principle was to supplement, not to sup- plant the government. The necessity of supplying the government deficiencies was apparent, but when, and how, and under what circumstances this was to be done, so as not to impair the responsibility of the officials, and so as to afford the truest relief to the soldier, was in practice, an exceedingly delicate and difficult problem. It was impossible to establish any uniform rule by which the same apparent wants should always be supplied in the same way. Theoretically, the Government 246 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. undertook of course, to provide all that was necessary for the care and comfort of the soldier in the Army and in the Hospital. The Government standard in this matter was always fluctuating, generally advancing and improving; but at no time was it true, and perhaps in the nature of things could not be that it provided fully for the particular necesity of each particular man. Even had the system been one upon which a reason- able expectation could have been founded of abundant and regular supply, the good intentions of the Gov- ernment were liable, at any particular point, to be frustrated by the inefficiency or incompetency of its own officers. Still it was considered essential, that in no case should stores entrusted to the Commission be distributed in the Camps or in the Hospitals, until it was clearly ascertained that Government had failed to make adequate provision for the supposed need. It was therefore an established rule of the Commission, that none of its supplies should be issued in ordinary cases, unless first, the need of them was apparent, secondly, unless some satisfactory explanation was given of the manner in which the need had arisen, and thirdly, unless a written voucher or statement was presented by the Surgeon applying for assistance, show- ing why the Commission had been called on. These rules were strict, but their observance was essential if the distribution of supplies by the Commission was not to be hurtful in many cases to the men themselves, and if that distribution was not to be made the occa- sion for the introduction of those loose notions of dis- cipline into the Army, which would have resulted in tenfold greater injury to it than any good which DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 247 could possibly have arisen from an irregular mode of relief. How different this system was from many of the schemes of relief which had been suggested, both in its view of the true relations of a volunteer or- HOW it differed ganization working in concert with the Army from ot . he , r sys " f terns of Army officials, and in its practical results in main- relief. taining the proper responsibility of those officials, it is not difficult to perceive. The clamor, during the war, among many well-meaning but indiscreet persons, was for personal ministrations to the suffering, to be be- stowed by those in no way connected with the military service, and of course wholly irresponsible. An opinion prevailed that the Surgeons and Hospital Stewards could not be trusted to dispense delicacies and luxuries provided by sympathizing friends at home for the use of the patients. Prompted by this suspicion, and perhaps disposed to gratify the natural desire to receive ex- pressions of gratitude from the suffering, many per- sons forced themselves into the Hospitals, interfered with their discipline, and too often by their injudicious kindness provided the patients with articles of food which destroyed all chances of their recovery. The Commission pursued the opposite course. Thinking, of all evils, the worst that could befall an Army be- cause it included all others, was a relaxation of salutary */ discipline, and of a just sense of official responsibility, it subordinated all its plans, even for the relief of suf- fering to the maintenance of that discipline in its strictest form. While its own methods were elastic, and intended to meet any possible emergency, it never forgot that the great purpose of an Army organization 248 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. was to train men to fight and to conquer. To effect this object, perfect subordination and accountability were essential ; and just as it was impossible that an Army which had gained a victory should be delayed in the pursuit of the retreating enemy in order to look after its wounded, so it determined that if the relief of the suffering required a violation of those rules of military discipline upon the observance of which the safety of all depended, the sacrifice should be made for the general good. There were many cases during the war in which the officers of the Commission seriously differed in opinion with the Government Agents as to the proper care of the suffering, but they never forgot this fundamental principle of non-intervention beyond their legitimate sphere ; so far from it, they were un- ceasing, by their example and counsel, in their efforts to make all in the Army understand that they were there, not to embarrass the Government officials, but to aid them when their aid was invoked in the ap- pointed way. They sought to teach the soldier that the Government was his best friend, desirous of doing everything for him, and failing, as all Governments had done sometimes, from occasional and accidental causes. They never joined in the foolish cry, so com- mon during the war, against 'red tape' and Army regu- lations, for they were persuaded, that without the strict accountability which it was intended to secure by these means there would soon have been no Army to take care of. These were some of the principles upon which what was technically called General Relief was administered by the Commission to the soldier, who was subject DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 249 to the ordinary and usual care of the Personal mims- H/TTI ,1 , -n i -I T trations to t h e Medical Authorities. Everything was done suffering. through the Surgeons or other responsible officers, nothing without their knowledge and implied sanc- tion. In the other branch of the department, that known as Special Relief, where the soldier was, for the time out of his normal practical relations with the authorities, the rule was just the opposite ; and here the personal services of the agents of the Commission and its supplies were freely given. To minister to the wants of a single class of these men, those discharged from the service, and therefore from the care of the Government, and obliged to remain for a few hours or days, owing to their feeble condition or their desire to collect the amount of pay due them, at some point in transitu to their homes, the Commission maintained during the war, at different points, forty Homes and Lodges, which received more than a mil- lion and a half of inmates, and provided them with more than four millions of meals. This branch of the Commission's service, however, was so novel in its character, and attained such vast proportions that it will require special consideration hereafter. The principle of distribution being thus settled, it is necessary to describe the machinery by which the gifts of the people at last reached the soldier, and Machinery for , , ,, . . . , . the distribution the means adopted tor ascertaining his wants O f supplies. at a particular time. The contributions of the various Aid Societies were sent in the first place to sub-depots, ten in number, in various parts of the country, where they were assorted and repacked, articles of the same kind being placed in separate cases, and were held sub- 32 250 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. ject to the requisitions of the officers of the Commis- sion in charge of the great central distributing depots. These depots, during the war were at Washington and Louisville, they being the great gateways, through which passed all supplies, of every kind, for the use of the principal armies, operating against the enemy. Both in these sub-depots and in the distributing depots a rigid system of accountability was maintained in the recep- tion, care and issue of the goods. So completely was this system carried out, that it could not be ascertained after the most careful investigation, that of the many thousands of boxes sent to the depots during the war, more than a very insignificant portion had failed to reach their destination. At the distribut- ing depots, these articles were accumulated, not merely to supply the current wants of the army, but also for the purpose of forming a reserve stock to be made immediately available in the event of great battles, in which case delay in forwarding them from points dis- tant from the scene of conflict might involve the loss of many lives. This wise prevision was abundantly justified by the events of the war. Amidst the horrors and confusion of a battle-field all ordinary means of Relief, Government or supplemental, are soon ex- hausted, and the immense distribution of supplies with its life-saving results, which took place after Antietam, Gettysburg, and the bloody battles of the Wilderness Campaign would not have been possible had a differ- ent policy been pursued. To each Army sent upon a distant expedition, and generally to each column of the main Armies operat- Eeiief Agents, ing in Virginia, and in the Southwest, was DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 251 assigned an Inspector, as Superintendent of the Com- mission's work with a competent staff of assistants, known as Relief Agents. This corps was permanently attached to the Army as an integral part of its organi- zation, and accompanied it in all its movements. Con- nected with it and under its charge, was the Commis- sion's dep6t of supplies, larger or smaller according to the actual or prospective wants of the Army. Wagons and teams, and where needed steamboats also, were pro- vided by the Commission, not only to transport such sup- plies as might be required in the Hospitals attached to the Army while encamped, but also to accompany it with a suitable stock of articles when on the march. The business of the Inspector, who was always a Medical man, was to visit constantly the Hospitals within his jurisdiction, to ascertain their wants, to make sugges- tions to the Surgeons in charge in regard to evils which were observed requiring correction, and to assist them by an offer of such supplies for the use of the sick as might be needed, but which the Government had failed to provide. There never was a time during the war when the Surgeons were not too glad to avail them- selves of this assistance, and they never hesitated to make requisitions on the Commission in the form re- quired by its rules for any articles of which they hap- pened to be destitute, and which could in any way pro- mote the comfort or hasten the recovery of the patients under their charge. It is most gratifying to remember that there was no occasion during the progress of the war, at least after the organization of the Supply Department, Vast scale U P O]I . . which relief was and the arrival or the first instalment of the afforded, 252 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. golden treasure from the Pacific Coast in the autumn of 1862, in which the resources of the Commission were not found sufficient for this call for supplemental aid. Whether the wants of the Army of the Potomac were confined to suitable Hospital clothing and Hospital diet, whether General Rosecrans' army before Chatta- nooga, or that of General Grant before Vicksburg was wasting away from the terrible effects of scurvy, whether General Gilmore's army on Morris Island was perishing of disease aggravated by the use of brackish water, or that of General Weitzel in Texas was suffer- ing from a total deprivation of vegetable food, the stores of the Commission were always found abundant for supplying the particular necessity, and were con- veyed to the sufferers with a promptness and with an abundance, which never failed speedily to restore their shattered strength. It seemed indeed just as easy with the means at the disposal of the Commission, and with the thorough organization of its system to forward cargoes of ice and anti-scorbutics to South Carolina or Texas, or to transport thousands of barrels of onions and potatoes from the distant Northwest to the Armies of General Rosecrans or General Grant, as to send a few cases of shirts and drawers, and of Hospital delicacies from Washington to the Army of the Potomac. Relief on this vast scale was the ordinary regular work of the Commission, and was designed to meet the constantly recurring wants of an Army in the field. It was totally distinct and independent of that form of relief afforded after great battles and known specially in the work of the Commission, as Battle-field relief, but its extent and the wonderful results which DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 253 followed from its bestowal may be inferred from the vast territory which it embraced, and the great re- sources required fully to meet the unceasing demand. Although the Commission's work on battle-fields be- came more conspicuous because public attention was naturally more directed to it, the money and supplies required to maintain in thorough efficiency, a system which sought to promote the health of the men while in camps, in order that they might afterwards fight battles successfully, required tenfold greater labor and resources. This constant, never-ceasing care for the health and comfort of the Army, the absence of all improper inter- meddling with the officers, the vast extent opinions of the of the work and its perpetual activity, soon Generals con - f ' cernmg the re- produced, as was natural, a profound im- iiefwork. pression upon the military authorities. They discov- ered, not merely that it was conducted on principles which they could recognize and approve, but also that in unforeseen emergencies, which often threatened seri- ous disaster, the Commission was always at hand, prompt and ready and able to afford the needed remedy. Commanding Generals, the success of whose operations depended so much upon the physical condition of their men, lost their natural jealousy of extra official co-ope- ration, and not only testified publicly and most warmly in favor of the inestimable value of the Commission's services, but aided its efforts in every way by granting to its agents in charge of supplies, means of trans- portation, and by affording them various facilities for the prosecution of their work which were denied to 254 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. other associations engaged in similar labors.* Even the officers of the Medical Department itself, convinced by their own personal observation that it was possible * " HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE TENNESSEE, \ Vicksburg, Miss., Sept. 28, 1863. J " Commanding Officer, Cairo, 111. : " Sir, Direct the Post Quartermaster at Cairo to call upon the U. S. Sanitary agent at your place, and see exactly what buildings they require to be erected for their charitable and humane purposes. " The Commission has been of such great service to the country, and at Cairo are doing so much for this army at this time, that I am disposed to extend their facilities for doing good in every way in my power. You will therefore cause to be put up, at Government expense, suitable buildings for the Sanitary Com- mission, connecting those they already have, and also put up for them neces- sary outbuildings. " (Signed) U. S. GRANT, "Major General." " HEADQUARTERS 14iH ARMY CORPS, 'j "DEPARTMENT OF THK CUMBERLAND, Nashville, Dec. llth, 1862. ) " The General Commanding, appreciating the vast amount of good which the soldiers of this Army are deriving from the Sanitary stores distributed among them by the United States Sanitary Commission, directs : " That all officers in this department render any aid consistent with their duties, to the agents of this society and afford them every facility for the exe- cution of this charitable work. " By order of " MAJ. GEN. W. S. KOSECRANS." " DEP"T OF THE SOUTH, HEADQ'RS IN THE FIELD, \ " MORRIS ISLAND, S. C., SEPT. 9. j " General Orders, No. 73. " The Brigadier-General commanding desires to make this public acknow- ledgment of the benefits for which his command has been indebted to the United States Sanitary Commission, and to express his thanks to the gentlemen whose humane efforts in procuring and distributing much-needed articles of comfort have so materially alleviated the sufferings of the soldiers. " Especial gratitude is due to Dr. M. M. Marsh, Medical Inspector of the Commission, through whose efficiency, energy, and zeal, the wants of the troops have been promptly ascertained, and the resources of the Commission made available for every portion of the Army. By order of Brig.-Gen. Q. A. GILLMORK. " ED. W. SMITH, A. A. G." DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 255 so to conduct a volunteer organization in the Army as really to aid and not embarrass them, entered into those cordial relations with it which had been from the first its anxious desire to establish, and many of them became its warmest friends. The machinery by which these plans of distribution were carried out was very simple but very effective. In regard to Hospitals at the base of military Pield relief operations or in large cities, in which the OOT P S wants of the patients were more readily provided for than in the remote Field and Regimental Hospitals, the duty of the Inspector was easy, and the demand on the stores of the Commission for supplemental aid, particularly after the reorganization of the Medical Department, comparatively light. The officers of the Commission, enlightened by their experience of the ever varying but unceasing wants of the Army, made constant efforts to perfect its system of distribution. At first, as we have seen, a single depot had been es- tablished near the Headquarters of each Army, and from thence was issued, under the requisitions of the Sanitary Inspector all that was called for throughout its various divisions. It was found, however, that in order to accomplish its work more thoroughly a some- what different arrangement of labor was necessary. The plan adopted was substantially one suggested by Dr. Lewis H. Steiner, one of the most valued and ex- perienced Inspectors of the Commission, and he was placed at the head of the new corps, with instructions to organize its work. Under the general superinten- dence of Dr. Steiner, a body of Agents was formed, called the Field Relief Corps, one of whose number 256 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. was assigned to each Army Corps. He had charge of the whole of the Commission's work in the particular corps to which he was attached. He had under his charge Agents and supplies intended exclusively for the service of that particular portion of the Army, and was provided with wagons and horses, in order to ren- der that service more complete and effective. He remained constantly with the corps, accompanied it on its march, and in every way became thoroughly iden- tified with it. In the Army of the Potomac there were six such Relief Agents, all working in harmoni- ous co-operation with the Medical Authorities under the orders of the General Inspector or Superintendent. They replenished their stock of supplies, as it became exhausted, from a central depot established at the mili- tary base, which depot was in turn kept filled by requi- sitions on the storehouses at Washington. The efficiency of this system depended much, of course, upon the character of the Agents employed, character and and their exact observance of the rules laid the agents. down by the Commission for conducting its operations. These Agents had been selected with the greatest care with special reference to their peculiar qualifications for this particular duty. The policy of the Commission in this, as in all the departments of its work, was to secure the permanent services of capable and well-trained men. It was satisfied that its plans could never be thoroughly or efficiently carried out by the temporary, spasmodic, and irrespon- sible labor of mere volunteers. During the war there were a vast number of persons, who, influenced by motives of humanity, and sometimes by those less DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 257 praiseworthy, were desirous of spending a few weeks in the Army with the hope of rendering aid to the suffering soldier. Many of these persons were such, as by previous training and habit, were wholly unfit for any relief service whatever, and all of them were so fettered by the claims of their ordinary duties at home, that they were unable to remain long enough in the Army to acquire that familiarity with its system and life which would have made them really useful. The practice of the Commission was wholly opposed to any such irregular and irresponsible method of labor. It was satisfied that the work it had to perform was of such peculiar novelty and difficulty, that it required for its faithful execution not only men of the highest character for intelligence and zeal, but that it involved the necessity also of a thorough course of training. No one was ever placed in the responsible position of a Field Relief Agent until he had received some in- struction, and acquired some experience in a subordi- nate post. It was understood also, that those who en- tered the Commission's service should engage to remain in it for a lengthened definite period. The Agents were all instructed before they entered on their duties, in a knowledge of the general principles of Army organization, in the special functions of its different departments, in the usages of Army life, and in the peculiar relations which the Commission, bore to the Military Authorities. .Until they showed some profi- ciency in such matters they were never placed in posi- tions in which their ignorance could compromise the reputation of the Commission, or embarrass the disci- pline of the Army. As they gained experience, or 33 258 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. showed peculiar aptitude for their new duties, they were promoted from subordinate posts, and invested with larger responsibilities. Thus the Commission had always at its command a body of well trained and experienced men, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of its work, and competent faithfully to perform it. As a means of attaching permanently to its service, such a body of capable Agents, a moderate compensa- 8yitem of p^ tion was paid to all of them. It would Agents. hardly seem necessary to say one word upon the superior effectiveness, and greater real cheapness of paid labor in the kind of work in which the Com- mission was engaged during the war, had not its policy in this matter been not only questioned, but vehe- mently assailed by many well-meaning persons. Nothing could well be more lofty, than the scorn which was so often expressed during the war for those who would consent to receive money for their services in such a mission of mercy as this, but the Commission felt at the outset, and experience soon confirmed it in its opinion, that it had entered upon a work altogether too full of toil, drudgery, and repulsive reality, to be upheld by any mere sentimental pity or sympathy for the poor soldier. Its object was to help the suffering by the best practical methods it could discover, not to give an opportunity for sympathizing friends at home, to relieve their overburdened hearts, by spending a few weeks in the Army Hospitals in busy yet fruitless at- tempts to aid him. The work of relieving the soldier was found in practice to be a very hard, continuous and prosaic one. The best mode of doing it was not learned by inspiration, but was to be acquired only by DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 259 patient and long-continued watchfulness and labor. man was fit for it who was not moved to undertake it by a principle of duty, but it was a novel idea that that duty was less conscientiously performed, and its lofty nature degraded by those who received compensation for their services. The great object which the Commission had in view of course, was to secure the best services of the best men. The whole practice of the military service as well as that of every association or individual having work to do, and needing the help of Agents to do it, was opposed to the assumption that any man's zeal and devotion in the performance of any duty is un- favorably affected by his receiving a salary. Why the rule heretofore universally recognized that paid services have always been more steady, regular and abundant in results than those of mere volunteers should be reversed in the matter of Army relief, it is difficult to say. One of the great advantages which this system pre- sented, was that it maintained discipline and proper ideas of subordination in the service. The Discipline of the Commission knew exactly how much it should corps. attempt, because it knew accurately its means of doing it. Its unfortunate experience in the transport service of the Peninsular Campaign with volunteer nurses and assistants, has been already spoken of. The fail- ure of that experiment confirmed its Managers in their determination never again, in the ordinary adminis- tration of their work, to trust to the services of any man whom they could not at all times rightfully com- mand. A single exception to this rule was made in the case of the great emergencies of battle-fields. At 260 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. such times the demand upon the Commission for sup- plies was so great, that it was found impossible to meet it with the limited number of its permanent Agents at- tached to the Army, and in such cases, temporary vol- unteer aid was sought for, on the principle, that on the whole, it was better in relieving the wants of such an exceptional condition, to employ inexperienced hands than none at all. Of all the conditions of human suffering experience has shown that that which occurs after great battles, is Battle-field re- ^ ne mos t difficult adequately to provide for. Ue This is inevitable, not merely because the number to be cared for is ordinarily great and their wants pressing, but because battles are often fought at a distance from the base of supplies, because the means of transporting such articles as are needed by the Surgeons are generally taken up with sending forward food and ammunition, and because it is im- possible to maintain in the normal organization of an Army such a system as will fully meet the needs of a general engagement which even, in active campaigns is an occasional exigency only. During the war of the Rebellion there occurred more than six hundred conflicts between the hostile forces. Many of these were serious battles or bloody skirmishes, but compara- tively few of them rise in dignity to what are known distinctively in history as "great battles." These struggles of giants with more than one hundred thou- sand men on each side are, fortunately for humanity, as rare in their occurrence as they are decisive in their results, not only of the campaign but of the whole contest. When these great battles do occur, however DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 261 leaving their tens of thousands of wounded on the field, no Government system however provident, no official machinery however elastic, and no popular sympathy however burning with zeal or abundant in its resources, can do much more than mitigate the in- evitable horrors attendant upon them. Owing to the general advance of Christian civilization, however, the battle-field has now become something more than a spot where humanity shudders at a consciousness of its own helplessness, as it witnesses the terrible suffering, it is powerless alike to prevent or relieve. It was one of the glories of the late war, that numerous as were its battle-fields, and immense as were the difficulties of fully relieving the wants of their victims, public opinion not only always insisted that the Government should maintain a high standard in its care of the wounded, but the people themselves were ever ready and anxious, by the offer of personal services and voluntary gifts, to assist in this humane service. This was the universal feeling and practice from the earliest period of the war, and although popular zeal may, at times have been indiscreet, experience gave it method, and immense practical efficiency and value. It should not be forgotten that the standard of comfort for those wounded in battle is necessarily very much lower than that maintained in long-established military Hospitals. Much of the misery which ensues on such occasions is, in the nature of things, inevitable, and the relief of this misery can be relative only. If, indeed, the relief afforded by the Government and by all popular volun- tary contributions, and the value of personal services rendered at such times had been tenfold greater than 262 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. it really was, the condition of the wounded would still have been one of terrible privation and agony. Into this unpromising field nevertheless, the warm current of popular sympathy was constantly turned during the war. What results followed in that portion of this field under the charge of the Sanitary Commission, it is for us to tell. The first campaign in which its system of battle- field relief was methodized, and assumed the form The battle of whi^h it retained during the war, was that in Antietam. Northern Virginia and Maryland which terminated in the great battle of ANTIETAM. There was probably no campaign throughout the war which was conducted under greater disadvantages in respect of supplies of all kinds. The Army with which the campaign opened under General Pope had been driven back defeated on Centreville, with immense loss of men and material. It was reinforced by the Army of the Potomac which had been sent to its assistance, in all haste, from the Peninsula. Thus united, several sanguinary battles were fought, which did not result in victory to the Union arms, and which had the effect, not only of disorganizing the Army, and demoralizing the men, but, to a Very considerable extent of exhaust- ing its supplies also. Washington the great base, it is true, was near, but owing to the confusion arising from a series of unsuccessful battles, and a change in the command of the Army, a very inadequate supply of stores reached it. A large portion of those sent forward, including forty wagon loads of medical sup- plies, was captured by the enemy, and for some days the utmost anxiety and alarm prevailed in Washing- DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 263 ton lest the means of providing that Army, upon whose success the fate of the nation depended with food and ammunition should fail. The enemy having withdrawn from the neighborhood of Washington with the design of invading the Northern states, the Union army passed through that city into Maryland. These events occurred within a period of a few days, and it was necessary that the Army should move with the utmost expedition, in order to oppose the advance of the rebels north of the Potomac. Its supply trains were, of course, replenished in passing through Washington, but the loss and destruction of wagons and horses during the brief campaign in Northern Virginia, had been so great, that its disposable means of transportation were very limited, and there was no time to replace the loss which had been sustained. The railroad bridge over the Monocacy River also had been destroyed, so that the Army was deprived, at least temporarily, of the great channel by which its supplies might have been rapidly forwarded. Thus, from a com- bination of causes, not often occurring together, the immense losses and terrible exhaustion of a week of battles, the consequent confusion and disorganization, and the impossibility of providing adequate means of transportation for the most necessary supplies, the Army which fought at Antietam was placed in the worst possible condition so far as its ability to care properly for its wounded was concerned. The result was precisely what might have been con- fidently anticipated. The battle was fought on the 17th of September, 1862, and resulted in leaving Suffering of the wounded for on our hands nearly ten thousand 01 want of supplies. 264 UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSION. our own wounded, besides a very large number of the enemy, abandoned by his defeated and retreating army. Hospital accommodation of the rudest form could not be provided for any considerable number of these sufferers, and after every house, and barn, and church, and building, for miles around had been appropriated for the use of the wounded, many remained shelterless in the woods and fields, for want of tents. The number of Surgeons was wholly insufficient for the demands upon them, and until they were reinforced by Medical men in civil life, who came from all parts of the country and volunteered their services, the condi- tion of the wounded whose first wants had not, in many cases, been attended to for days after the battle, was most distressing. The supplies of the Medical Authorities were not one tenth of what was absolutely needed. A large stock had been accumulated in Baltimore, ready to be despatched to the battle-field. But it must be remembered that the Medical Authori- ties had no independent means of transportation, but were forced to rely on the Quartermaster's Department for the performance of that essential part of its service. That Department, charged with the responsibility, not merely of sending means of succor to the wounded, but also of supplying the Army with everything it needed in the way of food, clothing and ammunition, naturally considered it more important to provide for the wants of those who were still able to fight, than for those who had been placed hors-du-combat. In this way, the supplies which had been accumulated by the Surgeon- General were delayed, and even the small portion jvhich was sent forward did not reach the battle-field DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 265 for many days, owing to the destruction of the bridge over the Monocacy. The serious injury resulting from these, perhaps unavoidable, delays can be esti- mated when it is remembered that on such occasions, the first two days are more important than the next ten, to the saving of life and relief of misery.* The Commission was perfectly aware of all the cir- cumstances in this campaign which would call for its utmost exertions, and it employed all its re- Preparations of . . _ the Commission sources in preparing tor the emergency. It f or this battle. was foreseen, that the grand difficulty on the part of the Government in promptly succoring the wounded, would be a deficiency in the means of transportation. The Commission determined, therefore, wisely, to place all its supplies in its own wagons, in charge of its own Agents, who should move with the Army during this campaign. Two large wagons, each accompanied by an Inspector, were kept constantly well up to the " front," and distri- bution of stores was made on the march, whenever needed. When these stores became exhausted they were replenished from other wagons following in the rear. In anticipation of the battle, a wagon-train laden with suitable supplies was despatched every day, from Wash- ington to the Army, during this brief campaign, so that * It is a curious fact as illustrating the extremely limited amount of supplies, with which every department of the Army which fought at Antietam, was pro- vided, that there was serious cause of alarm during the battle, lest the ammu- nition should become exhausted. Information of this state of affairs was at once sent to Washington, and in consequence, a train of cars laden with ord- nance stores was forthwith dispatched from Baltimore to Hagerstown via Harris- burg and the Cumberland Valley Railroad, making the trip of about one hundred and twenty miles in less than three hours. If the same energy had been shown in sending forward relief for the wounded how many noble and precious lives would have been saved at Antietam ! 266 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. after the battle occurred, relays of these trains arrived at intervals, during several succeeding days at Head- quarters. In this way the Commission was enabled to supply at once the first wants of the wounded, and by Friday, the 19th of September, it provided abun- dantly for the most pressing necessities of the thousands who were imploring succor. During all this time, and for nearly two days afterwards, that is to say, during four days after the battle, the Medical Director received no supplies. They were stored in abundance in the cars near the broken bridge over the Monocacy, and on the railroad between that point and Baltimore, but they could not be got forward by the ordinary means of Government transportation. What the condition of the wounded at Antietam would have been, without the timely succor furnished by the Sanitary Commis- sion and other volunteer organizations, it is horrible to imagine. Chloroform, opiates, instruments, bed-pans, everything, in fact, required for the treatment of the wounded, was wanting. Had there been no voluntary supplemental supplies these sufferers would have been forced to depend wholly for food upon the coarse rations furnished by the Commissary, and for clothing and shelter upon such means as the inhabitants of the country, recently plundered by the Rebels, could pro- vide. Within a week after the battle of Antietam there were dispatched to that field by the Sanitary Commission and distributed by its Agents, the follow- ing articles : " Twenty-eight thousand seven hundred and sixty- three pieces of dry-goods, shirts, towels, bed -ticks, pillows, &c. ; thirty barrels of old linen bandages and DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 267 lint; three thousand one hundred and eighty-eight pounds farina ; two thousand six hundred and twenty pounds condensed milk ; five thousand pounds beef stock and canned meats ; three thousand bottles wine and cordials, and several tons of lemons and other fruit, crackers, tea, sugar, rubber cloth, tin cups, and hospital conveniences." In addition to these issues, strange as it may seem, the Commission succeeded in transporting from the Medical Purveyor's office in New York to Transportation the Government depot at Frederick, four of overnment supplies from thousand sets of hospital clothing, and one New York. hundred and twenty bales of blankets. It is cer- tainly a circumstance well worthy of consideration, as showing how the theory of the ability of the Gov- ernment, always fully to provide for the wants of the soldier, will sometimes break down, that the Commission succeeded on this- occasion through the energy and determination of its special Agents, in overcoming the difficulties and delays which had beset the transportation even of Government Medical stores by the ordinary channels. Perhaps the great- ness of the emergency may justify the Commis- sion in this single instance of departure from its ordinary policy of non-interference with Government plans. The wonderful success of the Commission's methods of succoring the wounded at Antietam, was due, not merely to the wise and comprehensive sys- success of the tern of relief which it adopted, but also to ^^/S the extraordinary fidelity, energy and intel- after this battle. ligence exhibited by the Agents employed in their UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. execution. The Board was holding its regular session at Washington, during the progress of the campaign, and its presence and example inspired all its officers with a spirit of renewed activity and devotion. Dr. C. R. Agnew, one of the Commissioners, accompanied the Army on its march, superintended the movement of its wagon-train and the distribution of its stores. For more than a week he was constantly in the advance, in close communication with the Medical Director, having the best opportunity of knowing the relative wants and necessities of the wounded, and the blessed power, for several days, of fully minis- tering to them. The subordinate Agents rivalled each other in the unflagging zeal they displayed, and in the cheerfulness with which they bore un- ceasing toil and privation, in carrying out the details of this humane and merciful service. One there was who died a martyr to his devotion for the relief of the suffering on that field, whose waiiam Piatt, name and services deserve comrnemora- Jr - tion, for he was one of the true heroes of the war. WILLIAM PLATT, Jr., at that time super- intendent of the Philadelphia Agency of the Com- mission, had gone to Washington, in the early part of September with a view of arranging plans for the more rapid transmission of the supplies in the Philadelphia storehouse to the point where all felt that the great conflict was impending. On his arrival there, he found every one busy, pack- ing and forwarding stores to the army. Inspired with an earnest wish to occupy that post where DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 269 he could render the greatest service, he volunteered to take charge of one of the wagon trains, which the Commission was about despatching to "the front." He hastened forward with the utmost expedition, and reaching Middletown at eleven o'clock at night on the 17th of September, the day of the battle, he pursued his journey during the whole night, quickening his speed as he came within the sound of the cannon, lead- ing the way with a lantern in his hand, and compelling the reluctant drivers to follow. He reached the Head- quarters of the Army at nine o'clock the next morn- ing, when the stores he had brought, the first and for nearly two days the only ones, which reached the Army, were distributed, to the inexpressible relief of the suffering. But his labors did not end here. As the wounded were brought in in the ambulances, he car- ried many of them in his arms to the Hospital, and performed for them all the gentlest offices of a nurse. Thus employed he overtasked his strength, and con- tracted a disease which soon brought his short but well spent life to a close. ) T'he Sanitary Commission haslts""*^ roll of martyrs, as what noble cause has not ? men who have sealed with their blood their belief that there are many things in this world more valuable than mere life, yet, there is no one of those who "laid down their lives for their brethren," whose memory is held in more grateful and loving reverence than that of this modest yet earnest gentleman, this pure-minded and faithful Christian, this ardent and steadfast lover of his country. He died, as he himself would have chosen, at the post of duty in the highest service of humanity. 270 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The battle of Perryville in Kentucky, which oc- curred shortly after that of Antietam, furnished, if The battle of possible, a still stronger illustration of the Perryriiie. f ac ^ that the wants of the wounded were neglected after great battles, not through any fault of the Surgeons, but because the Medical Department had no control whatever over the means of transporting the supplies necessary to relieve them. The want of inde- pendent means of transportation continued to embar- rass the action of the Medical Officers in the field throughout the war. The aggravated suffering which was due to an absence of this provision caused a constant appeal to the Commission as the great Agent of relief, and required a corresponding increase of its resources. Owing to the necessity of limiting as much as possible the transportation of any stores which could impede the rapid march of the Army which fought at Perryville, an order was issued by the General commanding, forbidding even Regi- mental Surgeons to carry medical supplies. Such an order may have been justified by military necessity, but its consequences were none the less shocking to humanity. The battle at Perryville left nearly twenty- five hundred of our men wounded upon our hands. The Surgeons were destitute, of course, of almost every thing which could minister to their relief, and the sup- plies which had been forwarded by the Medical Direc- tor at Louisville, only eighty miles distant, did not, for some reason, reach Perryville until several weeks after the battle. But the Commission did not allow its operations to be embarrassed by any such obstacles. On the receipt of the news of the battle at Louisville, DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 271 Dr. Read, the Inspector in charge, borrowed from the Medical Director three large army wagons and twenty- one ambulances, and loading them with stores from the dep6t in that city, proceeded forthwith to the battle-field. The condition of things when he reached there was deplorable in the extreme. It was the same sad story of agony and misery 'resulting from the casualties of war, not even mitigated by the com- monest modes of relief, and intensified, if possible, by the utter want of Hospital accommodation. What could be done, of course, was done. The resources of the Commission were abundantly poured out, but great as they were, they could make but a small impression upon such a mass of suffering. It was a burning dis- grace to the country, and to the administration of the military service, that the lives of men who had fallen in defending the National cause, and who were lying in their agony within eighty miles of the great mili- tary depot of the West, should be confided for weeks to the care of a mere voluntary, benevolent organi- zation. The fearful suffering on battle-fields, preventible as it seemed to the Commission, by the adoption on the part of the Government of very simple means independent of succor was a subject which commanded t rans P rtatlon * for medical snp- the anxious attention of its members during plies. the whole war. It made constant efforts to secure the great desideratum, the control by the Medical Authori- ties of independent means of transportation. These efforts proved unavailing, for reasons deemed satisfac- tory by those at the head of the military service. These reasons were based upon the theory that every- 272 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. thing in an Army must be subordinated to its capacity to fight battles, and as that capacity was reduced by whatever impeded its rapid march, and by any division of authority in the matter of forwarding supplies, the neglect of the wounded, which it was ad- mitted resulted from existing arrangements, must be accepted as one of -the inevitable evils of a state of war. No argument, founded on considerations of hu- manity could induce the military authorities to change the system, and consequently all that was left for the Commission to do was to attempt to mitigate the evils which it never ceased to deplore, but which it was wholly powerless to remove. The systematic method which was characteristic of the Commission's work in its other forms of relief, Auxiliary Belief was > as we have seen, somewhat necessarily r P 8> relaxed when it was called upon to afford succor to the wounded after great battles. Still the ignorance of Army regulations and usages on the part of that portion of their corps of Agents, who coming fresh from civil life, had volunteered their services for the emergency, the misdirected zeal of some, and the carelessness and inefficiency of others, all causing a waste of labor and of stores, led it to seek for some means by which its invaluable services could be be- stowed in a more systematic and therefore more effective manner. After the question had been much discussed, and all the light which could be borrowed from nearly three years' experience in this peculiar work had been shed upon it, it was decided to introduce a more orderly system into the Commission's work even amidst the confusion of the battle-field. With the view of trying DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 273 this experiment, a corps was organized, in anticipation of the campaign upon which the Army of the Potomac entered, in May, 1864, which should be charged specially with battle-field relief during that campaign. This corps was called the AUXILIARY RELIEF CORPS. The design was that the new organization should not interfere in any way with the functions of the Field Relief Corps of the Commission, whose duty, as we have stated, was to accompany the Army on its march and supply its ordinary and current necessities. That work was to be continued in all its vigor at the " front," while the new corps was to look after the wants of the wounded sent to the Hospitals after an engagement, and left behind by the Army on its onward march. The expediency of organizing such a corps for such a service had been suggested by Mr. FRANK B. FAY, of Chelsea, Massachusetts, who had had during the war much personal experience in Army relief as an indepen- dent worker. He was accordingly placed at its head, and proceeded at once to organize it. Fifty agents were first selected, most of them young men, principally theo- logical students. It was agreed that they should enter the Commission's service for at least four months, and bind themselves to observe its rules and discipline. The great object in view was to secure personal ministrations to the wounded by chosen men who should be responsible members of an organ- Peculiar dut i es ization directed by those who were familiar of this Cor P s< by experience with the regulations of the Army, and the needs of the suffering. They were to be relied upon, in strict obedience to the orders of the Superin- tendent, to meet the wounded as they were carried in 35 274 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. ambulances from the field, and see that they were pro- vided with proper food and stimulants ; they were to assist, when called upon, in conveying them to the Hospitals, to wash and cleanse them when necessary, and to provide them with fresh clothing. If it hap- pened, as it often did, that the buildings which were occupied as Hospitals required a thorough renovation and cleansing, in order that the patients might be pro- perly treated, and their chance of recovery promoted, they were expected cheerfully and promptly to under- take this menial and scavenger work. They were to give themselves, day and night, unreservedly to the care of the particular wounded men placed under their charge. When, by these means, the sufferings of their bodies had been alleviated as far as practicable, they were to give their attention to their other wants. They were to write letters for them to loved ones at home ; they were to supply them with reading matter when their condition permitted them to read ; they were to enliven their tedious hours with cheerful conversation and expressions of sympathy ; they were to minister to the dying the sublime consolations of a Christian faith, and they were to perform for the dead the decent rites of a Christian burial. In short, these young men were expected to consecrate all their powers for a definite period to this exhausting labor of humanity and mercy. A spirit of devotion was required of them, not unlike that exhibited by those noble men and women who, bound by religious vows, have braved the worst terrors of the pestilence in their efforts to relieve the sufferings of their fellow-creatures. Instances, of course, were not wanting of heroic self-devotion and DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 275 most arduous self-imposed labor, upon the earlier battle-fields of the war, but in most cases the service was too short to be absolutely exhausting, and in all, there was the stimulus of uncontrolled action, which, powerful as it was, was wholly unlike that needed to keep ever fresh and active a zeal for the regular, sys- tematic, and continuous performance of a service re- pulsive to every instinct save that of humanity and Christian duty. The Agents composing this Auxiliary Relief Corps were gathered together in Washington in the early days of May, 1864, and the nature of their It enters upoa duties was fully explained to them. They itadiiti s ' were told that their zeal and ardor, however impatient, must at all times be controlled by the orders of the Su- perintendent, which were based upon a careful study of the wants they would be called upon to relieve, and were framed with the intention of avoiding all possible conflict between the Commission's labors, and those of the mili- tary authorities. They also received instructions in their duties as nurses, and in general Hospital work. They were then formed into squads or companies of six, each under the charge of a captain, who was re- sponsible for the work of his particular company to the General Superintendent. Each of these squads was provided with what was called a "relief box," which contained a limited supply of food suitable for the wounded, and a great variety of articles which experience had proved were not only essential in sud- denly improvised Hospitals, but which were most difficult to procure when most needed. The corps left Washington on the receipt of the 276 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. news of the battles of the Wilderness, and its first work at Belie duty was the establishing at Belle Plain of Feeding Stations, whence food could be dispensed to the famishing, wounded men, who were slowly and painfully conveyed in ambulances stretching out in lines many miles long, all moving towards the water base of the army. But their services were soon required nearer to the " front." Walking to Frede- ricksburg, ten miles distant, they found more than twenty thousand wounded men crowded into that place. These were the worst cases which had been sent from the battle-field, so bad indeed, that it was deemed unsafe to transport them further. To the inexperienced eyes of the members of the Corps, those whom they had met on the shores of the Potomac seemed to have reached the utmost verge of human misery, but their condition was positively comfortable compared with that of those with whom they were now brought in contact. The whole place was actually encumbered with a mass of human beings, undergoing physical torture and agony under every conceivable variety of form. For days the public buildings, the private houses, arfd even the streets of the town, were filled with these wretched victims of war, imploring food and succor. By the time the Corps reached Fredericksburg, its numbers had increased to nearly one hundred and fifty Work at Frede- persons, embracing, besides its regular inem- tinued? rg bers, many volunteers who placed them- selves under the orders of the Superintendent. Mrs. General Barlow, Miss Gilson, and several other ladies took charge of the special diet kitchens of the Hos- DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 277 pitals and supplied the requisitions of the Relief Agents. As soon as practicable, each squad or com- pany was assigned to a distinct Hospital, and reported for orders to the Surgeon in charge. As usual, the arrangements of the Government for feeding and car- ing for the suffering men were wholly inadequate. For some reason, which has never been very clearly ex- plained, the authorities at Washington had supposed that the wounded would have been removed from the battle-field to the Hospitals in that city by railroad, and trains of cars had been dispatched from Alexan- dria to the Rapidan River to transport them thither. Instead of this arrangement, however, the wounded were all poured into Fredericksburg, where, as their coming was unexpected, no preparations had been made to receive them. It is impossible to imagine anything more frightful than the confusion and destitution which followed. Many days elapsed before anything like system could be introduced into the management of affairs. There were three things to be observed in the midst of it all, which went to prove how wise a measure the establishment of such a disciplined body by Peculiar advan- -T T 11 */ ta S 6S f thlS the Commission as its Auxiliary Relief form of relief. Corps had been, and how providential was its inter- position just at that particular juncture. In the first place, the stores of the Commission, owing to its pos- sessing more than forty four-horse wagons were readily brought forward from Belle Plain. Had these stores, in the state of utter destitution which then prevailed, been placed without specific instructions in the hands of irregular, independent, and irresponsible workers, 278 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. men prompted only by an intense natural desire to relieve the agony of those immediately around them, their distribution might have been injudicious, and would certainly have been wasteful. In the second place, owing to the previous organization of the corps into companies, it was easy to assign each company to a distinct Hospital, where it could work effectively, and thoroughly, and with a definite purpose. In the third place, it seemed that during the whole war no instance had occurred in which the regular authorities so much needed the aid of a trained body like this to assist them in their special duties, the larger number of the Surgeons being, of course, obliged to accompany the Army in its onward march, and those who were left behind being completely overworked, and entirely un- provided with proper means of relieving those under their charge. The members of the Corps worked in perfect harmony with these Surgeons, and carried out faithfully their instructions in everything concerning the care of the patients. They not only performed all the duties of nurses, but strove, in a variety of ways and under the most discouraging circumstances, to provide for the comfort of the patients, acting as Stewards of the Hospitals and preparing their food in the special diet kitchens. It was not intended by the authorities to make Fredericksburg a point for the establishment of permanent Hospitals. The vast multitude of wounded which had accumulated there was transported as soon as practicable to the General Hospitals at the North. The Auxiliary Relief Corps followed the water base of the army first to Port Royal, then to White House, and last to City Point. To each DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 279 of these places the wounded of Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and of the battle-fields in front of Richmond and Petersburg were brought, and were carecl for tem- porarily until they were either sent to General Hospi- tals, or so far recovered from their wounds as to be able to rejoin their regiments. The peculiar work of the corps was unceasing, and most beneficent in its results at these points. The intensely personal char- acter of its ministrations, and the actual contact of the gifts of the loyal people of the North with the misery they were designed to relieve, are well described in an extract from a letter of one of the most active partici- pants in the work, Mr. Orange Judd.