1863
 
 .* <Vt-UBAI!Y0/. 
 
 '
 
 THE 
 
 OF 
 
 THE WAR IN AMERICA, 
 
 COLLECTED FROM OFFICIAL AND OTHER AUTHENTIC SOURCES, 
 
 AN AMEKICAN CITIZEN. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 PRESS OF WYNKOOP, HALLENBECK & THOMAS, 
 
 No. 113 FULTON STREKT. 
 
 1863.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, 
 BY WTNKOOP, HALLENBECK & THOMAS, 
 
 In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 District of New York.
 
 THE PHILANTHROPIC RESULTS 
 
 WAR IN AMERICA. 
 
 The Proclamation of the President of the United 
 States, on the loth of April, 1861, announcing the fall 
 of Fort Sumter, and calling for troops to defend the na- 
 ' tion from treason and rebellion, found an instant re- 
 sponse in the nation's heart. Not only did the brave 
 and stalwart men of the Republic offer themselves in 
 numbers far beyond the Government's demand, but 
 treasure was poured out like water, for the supply of 
 all the wants of the army which was to be created for 
 the suppression of the rebellion. 
 
 The Legislatures of most of the loyal States met in 
 extra session, and without waiting to see whether there 
 was any probability that the national treasury would 
 reimburse their expenditure,* voted large sums for 
 arming and equipping troops. The aggregate amounts 
 
 * The credit of the national treasury was, at this time, sadly impaired 
 by the gross mismanagement of the Secretary of the Treasury under the 
 former administration (Howell Cobb), who had finally filled up the meas- 
 ure of his crimes by adding treason to his malfeasance in office. 
 
 594164 
 
 -
 
 thus advanced by the States, within three weeks after 
 the President's proclamation, was $23,240,000. This 
 was no unwilling contribution wrung by the hand of 
 arbitrary power from the hard earnings of the people ; 
 on the contrary, it was offered without urgency, except 
 by the people themselves ; the sums fixed upon were 
 voted with hardly a dissenting voice, and the action of 
 the several Legislatures met with the most hearty ap- 
 proval from their constituents. 
 
 About $12,000,000 of the amount was subsequently 
 refunded by the General Government. The border 
 States, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, 
 and the Pacific States, California and Oregon, did not 
 at this time, make any legislative grants. 
 
 But the liberality displayed in furnishing money for 
 the equipment of soldiers at this first outbreak of the 
 war, was not confined to the Legislatures ; nearly every 
 city and considerable town throughout the loyal States 
 made its subscription, both by vote of its municipal 
 authorities, and by the spontaneous contributions of its 
 business corporations and its citizens. Before the 6th of 
 May, 1861, New York city had contributed $2,173,000 ; 
 Philadelphia, $330,000; Boston, $168,000; Cincin- 
 nati, $280,000; Buffalo, $110,000, and other cities and 
 towns in like proportion. An imperfect list; which 
 gave less than half the cities and towns which had sub- 
 scribed for the equipment of troops, showed an aggre- 
 gate of $4,877,000. The entire amount must have
 
 considerably exceeded $7,000,000. From these two 
 sources, then, in the first three weeks of the rebellion, 
 was an aggregate contribution of over $30,000,000, to 
 the fitting out of the volunteer army. After deducting 
 the $12,000,000 refunded by the United States Govern- 
 ment, there still -remained more than $18,000,000 of 
 absolute donation. 
 
 It may be said that this was no deliberate, well-con- 
 sidered liberality, springing from generous principle, 
 but the result of a wild, frantic excitement, from which 
 the sober second thought of the nation revolted, and 
 which was the subject of subsequent regrets. The his- 
 tory of the time proves just the reverse. 
 
 It was soon found that the task of quelling the rebel- 
 lion was one of gigantic proportions ; that the conspi- 
 rators had been for years maturing their plans, and that 
 their treason could only be crushed out by the array of 
 an overwhelming force. In his message of July 4, 
 President Lincoln suggested the propriety of calling for 
 400,000 men, and voting $400,000,000 for the work. 
 Congress responded by authorizing calls for one million 
 of men,* and $500,000,000. The work of raising and 
 equipping such an army was entirely beyond the expe- 
 rience of any man in this country ; beyond, indeed, the 
 experience of any men of modern times ; for large as 
 
 * Congress probably intended to authorize the raising of only 500,000 ; 
 but, in reality, two separate acts, July 22 and July 25, were passed, 
 each authorizing the raising of 500,000 men. Under these acts, 780,000 
 were actually raised.
 
 some of the armies of modern Europe have been, no 
 single power had called a million of new troops into 
 the field within a twelvemonth. 
 
 While the Government disbursed liberally for the 
 bounties, uniforms, equipment, arming, and rations for 
 these troops, there were other expenses connected with 
 the organizations of the regiments which were met from 
 private or municipal sources, of very large amount in 
 the aggregate, larger in some regiments than others; 
 but in those from Eastern States averaging somewhat 
 more than $25,000 (some regiments cost over $75,000), 
 and in the Western States from $15,000 to $20,000. 
 The regimgits thus raised to January, 1862, were a lit- 
 tle more than eight hundred, and the aggregate re- 
 cruiting by individuals and corporations was over 
 $16,000,000. 
 
 Attention was early called to the sanitary condition 
 and wants of the army, and already, in the early part 
 of the summer of 1861, large sums of money and sup- 
 plies of all sorts havelocks to protect them from sun- 
 stroke, woollen socks, and undershirts, rubber blankets, 
 and clothing for hospital purposes, dried fruits, books, 
 pamphlets, and newspapers) were contributed for the 
 improvement of the health and morals of the soldiers. 
 There were already hospitals for sick soldiers, and to 
 these large contributions were made of such articles as 
 the medical department, under its existing regulations, 
 could not furnish. But it was not till after the battle
 
 of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, that the necessity for en- 
 larged liberality in providing for the sick and wounded 
 soldier began to be felt, and the promptness with which 
 supplies were forwarded to the hospitals of Washing- 
 ton and Alexandria on that occasion, and the readiness 
 with which the most skillful physicians and surgeons, and 
 the most competent nurses, volunteered their services, 
 without fee or reward, demonstrated most conclusively 
 that it was no evanescent impulse, but a fixed principle 
 of patriotism, which moved the national heart. 
 
 The sympathy of the people with the nation's defend- 
 ers was manifested also in another direction. When, 
 on the 20th of April, the New York Seventh Militia, 
 the Massachusetts Eighth, and several other regiments, 
 on their way to the defense of Washington, reached 
 Philadelphia, and there learned of the brutal attack of 
 the mob upon the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment, at 
 Baltimore, they were detained for twelve hours in Phil- 
 adelphia, and patriotic citizens of that city, many of 
 them of the humbler classes, ministered freely to their 
 wants. As other regiments passed through the city, a 
 noble-hearted man, Mr. B. S. Brown, undertook to pro- 
 vide hot coffee for them, and his neighbors contributed 
 cold ham, bread, butter, and other articles of food, 
 and as regiments came almost every night, it grew 
 into a custom, that upon the firing of a signal-gun, an- 
 nouncing the approach of a regiment, the people in 
 the vicinity of the Navy Yard, where the regiments
 
 landed, assembled, many of them after wearisome 
 toil through the day, and welcomed the soldiers, 
 and provided liberally for their comfort and wants. 
 The citizens of Philadelphia contributed freely for the 
 maintenance of this spontaneous charity, and there are 
 to-day two vast structures, each capable of feeding a 
 half regiment at once, known as the Union Volunteer 
 Kefreshment Saloon, and the Cooper Shop Refresh- 
 ment Saloon, to which the wearied soldier, going to the 
 field or returning from the scene of his triumphs, is 
 welcomed, and provided with abundance of water for 
 washing away the dust and stains of travel, an ample 
 repast, made more grateful by the fair hands which 
 minister to his wants, and, if sick or wounded, a 
 comfortable bed, and attendance for hospitals have 
 grown up in connection with these saloons where the 
 sick or wounded soldier may find the best of care.* It 
 was characteristic of the feeling of sympathy which 
 actuated the masses that, in Philadelphia, the firemen 
 said to each other, when the wounded were brought to 
 their city, and carried in hired conveyances to the hos- 
 pitals : " These poor fellows deserve tenderer care and 
 handling than they will receive from hired hackmen ; 
 we will build ambulances for them, and carry them to 
 the hospitals ourselves." To this thoughtfulness it is 
 owing that there are now twenty-six of these ambulan- 
 ces, luxurious affairs, costing from $500 to $800 each, 
 
 * See Appendix H.
 
 drawn by two horses, and kept always ready in the en- 
 gine houses of the fire companies for the transporta- 
 tion of sick and wounded, and that in these they are 
 carried, attended by firemen, and handled as gently as 
 a mother would handle her infant, to the hospitals, and 
 without any compensation. The various plans for the 
 relief of the sick and wounded soldiers took form and 
 shape in a variety of organizations during the summer 
 and autumn of 1861, each crystallizing around some 
 central idea or purpose of local or general character, 
 but all having in view the soldier's welfare. 
 ( The United States Sanitary Commission, created V 
 June 9, 1861, by an order of the Secretary of War,) in 
 consequence of the solicitation of Rev. Dr. Bellows, Dr. 
 E,. C. Wood, acting Surgeon-General of the Army, and 
 others, not only ministered to the comfort and watched 
 over the health of the soldier in the camp, but dis- 
 tributed its counsels in regard to the location and 
 preparation of camps, the preparation of food, the 
 maintenance of cleanliness, protection from miasma, 
 and the treatment of surgical and medical diseases of 
 the camps, and at the same time gathered and dis- 
 tributed supplies of lint, bandages, medicines, cordials, 
 delicacies, and hospital clothing and furniture for those 
 in the hospitals. * The Western Sanitary Commission, 
 created by an order of Major-General Fremont, 
 September 5, 1861, performed a similar work at the 
 
 * See Appendix A.
 
 10 
 
 West ; * the'vChristian Alliance furnished religious and 
 moral reading, newspapers, books, and" magazines to 
 the sick and well;) the Bible and Tract Societies 
 distributed copies of the New Testament, hymn books, 
 religious books, and tracts among them, f and all over 
 the land, Soldiers' Relief, Soldiers' Aid, and Union Relief 
 Societies collected stores of clothing and delicacies for 
 the sick, and employed the hearts, hands, and heads of 
 tens of thousands of patriotic women in labors of love, 
 for the benefit of the soldiers in the field and in the 
 
 hospital. J 
 
 There was another direction in which there was a call 
 for large-handed liberality. While the pay of the volun- 
 teer soldiers was liberal, and decidedly higher than that 
 of other nations, and was in many cases a higher com- 
 pensation than had been received by some of the volun- 
 teers in civil life, it was with many others much less than 
 their previous earnings, and from the financial diificul- 
 ties of the Government at the beginning of the war, 
 was not, for many months, so promptly paid as it should 
 have been ; and the greedy sutler and the gambler were 
 ready to fleece the soldier of his pay in advance, and 
 without any just equivalent. Hence it happened, that 
 in many cases the families of the soldiers were in danger 
 of suffering for want of the means of support, and in 
 some cases did suffer. To alleviate this distress was 
 felt to be a duty, and in some States, the State authori- 
 
 * See appendix B. t See appendix D. \ See appendices .Fand G.
 
 11 
 
 ties, in others, the counties or towns, and in all, 
 individuals, gave liberally to the support of the families 
 of volunteers. Usually this assistance was in the form 
 of a weekly, or monthly stipend to the wife, sisters, or 
 mother of the soldier, which was increased if there 
 were children dependent on them for support. In 
 many cases, also, food, clothing, medicines, and medical 
 attendance were contributed. The aggregate of these 
 appropriations was very large : in the city of New York, 
 up to May, 1863, $2,500,000 had been appropriated by 
 the city government, beside about $250,000 from the 
 Union Defense Fund; in Brooklyn, N. Y., $1,000,000 ; 
 in Philadelphia, $1,500,000; in Baltimore, nearly 
 $400,000 ; while the cities and towns of Massachusetts 
 have given $4,315,285 for the purpose; Illinois, over a 
 million ; Maine, $2,750,000 ; Connecticut, from the State 
 treasury alone, $834,076 ; Vermont, in extra pay to the 
 soldiers for their families $1,125,000, and other States 
 in proportion. The amount from all the States, includ- 
 ing payments of counties, cities, towns, and individuals, 
 has exceeded $25,000,000. 
 
 During the year 1862 there were many severe 
 battles, in different portions of the extended region 
 occupied by the armed forces, some of them attended 
 by great loss of life and numerous casualties. At the 
 West, the battles of Mill Spring, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, 
 the capture of Island No. Ten, Corinth, Memphis, and 
 New Orleans, the battles of Fayetteville, Baton Kouge,
 
 12 
 
 Cane Hill, Arkansas Post, Munfordsville, Chaplin 
 Hills, luka, and Stone River ; and in the East, Wil- 
 liamsburgh, West Point, Fair Oaks, Winchester, Cross 
 Keys, Port Republic, the Seven Days, Cedar Mountain, 
 Centreville, Groveton, Chantilly, South Mountain, 
 Antietam, and Fredericksburgh, as well as many 
 skirmishes and actions of less note, kept the hospitals 
 filled with the wounded, and the pestilential swamps 
 of the Chickahominy proved more fatal to both the 
 Federal and Confederate army than the battle-field. 
 While the medical department of the army did what 
 it could to alleviate the vast suffering so heroically 
 endured by our brave soldiers, its newly developed 
 resources were constantly overtasked, and there was a 
 wide field for humane effort in supplying to the hospi- 
 tals the necessary furniture and stores, and to the men 
 suitable changes, clothing in place of that soiled and 
 torn on the battle-field, new dressings, and those deli- 
 cacies, drinks, and aliments absolutely necessary for 
 the successful treatment of the sick. 
 
 Here, again, there was occasion for an appeal to the 
 liberality of the people, and like all those which had 
 preceded it, it was answered by a lavish outpouring of 
 money, supplies, and personal service, which showed 
 most conclusively that it was a pleasure to give. In 
 some of the States, a contingent fund was placed in the 
 hands of the Governor, to be expended for the care and 
 removal of the sick and wounded; in others, special
 
 13 
 
 appropriations of large amount were made for the pur- 
 pose; in all, the spontaneous contributions, in the 
 churches, at public gatherings, and in response to ap- 
 peals through the public prints, were so abundant that 
 there was no lack wherever the supplies could be for- 
 warded. The Pacific States, which, from their remote 
 position, had not hitherto been called upon for assist- 
 ance, responded to the appeal of the Sanitary Commis- 
 sion by a contribution of over half a million dollars ; 
 and from every quarter the supplies poured into the 
 treasuries of the organizations for their distribution, in 
 the greatest abundance. In most of the large cities, 
 and in many of the smaller ones, hospitals for soldiers 
 were established ; and while the Government supplied 
 the rations and medicines, the people supplied every- 
 thing else. Washington had twenty-three of these 
 hospitals, Philadelphia, thirty-two; New York and 
 Brooklyn, fifteen ; Boston, five ; and Cincinnati, Louis- 
 ville, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis-, Davenport, Keo- 
 kuk, and other Western cities, each a considerable num- 
 ber. 
 
 But more beautiful and touching than these munifi- 
 cent gifts of money or supplies, were the offers of per- 
 sonal service. Physicians and surgeons, the most emi- 
 nent in their profession, men whose services commanded 
 hundreds of dollars per day, volunteered by scores to 
 go to the battle-field or the temporary hospital, and ex- 
 erted their best skill for the care and healing of the coun-
 
 14 
 
 try's defenders. Immediately after the battle of Antie- 
 tarn, forty of the most eminent physicians of New York 
 city started for the battle-field. Clergymen, pastors of 
 large and wealthy congregations, sought the opportu- 
 nity of ministering to the sick and dying soldier, of 
 breathing into the ear, fast growing dull to earthly 
 sounds, the words of spiritual consolation, and of re- 
 ceiving from lips soon to become silent in death, utter- 
 ances of faith and messages of love. Senators and Kep- 
 resentatives in Congress ; Judges of the highest Courts, 
 and members of the bar, of the most brilliant reputa- 
 tion, sought, in ministrations to these wounded and dy- 
 ing heroes, to taste the luxury of doing good. Among 
 those not connected with the learned professions, too, 
 there was the same earnestness and self-sacrifice. Men 
 and women occupying the highest social position, and 
 of large wealth, devoted themselves for many consecu- 
 tive months to the nursing of the sick, watching over 
 them, ministering' to them as tenderly as if members of 
 their own households; and in many instances, fair 
 maidens and comely matrons, who a year or two before 
 were leaders in fashion and gayety, kneeled with blood- 
 soiled garments, to wipe the death-damps from the 
 brow of the dying volunteer; and those who before, 
 would have shuddered at the sight of death, even in its 
 most placid form, became familiar with its horrors in 
 the crowded hospital, or on the field of carnage. On 
 that gory field of Antietam, on the right wing, where
 
 15 
 
 the dead of Hooker's, and Mansfield's, and Sumner's, and 
 Franklin's corps lay thickest, from the early dawn till 
 midnight, a young and gentle woman, in whose veins 
 flowed some of the best blood of Massachusetts, toiled 
 as few men could have done, staunching wounds which 
 might otherwise have proved fatal, administering cor- 
 dials to the fainting soldier, cheering those destined to 
 undergo amputation, moistening lips parching with 
 thirst, giving nourishing food to those who had sunk 
 from wounds and exhaustion, and ever and anon, clos- 
 ing eyes that had looked their last upon earth, or re- 
 ceiving and noting messages of love to absent ones, 
 from those about to depart to the silent land. Nor 
 was this her first experience of the battle-field. On 
 that succession of battles before Washington in August, 
 so constant and valuable had been her ministrations, 
 that the surgeons named her the " angel of the battle- 
 field." Many as are the uses of money, and much as it 
 could do for the suffering soldier, how worthless do 
 gifts of it seem beside such sacrifices as these !* 
 
 Among the other enterprises undertaken for the 
 benefit of wounded soldiers, was one which deserved 
 success, and whose failure was a matter of reproach to 
 the military commander and the civilians by whom 
 that failure was occasioned; it was a project for an 
 ambulance and hospital corps, to be composed of men 
 enlisted for the purpose, and attached, to the number 
 
 * See Appendix I.
 
 16 
 
 of about twenty, to each regiment, capable, in case of 
 emergency, of doing their part in fighting, but having 
 in charge the ambulances, litters, and stretchers, belong- 
 ing to the corps, and specially trained to bring wounded 
 men off the field, to administer to them cordials when 
 needed, to check hemorrhage by the application of a 
 temporary tourniquet ; to preserve the valuables and 
 mementoes of the slain, for after-identification, and in 
 camp to act as nurses, hospital stewards, and attend- 
 ants. 
 
 The projector of the system was an eminent teacher 
 of New York,* who, like many others, had devoted 
 months to the care of the sick and wounded, and from 
 the results of his experience had matured his plan with 
 great care, and with the advice and approval of the 
 most eminent military and civil officers of the Govern- 
 ment ; it was thoroughly practical, and would unques- 
 tionably have saved hundreds, if not thousands, of 
 precious lives, but the aversion of the Commander-in- 
 Chief to any measures or plans which departed from 
 the ordinary routine of military practice led him to 
 oppose his powerful influence to it, and caused its defeat 
 in the Senate. Its projector had labored unwearingly, 
 and at great personal sacrifice, for months, for its success, 
 but its failure led to no relaxation of his efforts in be- 
 half of the soldier. 
 
 Among other forms in which the earnest sympathy 
 
 * Appendix J.
 
 17 
 
 of the people with the army found utterance, was the 
 organization of the Christian Commission. The Young 
 Men's Christian Associations of the principal cities of 
 the North had, from the commencement of the war, 
 contributed largely, both of men and means, to the 
 country's service, and had been especially active in col- 
 lecting and forwarding supplies for the sick and 
 wounded on the battle-field. 
 
 In November, 1861, at a convention of these associa- 
 tions, the organization of an Executive Commission 
 which should unite and extend the work which had 
 previously been done by the associations separately, 
 was resolved upon; it did not, however, come into 
 active operation till the spring of 1862. Its principal 
 objects are the care of the physical health and welfare 
 of the soldier, the care of the sick and wounded, the 
 moral culture and improvement and religious instruc- 
 tion of both classes, and their protection from frauds 
 and wrongs. Its agents are all voluntary and unpaid, 
 except the mere cost of living, and the large amount of 
 supplies distributed by it are forwarded without cost 
 to the givers or to the recipients. During the year and 
 five months (to June 1) of its existence, it has 
 employed about six hundred delegates, lay and clerical, 
 and has expended over $100,000 in money, and dis- 
 tributed nearly $400,000 in supplies, receiving voluntary 
 services from railroad companies, telegraph lines, and 
 
 individuals, valued at not less than $100,000 more. No 
 3
 
 18 
 
 appeal which it has made to the public for contribu- 
 tions has ever failed to meet with a hearty response.* 
 
 Another class of organizations which accomplished 
 no small amount of good among the soldiers, were the 
 Missionary Societies.f The American Missionary 
 Association ; the Free Mission Society ; the American 
 Baptist Home Mission Society; the two American 
 Tract Societies (of Boston and New York) ; the 
 American Sunday School Union, and, perhaps, some 
 other religious societies have had their missionaries 
 and colporteurs among the soldiers, who have rendered 
 valuable services to their physical and moral welfare. 
 The American Bible Society ; the Episcopal Book and 
 Tract Society ; the Presbyterian Board of Publication ; 
 the Presbyterian (N. S.) Publication Committee; the 
 Reformed Dutch Board of Publication, as well as the 
 several Tract Societies, <fec., have also made large grants 
 of religious books for distribution in the army. J 
 
 The local organizations which have contributed 
 money and supplies, independently of the Sanitary or 
 Christian Commissions, are so numerous that we can 
 only mention the largest. At St. Louis, the Western 
 Sanitary Commission has disbursed in money $155,000, 
 and in supplies $395,000, or together $550,000. In 
 most of the States of the West there are Sanitary 
 organizations not connected with the United States 
 Sanitary Commission. That of Illinois, having its 
 
 * See Appendix 0. t. See Appendix E. { See Appendix D. 
 See Appendix B.
 