* * " These hands of mine are hallowed by the hundreds of pairs of socks, the shirts, the drawers, the arm-slings, the crutches, the pillows, the ring cushions, the slippers, etc., etc., that they have been permitted to give to these heroes during five weeks past. And every hand that has helped to make these things, or helped by work, or dimes, or dollars, to buy them, is a nobler hand therefor. I wish I could give a thousandth part of the items. I have said nothing of the tens of thousands of cups of good coffee, prepared with pure milk brought con- densed in cans, and sweetened with good sugar, of other thousands of cups of tea, of milk-punch when stimulants were most needed, of farina, of beef or chicken broth, which modern invention enables us to carry fresh to the field. Imagine at least a hundred persons constantly preparing and bearing these things to our sick and wounded brave men, far from home and home comforts and care, and again with me thank God that it was put into the hearts of the people, to work in Fairs and at home for our soldiers, and that you and I have been privileged to bear some part in this noblest enterprise of this or any other age. Shall I speak of a single day's work of my own in illustration ? The men had for thirty-six days been away from their usual access to sutlers, or other sources of supply. I found a great eagerness for tobacco among those ac- customed to use this narcotic; the longing seemed to be intensified by their condition. Yesterday I went around with a basket on each arm, and a haver- sack on my neck. A rough estimate of the day's work, from the morning and evening stock on hand, showed that I had given out writing paper and enve- lopes to about seven hundred men. Pencils to ninety. A large lot of news- papers sent direct to me by Mr. Felt, of Salem, Mass. Crutches to one hun- dred and thirty-six wounded below the knee, who were thus enabled to get up 280 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. When the armies operating before Richmond and Petersburg became stationary, and a siege of those Work in the 'places commenced, the same practice of oity Point. * transferring the sick and wounded from the Field Hospitals at the " front" to temporary Hospitals at the water base, which had existed during the whole campaign, was continued. The same personal minis- trations became therefore necessary on the part of the Auxiliary Relief Corps in the Hospitals at City Point, for although, of course, these Hospitals were much better supplied than those which had been improvised in the rear of battle-fields, still there seemed, after all, practically no limit to the distance which existed be- tween the standard of Government ideas of comfort, and that which popular sympathy for the soldier was anxious to maintain. The Commission determined on this, as on all occasions, to do all in its power to im- prove the Government standard, striving, always, how- and move about. Arm-slings to one hundred and fifteen wounded in the arm. (Perhaps you made one of these, reader.) A piece of chewing tobacco each to about three hundred and seventy. Smoking tobacco and matches to about four hundred and fifty, and pipes to seventy-three who had lost theirs. (A wounded man seldom brings anything from the field except what is in his pockets.) This is the only day I have attempted to keep an account of the work done. With my outfit of baskets, etc., I looked like, and was not inap- propriately dubbed a " Yankee Pedler." I doubt if any other Yankee Pedler ever did a better business in one day, or one that paid a thousandth part as well. The pleasant running conversation kept up all day was cheering, to myself, at least, and the " God bless yous" and cheerful "good mornings" or "good even- ings," responded from every tent as I left it, was good pay. Everywhere I met others of our " relief agents," bearing other things, or bending over the fallen men, dreasing their wounds, and Samaritan-like " pouring in oil and wine." The sleep of that night was sweetened by bearing out thirty-eight nice warm new blankets to as many blanketless men whom I found, as I came from a dis- tant part of the camping-ground at a late hour in the evening. These men had been brought in after dark, and had got separated from the rest of their train. DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 281 ever, not to embarrass that official care upon which, it well knew, the main dependence of the soldier must after all rest. It persevered in this peculiar method of sup- plemental aid, until the last hour of that campaign which the surrender of General Lee brought to a close. It was, on the whole, satisfied with the experiment which it had made. Some of its Agents might have been more earnest and active, a more thorough discipline might, perhaps, have lessened the immense issue of supplies without affecting, unfavorably, the real benefit derived from their distribution, but still imperfect as the sys- tem was, it was clear that it had done a work of bene- ficence of untold value to the sixty thousand wounded of the Wilderness campaign, a work which it did not seem possible to have accomplished in any other way. The fidelity and devotion of nearly all its members to their duty under circumstances of extraordinary privation and exposure, and the sacrifice of Fidelity and de- the lives of several of them, caused by ex- votio * of *J. e J members of this hausting service in a malarious region, have r P s ' made the history of this Corps more illustrious in many respects than that of any body of men connected with the service of the Commission. During the summer of 1864 no less than four persons, members of this Auxiliary Corps, sealed their devotion to its pure and holy ministry with their lives. One of them, WILLIAM WILSON, the youngest, perhaps, wniiamwason, of all its members, a mere boy, had nevertheless done a hero's work in ministering to the wants of the wounded. He was treacherously shot while on board a steamer in the service of the Sanitary Commission 282 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and bearing its flag, by guerillas concealed on the shore of the James River. He fell a victim to that barbarous policy of the enemy, which always refused to recognize as entitled to immunity and protection those who were not only non-combatants, but those who had always proved the best friends of their own helpless wounded when the fortunes of war placed them in our hands. Another, CHARLES H. STANLEY, charieH.stan- was preparing for the service of that Divine le y- Master whose teachings have inspired us with the highest motive for all humane effort. Im- pelled by such motives, and in such a service, no fear of danger could daunt his ardor, and no privation, or toil, or exposure were accounted ob- stacles to the full performance of a high Christian duty. But, as it often happens, the spirit of a martyr and a hero was enshrined in a weak and feeble body. In his pure and unselfish zeal, he discovered too late the limit of his capacity for doing good. Never fal- tering while a feeble remnant of strength remained, Stanley was at last prostrated by a fever, induced by his unremitting devotion to the wounded, and went home to die a Christian's death, fit sequel to his pure and noble Christian life. There were two others, the story of whose lives, freely risked and at last yielded up for the sake of the prof.Hadiey. soldier, will always serve to dignify, ennoble and exalt the history of the labors of the Auxiliary Corps. One of these was a man, and the other a woman, and they were both the highest types and representatives of that extraordinary combination of intense love of country, with a spirit of pure, unselfish DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 283 devotion to the needs of those who were suffering in its cause, which prevailed everywhere during the war as the strongest and most striking characteristic of popular feeling. Professor Hadley, Hebrew Professor in the Union Theological Seminary at New York, a Student, a man of quiet and retiring habits, utterly unpracticed from the nature of his life and tastes, in the toil and drudgery of personal ministrations to the suffering, nevertheless thought it his duty to devote his time and strength to this peculiar service. With this intention, he went to the James River in June, and enrolled himself as a member of the Auxiliary Relief Corps. He gave himself up to his new duties with all the earnestness and energy of his nature, and his feeble body not being able to meet the demands made upon it by his heroic spirit, he soon sank into an early grave. His life was characterized while in the service of the Commission, by quiet but incessant work. He never went to the front to gratify a curiosity so natural to those who for the first time visit an Army engaged in an active campaign. He toiled on unwearyingly in the sad Hospital, for he had come to help the helpless, and not to witness " the pomp and circumstance of war." He thus endeared himself to all who had been the objects of his merciful care. When he w T as borne, sick and dying to the steamer, the greatest interest was manifested in his condition by those whom he had nursed, and who were then con-, valescing. They eagerly inquired after the welfare of the " Sanitary man," as they called him, their grateful hearts pouring out blessings upon him who had been to them the noblest type of practical Christian love 284 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and sympathy. The death of such a man in such a cause, not only invests his memory with peculiar ten- derness and reverence, but it hallows and ennobles the cause, the success of which rendered necessary so pre- cious a sacrifice. The last of this glorious band who laid down their lives for their brethren, was ARABELLA GRIFFITH Arabella Orif- BARLOW, whose life from the very commence- fith Bariow. ment of the war, resembles more that of those holy women whom the Roman Catholic Church has canonized as Saints for their unshrinking devotion to the relief of human suffering in its saddest and most repulsive forms, than like that of one reared among the influences of the hard, material, and artificial state of society in which we live. Mrs. Barlow was the wife of Major-General Barlow, one of the most brilliant and heroic officers of the Army. They were married on the day of his departure for Washington, whither he went as a private in one of the New York regi- ments in which he had enlisted. She was a lady of rare personal attractions, of highly cultivated intellect, of the best social position, beloved and sought for by a large circle of friends, full of life, spirit, activity and charity. Her husband's extraordinary merit led to his rapid promotion. He went through the Peninsu- lar Campaign as Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, and his wife was one of those women who worked hard and nobly, as close to the terrible battle-fields of that campaign as they were permitted to go. She again appeared as an angel of mercy at Gettysburg, where her husband in command of one of the Divisions of the Second (General Hancock's) Corps, added by his DISTRIBUTION OF SUPPLIES. 285 skill and bravery fresh laurels to those he had so dearly earned. At the commencement of the Wilderness campaign, she identified herself, as we have seen, with the peculiar labors of the Auxiliary Relief Corps at Fredericksburg, superintending the important work of preparing proper food for the wounded, in the special diet kitchens established in the Hospitals. While thus occupied, she could hear distinctly the roar of the storm of battle in which her husband was exposed to extremest danger, but this served only to stimulate her to renewed activity in succoring those around her who had already fallen victims to its fury. Her mind, fruitful in resources, was always busy in devising some means of alleviating the miseries of the wounded, and many a fractured limb rested on cushions improvised from materials, which she alone was able to discover and make serviceable. She was the last to leave Fredericksburg, and passing to Port Royal and White House, she actively continued her beneficent and life- saving work in the Hospitals at those places. Arriv- ing at City Point, she went at once to " the front" in the lines before Petersburg, and there gave herself up to incessant labor in the Hospitals. This perpetual toil and privation proved, at last, too much for her strength, and a fever was induced by it which soon after termi- nated her pure and noble life. Mrs. Barlow was a true heroine, the record of whose career is that of one who sought, by personal service, to mitigate those hor- rors of war which are appalling, even to the perfect spirit of devotion which is so characteristic of her sex. Her motives were the worthiest and the loftiest which can stir the human heart, and she appears at all times 286 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. to have been wholly unconscious of the promptings of a spirit of self-indulgence, and love of ease. With this intense and absorbing desire to relieve the suffer- ing soldier, she combined that ardent love of the cause for which he was fighting, which sustained and cheered her in the midst of the most toilsome and forbidding labors. She and her noble husband were true types of the grand- est moral ideas which the war developed a pure love of country combined with a perfect spirit of self-sacrifice. " There are many glories," writes one who knew them both well, " of a righteous war. It is glorious to fight or to fall, to bleed or to conquer, for so great and good a cause as ours ; it is glorious to go to the field in order to help and to heal, to fan the fevered soldier and to comfort the bleeding brother, and thus helping, may be to die with him the death for our country. Both \ these glories were vouchsafed to this bridal pair." CHAPTER X. SPECIAL RELIEF SEEVICE * NOTHING can better illustrate the flexibility of the system adopted by the Sanitary Commission than the history of the rise, progress, methods, and Nature of the wonderful results of that department of its wor k. work denominated the SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. Established on the scientific basis that preventive means were the best general means of curing the evils which threatened the Army with danger, the Commis- sion did not ignore the fact, that either before such means were generally adopted, or because they would not be constantly enforced, a vast amount, of suffering would ensue which would require methodical and large measures of relief. The plans, therefore, of the Com- mission embraced both prevention and relief. Its chief attention was given at the outset, as has been said, to the former, because it was thought that pre- vention was the best mode of diminishing the necessity of relief. Its experience, however, was uniform, that * It may be proper to repeat here what has been already staled in the Preface that the Commission deems the history of its Special Relief Service of such interest and value, that it proposes to present it to the public in a distinct volume now in the course of preparation by Mr. Frederick N. Knapp. The following chapter gives only such an outline of its work as will enable the reader to form a harmonious view of the general system adopted by the Commission. 287 288 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. notwithstanding its strenuous efforts to insure the adoption of preventive measures and the partial suc- cess of those efforts, there was always a wide field for labor open throughout the war in behalf of those who were not properly cared for by Government methods. Hence arose its whole system of Relief in Camps, in Hospitals, and on Battle-fields, requiring the elaborate machinery of Hospital Visitors, Field Relief Corps, and Auxiliary Relief Corps, with an im- mense outpouring of voluntary supplemental supplies. Yet, while each of these agencies was working faithfully and most usefully in its appropriate sphere, it was felt that there were many and peculiar needs of the soldier which were not supplied by any one of them. This obvious deficiency induced the Commission to establish a distinct department of its work called the Special Re- lief Service. It was first suggested by an observation of the vast suffering endured by men, who in their relations to the Army were, without any fault of their own in what may be called " irregular circumstances," those whose simplest but most urgent wants were, for the moment, either beyond the reach, or beneath the notice or, at any rate, out of the range of the ordinary means of care provided by the Government. The necessity of the existence of some provision for wants of this kind was obvious from the very beginning what indeed O f the war. Owing to the manner in to undertake it. which the troops had been raised, Regiments were often confided to the care of officers who were utterly unfitted to be entrusted with the control of a thousand men for any purpose, and least of all, quali- fied to provide for their wants in accordance w r ith SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 289 the rules and usages of the regular Army. The incompetency of these officers, as we have else- where endeavored to show, was painfully conspicuous on the arrival of the Regiments at Washington. The Government officers, those of the regular Army, were, it must be confessed, at first, singularly backward in assisting the new Commissaries and Quartermasters in gaining a knowledge of their duties. One of the results of this state of things was that in the early days of the war, Regiment after Regiment arrived at Washington, and marched to camps several miles distant, while the sick men belonging to them were left without any attendants in the cars, to shift for themselves, and became thus dependent upon the humane bystanders, or the people in the neighborhood of the station for a supply of food. The inhumanity of this state of things it is difficult to explain, and impossible to excuse. At one of the earliest meetings of the Commission, on the Action of the 21st of June, 1861, a resolution was passed mmi8sio11 on the subject in calling the attention of the authorities to Jnne.isei. this subject, and suggesting that buildings properly fitted up should be erected near the Station for the re- ception and care of the exhausted men of regiments arriving at Washington. The application was long unheeded. When, at last, the Government erected a building it was not designed to be occupied by sick or exhausted men. There were no beds, no proper food, and besides, an order forbidding any one to remain longer than six hours in the building was rigidly en- forced. It was evidently supposed by the Authorities that any show of comfort at this halting-place would 37 290 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. prove too great a temptation to those of the newly- arrived men who desired to avoid their duty. This action may have been grounded upon proper ideas of military discipline, but it produced nevertheless as the inevitable consequence, a mass of real misery which was unrelieved except by volunteer aid. On the 9th of August, an Agent of the Commission, Mr. FREDER- ICK N. KNAPP, whose name is imperishably associated with the history of the organization and practical work- ing of this peculiar form of relief, found in the cars at the Station, thirty-six sick men of an Indiana regiment apparently abandoned by their comrades, who had moved out to their camp. These men were so utterly un- provided for, that during twenty-four hours they had had nothing to eat but a few crackers. This large-hearted man, as quick in action as he was generous in impulse procured from a boarding-house close by, two pails full of tea, and soft bread and butter, with which he refreshed and made comfortable these exhausted men, until their Surgeon, who so far from abandoning them, had been absent many hours striving in vain to find some means of removing them to a Hospital, returned. Thus began the Sanitary Commission's work of Special Relief, and thus were given the first of the four million five hundred thousand meals provided by it during the war, for sick and hungry soldiers. The next day, more than thirty men of another Regiment who had dropped down from sheer exhaustion during a forced march, were found lying near the Station. There was no one to care for them, for their Regiment had passed on ; they were of course, weak and hungry, when fortunately for them, they were found out and cared SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 291 for by this same good Samaritan. Such instances oc- curred every day. Every variety of suffering which can be endured by a sick stranger in a strange place, without money and without friends, was undergone by many of the most heroic men who went forth to fight our battles in the early days of the war, whose strength was not equal to their courage. It became necessary, of course, for the humane treat- ment of these men, most of whom were nearly ex- hausted from the fatigue of the journey, and " ~, . ,. , . , established at were suffering from no disease which a rest Washington. of a few days and proper food would not cure, that they should be at least provided with beds and proper attendance. At first, the Commission was permitted to afford them this relief in a corner of a building near the Station known as the " Cane Factory," but in a few days its Agents were driven out of this place by the Provost Marshal, who, with equal stupidity and inhumanity, insisted that the arrangements there made were converting the building intended merely for the reception of troops into a Hospital. Thus baffled by a want of co-operation on the part of the authorities, a house in the neighborhood of the Station was secured by the Commission, and completely fitted up for its benevolent purpose. This house was appropriately called "The Soldiers' Home." It was the Head Quarters of the Special Relief Service at Washington, and as its plans became gradually enlarged to meet the new wants arising in the progress of the war, it extended a form of relief to the needy, which may be classified under ten distinct heads. Its objects were, " First. To supply to the sick men of the regiments 292 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. arriving such medicines, food, and care as it was impossible for them to receive, in the midst of the con- fusion, and with the lack of facilities, from their own officers. The men to be thus aided are those who are not so sick as to have a claim upon a General Hospital, and yet need immediate care to guard them against serious sickness. " Second. To furnish suitable food, lodging, care and assistance to men who are honorably discharged from service, sent from General Hospitals, or from their regiments, but who are often delayed a day or more in the city before they obtain their papers and pay. " Third. To communicate with distant regiments in behalf of discharged men, whose certificates of dis- ability or descriptive lists on which to draw their pay, prove to be defective the invalid soldiers meantime being cared for, and not exposed to the fatigue and risk of going in person to their regiments to have their papers corrected. " Fourth. To act as the unpaid Agents or Attorneys of discharged soldiers who are too feeble, or too utterly disabled to present their own claim at the paymaster's. " Fifth. To look into the condition of discharged men who assume to be without means to pay the expense of going to their homes ; and to furnish the necessary means, where we find the man is true and the need real. " Sixth. To secure to disabled soldiers railroad tickets, at reduced rates, and, through an agent at the railroad station, see that these men are not robbed, or imposed upon by sharpers. " Seventh. To see that all men who are discharged SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 293 and paid off do at once leave the city for their homes ; or, in cases where they have been induced by evil companions to remain behind, to endeavor to rescue them, and see them started with through tickets to their own towns. " Eighth. To make reasonably clean and comfortable, before they leave the city, such discharged men as are deficient in cleanliness and clothes. " Ninth. To be prepared to meet at once, with food or other aid, such immediate necessities as arise when sick men arrive in the city in large numbers from battle-fields or distant hospitals. " Tenth. To keep a watchful eye upon all soldiers who are out of hospitals, yet not in service ; and give information to the proper authorities of such soldiers as seem endeavoring to avoid duty or to desert from the ranks." Upon carefully examining this classification, it will be observed that none of the persons embraced in it were the proper objects of that sort of care, which was bestowed by the ordinary agencies of the Army or- ganization. Those who were sick, were not sick enough to be sent to a General Hospital, and those who needed aid in various ways required "services which, in no sense came within the proper scope of the duties of the military officers. But still aid and comfort from some quarter were essential to these suffering men. It was demanded upon considerations not merely of humanity, but of patriotic sympathy and gratitude also, and the Commission came forward to supply the obvious need with its Special Relief Service, which in 294 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. extent and practical value rivalled, in the end, that of any portion of its work. Such is a meagre outline of the nature of the par- ticular kind of succor afforded by the Special Relief Soldiers 1 Homes Department at Washington during the war. established at Encouraged by the success, and guided by various other Points. the experience of the Soldiers' Home and the various Lodges attached to it at that place, the work was gradually extended to other points where soldiers were to be found in similar needy circumstances. Sol- diers' Lodges and Homes were established by the Com- mission in Boston, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Cairo, Chicago, and other places in the loyal States where destitute soldiers in large num- bers were congregated, and where relief of the same kind was administered, on the same general principles as governed that bestowed in Washington. But it was at the great gateways of the principal Armies w,here certain forms of this kind of succor were chiefly dispensed. We have spoken of Washington, the last station on the route to the Army of the Potomac, but substantially the same work was performed under the auspices of the Commission at Louisville, at Nash- ville, at Memphis, at New Orleans, and at various other points in the rear of the armies which were ad- vancing into the enemy's territory. During the war, the Commission maintained forty Homes or Lodges, scattered throughout the field of its operations from Washington to Brownsville in Texas, and from Louis- ville to Port Royal in South Carolina. They were in- deed beacons in a desert waste, shedding a cheering and steady light amidst the darkness and desolation SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 295 of war. In these refuges, the soldier, when he had no one else to care for him was, as we have seen, furnished with more than four millions and a half of meals, and provided with more than a million nights' lodgings, while assistance was given him in collecting from the Government nearly two millions and a half of dollars, his hard-earned wages. There were two features in the mode of administer- ing relief at these Homes which well deserve attention. In the first place, the service rendered was characteristics . of the relief af- emmently a personal service, bringing the forded by them. Agent of Relief into actual contact with the particular need of the individual soldier. One popular objection to the methods of the Sanitary Commission to which we have had occasion to allude, was that it distributed its gifts through the Surgeons for the general relief of sufferers -in mass, and thus, that it could not know certainly that the soldier actually received them, while the moral influence of that sympathy which was sup- posed to be so grateful to him, and which would have been secured by personal ministration, was necessarily lost. Experience proved that the advantages of this personal service in Hospitals had been as much over- rated, as the likelihood of the misappropriation of articles intended for the use of the soldier, had been exaggerated. But the Commission based its non- interference with the care of the patients in Hospitals upon the higher ground of military discipline. While that discipline was to be upheld when its necessity was apparent, the rule which forbade interference was not only relaxed, but wholly disregarded in those number- less conditions of suffering and want which unfortu- 296 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. nately occurred where the soldier was for the moment as far beyond the reach of military control, as he was with- out the circle of official care. The result was, that al- though the Commission never interfered with the case of any man whose wants were being cared for by the proper officers of the Government, except to aid those officers at their own request and in their own way, its experience proved that beyond this well-defined limit there were occasions for employing personal ministra- tion in aid of the special and individual wants of the soldier so numerous, as to demand of its Agents a far greater amount of work than that required in any of its other various forms of Army Relief. Another feature of this Special Relief Service which was somewhat remarkable, is that it should have been Military disci- found possible to conduct it without weak- pline main- . . .. . .. ening the bonds of military discipline. At first, as we have seen, it was feared by the authori- ties that these Soldiers' Homes might prove lurking- places for malingerers and deserters, who would seek their shelter to avoid doing their duty. It must be admitted that, had the hospitality offered by the Com- mission been abused, either purposely, or through the carelessness of its Agents, there would have been great reason to fear that these establishments so close to the lines of the Army would have proved prejudicial to discipline. When it is remembered that for a long period during the war the average number of men, all in some way or other connected with the Army, who were lodged nightly in these Homes, was nearly twen- ty-three hundred, it is apparent that there existed grounds for such an apprehension. Here, however, SPECIAL BELIEF SERVICE. 297 that same regard for military discipline which had its harsh side perhaps, in refusing to interfere in behalf of individuals in properly organized Hos- pitals, was of great value in solving the delicate problem how to relieve the soldier, without at the same time impairing his sense of the duty which he owed the Government, or lessening the responsibility of those who were officially charged with his care. The efforts on the part of Managers of these Homes to exclude from a participation in their benefits all who had no proper claim upon them soon inspired the military authorities with entire confidence in the wis- dom of their administration. The absolute necessity for the maintenance of such establishments at certain great centres of military movement, became, in the progress of the war so apparent, that the highest au- thorities facilitated and encouraged this peculiar form of relief in every way in their power. Thus the Gov- ernment permitted the " Home" at Washington to draw Army rations for its inmates ; at Nashville, where more than two hundred thousand men were cared for in the single year of 1864, buildings were furnished for the use of the Home without charge, while at Cairo, by order of General Grant, the Quar- termaster erected at Government expense a suitable Home with all the necessary offices, "the Commission," to use the language of that illustrious General, " hav- ing been of such great service to the country, and at Cairo are doing so much for this Army at this time, that I am disposed to extend their facilities for doing- good by every means in my power." Another most important branch of the Special 38 298 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Relief Service, technically so called, was the care and Feeding stations feeding of wounded men en route from the abied men. battle-field to the distant General Hospitals. This work was distinct from that performed on the field itself, which consisted chiefly in providing the Surgeons with supplemental supplies at the earliest possible moment, and was under the charge of the Field Relief Corps. But as the policy of removing the wounded as rapidly as possible from battle-fields to General Hospitals prevailed throughout the war in all portions of the Army, and as owing to the vast numbers of the wounded, as well as to difficulties of transportation fearful suffering often ensued, it w.-is necessary to adopt some means of succor specially adapted to relieve the wants of these men during their journey. This gave rise to the establishment, as we have seen, in the rear of all the great Armies engaged in active campaigns, and upon their lines of communi- cation, of posts occupied by the Relief Agents of the Commission, and called Feeding Stations. It will ap- pear when we come to speak of the work done in the different campaigns, how essential such a service was to those, who were forced to make a journey of several days before they reached a place of rest and compara- tive comfort. Most of the great battles of the war, as is well known, were fought far away from the supply base of the armies engaged in them, and it is not easy to overrate the agony endured by those heroic men, who with mangled limbs, and utterly exhausted by fatigue and hunger, were slowly borne to the rear. These suf- ferers were rendered as comfortable as possible pre- vious to starting by contributions from the Commis- SPECIAL EELIEF SERVICE. 299 sion's stores. At convenient points they were met by its Special Relief Agents, and were supplied by such food and stimulants coffee, soup, and soft bread as would serve to refresh them and keep up the strength necessary to enable them to reach their journey's end. The thousands who were thus relieved by these good Samaritans of the wayside at Fredericksburg, at Get- tysburg, at Acquia, at Port Royal, at White House, and at various points on the line connecting Nashville with the theatre of war in southern Tennessee and northern Georgia, are the best witnesses that there are many occasions in the life of the soldier when he needs succor quite as much as when he lies wounded on the battle-field. Nothing is more remarkable in the his- tory of the war than the persistent care with which the American people followed their soldiers wherever they might be in need. Ministrations on a battle-field may be due to a love of excitement, to the novelty of the situation, or to the effect of a deeply roused but tran- sient sympathy, but this organized system of relief in the rear of armies kept up during months of active campaigns, and supplying the wants of the soldier as they occurred, during his long and painful journey from the 'front,' is a novel feature in Army relief pecu- liar to the American war. The work done at some of these Feeding Stations was immense in kind, and inestimable in value, and it was not confined wholly to the relief of the Their great masses of wounded men accumulated after emergencies. a great battle. Owing to the suddenness a-nd unexpected character of military movements, it often happened that Field Hospitals were abandoned by the Army, and 300 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. it was necessary to remove their inmates in large numbers, with the utmost promptness to a place of safety. Thus when the army evacuated Leesburg in the summer of 1862, the patients in the Hospital there, five hundred in number, were with the greatest difficulty removed to the canal which leads to Wash- ington. There were no means of transporting supplies to them, and it was supposed that the men would have sufficient strength to reach the Washington Hospitals, where they would be provided for. Some friend of hu- manity, who had misgivings about the perfection of Government arrangements, telegraphed to the office of the Commission, " Five hundred sick and hungry men are on the canal boats on their way to Washington. Can you do anything for them?" Wagon-loads of food were at once dispatched to Georgetown, and on their arrival there, these men who were in a deplorable state of exhaustion, were all fed and cared for. Hours elapsed before ambulances could be collected to transport them to the Hospitals, and it is easy to imagine what would have been their condition during the delay had it not been for this timely relief. So when the Army of the Potomac moved northward from Fredericksburg, in June of the next year, the patients in the Hospitals to the number of ten thousand were hastily transferred to Washington by steamer. On their arrival at the wharf, they found the Agents of the Commission busily engaged in preparations to meet their wants, a kitchen having been established, huge cauldrons of hot beef soup and coffee being kept constantly ready, and served to all as soon as they ar- rived. More than eight thousand men were thus fed SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 301 in two days, and most of them then received the only nourishment they had obtained from the time they left their camps on the Rappahannock. Among the establishments connected with the Army organization which grew out of the necessities of the war, none presented a more important field convalescent of labor for the peculiar work of the cam P i Special Relief Corps than the Convalescent Camps. These establishments were neither Hospitals nor Camps, but partook of the nature of both, and formed a sort of halting-place for the soldier midway between them. They received men from the Hospitals who had so far recovered as no longer to need medical treat- ment, but who were yet not well enough for active service in the field. These men remained in the Convalescent camps until they regained their strength, or it became apparent that they were wholly incapable of further service, and then, as the case might be, were either sent to rejoin their regiments, or were dis- charged as disabled. In the course of time, however, these camps became general rendezvous for the distri- bution of troops, to which were sent not only conva- lescents from Hospitals, but recruits to fill up the old Regiments, substitutes, stragglers of all kinds, deserters, and that large class of men who were found by the Provost Marshal's guard wandering away from their proper commands without permission. It will thus be seen that a heterogeneous mass of men representing almost every condition of a soldier's life, was collected in these places. The vast number thus separated for a time at least, from their regular place in the army may be gathered from the statement that during the 302 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. years 1863 and 1864, more than two hundred thousand such men passed through a single one of these con- valescent camps, that in the rear of Alexandria. The proper management of such a place was an exceed- ingly difficult task. A permanent, effective, organiza- tion was almost impossible as the inmates were con- stantly changing, and as they belonged to nearly every Regiment in the service, and to all the staff depart- ments of the Army. The consequence was that there could be no proper military duties regularly performed or steady discipline kept up, as the men were liable, from day to day, to be discharged. For a long time the natural fruits of idleness in the soldier were ap- parent, and although some improvement was effected as experience was gained, still, these Convalescent Camps were always one of the most unsightly offshoots of the military system. The wants of the men gath- ered in them were numerous and exceedingly various, far more so than those of the same number of men enrolled under ordinary conditions in the Army. It was peculiarly a case in which personal service, judi- ciously bestowed, might prove of inestimable value. The Commission found, in a lady, Miss AMY BRAD- LEY, the qualities which rendered her peculiarly Special Belief suited for superintending the multiform and in these camps, perplexing Relief work of a Convalescent Camp, and the record of her labors in that near Alexandria during two years and a half, proves that she performed the delicate, difficult and responsible duty imposed upon her with wonderful skill and fidelity. Her labors may be classified under the following heads : SPECIAL BELIEF SERVICE. 303 "1. Distributing clothing among the needy. " 2. Procuring dainties for the sick, and administer- ing to their comfort by furnishing gruel, stimulants, etc. " 3. Accompanying discharged soldiers to Wash- ington, and assisting them in obtaining their pay, etc. " 4. Distributing note paper and envelopes, and writing letters for the sick in hospital. " 5. Receiving and forwarding money for soldiers to their friends at home. This done by draft without cost to the soldier. " 6. Answering letters of Inquiry to Hospital Di- rectory. "7. Obtaining certificates for arrears of pay for soldiers, and getting erroneous charges of desertion re- moved. " 8. Distributing reading matter, such as newspapers and periodicals throughout the camp " 9. Telegraphing to the friends of soldiers very ill in hospital. " 10. Furnishing meals to feeble soldiers in bar- racks, who could not eat the food prepared for stronger ones." In addition to the work of distributing supplies among the needy, and of affording relief in various other forms, this one woman assisted more than twenty- two hundred men in collecting the arrears of pay due them, amounting to more than two hundred and ten thousand dollars. Most of these men were utterly disabled, and not only without any means of providing for their wants, but so feeble or so ignorant as to.be unable either to bear the delay, or comply with the 304 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. rules of the Paymaster's office. Miss Bradley accom- panied them in the ambulances in which they were conveyed to Washington, and never left them until, through her intervention, and by the assistance of the other Agents of the Commission, they received their pay, and were sent on their way home rejoicing. Another opportunity for the active exercise of the peculiar kind of work performed by the Special Belief of men Relief Service was afforded by the return of Bebei prisons, our soldiers, who had been Prisoners of War in the hands of the enemy. Great efforts were made during the confinement of these men to relieve the horrors of their captivity, by sending through the lines in accordance with arrangements made between our authorities and those of the enemy, articles of clothing and of sustenance. Although there can be little doubt that a portion of these gifts failed to reach their destination, it is certain from the evidence given by many of the men after their exchange, that there was not as much misappropriation of them as was at one time supposed. The sufferings of the Pri- soners in the Libby, and of those confined at points in communication with Charleston, were unquestion- ably much alleviated by the supplies sent forward both by the Commission and by the Government. It was the desire and intention of the Commission to render this provision for our suffering men constant and abundant, but its plans were defeated by the policy of the Gov- ernment, and unfortunately relief of this kind was limited in amount, and of short duration. When, at last, arrangements for a general exchange of Prisoners was settled, and there was a prospect that a large SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 305 number of these men would reach our hands in a state of destitution and exhaustion, preparations were made to receive them, as soon as they were restored to free- dom, as such a way as to manifest the practical sympa- thy of the American people towards those who h l ad been victims of the barbarity of the enemy. In October, 1864, a fleet of steamers sailed from Fortress Monroe to the Savannah River for the purpose of re- ceiving those of our paroled, invalid prisoners who were to be delivered to us by the rebels. Each of the vessels of this fleet was accompanied by an Agent of the Commissions-supplied with suitable stores. When the exchange actually took place, and the men were re- ceived on board it was felt that no devotion could be too tender, and no provision too large, to give full ex- pression to that sympathy which the spectacle of their sad condition excited. Many of them were unable to walk, most of them were barefooted, and without un- derclothing, and their thin, wasted forms were covered with dirt and vermin. They were made as comfort- able as possible according to the Government standard, by our authorities, ordinary rations and blankets being issued to them, but it was felt that their past suffering and present destitution deserved a somewhat more kindly recognition. From the stores of the Commis- sion they were supplied with milk, tomatoes and nourishing soup. Shirts, socks, slippers and other articles were dealt out liberally to them, and before they arrived at Annapolis, each one was provided with a complete suit of under clothing. When they landed at that place they were sent to Camp Parole, where they received the constant attention and care of another 39 306 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. corps of the Commission's Agents as long as their Enfeebled condition required it. Annapolis was the great rendezvous, during the war for paroled prisoners, and their camp, while it presented the clearest evi- dence of the shocking cruelty of the rebels, was a great field in which the active practical benevolence of the country had the fullest scope for its exercise. But not alone at Annapolis was the Commission called on to perform this great duty. On the Red The same work River and at Wilmington, especially, the , Wilmington same harrowing sights were witnessed when and on the Bed Eiver. ever our men returned from the rebel prisons. At the last named place, early in the spring of 1865, more than nine thousand of these wretched men arrived in a condition the result of cruel treat- ment and neglect, aggravated by positive starvation, such as it makes the heart sick to recall. These men also were made the peculiar objects of the Commis- sion's care. A large amount of supplies had been shipped from New York in anticipation of the arrival of Greneral Sherman's army on the coast of North Carolina. These articles in consequence of the cap- ture of Wilmington, were not needed for that special purpose, and fortunately proved a most timely means of succor to these miserable men. With equal prompt- ness and energy, Dr. Agnew, who had gone in charge of the supplies, designed for General Sherman's army, directed that they should be used for the relief of the prisoners. Four thousand suits of woolen clothing were at once issued, and the sufferers were supplied with proper food during a period of nearly three weeks. Army rations were abundant, but it was, of course, SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 307 necessary to provide men who were just emerging from a state of starvation with a diet of quite different kind, and nourishing broth and vegetable food, staple articles in the Commission's supply list, were fortunately, just such as their condition re- quired.