 19 
 
 / 
 
 headquarters at Chicago, has expended $42,714 in 
 money, and a little over $300,000 in supplies ; that of 
 Indiana, over $100,000 ; that of Iowa about $58,000. 
 
 Soldiers' Homes or Rests, places where the soldier, 
 going to the army, or returning on furlough, sick, or dis- 
 charged, can find comfortable quarters, good meals, and 
 friends who will procure for him his bounty, back pay 
 or pensions, and who will secure for him transporta- 
 tion, <fec., all without compensation, and thus protect 
 him from the sharpers who lie in wait in all the large 
 cities to plunder the unsuspecting soldier, have been 
 established in all the principal cities East and West. 
 We have reports of four in New York, three in Phila- 
 delphia, one in Baltimore, two in Washington, and one 
 or more in Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Cleveland, Colum- 
 bus, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Louis- 
 ville, Cairo, Memphis,* <fec., <fec. 
 
 Ot other organizations, the New England Soldiers' 
 Relief Association, founded by sons of New England 
 resident in New York, April 3, 1862, is one of the 
 largest. Its disbursements in the past fourteen months, 
 have been very large both in money and supplies. There 
 are also agencies, partly defrayed by the States and 
 partly by individual contributions, for the care of the 
 soldiers of most of the loyal States. The Ladies' Aid 
 Society of Philadelphia, one of the earliest and most 
 efficient of its class, has expended about $44,000 in 
 
 * Appendix H.
 
 20 
 
 money, and not far from $200,000 in supplies. There 
 are several other similar, but smaller organizations in 
 Philadelphia and its vicinity. The Union Relief Asso- 
 ciation of Baltimore has disbursed in money and sup- 
 plies not far from $50,000.* In Washington there are 
 sixteen so-called State Relief Associations, composed of 
 citizens of Washington or temporary residents there, 
 formerly from the different States. These associations 
 have contributed liberally themselves, and have receiv- 
 ed supplies and money from the States which they rep- 
 resent, which they have distributed by their own com- 
 mittees, without cost, to the soldiers of their respective 
 States, in the hospitals and on the field. The amounts thus 
 distributed are estimated by these associations at a lit- 
 tle more than $1,000,000. Aside from these, there have 
 been distributed by ladies resident in Washington, sup- 
 plies received from friends and local associations at the 
 North, not otherwise credited, to the amount, as ascer- 
 tained by the most careful and moderate estimates, of 
 $1,045,000. At St. Louis, Louisville, Cairo, Nashville, 
 and on the battle-fields of the West, similar distribu- 
 tions have been made in very large amounts ; in hun- 
 dreds of instances, towns and cities raising money and 
 supplies in amounts varying from $500 to $5,000, and 
 sending them to the field after a battle, by a voluntary, 
 unpaid agent from among their own citizens. After 
 the battle of Shiloh alone, it is estimated by cautious 
 
 * Appendices F. and G.
 
 21 
 
 men, thoroughly conversant with the facts, that sup- 
 plies to the amount of over half a million of dollars were 
 forwarded from the Northwestern States. Even 
 while we write, intelligence comes that in Illinois, in 
 answer to an appeal issued May 27, 1863, by the State 
 Commissioner-General, for wounded soldiers, there were 
 received in nine days $12,500 in money, contributed by 
 small towns, only one of them having so many as 
 five thousand inhabitants, and more than five times 
 that amount in supplies. This, be it remembered, was 
 after not less than a dozen previous calls, for the same 
 purpose, each of which had been as liberally answered. 
 The aggregate amount of this class of contributions 
 cannot be estimated with any approach to accuracy ; 
 and the chief danger in any estimate which may be 
 made, is of putting the amount much below the truth. 
 A General of the army stationed for some time at Cairo, 
 and subsequently attached in turn, to the army of the 
 Mississippi, the army of the Ohio, and the army of the 
 Cumberland, gave it as his opinion, the result of exten- 
 sive and careful observation, that these contributions 
 exceeded $5,000,000, and others whose opportunities 
 for observation were as good, concurred in the estimate. 
 The disasters which befel the army of the Potomac, 
 and the extraordinary exertions made by the Confeder- 
 ate authorities to call into the field as large a force as 
 possible, led the President, in July, 1862, to issue a call 
 for three hundred thousand three-years' troops, and in
 
 August, a second, for three hundred thousand more, for 
 nine months. An enrollment was ordered, preparatory 
 to a draft, which it was supposed would be necessary 
 for raising the second quota, but great exertions were 
 made by the States, counties, and individuals to encour- 
 age volunteering, by the offer of liberal bounties, extra 
 pay, and provision for families, and in most of the 
 States, these exertions were so far successful, that the 
 quotas were nearly or quite filled without resort to con- 
 scription. The sums raised for bounties, <fec., were in 
 many of the States very large ; in New York, the State 
 offered a bounty of $50 ; the county of New York $50 
 additional, the county of Kings $60, and some of the 
 other counties $75 or $100, while the subscriptions of 
 wards, districts, and individuals, increased the amount 
 in some instances to $250 or even $300. The average 
 bounty paid in the State was computed to be over $150 
 per man, aside from that offered by the General Go- 
 vernment. In several of the New England States this 
 amount was exceeded. In Rhode Island, and in Massa- 
 chusetts, and Connecticut, in many towns, the amount 
 of bounty (with the State appropriation) was $300, 
 $330, and in one or two cases as high as $375 per man, 
 and the average for these three States was over $200. 
 In Philadelphia an appropriation of $500,000 was made 
 by the city, and a fund raised, by subscription, of 
 $486,270.49 for the purpose of paying bounties, and 
 aiding the families of the volunteers. In most of the
 
 23 
 
 Western States the amount paid for bounties was very 
 large. In many instances pledges were given by weal- 
 thy citizens to pay specified sums monthly to the families 
 of volunteers. An approximate estimate of the amount 
 of these bounties, gives an aggregate of $34,300,000. 
 
 The claims of another class, reduced to destitution by 
 the war, to be relieved, were beginning to press upon 
 the consideration of the charitable. In those sections 
 of the Southern States, invaded and occupied by our 
 troops, the slaveholders, when compelled, from their ac- 
 tive participation in the rebellion, to abandon their es- 
 tates, left, for the most part, the feeble and infirm slaves 
 upon their plantations the old or sickly women, and 
 the young children and compelled the able-bodied 
 slaves, the " prime hands," as they were called, to go 
 with them to the interior, or sold them in the States 
 where slavery was yet regarded as safe. Many of these 
 afterward escaped, and came into the employ of the 
 Union forces in various capacities. But the feeble and 
 infirm could not be suffered to perish; and arrange- 
 ments were made, under Government direction, to em- 
 ploy such of them as were able to work, on the planta- 
 tions which had been abandoned, or in work in the vi- 
 cinity of the camps, and to allow moderate rations for 
 their sustenance. It was found, however, very soon, 
 that they needed clothing, superintendence, schools for 
 the children, <fec., &c. ; and while, so far as they were 
 able, they were willing to pay moderate prices for these
 
 24 
 
 supplies, a considerable portion must be donated. 
 Freedmen's Relief Societies were accordingly organized 
 in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chi- 
 cago and St. Louis ; and clothing, agricultural imple- 
 ments, books of instruction, <fec., <fec., forwarded to them. 
 The Bible and religious publication societies also sent 
 them many simple reading books, Testaments, <fec. ; and 
 the missionary societies sent missionaries and teachers 
 to instruct them. The aggregate expenditures for all 
 these purposes, including clothing furnished, <fec., is 
 about $540,000. 
 
 There was still another appeal to the sympathies of 
 the nation, and this time from over the sea. The sud. 
 den falling off of imports from England and France, at 
 the commencement of the war, leaving many of the 
 manufacturers for a time, without a market for their 
 goods, occasioned much embarrassment and many fail- 
 ures among them ; and before the surplus of goods had 
 been exhausted, the rapid rise in the price of cotton, 
 resulting from the necessary state of blockade, rendered 
 production unprofitable, and the subsequent scarcity of 
 that staple made it impossible to keep the mills em- 
 ployed. Under these circumstances nearly four hun- 
 dred thousand of the operatives in the cotton mills of 
 Lancashire and Derbyshire, and those dependent upon 
 them, were thrown out of employment, and soon began 
 to suffer from starvation. They bore up bravely under 
 their privations as long as it was possible ; and fully
 
 25 
 
 satisfied that the war in this country to put down a re- 
 bellion caused by, and based upon slavery, was a just 
 one, they steadily refused to throw the blame of their 
 sufferings upon the United States Government, though 
 often solicited to do so by English sympathizers with 
 the South. Their condition was daily growing more 
 desperate; and though subscriptions for their relief 
 were made in England to the amount of $9,000,000 or 
 $10,000,000, there was still a large amount of suffering 
 to be relieved. The loyal American people felt that it 
 was due to themselves that they should manifest their 
 hearty sympathy with their brethren in distress, espe- 
 cially since that distress had grown, in part at least, out 
 of the inevitable consequences of the war, and those 
 who were the chief sufferers from it had been their 
 firm friends under the most trying circumstances. The 
 movement for sending aid to them was hailed with joy 
 in all quarters ; contributions poured in from all the 
 principal cities, and from country towns as well. 
 
 An eminent shipping house offered a new and capa- 
 cious vessel, to bear the gifts of the nation to England ; 
 it was soon freighted and dispatched, but could not 
 carry all that was offered. The Corn Exchange freight- 
 ed (in part) another vessel, and a considerable amount 
 was forwarded in bills of exchange. Philadelphia also 
 contributed a ship-load of provisions to these sufferers. 
 The aggregate amount contributed for the relief of the 
 Lancashire and Derbyshire operatives, was about
 
 26 
 
 $265,000. A few thousand dollars were also contribu- 
 ted for the French operatives of the Department of 
 Seine Inferieure, Rouen, &c., who were suffering, though 
 in a less degree. 
 
 But the charities of the nation did not stop here. 
 No sooner were supplies forwarded to the English 
 operatives, than it was found that extensive suffering 
 and incipient starvation were threatening a large por- 
 tion of the manufacturing districts in Ireland, and that 
 but little aid was bestowed upon them by the English 
 Government or people. The Irish people were bound 
 to us by strong ties; they had offered their services 
 without stint, for the war, and on every battle-field 
 they had proved their valor, and shed their blood. We 
 could not turn a deaf ear to their appeals for help, and 
 again, and up to the present time, contributions have 
 flowed in freely for their assistance, and more than 
 $100,000 have been raised for their relief. 
 