* As the war went on, the sphere of operations at the different Homes and Lodges became enlarged as the wants of the soldier became better known, Hospital Krec- and the efforts for relieving them were bet- ^ ter organized. One feature of the work, which grew almost of necessity out of the nature of the military service, was the HOSPITAL DIRECTORY. In the con- stantly changing movements of large armies it is im- possible that the track of the individual soldier can be always followed by his friends at home, and it often * The intense and wholly unnecessary suffering endured by our men in the rebel prisons, and the barbarous and cruel treatment which they received during their confinement at the hands of the rebel authorities, was the subject, above all others, which roused most deeply, public indignation during the war. As it seemed important that the truth in regard to this matter should be ascertained, in order that the weight of the public opinion of the whole civilized world should be brought to bear against the continuance of such practices, the Commission requested some of the most eminent men of the country in the different pro- fessions, to examine into the matter and report the facts and their conclusions. These gentlemen, Dr. Valentine Mott, Dr. Delafield, G. M. Wilkins, Esq., of New York, and Dr. Ellerslie Wallace, Honorable Judge Hare and the Rev. Mr. Walden of Philadelphia, went to Annapolis, examined many of the re- turned prisoners there under oath, and made a report founded upon the infor- mation thus obtained which will remain a monument of disgrace to a people who claim to be governed by the ordinary maxims of humanity. The facts stated in this report in regard to the cruel treatment received by our men have never been successfully controverted. On the contrary, they are all confirmed by the evidence given, on the trial of the wretched Wirz, the keeper of the Andersonville Prison. See " Narrative of privations and sufferings of United States soldiers while Prisoners of War in the hands of the rebel authorities." Published by authority of the United States Sanitary Commission. 308 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. happened during the war that these friends were un- able for months at a time, to discover his position, and not unseldom, that they were without the means of knowing whether he was alive or dead. The Commis- sion, as the great medium of intercommunication be- tween the people and the Army, was constantly ap- plied to to cause inquiries to be made through its Agents with the different Armies. At first it was the duty of the officers of the Special Relief Department to make these inquiries, but their number became so great, and the subject had so important a general inte- rest, that it was decided to establish a bureau which should have special charge of what was called a Hos- pital Directory. In this bureau was kept a complete record of the names of the inmates of the Army Hos- pitals, whether becoming such by disease,or by wounds received in action. The Central Office at Washington was opened to the public on the 27th of November, 1862, and shortly afterwards branch offices were estab- lished at Philadelphia, Louisville, and New York. Returns were constantly received at these offices from every General Hospital in the Army, two hundred and thirty-three in number, and the Directory there- fore contained not merely the names, but also informa- tion officially obtained, and within recent periods, con- cerning the condition of the vast multitude of invalids contained in them. The labor involved in a constant correspondence with the officers of these Hospitals, in transferring the immense mass of information thus re- ceived to the pages of the Hospital Directory in an orderly and systematic form, and in answering inqui- ries in regard to soldiers who were missing, or whose SPECIAL EELIEF SERVICE. 309 condition was unknown, was, as may be supposed, no light one. Still, in some respects, it was the work perhaps of all others, the results of which were the most gratifying of any undertaken by the Commission, for, in relieving the anxiety of friends at home con- cerning the fate of those who were dear to them, it roused the deepest feelings of gratitude in a large and important class towards an organization which gave such a practical proof of its humane spirit and en- larged methods. The Hospital Directory contained in its four offices the names of more than six hundred thousand men, with the latest information procurable in regard to the position and actual condition of each one of them. After great battles, the anxiety on the part of those at home to ascertain the fate of their friends serving in the army w r as, of course, intense. The officers of the Commission did not wait until the wounded were transferred to General Hospitals before thev discovered their names and condition. On the */ contrary, as soon as the roar of the battle had ceased, the Agents of the Directory Bureau accompanied those of the Supply Department in their ministrations to the wounded on the field, and while bodily suffering was relieved by one class of agents, every effort was made by the other to cheer and encourage the sufferer by an assurance that his friends at home should know, at once, his exact condition. Nothing is more remark- able as showing the energy and humanity of the American people or the enlarged method of operations adopted by the Commission as its representative, than this double service, differing so essentially in the ob- jects proposed to be accomplished, but guided by the 310 "UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. same humane spirit, and performed at the same time amidst the confusion and horrors of the battle-field. The mode of obtaining the information afforded by the Directory was very simple. The applicant com- The mode of municated to the Bureau the name, rank, 1 * 1 and regiment of the person inquired for, and the point at which he had been last heard from. With these indications a search was immediately made, and the result communicated without delay. The average number of successful inquiries made is estimated at about seventy per cent, of the whole number. The in- terest awakened in this work of the Hospital Directory among all who had friends in the Army, was con- stantly expressed as their own personal experience testified to its value. " Mothers write of their ' undy- ing gratitude' for the simple announcement that their boys are doing well in hospital ; others ' invoke the blessing of God upon the labors of the Commission,' and sisters ' will cherish the warmest gratitude while memory lasts.' The eagerness with which inquiries were made was scarcely less touching : ' By the love you bear your own mother tell me where my boy is !' 'Only give me some tidings!' 'Is he dead, and how did he die ?' ' Is he alive, and how can I get to him?' ' I pray you tell me of those two nephews I am seek- ing for. I have had fourteen nephews in the service, and these two are the only ones left.' ' The Commission's PENSION BUREAU AND WAR CLAIM AGENCY was another department of its work War claim which grew out of the constant necessities Agency. O f the discharged soldiers who found refuge in its Homes and Lodges. It appeared that nearly SPECIAL BELIEF SERVICE. 311 every one of these men who passed through the Home at Washington, had a claim either for arrears of pay or for bounty, or arising in some other of the various ways in which the Government becomes indebted to the soldier. The rules of the Paymaster's Depart- ment were, necessarily, very strict, not merely in re- gard to the evidence required to substantiate claims but also in regard to the form in which they were to be presented. It was not, of course, to be expected, that men so utterly ignorant of official routine as private soldiers, and withal so enfeebled in their condi- tion as to render their discharge from the service necessary, could prosecute their claims with any hope of a speedy settlement where there was the slightest complexity in their character. Men in this condition, found at the Homes and Lodges, a ready aid and as- sistance from officers of the Commission detailed for that purpose. Their papers were put in proper form, and their defects supplied by those who were familiar with the requirements of the Pay Office, and thus the soldier was enabled to receive his hard earned wages with as little delay, and the smallest amount of incon- venience possible. To such a refinement of care for his comfort was this system carried at Washington, that the Commission established one of its Lodges, directly opposite to the Paymaster's office where those who were too feeble to wait their turn in the crowd, but whose presence was necessary in order to obtain their pay might remain and rest, until the officials were ready to attend to them. At this Lodge a table which would seat fifty persons, was kept con- stantly supplied with suitable food, and some one was 312 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. always in attendance to give such information and as- sistance, as might be needed by the discharged soldier in securing his money. This work was not confined to Washington, but was actively carried on at all the great military centres. The result was that more than two million five hundred thousand dollars due discharged soldiers were secured to them in cases where the papers had been examined and perfected by the Agents of the Commission at its Lodges. As the war went on, claims of all kinds, against the Government, became so numerous, and the aid of the The same ub- Commission in prosecuting them was so ject continued, constantly invoked, that it became necessary to establish a distinct department having in charge one particular class of these claims, applications for pensions. The Free Pension Agency of the Commis- sion, as it was called, commenced its operations on the 10th of February, 1863. Applications for invalid pensions made through the Commission were pre- sented by it to the proper Government Bureau, the ne- cessary papers filed, and the business prosecuted to a settlement. It had the twofold object of saving the applicant from imposition, annoyance and a vast deal of trouble in ascertaining whether he was legally en- titled to a pension, and afterwards of securing it with- out any expense on his part. The Agency was so well managed that it soon became the principal channel through which claims of this kind were presented, and its usefulness was afterwards extended by including under its charge claims of all kinds against the Gov- ernment, held by the soldiers of the Army. Towards the close of the war, its name was changed to that of SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 313 the " Army and Navy Claim Agency," and its opera- tions were extended by means of more than a hundred sub- agencies in direct communication with the central office, to every part of the North and West. By means of this Agency and its affiliated branches, between fifty- five and sixty thousand claims for pensions to soldiers, their widows, mothers, or orphans have been presented to the proper Government officers, and the evidence in support of them arranged and preserved. These claims form nearly one half of the whole number presented to the Government Pension Office, and all the labor con- nected with their prosecution being rendered gratui- tously as, it is needless to say, are all the other services of the Sanitary Commission, the amount saved to these most deserving of all the creditors of the Govern- ment is represented precisely by the fees which would otherwise have been paid by them to Claim Agents. The claims for pensions entrusted to the Commission's Bureau are supposed to represent a money value of about seven million five hundred thousand dollars, and the saving thus effected to those who present them exceeds half a million of dollars. With the close of the war, the operations of this Bureau did not cease, but on the contrary became more widely extended, because until the Army was dis- banded a large number of soldiers entitled to pensions had had no opportunity for presenting their claims. It is still kept open at Washington although its Agencies at different points have been discontinued and their business transferred to the Central Office, and it is intended that this humane and beneficent work, one of the most grateful in all its aspects of any 40 314 UNITED STATES SANITAEY COMMISSION. in which the Commission has ever been engaged shall go on until all the claims confided to it have been finally disposed of. There was a great variety of work undertaken by the Special Relief Department of the Commission less other forms of conspicuous in its character, perhaps, than special Belief. that w hi cn we have described, but still hav- ing a direct and important bearing on the welfare of the soldier. Thus, provision was made at the Homes at the great military centres for the accom- modation O f the wives and mothers of sol- diers, whose anxiety concerning their rela- tives in Hospitals had led them to come to their relief. Those who appreciate the natural impulse of aifection which prompts such journeys, and who understand the anomalous position of a woman in an Army, as well as the limited means of most of those who came upon such an errand, will not be slow to recognize the humanity of some provision for their decent accommo- dation. This was one of the needs developed by the progress of the war which certainly had not been fore- seen, and for which it was clearly not the duty of the Government to provide. The whole policy of the Commission in regard to such needs was what may be called a shifting one, adapting its methods of relief to the endless catalogue of difficulties, embarrassments and sufferings which beset a soldier's life. Thus it Fresh Hospital appeared, that the barren market at Wash- Washington, ington was wholly unable to supply the vast Hospitals there with fresh provisions of a good quality, and at a reasonable price. The Commission, at the request of the Surgeon-General, in the spring of 1863 SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 315 undertook to procure these provisions in the much more abundant market of Philadelphia, and to send them daily in proper condition to Washington. This service was regularly and faithfully performed during a period of nine months, and the result was that the Hospitals at Washington were far better supplied and at. a very much less cost than they had previously been. No one suffered by this arrangement unless the Hospital Stewards, whose perquisites were affected by it, and the hucksters in Washington whose exorbitant gains were cut off, may be considered proper objects of commiseration. The actual outlay made by the Commission for this purpose, was, of course, reim- bursed from the Hospital Fund, but the labor and re- sponsibility of the service, involving the purchase and transportation of more than one thousand tons of food, were very serious, but nevertheless, had their full re- ward in the improved condition of the patients. The plans of the Commission for the welfare of the soldier embraced a minute attention to all his possible wants which was very remarkable. Thus Employment of Detectives were employed by it, whose busi- Detectives - ness it was to watch the sharpers who, like evil birds of prey, were always ready to rob the soldier as soon as he left the Paymaster's office. Then, again, Couriers were employed who accompanied the trains Couriers, going North from Washington, looked after the wants of the sick and feeble soldiers in the cars, many of them just discharged from Hospitals, and took care that they were provided for at one of the various Homes of the Commission on the route, if their strength 316 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. was insufficient to enable them to prosecute their journey. This multiform work of Special Relief deserves at- tention and study quite as much on account of the novelty of its methods, as from the peculiar nature of General results the care it bestowed upon the soldiers. of Special Belief . , , . Service. Who ever read, in the history of any war waged since wars began upon the earth, that the worn out soldier as soon as he was turned adrift by the Government, far away from his home and utterly help- less found a friendly hand outstretched to supply his first wants, those of food and shelter? Where do we find any record of a voluntary system thoroughly organized and conducted on an extensive scale, by which the soldier was aided without fee or reward, in obtaining from the Government the money due him ? Where was ever before practically developed into action that beautiful thought, the outgrowth of a large humanity, which prompted the same organization to convey to anxious relatives information concerning the condition of those who were dear to them, when ab- sent and in danger ? Who ever thought before of caring for the wives and mothers of soldiers when their affection induced them to brave hardship and privation in order that they might be near their suffer- ing husbands and sons? The possibility of accom- plishing a tithe of all that was actually done in this direction during the war would have been regarded by those who were guided by the experience of former wars as the dream of an enthusiast. The truth is, this mighty work was the genuine product of Ameri- can civilization, in all respects novel and peculiar, but SPECIAL RELIEF SERVICE. 317 at the same time, in perfect harmony with that spirit which is the true life of American institu- tions. The soldiers of the Republic were no hirelings in the opprobrious sense in which that term might be applied to those composing European Armies. They were "bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh," and it was certain, therefore, that in some way they would become the objects of that humane spirit which has been so largely developed everywhere in modern times, but which guided and controlled by the popular ideas of this country exhibited such extraordi- nary activity and usefulness during the war. A con- stant effort was made by those at home to prove to those in active service how complete and practical was the sympathy which existed with them in all their trials and sufferings. This was done, not on the ground of humanity alone, but because such was the confidence in the intelligence and self-sacrificing spirit of the soldier, that it was felt that such manifestations formed the highest incentive to renewed zeal on his part. Such men were not to be bribed to do their duty by the distribution of a few gifts, but their moral purpose was immensely strengthened by the evidence these gifts afforded of the intense and anxious interest with which every step of their progress was watched by those they loved. The history of events proved most conclusively that the American people had not been mistaken in the character of their soldiers, and par- ticularly in the mighty influence which the sacred idea of home exerted over them. Disbanded soldiers in other countries, and in former wars have been regarded almost as outcasts, spreading terror and dismay by 318 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. their wild license in the quiet communities which they re-entered. In other countries they have been as little under moral restraint as escaped convicts, their passions long repressed by the brute force of an arbitrary military discipline, and once again allowed free play, leading to frightful excesses of all kinds. Hence, the disbanding of even a small Army has often been the signal of a vast and immediate increase of disorder and crime. Far different was the case here. The world has never witnessed a scene more striking and novel in its moral aspects than that which followed the disbanding of the American army at the close of the Rebellion. One million of soldiers, per- fectly organized, under officers of the highest military capacity, flushed with recent and unparalleled victory, and capable, as the Duke of Wellington said, of the British Army in the Peninsula, " of going any where and doing anything," not only lay down their arms quietly, now that their work is done, without a thought of gaining any unpatriotic purpose by the enormous power they wield, but disperse gladly to their homes and fill up the places which had been kept open for them during the war, as if they were returning from some holiday pageant. The explanation of this ex- traordinary state of things lies deep in the peculiar spirit of American civilization, and certainly the event itself is one of the proudest monuments of its value. The truth is the soldier never ceased to be a citizen while he was in the Army. He be- came willingly subject to military discipline, because the work to be done could be performed, in no other way, and there cannot be a doubt that one of the most SPECIAL BELIEF SERVICE. 319 striking peculiarities of the struggle, in history will be, that it was one of those rare wars in which the private soldiers had as thorough an appreciation of its objects, and the sacrifices necessary to be made in order to bring it to a successful termination, as the Generals in command, or the most enlightened public opinion of the country in whose service they were fighting. CHAPTER XI. WARFARE AGAINST SCURVY CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG. DURING the summer of 1862 the work of the Com- mission went on steadily increasing in value and effi- Generaiworkin ciency in the Armies of the West. After the west during the bftttle of pi tts b urg Landing and the the summer of 1862. evacuation of Corinth by the enemy, there was a large accumulation of sick and wounded, who suffered greatly in the Hospitals located in the in- salubrious region of South-western Tennessee. Per- haps at no time did the Army suffer more from diseases arising from the nature of the climate of the region which it occupied. This condition of things required in the opinion of the Medical authorities, the transfer of many of the patients to Hospitals north of the Ohio River. The numerical strength of the Army became so depleted by this process that the Generals became alarmed, and complained loudly. Yet it is certain that none of the Medical Officers, who alone were ca- pable of forming a correct opinion on such a matter, deemed it possible to pursue any other course consis- tently with a proper regard for the lives of the men. The Agents of the Sanitary Commission, agreeing per- fectly in opinion with the Medical Officers, and all suffering, in person, from the effects of the climate, assisted in this work of removing the patients acting 320 WARFARE AGAINST SCURVY. 321 in strict accordance, of course, with the rules of Army discipline. The ill humor of the Generals at the loss of their men was, strange to say, vented upon these Agents. The course pursued by them, however humane in its results, was one for which they were responsible only as aiding the Medical authori- ties themselves. This is the true history of the ridiculous charge against the Sanitary Commission, attributed to a General of high rank, that it had " stolen" several thousand of his troops after the eva- cuation of Corinth. Immediately after that event, the Army which had in- vested Corinth was divided, the original command of General Buell being detached with the view The Amy of the of making an attempt on Chattanooga, and ^ b e er ^ the remainder under General Grant march- divided. ing southwardly on the line of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, having for its object, in cooperation with a force which was sent down the Mississippi under Gene- ral Sherman, the investment and capture of Vicksburg. Both of these expeditions were unsuccessful, and in both the failure was due in a great measure to the difficulty of keeping open, while in the heart of the enemy's country, long lines of communication by which supplies in suffi- cient quantity could reach the Army. To maintain those lines unbroken has always been the first condition of success with the Armies operating in the South-west ; how to do it completely, and thoroughly,was a secret not learned until nearly two years afterwards. The fatigues of these campaigns, owing to forced marches, were excessive, and the privations which the men en- dured in consequence of the insufficiency of supplies, 41 322 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. so impaired the vital force of both armies that when that under Buell, then commanded by Rosecrans, rested at Murfreesboro, and that under General Grant, embarked at Memphis for Vicksburg, symptoms of a disease which, all experience has proved, affects more seriously the strength of an army than the casualties of the battle-field, began to prevail to an alarming extent. This disea.se was the SCURVY, the natural and inevi- table fruit of the conditions in which both of these Symptoms of Armies had been placed. The Medical and Scurvy appear. Hygienic .history of Armies had led us to ex- pect that, sooner or later, our Army would suffer from the effect of this malady, but it had also taught us that it was possible to guard almost wholly against the danger to be apprehended from it. This was just one of those condi- tions which the Commission had anticipated from the beginning, and its whole theory of action was based, as we have seen, upon the practicability of counteract- ing the wide-spread evils which would be developed by its unchecked prevalence. Faithful to its convictions, it had constantly endeavored to persuade the Gov- ernment to adopt in time precautionary measures against diseases which, experience had proved, might be averted by such measures. Whatever else was omitted, this duty was never neglected. Every part of its relief system, vast as it was in its proportions and beneficent as it was in its results, was subordinate in its estimation to the necessity and value of these preventive measures. Thus during the first summer of the war, it had urged the adoption of true sanitary measures, including a provision of suitable food, as WARFARE AGAINST SCURVY. 323 indispensable for preserving the new recruits from, those forms of dysenteric disease which a novel and coarse kind of food eaten in a malarious region, would be certain to produce. Thus, previous to the campaign in the Peninsula it was foreseen that long and ex- hausting marches in a country filled with swamps, where the water was impure, and where even an occa- sional supply of vegetables was not to be had, would produce that type of disease which afterwards, under the name of the Chickahominy fever, proved so un- manageable and so fatal to the troops. The recommen- dation by the Commission of such measures as it deemed essential to forestall the threatened evils of these campaigns was in a great measure unheeded, and it was left to deplore the sad results which it had been unable to prevent. In the West, however, in the beginning of the year 1863, there was opened before it a field for the employment of preventive measures on a grand scale, into which there was much encourage- ment to enter and labor. The first appearance of the symptoms of scurvy in the Armies of the Tennessee and the Cumberland, roused the officers of the Commission to Measures taken . to check its pro- strenuous efforts to check it at the outset. gre ss. Their early call upon the farmers of the North-west for a supply of vegetables which alone could stop its pro- gress and finally eradicate its poison, the wonderful alacrity with which these articles were contributed to the depots of the Commission and sent to the " front," the extraordinary results which followed their use, the peculiar honor and gratitude which are due to this life- saving work in the absence of any suitable provision 324 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. made by the Government to meet the emergency, all go to make up one of the most brilliant and instructive chapters, not only in the Commission's history, but in that of voluntary benevolent effort at any tinu 1 . The Army of the Cumberland under General Rose- crans after a vigorous campaign in Northern Missis- Oondition of the gjppi an( j Southern Tennessee had marched Army of the Cumberland af- to Murfreesboro, where on New Year's day, 8ume Biver. 60 1863, it fought the ever memorable battle of Stone River. This battle cost us eight thousand wounded men whose wants, and indeed those of the entire Army, were to be supplied by railroad transpor- tation always difficult, and often precarious, from Louis- ville to the battle-field. Shortly after the battle the Army went into winter quarters, and then began to be observed the result of the terrible privations of the preceding campaign. Its discipline was excellent, and all accounts agree in saying that its condition, so far as it depended on the observance of such sanitary mea- sures as were possible with its limited supplies, has never been surpassed by that of any Army during the war. But notwithstanding all this, the scorbutic taint was there, the seed of the poison had not germinated during the excitement of the march and the battle, but a short period of inactivity served to develope it in all its virulence, and the only means of checking its ravages, a supply of fresh vegetables, was not at hand, and it seemed impossible to procure them. In order to show how well founded was the alarm of those who observed the appearance of the first The nature of symptoms of this disease in the Army, and scurry. what dangers were likely to arise from its WARFARE AGAINST SCURVY. 325 continued spread and prevalence, it may be worth while to state, in a few words, what scurvy is. " It is then a chronic blood disease. Its essential character- istic is a decided and peculiar change in the constitu- ents of the blood, in which the amount of water and fibrin are greatly augmented, whilst there is a corre- sponding diminution in the number of blood-corpuscles, in the amount of albumen, and in the quantity of lime, iron and potash, in healthy blood. This blood-degenera- tion is the consequence of defective nutrition ; and the in- dication of cure is to furnish in available form for use those elements in which the diseased blood is deficient. Change of habit and surroundings, proper and in- creased attention to the conditions of health, effect much but a change in the diet is the great desideratum. In fact, vegetables and their products, are the medicines upon which the surgeon mainly relies in his treatment of this disease." The Government officers having ascertained beyond question the existence and probable spread of this fearful disease, at once gave public notice Efforts of tie that they were desirous of purchasing for cureTegetaWel the use of the Army, fifty thousand bushels of potatoes and a corresponding quantity of other vegetables. Strange to say, their appeal met with no response, and no proposals for a supply were made. Whether this was due to a real scarcity of the articles asked for, or to a fear of the result of a rigid government inspec- tion, or to difficulties of transportation, we cannot say. The fact is unquestionable that no one chose to become responsible for the delivery to the Government, on any terms, of the large amount of vegetables required. 326 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The Medical Officers therefore of General Rosecrans' army, who had a most enlightened appreciation of the urgency of the want, found to their dismay, that no aid could reach them through Government channels. It is a curious fact, as illustrating what false conclu- sions may be drawn from a reliance upon the opera- Vegetables is- tions of the ordinary routine machinery of snedtotheoffl- an Army, that, during all this time, not cers bnt not to ; private soldiers, only the Commander-in-chief of the army but the Corps commanders also, supposed that the soldiers were supplied with vegetables. The books of the Commissary General showed an issue of a hundred barrels daily, and the inference, of course, was that they were consumed by the soldiers. It appeared, on examination, however, that one-fourth in amount of- this issue went to the staff officers and their families at Head-Quarters, and that, of the re- maining three-fourths, the Commissaries of the various Corps, Divisions and Brigades obtained the larger portion, so that the Regimental Commissaries wlm supplied the wants of the private soldiers were left almost wholly unprovided. An investigation by the Medical Inspector of the Army revealed the extraor- dinary fact that, although this very liberal daily distri- bution was shown by the books of the Commissary General, still the soldiers had not received, on an average, from the Government, more than three rations of vegetables, during the twelve months ending on the first of April, 1863. The injustice of this ar- rangement was so glaring, and the danger to the health of the troops from its continuance so im- minent, that the Inspector suggested in his official WAEFAEE AGAINST SCURVY. 327 report to the Commanding General, as the only remedy, that the private soldier should receive the first distri- bution, and that officers and their families should then be permitted to take what remained. This suggestion was never fully carried out, and the need of the soldier continued to increase.* In this condition of things, the Medical Inspector on duty with that Army, Colonel Frank Hamilton, applied to Dr. Newberry, the Western Sec- Application of n , -i /~\ n , the Medical Au- retary of the Commission for assistance. thoritiea to the He was informed by that officer that the Commission for * , aid Shipm e n t subject had already been brought to his at- of vegetables. tention by Dr. Read, the faithful and intelligent chief of the Commission's service in the Army of the Cum- berland, and that, in accordance with his request, ship- ments of vegetables had already been made from Louisville to the Army, and would be continued as long as occasion called for them. Dr. Newberry telegraphed, at once, to the depots of the Commission at Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, and Pittsburg, and, within one month, fifteen thousand bushels of vege- tables were gathered from a portion of the country in which the Government had been unable to obtain any by purchase, and were sent forward to the Army. Thus an impending disaster was averted, and the claim of the Commission, to be the grand medium of commu- nication between the homes of the country and the suf- fering of the Army, received a new and most striking vindication. Perhaps a more remarkable illustration, both of the need of supplemental voluntary aid in the * See Treatise on Military Surgery and Hygiene by Frank H. Hamilton, M. D. late Medical Inspector, U. S. A. 328 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. care of an Army and the practicability of doing by proper organization on a large scale, what the Gov- ernment by its utmost efforts, through its ordinary agencies, had failed to do, was not afforded during the progress of the war. General Rosecrans, so far from hesitating to accept the invaluable aid tendered to him in this irregular and extra-official way, facilitated, in every manner, the transportation of these gifts of the people, to his Army. He ordered his Superintendent of railroads to transport without delay such vegetables as the Agents of the Sanitary Commission might desire to send. In a very few days after the first re- quisition had been made, a shipment of a hundred and twenty-rfive barrels of potatoes, which had been con- tributed by the Commission's branch at Pittsburg, reached the Army at Murfreesboro and were at once distributed to the Hospitals. Writing on the 16th of April, Mr. M. C. Read, the Commission's Inspector, says, " You can say unhesitatingly to the donors at Pitts- burg that, by this one shipment, setting aside all ques- tions of humanity, they have done more to increase the efficient fighting strength of the Army than they would have done by securing a full regiment of new recruits. Let the supplies continue to come in as they have come for the last few days, and the scurvy, which has begun to show itself in very many of the regi- ments, will quickly disappear, and regiments of sturdy, stalwart men will be saved to the service at a very small part of the cost of recruiting untried men to fill their places." To each Field Hospital, as the supplies came in more abundantly, eight barrels of potatoes, per diem, WARFARE AGAINST SCURVY. 329 were furnished, besides such a supply of . Famers of the r J West called other vegetables, pickles, sauer-kraut, etc., np>.- :L :: :"" - v. i-.-r. : r-iilr : Ll b fc ThefaipBcal eaafitiBB of tie ATHBT that t eampoizm daria^ the war r aad the supplies to Bantam k im rtm^th aid v%or T and to it fertfcecMaiBg covfliet, were therefore of a CHATTAJiOOGJL. 353 somewhat different nature from those that had found hitherto emmtMl There were few raw this Army. Most of them were hardy campaig inured to the tofts and privations of a soldier's fife, habituated to discipline, and acenstoned to take care :: :l.r- >. i"_r r'.-^ri: :: : i;>: .". "- ^: - which, had existed in it. as in all newly raised Armies, had been rapidly developed by the extraordinary ex- posure and labor which it had been called vpoavto .undergo, and its ranks, had probably contributed to its The men composing it had afl Ike vigor of troops. From long habit they coald be relied not merely for steadiness in battle; but they . Less and powers of endow passing anharmrd through all the dangers attendant ter. The wants, HMUBBI, of sack a body of tioomi were likely to be very different from those of new recruits. Experience had also perfected many of the jntiil of the Army organization -which wretchedly mismanaged at the ontset. condition of things, as it trains upon their arrival, and, were ready with coffee, soup, sandwiches, stimulants and such other articles as would be likely to revive the strength, and to keep up the courage of hungry and exhausted men. It is not too much to say that no one who had lost his health, or who had been wounded in his country's service, was transported to the rear of the Army of General Grant, without meeting these good Samaritans, always ready to pour oil and wine into his CHATTANOOGA. 359 wounds, and to cheer him on his way. Thus, the dis- abled soldier passed through the second stage of his weary journey. When he reached, at last, the Gene- ral Hospital where he was to remain until he recovered or died, the Commission did not lose sight of him. The larger number of the invalids from Grant's Army were received into the Hospitals at Nashville, nearly one hundred thousand men having passed through them, in one period of six months, during the war. The Commission employed at this point, as well as at others, men of kindly nature and self-denying zeal, who were engaged as Hospital visitors in ministering to the peculiar necessities of the patients. Hospital visi- Their duties were multiform as may be sup- tors> posed, for they were obliged to listen to the complaints of many sick men, and to strive to remedy them when remedy was possible. They were brought thus into contact with the individual sufferer, ascertained his wants, supplied him with what would add in the opinion of the Surgeon to his comfort, communicated with his friends, encouraged him by kindly aid and sympathy to bear his sufferings patiently and, in short served as a link between him and his home. Men like the Rev. Mr. Ingraham and Judge Root, who, for a lono; time, were the Visitors of the Commission in the O > Hospitals at Nashville, proved themselves, by their discretion, by their Christian example and self-denying devotion, of the greatest possible service in the ad- ministration of those establishments. Their labors improved the tone, and kept up the spirits of the patients. They were gladly welcomed by the Surgeons as their best coadjutors, and the men who had been 360 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. cheered by their counsel and active sympathy always regarded them as their truest friends. The material relief afforded by these Hospital Visitors involved a large distribution of stores, of not, of course, of the kind required, in stores in Hospi- . . . , , ,, tab. such large quantities, at "the front, as a means of preventing disease, but including a variety of articles in the way of delicate food and home com- forts, which would tend to improve the condition of the patient, and shorten his stay at the Hospital. This distribution was no indiscriminate pouring out of the gifts which had been confided to the Commission by the people. The whole business was administered carefully and judiciously, and with the same strict adherence to rule which was characteristic of all the relief methods of the Commission. The mode in which this distribution was made, and the persons to whom the articles were issued, are thus described : " They were placed in store-rooms as convenient as possible to the Hospitals and camps, in charge of a competent store-keeper, and were given out by him, first and principally on the written request of the surgeon in charge, who in this request stated the number for whom he desired to procure stores, and their special wants. '"Secondly. The store-keeper issued stores on the ap- plication of the ladies in charge of what was called the " light-diet kitchen" in Hospitals. Those drawn by the surgeon were, as a general rule, placed in charge of those ladies, when the hospitals were so fortunate as to have such help. These ladies cooked, and distributed them to the sick. "Thirdly. The Stores were given to "Hospital Visi- CHATTANOOGA. 361 tors," agents who went to Hospitals and camps, seeking out from every possible source .any special cases of want, and supplying them. Such visits were made as often as possible. " Fourthly. The store-keepers filled all orders given by State Agents, for any soldier they might find to be needy, or who applied to them for relief. They also furnished to individual soldiers, who might apply to any of the agents for relief, as soon as it could be ascertained they were really needy. Under a general order from the Secretary of the Department, they extended to the agents of the Christian Commission the same privileges as were enjoyed by our own Relief Agents, distributing to them to supply any indi- vidual cases of neglect or suffering which they might discover. "Fifthly. They furnished goods to the "Soldiers' Homes" and to the " Hospital Trains." When appli- cation was made by the surgeons or the soldiers, for such articles as the Government had for distribution, effort was made by the Agents of the Commission to have them supplied from Government stores." The time had now arrived when a question, some- what novel and of great practical importance, was presented to the consideration of the Com- Efforts to ? re ' pare Sherman's mission. The number of the patients in the Army for its Hospitals at Nashville, and at other points in the rear of the Army, was, as we have said, very great, and during the winter large and constant de- mands were made upon the stores of the Commission for their supply. But at the same time, one hundred thousand men were concentrated at Chattanooga, pre- 362 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. paring, under Sherman, for that great campaign which was to terminate in the capture of Atlanta. It was necessary, therefore, to decide to which of these large bodies of troops the stores of the Commission should be devoted, for it was obviously impossible with its resources fully to meet the necessities of both. Gene- ral Sherman had desired that the larger portion of the Commission's stock should be accumulated at Chatta- nooga, in anticipation of the campaign. In accord- ance with his wish, and after the fullest consultation with the Medical Director at Nashville, who was satis- fied that under the new system adopted by the Medical Department the wants of the patients there would be well cared for by the Government, large shipments of the reserve stock at Nashville were sent to "the front." Previous to the commencement of the campaign three thousand barrels of vegetables and a large supply of condensed milk, beef, stimulants, underclothing and bandages were sent to Chattanooga, and from the be- ginning of May until the end of July stores were for- warded to the same place at the rate of about one hundred tons per week. During the campaign which followed, the Field Administration Hospital service was admirably organized, Be f m h ce eH dn P ring and was administered with the greatest the campaign, fidelity and exactness. "Each division of the army had a large number of wagons devoted exclusively to the conveyance of hospital tents and hospital stores, besides which there was a reserve train of over forty wagons for the Army of the Cum- berland. These accompanied the troops, and moved up to the places selected for the Hospitals. This was CHATTANOOGA. 363 usually so near the line of battle that the wounded might be carried but a little distance, and yet be out of reach of shot and shell, where they might not be disturbed, and the surgeons and nurses might work without danger. Suitable ground having been se- lected, men were detailed to make the necessary preparations. The Hospitals were established in dense woods, and one set began to cut up by the roots the thick underbrush ; others to make brooms of the twigs, sweep and level the ground, and remove the stones ; another set to pitch the tents or build arbors where there was not likely to be sufficient canvass to cover the wounded ; others to make bunks of poles for the beds. Another set picked the green leaves of the oak, the chestnut, or the pine to fill the bed-ticks, or if the ticks were not to be had, the leaves were placed on poles or on the ground. In front of the tents large piles of leaves were laid, upon, which the wounded were placed before they were ex- amined and dressed. There were three piles for each division hospital, corresponding to the brigades, and before them were three strong tables, provided with a pillow and covered with a rubber cloth " the operat- ing tables." Over three hundred such Hospitals were established during the campaign, so long was the line of march, and so frequent the change of position. Every one of these Hospitals was visited by the Agents of the Commission, and during the ten days before the railroad at Ackworth was reached by the Army, no less than twenty-four large wagon loads of sanitary stores were distributed close to the 364 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. line of battle. It is not easy to estimate the worth of such aid at such a time. At the Feeding Stations established in the rear of the Army for the relief of the sick and wounded in Work at the transitu, at Kingston, Resaca, and Dalton g more than seventeen thousand meals were furnished up to the fourteenth of July. When it is remembered that the heroes for whom this beneficent provision was made belonged to an Army which had driven back a stubborn enemy more than a hundred miles, where every inch of the ground had been hotly contested, that it had taken seventeen lines of fortifi- cations, that it had built entrenchments more than a hundred and fifty miles in length, and had carried as strong natural positions as any in the world, we are at a loss which most to admire, the grandeur of the deeds themselves, or the practical manifestation upon so vast a scale of that profound affection and gratitude of those at home, which had been inspired by their brilliant courage and conduct. The work of the Commission, and the character of its Agents had been so long familiar to all the officers in high command in that Army, and so exactly were its place and functions defined in the ordinary routine of Army life, that it had long been recognized as a permanent Army institution, almost as essential within its own sphere, as the Departments of the Surgeon and Commissary in theirs. So far from there being in that Army any complaint Appreciation of o f interference with Officers in the dis- the C o m m i s - work by charge of their duties, there was throughout, no t on ly a friendly feeling towards the Com- CHATTANOOGA. 365 mission, but one of the utmost cordiality and co-ope- ration with its work. This manifested itself on all occasions, not only in this Army, but in all the Armies of the West, and nowhere was it more conspicuous than in the perfect spirit of appreciation shown at all times for the labors of the Commission, by General Grant. The facilities aiforded for the prosecution of those labors by his order on the Mississippi before Vicksburg, have been already spoken of, and when this illustrious man commanded a district, embracing nearly the whole of the Western country, he lost no opportunity of testifying his continued confidence in the system by which the operations of the Commission were con- ducted. " When, for instance," says the Inspector at Nashville, " General Granger, the Post Commander, doubting his authority, refused to issue rations or fuel for the " Home ;" on application to General Grant, he replied, " Of course it must be done," and gave the necessary order, relieving us from that embarrassment. Soon after, our Agents at Chattanooga wrote us, that the authorities there were desirous to do all they could for us legally, but could find no authority to issue forage for our horses. We had then but two, but we must have them, and as it was almost impossible to supply ourselves, I again resorted to General Grant, who gave an order, that in all parts of his command, forage be issued on application of the authorized agents of the Commission, approved by the Post Com- mander. I have sent copies of this order to Chatta- nooga, Knoxville, and Louisville. For the past eight months, the Commission in Nashville has not been able to obtain comfortable quarters. The city is con- 366 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. stantly crowded to overflowing. A suitable building was hardly to be found. After long delay I applied to General Grant, asking for a large house, and if practi- cable, plain furniture. By the assistance of Mr. Scovel, our true friend, and a good Union man, such a house was found, and General Grant promptly put us in possession ; adding to the favor, that of paying the rent. We receive such aid with gratitude, as substan- tial testimonials from the General, whom the nation delights to honor, of the value of our work." In short, throughout the whole West, the affairs of the Commission had been managed with so much dis- cretion and wisdom, and with such manifest advantage to the suffering, that the example set by their great Commander was followed by all his subordinates, and there, at least, was reached, at last, that ideal condi- tion of friendly and confidential relations with all the Departments of the Army, which had inspired the original conception of the Sanitary Commission, and to secure which was its constant aim during the whole period of its history. CHAPTER XIII. FREDERICKSBURG GETTYSBURG THE WILDERNESS. AFTER the battle of Antietam, the Army of the Potomac pursued its well trodden way in pursuit of the enemy along the base, and through the improved condi- / xi -T.I n/r L tionoftheAray passes ot the Blue Mountains. Arriving after Antietam. on the Rapidan without succeeding in bringing him to an engagement, it was determined by General Burn- side to make a sudden move to his left, and by gaining possession of Fredericksburg, interpose his Army be- tween that of the rebels and Richmond. Accordingly, in the latter part of November, the Army of the Potomac was concentrated upon the heights opposite Fredericksburg, and preparations were made to cross the river, and storm the intrenchments which com- manded the town. Great hopes were entertained of the success of this movement by those who were most familiar with the condition of the army. The long- delay after Antietam had been employed in perfecting its organization, and in thoroughly refitting it, while the march from the Potomac to the Rappahannock not very severe in itself, had, with troops like these, im- proved not only their physical condition, but had de- veloped in them some of the best soldierly qualities, steadiness, obedience, and patient endurance. Expe- rience in active campaigns had taught the leaders of 367 368 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the Army many valuable lessons. It had become a thoroughly trained and highly efficient body of men, and, notwithstanding there existed some dissatisfaction arising from the recent change in its Commander, it was full of confidence in its ability to win the victory. In no Department of the Army was the improvement more marked than in the medical service. Dr. LETTERMAN, the Medical Director, with uncommon capacity for organizing his work, had a very high appreciation, of the nature of the duties devolving upon him, and showed great energy in insisting that all the details of the service should be thoroughly and faithfully carried out by his subordinates. The Ambulance corps, which had been organized by him, under General McClellan's order before the Army left the Peninsula, had been thoroughly instructed in its duties, and at the battle of Fredericksburg was distinguished by a zeal, devotion, and success in the peculiar work assigned to it, of which there had been no example in previous cam- paigns. In anticipation of the battle, eighteen Hospitals had been established for the special care of the wounded, First battle of one f r eacn Division of the Army, and mi- Fredericksbnrg. nu e instructions were issued by the Medical Director for their management. The vital matter of sup- plies, a point on which the Government theory of doing everything for the soldier had so often broken down in practice, had not been neglected. The Medical Pur- veyor's stores were kept constantly replenished, and in no considerable battle of the war was so complete a system of caring for its victims so thoroughly organ- ized. The consequence was, that when the Army FREDERICKSBURG. 369 failed to carry by storm the heights beyond Frede- ricksburg, there was as little confusion in the arrange- ments for the transportation and relief of the wounded, as there was in the retreat of the Army itself. The orderly manner in which both of these operations were effected, and the whole Army with its ten thousand wounded recrossed the river, was the best proof of the existence of a true military spirit which needed only better direction to have achieved the most important results. When the condition of the Army which fought at Fredericksburg is compared with that of the same Army at Antietam, three months before, the contrast is very striking. The difference, indeed, was just that which must always exist between a disci- plined and therefore truly effective body of soldiers, and an imperfectly organized Army, exhausted by forced marches, dispirited by frequent defeats, and unpro- vided with adequate supplies of any kind. Although victory was the result of the first battle, and defeat of the other, there can be but little doubt that for all military purposes the Army of the Potomac was a more serviceable and efficient army when it recrossed the Rappahannock after the battle of Fredericksburg, than it was when Lee recrossed the Potomac after the battle of Antietam. The Commission's Agents, as usual, accompanied the Army during the campaign, but their duties, in providing supplemental aid for the Hospitals Work of the as may be inferred from what has been said, ter that battle. were lighter than they had been called on to render on previous occasions. When the Army reached Frede- ricksburg, the line of its communication was changed to 47 370 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the Potomac River, and the central office at Washing- ton, in anticipation of the impending battle sent forward a large amount of stores, and a number of Relief Agents, under the efficient superintendence of Dr. Douglas, to reinforce those already on the ground. They arrived at Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, just in time to witness the retreat of the Army, and the distribution of the wounded in the different Divi- sion Hospitals. A minute inspection of these Hos- pitals x was at once made, and it was found that they had nearly all been amply supplied by the Medical Purveyor with those means of succor first needed by wounded men. A contingency arose, just at this time, which had not been anticipated even by the provident and vigi- Wooien clothing lant care of the Medical Director, and which > fortunately, was fully met by the resources of the Commission. It so hap- pened that the weather during the operations before Fredericksburg was unusually cold and stormy, and one of the first wants of those who had been disabled was not merely Hospital clothing, of which there was an abundance, but warm woolen clothing, of which the supply in the stores of the Purveyor was necessarily very limited. Here was another opportunity for fill- ing up one of those gaps which, all experience proves, will occur in the administration of the best organized Army. As the Commission stood always ready pre- pared for this kind of service, this fact, if none other, should be a perfect justification of its claim to be con- sidered an invaluable auxiliary to the Army methods of relieving the suffering. The Medical Director had FREDERICKSBTJRG. 371 provided all things in abundance which his experience taught him might be necessary. Ambulances, food, stimulants, surgical and hospital appliances of all kinds were ready at hand, but he could not have antici- pated a snow storm at Fredericksburg in the early part of December, and therefore he was not prepared for the kind of suffering it occasioned. No sooner was this particular want made known, than the Commission placed at the disposal of the Medical Officers of the Hospitals, 1800 blankets, 900 quilts, 5,642 woolen shirts, 4,439 pairs of woolen drawers, and 4,270 pairs of woolen stockings. It is certainly unnecessary to enlarge upon the nature of the relief afforded to the patients at such a time by these articles. It was the wise policy of the Medical Director to convey the wounded of this battle to the general military Hospitals at Washington and Point Transportation Lookout with the least possible delay, and such was the energy with which his plans were executed, that by Christmas Day, two weeks after the battle occurred, nearly all had been removed. The men were transported by railroad to Acquia on the Potomac, and from thence to the general Hospitals in steamers. To provide for the wants of those who might reach Acquia, hungry, exhausted, or needing care, Mr. Knapp, Superintendent of the Special Relief Service, was directed to establish a Feeding and Relief station close by the landing at that point. Although the work performed by him and his assist- ants was absolutely nothing, when compared with that called for by the wants of the suffering at the same place after the battles of the Wilderness in the next 372 UNITED STATES SANITART COMMISSION. year, still on the first night after the station was established, more than six hundred wounded men, all more or less exhausted, who had been brought down by the cars, were fed and cared for. After the battle of Fredericksburg the Army went into winter quarters, and, owing to its improved or- Oondition of the ganization, and its nearness to its base of Amy during supp ii es at Washington, it needed far less the winter of 1862-3 supplemental aid than it had done at any previous time. It was thought by the officers of the Commission, that one good result of their presence and work in the Army which had been ardently hoped for, was very observable during this winter. There seemed to be a great eagerness on the part of the officials, not merely to profess their readiness to supply all the possible legitimate wants of the soldier, but an unusual effort to provide for them in abundance from the Government stores. The Commission, with par- donable vanity perhaps, attributed this renewed zeal, in part, at least, to the example which it had set. In this opinion, it was supported by one of the highest officers of the Government, and whether the improve- ment was due to this cause, or to the public clamor, which the alleged neglect of the suffering after great battles had roused, or to greater familiarity with the details of the Army service, or to unusual facility in forwarding supplies from the base, certain it is that the improvement was very marked and gratifying. It is now well ascertained, that at no time was the Army of the Potomac in better health, and better cared for in every respect than during the winter in which it lay before Fredericksburg. FREDERICKSBURG. 373 While the demand upon the stores of the Commis- sion, therefore, for use in the Hospitals, was limited, there was another branch of its service in Lodge at Acquia. which the duties of its officers were constant. During the winter, a large number of soldiers passed to and from the Army, either men returning from their furloughs, or sick and disabled men, who were sent to Washington to receive their final discharge. Acquia Landing, on the Potomac, was the great rendezvous and halting place for these men, all of whom were hungry, and many exhausted, and unfit to proceed further without that sort of care for which they had no claim upon the Government. Many thousands of these men were furnished with a comfortable meal at the Commission's Rest at that place, and many others, sick and destitute, who had served faithfully, but who had been turned adrift because they could march and fight no longer, found that the American people were not less disposed to recognize their claims upon its gratitude because they had become worn out in its service. The movement of the Army which terminated in the battle of Chancellorsville was intended to be the commencement of a long campaign, but the Battle of Ohan . unexpected result of that battle caused the C8llorsvm e. Army to resume, within a few days, its former posi- tion on the north bank of the Rappahannock. Pre- vious to the march, permission had been solicited by the officers of the Commission, to accompany the Army with a large amount of supplies. This per- mission had, at first, been accorded, but the exigencies of the service, requiring that the transportation 374 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. should be reduced to the lowest point, it was after- wards withdrawn, and the Agents were obliged to carry what they could on pack mules. The diffi- culties of transportation, combined with the con- fusion of the battle, and the unexpected retreat of the Army, caused a serious, and deplorable, but per- haps unavoidable neglect of the wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville. Little could be done to relieve their agony either by the Medical Officers, or by those who proffered supplemental aid, although nowhere were the zeal and humanity of those whose special province it was to care for the wounded, more con- spicuous: The horrors of the battle-field at Chancel- lorsville were perhaps more fearful than those of any other battle during the war, but they were of a kind least preventible, and least capable of being mitigated by official or extra-official methods of relief. The disastrous issue of the battle forced us to abandon many of our wounded into the enemy's hands, and some of them, it is feared, met with a worse fate, dy- ing in the burning forest, from which it was impossi- ble to rescue them. Once more defeated, but not disheartened, the Army of the Potomac returned to its former cantonments to TheArmymoves prepare for a new campaign. This time northward. the first move was made by the enemy, who, abandoning his position beyond Fredericksburg marched towards the Shenandoah Valley, with the view first, of drawing General Hooker into some un- favorable position in the range of the Blue Ridge, and then, after defeating him invading the North. The plan of this campaign, it may be said in passing, was FREDERICKSBURG. 375 based by the enemy upon a very false conception of the real condition of the Army of the Potomac, which was supposed by him to be, both discouraged and de- moralized. The forced marches which that Army made from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg, keeping within the inner portion of the circle while the enemy was moving round its circumference, the admirable state of discipline and efficiency which it exhibited during that march, the wonderful spirit, vigor and endurance which enabled it to gain the immortal victory of Gettysburg, and the ease with which it pursued the retreating enemy, all proved, that friend and foe alike had been mistaken in their judgment of that heroic, long- en during and finally trium- phant Army. A part of the Commission's Relief Corps accompanied it on its march, its wagons being constantly kept replenished from the depot at Wash- ington. Assistance was rendered day by day to the Surgeons in the care of those who were wounded during the frequent skirmishes, and of those who be- came ill in consequence of the fatigues and privations of forced marches in a desolate region during the heats of midsummer. It soon became apparent that a grand conflict was at hand, a battle with nearly one hundred thousand men on each side, the result of which might 'de- Preparations for . the battle of cide the fate of the Rebellion. Accordingly, Gettysburg. the most extensive preparations were made by the Commission to mee,t the terrible emergency. Expe- rienced officers were sent to Frederick, Baltimore, Phi- ladelphia, and Harrisburg, and a systematic daily com- munication was kept up between them, and the Agents 376 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. accompanying the Army. Supplies were accumulated ready for movement at different points near the seat of war, and a large reserve stock was held at the dif- ferent branch offices to be sent forward as soon as the news of the expected battle should reach them. A portion of the enemy's force, after crossing the Poto- mac occupied Frederick, on its march northward. During its stay, the Commission's stores in that town were carefully concealed, and after its departure the wagons moving with the supply train of the Union Army were replenished from them. On the 28th of June, General Meade's Army was concentrated at Frederick, the Rebels being scattered Battle of Get- at various points in the Cumberland Valley, S^iitfUS at Chambersburg, at Carlisle, and at York, the Army. near the Susquehanna. The Army marched northeastward to guard the approaches to Baltimore and Washington, and its advance guard, the First and Eleventh Corps, under General Reynolds, reached GET- TYSBURG on the first of July. On that day it had an engagement with an overwhelming force of the enemy, and being driven in entrenched itself during the night on the Cemetery Hill, adjoining the town on the south. The Third and Twelfth Corps arrived during the night, and the remainder of the Army during the forenoon of the next day, Thursday, the 2d of July, and took up those formidable positions, from which during this and the succeeding day the Rebels made so many, and such vain efforts to dislodge them. All was quiet until four o'clock of the afternoon of Thursday, \\henadesperate assault was made by Longstreet's Corps upon our left wing, holding that portion of the field known as Round FREDERICKSBURG. 377 Top Hill. The result was a disastrous repulse to the Rebels, and the wounding of many of our men. Two wagon-loads of battle-field supplies belonging to the Commission had arrived with the Headquarters' train, at Cemetery Hill, the night before. As soon as the as- sault commenced, these wagons were despatched to the left and were conducted, under fire, to the point at which the Surgeons had established temporary Hospi- tals, and to which the wounded were being brought from the field in large numbers. As these wagons, bear- ing the familiar inscription "U. S. San. Com.," (always so dear to the eyes of sufferers in the Army,) came in sight, a Surgeon who was standing at a point not five hundred yards in the rear of the line of battle, sur- rounded by sufferers for whose succor he had exhausted all the means at hand, exclaimed with joyful eager- ness, " Thank God, here comes the Sanitary Commis- mission ; now we shall be able to do something." Brandy, beef-soup, sponges, chloroform, lint and ban- dages were at once distributed, and proved, no doubt, the means of saving many lives. The stock of sup- plies in these wagons was also sufficient to aid very materially in relieving the wants of the wounded in the Hospitals of the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Ele- venth and Twelfth Corps, on this first day of a general engagement. The wagons being thus emptied were sent at once to Frederick, so that their stock might be replenished and sent back to the field without delay. Agents of the They were reloaded at Frederick, and ready t^riuia Sia to leave that point early on the 4th of July. as P ris ners f * J war by the One of them was sent by way of West- enemy. 48 378 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION, minster the other in charge of Dr. McDonald, who had the general superintendence of the Commission's work in the Army of the Potomac, was proceeding on the direct road to Gettysburg, when it was unfortunately captured by the cavalry of the retreating Rebels. Dr. McDonald, Rev. Mr. Scandlin, one of the Agents of the Commission, and two laboring men, who were in its service, and who were in charge of the wagon, were detained as prisoners of war, and ninivhed to Richmond, where, for months, they endured all the loathsome horrors of the Libby Prison. This charac- teristic act of cruelty was committed by the Rebels, not only with full, notice that the persons captured were, in the strictest sense, non-combatants, but also that they were conveying supplies to the battle-field, intended equally for the relief of friend and foe, and further that their own wounded men were, at that very time, receiving succor from the stores which these cap- tured men were endeavoring to replenish. The railroad approaches to Gettysburg on the east had been broken up, and the nearest point of commu- Snppiies sent by nication with the battle-field, in that direc- riLter. tion, was by way of Westminster, about twenty miles to the South-east. To that point, on the Fourth of July, the Agents succeeded in getting a car-load of supplies, from which wagons were laden, and sent to the Field Hospitals, which they reached early next morning. Immediately afterwards, five more wagon loads were despatched by the same route, and thus, before railroad communication between Gettys- burg and the North was restored, the first, which are always the most pressing wants of the wounded, had FREDERICKSBURG. 379 been materially relieved. When the railroad to Get- tysburg was opened, a vast amount of stores reached that place daily. Among other things, large quanti- ties of fresh provisions, meat and vegetables, were sent every day from Philadelphia in " refrigerating cars," as they were called, or cars which had been converted into movable ice-houses. A glance at the table of is- sues from the Commission's storehouse during the ten days succeeding the battle, will give some idea of the magnitude of the relief extended to the wounded through its agency by the loyal people of the North.* * The following is a statement of the quantities of the principal articles dis- tributed by the Commission to the wounded upon the field at Gettysburg, sub- sequent to the battle. The perishable articles, (amounting to over 60 tons) were taken to the ground in refrigerating cars. Articles of Sustenance, viz, : Fresh Poultry and Mut- ton 11,000 pounds. Fresh Butter 6,430 " " Eggs, (chiefly col- lected for the occasion at farm houses in Penn- sylvania and New Jer- sey.) 8,500 dozens. Fresh Garden Vegetables..675 bushels. " Berries 48 " " Bread 12,900 loaves. Ice 20,000 pounds. Concentrated Beef Soup..3,800 " " Milk 12,500 " Prepared Farinaceous Food 7,000 " Dried Fruit 3,500 " Jellies and Conserves 2,000 jars. Tamarinds 750 gallons. Lemons 116 boxes. Oranges 46 " Coffee 850 pounds. Articles of Clothing, etc., viz. : Drawers, (woolen) 5,310 pairs. " (cotton) 1,833 " Shirts, (woolen) 7,158 " (cotton) 3,266 Pillows 2,114 Pillow Cases 264 Bed Sacks 1,630 Blankets 1,007 Sheets 274 Wrappers 508 Handkerchiefs .'..2,659 Stockings, (woolen) 3,560 pairs. " (cotton) 2,258 " Bed Utensils 728 Towels and Napkins. ..10,000 Sponges 2,300 Combs 1,500 Buckets 200 Soap, (Castile) ....250 pounds. Oil Silk 300 yards. Tin Basins, Cups, etc.... 7,000 Old Linen, Bandages, etc...HO barrels. 380 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The scene presented at the Commission's Depot in Scene at the the town for many days succeeding the to^ii"^ battle was a novel and extraordinary one : the town. " Car-load after car-load of supplies were brought to this place, till shelves, and counter, and floor up to the ceiling were filled, till there was barely a passage-way between the piles of boxes and barrels, till the sidewalk was monopolized, and even the street encroached upon. This abundant overflow of the generous remembrance of those at home to those in the Army was distributed in the same generous manner as it was contributed. Each morning the supply wagons of the Division and Corps Hospitals were before the door, and each day they went away laden with such articles as were desired to meet their wants. If Articles of Sustenance, (continued.) Chocolate 831 pounds. Tea 426 " White Sugar 6,800 " Syrups, (Lemon, etc.) 785 bottles. Brandy 1,250 " Whisky 1,168 " Wine 1,148 " Ale 600 gallons. Biscuit, Crackers, and Rusk 134 barrels. Preserved Meats 500 pounds. Preserved Fish 3,600 " Pickles 400 gallons. Tobacco 100 pounds. Indian Meal 1,621 " Starch 1,074 " Codfish 3,848 " Canned Fruit 582 cans. " Oysters 72 " Brandy Peaches 302 jars. Catsup 42 " Vinegar 24 bottles. Jamaica Ginger 43 jars. Articles of Clothing, etc., (continued.) Water Tanks 7 Water Coolers 46 Bay Rum and Cologne Water 225 bottles. Fans 3,500 Chloride of Lime 11 barrels. Shoes and Slippers 4,000 pairs. Crutches 1,200 Lanthorns 180 Candles 350 pounds. Canvas 300 sq. y'ds. Musquito Netting 648 pieces. Paper 237 quires. Pants, Coats, Hats 189 pieces. Plaster..., ....16 rolls GETTYSBURG. 381 the articles needed one day were not in our possession at the time, they were immediately telegraphed for, and by the next train of cars they were ready to be delivered-. Thus, tons of ice, mutton, poultry, fish, vegetables, soft bread, eggs, butter, and a variety of other articles of substantial and delicate food were provided for the wounded, with thousands of suits of clothing of all kinds, and hospital furniture in quantity to meet the emergency. It was a grand sight to see this exhibition of the tender care of the people for the people's braves. It was a bit of home feeling, of home bounty, brought to the tent, and put into the hand of the wounded soldier." But this work of distributing supplies to the Field Hospitals, grand as it was in its proportions, formed only a part of the general system of Battle- special Belief Field Relief adopted by the Commission, and Work - L d g e and Feeding carried out so efficiently at Gettysburg. Ex- stations. perience had taught its' officers that the wounded suffered quite as much during their transportation to permanent Hospitals from hunger and exhaustion, and from the jolting of their mangled limbs over rough roads, as they did in the Field Hospitals themselves. This suffering was of a kind which the Medical officers could only measurably relieve. To mitigate it as far as possible, a Lodge and Feeding Station were established at the point to which the wounded were brought for embarkation on the railroad. At this place they were cared for and refreshed by the same means which had procured such inestimable relief to thou- sands in the Peninsula, at Acquia, and throughout the seat of war at the West. 382 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. On their arrival at the terminus of the railroad, that portion of the Commission's Corps which came through and ex- by the first train, met a crowd of slightly done in them, wounded men gathered there, limping, drag- ging themselves along, silent, weary, hungry, and utterly exhausted. These wretched men were beyond the limit of ordinary Government care, and had wan- dered to the railroad, possessed, apparently, with but one idea, an anxious desire to escape from the horrors of the place which the battle had converted into a veritable Aceldama. The manner in which the ordinary routine of Army rule is thrown into confusion, after a great battle, when many of the suffering are left to shift for themselves, is well de- scribed by an eye-witness of the fearful suffering at Gettysburg. " This is the way the thing was managed at first ; The Surgeons left in care of the wounded three or four miles out from the town, went up and down among the men in the morning, and said, ' Any of you boys who can make your way to the cars, can go to Baltimore.' So off start all who think they feel well enough, any- thing being better than the ' hospitals,' so called, for the first few days after a battle. Once the men have the Surgeon's permission to go, they are off; and there may be an interval of a day, or two days, should any of them be too weak to reach the train in time, during which these poor fellows belong to no one, the hospital at one end, the railroad at the other, with far more than chance of falling through between the two. The Sanitary Commission knew this would be so of neces- FREDERICKSBURG. 383 sity, and coming in, made a connecting link between these two ends."* The wise foresight of Mr. Knapp, who first organ- ized the particular form of relief applicable to such cases as an integral portion of the Commission's gene- ral work, had provided in advance at Baltimore all the needed appliances for this service, and they were despatched by the Agents, who arrived by the first train. Tents were immediately pitched, cooking stoves put up, food prepared from the stores which had been sent forward, beds and bedding were found and arranged, so that that very night seventy-five suffering men were properly sheltered, and supplied with nutri- tious food. This, however, was only the beginning of the good work. It was continued for more than three weeks, gaining constantly in efficiency and practical value under the superintendence of two ladies who had acquired a large experience in this particular kind of service in the Peninsula. When it is remembered that these noble women did not permit one man of the sixteen thousand wounded, Union and rebel, who were transported during their stay to General Hospitals, to leave Gettysburg without a good meal, and without proper attention to their other and immediate necessi- ties, it is not to be wondered at that the officers of the Commission should regard the record of its Special Relief work at Gettysburg as forming one of the brightest pages of its annals. To show the spirit with which it was carried on, we quote once more from that charming little brochure, "Three Weeks at Gettysburg" a sketch, which may safely be said to present the most * See "Three Weeks at Gettysburg." 384 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. life-like and striking picture of the nature and value of volunteer relief work in the Army which the lite- rature of the war has produced. " Twice a day the trains left for Baltimore or Har- risburg, and twice a day we fed all the wounded who arrived for them. Things were systematized now, and the men came down in long ambulance trains to the cars ; baggage cars they were, filled with straw for the wounded to lie on, and broken open at either end to let in the air. A Government Surgeon was always present to attend to the careful lifting of the soldiers from ambulance to car. Many of the men could get along very nicely, holding one foot up, and taking great jumps on their crutches. "When the Surgeons had the wounded all placed, with as much comfort as seemed possible under the cir- cumstances, on board the train, our detail of men would go from car to car, with soup made of beef-stock, or fresh meat, full of potatoes, turnips, cabbage, and rice, with fresh bread and coffee, and, when stimulants were needed, with ale, inilk-punch, or brandy. Water-pails were in great demand for use in the cars on the jour- ney, and also empty bottles to take the place of can- teens. All our whisky and brandy bottles were washed and filled up at the spring, and the boys went off care- fully hugging their extemporized canteens, from which they would wet their wounds, or refresh themselves till the journey ended. I do not think that a man of the 16,000, who were transported during our stay, went from Gettysburg without a good meal rebels and Unionists together, they all had it, and were pleased and satisfied. " Have you friends in the FREDEKICKSBURG. 385 Army, madam?" a rebel soldier, lying on the floor of the car, said to me, as I gave him some milk. " Yes, my brother is on 's staff." " I thought so, ma'am. You can always tell ; when people are good to soldiers, they are sure to have friends in the Army." The ministrations of the Sanitary Commission on the battle-field of Gettysburg were not confined to the sufferers of our own Army. In accordance Belief to the ... , . . . wounded rebels with its constant policy on such occasions, a at Gettysburg. policy dictated by the highest considerations of hu- manity and Christian duty, it recognized neither friend nor foe among the wounded. There were more than eighteen hundred of the enemy in our own Hospitals, cared for as our own men were cared for by our Sur- geons. There were, besides, nearly fifty-five hundred of their wounded occupying Hospitals which had been established in the immediate neighborhood of the town previous to and during the battle, and filling besides, all the barns and houses for miles on the roads leading to Cashtown and Chambersburg. These men had been abandoned by their Army in its retreat, and were in a most deplorable condition of suffering and destitution. They were without Hospital supplies or even -ordinary rations, and were saved from starvation only by the stores of the Government against which they were fighting. The state of these Hospitals claimed the attention and kind services of an organi- zation, whose principles did not permit it to see an enemy in a suffering brother upon a battle-field, and although its means of relieving these men had been somewhat diminished by that barbarous act of inhu- manity of which we have spoken, the capture of a 49 386 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. large amount of stores on their way to the battle-field intended for the relief of all alike, still invaluable aid was rendered to them for many days. Dr. Gordon Winslow, one of the Inspectors of the Commission, was charged with the duty of visiting these Hospitals, ascertaining their wants, and offering such assistance as might be required. He found the enemy's wounded occupying twenty-four different camps within an area of twelve miles. Most of the wounds were, of course, severe, for those who had been able to move at all, or who could be removed by the retreating Army with its limited means of transportation, had been carried off/Our own officers were too busily engaged at that time in providing for the wants of their own men, to bestow any other care upon those of the enemy outside our own Hospitals than such as might keep them from actual starvation. When, therefore, Dr. Winslow called upon the Rebel Surgeons, explained to them the nature of the work of the Commission, and offered to supply their wants from its stores, the astonishment and gratitude of those officers were expressed in no measured terms. They eagerly availed themselves of his offers, and one of the strangest of the many strange and wonderful sights of which the Commis- sion's depot at Gettysburg was the scene after the battle, was the mingling in that busy crowd of friend and foe, National uniform and Confederate uniform, Union army wagon and rebel army wagon, all engaged in the common work of helping the suffering, and seeking aid from a source which dispensed with im- partial bounty its relief to the wretched victims of the battle-field. FREDERICKSBURG. 387 There is certainly nothing finer in its impulse, or more creditable to the civilization and humanity of the people of the North, than their willing- Eeflectiong on ness to share with their enemies the bounty this 8erTioe - which they had provided for their own suffering bre- thren. It is one of the many striking evidences which existed of the strong desire which that people always manifested that the war should be conducted upon every principle of humanity consistent with its success- ful prosecution. War is, necessarily, always a terrible agent of destruction. Its track is that of de- solation and ruin, and its rule that of arbitrary force. Christian civilization may mitigate its horrors, but it can never change its essential cruelty. Every attempt to alleviate its misery consistent with its active prose- cution should be recorded for the encouragement of those, whose best instincts teach them that they have not ceased to be men, and Christians, because war has caused them to become enemies. The unexpected and timely aid furnished by the Commission to the enemy's wounded, made such an impression upon their Surgeons, and con- Effect of this re - vinced them so completely of the impartial my . spirit of humanity which guided its operations, that every one of those left at Gettysburg joined in a re- quest to General Lee for the release of Dr. McDonald and the other Agents of the Commission who had been made Prisoners of war by his Army. The na- ture and character of the work of the Commission, the inestimable benefits which their own men had derived from it, and the relations of the captured Agents to it were fully set out in this petition. Strange to say, 388 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. these representations of their own officers made no impression upon the Rebel Authorities, and these faithful Agents were permitted to languish in prison for months afterwards, and until influences of another kind effected their release. The battle-field of Gettysburg was quite as remark- able for the striking opportunity it gave of proving O- the indispensable necessity of volunteer aid Innteer relief at , otty8trarg. in such an emergency, as tor the amount of the supplies which were distributed, or the spirit of zeal and devotion which characterized all those en- gaged in this merciful work. The Commission's Offi- cers, who had experience in this matter, always insisted that even where an Army after a battle did not move in pursuit of the enemy extra governmental relief was needed. But here was a battle-field from which the com- batants on both sides disappeared within two days after the conflict ceased, leaving behind them more than twenty-two thousand men, whose condition required not only immediate, constant, and skillful care, but a large quantity of hospital supplies. The Army organiza- tion which, in theory, was to provide for all these wants, accompanied the onward march, leaving but a very imperfect representation of its various depart- ments to look after those who had fallen. This was, of course, a matter of necessity, for it was evidently the duty of the Commander to press on with the Army prepared to meet just such another contingency as the battle of Gettysburg. General Meade himself has said, " I expected in a few days a battle at a distant point, and it was absolutely necessary I should carry away the greater portion of our surgeons and medical supplies, GETTYSBURG. 389 so that the wounded at Gettysburg were in a measure dependent upon such extra assistance as the Govern- ment could hastily collect, and upon the generous aid so cheerfully and promptly afforded by the Sanitary and Christian Commissions, and the various State, and Soldiers' Aid Societies. All the additional aid from every source was here most urgently needed, and it gives me great pleasure to say that, from the reports of my medical officers, I am satisfied the United States Sanitary Commission, as well as the others above mentioned, were fully up to the work before them." On the whole, the record of the services of the Com- mission in the campaign which terminated in this great battle, is a highly satisfactory and en- Commission's . . ,, , , , Agents on that couragmg one, and is especially honorable battie-neia. to the zeal and fidelity of the Agents by whose unre- mitting labor the work was done. Whether we look at the provident foresight which had accumulated at the centres of supply, a large reserve stock in anticipa- tion of the battle, or at the determined energy with which these supplies were rapidly pushed forward to the field in spite of broken communications and limited means of transportation, whether \ve recall the faithful and untiring devotion of the Relief Agents, four of whom, as we have seen, were captured while in the discharge of their humane duties, and most of whom were exposed to the fire of the enemy while bringing succor to the wounded, or if, lastly, we consider the grand result of all this self-denying labor, the mani- fest relief afforded to more than twenty-two thousand victims of the battle, we are constrained to believe that 390 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. never has so vast a work of mercy been performed in a manner so satisfactory and efficient. After the battle of Gettysburg the Field Relief Corps was somewhat reorganized, each Army Corps The Army re- having permanently attached to it, for its turns to the Ba- . . . . . . . special service a certain number ot its mem- bers under a Superintendent, whose duties were con- fined to ascertaining and relieving the wants of the particular portion of the Army confided to him. This was not unlike the former system in principle. It was simply a more thorough division of labor, by which it was hoped greater efficiency would be secured. Under this organization, the Relief Corps crossed the Potomac with the Army, and accompanied it in its long and wearisome pursuit of the enemy to the Rapi- dan. The history of its services during the move- ment of the Army to Centreville, and back again to Culpepper, and during its long stay in winter-quar- ters, presents nothing very novel or striking. It was occupied in its regular, steady, current relief work by its ordinary means, and these have been so often de- scribed and the result was so similar to that which was observed on former occasions, that it is unnecessary to enlarge upon it further here. The Headquarters of the Commission were at Brandy Station, and here, were combined its methods of General Relief in the Hospi- tals, and the camps, with those of Special Relief, tech- nically so called. This latter form of aid often proved a precious boon to those waifs and strays of the Army to whom, in their forlorn condition, a few meals and a night's lodging represented the highest form of prac- tical benevolence. THE WILDERNESS. 391 The winter was passed by every branch of the Army service, and by all the benevolent organizations con- nected with it, in making large preparations Preparations for for the Spring campaign. The Chief In- paigno^isfcT spector of the Commission with the Army made a requisition on the Central Office for supplies based upon an estimate of what would be required for the wants of ten thousand wounded men. A large re- serve stock, drawn from the sources of supply at the branch depots, was accumulated at Washington, and arrangements were made to send forward stores either by land or by water, as either might be selected as the line of communication with the base. When the Army crossed the Rapidan, seven four-horse wagons containing food, stimulants, and clothing, in charge of the Field Relief Corps accompanied it. They were under the superintendence of Mr. WAKNER JOHNSON, whose faithful, intelligent, and disinterested service during a period of more than two years and a half, forms one of the most striking examples of pure and unselfish zeal to be found in the history of the Commission. These stores were dispensed during the terrible battles of the Wilderness, and the wagons were sent to Belle Plain, via Fredericksburg, to be replenished. When the Potomac River was finally decided upon as the line of communication with the Army, the stores which had been accumulated at Washington were despatched to Belle Plain. In order to give some idea of the magnitude of the work undertaken by the Commission, and the means at its disposal for accomplishing it, we should state that at the opening of the campaign, two steamboats, and two 392 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. barges were employed by it for the conveyance of stores from Washington to the base of the Army, that forty-four four-horse wagons constituted its indepen- dent means of transportation from Belle Plain to Fredericksburg, that by this means more than two hundred tons of stores were sent to points where they were most needed, while at the same time nearly two hundred Relief Agents, including the Field Re- lief Corps, the Auxiliary Relief Corps, and the Special Relief Corps, were engaged in giving their personal services to the wounded. We have already described the condition of the wounded at Fredericksburg in the sketch presented of Work after the the peculiar work of the Auxiliary Relief wilderness. Corps.* There was work enough in the dark days which succeeded the battles of the Wilder- ness, to occupy fully the most determined zeal of every man in the Commission's service, each in his particular vocation and ministry. There was not a moment from that in which the hero who was fighting for his country was disabled, until the comparative comforts of a General Hospital were reached, in which such relief as was afforded in this campaign by extra Govern- mental agencies was not of priceless value in soothing his agony. The number of the wounded during this campaign was prodigious, far exceeding that which had been Vast accnmuia- anticipated by any one. Many of the wounds of course, were slight, but they all caused disability, at least for the time, and required attention. Nothing can better illustrate the * See ante, page 276. FREDERICKSBURG. 393 aggravated suffering which these wounded men under- went, than some account of the embarrassments which occasioned delay in sending them to a place where they could be properly treated. The ambulances and Army wagons, as they arrived at Belle Plain, filed down in a long line on one side of a wharf of a horse-shoe shape, when the wounded were removed to the transports moored to it. The wagons having thus discharged their living freight, passed to the other side of the wharf, and were there laden in turn with " fighting rations" for the troops in the field. It will be readily seen that this process was inevitably a tedious one, so much so indeed, that on one day, a con- tinuous line of vehicles, laden with wounded men stretched from the wharf at Belle Plain to Fredericks- burg, a distance of nearly ten miles. The result, of course, was an inextricable jam, which caused great delay in the embarkation of the men, and added to the suffering caused by severe wounds that produced by hunger, exhaustion, and the rough jolting of the ve- hicles. To relieve completely such an immense mass of misery was simply out of the question. To shorten the agony of the wounded by embarking them as rapidly as possible on the steamers was the task to which the Medical Authorities, under the direction of DR. CUYLER, Acting Medical Inspector- General of the Army, devoted themselves. Hour after hour, for days, this fearful procession of the victims of the battle was kept up, and during all that time, Dr. Cuyler's administrative skill, his quick and ready humanity, his unselfish disregard of personal exposure while striving to procure shelter for the wounded were 50 394 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. always conspicuous, and were beyond all praise. The Commission, anxious to do its share in relieving the wants of this particular class of sufferers, directed its attention chiefly to supplying them with such food and stimulants during their journey in the ambulances as their exhausted condition required. Between Belle Plain and Fredericksburg it established three Feeding Stations, where those of the wounded who were able to drag themselves to them were refreshed, and from which supplies of hot coffee, beef soup, and other kinds of nourishing food were borne to those who were un- able to leave the ambulances. When we remember that this picture of the sufferings of the wounded on the route, frightful as it is, had its counterpart in the Hospitals in Fredericksburg, it will be readily per- ceived that the power of adequately relieving such misery far transcended all the means at the disposal of the Government, and all the volunteer aid, both in personal service, and in supplies which was proffered to it. Viewed in the light of the experience shed upon it, by the results of the battles of the Wilder- ness, the doubt, which has often been expressed whe- ther there is a place for voluntary benevolent effort in an Army organization, seems like an insult to every humane instinct of the heart. Vast as was the work performed by the Government, and its volunteer, aux- iliary helpers on this occasion, and laborious and self- denying as was the zeal of all who were engaged in the service of succoring the wounded, the mournful impression still remains when all was done, of the utter inadequacy of the best appointed means of mitigating, FREDERICKSBURG. 395 as the heart would fain desire, the horrors of scenes like these.* In the onward march of the Army it became unsafe to send the wounded to the rear by way of Fredericks- burg, as the roads were infested by guerilla The Army base bands, whose notions of humanity did not p or tEoyai. forbid their capturing the trains, and plundering the helpless. Port Royal, on the Rappahannock, was se- lected as the new base, and to that point were removed from Belle Plain the depots of all the supply depart- ments of the Army, including that of the Sanitary Commission. Timely notice of the intended change of base having been given to the officers of the Commis- sion, its steamer laden with supplies, and conveying a large number of Relief Agents, was sent to Port Royal, and arrived there fortunately before any of the wounded reached that place. A Lodge and Feeding Station were at once established, and every preparation made for the reception and care of those who had fallen on the bloody battle-fields between Spottsylvania and the North Anna. Soon they came, these fresh victims of this terrible campaign, their wretched condition sick- ening the heart with the thought of the unending- misery, and fearful sacrifice of all that is precious and noble which insatiate war demands, but rousing the deepest sympathy, and calling forth on the part of those in whose behalf they had suffered, the most persistent efforts for their relief. For a few days the usual busy scene was exhibited at the Commission's depot at Port * From the 3d to the 12th of May inclusive, the Union Army sustained a loss officially reported at 3,300 killed and nearly 30,000 wounded. In this statement are reckoned the wounded of Spottsylvania. 