 Amid all these demands upon the liberality of a 
 noble and generous people, it is a fact of deep interest, 
 that no one of the charitable organizations of a peace- 
 ful time has been stinted ; the orphan asylums, homes 
 for the friendless, asylums for the aged and indigent, 
 the dispensaries, infirmaries, and hospitals, the associa- 
 tions for the relief of the poor, and all those charities 
 which have their claims upon the public, alike in times 
 of peace and war, have been abundantly supported, and 
 many new ones for the relief and maintenance of the
 
 27 
 
 children of deceased or disabled soldiers, or for giving 
 to the crippled soldier himself a home, where he may 
 spend the evening of life in quiet and comfort, have 
 sprung up and received large contributions. The great 
 religious societies, whether national or denominational, 
 have had a larger income than in times of peace, schools 
 and colleges have been amply supported, and many of 
 the latter liberally endowed ; the salaries of the clergy 
 have been very generally increased, and in hundreds of 
 instances debts, which had crippled the activity and 
 impaired the usefulness of churches and congregations 
 have been paid off during the past year. 
 
 Our volunteer soldiers have not been unmindful of 
 the responsibilities which the nation's trust and large- 
 hearted liberality has imposed on them. An Act of 
 Congress has been passed providing that the soldier 
 may, under certain regulations which render fraud im- 
 possible, allot such portion of his pay as he desires, for 
 the benefit of his family, or those dependent upon him, 
 and in several of the States, citizens of the highest 
 character and standing have given their services witk 
 out fee or reward as commissioners, to visit the regi- 
 ments, and procure from the men allotments for their 
 families. In the State of New York, as a result of this 
 effort, over $6,000,000 per annum is thus forwarded to 
 soldiers' families ; in several of the other States, the 
 amount though smaller, is in about the same proportion 
 to troops they have in the field. In the aggregate, more
 
 28 
 
 than $16,000,000 per annum is thus saved from the 
 greed of the sutler, or the rapacity of the gamblers, and 
 other harpies, who always follow an army to plunder 
 its soldiers. 
 
 In this hasty sketch of the charities evoked by the 
 war, we have necessarily omitted all mention of many 
 of the active organizations which have devoted them- 
 selves to the welfare of the soldiers ; and have, of 
 course, been unable to give even an approximate state- 
 ment of the vast amount contributed directly by indi- 
 viduals to the objects of their beneficence.* We have, 
 however, as we believe, demonstrated conclusively, 
 that, neither in ancient or modern times, has there been 
 so vast an outpouring of a nation's wealth for the care, 
 the comfort, and the physical and moral welfare of 
 those who have fought the nation's battles or been the 
 sufferers from its condition of war. 
 
 While then, in this regard, the record of the United 
 States is one which confers the highest honor upon its 
 humanity, its philanthropy, and its patriotism, it is yet, 
 when viewed aright, no matter of surprise that the na- 
 tional heart should have been thus stirred to its inner- 
 most depths ; for never, in the history of the human 
 
 * One form of contribution, very large in amount, but from the nature 
 of the case not capable of being estimated statistically, is deserving of 
 notice. In many hundreds of cases, merchants, manufacturers, and other 
 employers, have voluntarily paid the salaries or wages of their clerks or 
 employes, who have volunteered, to their families during their period of 
 service in the army.
 
 29 
 
 race, was there a rebellion so utterly unjustifiable in its 
 character; or which, aiming at the subversion of a 
 benign Government, only that it might rear upon its 
 ruins, a despotism, having Slavery for its corner-stone, 
 was so well calculated to call forth the scorn and ab- 
 horrence of all good and honorable men. 
 
 Postscript. The delay which has occurred in the pub- 
 lication of this pamphlet, enables the writer to add a 
 few items of additional evidence of the generous re- 
 sponses made by our people for the relief of those who 
 are sufferers from the war. The Sanitary Commission 
 has received for aid to the sick and wounded of the 
 battles around Gettysburg, and the wounded at Vicks- 
 burg (rebel as well as Union soldiers), over $50,000 
 in money and large amounts of supplies; the Chris- 
 tian Commission over $30,000 in money and abundant 
 supplies ; and other organizations, not less than $100,000 
 in money and supplies. Since the riot in New York, 
 which was prompted by sympathy with the Rebellion, 
 nearly $55,000 have been contributed for the soldiers 
 and policemen wounded, and the families of those 
 killed by the rioters, and about $35,000, beside large 
 amounts of clothing for the colored sufferers from the 
 riot.
 
 30 
 
 STATISTICAL TABLES 
 
 NOTE. In the following Statistical Tables it has been necessary, in some 
 instances, to estimate the amounts contributed by small societies, individuals, 
 &c., in the aggregate. Wherever this has been necessary, it has only been 
 done after the most careful inquiry and investigation, and a comparison of the 
 views of cautious and well-informed persons, and the lowest estimate has inva- 
 riably been taken. It is believed, therefore, that the amounts are, in nearly 
 every case, below the actual sums contributed. 
 
 Tabular Statement of the Contributions for various purposes connected, 
 directly or indirectly, with the War. 
 
 I. Amount expended by the States for the 
 equipment and maintenance of troops, not 
 reimbursed or guaranteed to be reimbursed 
 by the General Government : 
 Maine 
 
 $40,000 00 
 60,000 00 
 75,000 00 
 1,963,311 88 
 698,286 04 
 1,610.900 94 
 3,340,943 00 
 251,320 03 
 1,448,000 00 
 1,600,000 00 
 250,000 00 
 40,000 00 
 
 AGGREGATE. 
 
 $11,277,761 89 
 21,624,672 00 
 
 New Hampshire (estimated) 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Ohio (estimated) . ' 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Kansas 
 
 II. Bounties, extra pay, and allowance to 
 families of volunteers made by States : 
 Maine 
 
 $2,750,000 00 
 519,000 00 
 1,125,000 00 
 2,620,000 00 
 1,422,888 00 
 1,857,044 00 
 5,410,750 00 
 1,500,000 00 
 2,300,000 00 
 1,400,000 00 
 720,000 00 
 
 New Hampshire (estimated) 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey (estimated) 
 
 Ohio (estimated) 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Carried forward . . 
 
 
 $32,902.433 89
 
 31 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 
 AGGREGATE. 
 
 $32,902,433 89 
 24,420,000 00 
 
 46,086,909 68 
 616,041 00 
 
 III. Moneys contributed by cities, towns, cor- 
 porations, and individuals, for raising and 
 recruiting regiments : 
 At the beginning of the war 
 
 $7,120,000 00 
 16,150,000 00 
 1,000,000 00 
 150,000 00 
 
 Tn the summer and autumn of 1862 
 
 Philadelphia in June and July, 1863 
 
 Other cities, at the same time 
 
 IV. Bounties and aid to families of volunteers 
 contributed by counties, towns, cities, corpo- 
 rations, and individuals in each State : 
 Maine 
 
 $420,000 00 
 660,000 00 
 820,000 00 
 1,815,285 30 
 937,264 38 
 1,746,360 00 
 16,800.000 00 
 2,250,000 00 
 7,200,000 00 
 60,000 00 
 800,000 00 
 6,300,000 00 
 1,428,000 00 
 1,065,000 00 
 685,000 00 
 1,750,000 00 
 800,000 00 
 150,000 00 
 300,000 00 
 100,000 00 
 
 New Hampshire (estimated) 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 New Jersey (estimated) 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 Delaware 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Ohio (estimated) 
 
 Indiana (estimated) 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Iowa (estimated) 
 
 Minnesota (estimated) 
 
 Missouri (estimated) 
 
 Kansas 
 
 V. State contributions for sick and wounded 
 soldiers, Governor's contingent fund or 
 special appropriations : 
 Maine 
 
 $25,000 00 
 10,000 00 
 25,400 00 
 28,641 00 
 250,000 00 
 10,000 00 
 59,000 00 
 48,000 00 
 40,000 00 
 50,000 00 
 20,000 00 
 50,000 00 
 
 Vermont 
 
 Massachusetts 
 
 Connecticut 
 
 New York 
 
 Maryland 
 
 Illinois 
 
 Michigan 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 Iowa (estimated) 
 
 Minnesota (estimated) 
 
 Missouri 
 
 VI. Contributions of States to National De- 
 fense not included under any of the forego- 
 ing heads : 
 Maine for harbor defenses 
 
 $200,000 00 
 
 Carried forward. . 
 
 $200.000 00 $104.025.384 57
 
 32 
 
 Brought forward 
 
 Massachusetts for harbor and coast de- 
 fenses and State war vessels 
 
 New York for harbor defenses, &c 
 
 Pennsylvania for harbor defense and pro- 
 tection from invasions 
 
 Ohio for protection of river line 
 
 Kentucky for Home Guards, &c 
 
 Missouri for Home Guards 
 
 Maryland for Home Guards, &c 
 
 Total contributions from the States, coun- 
 ties, &c., for aid and relief of soldiers 
 and their families, and for purposes of 
 national defense, not reimbursed or to 
 be reimbursed by the General Govern- 
 ment... 
 
 VII. Contributions for the care and comfort 
 of soldiers, whether in camp, or sick or 
 wounded, and for their families, from asso- 
 ciations and individuals : 
 
 U. S. Sanitary Commission, in money $795,174 09 
 
 U. S. Sanitary Commission, supplies, esti- 
 mated value 2,755,097 24 
 
 Western Sanitary Commission, in money. 151,138 18 
 
 Western Sanitary Commission, supplies, es- 
 timated value 395.335 96 
 
 Chicago Sanitary Commission, in money. . 42,714 00 
 
 " " " in supplies. 300,00000 
 
 Philadelphia Branch of Sanitary Commis- 
 sion, not included in United States San- 
 itary Commission 71,000 00 
 
 Iowa Sanitary Commission, money and 
 supplies 58,400 00 
 
 Indiana State Sanitary Commission, money 
 
 and supplies 100,00000 
 
 U. S. Christian Commission, in money. . . 120,000 00 
 " " in supplies. . 400,000 00 
 
 New England Soldiers' Relief Association, 
 money 20,000 00 
 
 New England Soldiers' Relief Association, 
 supplies 150,000 00 
 
 Ladies' Aid Society of Philadelphia, money 13,791 17 
 
 supplies 200,000 00 
 
 Soldiers' Aid Society of Hartford, Ct., 
 money 12,000 00 
 
 Soldiers' Aid Society of Hartford, Ct., 
 supplies 30,000 00 
 
 Union Relief Association of Baltimore, and 
 
 other Baltimore Associations, in money. 60 000 00 
 
 Union Relief Association of Baltimore, and 
 
 other Baltimore Associations, in supplies 125,000 00 
 
 State Relief Associations at Washington, 
 
 money and supplies 1,030,000 00 
 
 Carried forward $6,829,650 64 
 
 $200,000 00 
 
 1,500,000 00 
 1,000,000 00 
 
 2,500,000 00 
 1,500,000 00 
 1,000,000 00 
 1,000,000 00 
 400,000 00 
 
 AGGREGATE. 
 
 $104,025,394 57 
 
 $9,100,000 00 
 
 $113.125,394
 
 33 
 
 
 
 AGGREGATE. 
 
 Brought forward . 
 
 $6,829,650 64 
 
 
 Other Relief Associations, not connected 
 with the national organizations, East 
 and West (estimated) 
 
 1,500,000 00 
 
 
 Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, 
 Philadelphia, cash .... 
 