396 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Royal. The wounded, as they arrived, were fed, and refreshed, and made as comfortable as was possible in their condition, and were then transferred to the transport steamers in waiting for their conveyance to Washington. The work at Port Royal did not long continue, as the advance of the Army towards Richmond required white House- the selection of another water-base in nearer Harbor. communication with it. White House, on the Pamunkey, the well-remembered IIe;i Quif Coast the neglect to supply them with vegetables, either fresh or preserved. The regiments at Brazos Santiago, those in the forts in the* front of Mobile, at Pensacola, at the Tortugas, and even at Key West, all suffered very severely in consequence of this neglect. The Commission made strenuous efforts to remedy this evil. Cargo after cargo of vegetable food was despatched by Dr. Newberry from Cairo to New Orleans, and placed in charge of Dr. Blake, the Com- DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF. 435 mission's Inspector. By him, it was distributed in such quantities to the forces composing the garrisons, that it produced in a very short time the most favor- able change in their general health, and once more the ravages of that inveterate enemy against which the Commission maintained so constant and so active a warfare ceased, at least, for the time. From the slight sketch we have given of the work of the Commission in the Department of the Grulf it is clear that it was admirably administered, character O f the Its principal Agents at New Orleans were A s ents - indeed men of no ordinary stamp. Dr. Crane who went out with the original expedition, and Dr. G. A. Blake who remained in New Orleans until the close of the war, so conducted its operations at this remote point, as to afford a practical illustration of the value of its plans and policy in no respect inferior to that exhibited on any other portion of the great field of war. Their labors were most arduous, and the em- barrassments they met with sometimes very discour- aging, but all difficulties were overcome by a wise and prudent conduct on their part, by a zeal always active but never indiscreet, and by that constant practical manifestation of sympathy with the wants of the suffering which brought great credit to them- selves, and firmly established the reputation of the Commission with the Army serving in this distant region. CHAPTER XVI. SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. ALMOST before the smoke had cleared away from the great battle-field of Antietam, on the 21st of Septem- enlarged ber, 1862, a telegram from San Francisco in consequence announce d that one hundred thousand dol- of contributions from California, lars, the first instalment of California's golden treasure in aid of the work of the Sanitary Commission, was on its way to New York. How wel- come this news was to those, who, in their efforts to relieve the mass of misery crowded into the preceding month, had almost exhausted the funds in their trea- sury, and were looking forward with the deepest anx- iety to the prospect of abandoning the great work be- fore them, may be readily imagined. When it was found that this large gift was only the precursor of still larger gifts, and that by its opportune arrival not only were present wants supplied, but a prospect of extended usefulness in new fields of labor was unfolded before them, the Officers of the Commission felt that now for the first time, it would be possible to expand and develope their plans in a way in some measure commensurate with their theory of the true functions of such an organization. All the old and well-tried agencies were reorganized upon a larger and more generous footing, and plans for new work were care- fully discussed and studied. 436 SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 437 At that time the most salient feature in the sanitary condition of the Army was the vast and rapidly in- creasing population of the Hospitals. The Condition of the . , . , ji T Hospitals in campaigns during the summer on the r enin- Sept., 1862. sula and in Northern Virginia, and the battle of An- tietam had filled all the Hospitals in the Eastern De- partment, to overflowing. In the West, although no general engagement had taken place during the sum- mer, the insalubrity of the country in which the Army was operating, and the excessive , fatigues and priva- tions to which the troops had been exposed from long marches, caused the number of sick in the Hospitals to be unusually large. To provide accommodations for so many patients, and to furnish them with suitable medical attendance and care, taxed severely all the re- sources of the Government, and required the utmost vigor and energy on the part of the Head of the Bureau. At that time there were, in the District of Columbia alone, forty-one General Hospitals, and a hundred and forty-three more in other parts of the country, while the number of sick and wounded under treatment in these Hospitals was not less than sixty- five thousand. The popular notion as to what constitutes a Military Hospital is a very vague, and, in many respects, a very incorrect one. .A certain number of Defects in the . , Hospital system beds, a certain number or surgeons, and a a t that time. sufficient supply of food and medicines to provide all who may become sick or wounded with shelter, attend- ance and food, do not constitute by any means all that is requisite in such establishments. In all countries some such arrangements have been provided for the 438 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. care of the sick, yet Hospitals supplied with all these things have often been pest-houses, where the suffer- ings of the patients have been aggravated rather than relieved. So true was this in former times, and so utterly unsuited have such places been proved by ex- perience for the objects for which they were designed, owing to defects apparently inherent in the system itself, that an eminent writer on Military Hygiene, who had had the largest experience in the practical man- agement of such establishments, asserted not fifty years ago, that " Hospitals were among the chief causes of mortality in armies ;" while another with equal op- portunities of judging declared that they were " a curse to civilization." Unsuitable buildings, in unhealthy V locations, the overcrowding of patients, want of proper ventilation, deficiency in drainage and water supply, want of a proper diet, the neglect or absence in short of all those essential conditions which are embraced under the general term of hygiene, these were some of the many causes which counteracted all the efforts of the Surgeons to treat sick men successfully who were sheltered from the weather, each of whom was provided with a bed, and abundantly supplied with such food as would have been nutritious to those in health. Ever since the beginning of the war in spite of our boasted advance in civilization, and in the true principles of humane care for the suffering, and with our increased knowledge of the requirements of such establishments, the management of some of the Army Hospitals was a crying evil. After inspecting one of them, Dr. Hammond, at that time acting as Medical Inspector of a military department, did not hesitate to SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 439 express his deliberate conviction " that such a condi- tion of affairs did not exist in any other Hospital in the civilized world," and that the Hospital in question was " altogether worse than any which were such op- probria to the Allies in the Crimean War." This severe judgment was passed, it must be remembered, not upon a Hospital improvised upon a battle-field, or situated in the enemy's country, far remote from the means which might have insured its proper adminis- tration, but upon one in a town within our own bor- ders, and within easy reach of the great centres of supply. This unfortunate condition of things was due to a cause similar to that which had produced such fright- ful confusion in almost every department of Efforts of the Surgeon-Gene- the Army in the early days of the war, in rai to remedy 1 i TIT- , n ,-1 this state of one word, to inexperience. JNo part ot the thinggi military administration requires for its successful prac- tical management, a more thorough special instruction, and greater experience than the complex machinery of a vast hospital system. In this country, as we have said, we were wholly without any experience in such matters, the methods which had prevailed in the old Army being worse than useless, because they misled us in the vain attempt to apply them to wholly new cir- cumstances. There were few men in the country who had any well-defined conception of what a Model Military Hospital should be, but one of these, fortunately for the reputation of the country, and for the cause of hu- manity, was the Surgeon-General. From the begin- ning, the great object of his ambition had been to inaugurate a Model Hospital system which should be 440 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. creditable to the age, and the country. He persisted, in the face of most serious obstacles, until his plans were accomplished. The result, which he had confi- fidently predicted from their adoption, was fully at- tained, and among other great things worthy of the American name, which were done during the war, there is none of which we have greater reason to be proud, than that our sick and wounded were better cared for in every respect, in Military Hospitals, than ever before, and that the rate of mortality in them was far lower than had been observed in the experience of any Army since the world began. As the views and intentions of the Surgeon-General were well known, as indeed they had been one of the A special inspec- principal grounds of confidence on the part tion of Hospitals . . . . . . . , . .. _ proposed. of right judging men in his peculiar ntness for the position he occupied, the Sanitary Commission felt that he would not only willingly receive any sug- gestions which would assist him in his great work, but also, that he would gladly cooperate in any scheme having for its object a thorough and systematic in- quiry into the peculiarities of the existing system. In this belief, it was not mistaken. Indeed, it may be said that the desirableness of a supplemental inspec- tion of the Hospitals by competent medical men in civil life, came from the Surgeon-General, and every means which his official position and authority gave him were freely used to insure the faithful execution of this important object. Never was a better opportu- nity afforded than at this juncture for ascertaining how far the wants of the suffering were met by ar- rangements actually existing, and in what respects those arrangements were defective. SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 441 "While the strength of the Army had been nearly doubled, and the population of the General Hospitals more than quadrupled, the Staff of the Medical Inspec- tion had not been at all augmented. Under these cir- cumstances it was obvious that intelligent assistance from civil life would be acceptable. This aid the Com- mission resolved to seek amongst the best and ablest members of the medical profession, soliciting, for short periods, the services of men unable to leave their re- sponsible duties for any length of time, and yet ready to help the national cause, and that of humanity. This duty was assigned to the Medical Committee, who com- menced immediately the organization of a scheme for the special inspection of Military Hospitals.* Invita- tions were issued to more than a hundred medical gentlemen of assured position, throughout the loyal States, and the services of Dr. Henry Gr. Clark, of Boston, were secured as Inspector-in-Chief." Of this number, sixty entered upon this service at the request of the Commission, in the month of Octo- ber, 1862, and during the next succeeding Corps of Special ,. , '., i ,1 " Inspectors or- six months were busily engaged in the spe- cial inspection of the Military Hospitals in every part of the country. These gentlemen were assured at the outset, that their visits were made at the invitation of the proper authorities, and by the express desire of the Sur- geon- General . They were further told that the general design of this movement was to secure a high standard of professional ability in the management of the Mili- * The Medical Committee of the Sanitary Commission was composed of Dr. William H. Van Buren, Dr. C. R. Agnew, and Dr. Wolcott Gibbs. The scheme for this Special Inspection of Hospi- tals originated in this Committee, and its details were carefully studied and organized by its differ- ent members. Dr. Clark acted under instructions from this Committee, and reported to it. 56 442 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. tary Hospitals, and to detect and remove such defects in their administration or care, as were susceptible of remedy or improvement. As it was not possible that men engrossed with the cares of a large private prac- tice could absent themselves for a long time from their homes, it was proposed that each Surgeon accepting the invitation of the Commission, should devote but one month to the work of actual inspection. They were assigned by the Inspector-in-Chief to groups of Hospitals located in a particular region, care being taken, as far as possible, for obvious reasons, to confide this duty to those whose usual residence was remote from the points to be visited.* Their instructions contemplated the investigation of a very wide field. The location, construction and Theirinstruc- general police of the Hospitals, the number tdons. anc i character of the attendants, Surgeons and nurses, the number of the patients, the nature and gravity of the diseases from which they were suffering, the rate of mortality, the all-important question of diet with the means at the disposal of the Hospital to pro- vide food of a suitable character ; drainage, water sup- ply, and ventilation ; these were some of the general subjects which were to engage their minute attention and inquiry. They were expected to make a thorough and painstaking investigation into all these matters, and in order to stimulate them to efforts to render their reports full and accurate, they were informed that the results of their inquiries would be communi- cated confidentially to the Surgeon-General, who would base his official action upon them. * See Appendix No. 7 for the names and residences of the Inspectors. SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 443 The inspections were commenced in the Hospitals at Washington and its vicinity, and were gradually extended to those in other parts of the coun- They enter upon try, until all the General Hospitals in the the worki Army, from farthest New England to the Department of the Grulf had been visited and reported upon. By the month of May, 1863, reports had been made by these Special Inspectors, which covered more than twenty-five hundred folio pages, and subsequently many additional reports were received. They con- tained a full, accurate and intelligent description of all the General Hospitals in the Army, and were filled with the evidence of that acute observation, sound opinion, and practical suggestion, which was to have been expected from the eminent reputation, in their profession, of those who composed the corps. These reports are taken up chiefly with detailed accounts of the Hospital administration, regarded from a purely professional and scientific stand-point, and although the views they present are of the highest interest and value, their discussion will find a more appropriate place in the medical history of the war, now in pre- paration by the Commission, than in the present volume. Still, the plan in itself was so wise and comprehensive, and its execution formed so important a feature in the general work of the Commission, that some outline of it seems necessary in order that some idea of the com- prehensiveness of that work may be formed. It cannot be doubted that the information contained in these re- ports, coming as it did from trustworthy and indepen- dent observers, did much to build up our grand sys- tem of hospital construction and administration. 444 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The Hospitals were found, in general, by these In- spectors in a far more satisfactory condition than had General results been anticipated. The prominent and ob- Hospital bnild- . . ing,. vious detect existing everywhere, but espe- cially observable in the West, was the want of suitable buildings. At that time large and properly arranged buildings on the Pavilion system, as it was called, furnished with all the appliances for the proper treat- ment of the patients, in accordance with the latest and best teachings of experience, were not yet completed, although several were in the process of construction. The testimony of all the Inspectors was uniform in regard to the necessity of establishing Hospitals only in buildings specially erected for such a purpose. In their investigations throughout the country, they had found every species of building from common dwell- ing-houses, to hotels and churches occupied as Hospi- tals, and they never failed in their Reports to point out the inherent unfitness of all of them for the pur- poses for which they were used. They found, at the West particularly, that the Medical Officers complained bitterly, that while money was profusely spent in other parts of the country in supplying this acknowledged want, no steps had yet been taken to provide proper accommodation for the sick and wounded of the Ar- mies of the Cumberland and the Tennessee. The great object of this special Inspection was, as we have said, to obtain such information with regard to character of the the practical management of the Hospitals Medical Officers . n I in charge. as might suggest to the Surgeon-Ucneral improvements in the system. The first result, how- ever, was to increase the comfort of the patients who SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 445 were then under treatment. This was effected, partly by the intercourse of the surgeons in charge with eminent members of their own profession, whose counsel was naturally regarded by those who were in earnest in their attempt to perform their novel and re- sponsible duties, as of very great value. The Inspec- tors had been cordially welcomed in almost every Hospital they visited, by the officers in charge. Every facility was afforded them for making a thorough in- vestigation of their condition, and they did not hesi- tate to point out on the spot deficiencies in the service which met their observation. They found the Surgeons, as a class, faithful, earnest and skillful men, striving, frequently in the face of most serious obstacles, to do their utmost to relieve the wants of the suffering men under their charge. Many of these Surgeons had left their practice in civil life, at a great personal sacrifice, and had entered the Army, from purely patriotic motives. Few of them, it is true, had had any ex- perience in the peculiar labors of Hospital practice, but it was surprising on the whole, how wonderfully nearly all of them had adapted themselves to the exigencies of their new position. There was found among them material for a most efficient corps of Hospital Surgeons, and all that was needed, as they themselves were the first to recognize, for establishing a satisfactory Hospital system, was some slight modi- fication in the organization of the Medical Staff, and above all, suitable Hospital buildings and appliances for the relief of the patients. The suggestions con- tained in the reports of these Inspectors, says Dr. Clark, the Inspector-in-chief, " with regard to defects 446 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and evils found to be existing in any of the Hospitals, have, when transmitted by me, as they are frequently, by extracts, synopses, or verbally, to the Surgeon-Crene- ral, invariably received his immediate and effective attention. "An inspection of the reports of the different Inspec- tors, at different and consecutive dates, will also show, in many instances, a very marked and progressive im- provement in the condition of the Hospitals inspected." It must not be supposed that the work of the Com- mission in this particular department constituted the This inspection only systematic inspection which the Hospi- otij.* 1 tals received. On the contrary, the eight Medical Inspectors attached to the Bureau were con- stantly employed in making official visits. But when it is remembered that in addition to the two hundred General Hospitals of the Army, these officers were charged with the supervision and the Medical and Sanitary care of more than eight hundred thousand men in active service, it will be readily perceived that the force was altogether too small to explore properly so wide a field. There were other reasons to which we have already alluded, for invoking the assistance in this work ' of the profession outside the Army, and an additional one may be found in the fact that, it was important in forming a judgment on disputed points to compare the opinions of those trained in the habits of civil life, with those who were naturally more affected in their views by purely military considera- tions. Among the improvements suggested by these reports and afterwards adopted were some of such great prac- SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 447 tical importance that some mention must.be various im- made of them here. In the first place, P rovements s- 7 gested Depots large depots of Hospital supplies were es- of supplies. tablished by the Authorities at great military centres where they were readily accessible at all times when needed. The former practice had been one utterly unfitting the character of the service, and had caused, in many ways, great inconvenience. When supplies were needed at any point, it had been usual for the proper officer to make a requisition upon the distant Purveyor who, after approving it, sent it to be filled by the still more distant Apothecary. The patients, meantime, were obliged to suffer from the delays caused by the state of the market, or the difficulties of transportation. The practical advantages of this change of system were felt immediately, and they were further increased soon afterwards, by the establish- Government ment of two large Government laboratories, ^oratories. one at New York, the other at Philadelphia, in which during the remainder of the war the principal medi- cines required in the Hospitals were prepared. The Medical Bureau was thus rendered wholly independent of mercantile houses, both as to the quality of the articles it dispensed, and the regularity of their supply. These laboratories were placed in charge of competent officers detailed from the Medical Staff of the Army, and were managed with great skill and fidelity. They saved also to the Government, the outlay of large sums of money, which would have been required for the purchase of the articles manufactured in them at a far lower cost than the ordinary market price. A new and vastly enlarged supply-table or list of 448 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. articles which the Government would undertake to Hew supply- provide for the inmates of the Hospitals was teble< also issued by order of the Surgeon-Gene- ral, embracing many things essential to their comfort, for the supply of which the Hospital Fund had been, hitherto the only, and most precarious resource. Hos- pital clothing, also, was furnished to the patients under the new rfyinie, a provision which, when their Hospital doth- condition in respect to personal cleanliness b ^ upon their entrance to the Hospital is con- sidered, seems an indispensable pre-requisite to their proper treatment. But the measures of reform, intro- duced by the Surgeon-General, did not cease with his efforts to provide for the material comfort of the patients. The condition of the Medical Staff excited his most serious attention, and his struggles to main- tain a high standard of professional excellence in it, were never relaxed for a moment. To effect this im- portant object, he devised most generous and liberal plans, some of which were adopted, and others failed from a want of cooperation by the War Department. They were all characterized by that comprehen- siveness of view, which proved his thorough apprecia- tion of the duties of his great office. As a means of securing the most competent men for the Medical service of the Army, he reorganized the Boards of Boards of EI- Examination, and insisted upon a higher animation. standard of attainment on the part of the candidate. He established also a new and complete system of Hospital reports, which was designed to Hospital Ee- embody not merely a formal and barren statement of the number of patients in the SPECIAL INSPECTION OF HOSPITALS. 449 Hospitals, and of those who were discharged or died, but also such facts concerning their condition as would constitute valuable material for a Medical and Surgical history of the war. The interest and importance of such a history, not merely as a record of what had been done here, but as a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the general laws which govern the health and efficiency of Armies, are too obvious to need com- ment. In order further to accomplish this object, he instituted at Washington an Army Medical Museum, in which was collected and arranged a vast Army Medical number of specimens from the different Museum - Hospitals, illustrating the nature of the peculiar dis- eases to which soldiers are liable, and the character of the wounds which are inflicted by the new missiles of war. The peculiarity of these wounds has essentially modified one of the most important departments of Military Surgery, and the specimens thus brought to- gether in the Army Medical Museum, far exceeding in number and variety those of any other collection in the world, have served, not only to advance the cause of science and humanity, but have rendered the Museum a just object of national pride. But the great central want of the system, which left unsup- plied, all the other improvements suggested Hospital Bmid- by the Surgeon -General would have proved *** of little value, was the want of proper Hospital build- ings. Fortunately for the completion of the circle of his plans, the necessary cooperation of those officers of the Government outside of the Medical Department who were charged with the erection of Hospitals was, at last, obtained, and a large number were constructed 57 450 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. on a vast scale in different parts of the country ac- cording to the Pavilion system. The peculiar advan- tages of this system, and the wonderful results which followed its adoption in the improvement of the sick and wounded of the Army is a subject belonging pro- perly to the Medical history of the war. The best evidence we can give of the success of the experiment, is to repeat the statement of the simple fact, that the rate of mortality among the inmates of these Hospitals was far lower than has been recorded of the military Hospitals of any age or country. The Sanitary Commission, without desiring to share the credit of any of the vast improvements made by The commission the Surgeon-General, does claim not only to aids and enoour- haye fuU sympa thized with him in his CH- ages these im > > * pavements, larged and liberal views, but also to have aided him in carrying them out as far as any extra official qooperation could do. It seems, now, surpris- ing that any obstacles should have been placed in the way of reforms obviously so much needed. But the truth is, that, from various causes, it required the per- sistent vigor and energy of a most determined man to advance a single step in the right direction, and the Surgeon- General always needed for his encouragement all the support he could get, in the Government, or out of it. The Commission felt that the best practical method of maintaining the health and efficiency of the Army was to secure the proper administration of the Military Hospitals, and it was only fulfilling the highest object of its mission by zealously cooperating in any plans which sought to accomplish this great object. CHAPTER XVII. THE COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. IT will have become evident to the reader that the fundamental principle which governed all the operations of the Commission was to make Valne of Gene . its influence felt, as far as possible, through ralljws - the agency of general principles and a general policy. Its action was controlled by a constant regard to those hygienic and physiological laws which are already known, and by an anxious desire to discover and apply such other laws as might affect the welfare and success of our soldiers in this or in other wars. The vast proportions of our national Armies, which doubtless reached during the rebellion the enormous aggregate of two and a-half millions of men, afforded facilities not likely to occur again, at least during the present generation ; and it would have been most un- fortunate had the opportunities thus afforded for the study of large number of men in their hygienic and physiological relations, been suffered to pass unim- proved. The employment of statistical methods of research is, in general, of comparatively recent date. Their peculiar advantages and restrictions have E / rl 7 fforts of the Cominis- been only lately appreciated ; and it will sum to acquire be easily perceived that they must be used mation , 451 452 UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSION. with great discretion, and with special limitations. But the exceeding importance of their results when properly interpreted, is continually impressing itself more and more upon students of both the moral and the physical sciences ; and the opportunities which were presented during the war for the determination of important facts relative to the moral and physical characteristics and capacities of our soldiers, and of men in general, seemed to call upon the Commission to obtain such facts as seemed important to the wel- fare, not merely of our own country, but of the world. The earliest statistical inquiries of the Commission were directed toward forming the best attainable esti- mate of the condition, prospects and needs of the forces to be maintained in the field during the summer of 1861. It hoped thus to advise more effectively with the State authorities, and the general Govern- ment, as to modifications of the regulations, and such other measures as might tend to guard the troops against pestilence, and to mitigate the anticipated suf- fering from illness and wounds. For this purpose ,two series of inquiries were prepared by Mr. Olmsted ; the one, relative to the organization and equipment of regiments, being sent to the Governors of States ; and the other, pertaining to the sanitary condition of the regiments and their camps, being addressed to the Commanding officers of regiments. Many of the laws of the physical as of the moral world are deducible only from experience, and the The nature and common judgment of mankind recognizes value of statis- tica. that experience as the most valuable which results from observation of the largest number of facts, COMMISSION'S BUREAU or VITAL STATISTICS. 453 the only restriction being in the exercise of a proper discrimination. Now when a very large number of facts bearing on any subject, are collected and systema- tically classified according to their proper relations, the classified results are called " Statistics," and infer- ences legitimately deduced from them occupy the same relation to those afforded by personal experience and judgment, that the number of cases collected and the systematic correctness of their classification bear to the number remembered by the individual, and the dis- crimination with which he forms his opinion. In short, the experience of thousands or hundreds of thou- sands of men may be substituted for that of one man, and the accuracy of numerical computation may thus supply the place of the rude estimate of personal opinion. Even here large opportunities for error ex- ist in the unskillful combination of incongruous mate- rial ; but as the fundamental facts are on record, such errors are always capable of subsequent detection and remedy. From the classification and comparison of the an- swers to the inquiries propounded by Mr. Olm- sted he anticipated useful information. In- statistics con- deed they had begun to yield results of very considerable importance, when the encounter at Bull's Run solved the problems, exhibited the facts and enforced the conclusions, with a thoroughness to which a less disastrous experience, or years of sanitary in- spection would have been inadequate. Just at this memorable crisis the Commission was preparing enlarged and detailed series of questions concerning the condition and needs of the regiments 454 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. in camp, near Washington, for the purpose of placing them in the hands of medical men especially appointed as Sanitary Inspectors ; and, at the same time, Mr. E. B. Elliott, known as one of the most zealous and well- informed statisticians of the country, came to Wash- ington to obtain accurate statistical information regard- ing the character, number and health of our troops subjects regarding which the whole nation felt so deep an interest, yet possessed so little knowledge. Mr. Elliott's services promised to be peculiarly valuable at that juncture, and when our Army arrived panic- stricken and disorganized at Washington, a most im- portant field for his labors presented itself. No time was lost in instituting such researches as should best make manifest the causes which led to the calami- tous result. The nature of these inquiries, and the value of the information derived from the answers to them, have been already referred to.* The able report made to the Secretary of War by the General Secretary of the Commission, in Decem- Btatisticai BU- ^ er > 1861, and published as Document, rean wganued. ;^ 4Q ? contains in the appendix some of the results of these inquiries. The system of sani- tary inspection of regimental camps was at once ex- tended, and was actively prosecuted. The Statistical Bureau was organized as a special Department of the Commission, and the returns of Camp Inspection were at once transmitted thither for tabulation and classi- fication. Digests of more than four hundred of these reports were given in the report to the Secretary of War, just cited, showing the time of recruiting the * See Ante, page 89. COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. 455 regiments, the nativities and ages of the men, the tho- roughness of their inspection at enlistment, the situa- tion and hygienic characteristics of the camps, the drainage, tents, clothing, cleanliness, food, hospitals, discipline, remittances of pay, competency of medical officers, systematic recreations, etc. Of these Camp inspections one thousand four hundred and eighty- two were received, representing in all about eight hundred and seventy regiments or other organizations. Immediately upon their reception they were sub- jected to a preliminary tabulation for office reference, and were so arranged as to enable the Commission to give such information as might be deemed proper, re- garding the position and military condition of each regiment. They were then again classified in a con- densed form by groups of regiments, in such manner as to exhibit at a glance the information needed for the purpose of the Commission in ameliorating the sanitary condition of the regiments or camps, and in correcting abuses. Thirdly, they were classified by States, and months, and summaries and aggregates of the results were prepared by months, seasons, States, and groups of States. The value of the materials thus collected and assorted is very great, and although their nature is such as to render it difficult to present con- densed summaries of results in tabular form, this has still been done as far as possible, and the aggregated results afford sources from which copious information may be derived on many special points of hygienic im- portance. It is intended by the Commission that these materials, like the others of similar nature, shall be deposited for permanent preservation with some pub- 456 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. lie institution, where those engaged in the investiga- tion of any of the questions involved may find easy access to the information they require, in its most con- densed and available form. Some statement of the influence of these Inspec- tions, and the action which was taken upon the reports indirect influ- without delay by the Commission, may not enceofitework be without interest. Their indirect influ- in the early part of the war. ence was of the greatest value. The very asking of the questions, and the sight of the printed blanks are known in a multitude of cases to have sug- gested to Surgeons and Commanding officers, for the first time, those precautions and sanitary measures, which the lack of previous experience had prevented them from taking. It will readily be perceived how strong a stimulus to the enforcement of official regula- tions many of which were at first regarded as a dead letter, or as matters of simple form, was given by the knowledge that a corps of medical civilians were actively at work, examining into the strictness with which these regulations were enforced, and the general sanitary condition of the regiments and the camps. But in addition to this weighty incentive thus brought to bear upon the officers concerned, the Commission took immediate steps to bring about a remedy through offi- cial channels in cases of manifest need ; and here again the salutary influence of the reform of a single camp, especially when thus brought about, was felt more or less manifestly upon the other camps in the vicinity. During the summer of 1862, the materials on file in the offices of the Surgeon- General and Adjutant- COMMISSION'S BUKEATJ OF VITAL STATISTICS. 457 General, were also drawn upon for informa- Tabulation of tion not otherwise accessible, and which the * e * ail y re po rte of General Hos- officers of these departments had no oppor- pitais. tunity to elaborate. The consolidated morning reports of the Hospitals in the different Departments, giving for each day, and each Hospital, the number of cases treated, the proportion of cures, and of deaths, were transcribed from the official documents ; and were com- bined and aggregated according to regions, and accord- ing to seasons. A large amount of the material for this work was provided by the Hospital Directory Department, until at the close of 1864 the present Surgeon- General forbade the communication of farther material to the Commission. The tabulated results had however already yielded highly valuable informa- tion ; and the assumption by the War Department of the responsibility of classifying and tabulating these important facts was the source of much satisfaction to the Commission, which welcomed the probable attain- ment of the desired end. It was satisfied with the consciousness that its efforts had in all probability led to the performance of the work, although in this in- direct manner. In this connection, it may be added that not only was the system of Daily Hospital Re- turns adopted by the War Department first sug- gested by the Sanitary Commission, but that it prepared even the blank forms of these reports, which (with the slight change of horizontal for vertical lines) are still employed. The files of the Statistical Bureau contained abstracts and summaries of the returns for both the General Hospitals, and the Hospitals for Contagious Fevers, arranged by months 58 458 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and by departments, for nearly all the U. S. Military Hospitals during the greater part of the years 1863 and 1864. Upon the assumption of the work by the War Department, and the refusal of farther informa- tion to the Commission, the work of the Statistical Bureau upon these aggregates and averages was sus- pended. The monthly regimental reports on file in the Adjutant-General's office, afford a means for deducing Tabulation of the sickness and mortality of the whole low and gain re- turns. Army, or of any portion of it, at any time. These reports are usually made out by the Regimental Adjutant, and are directed to be forwarded monthly to the office of the Adjutant-General in Washington. They exhibit the number of sick in the regiment, and both for officers and for men the number gained and lost during the month, specifying the manner in which the accessions and diminutions have occurred. These reports were in the early part of the War quite irreg- ular and incomplete, but as the Department gradually adapted itself to its enlarged duties, and exacted from its officers a stricter compliance with the regulations of the service, the returns became more complete and thorough, until, during the later years of the war, the rolls became as regular and complete as in all proba- bility would have been the case with any old standing Army. The results of the statistical elaboration of these data for the nine months commencing with June 1861 were prepared by Mr. Elliott, and printed as Document No. 46, of the Commission's publications. The mortality rates for our volunteer armies by seasons, by rank, by States, by region of service : the constant COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. 459 sickness-rates for the Eastern and Western forces, careful comparisons between the proportions of sickness and mortality of the troops, East and West, as well as comparisons with the experience of our own army at other periods, and with that of the British Army during the Peninsular and Crimean Campaigns, were elaborately discussed, and the marked preponderance of sickness and deaths among the troops serving at the West was for the first time made manifest. To de- monstrate such facts is to make a large advance in the direction of a remedy, and these careful computations bore rich fruit. They also furnished, so far as the experience of these nine months could yield it, the rate of recruiting requisite for supplying a given rate of diminution from mortality, discharges, sickness, desertions, &c., as well as the number of men requisite for securing a given constant force of available and effective soldiers. While transcribing these valuable statistics, the records of the Adjutant- General's office permitted the ready collection of other material less strik- Ages of the ing in its applications to the immediate ^^J^I needs of the Army, yet of high importance tic, indirectly. Such are the ages of the troops enlisted, and their physical characteristics, as deduced from the descriptive muster-rolls. These are capable of yield- ing results of great scientific value, which by combi- nation with each other, and with facts previously known, will be important in determining the relative efficiency for military service of men at different ages, and of different physical peculiarities. The elabora- tion and discussion of these materials will probably 460 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. lead to the establishment of physical laws, before un- known, which in their hygienic application alone, although this is not their chief apparent value, would have been cheaply attained at one hundred-fold the outlay of time and of money. Early in 1863 a new class of examinations was undertaken, to ascertain the relative physical condition of soldiers coming from different parts of the country and of Europe. The re- sults arrived at by these examinations will probably afford the most important contribution of observations ever made in furtherance of " anthropology," or the science of man, considered in reference to his physical nature. One Inspector was employed upon the exami- nation and measurement of Union soldiers, while another was similarly engaged with rebel prisoners. Their birth-places, ages, strength, capacity of lungs, statures, dimensions of chest, bodily proportions, pulse, respiration, etc., were carefully noted, and the tabula- tion of these materials carried on in the office, those in good health being distinguished from those not in their usual vigor. These tabulated records offer the means of intelli- gent and discriminating comparison between troops of different nativities, ages, complexions, occupations, etc., and between American soldiers, and those of different foreign countries, as regards their physical and social condition, and will probably furnish results of which it would be difficult to say whether their value in a medical, military, or physiological point of view should be regarded as the greatest. In August, 1863, Mr. Elliott embarked for Europe to attend a meeting of the International Statistical COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. 461 Congress at Berlin, and for the ensuing year instigations . . continued Dri the collection and tabulation of materials Gonia takes was continued by Mr. T. J. O'Connell, JSL* the an accomplished and most excellent man, who had served in the Army until his health gave way, and rendered his discharge imperative. During Mr. O'Connell's management of the affairs of the Bu- reau, a large amount of additional material was accu- mulated, and arranged according to the rules pre- viously laid down by Mr. Elliott, who in the mean time prepared and presented to the Statistical Congress an account of the methods adopted by the Bureau, together with some of their results, which excited great interest. In July, 1864, Dr. B. A. Gould took charge of the Bureau, and has conducted its work since that time. The Collection of "Loss and Gain returns," which had been suspended for awhile, was now resumed, and much more extended investigations were instituted concerning the physical characteristics of our soldiers, black as well as white. Materials were drawn from the offices of the Adjutant- Generals of the several States, as well as from those of the Federal Govern- ment at Washington, in all of which, with scarcely an exception, the most ready courtesy and cordial aid were afforded, in the examination of their voluminous records. The results promise to solve many long- discussed problems of important practical bearing, such as the laws of human growth while approach- ing the maximum stature; of pulmonary capacity as dependent upon physical proportions and upon age; of strength as related to age and rate; of 462 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. complexion, stature and previous occupation as affect- ing strength and endurance ; together with numerous minor questions of high scientific value, as leading to the knowledge of laws controlling the development of man, and the relation of different human races. A curious illustration of the practical recompense which is always found ultimately to reward the inves- interesting re- tigation of any physical or moral truth, has to^he* 'ITrf recen ^y Deen furnished by the computations the men. and researches relative to that one subject which seemed to be the least germane to the regular functions of the Bureau. Mr. Elliott had commenced, and Mr. O'Connell had continued the collection, from the muster-rolls at the Adjutant- General's Office, of the ages of soldiers from the different States. The ages of more than 750,000 men had thus been collected, almost all of them being those of the original members of volunteer regiments, enlisted previous to the intro- duction of descriptive muster rolls, and before any recourse was had by the Government to drafting. The collection of these ages was continued until it included that of all the volunteer regiments enlisted up to the date when it was completed, making in the aggregate about a million of men. The number of men enlisted at different ages was found to follow a definite mathe- matical law with marvellous precision, so closely, in- deed, that the number as given by this law as enlisted at any particular age is in all probability even more accurate than the recorded number. In regard to en- listments at certain special years of age, where mo- tives for misrepresentation existed, the amount of such misrepresentation is thus made evident and measur- COMMISSION'S BUREAU or VITAL STATISTICS. 463 able, and the little inaccuracies arising from the ten- dency of men to express their ages in the nearest round number, rather than with absolute exactness, is also actually recognizable, and made capable of nume- rical measurement. This, although very striking, is not surprising to the scientist, who knows from the expe- rience of a lifetime that all great moral and social, as well as material movements and impulses, are subject to the control, or at least follow the action of determi- nate mathematical law. But it is surprising to find that this definite law which governed the enlistment of our volunteer soldiers, and served as a gauge of the existing impulse to take up arms for their country, was measurably the same for the far West, for the popu- lous Middle States, and for the Atlantic sea-board. This disproved the imputations of certain foreigners that our armies were largely recruited from elements not American, for were the tendency to enlist ^ he American element shown dependent in any considerable degree upon a largely to pre- foreign element, this tendency would vary in SJJJ^, " different portions of the country according to the differ- ent numbers of immigrants in the respective portions. Yet so far was this from being the case, that while the number of our volunteers at different years of age fol- lowed nearly the simple law of geometrical progression, about four-fifths of the whole number being in con- formity with this law, the rate of this progression, or, in other words, the proportion of enlistments at each successive year of age to those at an age one year younger, scarcely shows any token of variation, whether the enlistments were made in Maine, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan, or in Iowa. 464 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The ages of the officers were found to follow an entirely diverse law, bearing no resemblance whatever Ages of officers, to that regulating the ages of the enlisted men. And on comparing these two laws with that of the population, this latter was found to be utterly dis- similar to that of either of the others. And a farther examination of the subject led incidentally to the dis- covery of what appears to be the law of population unknown before ; and this in its turn to the algebraic formula which gives the "expectation of life" for any individual, in any country. Thus the Life Insurance Companies, which so generously contributed to the finan- cial support of the Commission at the very outset of its activity, having at one period furnished nearly one half of the funds it received, may not improbably derive from this unexpected quarter a means of largely in- creasing their usefulness by a reconstruction of their life-tables. And the Commission has the satisfaction of thus contributing to human knowledge and to the progress of civilization, as a collateral and unforeseen result of the very humblest of all its statistical inves- tigations. It may be added here that more than one-eighth part of our volunteers were in their nine- teenth year, the youngest military age at the time of enlistment ; about three-tenths were under twenty-one ; one-half of all were under twenty-three and a half, and three-quarters of them were under twenty-nine and a half years of age. Soon after the battle of Gettysburg another investi- gation was set on foot, for the purpose of ascertaining the effect of long marches, and marches. especially of forced marches upon the health COMMISSION'S BUREAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. 465 of the men who took part in that memorable en- gagement. Blank forms were prepared containing a series of questions, and three inspectors sent to collect replies. Returns were received from one hundred and forty-four of the regiments which were engaged in the battle, and the study of these, after proper tabulation, seems to show conclusively, that the efficiency of troops during and after the severest marches depends in great degree upon their diet, the exhausting effect of long and hurried marches being of small sig- nificance in comparison with the effect for good or ill of the diet provided for them on the way. The regimental returns of Loss and Gain are now tabulated and aggregated from the commencement of the war to the close of the year 1864. The The present con- dition of the ma- COllection of material at the Adjutant- Gene- temi in posses- ral's office in Washington had reached this * O IC'tlUi point, when, by directions from superior authority, in October, 1865, further access to the rolls was refused, at first without reason assigned, but subsequently on the ground that it would enable the Commission to antici- pate investigations proposed by the Surgeon-General's Department. The returns had, at this date, been tran- scribed up to January, 1866, excepting a portion of those for three of the smaller States ; and the ready courtesy of the Adjutant- Generals of those States has permitted the completion of the data without difficul- ties. It is naturally a source of regret that the mate- rials are wanting for the last four months of the war, as also for the colored troops, whose losses in battle and by disease form an important part of the history of the later campaigns. And it is by no means unlikely that 59 466 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. the investigation by the Commission of the circum- stances attending the fearful mortality of these troops by disease might have led to the detection of some of the fatal influences, and the suggestion of remedies. Still, notwithstanding these deficiencies, the historical value of this investigation promises to be great. During the continuance of the war great care was taken to make public no absolute numbers of the soldiers of any Army, or organization, or those of the killed, wounded or sick, and in all the publications of the Bu- reau only relative or proportional numbers were given. The returns of Camp Inspections are now classified and aggregated, and the tabulated results bound in volumes for permanent preservation. More than twenty thousand measurements and examinations of soldiers and sailors are on record, and are now undergo- ing investigation and comparison. The statistics of the age and stature and nativity of more than eight hun- dred thousand men are on record in the office, the numbers being properly tabulated and assorted. And it is confidently anticipated by the officers of the Com- mission, that it may soon be possible to assign, with close approximation to the truth, the nativities for our whole army the ages at which full stature is attained, and the rate of growth in approaching this maximum, the distinctive physical characteristics of men of differ- ent nationalities, and also probably the relative effi- ciency and endurance which belongs to different ages. The scientific value of these results cannot be esti- mated. Indeed they may be regarded as priceless, in- asmuch as the opportunity for gathering such in for- COMMISSION'S BUEEAU OF VITAL STATISTICS. 467 mation is passed, and not likely soon to re- The scientific turn either in this country or abroad. The Tork. 8 ' facts obtained, together with those collected and elabo- rated by the Medical Committee, comprise that por- tion of the Commission's work which will remain capa- ble of constant application, to minister to the welfare of humanity in the future as in the past, increasing our knowledge of the physical characteristics of men, and thus tending to the mitigation of the suffering caused by war, and to the welfare of our race in times of peace. And in future years it will unquestionably be accounted not among the least of the services of the Sanitary Commission, that it was thus made to contri- bute to our permanent knowledge of physical laws, as well as to the maintenance of free institutions, to the perpetuation of American nationality, and to the succor of the brave men who offered their lives in defence of their country.* * The Commission has published from time to time papers of great general and scientific interest, based upon the material collected in its Statistical Bu- reau, and prepared by its Chief. " Document, No. 46," already referred to, show- ing the Loss and Gain of our Armies, when read before the Statisticians assembled at the International Congress, at Berlin, called forth general com- mendation. Both there, and afterwards in England, when presented at a gene- ral meeting of the " Society for the promotion of Social Science" the results shown by this paper, particularly in regard to the low state of mortality, were consi- dered very remarkable, and produced a most favorable impression of the strength of our National resources. Another paper " On the Ages of the U. S. Volunteer Soldiery," prepared by Dr. Gould, and recently printed by the Com- mission, containing the results of a most intelligent, accurate, and laborious in- vestigation, based upon a calculation of the ages of more than a million of men, forms one of the most curious, interesting, and instructive chapters of the his- tory of the war. ED. CHAPTER XVIII. FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. THE first financial measure adopted by the Commis- sion was to announce what it sought to do, and to lay Appointment of before the people the question whether they ciai Committee, would or would not be likely to save money by enabling it to carry out its plans. As a prelimi- nary step, it was resolved that inasmuch as " the pro- fessional and scientific character of the members of the Commission make it dependent on business men for the collection of funds," certain gentlemen of the highest position in New York* be requested to act as a Central Financial Committee to raise funds for the Treasury of the Commission. The gentlemen were at the same time brought into relations with the Commis- sion as "Associate Members. "f They met from time to time during the Summer and Fall of 1861. Their high position and repute enabled them to raise what then seemed a large sum, (twelve thousand eight hundred and seven dollars and ninety-five cents), in aid of the Commission's work. Without their support it could hardly have survived the first six months of its existence. They issued an earnest and eloquent 468 * Their names will be found at p. 84. f Sanitary Commission Document, No. 6. FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 469 appeal for funds in July, 1861, which was scattered broadcast over the country. The earliest calls for aid published in the name of the Commission itself bear date June 21st, 1861, and are embodied in two brief papers,* one ad- First appeals dressed to the people at large, the other to form o n y- Life Insurance Companies. Both dwell mainly on the economic value of its work. Neither appeals to the humanity or charity of the country. Both urge the vast importance to the nation of preserving the Na- tional Army in health and efficiency. Both insist on the fact, then new to the public, that in active cam- paigns many soldiers die of preventible disease, for one destroyed by the casualties of war. Indeed every call for support ever issued under authority of the Commis- sion, except during the summer of 1862, (and these calls were very few compared with the munificent sup- port its work received,) rely mainly on the cold-blooded proposition that every National soldier is a costly piece of National property, worth a certain large number of dollars to the Nation, and that his death is a pecuniary loss to the Nation and to every one of its citizens. The Commission's claim to support by the people was thus put on the lowest possible ground. But the Commission knew the people. It was sure of their humanity and Christian charity. These required no stimulus. It put its appeals and arguments on this lower ground, because the people needed light only as to the money value of the work the Commission had undertaken. Up to July 10, 1861 that is to say, within ten days * Sanitary Commission Documents, Nos. 4 and 5. 470 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. after public notice that the Commission was in exist- Keroit of these ence an ^ needed funds fifteen hundred and appeals. seventy-eight dollars had been contributed to its support.* This sum came from citizens and corporations of the City of New York, then the Head- quarters and vital centre of the Commission. Its members felt that contributions so large (as they then seemed) and made within so brief a space, formed a ground of hopeful encouragement. For they had as yet done nothing that entitled the Commission to pub- lic confidence, nor had they laid before the people any matured plan of operations. They had as yet devised no such plan, nor had experience yet enabled them to answer the grave criticism they were forced hourly to encounter, namely, that they were volunteering to do what Government was bound to do, and what its offi- cials were paid for doing. The appeal to Life Insurance Companies was fruit- ful. Before November 1, 1861, the Commission had received considerable sums from many of these Insti- tutions.f It received from all sources, up to August 1, 1861, $7,423 00, and to September 1st, $13,630 03. Its second call for funds bears date August 13, 1861. J This paper sets forth as the main object of the Com- * The receipts of the Commission on the first day of its financial existence, June 26, 1861, may be worth recording. They appear on the first page of it Treasurer's cash-book, as follows: "George Townsend, $50 00; George C. An- thon, $20 00; John A. Stevens, $100 00; Robert B. Minturn, $100 00; Anony- mous, $5 00; J.Carson Brevoort, $10 00; A. N. Lawrence, $100 00; John C. Greene, $100 00; R. H. McCurdy, $100 00; J. S. Merriam, $10 00; Phelps, Dodge & Co., $100 00 ; Dr. Jacob Harsen, $100 00." This little springhead of less than a thousand dollars, as we shall see, swelled into a great flood of millions. f See page 84. Sanitary Commission Document, No. 22, of which No. 24 is an abridgement. FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 471 mission, the employment of Sanitary Inspec- Ita second tors. Six were in the field, and the Commis- P eal> sion ventured even then to declare that it could employ three times as many with advantage to the Army. In November, 1861, the Commission seemed near the end of its resources. The balance in its treasury on the first of that month was but $1,212 04. The battle of Bull Run had made heavy drafts on its Treasury, for the Commission found itself even then somehow compelled to go beyond its original pro- gramme of scientific investigation and advice to hire skilled Hospital nurses and to purchase extra Hospi- tal appliances and supplies. But that day (then held so disastrous) brought no increased flow of contribu- tions to its Treasury, such as followed the great bat- tles of subsequent campaigns. For the Commission was as yet hardly known to the people, nor had it yet been enabled to organize any system of battle-field Relief on a large scale. It opened its seventh session at Washington, Dec. 3d, 1861, and this session was thought likely to be its last. But it was an active session. It urged upon Government with ultimate success the advantages of " Pavilion" Hospitals mere temporary shanties over the hotels and warehouses that had theretofore been perverted into Military Hospitals. It decided to undertake the preparation of a series of medical and surgical monographs for distribution among Surgeons of the Army and Navy. These were meant to be substitutes, however imperfect, for professional libra- ries, to which Surgeons in active service could seldom resort. 472 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. A few days before the session opened, a circular letter (pp. 24) was printed in New York under au- oircniar letter thority of the Commission, to be signed by of Dec. 1861. jg members individually, and by them ad- dressed to such persons as they might think likely to be influenced by its statements. It dwelt mainly on the mere money value to the country of the life and health of every soldier in the service of the country. It af- firmed, moreover, that the " Medical Bureau" organ- ized long ago for a little army of fifteen thousand regulars was naturally and necessarily disqualified by its habits for the gigantic work suddenly thrown upon it, of providing for the multitudinous hosts then enlisted or enlisting under officers fresh from the desk or the plough, and as inexperienced in camp life as the rank and file they were suddenly called on to protect from disease in camp and quarters. On these grounds it appealed to the people to sustain the Commission in its work as a temporary organization auxiliary to the Medical Bureau, and designed to aid that Bureau till it could be strengthened by legislation and made equal to the emergency. This Circular somewhat strengthened the Treasury condition of the O f tne Commission. It received $19,682.95 Treasury in the early part of during that month ; $910.75 during Janu- arv > 1862. Its balance in bank March 1st, 1862, was $7,249.39. During February, 1862, it had paid out 7,200.62. Its members inclined daily more and more to the opinion that their work must soon be abandoned. They saw it growing larger and more costly every day. But there was as yet no corresponding increase in the means to FINANCIAL HISTORY OP THE COMMISSION. 473 support it. Such increase seemed at that time obtain- able only by personal solicitation or by " sensational" appeals to the public. Neither method was to their taste. They could not foresee the unprecedented mu- nificence of the Pacific States, and the equally unpre- cedented results of the " Sanitary Fairs." They felt, moreover, that Government was not giving them the support to which they were entitled under the order of June, 1861 ; that it was doing little or nothing to strengthen the Medical Bureau, or for the sanitary in- terests of the Army. They doubted, and not without reason, whether they could fairly ask the country to sustain any longer a costly volunteer organization, originally designed to aid Government in a sudden emergency. For the manifest defects which that or- ganization was meant in some degree to supply, re- mained after nearly a year without correction, and almost without notice. On the morning of March 10th, 1862, certain mem- bers of the Commission attended the Military Com- mittee of the House, and were heard at New appeal for length in support of a bill to reform the S^ ts Ma f ^.' Medical Bureau. When they left the Capi- tol they found Pennsylvania Avenue blocked up by a great column of men, guns, caissons, and Army wagons moving towards the Long Bridge. The Army of the Potomac had assumed the offensive at last. Telegrams and letters were instantly sent to members of the Central Finance Committee in New York from the Headquarters of the Commission at 244 F street : " A forward movement had commenced a great battle was probably at hand. The Commission would need 60 474 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. large additional means. Ten thousand dollars should be raised in New York at once." The members of the Committee thus addressed responded coldly, and with abundant reason. " Capitalists had done enough to help Government through the emergency of last Spring. Government ought by this time to be able to take care of its soldiers without amateur help. No more money could be raised in New York." The Commit- tee was not called together and virtually ceased to exist. This response from the earliest and most generous supporters of the Commission was disheartening. Effect of this There were but about seven thousand dollars fiuiure n the j n fts Treasurv, and there was no prospect members of the Commission. that this small balance would be much in- creased. Active operations in the field such as now seemed commencing at last would quadruple the cost of its work. Its members would be held in some degree morally responsible for the sufferings and pri- vations of men on the march and after every battle, and legally responsible, moreover, for such engage- ments and contracts as their exhausted Treasury should fail to meet. On the other hand, the Commission had already received voluntary contributions amounting to $53,720.45, and seemed gaining ground in public es- teem. A motion to disband was anxiously discussed at Washington on the receipt of this chilling response from New York, and unanimously negatived. The question was reconsidered at a meeting of members of the Commission in New York, (March 28th,) and again decided in the negative. Every member of the Commission felt that his personal reputation, and what- ever worldly goods he might possess were pledged to FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 475 the prosecution of the work the Commission had un- dertaken. War had now begun in earnest, East and West. Reports, often exaggerated, of the sufferings of wounded men and of defects in the equipment of Hospital trans- Military Hospitals inflamed public sym- p r t service. pathy with the privations of the Army. General at- tention was thus directed to the work of the Commis- sion. But its HOSPITAL TRANSPORT SERVICE, organ- ized in April, 1862, and maintained to the end of the lamentable Peninsular Campaign, first made the work of the Commission known to the whole people. That work became then visible to the North. Boston, New York and Philadelphia saw thousands of sick and wounded men brought home in spacious, well-venti- lated transports liberally equipped with every sanitary appliance fully supplied with comforts and even lux- uries. Each of these transports had its staff of Phy- sicians and Surgeons, of Hospital dressers chosen from among the elite of our medical schools, and of loyal women of the highest social grade serving as matrons and nurses. Contributions to the Treasury of the Commission rose from $7,382.43 in June to $24,381.46 in July. It had received in September, 1861, $430.81, and in October, $890.00.* It must not be supposed, however, that the Commis- sion bore the whole expense of this costly Transport service. It could not have maintained the Flotilla for * Its comparatively large balances in November and December, 1861, were due partly to a liberal contribution from the people of New England ($10,000), sent in through Mr. J. Huntington Wolcott, of Boston, afterwards a most effi- cient member of the Commission, partly to drafts on the fund raised by the "Central Financial Committee" during the first months of the war. 476 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. HOW far the a single week. Most of its ships and steam- SrJdtfrm ers were chartered ty the Quartermaster- its Treasury. General. " Ordinary rations" for crew, offi- cers and patients, were issued by the Commissary- General. But the Commission made the transports confided to its charge safe and wholesome. It set up ventilating apparatus, provided abundant stores of everything needed by sick and wounded men, en- gaged surgeons and nurses, organized special diet- kitchens and other offices, and thus gave many thou- sand disabled soldiers on their way home what Go- vernment could not or did not then provide them wholesome quarters) suitable diet, careful nursing and skilled professional treatment. This work, while it lasted, cost the Treasury of the Commission about twenty thousand dollars a month. But its value be- came more and more visible and palpable to the North as one Hospital Transport after another cast anchor in a northern port. Contributions to the Central Trea- sury rapidly increased. During July and August, 1862, it received nearly fifty thousand dollars. It may be mentioned here that the labor thrown on the New York members of the Commission by the Hospital Transport service, first compelled them to employ paid agents. They found it absolutely neces- sary to hire an office (498 Broadway) and engage a Cashier and Clerk. This office was soon thereafter removed to No. 823 Broadway, where the Treasurer's books and vouchers were kept, and the Standing Committee met daily till the end of the war.* * It is no more than justice to name Mr. Benjamin Collins and Mr. Charles G. Lathrop and Mr. Samuel H. Stebbins as among the most faithful and de- voted Agents of the Commission in New York. FINANCIAL HISTOEY OF THE COMMISSION. 477 But this Hospital Transport service was far the most costly work the Commission had ever under- taken. It was, therefore, obliged, during it asks for new the dark summer of 1862, to call on the c ntriblltioM * the summer of country for help once more. It did so with 1862, more fervor of expression than ever before or ever afterwards. What it had already accomplished with slender means and imperfect organization, had shown its members that its work might be so enlarged and systematized as to render substantial service to the country. They saw that it was daily saving the coun- try scores if not hundreds of lives, not indirectly and presumptively through advice to Army Surgeons and suggestions of Sanitary Reform, but directly and pal- pably by food and stimulants given to men sinking from exhaustion, and by the transportation to the healthy climate of the North, from pestilential swamps and from field hospitals, little better than swamps (and in some respects worse,) of thousands who were dying of malarious disease or of trifling wounds aggra- vated by a poisonous atmosphere. Hence their "Appeal to all loyal people of the United States," (San. Com. Doc., No. 44, July 4, 1862,) for money and supplies, " at once and in abundance," dwelt on the sufferings and privations of the Penin- sular Army in a tone unlike that of any other appeal they ever issued. The Commission had not learned till then how much suffering the people could remedy, and what Treasury again - J . , exhausted by the service the people could render the National demands of the cause through its agency. A few months ^^ later set in that great flood tide of Gold tember,i862. 478 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. from the Pacific Coast, which made earnest and impas- sioned appeals to the public unnecessary. Gen. Pope's campaign in northern Virginia obliged the Commission to issue another call for funds (September 11, 1862.) A third was issued (September 24, 1862) after the battle of Antietam. They were generously answered. But during September the Commission's receipts were only $20,916 80, and its expenses $26,&46 01. Its balance, October 1st, was less than seventeen thousand dollars. The financial infancy of the Commission ended in September, 1862. For fifteen months it had lived The sources and from hand to mouth. It had been more amount of con- t j the t of d ^ ^ inanition. tribntioni to thu time. It had never been entitled to count with confidence on sixty days of solvency. But its work had prospered beyond the hopes of its founders. The Treasurer reported at its Ninth Session, (Washington, September, 1862,) that its receipts to the tenth of that month had been $158,501 10. Its list of contributions proved that it had the confidence of the most intelli- gent business men of the country, and many contribu- tions of small amount from " the workmen of sundry factories," showed that the " masses" were beginning to trust it as their Almoner. Its money receipts had been thus far chiefly from the Cities of New York, Philadelphia and Boston, but contributions now began to flow in from the whole country, East and West, some of them small in amount, but important as a sign of popular sympathy. State, City, Town and Vil- lage organizations were springing up throughout the land to aid it with supplies of clothing, bedding and hospital stores. These were equivalent to large con- FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 479 tributions of money to its Treasury. The city of Troy, INT. Y., and certain towns in Maine, deserve special notice as among its earliest and most generous supporters. Up to the fall of 1862 they had done more for the Commission than New York, Phila- delphia and Boston together, if the relative wealth of these several communities be taken into account. In October, 1862 ? came the first considerable instal- ment of aid from California. The Commission's re- ceipts from October 1st to November 1st California's con- were $213,964 23, and its disbursements **"* $43,876 93, more than double any previous outlay. Of these receipts $206,837 65 came from communities beyond the Rocky Mountains. Among the items that made up the balance contributed at the East appears, " Collection in Trinity Church, N. Y., October 8, 1862, on the National service of Humiliation and Prayer appointed by the House of Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church (during the Session of its Triennial Convention) $290 95." This endorsement of the Com- mission by the head of every Northern Diocese proves that it had then become known throughout the country as a National organization, working for National ob- jects and working not wholly in vain. The munificence of California and her sisterhood of Pacific States is the subject of another chapter, and need not be dwelt on here. It was i ts value direct unprecedented and unlocked for. The ^indirect. eldest of the States and Territories that thus lavished their bounty on the Commission as the National Army Relief Agent, had existed as a civilized com- munity hardly seventeen years. The Army they so 480 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. generously aided and relieved was fighting thousands of miles from their frontier. Between them and its battle-fields were mountain ranges and desert tracts, barriers practically more formidable than the Ocean that divides the old world from the new. But the people of the Pacific Coast were impelled in God's good Providence to help the National Army through the Sanitary Commission, and their work will hold high place in history. They so upheld and strength- ened this novel and untried popular agency that it be- came generally recognized as the chosen almoner of the whole people. The great "Sanitary Fairs" of 1864, which brought millions into its Treasury and into the Treasuries of its branches, and which sus- tained it to the end of the war, would never have been organized had not the bounty of the Pacific States enabled the Commission to prove itself a National organization working on a National scale. The battles of Fredericksburg, (Dec. llth, 1862,) of Chancellors ville (May 3d, 1863), and of Gettysburg Contributions (July 3d, 1863), brought considerable rein- ^ e ju"! forcement to the Central Treasury. Its re- ceipts during that period were : 1863. Dec. 1862, Jan. Feb. March April May June July 1863, From the Pacific Coast. $104,630 52 47,790 44 15,069 15 61,194 56 1,451 98 11,109 95 11,800 00 Other Sources. $62,523 62 2,191 22 6,022 35 4,482 12 1,178 40 4,381 65 17,372 31 28,628 54 Total. $168,154 14 49,981 66 21,091 50 65,676 63 2,630 38 ].->,4i)l 60 29,172 31 28,628 54 Every great battle was usually followed by a freshet FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 481 in the stream of public bounty. But after each came a still greater drain on the Treasury. For Vast increase in . , , /, i . its expenditures the purchase 01 supplies vast sums were ex- f or Amy relief. pended by the Central Treasury and by the Branches East and West. But the stores thus bought were of small account beside the great mass of supplies furnished by the people in kind. Both were kept flowing south- ward in a steady current to every Military Station to the Rappahannock, to Charleston, to New Orleans, Nashville and Kansas. All this involved very heavy outlay. During the last six months of 1863 the disbursements of the Commission were two-fold its receipts. It entered on the year 1864 with a balance of $41,725.28. Dur- ing the preceding month of December it had spent 164,634.28. To support its work at this rate of ex- penditure seemed impossible. The ordinary contribu- tions of the Atlantic Seaboard and the West were far too small. Another great flow of treasure from the Pacific States could hardly be hoped for. Certain great Fairs, in aid of the Commission, to be held at Brooklyn, New York, and Philadelphia, were talked of, but their result was wholly uncertain. In view of its fast failing resources the Commission published (December 7th, 1863) the last formal appeal for funds that it was obliged to issue. (San. i*t appeal fc- sned in Decem- Com. Doc. No. 69, pp. 64.) This paper sets ber, ises. forth the results of its work, and insists, as usual, on the economic value of that work to the country. But it expressly declines to solicit contributions or to stimulate public sympathy by any recital of the many pathetic and touching incidents which the Commission 61 482 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. could have put on record. It simply submitted to the good sense of the people a dry statement of the work the Commission was doing. " If means be freely sup- plied as heretofore," it says, " the work of the Com- mission will be kept up. If not, it will be abandoned ; and to keep it up not less than two hundred and fifty thousand dollars must be raised before February 1st, 1864." This avowal was meant by members of the Com- mission as public notice that the Commission would soon cease to exist. Stimulated by the unlocked for munificence of the Pacific States, that work had out- grown the support on which it could certainly and steadily depend. Yet the proofs of confidence given it by the people were never stronger than at this very time. During the first ten days of December, 1863, many hundreds of " collections" (" Thanksgiving Day col- lections" mostly) were received by the Cen- tral an( j Branch Treasuries from as many churches and congregations scattered over all the loyal States. Many of these collections came from obscure hamlets and from thinly settled rural districts. They were mostly small in amount, made up of pen- nies contributed by small farmers and mechanics. But they proved that the work of the Commission had become known to the whole people and not merely to the capitalists and business men of our chief cities. Before February, 1864, the Fairs projected in aid of the Central Treasury had assumed such dimensions as The Sanitary * promise it the speedy receipt of much Fairs. more than " two hundred and fifty thousand FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 483 dollars." The Commission and its Branches had re- ceived many contributions from the proceeds of con- certs, Fairs, Tableaux, and the like. But in the au- tumn of 1863, and thenceforward till the war was over, these efforts in its aid assumed a magnitude be- yond example. Some of them were designed to aid the Central Treasury, that is, the Commission itself; some to aid its Branches, and some for the benefit of both. They began with the " Great North-western Fair" of Chicago, October and November, 1863. It produced nearly seventy-nine thousand dollars. No part of its proceeds reached the Central Treasury. They were spent by the Chicago Branch in the pur- chase and the " making up" of material to be dis- pensed on the field by agents of the Commission. That so great a sum should have been so raised in a city that was a wilderness thirty years ago seemed marvellous in 1863. But the example of Chicago was soon followed in all the cities of the land and sur- passed in some of them. The history of these u Sanitary Fairs" as they were commonly called, need not be repeated here. The aggregate amount thus contributed to the Proceeds of many of them Central Treasury (two millions seven went into the hundred and thirty-six thousand eight the Branches. hundred and sixty-eight dollars and eighty-four cents,) may well surprise all who did not see for themselves with what energy and talent these undertakings were conducted. But the whole amount thereby contributed toward the work of the Commission was very much larger. The managers of some of the Fairs enume- rated in the appendix applied the proceeds of their 484 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. work mainly to their own local supply system and sent only some small balance to the Central Treasury. The proceeds of many other Fairs were (like that of Chicago) wholly devoted to local work, and as these contributed nothing to the Central Treasury they do not appear in the appendix at all. But the many hundred thousand dollars thus raised enured neverthe- less to the benefit of the Commission, for they kept its Depots and Relief Stations steadily replenished with supplies, of immense value in money, and of value hardly to be estimated in money to the sick and suffer- ing men they relieved, and to the National cause. The first direct aid in money thus given the Com- mission was a most timely contribution of fifty thou- sand dollars from the " Sanitary Fair" of Boston in January 1864. Other and still larger contributions followed it. Before the summer of that year was ended the Commission had received more than thirteen hundred thousand dollars from the Fairs of Brooklyn and Xew York alone. It entered on June 1864 with a cash balance of more than a million. In fact its work had now grown too large to be carried on without a great reserve fund. During May Some items of June and July 1864 the average monthly expenditure of the Central Treasury ex- ceeded two hundred and eighty thousand dollars. On the rosters and pay-rolls of the Commission, East and West, were the names of more than five hundred per- sons of every grade from Physicians and Surgeons of eminence to " contraband" teamsters and cooks. Its " Homes and Lodges" were everywhere. It was buy- ing supplies for battle-field relief on a great scale FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 485 while prices were rising fast and at a fearful rate. It was building " Hospital Railroad Cars" for the trans- portation of disabled men from camp to Hospital and providing them skilled attendance on the way. ' It had its own flotilla of Steamers, sailing vessels and barges on the Atlantic Coast and on Western rivers, chartered or owned by the Commission itself (and not by any department of Government, as in 1862) and its own wagon trains through which ship-loads of life-saving antiscorbutic stores were daily reaching men already tainted with scurvy as they lay in the trenches and rifle-pits before Petersburg or lingered in unhealthy camps along the southern sea-board. Many thousand claims on Government for pensions, back pay and bounty had been entrusted to it for gratuitous collec- tion many hundred thousand men were registered on the books of its Hospital Directory and the convales- cence, the discharge or the death of every one of these thousands was duly noted day by day. It was in short carrying out the purpose not merely of its creation, (for that purpose was mainly scientific and advisory) but the farther purpose insensibly forced on it by the people, of doing or trying to do for the health, comfort and efficiency of the soldier whatever the inflexibility of Regulations forbade his officers to do for him and that could be done without prejudice to discipline and good order. Other chapters of the Commission's final Report will show how far it was enabled to do its appointed work while the war lasted. The history of its Pund8 hence . financial hopes and fears and of what little ^sufficient, effort it made to obtain money for its work ends here. 486 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. The great fund put at its disposal by the " Sanitary Fairs" of 1864, wasted fast away under the cost of its multifarious agencies. But its Central Treasury was refreshed till the war was over by a steady stream of unsolicited popular bounty. Though this fell far short of its constant daily expenditure it was large enough to show that the Commission enjoyed the confidence of the people, and that if the war should be prolonged till the proceeds of the " Great Fairs" were exhausted, the Commission could appeal to the people once more in the sure and certain hope that its appeal would be generously answered. In the spring of 1865 Richmond fell, and the slave- holders' Rebellion collapsed. July, 1865, found the state of its Trea- Commission with a quarter of a millipn in ofThewJ. 00 its Treasury, but with much costly work still on its hands. Its Special Relief service in aid of discharged and disabled men could not be abruptly given up without producing cruel disappointment and wide-spread suffering, nor was it possible to close its Pension, Bounty and Back Pay offices, scattered over the whole North. Through these offices the Commis- sion had undertaken gratuitously to solicit the claims on Government of some fifty thousand men who had been disabled in the National service and of \vomen and children representing men who had died in the National service. Many of these claims could not be worked through the machinery of Government in less than two years. The Commission had on its hands also the " Lincoln Home,"* an establishment in which many disabled and deserving soldiers had long been * Grove Street, New York. FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 487 supported, and another " Home" for the same object in Yates County, K Y. It was, moreover, bound to publish some account of the great fund the people had confided to it. Whether the small balance now* in its Treasury will enable it to do all this is a ques- tion about which its members feel some anxiety. If the record of the Commission possess any but a local and temporary value, it is because it shows how much a Free People can do for its Armies in Less on taught the Field, and even during the actual shock history. * of battle without impairing the rightful and necessary supremacy of discipline. No Army had ever before received such aid on a large scale and during a series of great campaigns. The military representatives of the Powers of Europe in " International Congress" as- sembled, at Geneva, in 1863, discussed the feasibility of popular unofficial relief to Armies in active service, and generally condemned the project as not only Uto- pian but mischievous and disorganizing-^ The aggregate amount of money expended through the agencies of the Commission, and the money value of the supplies contributed to the Depots of Th <> whole . amount of re- the Commission, cannot be stated with pre- C ei P ts. cision. The value of these supplies is estimated at * May, 1866. f Among the questions discussed was the following : It appears to have been suggested by M. Twining, de Londres, philanthrope eminent. "Lorsque l'e"tat d' un blesse sur le champ de bataille ne laisse pas le moindre espoir de gu6rison, convient il apr6s lui avoir administre" les secours de la Religion, et procure", au- tant que les circonstances le permettent, un moment de recueillement, de mettre fin a son agonie de la maniere la moins penible, et d'empecher ainsi qu' il ne meure un peu plus tard, la fievre dans le cerveau, et peut-tre le blaspheme & la bouche." This nice point of professional casuistry seems to have been left un- decided by the Conference of Continental Soldiers and Surgeons. 488 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. about fifteen millions. The cash receipts of the Cen- tral Treasury to May 1, 1866, were $4,962,014 26. The receipts of the Branch Treasuries were never reported. These Branches must have received and ex- of the pended two millions more at the very least.* ries. With each of them were affiliated hundreds or thousands of " Sewing Circles" and " Soldiers' Aid Societies," established in every loyal Town, Village and country neighborhood through all the North. Each of these raised a certain amount of money larger or smaller for its own local work of gathering supplies * In order to give some idea of the vastness of the work of the Commission, we annex a statement published by one of its Branches that at Philadelphia : Summary of the Receipt* and Expenditures of the Philadelphia Agency of the U. S. Sanitary Commission to January I, 1866. The total amount in cash contributed to the Treasury of the Philadelphia Agency, including the proceeds of the Great Central Fair, is ............................................................. $1,186,545 14 The total amount in cash contributed to the Relief Committee of the Women's Pennsylvania Branch, excluding $2,551 50, received from the Treasurer of the Philadelphia Agency, and $1,681 31 received by them from contractors for work done, is 29,744 00 Total amount of cash received by the Philadelphia Agency ..... $1,216,289 14 Cash value of hospital supplies, clothing, etc., received by the Philadelphia Agency ..................................................... 306,088 01 Cash value of four hundred tons of coal, received by the Relief Committee of the Women's Pennsylvania Branch ............ . 3,000 00 Estimated value of volunteer labor and railroad and other facili- ties rendered free of charge ............................................. 40,000 00 Total contributions of all kinds to the Philadelphia Agency... $1,565,377 15 This amount has been distributed as follows : For the support of the work of the Sanitary Commission in Philadelphia and its vicinity, including cash remaining in the hands of the Treasurer of the Philadelphia Agency ...... $303,554 63 For the general work of the Sanitary Commission ................. 1,261,822 52 $1,565,377 15 FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 489 making them up and forwarding them to the " Branch" with which it corresponded. The aggregate of these comparatively small sums must be enormous, but it cannot be ascertained. The Commission has twice scattered over the country thousands of Circulars ad- dressed to these little vital centres of humanity and patriotism, entreating each to report how much it had spent on its own local work, and reminding each how desirable it was that a complete record be preserved of the People's munificence during the war. But not one in five hundred ever responded to these appeals. They had done what they could and cared not whether their work were remembered or forgotten. The very few answers these Circulars called forth proved that full returns would have shown an aggregate of contri- butions, severally small, but exceeding all the cash receipts of the Branch and the Central Treasury toge- ther. Little hamlets in the Eastern States and pioneer settlements in the West, the very names of which were new and strange had laid out each its five hundred dollars or its one or two thousand dollars in the work of Army Relief over and above like sums sent to the Central Treasury of the Commission or to that of some one of its Branches. Another most important contribution came from the Railroad, Telegraph, and Express Companies of the whole country, or more properly of that part f^f^ of the country which was not involved in Re- to at, Express, . ~ . and Telegraph belhon. Many of these gave the Commission Compan i eg . their services gratuitously, all or nearly all at greatly reduced rates. They thus contributed to its Treasury at least three-fourths the cost of transporting its bulky 62 490 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. stores to the front, and of forwarding its daily (and often hourly) despatches to every part of the country. The free transportation given the Commission by two Western Railroads was estimated in December, 1863, to have saved its Treasury two hundred thousand dol- lars. Efforts have been made to obtain from these several companies some statement of their contribu- tions to the National cause through the Commission. But these efforts have been fruitless. The loyal news- papers of Northern cities either gave the Commission free use of their columns, or sent in their bills for ad- vertising with a credit of " one-half donation." The Merchants from whom the Commission bought its manifold supplies, its medicines, stimulants, blankets, flannels, fresh vegetables, concentrated food, dealt with it liberally and seldom sought to make profit of the Army's necessity. These indirect contributions were equivalent to millions of money given the Central Treasury. Every " Branch Treasury" and every " Vil- lage Aid Society" bought, no doubt, on terms as favor- able. Public charity, therefore, (using that word in its broadest sense) organized and administered by the Commission, its Branches and its affiliated societies, far exceeded in money value the mere receipts of its Central Treasury. The aggregate of those receipts of contributions in money to its Branches and to their affiliated Societies of contributions of money's worth in free transportation, etc., and in goods, cannot be less than twenty-five millions of dollars. The disbursements of the Central Treasury were carefully watched and guarded against misapplication. Of course, no member of the Commission ever asked FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 491 or received compensation, though there were Scrupulous care among them medical men in full and lucra- Ld^" tive practice who often abandoned that practice for weeks together to devote themselves to the Commis- sion's work in Virginia or North Carolina. All that members of the Commission ever received from its Treasury was a part* of their expenses when attend- ing its Sessions, or traveling in its service. So scrupulously did they confine the disbursements of their Treasury to work directly aiding the Army, that when it seemed desirable (January, 1862) to lay before the people through the newspaper press of New York an elaborate report submitted to the War De- partment by their General Secretary, (San. Com. Doc. No. 40,) they held the cost of its publication not a legitimate charge on the Treasury of the Commission. It was published, however, and filled six or eight col- umns of the prominent daily papers of New York as an advertisement at a reduced rate. One of these papers, however, (the N. Y. Times,) afterwards con- tributed to the Treasury what members of the Com- mission' had paid it. The Commission always maintained a close watch over the disbursements of its Central Treasury. At every session its first business was its Treasurer's Re- * The vouchers of the Treasurer's office show that these expenses were never wholly refunded. " Extras" were always deducted from Hotel Bills, and under the name of Traveling Expenses only Kailroad and Steamboat fares were allowed. The many other little items that swell the cost of travel were always excluded. This seems hardly worth mentioning. It is mentioned only be- cause a newspaper attack on the Commission, in 1861, charged its members with living sumptuously at the Hotels of Washington on money contributed for Army relief. The slander has never been repeated to.their knowledge, and is now probably forgotten, but may as well be thus formally contradicted. 492 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Methods taken port and the appointment of a committee to insure exact- . . . . _,, . ... ness and fidelity, to examine and audit it. Ihis committee always reported in writing before the session was closed. The Commission sought from the first to se- cure the supervision of its financial affairs by intelli- gent and influential business men. When it invited the aid of an outside " Central Financial Committee" in the summer of 1861, it requested that Committee to keep itself informed of the receipts and disburse- ments of the Commission and to pass on its accounts. A sub-committee (Messrs. David Hoadley and C. R. Robert) reported in writing to the " Central Financial Committee," Nov. 27th, 1861, that they had examined and audited the accounts of the Commission up to the 20th of that month, and had found them accurate and properly vouched. This Committee did not .meet (as already stated) after the spring of 1862. In 1864 the Commission invited the supervision of another Com- mittee an " Auxiliary Finance Committee" Messrs. A. A. Low, Jonathan Sturges, and J. J. Astor, Jr.) These gentlemen consented to serve. They advised the Commission from time to time as to the best and safest investment of its temporary surplus, went care- fully through all its books and vouchers with the aid of professional accountants and certified to their accu- racy. Their last report appears in the Appendix. This financial history of the Commission is most imperfect. It ought to include a list of all the contri- butions received by its Treasury, with notes and com- mentaries showing how much patriotic and charitable self-denial was embodied in many even of the least of them. For many of them came unasked from very FINANCIAL HISTORY OF THE COMMISSION. 493 poor men, poor women and poor children. There were many, in sums of a dollar ortwo, from soldiers in the field and from seamen lying in front of rebel batteries, though all Agents of the Commission were charged to discourage contributions from men in the National service. Such contributions were now and then re- ceived under the name of "payment" for clothing or supplies. These were always made the subject of spe- cial inquiry and returned to the contributor whenever he could be found out. There should also be a de- tailed statement of the multifarious methods through which the Commission's funds were used, not only to provide battle-field supplies, anti- scorbutics and extra hospital appliances, but also to dig wells for posts that had no sufficient supply of water, to build wholesome guard-houses for regiments that had to turn soldiers under arrest into a filthy, pestilential " bull pen," to furnish men on monotonous duty at frontier posts with little collections of books called " libraries," to buy seeds and tools for the establishment of anti-scorbutic gardens in the South-west, and in short, to do every thing for the Army which could be done by the people through a flexible voluntary organization, but could not be done through the rigorous and inflexible system by which military officials are necessarily governed.