 34,738 86 
 
 
 Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, 
 Philadelphia, supplies 
 
 60' 000 00 
 
 
 Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon, cash, 
 about 
 
 30000 00 
 
 
 Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon, sup- 
 plies 
 
 70,000 00 
 
 
 Citizens' Volunteer Hospital, Philadelphia, 
 money, labor, and supplies 
 
 55,000 00 
 
 
 Soldiers' homes, restaurants, &c. (not con- 
 nected with the Sanitary Commissions), 
 in all the principal cities, about forty in 
 all 
 
 250,000 00 
 
 
 American Bible Society and its auxiliaries, 
 Bibles distributed to soldiers 
 
 120,000 00 
 
 
 American Tract Society, New York, for 
 books and tracts distributed to soldiers, 
 and services of missionaries and colpor- 
 teurs 
 
 60,000 00 
 
 
 American Tract Society, Boston, do 
 
 63,000 00 
 
 
 Other religious societies, missionaries, and 
 publications 
 
 35 000 00 
 
 
 Supplies and money distributed to armies 
 in Virginia and hospitals in Washington 
 and vicinity, through individuals 
 
 1,200,000 00 
 
 
 Money for postage, stationery, and sup- 
 plies, distributed to ninety hospitals east 
 of the Alleghanies (estimated) 
 
 800,000 00 
 
 
 Supplies and money forwarded to western 
 armies and hospitals directly from towns, 
 cities, and villages, and not passing 
 through other organizations (estimated) 
 Ambulances for sick and wounded, built 
 and maintained by Philadelphia firemen 
 Asylums and homes for disabled soldiers 
 and for children of deceased soldiers, in 
 New York and elsewhere 
 
 5,000,000 00 
 20,600 00 
 
 80000 00 
 
 
 Young Men's Christian Associations, aside 
 from contributions through Christian 
 Commissions . .. 
 
 128 000 00 
 
 
 Board of Trade, Chicago, for "Board of 
 Trade regiments " 
 
 65,000 00 
 
 
 H. M. Pierce, LL.D., in efforts for reliei 
 of soldiers, and attempt to secure organ- 
 ization of ambulance corps 
 
 1,000 00 
 
 
 Col. J. H. Almy, A. Q. M. G., agent for 
 Connecticut and Rhode Island, at New 
 York 
 
 1 600 00 
 
 
 Col. F. E. Howe, C. W. Burton, D. E 
 Clark, and other State agents, for sol 
 diers in New York not less than 
 
 5000 00 
 
 
 
 
 * 1 R Jflft SSQ Ml
 
 
 
 AGGREGATE. 
 
 International Relief Fund, New York, for 
 Lancashire sufferers 
 
 $125,000 00 
 
 
 Corn Exchange Fund, for Lancashire suf- 
 ferers 
 
 50,000 00 
 
 
 Philadelphia contributions 
 
 90 000 00 
 
 _ 
 
 Relief of French operatives 
 
 8,000 00 
 
 
 Ship-load of provisions for Irish sufferers, 
 contributed by A. T. Stewart, New York 
 Contributions for Irish Relief in N. York. . 
 " in Brooklyn. 
 " " " elsewhere... 
 
 30,000 00 
 30,000 00 
 15,000 00 
 35,000 00 
 
 $383 000 00 
 
 TY r> T? 
 
 
 
 Freedman's Aid Society, New York, 
 money and supplies 
 
 $175 000 00 
 
 
 Freedman's Aid Societies in other cities. . . 
 Aid to Freedmen by missionary societies, 
 &c 
 
 200,000 00 
 25,000 00 
 
 
 
 
 4UOO 000 00 
 
 , 
 
 
 
 In New York 
 
 $6,341 000 00 
 
 
 In other States 
 
 9,750,000 00 
 
 
 
 
 $16 091 000 00 
 
 . ,, 
 
 
 
 XI. Advances made by the States to the Gen- 
 eral Government, for which they claim, 
 but have not yet received, reimburse- 
 ment... 
 
 $25.701.991 00 

 
 35 
 
 Appendix .A.. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. 
 
 This organization, which has exerted so great an influence for 
 good on the Army, originated from three previously existing 
 associations in New York city, viz. : " The Woman's Central 
 Association of Relief for the Sick and Wounded of the Army ;" 
 " The Advisory Committee of the Board of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons of the Hospitals of New York," and the New York Medi- 
 cal Association for furnishing Medical Supplies in aid of the 
 Army." 
 
 On the 18th of May, 1861, Messrs. Henry W. Bellows, D. D., 
 W. H. Van Buren, M. D., Elisha Harris, M. D., and Jacob Har- 
 sen, M. D., representatives of these three associations, drew up 
 and forwarded to the Secretary of War a communication setting 
 forth the propriety of creating an organization which should 
 unite the duties and labors of the three associations, and co-oper- 
 ate with the Medical Bureau of the War Department to such an 
 extent that each might aid the other in securing the welfare of 
 the Army. For this purpose they asked that a mixed commis- 
 sion of civilians, military officers, and medical men, might be 
 appointed by the Government, charged with the duty of method- 
 izing and reducing to practical service the already active but 
 undirected benevolence of the people toward the army, who 
 should consider the general subject of the prevention of sickness 
 and suffering among the troops, and suggest the wisest method 
 which the people at large could use to manifest their good-will 
 toward the comfort, security, and health of the army. They re- 
 ferred to the Commissions which followed the Crimean and Indian 
 wars, and brought to light the vast amount of suffering which 
 had been needlessly endured there, and begged that, in this case, 
 the organization might precede the war, and prevent so far as 
 possible the suffering which would otherwise ensue. They sug- 
 gested, also, the appointment of cooks and nurses for the army,
 
 36 
 
 and stated that the " Woman's Central Association of Relief" 
 stood ready to undertake* the training of both in their duties. 
 
 On the 22d of May, R. C. Wood, M. D., then Acting Surgeon- 
 General, now in charge of the Western Medical Department, 
 followed this communication by a letter addressed to the Secre- 
 tary of War, urging the establishment of the desired Commission 
 as a needed adjunct to the new, extensive, and overwhelming 
 duties of the Medical Bureau. 
 
 After a hearing of the representatives of the New York Asso- 
 ciations, the Secretary of War, on the 9th of June, decided on 
 the creation of such a Commission, the President approving. 
 The title first given to the new organization was " The Commis- 
 sion of Inquiry and Advice in respect of the Sanitary Interests 
 of the United States Forces," but was subsequently changed to 
 " The United States Sanitary Commission." 
 
 It was composed of the following gentlemen : Rev. Henry W. 
 Bellows, D. D., President, New York ; Prof. A. D. Bache, Vice- 
 President, Washington ; Elisha Harris, M. D., Corresponding 
 Secretary, New York ; George W. Cullum, U. S. A., Washing- 
 ton ; Alexander E. Shiras, U. S. A., Washington ; Robert C. 
 Wood, M. D., U. S. A., Washington ; William H. Van Buren, 
 M. D., New York ; Wolcott Gibbs, M. D., New York ; Cornelius 
 R. Agnew, M. D., New York ; George T. Strong, New York ; 
 Frederick Law Olmsted, New York ; Samuel G. Howe, M. D., 
 Boston ; J. S. Newberry, M. D., Cleveland, Ohio. To these were 
 subsequently added Horace Binney, Jr., Philadelphia ; Rt. Rev. 
 Thomas M. Clark, D. D., Providence, R. I. ; Hon. Joseph Holt, 
 Kentucky; R. W. Burnett, Cincinnati, Ohio ; Hon. Mark Skin- 
 ner, Chicago, 111., and about four hundred associate members, in 
 all parts of the country. 
 
 The Commission proceeded at once to organize its action and 
 to appoint committees from its members to visit every camp, 
 recruiting-post, transport, fort, hospital, and military station, to 
 ascertain and report all abuses, and to perfect such organiza- 
 tions as might insure a higher degree of health and comfort for 
 the soldiers. 
 
 The medical members of the Commission undertook to con-
 
 37 
 
 sider the questions which might arise concerning the diseases of 
 the camp, and their medical and surgical treatment, from the 
 highest scientific point of view, and guided by the rich and 
 abundant experience of European army surgeons. 
 
 Three important committees were appointed, one to communi- 
 cate the matured counsels of the Commission to the Government, 
 and procure their ordering by the proper Departments ; a second 
 to maintain a direct relation with the army officers and medical 
 men, with the camps and hospitals, and by all proper methods to 
 make sure of the carrying out of the sanitary orders of the Medi- 
 cal Bureau and the War Department ; and a third to be in con- 
 stant communication with the State Governments, and the public 
 benevolent associations interested in the army. 
 
 This plan of organization was approved by the Secretary of 
 War, on the 13th of June, 1861, and on the 21st of that month the 
 Commission issued its first address to the public. This was soon 
 followed by an eloquent appeal to the Life Insurance Companies, 
 and another to men of wealth throughout the country for aid in 
 the prosecution of its work. The members of the Commission, 
 as such, received no compensation, but the purposes of the 
 organization would require a very considerable number of paid 
 employes, and would involve heavy expenses for publications 
 and supplies, which could only be purchased with money. A 
 considerable number of associate members were elected at this 
 time, who gave their services in raising means for the operations 
 of the Commission, and Ladies' Associations, in all parts of the 
 country, prepared clothing and supplies of all sorts, and for- 
 warded them to its depots. 
 
 The members of the Commission visited, during the summer of 
 1861, the different camps of the widely-extended armies of the 
 Republic, and carefully inspected and reported upon their sani- 
 tary condition and needs. 
 
 As time rolled on, and the number of soldiers greatly increased, 
 and especially as severe battles occurred, and malaria visited the 
 camps, the duties and responsibilities of the Commission to the 
 sick and wounded greatly increased, and their means of supply- 
 ing the wants of the scores of thousands, who looked to them for
 
 38 
 
 such aid as the Medical Bureau of the Government could not 
 give, were augmented in an equally rapid ratio. 
 
 Its Medical Inspectors, who were scientific experts, accom- 
 panied every column of the army, and, by advice, direction, and 
 if necessary by complaint, regulated the sanitary condition of 
 the men to the best degree possible. Supplies were sent by 
 the Commission with every expedition, entirely supplementary 
 to those of the Departments at Washington, and derived from 
 the donations of the public. Whenever there were sick or 
 wounded soldiers, there was found a trustworthy agent of the 
 Sanitary Commission, ready to supply them with medical treat- 
 ment, food, clothing, or transportation, as the case might require. 
 
 On the battle-field they hovered round, fearless of danger to 
 themselves, only seeking to alleviate pain in others. Thousands 
 of soldiers, sick, wounded, convalescent, discharged, weekly re- 
 ceived its shelter and its food ; its safe conduct, its transporta- 
 tion facilities, its aid in securing their pay and pensions. Every 
 military hospital in the country was subject to the visitations of 
 its medical agents, and every defect and short-coming was re- 
 ported to the Surgeon-General, and at once remedied as far as 
 possible. 
 
 By means of a registration plan, every sick or wounded soldier 
 known to any Department of the Government, could be traced 
 directly to his present locality, on application to the Sanitary 
 Commission. 
 
 It has, throughout, worked in harmony with the United States 
 Government, and especially with the Medical Bureau, to which 
 it has proved of great service. That Bureau, which, at the com- 
 mencement of the war, was utterly inadequate, though from no 
 fault of its own, to the vast work before it, is now well regulated 
 and admirably organized, having a corps of three thousand skill- 
 ful and responsible surgeons, and fifteen thousand hired nurses 
 experienced in their duties. 
 