* * See Appendix No. 6 for two statements : one showing the " Eeceipts and Disbursements of the Commission from June 29, 1861 to January, 1866 ;" the other, " Monthly Keceipts and Balances showing Contributions from the Pacific States, Sanitary Fairs, and all other Sources, from October 1, 1862 to May 1, 1865." CHAPTER XIX. INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. RELATIONS WITH THE GOVERN- MENT. No history of the Sanitary Commission would be complete without some general view of the machinery The Commission o f jt s internal organization. In reviewing combined vari- ous methods to its work, the great variety of the forms of accompli B rc jj e f -^ bestowed, and the unity of plan by which they were so combined as to accomplish the common object of promoting the health and efficiency of the Army, are quite as remarkable as the vast ex- tent of the field occupied by its labors. Two great principles, it is true, underlaid its whole work, the value of the preventive system, and the absolute necessity of harmonizing its relief operations with the requirements of Army discipline, yet the methods by which these principles were applied in practice differed in almost every department of its labors. Thus, as we have seen, its Inspectors had a distinct province as- signed to them, differing wholly from that in charge of the Relief Agents. So also the various forms of re- lief which it administered General, Special or Battle- field had each its peculiarities, which were so ar- ranged, that the efficiency of the whole service depended upon a division of labor thoroughly organized, and con- stantly maintained. To harmonize the operations of 494 INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 495 all the different modes of Army Relief which we have described, in such a way that they should mutually support each other in effecting the great common object, was no easy task. The problem was not, how to bestow relief indiscriminately, but how to give full scope to the carefully prepared plans of a voluntary organization without, at the same time, unduly interfering with the ordinary routine, and necessary discipline of an army. This problem, al- ways difficult of solution, became still more so as the war went on, and the new wants of the Army seemed to call for closer relations between its life, and the popular zeal for its welfare. The great principle which the Commission adopted in all its operations was, as we have seen, to supplement, and not to sup- plant the Government, and we come now to consider the machinery by which relief was afforded in strict accordance with this principle. By reference to the Plan of organization, it will be observed that it was designed that the Commissioners appointed by the President, and such others The Board, its . . -i i i composition and as they might associate with themselves, functions. should compose the Board or Legislative council of the new organization. This Board was never, strictly speaking, a representative body, although great care was taken as soon as the full scope of its powers was developed in practice, to give it a thoroughly national character by introducing into it as members, gentle- men of position and influence residing in different parts of the country. At first, when its operations seemed likely to be confined to a special field of inquiry, and to be of limited duration, the number 496 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. of its members was small, and was made up chiefly of those who had urged its appointment on the Govern- ment. These gentlemen, as we have seen, were mostly residents of the city of New York, but shortly after- wards, new members were added, so that during the war Massachusetts was represented in the Board by three members, Rhode Island by one, New York by six, Pennsylvania by three, Ohio and Illinois by two each, Kentucky by one, Washington by one, and the military service of the country by three. These gen- tlemen were all men of weight and influence in their respective communities, and in their well-known devo- tion to the National cause, and in their perfect freedom from partisan influences, the public found a guarantee that the great powers entrusted to them would not at least be abused for selfish ends. When it is remem- bered that they all differed widely from each other in their personal characteristics, in their previous train- ing and habits, in their professions in life, and in their opinions on many important subjects, political and religious, and that they were forced in carrying out their plans, at least at the outset, to grope their way very much in the dark, the harmony of their delibera- tions, and the unity of plan which they were able to preserve during the whole war become very remark- able. It is certainly most creditable to their earnest- ness, candor and thorough appreciation of the great objects of their appointment, that so many independent thinkers thus brought together were so fully inspired with a common impulse in effecting the grand object all had in view. During the early months of the war, and until the INTEENAL ORGANIZATION. 497 details of the service were well settled, the Board met in Washington every six weeks, but after Meetings of the the first year, its sessions were held quar- B a !. di ^ Na ; tnre * of the business terly. It had been designed originally, as transacted. will be observed by a reference to the Plan of Organi- zation, that the Commissioners themselves should take an active part in the Executive service, and for that purpose, an elaborate machinery of committees was prepared, intended to facilitate the investigation of various subjects, relating to the condition of the Army. These subjects were embraced in two divisions, the one concerning Inquiry, the other, Advice. It soon became manifest however, that this arrangement was unsuited to a body whose sessions were not permanent, and whose action to be in the highest degree efficient, should be characterized at all times by great flexibility and promptness. It was found, therefore, that in prac- tice the functions of the Board itself would be confined to a general supervision of the work, and to the settle- ment of a policy to be pursued, while it would become necessary to confide all the details of the Executive ser- vice to subordinate Agents. During the war the Board held twenty-three sessions, most of them in Washing- ton, but occasionally elsewhere. Many of its members came regularly from their homes, hundreds of miles dis- tant, to attend these meetings, and spent usually four or five days in an earnest discussion of the reports of the Agents of the Commission concerning its operations in the different Armies, and in the various departments of its work. These meetings were always full of interest to those who had at heart the welfare of the Army. A carefully prepared report of the operations of the Com- es 498 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. mission since its last session was made bv the General P Secretary to the Board, presenting a sketch of the actual condition of the work, founded upon the reports made to him by his subordinate Agents, and contain- ing suggestions as to the future policy of the Com- mission. Reports from the Heads of the various Bureaus, Inspection, Statistics, Special Relief, the War Claim Agency, the Hospital Directory, were also read. The Treasurer always presented at these meetings, a full account of the receipts and expenditures of the Commission, which during the session was duly vouched and audited. In this way, the Commission gained a full knowledge from the most authentic sources of the practical working of its plans, and was able to modify them when they seemed defective, or to abandon them altogether, if they appeared to conflict in any way with its general policy. A meeting rarely took place in which some practical question of grave importance concern- ing the operations of the Commission was not submit- ted to the consideration of the Board, and decided by it after the most pains-taking and exhaustive discus- sion. It was soon found, however, that these questions constantly arose during the recess of the Board, and that they required a prompt solution. Their decision involved too grave a responsibility particularly, in re- gard to the expenditure of money, to be assumed by any one of its officers, and it became therefore neces- sary that a body should be constituted, which should possess in the intervals of its sessions all the authority of the Board, and be, in short its permanent repre- sentative. This body was the Standing Committee of the Board, INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 499 composed first of five and afterwards of six of its mem- bers,* upon whom was conferred by its vote Appointment of absolute power over the affairs of the Com- the 8tandin s Committee. Its mission when the Board was not in session, Duties. accountable, of course, to it for the due exercise of that power. When the Standing Committee was ap- pointed the larger number of the members of the Com- mission, including its President and Treasurer, were residents of New York. Its meetings were held in that city simply because that was the most convenient place. These meetings took place daily during a pe- riod of nearly four years, and its members were con- stantly engaged in arranging plans for improving the Commission's service, in settling the many embarrass- ing questions which arose in its current operations, and applying promptly its resources to meet the exigencies which occurred in the progress of the war. The vast labor and responsibility of managing the financial affairs of the Commission, of devising methods of raising money for the continued prosecution of its work, and of expending it wisely and economically in the purchase of supplies needed in the Army, and in supporting the general work of the Commission, also devolved upon this Committee. It was kept constantly informed by the reports of its Agents of the nature and extent of the needs of the Army in the different portions of the field, and by its order, supplies vast in amount, and of a kind suited to the peculiar wants of the soldiers at the time, were shipped to Morris Island, * The original members of this Committee were: Eev. Dr. Bellows, Dr. William H. Van Buren, Professor Wolcott Gibbs, Mr. George T. Strong, and Dr. C. R. Agnew. In October, 1864, Mr. Charles J. Stills', of Philadelphia, was added to it. 500 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. to Texas, to City Point, or to Washington, as the case might require. The position which this Standing Committee occupied was, as will be readily supposed, a most important and commanding one.. It was the living representative of the Commission with the pub- lic at large. Its members watched with the keenest interest not only over all the details of the Commis- sion's service, but also over the varying changes of public opinion in regard to its different operations. It was necessary, of course, in order that the work should be maintained in its fullest activity, that the interest of the people in it should be constantly stimu- lated. This result was produced by the unceasing labors of the Standing Committee. When the funds in the Treasury ran low, an appeal prepared under its direction, showing, the nature and practical value of its labors, never failed to meet a proper response from the patriotic sympathy of the country. When doubts seemed to prevail in certain quarters as to the wisdom of its policy, or some misrepresentation of its acts which was likely to affect its reputation, became cur- rent, an explanation of its real position was at once made to the public, and if we are to judge from the constant increase of its resources, never failed to in- spire renewed confidence. The labor involved in such a duty was, of course, immense. It was shared by every member of the Committee, each one of whom gave up unhesitatingly during the war, time and strength of great value to him in his particular call- ing, to employ it in this disinterested work of helping the cause of his country. Each one of its members was burdened with professional cares of no ordinary INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 501 kind, but if it was deemed necessary, as it often was, that some one of them should leave his ordinary avo- cations to address public meetings held in behalf of the Commission in distant parts of the country, or that others should visit battle-fields to give greater efficiency to the Commission's service, or that others should super- intend the distribution of vast stores among famishing returned prisoners, no one hesitated to go, however great the sacrifice. While the only reward for this unceasing labor was the gratifying assurance of the success of the plans adopted by the Commission for the relief of the soldier, that labor was rendered possible by the un- bounded confidence which each member of the Com- mittee felt in the purity of motive, and earnestness of purpose of all his colleagues. The tie which originally bound its members was a common sympathy for a grand object, but it is a characteristic feature in the history of the Commission, that unlike that of many associations formed to carry out a benevolent design, this sympathy proved a solvent sufficiently strong to remove all obstacles to success due to the peculiar tem- per or idiosyncrasies of the individuals composing the organization. The members of the Standing Commit- tee were men, all of whom were accustomed to take strong, decided, and independent views of subjects pre- sented for their consideration and action, but it was found that their peculiarities, so far from conflicting in such a x way as to affect unfavorably the general design, mutually balanced and corrected each other, and the result was in the end a harmony of purpose to which much of the success of the Commission's operations must be attributed. In practice it was soon found 502 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. that each member possessed some striking qualifica- tion for the furtherance of the general design. While one seemed more peculiarly fitted to keep alive inte- rest in the work by public addresses, and by means of a vast correspondence, and another was distinguished by that zeal and executive ability which led him to super- intend the Commission's work on the battle-field, a third (to whose established reputation in the commu- nity in which he lived, for fidelity, exactness and skill in the management of trusts in which the care of large sums of money was involved, the Commission was under an obligation which it is not easy to exaggerate,) watched over its financial concerns, while all were con- spicuous for the skill, prudence, and devotion which they constantly manifested in their efforts to uphold the Commission's general policy. The chief Executive officer of the Commission charged with the details of its service, was the General Position and du- Secretary. His duties have been already rai Secretary, defined. Practically, his work was not con- fined merely to seeing that the orders of the Board, the Standing Committee, and his own were duly car- ried out by his Agents, but he was looked to also, for suggestions of such modification and enlargement of its plans as might be derived from an experience founded on a constant observation of the needs of the Army. His position was a most responsible one, not only on this account, but also because he was brought into daily contact with high officials in Washington, and was constantly called upon to defend the policy of the Commission, and to explain its motives. The novelty, delicacy, and difficulty of this task have been INTEKNAL OKGANIZATION. 503 already adverted to, and it was the peculiar honor of Mr. Olmsted that he was able to accomplish it so suc- cessfully during the first two years of the Commis- sion's existence, in which he held the office of General Secretary. Mr. Olmsted remained in the service of the Commission until its general policy had been shaped by the events of the war, and its system of internal organization finally adopted. He resigned in September, 1863, and was succeeded by Dr. J. Foster Jenkins, a gentleman who, with great purity of perso- nal character, and indefatigable zeal in the Commis- sion's service, combined the important advantage of a thorough training for the special duties of his position, having held for nearly two years the very responsible office of Associate Secretary for the East. Ill health, resulting from too close an application to the duties of his office forced him to abandon it in the spring of 1865, when Mr. John S. Blatchford, who had pre- viously distinguished himself in the superintendence of the Relief work undertaken by the Associates in Boston, was elected his successor. Although the re- turn of peace shortly afterwards was, of course, the signal for bringing to a termination the active work of the Commission in most of its Departments, it will be readily seen that the speedy and final settlement of the complicated affairs of so vast an organization was a task which required for its successful execution great devotion, skill, and knowledge of business concerns. That task fell to the competent hands of Mr. Blatch- ford, and under his direction the gradual winding up of the affairs of the Commission has been characterized by the same orderly and systematic methods which 504 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. marked its history, during the period of its most active operations. No service which had been under- taken in behalf of the soldier, which peace found not fully performed, was given up because the war had ceased. On the contrary, as has been seen, some of the most responsible duties which the Commission ever assumed, especially in the collection of claims upon the Government, were increased rather than diminished by the return of peace. These duties were faithfully and honestly performed under a sys- tem carefully organized, and conducted under the in- telligent and watchful supervision of the General Sec- retary. The General Secretary was charged with arranging plans for insuring the greatest efficiency of the Com- mission in all its departments, with making due pre- paration for campaigns and battle-fields, with the task of accumulating proper supplies at points near the Army to meet its current wants, and a reserve stock, in addition, to provide against emergencies, with de- vising the best means of getting these supplies forward when needed, and with determining the proper methods of relieving the wounded, and of transporting them to General Hospitals. Besides this, he was invested with the power of selecting all the subordinate officers of the Commission, a task which, when the anomalous nature of their position in the Army is considered, involved a very serious responsibility. The multifa- rious character of his duties will be better understood when it is stated, that he was not only expected to enlighten the Board as to the measures which should engage its attention, but was held responsible also for INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 505 the due performance of its work in all its various de- partments, and for the character of the Agents he em- ployed. In the organization of the Commission's service, there were two Associate Secretaries, one for the East and the other for the West, each charged with the details of the work in his own department, and each reporting directly and constantly to the General Secretary. So also there was, during the first three years of the war, an officer called the Chief of Inspection, whose special province it was to superintend the work of inspecting camps and hospitals. He also received his instruc- tions from the General Secretary, and reported to him. The Statistical Bureau also was under his direct super- vision. The Headquarters of the Eastern and West- ern Departments respectively, in charge of the Asso- ciate Secretaries, were established at Washington and Louisville. The offices at these places were important centres of activity, for not only was the immense busi- ness of meeting the requisitions for supplies made by the Inspectors and Relief Agents employed in the dif- ferent Armies in the field, and in the Hospitals, trans- acted there, but connected with them were various Bureaus, each charged with a specific department of the Commission's work. Thus both at Washington and at Louisville, theje were under the jurisdiction of the Associate Secretaries, a Supply Bure lu charged with the movement of supplies, and a Special Relief Department with its Hospital Directory, Pension Agency, and Homes and Lodges. The number of Agents on the Commission's roster varied at different periods from one hundred and fifty to seven hundred. The average number con- 64 506 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. and stantly employed was about three hundred. Jt was thou g ht important, for reasons Agents. which have been already stated, that these Agents should receive a moderate compensation. H im- moderate that compensation was may be inferred, when it is stated that they received on an average two dollars per day for labor, which was, at least half of it, highly skilled, sometimes of professional eminence, and worth from five to ten times that amount. Few of these men could be had for the money, but they worked for love and patriotism, and were content with a bare sup- port. The Board, (all included, twenty-one in num- ber) President, Vice-president, Treasurer, medical committee, standing committee gave their services and their time gratuitously. They received nothing. Their traveling expenses alone were partly refunded them, and these were trifling, excepting in the case of one or two who went frequently on tours of observation. It will thus be seen that the machinery of the inter- nal organization of the Commission was arranged with Adaptation of fa e utmost care to meet the exigencies of means to the end m in the History the service. Order, regularity, subordina- tion!" tion, and discipline were maintained by a system of graded responsibility, in which each Agent had his position and duties exactly defined. The his- tory of the war proved that this organization was per- fectly adapted to accomplish the practical ends pro- posed by it. This result was, of course, much aided by the character of the Agents in whose selection and training much care had been exercised. They formed, at all times, a most faithful and intelligent body of men, and the success of their work is to be attributed, in no INTEENAL OBGANIZATION. 507 small degree, to the zeal and devotion with which they were inspired by the nature of the service in which they were engaged. It will be seen, we trust, on a review of the work of the Commission, as we have presented it in this vo- lume, that the Sanitary Commission accomplished sub- stantially the object it proposed by the means which it had first suggested, as proper to be employed for such a purpose. The great end of its appointment was, as we have seen to aid the Government. If The Oommis- we consider some of the evil consequences s lon ' s P lic y free from partisan which might have resulted to the country influences. and the Army had the great power intrusted to it been abused or unwisely administered, the impression of the purity and sincerity of the motives of those who conducted it will be strongly confirmed. The great objection in this country to an extra-governmental or- ganization like this, aside from the danger of its inter- ference with the ordinary routine of Army discipline, was the fear, lest with its immense resources, and with the powerful support of a large body of influential men throughout the country, it might become in time, perhaps almost unconsciously, an instrument to subserve par- tisan ends. The power which it wielded during the war was vast, and did not fail to attract the attention of politicians. Its officers might easily and plausibly have indicated their preference for this or that Gene- ral, or their approval or disapproval of a particular line of policy, and thus have become a cause of serious embarrassment to the Government. But the Commis- sion steadily refrained from any such interference, and we shall look in vain, not only to its official acts, but 508 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. to the most confidential reports of its Agents for any expression of unkind criticism, (except where the sani- tary interests of the Army seemed to require it,) upon any act of the Government or its officers. Its Agents were strictly instructed to avoid all discussions of mili- tary or political questions in their intercourse with the officers of the Army, and they were forbidden by one of its rules from corresponding with newspapers. The great effort of the Commission at all times was to iden- tify its work thoroughly with the success of the Na- tional cause in the widest sense. Hence it appealed for support to men of all classes and opinions, religious and political, and the wisdom of this liberal policy is best shown by the fact that some of the largest contri- butions to its funds came from those who did not belong to the party in power. When we recall the fierce op- position to the Government during the war, the undis- guised hostility of some, and the coldness and disaffec- tion of many more, it is not too much to say that the enthusiastic support which the Commission received from all classes, in all parts of the country, was not only a striking illustration of the manner in which a desire to aid those who were defending our threatened na- tionality dissolved mere party ties, but a wonderful expression also of confidence in the purity and disinte- restedness of the motives of those who proposed to relieve them. While the success of its methods had thus inspired the public with a confidence which grew as the war Eeiationa with wen t n > the attitude of the Government to- the Government. war d s it was not so satisfactory. The officers of the Commission always felt that it was no mere volun- INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 509 tary and irresponsible association engaged in the work of Army Relief, and at liberty to adopt any system which it might prefer to accomplish that purpose. It was regarded by them as a body specially commis- sioned by the President, and invested with all needful authority to do a particular thing in a particular way, and pledged to do it in no other way. In these respects, of course, it differed essentially from all or- ganizations engaged in the work of Army Relief. Some of these Associations concerned themselves with subjects of great importance with which the Sanitary Commission never interfered, simply because these subjects were wholly beyond the scope of the authority bestowed upon it by the President of the United States. Deriving, then, its existence and all its power from the special appointment of the Government, and working wholly in aid of its service, it was natural to expect at all times from its officers, support, encourage- ment, and sympathy. As has been fully shown in the narrative of its work,, military officers of high rank who had had the best opportunities of observing its practical usefulness never withheld that support and sympathy. It is a noteworthy fact that every General in command of an Army during the war, has placed on record an expression of his appreciation of the value of the Commission's services to his troops, while very many of them actively aided and encouraged its operations by all the means at their disposal. While such were its relations with those with whom its Agents were brought into daily contact, and whose natural prejudices against any extra governmental in- terference in the Army had been overcome by the 510 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. evidence of its value, it must be confessed that there was a want of cordial cooperation with its plans on the part of those in the higher regions of official authority, which was on every account much to be regretted. The attitude of the War Department espe- cially, towards it was never that of open hostility, but rather of neglect and indifference. It was never re- garded by that Department as it should have been, as one of the great glories of the war, and as the most comprehensive and successful method of mitigating its horrors known in history. While the evidence abounded in the reports of its own officers of the vast improvement which had been made in the con- dition of the troops through its instrumentality di- rect and indirect, no word of official approval of a work which was exciting the wonder, admiration, and grati- tude of all humane and intelligent observers at home and abroad, was ever vouchsafed by the Government whose Agent it was. Although this want of apprecia- tion of their labors existed in the quarter where they had the right to look most confidently for aid and en- couragement, the members of the Commission were not disheartened. Carefully abstaining from asking favors at Headquarters, it was found that practically their work suffered little, so long as it enjoyed, as it did during the whole war, the confidence of the com- manding Generals, and the cooperation of the various staff departments of the Army. It would be very unprofitable to discuss all the Causes of a want causes which might be assigned for this of sympathy on want of corc iiality towards the Commission the part of the Government. on the part of the Government, and particu- INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 511 larly of the War Department. One thing is certain, that during its whole existence no complaint was ever made to that Department, that the Commission had exceeded its authority, or neglected its duties. When it is remembered how intimate and delicate its rela- tions with the Army officials were, how large, at all times, was its corps of Agents, and how embarrassing and difficult their position must often have been, this fact in itself is no small evidence of the wisdom of its policy, and the character of those employed to give it a practical shape. The simple, natural, explanation of the difficulty lies far deeper, however, than any mere suspicion that the Commission was not doing its duty, or even than that personal antipathy which was said to have existed between certain high officials of the Government, and its own, and which has sometimes been assigned as its chief cause. The truth is, the continued existence of the Sanitary Commission was a standing criticism upon certain of the methods em- ployed by the Government, and a protest against the insufficiency of others. This was the great grievance. It was not pleasant for officers of Government to be constantly reminded, as they were by appeals made to the public asking for means of relief to the soldier, that the Army was suffering from the insufficiency of the ordinary methods, or their defective administra- tion. The Government theory on the subject was that its system was a perfect one, that occasionally and from accidental causes, its methods might fail, but that it had both the power and the will to supply all defi- ciencies, and that all possible needs of the soldier were provided for by it as soon as recognized. That this 512 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. was the ideal standard towards which the officers of the Government should constantly aspire no one doubted, and all good men, and especially the mem- bers of the Sanitary Commission, were unceasing in their efforts to uphold it. But the error consisted in supposing that in practice, any such standard could be reached by our Government, or had been reached by any Government since the world began. We have pointed out how utterly absurd was the pretence dur- ing the war, that the Army needed no popular inter- vention for its relief. The officers in the field were the first to be convinced of this necessity, and abandoned their preconceived notions on the subject. But it was natural, that those at the head of affairs, who were occupied with devising plans for the general improve- ment of the service, should often be irritated when they found that the more they did, the louder seemed the cry for help. It is not wonderful, then, that some of these officers began to think, particularly after the reor- ganization of the Medical Department, that the Sani- tary Commission, if it had ever had a mission to accom- plish, had done its work, and that there was no need of its further existence. The reasons why the Commis- sion did not withdraw from the field have been already fully given, and it is unnecessary to repeat them here. It was always desirous to retire when the object pro- posed by it at the outset should have been accom- plished. That time never came in its opinion, while the war lasted, and it remained, therefore, not only a representative of popular sympathy towards the Army, but a constant stimulant urging the Government to INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 513 improve its own standard of the comfort and efficiency of the troops. While therefore, it cannot be denied that the con- tinued existence of the Sanitary Commission was a natural cause of irritation to certain high The Commission officials.it is quite clear that that irritation a health y stim *- lant to Govern- On the whole was a healthy one. It did ment. good in two ways, for it constantly educated public opinion through the testimony of independent ob- servers in regard to the real needs of the soldiers, and that opinion not satisfied, with merely voluntary efforts to provide for those needs, was all powerful in forcing the Government so to modify and enlarge its system that, the evils complained of might be remedied. All im- provements in a form of Government such as ours, it should never be forgotten, are due to the exercise of a free spirit of popular criticism, and however mistaken that spirit may be in some of its suggestions, and however distasteful may be the changes which it de- mands to those whose habits and interests are identi- fied with the existing systems, it is none the less the very life of all free Governments. This principle which has always been recognized in our history is of universal application. The Sanitary Commission was its representative during the war in all that related to an enlightened appreciation of the wants of the Army, and as there can be no doubt, that the impulse which carried us successfully through the struggle arose from the influence of popular enthusiasm on the Govern- ment, so there can be as little doubt that any credit due the country for an improved care of its soldiers should be ascribed to the irresistible force of popular 65 514 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. organizations outside of the Government agencies. If we examine the facts, nothing can be clearer than that the great reforms in the Medical service of the Army, the value of which can only be measured by the wants of suffering men in future wars, would never have originated in official quarters. If there had been no enlightened public opinion in regard to the real wants of the sick and wounded, and no Sanitary Com- mission to direct it aright, we should probably never have heard of the re-organization of the Medical De- partment, of improved Hospital buildings and admin- istration, of a system of thorough inspection, of humane methods of transporting the suffering, or of the numerous other methods of mitigating the horrors of war, of which we have set the example in history. It seemed necessary to say thus much in explanation of the want of a cordial cooperation and active sympa- Aid afforded by ^hy w {\^ the work of the Commission on service- the part of some of the highest officials of the Government. Practically, however, this indifference, for it rarely amounted to anything more, interfered very little with its plans. In the Armies en- gaged in active operations, it had, as has been stated, the constant aid and encouragement of the Generals in command, while every facility was afforded it for the prosecution of its work by their subordinate officers. It had especially a warm and enlight- ened friend in the Quartermaster- General, GENERAL MEIGS. That officer had, from the beginning the fullest appreciation of its scope and usefulness, and there was scarcely a suggestion for the improvement of the service made to him during the war the adop- INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. 515 tion of which required his official sanction, which he hesitated to approve. His readiness to adopt the plans submitted by the Commission for the construction of Hospitals, and his willingness to aid in establishing the new system of railway ambulances, have been already referred to. But his kindly intervention did not stop here. Means for the transportation of its Agents and its supplies were of course essential to the usefulness of the Commission's work in the Army, and this was a matter which, within the lines of the army itself, and upon all the routes leading to it, was ex- clusively under the control of the Quartermaster's De- partment. This transportation was liberally provided by that Department in aid of the Commission's work in every part of the country. Steamers in the employ of the Government were placed for months at a time in its charge, so that its stores might be more speedily placed where they were most needed. Wagons and horses, for the same purpose, were loaned wherever they could be spared from the Government service, while its Agents were permitted to travel as freely on all the military routes as if they had been officers of the Army itself.* The Commission it is true, thought * The Commission at its Session in July 1865 adopted following resolution : " Eesolved, That the Sanitary Commission about to close the labors which it has pursued during the last four years for the relief of the National forces, desires to record the sincere expression of its deep gratitude to MAJOR-GENERAL MEIGS, Quartermaster-General U. S. A., not only for his aid and kindness to the Commission, but for the invaluable services rendered to it by his effective cooperation during the whole period of its labors. The same spirit of intelli- gent and patriotic cooperation with the Commission, inspired by him, has per- vaded constantly his whole Department, and we desire to tender to all its officers our grateful thanks for the services which they have rendered to us, and through us to the Armies of our re-established Republic." 516 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. it advisable in most of the campaigns to provide its own independent means of transportation, but this was done, not because any indisposition on the part of the Quartermaster's Department to aid it was observed. In all great emergencies during the war the need of transportation was urgently felt in all the Supply De- partments of the Army, and in such cases as we have seen, according to the military theory, the relief of the suffering was necessarily postponed until those still able to fight were provided with food and ammunition. The independent means of transportation possessed by the Sanitary Commission was a most costly appendage to its system, but it proved during the progress of active campaigns, and especially on battle-fields, the right arm of its power. We have now concluded our sketch of the origin, purposes and work of this great organization, and General conciu- nave endeavored to show that the unexam- Bioni pled success which it achieved in mitigating the horrors of war was mainly due to the influence of popular ideas, and the peculiar forms of American civilization. In looking back upon the events of any great war those who are as near to the scene as we are to that of the rebellion, find little upon whichjhe mind with unmi^d__sjids^ction.yTlie blunders of the Government, the mistakes of the Generals, the confusion and incapacity which are so often conspicu- ous in many branches of the service, impress us witli all the vividness of a fresh reality, and we wonder that success was achieved at all in the face of so many for- midable obstacles. But however opinions may differ in regard to the policy of the Government, or the stra- INTERNAL ORGANIZATION. tegy of the Generals during the late war, the organ ized sympathy and care of the American people for those who suffered in their cause stands out alon in its ever fresh beauty from the dark back-ground of civil strife, and must always, and everywhere call forth the homage and admiration of mankind. It the true glory of our age and our country, one o the most shining monuments of its civilization May it ever prove a beacon to warn, to guide an4 to encourage those who, in future ages, and other countries may be afflicted with the dire calamity of War ! LIST OF THE MEMBERS OP THE U. S. SANITARY COMMISSION. APPOINTMENT. Kev. H. W. BELLOWS, D. D New York June 9, 1861. ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE, LL.D Washington, D. C " WILLIAM H. VAN BUBEN, M. D New York " WOLCOTT GIBBS, M.D Cambridge, Mass " *BOBERT C. WOOD, M. D., U.S. A " fGEORGE W. CULLUM, U.S.A " ^ALEXANDER E. SHIRAS, U. S. A " SAMUEL G. HOWE, M.D Boston,Mass " ELISHA HARRIS, M.D New York June 12, 1861. CORNELIUS E. AGNEW, M.D New York " GEORGE T. STRONG, Esq New York June 13, 1861. JOHN S. NEWBERRY, M.D Cleveland, Ohio June 14, 1861. FREDERICK LAW OLMSTED, Esq New York June 20, 1861. Et. Eev. THOMAS M. CLARK Providence, E. I July 30, 1861. HORACE BINNEY, Jr., Esq Philadelphia, Pa July 30, 1861. Hon. E. W. BURNETT Cincinnati, Ohio Detfr. 5, 1861. Hon. MARK SKINNER Chicago, 111 Detfr. 7, 1861. Hon. JOSEPH HOLT Washington, D. C Jan. 23,1863. Eev. J. H. HEYWOOD Louisville, Ky Jan. 23, 1863. IJFAiRMAN EOGERS, Esq Philadelphia, Pa Feb'y 6, 1863. J. HUNTINGTON WOLCOTT, Esq Boston, Mass June 13, 1863. CHARLES J. STILLE, Esq Philadelphia, Pa Jan. 15,1864. EZRA B. McCAGG, Esq '. Chicago, 111 Mar. 9, 1864. * Resigned, December, 1864. t Resigned, February, 1864. J Resigned, December 17, 1864. JS These gentlemen never took their seats. || Resigned, 1864. 519 APPENDIX. 521 No. 1. TO THE WOMEN OF NEW YOKK, AND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE ALEEADY ENGAGED IN PEEPAEING AGAINST THE TIME OF WOUNDS AND SICKNESS IN THE AEMY. THE importance of systematizing and concentrating the sponta- neous and earnest efforts now making by the women of New York, for the supply of extra medical aid to our Army through its present campaign, must be obvious to all reflecting persons. Numerous societies, working without concert, organization, or head, without any direct understanding with the official authorities, without any positive instructions as to the immediate or future wants of the Army, are liable to waste their enthusiasm in disproportionate efforts, to overlook some claims and overdo others, while they give unneces- sary trouble in official quarters, by the variety and irregularity of their proffers for help or their inquiries for guidance. As no existing organization has a right to claim precedence over any other, or could properly assume to lead in this noble cause, where all desire to be first, it is proposed by the undersigned, members of various circles now actively engaged in this work, that the women of New York should meet in the Cooper Institute, on Monday next, at eleven o'clock, A. M., to confer together, and to appoint a General Committee, with power to organize the benevolent purposes of all into a common movement. To make the meeting practical and effective, it seems proper here to set forth briefly the objects that should be kept in view. The form which woman's benevolence has already taken, and is likely to take, in the present crisis, is, first, the contribution of labor, skill, and money in the preparation of lint, bandages, and other stores, in aid of the wants of the Medical Staff; second, the offer of personal service as nurses. In regard to the first, it is important to obtain and disseminate exact official information as to the nature and variety of the wants of the Army ; to give proper direction and proportion to the labor expended, so as to avoid superfluity in some things and deficiency in 523 524 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. others ; and to this end, to come to a careful and thorough under- standing with the official head of the Medical Staff, through a com- mittee having this department in hand. To this committee should be assigned the duty of conferring with other associations in other parts of the country, and especially, through the press, to keep the women of the loyal States everywhere informed how their efforts may be most wisely and economically employed, and their contributions of all kinds most directly concentrated at New York, and put at the service of the Medical Staff. A central depot would, of course, be the first thing to be desired. In regard to the second form of benevolence the offer of personal service as nurses it is felt that the public mind needs much enlight- enment, and the overflowing zeal and sympathy of the women of the nation, a careful channel, not only to prevent waste of time and effort, but to save embarrassment to the official staff, and to secure real efficiency in the service. Should our unhappy war be continued, the Army is certain to want the services of extra nurses, not merely on account of the casualties of the field, but of the camp diseases originating in the exposure of the soldiery to a strange climate and to unaccustomed hardships. The result of all the experience of the Crimean war has been to prove the total uselessness of any but picked and skilled women in this department of duty, The ardor and zeal of all other women should therefore be concentrated upon finding, preparing, and sending bands of women, of suitable age, constitu- tion, training, and temperament, to the Army at such points and at such times as they are asked for by the Medical Staff. A central organization is wanted, therefore, to which all those de- siring to go as nurses may be referred, where a committee of exami- ners, partly medical and partly otherwise, may at once decide upon the fitness of the candidate. Those accepted should then at once be put under competent instruction and discipline (for which it is un- derstood a thorough school will be opened at once by the Medical Faculty of the city) and as occasion offers, the best prepared, in successive order, be sent, under proper escort, to the scene of war, as they are wanted. It is felt that all who want to go, and are fitted to go, should have in their turn a fair chanee to do so, and are not unlikely to be wanted sooner or later. Of these, many may be rich and many poor. Some , APPENDIX. 525 may wish to go at their own charges, and others will require to be aided as to their expenses, and still others, for the loss of their time. But the best nurses should be sent, irrespective of these distinctions as only the best are economical on any terms. It will at once appear that without a central organization, with proper authority, there can be no efficiency, system, or discipline in this important matter of nurses and there can be no organization, to which a cheerful submission will be paid, except it originate in the common will, and become the genuine representative of all the women of New York, and of all the existing associations having this kind of aid in view. It is obvious that such an organization will require generous con- tributions, and that all the women of New York and of the country, not otherwise lending aid, will have a direct opportunity of giving sup- port to the object so near their hearts, through the treasury of this common organization. To consider this matter deliberately, and to take such common action as may then appear wise, we earnestly invite the women of New York, and the pastors of the churches, with such medical advi- sers as may be specially invited, to assemble for counsel and action, at the Cooper Institute, on Monday morning next, at eleven o'clock. Mrs. Gen. Dix, Mrs. H. K. Bogart, " Hamilton Fish, " Charles Butler, " Lewis C. Jones, " C. E. Lane, " E.Robinson, " M. D. Swett, " Wm. Kirkland, " K. M. Blatchford, "' Wm. H. Aspinwall, " 8. F. Bridham, " E. B. Minturn, ' A.W.Bradford, " Jas. B. Johnson, " W. H. Lee, " Judge Roosevelt, " Parke Godwin, " A. M. Bininger, " H. J. Raymond, " AV. C.Bryant, " S. L. M. Barlow, " R.L.Stuart, " J. Auchincloss, " D. D. Field, " Walker, " W. B. Astor, Jr., " Elisha Fish, " M. Grinnell, " C. A. Seward, " G. L. Schuyler, " S. Osgood, 526 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Mrs. Peter Cooper, Mrs. Griffin, " Thomas Tileston, " L. M. Rutherford, " F.S.Wiley, " S. J. Baker, " R. Gracie, " H. Baylis, " M. Catlin, " John Sherwood, " Chandler, " S.H.Tyng, " R. B. Winthrop, " Capt. Shumway, " G. Stuy vesant, " Edward Bayard, " George Curtis, " James I. Jones, " A. R. Eno, " Judge Betts, " W. F. Carey, " William G. Ward, " A, S. Hewitt, " H. E. Eaton, " Dr. Peaslee, " W.C.Evarts, " H. B. Smith, " Judge Bonney, " R. Hitchcock, Miss Minturn, " F. F. Marbury, Mrs. M. Trimble, " F. F. B. Morse, " S. B. Collins, " Judge Daly, " R. H. Bowne, " Charles R. Swords, " B. R. Mcllvaine, Miss Marquand, . " N. Lawrence, Mrs. G. Holbrooke, " John Reid, " D. Adams, " C. Newbold, " H. Webster, " J. B. Collins, " Moffat, " J. C. Smith, " H.W. Bellows, " Paul Spofford, " Stuart Brown, " C.W. Field, " Ellis, " P. Townsend, " J.D.Wolfe, " L. Baker, " Alonzo Potter, " Charles King. " R. Campbell, NEW YORK, April 29, 1861. Xo. 2. AN ADDEESS TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. To THE SECRETARY OP WAR: SIR: The undersigned, representing three associations of the highest respectability in the city of New York, namely, the Women's APPENDIX. 527 Central Association of Kelief for the Sick and Wounded of the Army, the Advisory Committee of the Boards of Physicians and Surgeons of the Hospitals of New York, the New York Medical Association for furnishing Hospital Supplies in aid of the Army, beg leave to address the Department of War in behalf of the objects committed to them as a mixed delegation with due credentials. These three associations, being engaged at home in a common object, are acting together with great efficiency and harmony to con- tribute towards the comfort and security of our troops, by methpdiz- ing the spontaneous benevolence of the city and State of New York ; obtaining information from the public authorities of the best methods of aiding your Department with such supplies as the regulations of the Army do not provide, or the sudden and pressing necessities of the time do not permit the Department to furnish ; and, in general, striving to play into the hands of the regular authorities in ways as efficient and as little embarrassing as extra-official co-operation can be. These associations would not trouble the War Department with any call on its notice, if they were not persuaded that some positive recognition of their existence and efforts was essential to the peace and comfort of the several Bureaus of the War Department itself. The present is essentially a people's war. The hearts and minds, the bodies and souls, of the whole people and of both sexes throughout the loyal States are in it. The rush of volunteers to arms is equalled by the enthusiasm and zeal of the women of the nation, and the clerical and medical professions vie with each other in their ardor to contribute in some manner to the success of our noble and sacred cause. The War Department will hereafter, therefore, inevitably experience, in all its bureaus, the incessant and irresistible motions of this zeal, in the offer of medical aid, the applications of nurses, and the contribution of supplies. Ought not this noble and generous en- thusiasm to be encouraged and utilized? Would not the Department win a still higher place in the confidence and affections of the good people of the loyal States, and find itself generally strengthened in its efforts, by accepting in some positive manner the services of the associations we represent, which are laboring to bring into system and practical shape the general zeal and benevolent activity of the women of the land in behalf of the Army? And would not a great econ- 528 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. omy of time, money, and effort be secured by fixing and regulating the relations of the Volunteer Associations to the War Department, and especially to the Medical Bureau? Convinced by inquiries made here of the practical difficulty of re- conciling the aims of their own and numerous similar associations in other cities with the regular workings of the Commissariat and the Medical Bureau, and yet fully persuaded of the importance to the country and the success of the war, of bringing such an arrangement about, the undersigned respectfully ask that a mixed Commission of civilians distinguished for their philanthropic experience and ac- quaintance with sanitary matters, of medical men, and of military officers, be appointed by the Government, who shall be charged with the duty of investigating the best means of methodizing and reducing to practical service the already active but undirected benevolence of the people toward the Army ; who shall consider the general subject of the prevention of sickness and suffering among the troops, and suggest the wisest methods, which the people at large can use to manifest their good-will towards the comfort, security, and health of the Army. It must be well known to the Department of Wat that several such commissions/o//ot0ed the Crimean and Indian wars. The civi- lization and humanity of the age and of the American people de- mand that such a commission should precede our second war of inde- pendence more sacred than the first. We wish to prevent the evils that England and France could only investigate and deplore. This war ought to be waged in a spirit of the highest intelligence, hu- manity, and tenderness for the health, comfort, and safety of our brave troops. And every measure of the Government that shows its sense of this, will be eminently popular, strengthen its hands and redound to its glory at home and abroad. The undersigned are charged with several specific petitions, addi- tional to that of asking for a Commission for the purposes above de- scribed, although they all would fell under the duties of that Com- mission. 