 The weeding out from this force of the ignorant, unskillful, and 
 incompetent, and the training of those now in the service to their 
 duties, has been largely aided by the direct personal efforts, and 
 the professional publications of the medical members of the Com- 
 mission ; and this brings us to say that one sphere of usefulness
 
 39 
 
 peculiar to the Sanitary Commission, has been the publication 
 and circulation among the Surgeons in the Army, of monograms 
 upon medical subjects of the greatest interest, in connection with 
 their field of operations. These monograms are prepared, by 
 the most competent men, with special reference to the condition 
 of our army, and form a little circulating library of just such 
 material as is most required. 
 
 Among these publications are, a " Report of a Committee on 
 the use of Quinine as a prophylactic against Malarious Dis- 
 eases ;" Directions to Army Surgeons on the Field of Battle ;" 
 " Report of a Committee on the value of Vaccination in Armies ;" 
 " Report of a Committee on the subject of Amputation ;" " Re- 
 port of a Committee on the subject of Venereal Diseases ;" 
 " Report of a Committee on the subject of Pneumonia ;" " Report 
 of a Committee on the subject of Continued Fevers ;" Report of a 
 Committee on Dysentery ;" " Report of a Committee on the sub- 
 ject of Scurvy ;" with others, on the treatment of "Fractures," 
 " Miasmatic Fevers," " Yellow Fever," &c., &c. Then there are 
 " Instructions for Camp Inspectors ;" " Rules for Preserving the 
 Health of the Soldier," and others more practical in their nature, 
 and interesting to any one interested in the Army. 
 
 Perhaps one among the most kindly and humane labors of the 
 Commission has been the establishment in Washington of the 
 " Home," a depot where the soldier, honorably discharged on 
 account of wounds, sickness, or physical disability, could receive 
 aid to enable him to proceed directly to his home and friends, 
 being fed, comfortably clothed and housed, his necessary papers 
 procured for him by an efficient agent, and himself kept from the 
 temptations of the city, until furnished with a through ticket, he 
 was put on the cars and started for his own town ; this, which has 
 been termed the " Special Relief" service, has been most admira- 
 bly and effectively conducted. 
 
 As an illustration of the working of the system, we will give 
 a few statistics from September 10, 1861, to December J5, 1862 : 
 
 Number of soldiers received at the " Home," 14,106 
 
 Number of nights' lodging furnished 36,866 
 
 Number of meals furnished 81,169 
 
 Cost of the " Home " to the Commission during the 
 
 above period $11,030
 
 40 
 
 The "Lodge," an establishment supplementary to the "Home," 
 was built in December last. It is located directly opposite to the 
 Paymaster's office, in order to give rest and food to the invalid 
 soldier while waiting for his pay, and to prevent his falling into 
 the hands of the harpies, who would plunder him of his hard 
 earned wages. Its uses are best seen by reading the following 
 " ticket," a copy of which is given to every discharged soldier on 
 his appearance at the office of the Paymaster : 
 
 "The bearer, , an invalid soldier, will find a resting 
 
 place and food, without charge, at the Lodge No. 3, of the Sani- 
 tary Commission, No. 210 F. street, opposite Paymaster's office." 
 
 During the first two weeks after this place was opened, over 
 two hundred and fifty meals, and forty lodgings per diem, were 
 furnished, according to the ticket. A table was kept constantly 
 spread for fifty persons, and the one hundred and fifty or two 
 hundred lame and sick soldiers that formerly thronged the streets 
 were supplied with all necessary comforts, preparatory to the 
 more laborious task of setting their faces homeward. 
 
 To the enabling soldiers to obtain their discharge papers and 
 their pay, the Commission has paid particular attention, having 
 special agents in charge of this duty. 
 
 After the battle of Antietam, the Commission expended 
 $20,000, in a few days, for comforts, assistance, and medicine to 
 the wounded. As a further illustration of the character of the 
 labors of the Sanitary Commission, we will refer to the battle 
 of Fredericksburg, which may be taken as a sample of their usual 
 course at such times. 
 
 The Commission received the report of the battle on the even- 
 ing of December 13, the day on which it occurred. On the fol- 
 lowing morning a propeller was laden with stores, and with 
 twelve special agents of the Commission, chiefly medical men, 
 started for the scene of action. Eleven of the regular agents were 
 also with the army at the same time. On this occasion there 
 were delivered to the soldiers from the stores of the Commission, 
 1,800 blankets, 900 quilts, 5,642 woolen shirts, 4,139 pairs wool- 
 en drawers, 4,269 pairs socks, 2,500 towels, 16 barrels dried 
 fruit, 10 boxes soda biscuit, 6 barrels crackers, 1,000 pounds
 
 41 
 
 concentrated milk. Beside these a kitchen was improvised, and 
 good food, well cooked, was served out to the sick and wounded 
 soldiers. 
 
 The Commission had received, up to the 1st of June, 1863, 
 $195,1*14.09 in money, besides $172,000 contributed to co-operat- 
 ing local Commissions, and $2,755,097.24 in supplies, aside from 
 over $400,000 in supplies distributed independent of it, by co- 
 operating organizations, making a grand total of $4,120,000 con- 
 tributed to this single organization and its auxiliaries. Since 
 June 1, to July 15, it has received not less than $75,000 in money, 
 and over $100,000 in supplies. 
 6
 
 Appendix 13. 
 
 THE WESTERN SANITARY COMMISSION. 
 
 The Western Sanitary Commission derived its first authority 
 from the following order of Major-General Fremont : 
 
 HEADQUARTERS, WESTERN DEPARTMENT, ) 
 ST. Louis, Mo. Sept. 5, 1861. J 
 
 SPECIAL ORDERS, No. 159. 
 
 With a view to the health and comfort of the Volunteer troops 
 in and near to the city of St. Louis, a Sanitary Commission is here- 
 by appointed, to consist of five gentlemen, who shall serve vol- 
 untarily, and be removable at pleasure. Its general object shall 
 be to carry out, under the properly-constituted military authori- 
 ties, and in compliance with their orders, such sanitary regula- 
 tions and reforms as the well-being of the soldiers demand. 
 
 The Commission shall have authority under the directions of 
 the Medical Director, to select, fit up, and furnish suitable build- 
 ings for Army and Brigade Hospitals, in such place, and in such 
 manner as circumstances require. It will attend to the selec- 
 tion and appointment of women nurses, under the authority and 
 by the direction of Miss D. L. Dix, General Superintendent of the 
 nurses of Military Hospitals in the United States. It will co- 
 operate with the Surgeons of the several hospitals in providing 
 male nurses, and in whatever manner practicable, and by their 
 consent. It shall have authority to visit the different camps, to 
 consult with the commanding officers, and the Colonels and other 
 officers of the several regiments, with regard to the sanitary and 
 general condition of the troops, and aid them in prpviding proper 
 means for the preservation of health and prevention of sickness, 
 by supplies of wholesome and well-cooked food, by good systems of 
 drainage, and other practicable methods. It will obtain from the 
 community at large such additional means of increasing the com- 
 fort and promoting the moral and social welfare of the men, in
 
 43 
 
 camp and hospital, as may be needed, and cannot be furnished 
 by Government regulations. It will, from time to time, report 
 directly to the Commander-in-chief of the department, the con- 
 dition of the camps and hospitals, with such suggestions as can 
 properly be made by a Sanitary Board. 
 
 This Commission is not intended in any way to interfere with 
 the Medical Staff, or other officers of the Army, but to co-operate 
 with them, and aid them in the discharge of their present arduous 
 and extraordinary duties. It will be treated by all officers of the 
 Army, both regular and volunteer, in this Department, with the 
 respect due to the humane and patriotic motives of the members, 
 and to the authority of the Commander-in-chief. 
 
 This Sanitary Commission will, for the present, consist of 
 Jas. E. Yeatman, Esq.; C. S. Greeley, Esq.; J. B. Johnson, M.D.; 
 George Partridge, Esq.; and the Rev. William G. Eliot, D. D. 
 
 By order of Major-General J. C. FREMONT. 
 
 J. C. KELTON, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 The authority conferred by this order was recognized and con- 
 firmed by Major-General Halleck, who added Dr. S. Pollak to 
 the Commission, and still later, viz., December 16, 1862, by an 
 order from the Secretary of War (Hon. E. M. Stanton), extending 
 the field of its labors, and reappointing the members of the Com- 
 mission as at first constituted. 
 
 This Commission has not devoted its attention to as wide a 
 range of topics as the United States Sanitary Commission, but has 
 confined itself to the work of superintending hospitals, furnishing 
 supplies, appointing nurses, visiting and caring for the sick and 
 wounded of the Army of the Southwest Frontier, the District of 
 East Arkansas, the armies operating on both sides of the Missis- 
 sippi, and the Mississippi Naval Flotilla; it has at all times acted 
 in concert with the Medical Directors and inspectors of these 
 armies, and on account of their efficient supervision of the condi- 
 tion and sanitary wants of the armies under their charge, has not 
 found it necessary to appoint separate medical inspectors. It has 
 the superintendence of twelve hospitals (one for officers and 
 another for military prisoners), having accommodations for about 
 eight thousand patients, besides ten large hospital steamers and
 
 44 
 
 floating hospitals ; it has established Soldiers' Homes, and Soldiers' 
 Lodges, at St. Louis, Memphis, and Columbus, Ky., and agen- 
 cies at Helena, Milliken's Bend, and Springfield, Mo., and has 
 prepared, published and distributed, a large edition of a " Trea- 
 tise on the Preservation of the Health of the Soldier, the cooking 
 of food, the preparation of diet for the sick, the duties of nurses 
 and attendants, and the organization and general management of 
 Hospitals." It has also kept a registry of the location and condi- 
 tion of invalid and wounded soldiers in the Western armies. 
 
 The Commission has received to June 1, 1863, cash donations 
 to the amount of $151,381.18, and sanitary stores and supplies of 
 the estimated value of $395,335.96, making a total of $546,716.14. 
 The expenses incurred in the collection and distribution of this 
 large amount were only $8,848.86, or If per cent, of the entire 
 amount received and distributed.
 
 45 
 
 -A-ppenciix O. 
 
 THE UNITED STATES CHRISTIAN COMMISSION. 
 
 From the commencement of the war the Young Men's Chris- 
 tian Associations, in most of the larger cities and towns of the 
 loyal States, had contributed largely, not only in money and sup- 
 plies, to the relief and comfort of the soldiers, but in personal 
 service. Many of their members were in the army, and the sym- 
 pathy felt for them by those who remained at home prompted to 
 efficient action for the spiritual as well as physical needs of the 
 army. After every considerable battle, members of these asso- 
 ciations were dispatched with money, sanitary stores and sup- 
 plies, and religious and moral reading matter for free distribu- 
 tion to the sufferers. One Young Men's Christian Association, 
 that of Brooklyn, N. Y., had contributed in this way more 
 than $28,000 for this purpose, and had given in addition the 
 voluntary services of several of its members in distributing sup- 
 plies and caring for the sick and wounded on the battle-fields of 
 the East and the West. Others had done nearly as much, some, 
 perhaps, even more. 
 
 At a convention of these Christian Associations, held in New 
 York November 16, 1861, it was resolved to organize from the 
 representatives of these bodies a United States Christian Com- 
 mission, and the following persons were appointed : Rev. Rollin 
 H. Neale, D. D., Boston ; George H. Stuart, Esq., Philadelphia ; 
 Rev. Bishop E. S. Janes, D. D., New York ; Rev. M. L. R. P. 
 Thompson, D. D., Cincinnati ; Hon. Benjamin F. Manierre, New 
 York ; Colonel Clinton B. Fisk, St. Louis ; Rev. Benjamin C. 
 Cutler, D. D., Brooklyn ; John V. Farwell, Esq., Chicago ; 
 Mitchell H. Miller, Esq., Washington ; John D. Hill, M. D., Buffalo. 
 During the succeeding year Mr. Manierre and Rev. Dr. Cutler 
 resigned, and their places were filled by the appointment of Jay 
 Cooke, Esq., of Philadelphia, and Rev. James Eells, D. D., of 
 Brooklyn.
 
 46 
 
 Soon after its appointment the Commission met in Washington, 
 and organized by choosing George H. Stuart, of Philadelphia, 
 Chairman, and B. F. Manierre, of New York, Secretary and 
 Treasurer. Its headquarters were at first established in New 
 York, and Rev. A. M, Morrison was appointed Secretary, when it 
 was ascertained that the labors of the two offices would be too 
 much for one man. Mr. Morrison's services were rendered gra- 
 tuitously. Some months were occupied in the organization of 
 branches, in obtaining from Government and from railroad and 
 telegraph lines, passes, and in adjusting the details for the vast 
 work which soon began to flow in upon them, and it was not till 
 the summer of 1862 that the Commission was fairly ready for its 
 work ; meantime its headquarters had been removed to Phila- 
 delphia, and Rev. William E. Boardman appointed Secretary in 
 place of Rev. Mr. Morrison, resigned. 
 
 Its objects, as declared in its circulars, were " to arouse the 
 Christian Associations and the Christian men and women of the 
 loyal States to such action toward the men in our army and navy 
 as would be pleasing to the Master ; to obtain and direct volun- 
 teer labors, and to collect stores and money with which to sup- 
 ply whatever is needed, reading matter and articles necessary 
 for health, not furnished by Government or other agencies, and 
 to give the officers and men of our army and navy the best Chris- 
 tian ministries, for both body and soul, possible in their circum- 
 stances." 
 
 The Commission is organized upon the principle of voluntary, 
 unpaid agency. Its Chairman, a merchant of Philadelphia, not 
 only devotes almost his entire time to its service, but furnishes 
 office-room and storage, clerks, porters, &c., to conduct the busi- 
 ness correspondence and pack the stores and supplies, free of 
 charge. The railroad companies have uniformly given free 
 passes to its delegates, and the telegraph companies free trans- 
 mission to its messages. It has been largely aided by grants of 
 Bibles, religious books, tracts, &c., from the Bible and publishing 
 societies, and donations of newspapers, religious and secular, 
 from the publishers of those papers ; its delegates are volun- 
 teers, whose expenses of living are alone furnished by the Com- 
 mission, and who spend some weeks or months in ministrations 
 of kindness to the sick and wounded ; it has also employed a
 
 very large corps of volunteer chaplains to visit the regiments 
 and brigades of the army, and manifest their sympathy with the 
 soldier, and seek to improve his physical and moral condition. 
 
 It has commissioned for this work more than six hundred dele- 
 gates, lay and clerical, has disbursed for expenses and purchases of 
 stores about $120,000, and distributed stores and supplies to the 
 amount of $400,000 more, aside from the gifts of free passes and 
 telegrams by railroad and telegraph companies, which would 
 amount to nearly, or quite, $100,000. 
 
 About 150,000 Bibles and Testaments, and as many volumes 
 of other works, generally of a religious character, have been dis- 
 tributed by its delegates, besides 12,000,000 pages of tracts, over 
 450,000 newspapers, 150,000 hymn books, 350,000 temperance 
 documents, and 40,000 to 50,000 magazines and periodicals.
 
 48 
 
 Appendix D. 
 
 BIBLE, TRACT, AND PUBLICATION SOCIETIES. 
 
 Though none of these were originated by the war, they have, 
 without exception, made large grants of their publications, and 
 those of them which employ colporteurs or delegates have sent 
 to the army earnest and efficient workers to minister to the 
 physical as well as the spiritual wants of the soldier. The 
 American Bible Society has, either by direct grant or through its 
 auxiliaries, furnished either a Bible or a Testament to all of our 
 soldiers who would accept it ; and has also furnished large num- 
 bers to the rebel prisoners, and to the rebel army. The two 
 National Tract Societies have made large grants of their pub- 
 lications, and have sent colporteurs or missionaries into the field 
 to visit the hospitals and regiments, and see to the proper dis- 
 tribution of their books; and the American Sunday School Union, 
 the Episcopal Tract and Book Societies, the Presbyterian Pub- 
 lication Board and Publication Committee, the Reformed Dutch 
 Board of Publication, the American Baptist Publication Society, 
 the American and Foreign Bible Society, and the Methodist Book 
 Concern, have all contributed largely to swell the amount of 
 religious reading in the army. The cost of books thus distributed 
 does not fall below $300,000.
 
 49 
 
 Appendix E. 
 
 MISSIONARY SOCIETIES. 
 
 With some exceptions, the efforts of these societies have been 
 addressed to the evangelization and spiritual oversight of the 
 freedmen, or, as they are popularly called, " contrabands." 
 
 A very considerable number of the missionaries of the American 
 Home Missionary Society, the American Baptist Home Mission 
 Society, the Presbyterian Board of Domestic Missions, and other 
 similar organizations, have become chaplains in the army or 
 hospitals, or delegates of the Christian Commission, and have 
 performed valuable and efficient service in these capacities. In 
 a few instances they have been sent to occupy fields to which 
 before the war, there was no admission in consequence of the 
 opposition of slaveholders, as, for instance, in Missouri, Wester, 
 Virginia, and Tennessee. 
 
 The American Missionary Association, the American Baptist 
 Free Mission Society, the American Baptist Home Mission So- 
 ciety, and, perhaps, some other organizations, have commissioned 
 missionaries to labor among the freedmen at Washington, 
 Fortress Monroe, Port Royal, and Helena, Arkansas. In some 
 instances, these missionaries have also ministered to the sick 
 and wounded soldiers. The aggregate expenditure of these 
 societies for missionary labor among the freedmen and soldiers 
 is about $50,000.
 
 50 
 
 .A.ppendix P\ 
 
 LADIES' AID AND RELIEF SOCIETIES. 
 
 The number of these it is impossible to estimate. There are 
 few cities or towns of considerable size, few villages even, iu 
 which there is not at least one of them, which collects money, 
 and prepares clothing, hospital stores, and hospital furniture for 
 the army. 
 
 In the cities there is usually one to each church, and sometimes 
 a larger one to which the lesser are auxiliaries. Many of these 
 send their collections of money and supplies, directly or indirect- 
 ly (through the Women's Central Association of Relief), to the 
 United States Sanitary Commission; some (at the West) send to 
 the Western Sanitary Commission ; some to the Christian Com- 
 mission ; a considerable number to the New England Soldiers' 
 Relief ; or to the State Relief organizations at Washington, St. 
 Louis, and elsewhere ; or to individuals who will distribute their 
 supplies ; while some have their own agents in the field, or at 
 Washington, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis, &c., and distribute 
 their bounty through them. 
 
 The Women's Central Association of Relief, No. 10 Cooper 
 Union, New York, though now a branch of the United States 
 Sanitary Commission, antedates that body in its organization. 
 It was formally organized on the 29th of April, 1861, and com- 
 bined in itself several other associations which had been pro- 
 jected for the same purpose, that of energizing and concentrating 
 the efforts of the women all over the country, who were desirous 
 of doing something for the army, either in the contribution and 
 preparation of clothing, hospital furniture and stores, or of serv- 
 ing as nurses and assistants in the hospitals, &c. It has collected 
 about $30,000 in money, and a vast amount of stores, clothing, 
 &c., all of which have been handed over to the Sanitary Commis- 
 sion. It was as representative members of this Association that
 
 51 
 
 Rev. Dr. Bellows and Dr. E. Harris united with Drs. Van Buren 
 and Harsen, representing other organizations, in that memorial 
 to the Secretary of War which led to the creation of the Sanitary 
 Commission. 
 
 The " Ladies' Aid Society of Philadelphia" is an independent 
 organization, of even earlier date than the " Women's Central 
 Association of Relief." It was founded on the 26th of April, 
 1861, only eleven days after the President's first proclamation, 
 and has proved a most effective helper in the care of the sick and 
 wounded soldier. The secretary of the Society, Mrs. John Harris, 
 a lady of the highest respectability and social position, has 
 superintended in person the distribution of the supplies furnished 
 by the Society, spending many months with the army, and pre- 
 paring food and clothing, and nursing the sick and wounded with 
 as assiduous care as the most tender and loving mother could 
 have done. 
 
 She has been to the Army of the Potomac what Florence Night- 
 ingale and her coadjutors were to the English army in the Cri- 
 mean war. Yet it would be wrong to bestow this meed of praise 
 on her alone, for though few have done more than she, there are 
 others who have done nearly as much. Many, whose own hearts 
 have been sorely smitten by the casualties of the war, like the 
 widow of Major-General Richardson in the Army of the Potomac, 
 the widow of General Lander, in the Army of the South, 
 and the widows of General W. H. L. Wallace and of Governor 
 Louis P. Harvey, in the Army of the Mississippi, have found con- 
 solation for their own sorrows in ministering to the wounded and 
 dying of the army. Mothers, whose sons have fallen on the bat- 
 tle-field, have sought to do a mother's duty to those who lay at 
 death's door, from wounds or sickness, without a mother to com- 
 fort them ; and sisters, bereft of a brother's love and care, have 
 sought by deeds of kindness to others, to alleviate the anguish 
 of the wounds, which the war had brought to their own hearts. 
 
 But to return to the Ladies' Society. Its disbursements had 
 been about $40,000 in money, and over $200,000 in supplies, pre- 
 vious to recent battles of the first days of July. 
 
 There are many more of these Ladies' Aid Societies, which are 
 deserving of especial mention, such as those of Hartford, Con- 
 nectic^it ; Cleveland, Ohio ; Peoria, Illinois ; Cincinnati, Chicago,
 
 52 
 
 Indianapolis, Louisville and St. Louis. All of them have been 
 abundant in good works, and several of them have acted inde- 
 pendently of any other association or commission ; but more of 
 them were organized quite as early as the two we have named.
 