1. They ask that the Secretary of War will order some new rigor in the inspection of volunteer troops, as they are persuaded that under the present State regulations throughout the country a great number of under-aged and unsuitable persons are mustered, who are APPENDIX. 529 likely to swell the bills of mortality in the Army to a fearful per centage, to encumber the hospitals, and embarrass the columns. They ask either for an order of reinspection of the troops already mustered, or a summary discharge of those obviously destined to succumb to the diseases of the approaching summer. It is unneces- sary to argue the importance of a measure so plainly required by common humanity and economy of life and money. 2. The committee are convinced by the testimony of the Medical Bureau itself, and the evidence of the most distinguished Army offi- cers, including the Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant-General Thomas, and the acting Surgeon-General, that the cooking of the volunteer and new regiments in general is destined to be of the most crude and perilous description, and that no preventive measure could be so effectual in preserving health and keeping off disease, as an order of the Department requiring a skilled cook to be enlisted in each com- pany of the regiments. The Woman's Central Association, in con- nection with the Medical Boards, are prepared to assume the duty of collecting, registering, and instructing a body of cooks, if the De- partment will pass such an order, accompanying it with the allot- ment of such wages as are equitable. 3. The committee represent that the Woman's Central Association of Relief have selected, and are selecting, out of several hundred candidates, one hundred women, suited in all respects to become nurses in the General Hospitals in the Army. These women the dis- tinguished physicians and surgeons of the various hospitals in New York have undertaken to educate and drill in a most thorough and laborious manner ; and the Committee ask that the War Department consent to receive, on wages, these nurses, in such numbers as the exigencies of the campaign may require. It is not proposed that the nurses should advance to the seat of war, until directly called for by the Medical Bureau here, or that the Government should be at any expense until they are actually in service. 4. The Committee ask that the Secretary of War issue an order that in case of need the Medical Bureau may call to the aid of the regular medical force a set of volunteer dressers, composed of young^ medical men, drilled for this purpose by the hospital physicians and surgeons of New York, giving them such subsistence and such recog- 67 530 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. nition as the rules of the service may allow under a generous con- struction. It is believed that a Commission would bring these and other mat- ters of great interest and importance to the health of the troops into the shape of easy and practical adoption. But if no Commission is appointed, the committee pray that the Secretary will order the sev- eral suggestions made to be carried into immediate effect, if consistent with the laws of the Department, or possible without the action of Congress. Feeling themselves directly to represent large and important consti- tuencies, and, indirectly, a wide-spread and commanding public senti- ment, the committee would most respectfully urge the immediate attention of the Secretary to the objects of their prayer. Very respectfully, HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D. W. H. VAN BURKN. ELISHA HARRIS, M. D. J. HARSEN, M. D. WASHINGTON, May 18, 1861. LETTER FROM THE ACTING SURGEON-GENERAL TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR. SURGEON-GENERAL'S OFFICE, ) May 22, 1861. I Hon. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War : SIR : The sudden and large increase of the Army, more especially of the Volunteer force, has called the attention of this office to the necessity of some modifications and changes in the system of organi- zation, as connected with the hygiene and comforts of the soldiers; more particularly in relation to the class of men who, actuated by patriotism, have repaired with unexampled promptness to the defence of the institutions and laws of the country. The pressure- upon the Medical Bureau has been very great and urgent; and though all the means at its disposal have been industri- ously used, much remains to be accomplished by directing the intel- APPENDIX. 531 gent mind of the country to practical results connected with the comforts of the soldier by preventive and sanitary means. The Medical Bureau would, in my judgment, derive important and useful aid from the counsels and well-directed efforts of an intelli- gent and scientific commission, to be styled "A Commission of In- quiry and Advice in respect of the Sanitary Interests of the United States Forces," and acting in co-operation with the Bureau in elabo- rating and applying such facts as might be elicited from the experi- ence and more extended observation of those connected with armies ; with reference to the diet and hygiene of troops and the organization of military hospitals, etc. This Commission is not intended to interfere with, but to strengthen the present organization, introducing and elaborating such improve- ments as the advanced stage of Medical Science might suggest ; more particularly as regards the class of men who, in this war of sections, may be called to abandon the comforts of home, and be subject to the privations and casualties of war. The views of this office were expressed in a communication of May 18, 1861, in a crude and hasty manner, as to the examination of re- cruits, the proposed organization of cooks, nurses, &c., to which I beg leave to refer. The selection of this Board is of the greatest importance. In connection with those gentlemen who originated this investiga- tion, with many others, I would suggest the following members, not to exceed five, to convene in Washington, who should have power to fill vacancies and appoint a competent Secretary. REVEREND* HENRY W. BELLOWS, D.D. PROFESSOR ALEXANDER DALLAS BACHE, LL.D. PROFESSOR WOLCOT GIBBS, M.D. JEFFRIES WYMAN, M.D. W. H. VAN BUREN, M.D. It would be proper, also, to associate with this Board an officer of the Medical Staff of the Army, to be selected by the Secretary of War, familiar with the organization of Military Hospitals and the details of field service. Respectfully submitted: R. C. WOOD, Acting Surgeon- General. 532 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. No. 3. ORDER OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR, APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT, APPOINTING THE SANITARY COMMISSION. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, June 9, 1861. THE Secretary of War has learned, with great satisfaction, that at the instance and in pursuance of the suggestion of the Medical Bureau, in a communication to this office, dated May 22, 1861, Henry W. Bellows, D. D., Prof. A. D. Bache, LL.D., Prof. Jeffries Wyman, M.D., Prof. Wolcott Gibbs,M.D., W. H. Van Buren, M.D. Samnel G.Howe, M.D., R. C. Wood, Surgeon U. S. A., G. W. Cullum, U. S. A., Alexander E. Shiras, U. S. A., have mostly consented, in con- nection with such others as they may choose to associate with them, to act as " A Commission of Inquiry and Advice in respect of the Sanitary Interests of the United States Forces," and without re- muneration from the Government. The Secretary has submitted their patriotic proposal to the consideration of the President, who directs the acceptance of the services thus generously offored. The Commission, in connection with a Surgeon of the U. S. A., to be designated by the Secretary, will direct its inquiries to the princi- ples and practices connected with the inspection of recruits and en- listed men ; the sanitary condition of the volunteers ; to the means of preserving and restoring the health, and of securing the general comfort and efficiency of troops ; to the proper provision of cooks, nurses, and hospitals ; and to other subjects of like nature. The Commission will frame such rules and regulations, in respect of the objects and modes of its inquiry, as may seem best adapted to the purpose of its constitution, which, when approved by the Secre- tary, will be established as general guides of its investigations and action. A room with necessary conveniences will be provided in the City of Washington for the use of the Commission, and the members will meet when and at such places as may be convenient to them for con- APPENDIX. 533 sultation, and for the determination of such questions as may come properly before the Commission. In the progress of its inquiries, the Commission will correspond freely with the Department and with the Medical Bureau, and will communicate to each, from time to time, such observations and results as it may deem expedient and important. The Commission will exist until the Secretary of War shall other- wise direct, unless sooner dissolved by its own action. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War. I approve the above. A. LINCOLN. June 13, 1861. No. 4. PLAN OF OKGANIZATION FOE "THE COMMISSION OF INQUIKY AND ADVICE IN RESPECT OF THE SANITARY INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES FORCES." THE Commission naturally divides itself into two branches, one of Inquiry, the other of Advice, to be represented by two principal Com- mittees, into which the Commission should divide. I. INQUIRY. This branch of the Commission would again naturally subdivide itself into three stems, inquiring successively in respect of the condition and wants of the troops : 1st. What must be the condition and want of troops gathered together in such masses, so suddenly, and with such inexperience? 2d. What is their condition ? a question to be settled only by direct and positive observation and testimony. 3d. What ought to be their condition, and how would Sanitary Science bring them up to the standard of the highest attainable security and efficiency ? SUB-COMMITTEES OF BRANCH OF INQUIRY. A. Under the first Committee's care would come the suggestion of 534 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. such immediate aid, and such obvious recommendations as an intel- ligent foresight and an ordinary acquaintance with received princi- ples of sanitary science would enable the Board at once to urge upon the public authorities. B. The second Sub-Committee would have in charge, directly or through agents, the actual exploration of recruiting posts, transports, camps, quarters, tents, forts, hospitals ; and consultation with officers Colonels, Captains, Surgeons, and Chaplains at their posts, to col- lect from them needful testimony as to the condition and wants of the troops. C. The Third Sub-Committee would investigate, theoretically and practically, all questions of dirt, cooking, and cooks ; of clothing, foot, head, and body gear; of quarters, tents, booths, huts; of hospitals, field service, nurses and surgical dresses; of climate and its effects, malaria, and camp and hospital diseases and conta- gions ; of ventilation, natural and artificial ; of vaccination ; anti- scorbutics ; disinfectants ; of sinks, drains, camp sites, and cleanli- ness in general ; of best methods of economizing and preparing rations, or changing or exchanging them. All these questions to be treated from the highest scientific ground, with the newest light of physiology, chemistry, and medicine, and the latest teachings of experience in the great continental wars. Probably these Committees of Inquiry could convert to their use, without fee or reward, all our medical and scientific men now in the army, or elsewhere, especially by sending an efficient agent about among the regiments to establish active correspondence with surgeons, chaplains, and others, as well as by a public advertisement and call for such help and information. II. ADVICE. This branch of the Commission would subdivide itself into three stems, represented by three Sub-Committees. The general object of this branch would be to get the opinions and con- clusions of the Commission approved by the Medical Bureau, ordered by the War Department, carried out by the officers and men, and encouraged, aided, and supported by the benevolence of the public at large, and by the State governments. It would subdivide itself naturally into three parts. 1. A Sub-Committee, in direct relation with the Government, the Medical Bureau, and the War Department ; having for its object the APPENDIX. 535 communication of the counsels of the Commission, and the procuring of their approval and ordering by the U. S. Government. 2. A Sub-Committee in direct relation with the army officers, medi- cal men, the camps and hospitals, whose duty it should be to look after the actual carrying out of the orders of the War Department and the Medical Bureau, and make sure, by inspection, urgency, and explanation, by influence, and all proper methods, of their actual accomplishment. 3. A Sub-Committee in direct relation with the State governments, and with the public associations of benevolence. First, to secure uniformity of plans, and then proportion and harmony of action; and finally, abundance, of supplies in moneys and goods, for such extra purposes as the laws do not and cannot provide for. SUB-COMMITTEE OP BRANCH OF ADVICE. D. The Sub-Committee in direct relation with the Government, would immediately urge the most obvious measures, favored by the Commission on the War Department, and secure their emphatic reiteration of orders now neglected. It would establish confidential relations with the Medical Bureau. A Secretary, hereafter to be named, would be the head and hand of this Sub-Committee always near the Government, and always urging the wishes and aims of the Commission upon its attention. E. This Sub-Committee, in direct relation with the army officers, medical men, the camps, forts, and hospitals, would have it for its duty to explain and enforce upon inexperienced, careless, or ignorant officials, the regulations of a sanitary kind ordered by the Depart- ment of War and the Medical Bureau ; of complaining to the De- partment of disobedience, sloth, or defect, and of seeing to the general carrying out of the objects of the Commission in their practical details. F. This Sub-Committee, in direct relation with State authorities and benevolent associations, would have for its duties to look after three chief objects. First : How far the difficulties in the sanitary condition and pros- pects of the troops are due to original defects in the laws of the States or the inspection usages, or in the manner in which officers, military or medical, have been appointed in the several States, with 536 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. a view to the adoption of a general system, by which the State laws may all be assimilated to the United States regulations. This could probably only be brought about by calling a conven- tion of delegates from the several loyal States, to agree upon some uniform system ; or, that failing, by agreeing upon a model State arrangement, and sending a suitable agent to the Governors and Legislatures, with a prayer for harmonious action and co- operation. Second : To call in New York a convention of delegates from all the benevolent associations throughout the country, to agree upon a plan of common action in respect of supplies, depots, and methods of feeding the extra demands of the Medical Bureau or Commissa- riat, without embarrassment to the usual machinery. This, too, might, if a convention were deemed impossible, be effected by send- ing about an agent of special adaptation. Thus the organizing, me- thodizing, and reducing to serviceableness the vague, disproportioned, and hap-hazard benevolence of the public, might be successfully accomplished. Third : To look after the pecuniary ways and means necessary for accomplishing the various objects of the Commission, through solici- tation of donations, either from State treasuries or private benefi- cence. The treasurer might be at the head of this Special Com- mittee, OFFICERS. If these general suggestions be adopted, the officers of the Commis- sion might properly be a President, Vice-president, Secretary, and Treasurer. President. His duties would be to call and preside over all meet- ings of the Commission, and give unity, method, and practical suc- cess to its counsels. The Vice-President would perform the President's duties in his absence. The Secretary should be a gentleman of special competency, charged with the chief executive duties of the Commission, in constant cor- respondence with its President; be resident at Washington, and ad- mitted to confidential intimacy with the Medical Bureau and the War Department. Under him such agents as could safely be trusted APPENDIX. 537 with the duties of inspection and advice in camps, hospitals, for- tresses, etc., should work, receiving instructions from, and reporting to him. He would be immediately in connection with the Commit- tees A and B of the Branch of Inquiry, and of Committees D and E of the Branch of Advice. The Treasurer would hold and disburse, as ordered by the Commis- sion, the funds of the body. These funds would be derived from such sources as the Commission, when its objects were known, might find open or make available. Donations, voluntary and solicited; contributions from patriotic and benevolent associations, or State treasuries, would be the natural supply of the cost of sustaining a commission whose members would give their time, experience, and labor to a cause of the most obvious and pressing utility, and the most radical charity and wide humanity ; who, while unwilling to depend on the General Government for even their incidental expenses, could not perform their duties without some moderate sum in hand to facilitate their movements. The publication of the final report of the Commission could be arranged by subscription or private enterprise. As the scheme of this Commission may appear impracticable from apprehended jealousies, either on the part of the Medical Bureau or the War Department, it may be proper to state, that the Medical Bureau itself asked for the appointment of the Commission, and that no ill-feeling exists or will exist between the Commission and the War Department, or the Government. The Commission grows out of no charges of negligence or incompetency in the War Depart- ment or the Medical Bureau. The sudden increase of volunteer forces has thrown unusual duties upon them. The Commission is chiefly concerned with the volunteers, and one of its highest ambi- tions is to bring the volunteers up to the regulars in respect of sani- tary regulations and customs. To aid the Medical Bureau, with- out displacing it, or in any manner infringing upon its rights and duties, is the object of the Commission. The embarrassments antici- pated from etiquette or official jealousy, have all been overcome in advance, by a frank and cordial understanding, met with large and 538 UNITED STATES SANITAKY COMMISSION. generous feelings by the Medical Bureau and the Department of War. HENRY W. BELLOWS, President. PROF. A. D. BACHE, Vice-President. ELISHA HARRIS, M. D., Carres}). Sect'y. GEORGE W. CULLUM, U. S. Army. ALEXANDER E. SHIRAS, U. S. Army. ROBERT C. WOOD, M. D., U. S. Army. WILLIAM H. VAN BUREN, M. D. WOLCOTT GIBBS, M. D. SAMUEL G. HOWE, M. D. CORNELIUS R. AGNEW, M. D. J. S. NEWBERRY, M. D. GEORGE T. STRONG, Treasurer. WASHINGTON, June 13, 1861. WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, June 13, 1861. I hereby approve of the plan of organization proposed by the Sani- tary Commission, as above given ; and all persons in the employ of the United States Government are directed and enjoined to respect and further the inquiries and objects of this Commission, to the utmost of their ability. SIMON CAMERON, Secretary of War. APPENDIX. 539 No. 5. CQNTKIBUTIONS KECEIVED FEOM CALIFOKNIA. FROM FEBRUARY 24, 1862, to MARCH 1, 1866. NOTE. The contributions in gold have all been reduced in this Table to their value in currency at the time of their receipt. Dolls. Oakland Patriotic Fund, Oakland 102 Olympic Club, San Francisco 200 Ladies' Patriotic Fund, San Francisco 600 Patriotic Fund, San Francisco, by Ira B. Rankin 1,000 Proceeds of Treasury Note from "Lock Box 457," San Francisco P.0 104 H. F. Teschemacher, Mayor of San Francisco 2,125 Contributions on Election Day, San Francisco 3,735 Citizens of San Francisco 100,000 Do. Do. 100,000 Nevada City, California, by Hon. A. A. Sargent , 8,235 Citizens of Marysville 12,700 Ladies of Santa Clara, by Mrs. T. Starr King 636 Relief Society of County of San Joaquin, by H. B. Underbill, Sect'y, Stockton 7,222 Citizens of San Francisco 15,000 " " California , 15,000 " " Stockton 660 " " Monterey 1,448 " " California 35,956 ' " " California 30,000 Citizens of Marysville, by D. C. Benham, San Francisco 6,400 Ynba County 8,960 Citizens of Sacramento, by Messrs. Leland, Staudford, S. Cross and H. Miller. 20,000 Citizens of California 30,000 W. B. Brown, San Francisco 500 Citizens of Auburn, Placer County 1,270 Charles Duncombe, Hicksville 377 Citizens of Sacramento, by Messrs. Leland Stanford, H. Miller and S. Cross.... 1,260 Citizens of California 12,947 Hiram Perham, Miner, Klamath County 40 San Joaquin Relief Society, by H. B. Underbill 2,173 Hon. Milton S. Latham 250 San Joaquin Relief Society, by H. B. Underbill 730 Citizens of Santa Clara Township, by James H. Morgan 2,022 Citizens of San Francisco and interior towns, by James Otis, Treasurer 20,000 Thomas McConnell, Hicksville P. 0., Sacramento County 190 Citizens of Yuba County, by D. C. Benham, Treasurer 1,855 Citizens of Spanish Ranch, Plumas County, by Thos. McCormic, Marysville.. 178 Woodland Soldiers' Aid Society, Woodland, Yolo County, Mrs. C. W. Lewis, ) I. G. D. Fiske, Sect'y J 1,222 George G. Briggs, Santa Barbara County 100 President, Mrs. F. S. Freeman, Treasurer, and Mrs. Citizens of California, by James Otis, Treasurer '.. 23,006 Nicolaus, Sutler & Co., Sacramento 1,122 Members of the Public School, Placerville, by J. A. Bartlett, President,! and G. L. Fitch, Secretary / 50 Ladies' Union Association, Santa Clara, by Mrs. B. F. Watkins 144 C. K. Krcanbrack and C. H. Kelton, Watsonville, Santa Cruz County 30 Citizens of San Francisco, by James Otis, Treasurer 10,000 Lady Washington Society, Aurora, Moro County, by Mrs. S. E. Morse, "| Treasurer, Mrs. A. Mack, President, Mrs. L. Green, Vice-President, and > Mrs. L. Hutchinson, Secretary J 500 Citizens of California, by James Otis, Treasurer 10,000 Do. Do. Do. Do 5,000 Lady Washington Society, Aurora. Moro County, by Mrs. A. Mack, Presi-) dent, and Mrs. S. E. Morse, Treasurer / 118 Woodland Soldiers' Aid Society, Woodland, Yolo Countj, by Miss C. A. ( Templeton, Sacramento j E. B. Crocker, Sacramento 26 Napa Soldiers' Relief Association, Napa City, by Mrs. Thomas Earl, Presi- 1 dent, and R. E. Wood, Secretary j 309 Citizens of California, Contributions on Election Day, by Jas. Otis, Treasurer. 13,539 Contributions on Election Day in Great Mogul District, Amador County. I September 2 d, by M. Scott / j Citizens of California, by James Otis 10,000 Amount carried forward $519,094 540 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Contributions received from California Continued. Amount brought forward 519,094 4 Citizen* of California, by James Otis 1,000 T. U Baker, San Francisco, by F. A. Foster, New York 50 18 Yreka, (Curtis H. Pyl.-. P.M.) 10 4 Citizens of California, Font fund of Rev. T. Strr King, San Francisco, re- I mitti-l by draft through W. M. Prichard, Esq., New York / 360 6 Citizens of California, by James Otis, Treasurer 50,000 23 Yreka, (Curtis II. Pylc, P. M.) 6 27 Ladies of Nam City, by Mrs. A. Y. Easterly, President ; proceeds of Christ- I mas KTe Festival } 700 29 Ladies' Soldiers' Relief Sewing Society uf Napa City, a New Year's Offering, I by Mrs. K. G. Easterly, Secretary / 140 '." .l.ui,.- M. Mat. |,N. >.., ,.,ro. DtO. tlir-iuli II- !.->. N.-w V..rk Ill 6 Yreka, (Curtis H. Pyle, P. M.) 5 16 Citizens of California, by James Otis. Treasurer 50,000 6 Union Meeting of Presbyterians and Methodists, Cumberland Churches,) Stockton, by RCT. R. llappersett > J 91 3 Citizens of California, by James Otis, Treasurer 50,961 7 O. O. Briggi, San Francisco, through Fowler and Wells, New York 50 10 Concert and Supper by Philharmonic Society, aided by Ladies of SH. mi-lit" City, by 8. B. l.eav.-tt. Secretary and Treasurer j 4,811 June 14 Citizens of California, through Mn< i.ndrny * Co 25,000 30 C. P. Lolor, San Francico, being amount paid by him for the ' > Sanitary Sack of Flour sold at Auction. May 2X, 1*64 / 150 6 Sacramento Valley Sanitary Association, by C. Crocker, Treasurer 41 .:;:>_' 6 Citizens of California, by H. P. Coon, Chairman 25,000 16 Do. Do. by James Otis, Treasurer 52,633 19 Cabin passenger-son board Steamer " Mo-en Taylor" .'ii trip fnnii San Fran-) cUco to New York, July 4, 1864, by K. S. Whigham. Treasurer f 781 Cabin Passengers on board Steamer " Uncle Sam," July 4, 1864, through 1 K. M. Jenkins, Purser / 714 80 Citizens of Santa Clara; proceeds of Lecture by Dr. Bellows 2,033 Esmeralda Sanitary Association, by J. B. Saxt.in. I'r i-l-nt. I'.' Silver liars.). 11,473 Citirensof Vallego, through I)r. W. W. Chapman 1,250 Do. Ilotrlaml Flat, 1'ine Orove and Potosi, through T. A. McFar-) land, Treasurer J 3,816 Citizens of Eureka, North Sierra County, by J. Andrews 1,506 6 Citizens of California, through Dr. Bellows 349 29 Children of Oroville, through George C. Perkins 645 Citizens of Santa Clara, balance of proceeds of Lecture 195 First Baptist Church. Petaluina 69 Mr. Rolofson, San Francisco, one day's Photographing, July 4, 1864 606 Horace Taber. Uibsunville 154 Santa Clara College, by Rev. Father Accolti 302 Hobbs, Qilmore A Co., San Francisc" 258 Weaverville, Trinity ('.nintv; proceeds of Festival, June 8, 1864, by Mrs. H. J Howe. Chairman 12,577 John Oale (deceased; San Francisco, bequest in his Will, through Henry Edwards .'. 64,1 Proceeds of Ball and Festival by Ladies' Committee, Placerville, through J. Wilcox .". 4,327 Ladies' Sanitary Committee. Petaluma, by Mrs. K. Wilson, President -. 5,160 W. S. Day, Auditor, Downesville, Sierra County; proceeds of sale of Jury) Fee .". / 859 nti/.-ns of Taylorsville, Plumas County, by A.T. Blood, President, 4th July) Committee j 8,824 Citizens of I>utrh Flat, by W.G. Brown 34 Citizens of Eureka. Humlx-ldt County, by L. C. Schmiddt, President of Sanitary Fund Committee 1,094 Proceeds of 4th July, Barbecue of Military Companies in Napa City, through Mi-. K. . Do 293 Do Do. Do. Do .. 14.425 J. H. Chapin, San Francisco, arn't of advance (in coin) refunded in currency. 146 Sacramento V alley Branch, by John McNeill, Secretary 279 Total amount $1,234,257 31 CONTRIBUTIONS BECEIVED FKOM NEVADA. FROM FEBRUARY 2, 1863, TO JANUARY 1, 1866. 1863. Feb. March May Aug. Sept. Oct. 1864. Feb. May July Dolls. 4,000 29,921 1,328 Citizens of Ormsby Coonty, by W. Stewart, Treasurer Citizens of Nevada, 8 Gold and Silver Bars Ladies' Social Benevolent Society, Gold Hill Silver City Benevolent Society, by Melville Kelsey, Mrs. L. M. Barrett, Com- ) mittee, and Mrs. 11. J. Currie, President / Washoe City, by P. E. Shannon X'"VV Loyal Citizens of Story County, by A. B. Paul, President, Virginia, (10 Gold ) and Silver Bars) '""","< Citizens of Douglass County, by Messrs. J. A. Harvey, Alexander Brinck- I man, C. M. Tuttle and P. Chamberlain, M.D., Committee f 408 Voters, Silver City, at Election for Adoption of State Constitution, by ) N. P. Sheldon, President and C. B. Zabriskie, Treasurer j Proceeds of Ball, Silver City, Christmas Eve Citizens of Dayton, by 0. B. Zabriskie, Treasurer Proceeds of Ball, by Ladies of Carson Valley, through Henry Epstein Proceeds'of Ball, Douglass County, June 10th, by Henry Epstein Contributions at the Polls Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Carson City Amount carried forward $64,273; 23 17,360 460 2,236 404 Cfc. 94 75 50 1,380 4S5 76 5,020 00 542 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Contributions from Nevada Continued. 1864. July NOT. 1865. Jan. May July Oct. Ddh. Amount brought forward 64,273 Citizens of Austin, by E. 8. Davis, President 9,544 Employes of Gould and Currie Mine, Virginia City, (1 Silver Bar.) 10,888 Citizens of Story County, by Dr. Bellows .'. 11,055 Citizens of Nevada, Contributions on Election Day 3,751 riti/.-n- .if I.) mi County, by X. I'. Sh.-ldon, President 6,089 Citi/.ens of Washoe County.' bv A. U. Paul 1.700 Proceed! of Social Parties, Dayton, Lyon County, through E. H. Dean HM Nevada Branch, by A. B. Paul, Treasurer 1.17B Total amount 107,642 CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM OREGON. FROM OCTOBER 11, 1862, TO JANUARY 1, 1866. 1862. Oct. NOT. Dec. 1863. Jan. Feb. March June Aug. NOT. 1864. Jan. Feb. March April May June J iiU- ll 1.-, M 7 M 4 ,:; a HI Hi 19 17 H 7 80 6 1 4 11 19 99 :;i 19 23 2s li IS jo M m 00 00 (HI 110 (III 00 00 IKI III IKI 1 Dolls. 1 .i-.'-.J 2,300 1,875 1,000 -M-JO 30 2,560 j.;n:; I.:;M 1,966 377 1,300 880 770 117 908 100 US 800 UB 622 56 36 800 600 500 1,100 136 200 815 OK ii.-, 00 M no 00 10 (Ml 00 U I'.l 00 S4 M 06 M BO 00 11(1 81 (XI IK) 87 00 00 28 IX) 00 00 00 M 00 76 31 Do. Do. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted M.i-"in of Oregon for the Relief) Do. Jacksonville by Do. '. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. _ Ladies of Portland, by Araory Holbrook - Citizens of Oregon, by Amory Holbrook 17"> CorvallU Presbyterian Church, by Amorv llollirook 33 Portland ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, collected in part at MetbodNt, | Presbyterian, Baptist, GoOfngMOM] and Episcopal Churches... j 465 Ames Chapul Neighborhood .. 1"' Proceeds of Entertainment by Young Men of Color at the Dalles, ) Portland I'V Amorv Holbrook 800 Citi/.-ii- of Ani"- Cliap"! .Neighborhood, bv Aniorv llollirook To Congregation of St. Paul's Chapul, Oregon City, by Anmry llollirook. 38 Jacob Kann. Portland, through Wakoman, Oookin and Dickinson,) New York j I/adiftw' 8nnit^ry CmmiBflion Astoria Ladies of Portland and Citix.'ii-. of Ore^m City. Vancouver* and) Mihvaukie, by A. llollirook / Sanitary Aid .Society. Oak^royc, by William II. v \ llollirook 300 Citi/.i'ii< ot'Ori'^on. bv A. Holbrook .. .".n. > Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. - iciety of Portland, through l^nl.l ,'c Tilton, New York -unitary Aid Society, Astoria, by Mrs. Col. .1. Tavlnr. Mr-i. I .1. Uo". and Mrs. \V. II. liray. Committee, ^Il -. M.n \ K-. 'l'i I'ili/. -n- .,f Lat'av.-lt.-. bv E. Cartwrii;ht ! Cili/i-iK of Portland Linn County Sanitary Aid Society, Albany, by .lolni Harrows, So-) crctarv, and J. J. Tliornton. Pri-siil.-nt J Amount carried forward $32,304 APPENDIX. Contributions received from Oregon Continued. ? , Amount brought forward July ; ;0 Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Portland Citizens of Oregon, by Amory Holbrook.. Do. Salem, by J. H. Moores.. Do. Jackson County, by C. C. Beekman.... Do. Scottsbiirg Do. Do. Josephine County Do. Do. Oregon, by A. Holbrook. Linn County Sanitary Aid Society, by J. Barrows,.. Aug. 29 Do. Do. Do. Albany, by J. Barrows.., Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Portland, by Mrs. H. Low.. Citizens of Ames dhapel, through James" Davis Citizens of Eugene City, by D. M. Risdon, President- Unknown Town, through Mrs. A. C. Gibbs, Portland., Citizens of Portland, by A. Holbrook. , Citizens of Canemah., Peter Paquet, Oregon City- Citizens of Lafayette, Yam Hill County. . Do. Albany, Linn County, by J. Barrows.., Do. Umatilla, through Mrs. A. C. Gibbs.. Oct. 7 w. H. Corbett, Portland.. Nov. 14 "Hjsg Olive Geroam (six years old) and her Associates, Canemah,) through William Barlow, Oregon City j Two Gentlemen of Portland, by A. Holbrook.. Citizens of Oregon City. Do. Umatilla.. Sanitary Aid Society, Albany, by J. Barrows. , Do. Do. Milwaiikie, by H. Miller- Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Portland, by A. Holbrook. Citizens of Umatilla., Citizens of Benton County and Maple Grove, contributed at the June 1 Election and 4th July Celebration, thro' J. Quinn Thorton, Albany J Citizens of Sandy Precinct, Maltnomah County.. Citizens of Jackson County, through C. C. Beekman.. Do. Josephine County Do. Eola Sanitary Society, through Lot Livermore. Citizens of Oregon City, proceeds of Lecture, through J. L. Barlow..... Sanitary Aid Society of Ames Chapel, raised in Camp Ground- Premium on Gold..., Sanitary Aid Society, Portland. Citizens of Portland, by A. Holbrook.. Oregon City Lecture Fund- Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Portland. Citizens of Portland. Do. Albany, Linn County- Do. Harrisburg- Do. Eugene City., 2 Oregon Branch, by Henry Failing, Treasurer. 28 Citizens of Oregon, by Do. Do. 29 Proceeds of Party, by Ladies of Canemah., Dec. 22 Citizens of Oregon, through the Washington Office. 29 Do. Do. by Henry Failing, Treasurer- Do. Do. Do. Do. Oregon Branch, by Do. Do. 21 Citizens of Astoria, Clitsop County, by Mrs. Mary Ross.., 1865. Do. Marion County, by J. H. Moores.. Jan. 7 Proceeds of Supper, Ladies' Sewing Society Presbyterian Church, \ Corvallis, by Mrs. E. M. Clark, Secretary J 150 00 Mrs. Margaret Gray, Corvallis, by Mrs. E. M. Clark, Secretary 5 Master Johnson Porter (aged five years) by Do. Do 600 30 Oregon Branch, by Henry Failing, Treasurer. , Feb. 16 Eugene City, by Mrs. C. E. Pengrie. President.., March 9 Sanitary Aid Society, Astoria- Oregon Branch, by Henry Failing, Treasurer.. Oakgrove Sanitary Aid Society, Eola, Polk County- April 13 Citizens of Oregon, by Henry Failing, Treasurer- May 1 Do. Do. through Wells, Fargo & Co- Do. Do. Do. 26 Do. Salem, by John H. Moores.. Jwne 6 Do. Do. Do. July 27 Do. Oregon, by Henry Failing. Treasurer- Do. Salem, by John II. Moores 2S Oregon Branch, by Henry Failing. Treasurer. , Aug. 28 Do. Do. Do. Nov. 6 Ladies' Sanitary Committee, Portland, by Mrs. Mary E. Frazer- Total Amount $79,406 94 544 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM WASHINGTON TERRITORY. FROM DECEMBER 4, 1862, to JANUARY 1, 1866. 1862. Dec. 1863. Jan. Feb. March April May Aug. Sept. Nov. 1864. Jan. March May July Aug. Nov. Dec. 1865. Jan. March May 4 8 8 1;i 10 Hi 7 :il l-j 17 u - ;; 14 ::i 8 -u M -".i n 2-2 n t i Mr. Francis Keeper of Light House Stuml Water Bay 1ft on do no 08 00 IK) 00 jo ..> Dolli. 20 1,600 8,142 2,68 ' I,.V-M 427 357 600 470 90 40 1,000 630 500 46 400 210 137 687 MS -'M 50 800 658 19 129 60 10 452 60 411 214 165 To.'.O s of l'o|>e iiinl Talbot'-* Mill- TVi'halet Citizens of Washington Territory, l>v H. K. Kendall Do. Do. Do. by W W \lill.-r Treasurer Do. Walla Walla, by A. Holbmok Ladles' Sanitary Aid Society, Vancouver, by Mrs. O. W. Durgin, \ through A. ilolbrook j Collection at Thanks"");: Si-rvire. olympia, by (i.-o. K. Whitworth... I'ort Anglos Library Association, through A. Holbrook riti/.eiis of Walla Walla, by E. E. Kelly I..I.IH-S of Olympia, prm-i-i-ds of Sanitary I'.n i\. by .l..-.-|,li ('oiishman... Thanksgiving Collection, ulympia. liy lieur^i' K. Whitworth Sanitary Party at Cla^natd, Lewis County, by J. T. Browning. Trcas... Colle. "li 'il at tin' I'oll-i, Mlvillpia I'reCillft, '.Illlie ti 83 Collected at C'lainy and I'niy's Saloon on Election Day, Olympia, by ) Citizens of Bmceport Pacific County, through A. Holbrook 203 Citi/i'iiH of Auburn, Baker County, through A. Holbrook Do. Eagle I'recinrt. linker County through A Holbrook Do. Bruce and Pacific Counties, by A. Holbrook Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Vancouver, tbroir'h W. A. Troiip Citizens of Olympia, proceeds of 4th July Celebration, through 8. > W. Percival j Citizens of Oak Point, through Dr. Bellows. 10 Children at Fort Sfmcoe, Do. 9 l..nli'--' Sanitary Aid Society, Vancouver Mr. and Mrs. A. Hall, Fort Simcoe, through R. H. Hewell, Olympia..... Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, through Dr. Bellows Citi/em of Walla Wulla Do. Washington Territory, through the Washington Office Ladies' Sanitary Aid Society, Vancouver , Citizens of Olympia Total amount CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. FROM JULY 9, 1862, TO JANUARY 1, 1866. 1862. July 1863. Jan. Feb. Sept. 1864. Feb. March Aug. Oct. 9 17 2 8 8 a "7 Mrs. Henry Dimond, Honolulu Doll*. 25 1,200 1,180 1,180 500 270 250 1,200 50 1,330 f'ts. 00 00 00 (K) 00 (I.I 00 (HI (III (II) 00 American Citizens of lln.,iu] K. Bishop, B. F. Snow, K. O. American Citizens of Honlulu, Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. J. P. Judd, Honolulu Citizens of Sandwich Islands i. by M.^-r Hall, ami i- bv ditto . i. Ali-Minder .1. Cartwrieht, Charles ) by Alexam Do. Do. Do. through H W B Do Do. through II W. B Amount carried forward APPENDIX. 545 Contributions received -from Sandwich Islands Continued, 1864. Nov. Dec. 1865. Jan. March May June July Sept. Dec. 14 !;- 30 8 Hi 24 1 20 9 21 Amount brought forward 72 14 4S M 0<) 22 73 M (HI 40 Dolls. 7,185 4,204 660 9 450 230 723 1,823 492 100 88 1 145 1,842 Proceeds of Sale 100 Barrels of Molasses from Capt. Makee, through } Alexander J. Cartwright, sold at Auction in San Francisco j 1,080 Proceeds of Sale, Second 100 Barrels '869 Premium on Gold 895 Proceeds of Sale, one Barrel 122 Premium on Gold 123 Citizens of Honolulu through Dr. Bellows (Draft.) ~~~ Proceeds of Sale of Keg Tamarinds from Sandwich Islands, through \ McRuer and Merrill, San Francisco j Do. Do. Do. Do. Dr. J. R. Wood, Honolulu, through McRuer and Merrill, San Francisco. Proceeds of Sale 100 Kegs of Sugar from Capt. James Makee, Rose) Ranch, East Main Sandwich Islands, through Alex. J. Cartwright. j 1,304 Premium on Gold 518 Proceeds of Sale 25 Kegs Sugar from Henry Cornwell Wikaper Maoi, \ Do. Do. Do. Do Miss Doratha Isenberg (three years old) through James B. Williams, \ (in silver.) j 1 Premium Proceeds of Sale 100 Kegs of Sugar contributed by Captain James") Makee, sold in San Francisco by Messrs. Chas. W. Brooks & Co., 1 Expenses and charges amounting to $500 iu Gold, not charged, f but contributed by Messrs. Brooks & Co ~ J Total amount 17,955 CONTRIBUTIONS KECEIVED FROM IDAHO TEEEITOEY, COLO- RADO TERRITORY AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND. 1863. Sept. 1864. Feb. Nov. 1864. March 1862. Feb. 1863. April 1862. April. 2:; IS 14 22 21 24 16 22 IDAHO TERRITORY. Citizens of Florence, by Samuel Wells, G. L. Story, J. H. Alvord, and J. B. Dottt. 2,110 220 172 2,798 $5,301 a*. 46 03 55 27 "sT Contributions at the Polis on Election Day, October 31, 1863, at Lewiston, Contributions at" the Polls on Election Day, October 31, 1863, at Pierce City, Citizens of Warren's Diggings, through Dr. Bellows, Silver, Assayer's chip- COLORADO TERRITORY. Contributions of Citizens of Denver, Feb. 22, 1864, by Hon. Simon Whitele VANCOUVER'S ISLAND. American Citizens, Victoria, proceeds of six months' interest on Treasury y 1.025 [ 36 988 00_ 50 70 41 eT 00 "eT 870 1,895 300 ... $2,19* Total amount 69 546 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. No. 6. RECEIPTS OF THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. FROM JUKE 27, 1861, to JANUARY 1, 1866. Maine 24,938 New Hampshire 1,926 Vermont 3,521 Massachusetts 15,532 Massachusetts, through Boston Branch 106,396 Rhode Island 11,823 Connecticut 8,418 New England, (States not designated) 6,683 New York 229,328 New Jersey 20,741 Pennsylvania 12,736 Maryland 5,913 District of Columbia 12,124 53 Virginia 703 Ohio 16,049 Indiana 1,264 Illinois 4,342 Michigan 691 Wisconsin 916 Iowa 13 Minnesota 67 Kentucky 6,608 Louisiana 3,177 North Carolina. California 1,233,977 Nevada : 107,642 Oregon 79,406 Washington Territory 20,918 Idaho " 5,301 Colorado " 1,025 Nebraska " 10 Vancouver's Island 2,195 Sandwich Islands 17,955 Chili 5,376 Peru 2,002 Buenos Ayres 18,412 Cuba 23 Costa Rica 84 Canada 441 New Foundland .'. 150 England 11,145 Scotland 74 France 3,550 European Branch, (Paris) 13,372 London Branch '. 36,790 Belgium 100 Germany 843 Italy 50 Turkey... 50 Amount carried forward $2,055,604 tiO 60 It 50 :50 UO 50 85 05 25 00 si M !)4 92 81 UO 50 til 51 7'J 00 85 00 00 48 00 38 75 00 72 12 00 22 00 00 i APPENDIX. 547 DISBUBSEMENTS OF THE U. S. SANITABY COMMISSION. FROM JUNE 27, 1861 to JANUARY 1, 1866. EXPENSES. Bent 14,55825 Advertising 15,072 06 Stationery and Office Printing 41,426 78 Postage 15,82359 Telegrams .' 3,488 55 Office Freight 40,22683 Office Expenses 59,343 80 Travelling Expenses of Office Employes 6,517 44 Office Salaries 136,69021 Stable 20,39648 Travelling Expenses of Members of the Commission. 8,609 30 PUBLICATIONS. Documents, Monographs, &c 55,830 57 Sanitary Bulletin 30,534 07 Sanitary Keporter 9,781 01 Statistical Bureau General Inspection Special Inspection Hospital Directory BELIEF DEPARTMENT. Special Belief 147,63028 Belief Corps 212,73465 Homes and Lodges 237,11657 Pension Bureau and Claim Agencies 115,736 87 Hospital Transports 44,419 28 " Cars 9,373 79j Visitors 4,76252 SUPPLY DEPARTMENT. Purchase of Supplies 1,939,310 41 Distribution of Supplies 252,18833 Transportation of Supplies 272,223 23 Beceiving Store House 23,86348 Distributing Store House 14,681 12 Canvassing 65,71998 Canvassing in Pacific States 22,467 76 Women's Central Association of Belief, N. Y 79,500 67 Cincinnati Branch 15,00000 Cleveland " 10,00000 Columbus " 5,00000 Chicago " 10,0 Lousville " 10,00000 Philadelphia " 314,31608 3,034,271 Amount carried forward 4,514,124 90 548 APPENDIX. Receipts of the U. S. Sanitary Commission Continued. Amount brought forward China . . 00 01) :;-j 83 43 on 7l' 73 27 00 04 r>4 (HI W Ml*. 2,055,883 2,989 5,000 1,738 199 2,736,868 3,952 42,849 2,351 197 72,298 >4~J924J048 ' V.< 83 ( .m 00 80 00 84 J5 I'.t 80 00 07 ii 50,000 12,000 3,934 305,513 1,287 80,000 1.1 si. Is: 1,432 16,192 800 3,087 40,234 2,500 1,035,398 Japan U. S. Army U. S. Navy Boston and New England Fair Yonkers, N. Y. " Flushing, Long Island Brooklyn and Long Island Schuyler County N. Y. Albany, N. Y. Metropolitan, N. Y. Warwick, Orange Co. N. Y. Poughkeepaie, N. Y. Hornellsville, N. Y. South Adams, Mass. Maryland State ' (Baltimore.) Win-fling, Va. ' Great Central Fair, Philadelphia Unknown Sources 37,771 1,923 3,154 2,160 191 71 iw 15 00 so Interest on U. S. Certificates " " Deposits in Nassau Bank, Brooklyn " " 4th National Bank, N. Y Receipts from Advertisements in Sanitary Bulletin... " Subscriptions for " Contributions to Medical Fund S Proceeds of Sales of Furniture, Surplus Stores, &c... Total amount "New YORK, April 26, 1866. " We hereby certify that we employed Mr. James M. Halsey to examine the accounts of the Sanitary Commission, and that the letter on the other side is a true copy of his report to us of his completing his examination. J. J. ASTOR. "I Signed, A. A. Low. [ Committee. JONA. STUROES. J APPENDIX. 549 Disbursements of the U. S. Sanitary Commission Continued. SUPPLY DEPARTMENT Continued. Amount brought forwai N. E. Women's Auxiliary Association of Boston Contributions to Aid Societies d 84 00 00 41 23 DoUi. 4,514,124 37,927 42,347 88,901 240,747 at*. 90 84 64 52 09 16,927 20,500 500 New Jersey Branch HISTORICAL BUREAU. Expenses, (including purchase of House and Lot 21 West 12th Street N. Y) . 38,677 3,670 Expenses in Washington ~ MISCELLANEOUS, Western Sanitary Commission, (St. Louis) 50,000 23,086 3,470 12,344 00 02 92 58 Metropolitan Fair, N. Y Northwestern Fair, Chicago European Branches, (London and Paris) CASH. Geo. T. Strong, Treasurer 224,845 2,248 2,877 5,818 2,300 686 6 438 1,524 76 14 99 47 00 99 7o 99 00 New York Office Washington " Louisville " Newberne " (N. C.) New Orleans " Canvassing and Supply Office, Philadelphia Dr. M. M. Marsh, Supt. " Lincoln Home," N. Y J. L. Alcooke, Supt. " Friends' Home," Penn Yan, N. Y. Total am ount S 54,924,048 99 "NEW YORK, March , 1866. J. J. ASTO.R, Esq. ~| Jona. STURGES, Esq. [ Committee. A. A. Low, Esq. J " DEAR SIRS : Herewith I hand you my report of the accounts of U. S. Sanitary Commission from its organization to January 1st, 1866. " I have examined the Books and Vouchers, also securities and Cash Balance from the Bank books, and find the same correct in every particular. " The item of Transportation of Supplies includes the cost of Freight on sundries given to the Commission, the estimated value of which was abouj: fifteen millions of dollars, (say $15,000,000.) Respectfully, . (Signed) JAS. M. HALSEY. 550 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. No. 6. Continued. STATEMENT OF MONTHLY RECEIPTS AND BALANCES SHOW- ING CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE PACIFIC STATES, SANI- TARY FAIRS AND ALL OTHER SOURCES. FROM OCTOBER 1, 1862 to MAY 1, 1865. Dates. Receipt*. Balance!. r.n iti.- BMW. S.illlt:.! V Fairs. otli.-r BOOTM October, 1862. sujnt j:: NOT. lit. 1--..S11 .'I 206,837 OB 7,126 November, 103,406 lx Dec. lit. 225,442 in loj.f,-,s BS M7 December, 168,1 64 14 Jan. 1st. :;OT .:;:;:; M 104.630 -,'2 njut January, 1868. 4'.'.'.'-! .;.; Feb. 1st 321,581 7- 47,790 41 2,191 February, 21,001 .Mi March 1st 271,822 17 UjMt I", 0,039 March, njn* OB April 1st. -'.u.t:;, M 61,194 .M 4,482 April, j.'.:;" :;v May 1st. 267,963 77 1,461 '..> 1,178 May, 15,491 IV > lull" 1-t. 247,140 2* 11.10.1 ;:, 4,381 June, 29,172 ::i July 1st. 221,669 38 11,800 INI 17.: ::72 July, mjtm f.4 Aug. 1st. M JS.I'.-S August, 8,811 2* Sept. 1st. 1-26,581 J7 1,973 7.0 September, 31,019 "1 Oct. 1st. 129,130 J.: 26,344 08 4,674 October, 27,934 "I N..V. 1-1. 126,873 33 24,235 51 B.OM Novemlii-r. 12,423 ::l De. i-i. 89,450 80 1,117 r,"1 tU April 1st. - ;,:; 3,722 OB 316,810 _':: 80,008 April, MM ,,-J May 1st. :;n::/.r,i .-,4 600 IMI 80,411 .vj 14.0.V May, 1,091,606 ;,.; June 1st. 1,222,000 :;:; 58,234 Si 1,017,625 (Ml 15,746 June, 35.003 -j July 1st. 1,006^00 M 25,286 no 800 III! 8,917 July, 210,434 :;i Aug. 1st. -M',.10-' m 165,448 74 4,096 ll'.l 40^80 August, 1 -'..'.':;] '.,. Sept. 1-t. 752,592 :,n 63,604 J- 40,000 nil September, r,7.f.:;4 ic. Oct. 1st. 614,946 1- sojns '.M, 2,530 1'.' October, 27.905 81 NOT. 1st. 370,320 :u 17,662 ,, lo.:;j:; NoTember, 105,653 M Dec. 1st. nijun 7:< 92,152 .,., 14f, ;,4 18,264 December, 237,716 41 Jan. 1st. 417,297 Bfl 37314 HI 17s.i:,l i;s 22,248 January, 18 5. 4S.44:; _.< Feb. 1st. 329,162 88 41,003 .M S8 00 February, IflKfM :- March 1st. 794,341 19 8&49B .;.-, 1,035,998 96 March, 39,339 ss April 1-t. r^j.;rj 4s 31,911 7'J 3,336 7C, 4,0'J2 April, 46,571 4-> May 1st. 553,922 88 37,592 M 289 .M) 7,689 APPENDIX. 551 No. 7. LIST OF THE SPECIAL INSPECTORS OF THE GENERAL HOSPITALS OF THE ARMY. FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 1862, to MAY 1, 1863. HENRY G. CLARK, M.D., Surgeon of Mass. Gen. Hospital, Boston, Inspector-in-Chief. ABBOTT, SAMUEL L., M.D., Mass. General Hospital Boston. ARMOR, S. G. AYER, JAMES, BELL, JOHN, BELL, THEOD. S., BEMISS, CHARLES V., BOWDITCH, HENRY I., BRINSMADE, T. C. BUCK, GURDON, BUCKINGHAM, C. E., CABOT, SAMUEL, Jr., COALE, WM. EDW., COGSWELL, M. F. COMEGYS, C. G., DRAPER, JOHN W., ELLIS, CALVIN, FLINT, JOSHUA B., FOSTER, S. CONANT; FOWLER, EDMUND, GAY, GEORGE H., GOULD, AUG. A., GUNN, MOSES, HODGES, RICH'D M., HOMANS, JOHN, HUN, THOMAS, HUNT, WILLIAM, JACKSON, J. B. S., JACOBI, A., JARVIS, EDWARD, JOHNSON, H. A., JUDKINS, DAVID, KRACKOWIZER, E., ; Prof. Univ. Michigan Ann Arbor. " Boston Philadelphia. '' Pro Theor. and Pract. Univ ...Louisville. " Medford, Mass. " Physician Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. " ....2Voy, N. Y. " Surgeon N. Y. Hospital New York. " Cons. Physician City of Boston Boston. ' ' Surgeon Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. " Boston. " Albany. " Cincinnati. " Prof. Chemistry, Univ. N. Y ....JVew York. " Pathologist, &c., Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. " Prof. Clin. Surgery, University Louisville. " New York. " Montgomery, Ala. " Surgeon Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. " Physician Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. " Prof. Surgery, Univ., Michigan Detroit. " Surgeon Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. ' Ex-President Mass. Medical Society Boston. " Albany. " Philadelphia. " Prof. Morbid Anat., Mass. Med. College, &c..Boston. " Prof. Infantile Pathology, &c. Med. Col...-ZVew York. " Member of American Statistical Society Boston. " Prof. Physiology and Histology, Univ. Lind. Chicago. " Cincinnati. " ...New York. 552 UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. LEE, CHARLES A., M.D., Prof. Mat. Med., Med. School of Maine. .Peeksri He. LEONARD, F. B., " Lansingburg. LEWIS, WlNSLOW, " Consulting Surgeon Mass. Gen'l Hospital... Boston. MARCH, ALDEN, " Prof. Surgery Medical College Albany. MENDENHALL, G., " Cincinnati. MINOT, FRANCIS, " Physician Mass. General Hospital Boston. MITCHELL, 8. WEIB, " Philadelphia. MOREHOUSE, G. E., " Philadelphia. MORELAND, WM. W., " Boston. PITCHER, Z., " Emer. Prof. University, Mich Detroit. POLLAK, S., " Surgeon Eye and Ear Infirmary St. Louis. POST, ALFRED C., " Prof. Surg. Univ., N. Y., &c., &c New York. REID, DAVID B., " St. Paufs. ROCHESTER, T. F., " Prof. Clin. Medicine, University Buffalo. SAOER, ABRAM, " Prof. Obstetrics, Univ., Michigan -Inn Arbor. SHAW, BEN J. 8., " Supt. Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. SHATTUCK, G. C., " Prof. Theor. and Prac. Med. College, &c.... Boston. s I.M.I-. DANIEL D. " Boston. SMITH, STEPHEN, " Prof. Surg. and Surg., BellevueHospitul.AVie York. SNOW, EDWIN M., " Health Officer, &c Providence, R. I. TERRY, CHARLES A., " (Ireland. VANDERPOOL, S. O. " Late Surgeon-General, N. Y Albany. WALKER, CLEMENT A., " Supt. Lunatic Asylum Boston. WARE, CHARLES E., " Physician Mass. Gen'l Hospital Boston. WHITE, JAMES P., " Prof. Obstet., University of Buffalo. WILLIAMS, H. W., " Boston. WYMAN, MORRILL, " Cambridge. APPENDIX. 553 No. 8. LIST OF MONOGRAPHS, OR MILITARY, MEDICAL, AND SURGICAL ESSAYS PREPARED FOR THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. Military Hygiene and Therapeutics. By ALFRED POST, M.D., and WM. H. VAN BUREN, M.D. Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases. By ELISHA HARRIS, M.D. Quinine as a Prophylactic against Malarious Diseases. By WM. H. VAN BUREN, M.D. Vaccination in Armies. By F. G. SMITH, M.D., and ALFRED STILLE, M.D. Kules for Preserving the Health of the Soldier. By WM. H. VAN BUREN, M.D. Scurvy. By WM. A. HAMMOND, M.D. Miasmatic Fevers. By JOHN T. METCALF, M.D. Continued Fevers. By J. BAXTER UPHAM, M.D. Yellow Fever. By JOHN T. METCALF, M.D. Pneumonia. By AUSTIN FLINT, M.D. Dysentery. By ALFRED STILLE, M.D. Pain and Anaesthetics. By VALENTINE MOTT, M.D. Hemorrhage from Wounds, and the Best Means of Arresting it. By VALENTINE MOTT, M.D. Treatment of Fractures in Military Surgery. By JOHN H. PACKARD, M.D. Amputations. By STEPHEN SMITH, M.D. The Excision of Joints for Traumatic Cause. By R. M. HODGES, M.D. Venereal Diseases. By FREEMAN J. BUMSTEAD, M.D. 70 . UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. *"" MAY 8 -1987 ^ REWKt to* ^c( v ft \ ^* *DEC 6^968 OCT201S76 OCT u 1976 OUI _ 6 1376 E TWO WEEKS FROW/)ATE OF RECEIPT DEC LD-URL 2 2 138J 3 1158 00038 1219 University of California Library Lo Angeles MAY 9 Z005 ACN01/012000 JUL14 DUE 3 MONTHS FROM DATE RECEIVED VBf-flf