 53 
 .A-ppendix Gr. 
 
 j 
 UNION RELIEF ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 These are generally composed of persons of both sexes, and 
 have usually had for their object the special assistance of the sick, 
 wounded, disabled, furloughed, or discharged soldiers of some 
 particular State or States. One of the most efficient of these has 
 been the New England Soldiers' Relief Association, founded by 
 sons of New England, resident in New York, April 3, 1862. It 
 has not confined its benefactions to New England soldiers, but 
 has aided and cared for the sick and wounded soldiers from all 
 the States, when passing through New York. It has thus re- 
 lieved over twenty thousand soldiers, furnishing meals, lodging, 
 hospital attendance, and service in obtaining back pay, pensions, 
 and discharges, and in preventing the frauds so constantly at- 
 tempted to be practised on the soldier by the designing and un- 
 principled. Its expenditures in money have been about $20,000, 
 and it has received and disbursed large quantities of supplies, 
 but of these we cannot ascertain the exact amount. Its lady 
 members have undertaken to furnish from their own number a 
 corps of nurses, who have attended regularly in their turns, to 
 minister to the sick and wounded, and a voluntary corps of night 
 watchers was organized from the gentlemen. 
 
 The Union Relief Association, of Baltimore, is another very 
 efficient organization, just now (July, 1863) overwhelmed with 
 the care of a vast number of the wounded from the battles around 
 Gettysburg. It originated from the benevolent impulses of the 
 loyal citizens of that city, who had seen with bitter indignation, 
 its fair fame disgraced by the cowardly mob who attacked the 
 Massachusetts Sixth Regiment, on the 19th of April, 1861, and 
 the subsequent high-handed abetting of treason by some of its 
 prominent citizens. It was organized on the 28th of June, 1861, 
 and has been remarkable for the intensity of its loyalty, and its 
 earnest effort to render every aid and comfort in its power to 
 Union soldiers. Similar organizations exist in most of the largo 
 cities of the country.
 
 54 
 
 Appendix H. 
 
 VOLUNTEER REFRESHMENT SALOONS, SOLDIERS' HOMES, SOLDIERS' 
 RESTS, &C. 
 
 Under a variety of names, these places, where food, and, if 
 necessary, lodging, and in some cases temporary hospital attend- 
 ance, are furnished gratuitously to soldiers, either in squads 
 or regiments, are becoming numerous. 
 
 Some, like the Soldiers' Rest, in New York, or the Park Bar- 
 racks formerly, are established by State or city authorities ; 
 others by the United States Sanitary Commission, like the 
 Soldiers' Home and Soldiers' Lodges, at Washington and at 
 Aquia creek ; others, by the Western Sanitary Commission, as 
 at St. Louis, Memphis, and Columbus, Kentucky, while a number 
 are the results of the spontaneous benevolence of citizens in the 
 vicinities where the soldiers pass in the largest numbers. Among 
 the most remarkable of these are the " Union Volunteer Refresh- 
 ment Saloon " and the " Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon," in 
 Philadelphia. The origin of the first named was as follows : 
 When the three-months' men commenced passing through the 
 city, there were no arrangements for feeding them, nor for taking 
 care of the sick. The citizens living upon the streets between the 
 landing and the depot gave the soldiers water, tea, and coffee, 
 and often more substantial nourishment, but being hard-working 
 people, they could ill afford even so limited benevolence. At 
 length Bazilla S. Brown gave notice that he would receive and 
 dispense at a convenient place upon the sidewalk whatever arti- 
 cles of food his friends might see proper to contribute. He com- 
 menced his labor of love, with eleven pounds of coffee, upon a 
 curbstone, and from that simple beginning of a poor but good man, 
 this benevolent institution took its rise. The necessity for con- 
 certed action was soon apparent, and the Union Volunteer Re- 
 freshment Committee was accordingly organized on the 2tth of
 
 55 
 
 May, 1861. The following is a copy of the first notice by tele- 
 graph of the expected arrival of a regiment : 
 
 OFFICE OF CAMDEN AND AMBOY ) 
 K. E. TRANSPORTATION Co. j 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, MAT 27, 1861. 
 
 R S. BROWN, DEAR SIR "We have a dispatch from New York stating that the 
 Eighth New York Kegiment leave New York to-day, and will arrive here about 
 3, A. M. About eight hundred men in the regiment. 
 
 Yours, truly, 
 (Signed.) E. J. BUKROWS. 
 
 The Committee procured a small building (formerly a boat 
 shop and riggers' loft), situated near the southwest corner of 
 Washington and Swanson streets, and have gradually increased 
 ; ts dimensions, until the main saloon covers a lot of ground 95 
 by 150 feet, and twelve hundred men can now be accommodated 
 at a time at the tables, while the most ample facilities are fur- 
 nished for washing, bathing, and writing letters. By these means 
 nearly three hundred thousand soldiers have been received, 
 entertained, and provided for, since the commencement of the 
 war. Two hospitals are attached to the institution, containing 
 at present fifty beds, for the use of the soldiers, or those who 
 have been soldiers, who break down on their journey, or are too 
 much enfeebled to proceed at once to their homes, a'nd would 
 otherwise have been thrown helpless, among strangers. 
 
 The "Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon" originated about the 
 same time and from similar circumstances. It is at 1109 Otsego 
 street, but a short distance from the Union Saloon, and, though 
 not quite so large, has had a growth and career very much like 
 its neighbor. Both are liberally sustained by the citizens of 
 Philadelphia, and no regiment or company of soldiers passes 
 through Philadelphia, either going to, or returning from, the seat 
 of war, without experiencing the hospitality and kind attentions 
 of one or other of these institutions. The receipts of the two 
 in money and supplies have been somewhat more than $200,000
 
 56 
 
 .Appendix I. 
 
 HOSPITALS AND ASYLUMS FOB SICK AND DISABLED SOLDIERS . 
 
 At the time when the earlier great battles of the War created 
 a demand for hospital accommodations for scores of thousands of 
 the sick and wounded, the Government, though it had made what 
 provision it could for the emergency, was but poorly provided 
 with hospitals, well and properly furnished, and was compelled 
 to call upon the civil hospitals of the large cities to receive large 
 numbers of patients who needed immediate care, and could not 
 await the erection of temporary hospitals. 
 
 In this way, in the autumn of 1862, the large civil hospitals of 
 Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, New York, Brooklyn, Boston, 
 Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis, were filled to overflowing, 
 and still there was a demand for more. In Washington, nearly 
 all the churches of the city were taken for hospital purposes, and 
 in Philadelphia, several churches were temporarily used for the 
 same purpose. Large private residences and warehouses were 
 for the time being transformed into hospitals. It was stated 
 that there then were 130,000 sick and wounded requiring hospital 
 accommodations, In New York, in addition to the established 
 civil hospitals, the fine building just completed for a Foundling 
 Hospital, on the corner of Fifty-first street and Lexington avenue, 
 and a large building, formerly an arsenal in the Central Park, 
 were tendered to the Government by the city, and the busy hands 
 of the ladies were tasked to furnish the necessary hospital furni- 
 ture for them. 
 
 In Philadelphia a large hospital, with capacity for five hundred 
 beds, on the corner of Broad and Prince streets, was erected and 
 furnished mainly by the efforts and personal labor of the mechan- 
 ics of the vicinity, much of the labor being performed at night, af- 
 ter the regular toil of the day was done. The Government furnish- 
 ed medical and surgical attendance, nurses, medicines, and rations
 
 57 
 
 for the patients, but there was need of changes of clothing, 
 delicacies, food not coming within the rations, but more suitable 
 for the sick; and stationery, postage stamps, papers, &c. These 
 were all furnished by the ready contributions of the citizens, as 
 was the case also in all the military hospitals throughout the 
 country. 
 
 As soon as possible the Government erected extensive hospi- 
 tals, and rented, or accepted where the city authorities or citi- 
 zens tendered buildings suitable for their purpose, and arranged 
 a system of complete hospitals, on a scale sufficiently large to 
 answer the demands even of the vast army now in the field. Wash- 
 ington has now twenty-two military hospitals, affording accom- 
 modation for ten thousand patients ; Baltimore, hospitals for 
 about three thousand ; Philadelphia twenty-six hospitals, with 
 accommodation for thirteen thousand ; Pittsburgh four, with ac- 
 commodation for three thousand ; the New York and New Eng- 
 land department, thirteen, with about nine thousand beds, beside 
 a number of small post hospitals ; St. Louis and vicinity, thir- 
 teen, with beds for ten thousand patients, and Floating Hos- 
 pitals on the Mississippi, accommodations for about the same 
 number. The hospital accommodations at New Orleans, Mem- 
 phis, Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Columbus, 
 Cleveland, Chicago, Keokuk, Davenport, and other points in the 
 West, swell the aggregate possible number of beds to nearly, or 
 quite, one hundred and fifty thousand, without again occupying 
 civil hospitals. To all these the contributions of hospital delicacies, 
 clothing, &c., have been and still are, constant, from the Sanitary 
 Commissions, the Christian Commission, Ladies' Aid Societies, 
 and individual donors. 
 8
 
 58 
 
 .Appendix J. 
 
 INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS. 
 
 We have already alluded in this Appendix to some of the abun- 
 dant instances of personal self-sacrifices for the care of the sick 
 and wounded, but they are so numerous that it is vain to attempt 
 to do justice to all. A few others, however, are specially 
 deserving of honor, from the extent and continuance of their 
 labors. Among 1 these may be named Miss D. L. DI'XJ so widely 
 known for her labor in behalf of the insane, and who very early 
 in the war undertook, under Government appointment, the super- 
 intendence of the hospitals in Washington and its vicinity ; Miss 
 S. M. Powell, of New York, who engaged in similar duties, with 
 a zeal and discretion worthy of the highest praise; Mrs. T. J. 
 Fales, and Miss Clara Barton, who were the pioneers, where 
 many others have since followed, in ministering to the wounded 
 on the battle-field, and whose energy, promptness, and "tender- 
 ness, as well as their endurance, have Won for them the almost 
 idolatrous affection of the soldiers ; Mrs. General Lander, and 
 Miss Fanny D. Gage, who have done so much for th6 sick and 
 wounded soldiers at Port Royal and vicinity ; the Misses Mor- 
 rison, also of Washington ; H. M. Pierce, LL. D.-, of New York, 
 who spent months in hospital superintendence, and rn urging 
 upon the Government the establishment of an efficient ambulance 
 service; Mr. C. B. Barclay, of Philadelphia, one of the most eminent 
 citizens of that city, who gave up home, family, and society, to 
 devote himself to the personal service of the sick and wounded 
 soldiers, and in about one year, from means furnished by himself 
 and his friends, contributed over $100,000 in supplies for their 
 comfort ; Mr. S. B. Fales, a well-known art connoisseur, who has 
 been one of the most efficient contributors to, and laborers in, the 
 Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon in Philadelphia ; Judge J. 
 E. Yeatman, of St. Louis, President of the Western Sanitary 
 Commission, and Hon Mark Skinner, of Chicago, President of
 
 59 
 
 the Chicago Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, 
 both of whom have given themselves wholly and freely to the 
 work of supplying the needs, and providing for the care of the 
 wounded in the Western armies ; Rev. H. A. Reed, and his noble 
 wife, and C. M. Welles, of Washington, D. C , whose labors have 
 been as abundant and their services as arduous, as most of those 
 we have named; and a host of others, nameless here, but to be 
 held in everlasting remembrance of Him who overlooks no deed 
 of charity and love.
 
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